Earth Changes

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The term Earth Changes describes a belief prevalent in certain segments of the New Age movement. Believers in the 'Earth Changes' theory believe that the world will soon enter on a series of catastrophic changes that will begin a major alteration in human life on the planet. While apocalyptic beliefs of this sort are common across a variety of religious traditions (see Eschatology), the Earth Changes theory is particular to the New Age movement, and is often associated with the predictions of people claiming to have psychic abilities.

The term 'Earth Changes' to describe this apocalyptic sequence of events originates with the American psychic Edgar Cayce who made many prophesies of cataclysms involving the whole planet. He claimed the polar axis would shift and that many areas now land would become Ocean floor. 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' that mimic Cayce's. Scallion also believes that a series of major tectonic events will re-shape the globe, and herald a new age in human life. Scallion and his predictions were featured on a number of documentaries that appeared prior to the year 2000, highlighting millenarian beliefs in both world and New Age religious traditions. Many less notable believers in a variety of psychic phenomena report similar prophecies.

Earth Changes beliefs are often syncretistic in nature, drawing from the Judeo-Christian prophetic tradition, modern scientific theories (particularly global warming and plate tectonics), Eastern beliefs (such as the Hindu Kali Yuga), and the traditions of various pre-modern cultures (the Aztec calendar, for instance). Some members of evangelical Christian movements subscribe to beliefs that are substantially similar to the Earth Changes belief. For example, a moderate percentage of evangelical Christians hold to an interpretation of Bible prophecy known as a post-tribulation rapture, in which Christians will have to go through a 7-year period of war and dictatorship known as the "Great Tribulation". The best-selling Left Behind series provides a fictional picture of the possible consequences of such an event.

Much like the Millerite movement, adherents of the Earth Changes belief are notable not for the accuracy of their predictions (which are often either unverifiable, or flatly incorrect), but rather for the impact that their belief has on the culture around them. Recent events in world affairs (September 11, the beginning of the 21st Century, and the 2004 Asian tsunami) have been interpreted by Earth Change believers (as well as some more mainline religious movements) as signs that the era of Earth Changes or the apocalypse is at hand, or soon to begin. Some believers in the Earth Changes phenomenon interpret the changes as purely physical or scientific in nature; they believe that the changes are the product of natural processes (such as global warming, or changes in the Earth's orbit), and that life after the period of changes will be dominated by the struggle for survival. Groups that support such a belief may evolve into survivalist-style organizations, hoping to pool supplies and expertise to create communities that will survive the coming change. Other groups interpret the changes in a more positive and spiritual light, seeing the changes as the product of a wholesale transformation of human life -- an Aquarian age -- that may include contact with divine or alien intelligences and the fulfillment of religious prophecy.

Since the growth in popularity of the Internet, many Earth Changes believers have used the world wide web to discuss and popularize their beliefs. Famous adherents of the Earth Changes beliefs (like Scallion) publish their predictions on the web and publish information that they claim validates or proves these predictions. Believers in the Earth Changes phenomena may congregate around sites that track and report on natural disasters, wars, political developments, and other phenomena that are seen as possible signs or components of the predicted changes. While the events covered by these sites are identical with those covered by main-stream media, they are analyzed according to the Earth Changes hypothesis, often with attempts to match events to predictions made by psychics (Nostradamus being a popular subject of speculation) or to find 'statistical evidence' -- in the form of clusters of events, perceived cycles, or predictable sequences -- that indicate that Earth Changes-like events are growing in frequency, severity, or according to some pattern.