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| Books pictured: Reiki for Beginners by Victor Archuleta, Linda Goodman's Star Signs, Meditations on the Tarot, A Journey into Christian Hermeticism by Anonymous, The Golden Bough by James Frazer, and The Tibetan Book of the Dead, with commentary by C.G. Jung; also a set of Mythic Tarot Cards, a set of Chi balls, a sheathed dagger, and a sitting Buddha candle holder with candle |
The question “Is New Age occult?” came up recently in a
group discussion. It sounds like a relatively simple question, but the more I
considered it, the more I realized that almost every word in the question
requires examination.
For instance, what do we mean by New Age? What do we
mean by occult? Are we using “occult” in its older sense of hidden or
esoteric knowledge, or as a synonym for something forbidden, dangerous, or
even…evil? Finally, by what standards are we making that judgment?
My own perspective on these questions has been shaped by a
spiritual journey that crosses several traditions. My foundational Christian
formation was Methodist, arising from the broader Anglican tradition. That
foundation continues to influence me, particularly its concern with grace,
transformation, lived faith, and the fruits of spiritual life.
Over time, my perspective has become broadly progressive,
drawing upon scripture, tradition, reason, and experience as resources for
discernment. I remain engaged with the teachings of Jesus and also acknowledge
a genuine place for mysticism and direct experience of the sacred.
I majored in Religious Studies with a minor in Anthropology
before earning my Master of Divinity. My spiritual studies have also included
Theosophy, Celtic and Norse Neo-Paganism, Wicca, and Druidic traditions, as
well as some study in Eastern traditions.
I understand the Divine in broadly panentheistic terms: all
things exist within “God,” and “God” is present in and through creation yet
remains infinitely more than creation. I find ritual meaningful, earth-centered
spirituality important, and Goddess spirituality useful and empowering as part
of an expanded language and imagination for the Divine. I might equally refer
to “God,” “Goddess,” or “Gods,” meaning that which is in and around All That
Is. In some ways, I see “God” in the idea of quantum physics. I see
spirituality as a process rather than a finite thing.
Because of this background, I do not approach the word occult
as synonymous with evil. I understand it first in its older sense: that which
is hidden, concealed, esoteric, or concerned with dimensions of reality not
immediately available to ordinary perception.
At the same time, I do not believe that spiritual knowledge,
or gnosis, ultimately belongs to a chosen few. Preparation, study,
initiation, tradition, and community all have value, but no institution,
priesthood, lineage, or esoteric circle owns access to the Divine.
This leads to an important distinction that will run
throughout this series: Mystery is not the same thing as secrecy. Something
may be available to everyone and still remain inexhaustibly mysterious.
This series is not an attempt to declare everything called
New Age spiritually good, nor is it an attempt to dismiss Christian concerns
about spiritual discernment. It is an invitation to examine the categories
themselves.
Over the course of these articles, I will explore the older
meaning of “occult,” Christianity's own relationship with mystery and the
unseen, my own framework for discernment, panentheism, ritual, Goddess
spirituality, gnosis, and the question of who, if anyone, gets to claim
ownership of spiritual truth.
Ultimately, I am less interested in deciding which label
makes a spirituality safe or dangerous than in asking what its fruits are.
Does it deepen love, compassion, justice, humility, freedom,
and connection? Does it awaken us to the sacredness of one another and the
Earth? Does it encourage discernment or demand unquestioning certainty? Does it
empower, or does it create dependency? Does it open us more deeply to mystery,
or claim to possess it?
Perhaps the question “Is New Age occult?” is not a question
that needs a simple yes or no. Let’s look at it as a doorway into a much larger
conversation. This series is my attempt to enter that conversation.
