Excellent piece, Thomas. I've studied almost all the subjects you described - but never Wicca. Found them all interesting - but then I found hugging giant redwoods interesting. Watching waves break. Feeling the wind on my face. Tears rolling down my cheeks. Religions for the most part are too far removed from reality to be very useful. That God operates like John Deere, only selling his goods through authorized dealers bothers me greatly. Buddhism comes close - but it's not technically a religion. And Scientology - the foundational tenets are excellent and very beneficial but the rest - fourth generation misunderstandings of what was once sound advice. Children need to understand the Basics in life. Not just that 2+2 = 4 but why it does in simple terms so they can unpack the "mysteries" they'll come in contact with in the future.

Santa was never a big issue for me. Never waited by the fireplace, never made cookies for him. Never believed in Superman either or Aquaman. That we generate tens of billions in revenue each year off of these concepts is interesting and curious. Barbie, the movie, generated over $1 billion in revenue and that was an existential crisis for me. :-)