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“The general theme of your life during this perio
d is to contemplate the vastness of the universe and reconsider what role you want to play in it.” This is a notification I was sent from Co-Star, an astrology app beloved by millennials, which raised $5.2 million in funding earlier this year. Co-Star is just one example in a litany of products, services, and events targeted at a new shift in consumerism. Astrology apps, crystals, and gong baths are, amongst others, the hallmarks of this moment in popular culture: religion may be on the wane in the West, but spirituality is a multi-billion Euro industry. Spirituality and mysticism have been gradually attaching themselves to the world’s wellness industry over the past number of years. The idea that your health is about more than your physical wellbeing has seen the mindfulness app Headspace be downloaded more than 16 million times. The Global Wellness Institute – a not-for-profit organisation that unpacks where we are at with health, wealth and self - valued the global wellness economy at $4.5 trillion in 2018. The industry grew by 6.4 percent annually from 2015-17, nearly twice as fast as global economic growth. Far from being the purview of mystics and kooks, this new spirituality is a staple of pop culture. The likes of Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, and Adele all carry crystals. Gwyneth Paltrow’s infamous website Goop includes a wellness section with articles exploring everything from psychedelics to dreamwork and the meaning of Mercury in retrograde. It is important to remind ourselves that none of these practices are new. Quite the opposite – many of them predate organised religion. However, their resurgence in the lives of millennials tells us a lot about the times we are living in. Personal and collective anxieties have festered in unpredictable political climates and a society pervaded by technology. It is no surprise that people are looking for some mystic reassurance. Yet, what was once the domain of priests, altars and prayer books, is finding expression in positive affirmations, moon circles and burning palo santo. The Catholic Church for all its ills, provided a sense of community, guidance, purpose and meaning for previous generations. Mass attendance may be plummeting in Ireland, but that does not mean those needs have evaporated. New spirituality offers people the chance to reflect and connect on their terms. Rather than the dogma that shaped much of our relationship to religion, new spirituality invites people to take what they need from it, leaving the shame and self-loathing at the door. Add into the mix that these practices translate well to social media – words of affirmation or a horoscope update are highly digestible and shareable – and new spirituality’s rise feels obvious. In difficult times, we’re looking to ancient practices and updating them to suit our needs and reflect our situation: welcome to a new phase in the Irish mindset. 23