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  Margaret and Joel

By Joel Martin and Margaret Wendt January 8th, 2007

AS OF JAN 8, 2007
    BOOKS and other print materials were and are traditionally the primary way of communicating ideas and subject matter that we call “New Age.”  This also includes “talking books,” DVDs, and CDs.  Only in recent years have television and film realized the audience potential in treating so-called “New Age” subjects in a serious manner, not as only something “spooky” at Halloween time.

     “New Age” is an umbrella term, for lack of a better one, that includes many topics that were once called “occult.”  Since the word “occult” is defined as “hidden,” it is not the correct term, since the separate topics have nothing about them that is hidden or secretive.  Critics of the subject still sometimes use the word occult, either mistakenly, or purposely to demean the subject. 

     For our purposes, to simplify, we’ll assume that what follows are all topics within

“New Age.”  It can be a bit confusing, but vocabulary in this vast subject area is not as precise as we’d like.  What is most important is the amazing popularity of psychic phenomena, parapsychology, supernatural, New Age, “spirit, mind, body,” and so forth.     

     Cable TV network programming has opened up many hours to these subject areas, and psychic phenomena and related subjects have been treated with more courtesy than in the past.  Two programs that helped pave the way were “Unsolved Mysteries” and “X-Files.”

The ratings and response to those well-rated shows showed TV programmers the potentially huge audience that regards these as both serious and entertaining subjects, for example, “Medium,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Psychic Detectives,” to name a few.

     The publishing industry has long recognized the interest.  Now with the Internet and web sites devoted to the New Age, paranormal, psychic, etc., the numbers of books and people accessing information is truly staggering.  Some books have become best sellers.  Surveys and polls constantly find that the better educated and more affluent people are more open to the subject – whether on TV, Internet, “E-books,” or traditional print forms.  No wonder, since the subjects are fascinating, and touch people in very personal ways.

     As an example, four out of every ten Americans surveyed report some contact or experience with a deceased loved one.  For widows and widowers, the figures are even higher.  Psychologists increasingly are using such experiences in bereavement and grief counseling.  Depending on which survey or poll is used, the number of Americans who believe in “life after death” is at least eighty percent, or more.  More than half of all Americans acknowledge having had at least one paranormal or psychic experience in their lives.  In recent years, there has been far more interest in the paranormal by scientists, psychologists, and medical doctors than one could imagine.

     On the following pages, then, are some of the statistics that give you an idea of the enormous interest in the “New Age,” obviously meaning that people are spending millions of dollars annually on everything from books, to visits with mediums and psychics.  In the post 9-11 world we live in, New Age and spiritual beliefs, the idea of an afterlife, communication with the dead, alternative healing techniques, even the ancient prophecies of Nostradamus, all fulfill a deep human need; a sense that there is a structure and meaning to life; that through psychic experiences we can go beyond our five senses for comfort and learn more about the human mind, soul, consciousness, even the prospect of life after death.  It is not mere superstition or “weird” ideas.  Psychic events are not inconsistent with science; nor do they contradict many religious beliefs.

The following data is from Amazon.com.  Under the heading “New Age” here are the specific subject areas of books and the number of them available through Amazon.com:

ASTROLOGY  - 7686 

CHAKRAS - 244

CHANNELING - 1975

DIVINATION - 6575

DREAMS- 1397

GENERAL – 50384

GODDESSES- 614

MEDITATION - 2352

MENTAL & SPIRITUAL HEALING - 6327

MYSTICISM - 7002

NEW THOUGHT - 2605

REFERENCE - 772

REINCARNATION - 1520

SELF-HELP - 2109

THEOSOPHY - 3108

URANTIA - 83

VISIONARY FICTION – 1188

Under the heading “Spirituality” here are the specific subject areas of books and the number of them available on Amazon.com:

AGNOSTICISM – 238                             (continued on next page)

ANGELS – 1437

ATHEISM – 310

CELTIC – 801

COURSE IN MIRACLES – 158

DEVOTIONALS – 13044

FEMINIST – 538

GENERAL – 24982

GIFTS – 5067

INSPIRATIONAL – 27120

MEDITATIONS – 5205

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION – 6328

PRAYER – 8117

PRAYERBOOKS – 753

RELIGIOUS WARFARE – 1047

WOMEN – 1480 

Under the heading “Occult” the following subject areas and number of books appear on Amazon.com:

ALCHEMY – 1815

ASTRAL PROJECTION – 197

ASTROLOGY – 528

AURAS & COLORS – 129

CROP CIRCLES – 134    

CULTS & DEMONISM – 1235

ESP – 2706

GENERAL – 31020

GHOSTS AND HAUNTED HOUSES – 902

MAGIC – 5459

METAPHYSICAL PHENOMENA – 1737

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES – 370

OCCULTISM – 4430

PARAPSYCHOLOGY – 10475

ROSICRUCIANISM – 774

SATANISM – 46

 SHAMANISM – 929

SPIRITUALISM – 5275

SUPERNATURAL – 1382

UFOs – 1084

UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES – 2231

WICCA – 2738

WITCHCRAFT – 3397 

Under the Amazon.com heading for “Horror” the following are the number of books for each general category:

GHOSTS – 1028

OCCULT – 1096

VAMPIRES – 1782     

Also, under Amazon.com, in the related area of:

ALTERNATIVE HEALING – 3407

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE – 13151

HOLISTIC HEALTH – 57909

NATURAL HEALTH – 12137

NATURAL MEDICINE – 7748

Under “PRAYER,” including pray, praying, and related subjects, Amazon.com, there were 208785 entries/titles in which the word “prayer” or “pray” appeared.

The following results show number of books from Amazon.com.  The website figures are taken from GOOGLE, we’ve listed just a few; but for every topic, there are many websites: 

ALTERNATIVE HEALING – 3407 books; 796,000 websites

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE – 13,151 books; 8,890,000 websites

ASTROLOGY – 48,828 books; 36 million websites

ASTROLOGERS – 19,444 books; 1,860,000 websites

WICCA – 2628 books; 7,450,000 websites

WITCHCRAFT – 35,213 books; 9,110,000 sites

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT – 35042 books; 1,170,000 sites

NEW AGE – 83,884 books

PRAYER/PRAYERS – 208,785 books

PRAYING – 105,828 books

KABBALAH – 5,298 books; CABALA (alternate spelling) – 3,085 books

PSYCHIC HEALING – 2161 books

SPIRITUAL HEALING – 11,190 books

NOSTRADAMUS – 3,459 books

MEDITATION – 112,354 books

YOGA – 60,621 books

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH – 624 publications

HEAVEN – 226,933 books

HELL – 209,440 books

POSSESSION – 232,049 books

EXORCISM – 15,426; EXORCISTS – 8,130 books

ANGELS – 205,677 books

GUARDIAN ANGELS – 21,372 books

GHOSTS – 168,586 books

HAUNTINGS – 58,568 books

NEW AGE – 83,884 books

METAPHYSICAL – 77,339 books

LIFE AFTER DEATH – 19,675 books

AFTERLIFE – 29,668 books

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES – 6,952 books

REINCARNATION – 27,970 books

PAST LIVES – 26,153 books

MEDIUMS – 273,256 books; MEDIUMSHIP – 2,657

PSYCHIC(S) – 75120 books

SPIRITUALISM – 34,125 books

CHANNELING – 25,417 books; CHANNELERS – 1,199 books

CLAIRVOYANCE – 10,838 books

UFOs – 15,000 (est.) books

ALIEN ABDUCTIONS – 13,729 books

EXTRATERRESTRIALS – 12,915 books

ESP/EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION – 48,616 books

FORTUNE TELLING – 8,662 books

PROPHECIES/PROPHECY – 94,300 (est.) books

PREDICTIONS – 167,932 books

SPIRITUALISM – 34,125 books

PARAPSYCHOLOGY – 3,644 books

HOLISTIC (HEALTH, ETC.) – 57,909 books

LLEWELYN BOOKS – THEY PUBLISH ONLY BOOKS ABOUT PARANORMAL,   

     PSYCHIC PHENOMENA, SPIRITUAL, & MYSTICAL SUBJECTS – 3353 titles

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM GOOGLE.  THE NUMBER INDICATED IS THE NUMBER OF WEBSITES THAT CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING WORDS/TERMS:

NEW AGE – 52,300,000

MIND, SPIRIT, BODY – 1,170,000

ASTROLOGY – 36,600,000

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES – 929,000

GHOSTS – 27,900,000

HAUNTED HOUSES – 966,000

UFOs – 5,310,000

PARAPSYCHOLOGY – 1,880,000

ANGELS – 87,700,000

GUARDIAN ANGELS – 988,000

PAST LIVES – 1,080,000

REINCARNATION – 6,260,000

LIFE AFTER DEATH – 1,380,000

MEDIUMS – 485,000

CHANNELERS – 93,500

PSYCHIC HEALING – 145,000

                           *                                                  *                                                  *

     A search for the term or phrase “New Age” brings up more than 52 million websites that include the words or phrase “New Age.”  This does not mean 52 million people; only the number of websites that contain the phrase “New Age.”

     The increase in the past two decades has been steady regarding the subject areas: spirituality/religion.  Included more recently are ‘self-help’ and New Age books in the same category.  In other words, subjects that were once separate are increasingly coming together, so that people consider themselves “spiritual,” without being religious.  But, New Age and paranormal subjects are now part of spirituality.  New Age, spirituality, and self-help are coming together.  That creates a huge market for readers and TV viewers.  We’re seeing more overlap between subject areas; that is good for marketing.

     Some other brief highlights of paranormal publishing interest.

Booklist magazine ran a cover story titled “Spotlight on Religion & Spirituality.”

(October 2006).

Publishers Weekly – the major trade publication for the book industry ran a major story in March 1997 titled “New Age is All the Rage.”  Since then, the market has only grown larger to keep pace with public interest. 

     As an example, a publishing industry trade magazine recently projected that “ America ’s spiritual awakening is driving religious sales to 9.5 billion dollars by 2010.

     Although it is not directly paranormal, the occult-magic themes and plots run through the Harry Potter books. Their sales figures are in the multimillions of dollars.  Ditto, the DaVinci Code, although also a novel, the mystical theme is at the heart of the book.  There are other examples, as well.  Since We Don’t Die in 1988, the first biography about a modern medium, there have been best sellers by or about America’s most famed mediums, including George Anderson, John Edward, James Van Praagh, and Sylvia Browne, to name just a few.

     Today, New Age embraces everything from mediums and channelers, to past life regressions, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture, Feng Shui, synchronicity, Yoga, gurus, chakras, colors, meditation, health, and even environmental concerns.

     A June 2006 Newsweek article focused on this growth spurt, noting that the term New Age has already been supplanted by “Mind, Spirit, Body” as an umbrella term.  And, there is a new phrase being used by some west coast marketers: LOHAS, an acronym for “Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability.”  The article suggested LOHAS might be the term of choice for “Twenty-first century New Agers.”  These people as consumers represent 17 percent of the U.S. population, according to a Natural Marketing Institute survey.

     The subject is booming; there is something for practically everyone.  It is now a mainstream subject that cuts across all religious, ethnic, age, education, and income levels.

     The emphasis and current interest might change, say from angels, that were hugely popular in the 1990s; but the topic of anything connected to New Age, psychic, spiritual, or paranormal can only go one way – up. People need the spiritual component in their lives.  Millions have had personal paranormal experiences ranging from near-death encounters to visits with mediums, premonition dreams, ESP experiences, and seeing or hearing from deceased loved ones.  Since everyone must ultimately face death and what may lie beyond it, there will always be millions who seek answers, whether from psychic mediums, their own personal experiences, or religious-based thinking.  Potentially, the market is everyone.