How new is new age? (ritual, reincarnation, beliefs, pagan)

[Master Vigil]

Do you think the only way a spiritual path can last is if they mold it to the "old" ways? Nothing can be created that partially didn't exist before. Is this why new age has done so well for itself? Incorporating ancient practices such as paganism, shamanism, taoism, buddhism, yoga, ufo's (yes ufos were around since aristotle), animism at its roots?

[hoomer]

Originally Posted by Master Vigil

Do you think the only way a spiritual path can last is if they mold it to the "old" ways? Nothing can be created that partially didn't exist before. Is this why new age has done so well for itself? Incorporating ancient practices such as paganism, shamanism, taoism, buddhism, yoga, ufo's (yes ufos were around since aristotle), animism at its roots?

Yes and no....

An authentic tradition has NO author...despite hw it is labelled....
So a spirtua path must TAP into this "coective folk memory"...this is NOT Jung's coective (un ???)concious....it is a timeless flow of conciousness flwing from the anscestors...etc etc....if it is to "survive"........much like Wicca all be it a new religion..does tap into this conciousness...but "the only constant in the universe is change"...so spirituality must be dynamic...and change.......or it wil go the way of the dinosaur.......As for the newage...as has been said its old stuff repackaged...but sometimes with a new twist..but often with a vapid empty content...in order to make money for authors....but there is goodness even in the vapidity of the new age movement.....

"nothing is new under the Sun".......as a wise dude said several thousand years ago.....

just my thoughts....

The Grail is the ennabling vessel of the Lord of Light.
He is Arthur, the human King who fails and is striken.
He is Belenos, the Arisen Sun of the pagan Celts.
He is the Annointed One or Christ, Keystone of the Arch of Heaven.

---RJ Stewart from "the UnderWorld Initiation"

[Master Vigil]

Joseph Campbell talks about Jungs archetypes and how any good myth plays into those archetypes. Do you think new age does that quite well?

[hoomer]

Right...this is just my opinion feel free to disagree!
Right here we see a major probem with the NEW AGE movement (though its far from the only guity party in doing this)....the problem is..re assesment. What I mean by this is trying to fit one's spirituality "in with the latest new model"......In this case fitting one's spirituality into Psychology.

The Problem with this is Spirituality has already these models all be it in their ORIGINAL form....

(we can see psychology in many celtic texts...we can see the orbits of the planets in Plato's myth or ER from the republic....we can see quantum theory in Hinduism....the Ceremonial/ritual magic(k) formula of IAO (Isis Apophis Osirsis....creator destroyer redeemer) can be related to "time space and movement/energy".....which we see in much modern magic(k) and qabbalah....this relates to Einstein's relativity theory....but of course ISIS APOHOPHIS and OSIRIS are a wee bit older than Albert....etc etc etc)...

yes in their original form the language is different...but such basics things that modern science is now tteling us ...the ancients have known for centuries...a be it less defined in a mathmatical equation.....

So what we get we when attempt to mould our spirituality to the latest model is often a reduced form of the original....as spirituality often goes BEYOND such models...and always has......if we take psychology for instance...ask a student of Hinduism....western psychology is stil in its infancy.....It is still largely materialistic....(though this is dying apparently)..and denies there is anything but the human mind.

19th century Occult movements such as the Golden Dawn...from which most magic of the west still derives and relates to....attempted to rationalise magic(k).....to fit in with the emrging mdels of rationalisatin thrugh science.

Now we see people who attempt magic and spirtuality amost soley through the intellect....Qabbalistically this is an imbalnce of the 8th emanatii0n...and should be rebalanced through the 7th emenation.......To this day we stil see people who think for instance Kabbalah is about reading books.....and nothing more......oh and making nice lists...lol.....

So as regards Archetypes in the INCORRECT re ASSESSED meaning via Jung

( the original greek usage of the word Archetye can be defined as " spiritual matrices for the creation process"...the 1st mould..."God's blue prints"......far from limited to the human psyche as Jung defined it)

I discount Jung's archetypes fully as they ONLY relate to the huamn psyche......Spiritual images such as the CROSS...the hexagram....the swastika....the rose....christ are etc far more than just images from the psyche...Does the new age try to fit in with the Jungian models....I am sure it does....this is re assessing truth to fit in with a new model.....such as I have personally seen...someone reating tarot major trumps to jungian archetyoes....thye are far more...they are cosmic forces as well....lets not limit things to the human mind.....and see things from a reduced view. Don't get me wrong..psychology is great...just not as great as some think is all...I do own Jung books......

[Master Vigil]

What would make it not psychological? I agree with what your saying, I would just like to know your experiences.

[hoomer]

to say its all "psychological" are to say that the Gods themseves are merely products of the human mind....or all human minds....now you may agree with this....magic(k) however does NOT...and has always taugth the Gods (and numerous OTHER non human life) are not merey products of the mind.....thye exist in their own right...just as you and me do....

To realte this to myths....again this is to say al myths merely come from the human mind.....and that "non human " life (of which there uis multitudinous examples of)has had no interaction in such myths....or interaction with human beings at all...this is something magic (k) doesn't agree with......

sometimes a cigar..isn't a cigar....lol

[amylong]

I think that there is nothing new under the sun, but it may be that we hadn't noticed it before or perhaps hadn't seen it in this new light.

I study the enneagram and in the 1970's, it was considered 'new age'. It has been around for a very long time however. It's just that things get forgotten and when someone brings it up, people think it's new.

--Amy

[Riven]

New Agers can't even define New age. Personally, I believe I'm a Christian. However, the book detailing my beliefs is found in the "New Age" section of the book store.

If I know one thing about it, it's that the "New" in New Age has nothing to do the beliefs being new, as many here have implied. As stated before, many New Age beliefs are very old.

If I know two things about it, it's that a lot of stereotypes about what New Age is leads to a lot of ridicule and slights aimed at its followers. Like I said, most categorize my beliefs as New Age, but they have nothing to do with crystals, tarot cards, energy, auras, or the zodiac.

[ayani]

alot of New Age stuff i've encountered seems to draw on eastern religious philosophies, indigenous religious thought, etc. and presents it in something of a self-help book format. the books themselves give alot of vague, inspiring advice and cost alot.

i don't think there's much of anything new about most new age teachings and ideas. what's "new" is the way in which these ideas are being marketed and presented to a generally middle-class, western audience.

remember the South Park episode where the merchendice-happy New Age store opens in town? ha!

[Riven]

Huh. The book I have is very specific, and cost a $30 donation to a charity.