The idea of soul parents originates in Egyptian paganism as the deity that breathes life into your soul. However, I don't know at what point it got added to the religion, and I almost never hear Egyptian pagans talk about finding their soul parents so I don't think it has a lot of importance in regards to who you worship. The concept has left that religion and can be found in New Age-leaning groups; it's now defined as the deity that creates your soul. Some people really cling to the idea that because they made your soul they're kind of a guardian angel-type figure: They've protected you all your life and know you better than any other deity, so it makes sense that they should be the main deity you worship! Thus they push for people to find their soul parent deity as that will be the best possible relationship with the Divine they can have.

Other people believe in the concept, but then say that other deities can be Something Else and that overrides the soul parent or can be added to them. For example, one blog I read from an Egyptian pagan talks about having a shrine to their spiritual parents, but then they also have "Beloveds", which they define as deities who have taken interest in you (and seem to be patron deities as we usually think of them).

As with all New Age concepts, it's quite flexible and many people have different, often contradictory views on how exactly this works. Hell, I even found differing accounts as to how many soul parents you can have.

There's not a lot out on there on this concept, but this is the general gist I got. I'm not sure how widespread it is in New Age groups, but it definitely pops up every once in a while.

Disclaimer: Manipulation, toxic positivity, arrogance, etc can happen in witchcraft as well. These issues are not exclusive to New Age communities, though the New Age approach to spirituality can directly lead to the development of these concerns.

Why does it feel like many witches side-eye New Age people? Aren’t we two sides of the same spiritual coin, both laughed at or called Satan worshipers by outsiders?

I’ve been thinking about this lately, and decided to write some of my thoughts down. This post is the result of that. It has two purposes:

By definition, modern witchcraft is a subset of New Age practices, which are considered spiritual practices & beliefs that become popular around the 1970s or later. However, what is considered New Age in conversation is much more specific than the dictionary definition.

New Age Buzzwords

Energy is Priority

New Age practices are very focused on energy and keeping energy clean or positive.

In witchcraft, we mainly use energy for spell work, though we do also use energy to maintain our spiritual selves. In New Age, however, your energetic wellbeing is the priority, as many practices focus on personal energy fields, and the energy field of the spaces you might find yourself in.

It's also important to always keep your energy clean, in a way that isn't really stressed in witchcraft. For example, in witchcraft "raising" is used to mean raising the energy level in the room to help a spell build and become stronger. In New Age, it means "raising your vibration", with the idea that a lower vibration will make energy work harder.

This often leads to toxic positivity, as thinking positively can lead to a "lower vibration", and therefore New Agers believe having negative thoughts can block your energy work from, well, working.

Self-Appointed Titles/Roles

New Age also has an issue with titles and personal roles. You can find many titles and labels that could fit a large swathe of people, thus pushing them into a role where they are responsible for others' wellbeing.

A good example of this is Starseeds. There is a common narrative that Starseeds (reincarnated extraterrestrials) are human in this life so they can learn some lesson from humans to take back to their home planet in the next life.

Instead of reincarnating on Earth randomly, or even for personal reasons, this narrative claims that Starseeds are chosen saviors of their race(s), and their home planets' life is in their hands.

Placing such emphasis on oneself can lead to inflated ego, but it can also lead to placing an unhealthily large pressure on yourself to help others and fulfill your mission.

You can also see this in the importance they place on being an Empath, often talking about it like a role you must be in 24/7. Empaths have their gift to help people, so if you pass up the opportunity to help someone, you are a bad Empath.

It's Shallow (Metaphorical)

New Agers often come across as being about surface level and appearance. Perhaps it’s because New Age is often picked up by white suburbanites, but there is a conception that New Age can be very appearance-based. Often, when one thinks New Age, they think of a carefully arranged crystal grid on a corner table, yoga mats, and a minimalist-esque altar with a Buddhist statue, crystals, herb bundle, and maybe a sound bowl.

More importantly, remember that “raised vibrations” are important in New Age communities, which can lead to people feeling they must keep their households and relationships happy. The need for your environment to be happy might lead to unsaid grievances and suppressed emotions for the sake of appearances, which when bottled up, can become sources of resentment and unhappiness.

Also, emotions are needed for witchcraft. We experience jealousy, hurt, anger, sadness, want, and these emotions power our spells & energy work. Not allowing yourself to fully feel them will lessen your spell work, as you are shutting off a potential source of energy within yourself.

It's Shallow (Literal)

You’ll notice that many New Age people don’t seem to have the same grasp of the metaphysical that witches do. You do get a few who like to think about energy theory, but for the most part, New Agers are happy to have someone explain to them how it all works.

You can see this very easily with the amount of scams out there that make no sense, that New Agers (or new witches) still fall for. These scams often claim that one’s chakras, aura, energy, or soul/spirit has been destroyed or taken, and only the scammer knows how to repair it or retrieve it. For one who knows how this stuff works, that makes no sense; that’s just not how souls/spirits or chakras work, and we create our personal energy so how can it be taken or destroyed?

Cult Potential

You now have a community of people who are striving towards completing a vague destined life purpose while staying positive despite everything, with little to no knowledge of how energy or magic works, mixed in with some whose egos and conceitedness drew them to New Age. This is a pretty good recipe for cults, or cult-like groups, especially as “doubt” is often given as a negative emotion that “lowers vibrations”. You just need those large egos to tell the others that they know how they can reach their life purpose, and the rest will fall into place.

Summary

Elitism is always going to play a part too. It’s okay that some people like only a bit of spirituality in their life, and don’t want to wrap their lives around magic & spells. It’s okay to have minimalist spirituality, and it’s okay to just focus on energy work.

This is not a critique of anyone’s personal practice, more of a larger look at the New Age community as a whole. It’s common for personal ideologies to become a corrupting force when they are make up an entire community’s idealogy.