New Age
By Peter Simmons of One World Net
The New Age has dawned apparently, and the term now crops up being used in many diverse ways, often with no justification whatsoever, it's become a term, like holistic, that's bandied around as a flavour to add to unrelated things like commercial enterprises and their products in order to endear them to what they perceive as the 'new age market'. It spans; paganism, a revival of what is imagined was the old religion in pagan times, druids, godesses, Buddhism, crystal therapy, aromatherapy, alternative medicine generally, a belief in fairies and in angels, runes, Tarot, dowsing, dream catching, ancient Native American beliefs, animism, naturism and probably a few more as well. You don't have to believe in all these to be 'New Age', it's a pick-n-mix sort of belief system. Shops abound in Western countries such as the UK, catering exclusively to New Age products such as: jewellery; rings, bracelets, necklaces, carvings, statues, incence, joss sticks, Wicca, objects associated with Paganism, essential oils and burners, altars, candles, candleholders, cards, cauldrons, chalices, goblets, crystal balls, crystals, dowsing tools, scrying, dragons, dreamcatchers, fairies, pixies, Green Men and Green Women, keyrings, posters, prints, runes, suncatchers, Tarot cards, Oracles, all things Tibetan, wall plaques, wands, windchimes, window stickers, Pentacles, Pentagrams, faeries, pendulums, Celtic designs and artefacts, Earth Mothers, crystal balls, altar cloths, throws, wall hangings, bedspreads, bells, zodiacs, books about Alistair Crowley, runes, oracles, feng shui, chakra enhancers, prayer flags, Mallas, smudge sticks, and many more items too numerous to list! It's certainly harmless, no one wants to behead unbelievers or burn their books, and I see it as a reaction to the increasingly autocratic nature of most traditional religions, which have been all but monopolised by men; who allow no deviation from 'established faith' and believers are only required to be obedient and pay up. New Age religion on the other hand, is open and inclusive, anyone can believe and do whatever they wish, a real do-it-yourself religion for the new democratic age. It is a respector of nature and the Earth, something we lost from our ancestors along the way to becoming modern, and the rituals are no more deranged than the rituals of all other religions, if people get something from them, what's the harm? As long as no one wants to include sacrificing an animal. Others might see it as a loss of faith, a return to godless superstition. A sign that 'we are in the end time' as some of the more way out Christian fanatics would have it. Whether the New Age will foster a different attitude to people and the environment, one sorely needed as we head for ecological meltdown, remains to be seen. But if it stands a chance of helping even in a minor way, I'm all for it.
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