Cyberspace changes our life and our outlook. Practices that go online are not merely a “copy-paste” case, but actually change radically. In the case of divination rituals (such as a Tarot cards’ spread) – I argue that a new rantionale emerges – one that sanctifies randomness.
The lecture took place in an honorable platform – the annual conference of SSSR (Society for the Scientific Study of Religion), at Oregon (Portland) USA, on October 22nd, 2006, as part of the session on “Web Studies and Religion”. Some major scholaes of the field of the meetingplace between religion and cyberspace featured in this session, namely Heidi Campbell, and Brenda Brasher. The later organized and chaired the session.
This lecture presents a study that was also published as an article. See links below.
SSSR publishes a fine journal – Journal for the Sceintific Study of Religion – where an article by Ruah-Midbar Shapiro on another subject was published. See here.
Abstract
An interesting question about internet culture is how cyberspace changes activities which are allegedly “copied” from off-line realms. The cyberspace doesn’t fit the cosmology, ethics and sociology previously imagined. Thus it contributes to a new spirituality, containing a new theological imagination. I’ll focus on the new logic affected by virtual divination (such as a spread of Tarot cards), which I name “sanctification of randomness”. Practitioners are aware of the need to update the validation of divination when shifted to a virtual realm.
The new cosmology affects in its turn the spiritual discourse and practices beyond cyberspace: There is an individualization of divination processes, inflation of divination methods, and new ethics of counselors and priests.
The case of virtual divination is an example of the re-enchantment of technology in current alternative spirituality and of the interactive linkage between theology and technology.
Language
English
Academic/Non-academic
Academic item
Bibliographical citation
One is advised to refer to the relevant article, see link below.
