14
N the Red
February 2021
Spirituality on the rise Internet revives popularity of traditional practices Emi Citoler
citolemi000@hsestudents.org
Emma Tomlinson
N
tomliemm000@hsestudents.org
ew age spirituality recently experienced a spike in pop culture. People are finding the practice on social media sites like TikTok or Instagram, but spirituality is not a new practice – it has been practiced for centuries across multiple cultures. Many practices that are spiritual, such as chakras and meditation, are adapted from East Asian religions. The spirituality practiced today is called “new age spirituality”, which refers to spiritual beliefs that have rapidly grown in the West in the 20th and 21st centuries. There are many ways to practice spirituality, which is an umbrella term for practices such as tarot, manifestation and crystals. Any person who practices some part of spirituality has a different interpretation of what it is. The general idea of spirituality is being connected to something bigger than one’s self. Unlike many religions, there are no rules for someone who is spiritual. Those who identify as spiritual can pick and choose different practices. For example, one may practice tarot but not use crystals.
TAROT
In the 16th and 17th centuries, tarot was a card game, but today people use it for a different purpose: predicting the future. A tarot deck has 78 cards in it, each card with its own meaning. The interpretation of the cards is left up to the reader of the deck. Those who practice tarot first ask the deck a question. These questions can cover a multitude of topics ranging anywhere from relationships to personal growth. Then, the user shuffles the cards around until a certain number, depending on the user’s choice, slips out and then the user will read or interpret the spread. “I usually describe tarot to people as connecting with your own energy to bring a message out based on your own intuition and energy,” junior Zooey Russell said. Intuition is listening to an inner voice, similar to trusting a gut feeling. For those who are spiritual, tarot is a common way to exercise their intuition as well as become connected to one’s higher self. Higher self is what many spiritualists refer to as the state of consciousness that is larger than one’s self. “[Practicing tarot] truly keeps me happy and I’ve always wanted to be spiritual,” sophomore Cory Wilcher said. “It also really calms me.” Infographic by Emma Tomlinson
