SHAMANISM and the NEW AGE

William Bloom is interesting. He has articulated and defended the 'New Age' for some decades now. The 'New Age' is often used as a derogatory term by 'traditionalists' to suggest a superficial eclecticism and lack of seriousness, as in 'New Age Shamanism'. I think that in the modern Shamanic world, anyone who thinks they are traditional is a fantasist looking for certainty and, sometimes, for someone to look down on. We do not have tradition, full-stop, and those that are extant are not ours.

The strength of our situation is that we are no longer required to think along set lines. What can appear to a 'traditionalist' as a 'pick and mix' approach to spirituality can in fact be deeply authentic, the product of a keen sensitivity to the calls of the spirit. This is one of the strengths of the 'New Age'.

I think that along with this freedom comes the need to set our Shamanism in a universal context. Yes, we are trying to address much that has been lost in the transition from early to modern cultures. That, I think, is what we have to offer the world. But that understanding needs to be set in a broad context. We need to be 'educated', appreciate our ancestors such as Shakespeare and William Blake :) , or else we become one more -ism thinking along narrow lines.