16 Theosophical, New Age, and Pagan Cosmologies Nature and Transformation
We could be on the verge of a true Golden Age, for the Water Bearer [i.e., Aquarius] is the Grail Carrier who has found the vessel of rebirth and brought it into the world that its redeeming waters may be poured out for all in need.1
The religious culture of the modern West is distinguished by the institutional decline of the Christian church in all its forms. Only the United States bucks the trend, with high levels of regular churchgoing and vigorous participation by Christian groups in politics. Even in the United States, though, the religious climate outside established organized Christian groups is distinguished by a plurality of voices. This phenomenon is explained by secularization theory, which assumes that the fall in church attendance is evidence of a drop in religiosity as a whole. This conclusion is challenged by advocates of privatization, who argue that, far from declining, religiosity is being diverted into a range of private spiritualities, a shift in the zeitgeist that some commentators refer to as a spiritual revolution.2 Privatized spirituality comes in a variety of forms, but the two most frequently used labels are New Age and Pagan. In their modern form, both can be traced to the 19th century, though naturally with earlier roots, and have flourished since the 1970s. Insiders in both New Age and Pagan groups frequently claim an ancient lineage, rejecting notions of modern invention. I emphasize New Age thought in this chapter mainly because it has more to say about astrology than paganism and has had more of an impact on it, especially in the development of the concept that the world is about to enter the Age of Aquarius, my major theme. To bracket New Age and Paganism together is controversial among both some academics and many practitioners, who regard them as entirely dis188
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