- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Women's Press Ltd,The; 1st edition. edition (1 Feb 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0704342634
- ISBN-13: 978-0704342637
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,003,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outspoken critique of 'New Age' thought,
This review is from: New Age and Armageddon: Goddess or the Gurus? - Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future (Paperback)
New Age and Armageddon is the most outspoken critique of some of the less balanced excesses of the New Age to be found anywhere - and perhaps still very timely, with the publication of works such as The Secret now become so popular.Monica Sjöö was an artist and feminist activist who perhaps is better known for the book she co-authored with Barbara Mor, about the Earth Goddess. This more recent book was written after Sjöö has experienced the double tragedy of losing two sons, one in which she experienced the NDE of her dying boy, the other in which her elder son tried to heal himself with rebirthing techniques. So from the point of knowing a little about New Age excesses, she should know - her son being told that all he needed was a little positive thinking, and he would miraculously stop killing himself with his cancer. Sjöö has a lot to say about the type of thinking which declares that if we get cancer/are poor/end up in an ethnic cleansing camp, then these kinds of injustices are all things that we wilfully and wantonly 'wanted' to happen as part of our karma, ignorance or whatever, and social injustices of course, need never be politically challenged. Sjöö, however, is determined to get to the roots of this kind of thinking, which she first discusses in relation to rebirthing and her son's botched healing. She traces a lot of it back to the channelled works of Blavstsky, Steiner and Alice Bailey, with their Manichaean emphasis on worlds of pure spirit and solar fire where the atom bomb is celebrated as a 'liberating' thing, as opposed to the more inferior creations of earth, matter, or moons and wombs. I do not think it is necessary to buy into the whole 'earth-mother' thing to get something out of this book, though some of what she says can be a healthy enough antidote to some of the thinking that underpins so much of the self-improvement movement, as well as possibly having something to say to astrologers, New Agers and Wiccan Pagans alike. There is a more Luddite side to her thinking that is less easy to condone, however, and her comments, derived from Michael Shallis on the negative and toxic emanations from all computers does, at times, seem to border on another kind of technophobic extremism that does her greater insights little justice. It may be possible to pick holes with her scholarship and no doubt this book will be, in time. However, the basic insights Sjöö brings about what to my mind certainly seems to be most unbalanced, to say nothing of being imperialistically arrogant, about New Age writings are as sound criticisms of anything I have ever encountered to date. This book is certainly, also a lot more balanced and even-handed in its criticisms that some of the pamphlets she has written, which do sound a little more extreme in places. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt the slightest bit uneasy about some of the works, channelled or otherwise, mentioned here, and which she discusses in this book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece !!,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: New Age and Armageddon: Goddess or the Gurus? - Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future (Paperback)
Monica Sjoo investigation of the New Age movement and its dangerous literal interpretations of "light energy versus dark energy" combined with the negation of women's spirituality and pagan worship. Is a ground breaking, cross cultural tour-de-force that brings close to home the perils of trusting to simplistic New Age gurus who want to pedal old patriarchal ideologies in a new plastic covering. Her research into the appropriation of Native American and Aboriginal cultures as well as the rejection of Celtic pagan deities by New Age practitioners are extremely timely. Ms Sjoo who was born in Sweden does not cut corners when it comes to explaining in graphic detail how her own son nearly died and suffered needless psychological and physical pain due to New Age medical practices. Its a harrowing account of how placing ones trust in unlicensed medical and psychiatric techniques can bring a person to the brink of suicide.Throughout it all Ms Sjoo maintains a wiry sense of humor and a scholastic integrity that proves her impartiality even whilst she warns of the perils of New Age abusers. This book is essential for anyone who is considering a religion that is removed from the Judeo-Christian patriarchy which currently dominates and manipulate women's sexuality and spirituality. She offers an alternative to the New Age false gurus by opening the readers eyes to ancestral pagan beliefs that were more ecologically sound and ultimately spiritually rewarding for their practitioners. Buy it there will be no regrets 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential analysis of the New Age and Goddess spirituality.,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: New Age and Armageddon: Goddess or the Gurus? - Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future (Paperback)
This is probably the most important book to have been written on the New Age so far.
For those of us who have harboured sneaking suspicions that New Age gurus are missing the point, with their emphasis on the "light" and their fear of both literal and metaphorical darkness and the New Age movement's refusal to accept or patronising and grudging acceptance of women and their potential, this book is a goddessend! I wept with relief on finding it.
Monica Sjoo's criticism comes from a sophisticated, experiential understanding of politics, society and spirituality, and the necessity of making links between these three aspects of our lives.
Sjoo's research into the ancient Goddess-worshipping civilisations, the modern New Age movement and feminist and grassroots politics is extensive, but does not alienate the reader. Rather, her booklists inspire others to read further.
Whether you are a woman who is marginalised for her beliefs or a New Ager looking for a real analysis of the movement, the future and how we must change the way we think, New Age and Armageddon is essential reading.
Clare Cochrane.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Great Cosmic Mother Continued,
By Annsih "Shri Serud" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: New Age and Armageddon: Goddess or the Gurus? - Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future (Paperback)
A must read for women who are not afraid to go outside the box. Monica had her fingers on the pulse of ancient women's cultures and traditions. I will miss her scholarship. This book must be taken serious and those who have had the privilege to view Al Gore's new movie will see how his views supports this authors view. Don't stop here. Women unite!
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