New Age beliefs are difficult to define, as the New Age movement is made from pieces of Christianity, Wicca, ancient shamanism, paganism, eastern mysticism, the occult, and reincarnation.
The blended philosophy has no formal structure and is highly individualized. The chief goal of a New Ager is to be a better person and to build a better society without the restrictions of formal religion.
At the forefront New Age belief is an understanding of God's spirit world that differs significantly from traditional Christianity.
They may believe that God and the Universe are one, or that the Universe is a manifestation of God.
New Agers tend to believe in the power of affirmation, holding that the repetition of a positive phrase will use the power of the mind to make it a reality, the idea being that repetition creates new pathways of thought within the brain.
The advent of the New Age movement in the 1960s is known as the Age of Aquarius, the idea being that this is an era in which the physical and the spirit realms are so close that spirits and spiritual forces in the spiritual realm can influence the physical realm more than during any other time in history. As the Age of Aquarius unfolds, it will usher in a New World Order, in which there are a world government and an end to war and suffering.
New Agers are apt to believe in teachings that come from other dimensions. Some New Age psychics claim to have consulted scrolls or books that do not exist in the physical world, such as the Akashic Records and the Book of the Dead.
A common New Age belief is in the astral body, which resembles the physical body but is made of shining and flexible light, visible only to psychically sensitive people. The astral plane is the dwelling of the astral body. This has a biblical basis in 2 Corinthians 4:18.
New Agers may also believe in a silver cord, which is a silver thread that serves as a connecting link between the physical and astral body.
Astrology is an ancient system of divination that uses the positions of the stars, moon, and planets. It has made a comeback among New Agers, who believe that the celestial bodies influence people and events.
The New Age concept of aura is similar to that of the astral body, except that individuals carry the power of the Holy Spirit with them through their aura. People, animals, plants, and natural objects each have an aura, and the colors and forms of each are characteristic of whatever it surrounds.
Spiritual disciplines are common to Christianity, but New Agers tend to focus their disciplines toward a variety of spirit entities or the Universe, while Christians practice their disciplines unto God. New Age disciplines are practiced with the purpose of gaining something, such as protection, power, or healing, from a spirit entity.
New Agers are apt to worship the elements, such as air, water, fire, and earth, which are sometimes manifested by Indo-European nature spirits or angels, known as elementals. The elementals are believed to have powers over the elements.
Some New Agers believe in guided visualization, which is a type of meditation in which people seek to enter a state of consciousness in which they can picture and experience images that heal them, or assist in other ways.
To the New Ager, there is power in the imagination, which is viewed as the creative organ of our spirits.
Most New Agers believe in karma, a concept that can be found in the Christian Scriptures or in the basic idea of cause and effect, but which is generally associated with Hinduism. Unlike the Christian ideas, however, New Agers frequently adopt the Hindu belief in karma carrying over through successive reincarnations.
Necromancy refers to the summoning of spirits of the dead for magical purposes. Although the Christian Bible contains instances in which dead people appeared to humans living on earth, Christianity condemns the practice, while New Agers will consult mediums or other practitioners who communicate with the dead.
New Agers may also believe in the shamanistic belief in spirit guides, who can be summoned by mediums. The spirit guide may also be known as a totem spirit or totem animal, borrowing from Native American beliefs.
Numerology is rooted in the belief that the universe is constructed mathematically, and that the energies of people, places, and things can be expressed through numbers. It's like astrology, only with numbers rather than stars.
The universal life force is the force upon which everything depends for health and life. Transcending space and time, it may also be known as spiritual energy or Chi.
Most New Agers believe that all religions are different paths to the same ultimate reality and that there is no one correct path.
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Recommended Resources
Beliefnet: What New Agers Believe
New Age is an umbrella term for a wide range of personal and individual beliefs influenced by Eastern religions, paganism, and spiritism, as well as by Christianity. A review of common New Age beliefs in the deity, incarnations, the origins of the universe and life, what happens after death, the function of evil, salvation, the reason for undeserved suffering, and other contemporary issues are discussed.
https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/2001/06/what-new-agers-believe.aspx
Established in 1979, the Dance of the Deer Foundation Center for Shamanic Studies was created to preserve the Huichol culture and its shamanic practices and traditions, which are available to everyone who has an open heart. General information about shamanism and shamanic healing are put forth, along with a schedule of its programs, promotional and educational videos, a journal, and a gallery of photographs.
https://www.shamanism.com/
Foundation for Shamanic Studies
Founded by Michael Harner in 1979, the organization was originally known as the Center for Shamanic Studies, which offers training programs in shamanism and shamanic healing. An introduction to the organization and its founder are put forth, including details of its work, a schedule of workshops, indigenous assistance programs, and research. Informational and news articles, video, and an online shopping area are featured.
https://www.shamanism.org/
Questions about the concept of "karma" are answered by an unnamed spirit contacted during channeling. Topics include the process of accumulating negative karma, karmic clearance, and the effects of a neutral implant while there is unresolved karma. Other topics answered by the spirit include past-life regression and whether the degree of enlightenment reached upon death is the degree begun with in the next incarnation.
http://clevelandohiousa.tripod.com/karma/
Patheos covers a wide variety of religious traditions and beliefs. Its section on New Age beliefs includes various forms of progressive millennialism common in New Age beliefs, as well as their belief in an impersonal deity that is present in all things, the vision of human being possessing elements of the divine within themselves, and the concept that the human mind creates its own reality, including suffering and evil being illusions created by the mind.
https://www.patheos.com/library/new-age/beliefs
Pew Research: New Age Beliefs Common Among Both Religious & Nonreligious Americans
Most Americans identify as Christians, but many Christians hold to one or more New Age beliefs, such as reincarnation, astrology, psychics, and the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects like mountains or trees. The statistics, broken down into various categories, are put forth here, including Protestant, Evangelical, mainline, and historically black Christians, atheists, agnostics, and those with no religious affiliations.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/
