Speaking of Venice Beach being a retirement village for urban fantasy protagonists, something pretty funny happened last Sunday.
So, Titian and I had our jewelry sales booth parked next to two magical practitioners who we both know: N the energy healer, a very kind older Eastern European man who does chakra work, a straightforward sweetness and light Christian. Then there was T, who is interesting, he sells magical potions and powders, and does a kind of otherkin pop culture homebrew prophetic sorcery... and is also very Christian. In an eccentric way, but he's got a Bible right there next to the Key of Solomon. Then us.
And this evangelical dude turns up to argue with N, of all people, and tell him he's going to hell. And dude does at least actually read his own religious text, at least, so he's admonishing N with Bible quotes.
So N is talking back to him, holding his own, peacefully. All of us are watching, of course, because N is an absolute cinnamon roll and I think if someone hurt him they'd bring down the wrath of every other van dweller who isn't as pacifist as he is. I have a megaphone in our merch bag and if he looks more than mildly impatient at any point I'm gonna use it.
And then T steps in and gets the evangelical dude's attention. Dude moves over to T's booth and they get in an enthusiastic scriptural argument.
While all this is happening, the homeless guy who hangs out at our booth, who is also one of the most powerful practitioners on the beach if it's one of his better days, chimes in to talk about the archangel he channels, because, babe, this is Venice Beach, it was never not gonna get weirder.
And evangelical dude finally gets tired of being outclassed and moves on....
Then takes one look at our booth... Pride stickers, pentacles, interfaith esoterica, mushrooms, eyes... My femboy-looking ass behind the table in rainbow eye makeup...
We didn't bring the T-shirts that day, sadly, because I'm curious how he would've reacted to IF GOD GIVES ME A MANSION I PROMISE TO USE IT FOR EVIL SEX. But the vibes are enough. He gives up and walks away without saying a word. (That said, I won't take too much credit; T is a man of strong conviction and charismatic presence. I can't imagine wanting to get back in the ring for anything substantial after a religious argument with him.)
I was a little disappointed, I was going to greet him like, "Hi, congratulations, you've finally found the heretics! Test your faith looking on our gay shit!"
At one point during all this I turned to Titian and said "This is what it must have been like at the first ecumenical councils", to which she agreed. Pure exegetic chaos.
Hilarious exegetic chaos, because even if the evangelical guy was a total killjoy, it's pure comedy that he skipped the atheists and Satanists twenty feet away and found a stretch of beach inhabited by a bunch of wizards who do actually earnestly believe in Jesus, in one way or another*, and have thought out their beliefs at some length.
*Myself included; I just don't think Jesus' relationship to divinity was or is unique or non-replicable. This makes me a heretic in a lot of religions, which is even more fun than being a regular singly practicing heretic!
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