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8 M New A n< Ston j Mysticism, according to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, is the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight). Mystics and mysticism have been around since the dawn of religions. Christians had the Gnostics and Native Americans had vision quests. For many, the whole point of Buddhism is this search for the ultimate reality. mere nave oeen douis oi mieresi in mysticism throughout histoiy. Various art movements and artists have used mysticism as inspiration, including Romanticism, the Symbolists and the poet Yeats. The hippies even tapped into Eastern religion for self-knowledge. However, interest in mysticism is even more widespread these days, forming what is known as the New Age movement. You've seen the New Age section in the book store with its books on dreams, Tarot and astrology. Ifs right next to the religion section and rather close to the philosophy section. The ubiquitous presence of incense and incense holders are further evidence of the movement. So, what's New Age about? Good question. It's more than incense, candles and funky cards. At its root, the New Age movement is a means of finding a higher truth without typical empiric or scientific SPECIAL Al U M k TH U It k k twentieth century fox wiwn?noon attcx ben chaplin jomiefoxx howorc Dttf (Tut Of NJTOCJUMNY robert brinkmann fIro -1 ISOUOTUO g miHiita ij 1 QNOMgCOm B rKbb Wednesday April 11 9:00 PM Russell House Theat fry M?tro ISi Covpe ysticisn ge Mov n so lie / by Paige Ha^ You've seen the New Age section books on dreams, Tarot and astrol religion section and rather close 1 ubiquitous presence of incense ai evidence of the movement. or even conventional religious methods. < How the New Age movement attempts j this process is diverse. Within the movement is an interest < in various religions. The mystical sides i of the major Western religions are often explored. This includes the Kabbalah of 1 the Jewish religion and Gnosticism of ] Christianity. Hinduism and Buddhism i attract a lot of attention as well, since i their basic beliefs and practices are more c spiritual elements, at least by our society's standards of rationality. c Yet, it's not just these religions i attracting all the attention. t Celtic, Egyptian, Germanic, South- ( American and Native-American cultures are just a few cultures that have been < the focus of many New Age books. These 1 books deal with the mythology and < religious practices of these ancient 1 religions. Another religion is Wicca, which is i mostly associated with witches and is i based largely on European Mother ; Goddess traditions. i Obviously, the New Age movement did not create these religions but merely < made information about them more i accessible. - 1 Divination is another New Age i Dradice. Divination is the art of foretelling ] X the fortune or hidden knowledge through DVANCE SCR T A N F & UNUROT IB *|OUT TO PlfCOvrt THV WOM* k)! i m? ?IV^aki Hi Truth * ???ut r Ots fi TRur |T?iy m ik* k\ Mr Knows)k PlOOv(TiO?< .?michoel lehmonn "the truth about cats & dogs" umo thur I shore ?w(i( (wf^ftwrtOC. bonnie greenberg fiLM fO?TD* Stephen semel PM^VfTtON > ((&*( fcOMftf richord hoshimoto audrey wells w*<TTfw iv audrey wells COMXKK, TM14 Lptu michoel I MOVIE POSTEI [) Stop by and see the new Picl Tracker and Metro on the Russell Green Street side of the Student Union er Courtesy ol Newsome Chevrolet Carolina GET TO know Gee h* "JSmm Geo Trader The Gamecock ement w ggard in the book store with its ogy. If s right next to the :o the philosophy section. The id incense holders are further nmens and symbols. Obvious associations are with palmistry or the Tarot deck. Runes, Medicine Cards, Scarabs, I Ching and pendulums are other means af divination, just to name a few. The Tarot comes in many forms, and the images in the 78-card deck draw from several mythological and cultural 30urces, from Celtic to Egyptian to the 3ecret and mystical society, The Order >f the Golden Dawn. The cliche crystal ball is another form >f divination, although the crystal ball s not obligatory. Bowls of water, stones ind even fire can be used to see images )f the future. Astrology is based on configurations )f the stars and planets. Astrology can )e used to discover underlying patterns )f personality as well as to divine the iiture. Dtip mr>rp piattipnt nf the New Ape movement is magic. Magic uses one's will to cause events. Several of the aforementioned religions use some form af magic. Basic tools of magic vary. Herbs, candles, colors, stones and incense can all be used, collectively or separately, in forms of magic. There are many books that discuss how to use divinatory tools like the Tarot and runes in magic as well. Astral planing is also a very popular ieeningiF N f L 0 K m itr lovri men joneone gorofob snoron seymour on iy cori-esta albert ehmann 1^1 RS < Up Passes at House Info Center {9\, Q Productions ^ All LSi 2-Door 4x4 CoavtrtiMa t concept The astral body is a non-physical aspect of our existence, something kin to the concept of the soul, which can be pi UJCHACU UUU31UC V/l I IIC UUUJ. Alio aotiai body can visit various levels of reality and various parts of this reality. Associated with this concept of the nonphysical body is the concept of chakras. Chakra is the Sanskrit word meaning "wheel" and is a point of energy located in the etheric body. There are seven chakras, starting at the genital area and nrocrressinfir ud the bodv to the t?d of the head. They represent various elements of ourselves, from sexual desire to spirituality. Meditation is another major element in New Age. Sometimes, meditations are in the traditional styles, such as yoga; other times they are visualization techniques or simply moments of quiet. Dreams are, of course, a big thing in New Age. There are many dream dictionaries on the market. Dreams can be interpreted as the language of the unconscious, glimpses of the fiiture or products of astral travels, depending on eui Will con THIS a Wi May si you car i Anc al Plus, \ employrr COAS Conv\ ft |yj[^A2BrY?m *?' ipi 1 . ' - /'"'V: V"" the dreamer's inclination of interpretation, fr Pi Other points of New Age interests ai include angels, vampires, gargoyles and dragons. ca It is important to keep in mind that as the New Age movement isn't exactly an re: organized movement. There is not some New Age council deciding what is in the e a agenda and whafs out; New Age is more ev of a collective impulse of research and Bi spirituality. or So why this sudden interest in or 1.1^:? i.-J?J M..OWJ1 v. mysucisiii m luuay a suueiy: yy en, n a 1 < not so sudden, since many of these beliefs ar have been around for thousands of years and have had Mowers for about as long, th Religion did not begin with Christ or th even Shiva ? it probably began when to man first conceived of the idea of death, se Yet, mysticism does seem more prevalent, in or at least the attempt at it seems more prevalent. to Personally, I think this trend toward bi more mystical religions and lifestyles is th an inevitable result of industrialization, so We are very alienated from our world, its If All TUU DULDE IIMITT SUMIV Come on. Commit yourself, nd make your summer count, th Coastal Carolina University's emester and two summer sessions, i earn up to a full semester's credit. So, if you want to get ahead, Coastal Carolina is the place. I, speaking of places, on-campus jartments are just $80 a week (the best deal on the beach), /ve offer assistance finding summer lent. How's that for a summer break 1-800-277-7000 803-349-2026 TAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY ray, South Carolina http://www.coastal.edu AAEOI (jjji // ETHAN MYERSON The Gamecock Dm nature. Technology has helped us -edict much about our environment id even control it somewhat. Still, when faced with natural tastrophes, diseases or even something simple as a budding flower, we are minded how mysterious life is. We live in a time when things are isily explained by science, when erything seems to have an answer, it there are things science can't prove explain, like the existence of the soul , at the very least, the mystery of life, it, many people do believe in the soul id feel the mysteriousness of life. Therefore, people search for something at reflects this non-physical aspect of eir lives, something that connects them this "otherness" of life. These people sarch for something non-materialistic this increasingly materialistic world. The New Age movement is an effort connect with something that is at once gger than an individual and a part of ie individual; it reflects a desire to find imething eternal is this world, with all 3 societies, that is so painfully temporary. -* II IE ED I IER. A I