Something is regularly written or done with ‘new age’ as the overarching theme. ‘New age’ is a now established name for a spiritual movement that emerged towards the end of the 20th century. This does not alter the fact that it is interpreted broadly and is sometimes applied inappropriately. Given that fact, it wouldn’t hurt to explain what we actually mean by ‘new age’ and why the movement is growing at the beginning of the 21st century.
New age, where did it originate and what is it?
First and foremost, it is a spiritual movement that originated in the West. People became really active towards the end of the 20th century, but in fact the foundation was laid in the hippie period. The hippie era starts in the mid-1960s, we also call it the Age of Aquarius. The starting point for the hippies was to want to distinguish themselves, especially in opposition. In doing so they unleashed small revolutions. The opposition arose mainly from the prevailing bourgeoisie up to that time, the many rules and the restriction of freedom. The hippies called it spiritual emptiness and opposed it. New age also includes increased self-awareness and a more intuitive approach to matters. Materialism is becoming less important in life and people are more concerned with society . The philosophy is holism.
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The flower power movement is certainly the best known to many. Here sexual, musical and social revolutions were fought against the established order. This movement first took shape in the United States of America, on the campus of the University of California, especially its branch in San Francisco.
Where does the name ‘new age’ come from?
Strangely enough, the term new age goes back to the late 19th century. The Russian noblewoman Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, who had been to Tibet several times, was the founder of the Theosophical Society. She announced the New Age, in which a major role was reserved for theosophists*, namely guiding the evolution of the human race.
New Age then stood still for a considerable period, as it were. Two world wars raged until the mid-1940s. In addition to the war years, there is also the reconstruction after such a war. There is hardly any room for things that fall within New Age. The American theosophist David Spangler is subsequently seen as the founder of the contemporary New Age.
* “Theosophy is a metaphysical religious philosophy that holds that all religions are attempts by a divine power to bring humanity to greater perfection. Therefore, Theosophy holds that every religion contains a portion of the truth,” according to Wikipedia.
Has ‘new age’ become a gathering place for dissidents?
Because it is about a different way of thinking, feeling, believing, communicating and relationships, more is sometimes attributed to New Age than is actually New Age. For example, if something is off the beaten track, it is quickly called new age. The reason may be that people like to put things in a box, but at summer fairs, for example, it can also be done from a commercial point of view (greater diversity attracts a broader audience). Some examples that are vaguely related, but not specifically new age:
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- Bohemian style, simply ‘boho’. This is related to Bohemia in the Czech Republic and the French Gypsies indicated that they originally came from there. This is then linked to the free way of life of gypsies and therefore also to ‘new age’.
- The music of the English Kate Bush, straight from the first album The kick inside. The lady is dressed differently, moves differently and uses her voice differently and thus ‘fits’ into the movement.
- Everything that tends towards the baroque style, also called rococo. A style that actually developed in Italy in the 17th century and continued until the first half of the 18th century. A style that deviates quite a bit from the ‘norm’.
What do we group under ‘new age’?
You cannot find one movement in the current New Age, it is a package of esoteric philosophy and is therefore an umbrella concept for various Western movements. Movements that may partly arise from existing religions, but as a whole are now outside current religions.
In addition to the result of the hippie period, where people thought and expressed differently in sexual, musical and social areas, New Age also includes the belief in personal development. By this we mean the development of self-awareness and identity. But also nourishing your talents and increasing the quality of life. Dreams and aspirations may be expressed and pursued, but you apply them in the we-society. People are averse to every man for himself.
Furthermore, there is the fact that humanity is entering a new era and a more intuitive approach to things is being adopted, as well as a less materialistic and individualistic society. People have a holistic view of humanity and the world, or everything is interconnected.
The ups and downs of a movement like ‘new age’
New Age owes its first popularity to the fact that in the 1960s there was improved access to higher education and prosperity took off. This has given people space to delve into a wide range of (exotic) views from a different body of thought. This does not alter the fact that where popularity increases, it can also decrease. Consider a sharply shrinking economy or conflict situations such as the aforementioned wars. People then pay less attention to these aspects and focus on keeping themselves afloat.
A movement must literally and figuratively keep moving to maintain its right to exist. New Age therefore continues to innovate. There are aspects that a larger group of people identify with. Consider:
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- Meditation
- Seances
- Jungian or chakra psychology
- Family constellations
- Exploring mythical creatures
Finally
New age as we know it now seems to be becoming a collective term for all kinds of things that we cannot immediately explain and do not fit into the established order. This, while New Age is actually a clear movement with the aforementioned basic principles.