Earth Changes
The phrase "Earth Changes" was coined by the American psychic Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) to refer to the belief that the world would soon enter on a series of cataclysmic events causing major alterations in human life on the planet.
This includes "natural events" (such as major earthquakes, the melting of the polar ice caps, a pole shift of the planetary axis, major weather events, solar flares and so on[1]) as well as huge changes of the local and global social, economical and political systems.
Cayce
Cayce himself also made many prophecies of cataclysmic events involving the whole planet.[2][3] He claimed the polar axis would shift and that many areas that are now land would again become ocean floor, and that Atlantis would rise from the sea.[3] The belief that the California coast would slip into the sea—a common feature of Earth Changes predictions—originated with Cayce's alleged prophecies. In more recent times, self-proclaimed psychic Gordon-Michael Scallion has issued a variety of prophecies centering on the concept of "Earth Changes" and publishes a monthly newsletter, The Earth Changes Report.[4]
New Age
Cayce's term has been taken up in certain segments of the New Age movement,[5] often associated with other predictions by people claiming to have psychic abilities.[6] Belief in Earth changes is also found among Native Americans, some of whom refer to the concept as "the Great Purification."[7] These beliefs have occasionally been associated with Christian millennialism and beliefs about UFOs.[1] Some New Age adherents believe that Earth changes will preface a "Golden Age" of spirituality and world peace.[2][5]
I Am America
In the late 1980s, Lori Toye published the I Am America Map, based on several visions that she claimed to have beginning in 1983.[8][9] The I Am America Map sold over 40,000 copies, and was followed by subsequent maps: Freedom Star World map, Golden Cities map, and an Earth Changes Progression series of maps. These maps represented the earth's future geography after climatic earth changes.[10]
Reception and interpretation
Prophecies of Earth changes have been described as a form of pseudoscience, in which terminology and ideas borrowed from science are used to rationalize non-scriptural apocalyptical thought based on visionary experiences.[6] David Spangler, a leader of the Findhorn Foundation spiritual community, described prophecies of Earth changes as an expression of collective fear and anger, rather than as foretelling of actual future events.[11]
References
- Barkun, Michael (2006). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. University of California Press. p. 172. ISBN 0-520-24812-0.
- Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2003). UFO Religions. Routledge. p. 118. ISBN 0-415-26324-7.
- Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (1998). New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. SUNY Press. p. 353. ISBN 0-7914-3854-6.
- Larson, Bob (2004). Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. p. 163. ISBN 0-8423-6417-X.
- Lewis, James R.; J. Gordon Melton (1992). Perspectives on the New Age. SUNY Press. p. 12,64,204. ISBN 0-7914-1213-X.
- Hammer, Olav (2004). Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age. BRILL. pp. 243–244. ISBN 90-04-13638-X.
- Sun Bear; Wabun Wind (1992). Black Dawn, Bright Day: Indian Prophecies for the Millennium that Reveal the Fate of the Earth. Simon and Schuster. p. 67. ISBN 0-671-75900-0.
- Pickover, Clifford A. Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction. Prometheus Books, 2001. pg. 358
- Larson, Bob.Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2004. pg. 43
- Larson, Bob.Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2004. pg. 161
- Smoley, Richard; Jay Kinney (2006). Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions. Quest Books. pp. 292–3. ISBN 0-8356-0844-1.
