[wanderer_]

Searching for meaning for these things is a trap. It can be a harmless hobby, but for many people it becomes something more and can tear them apart (e.g. inducing anxiety or obsession with it).

Many (but not necessarily all) people who sell this type of paraphernalia or services are con artists looking to make a buck off of desperate people who are looking to make sense of their lives in places where they won't.

[oblib]

Yeah... that's a good summation.

I have some personal experience with this kind of thing. Back in the `70s my father had a small group of "followers" who considered him to be a sort of "guru". We lived in Hollywood, so there were a lot of folks into that sort of thing.

They believed he had mystical powers. Truth was he was only looking to get laid, and he hurt a lot of women who fell for his BS, and their husbands/boyfriends.

I have a family member now who claims he's a "God". He lived in Hollywood too when he "realized" this. He's not quite as convincing as my father was, but he's pretty good at getting others to believe him.

[wanderer_]

Those are some sad stories. It's a crazy world out there, with lots of people trying to take advantage of their fellow humans.