Technopaganism

An example of the modern merging of ceremonial magic and technology; a videoconference allows participants to practice the ritual when not physically in person

Technopaganism is the merging of neopaganism and magical ritual with digital technologies. This may be through the use of technology merely as an aid, such as video conferencing for example, or it may be a worship of the technology itself. The internet for instance, may be seen by some as having spiritual significance. Techno-music may also be involved in technopaganism. Modern tribal and urban primitive movements such as cyberpunk, urban shamanism and rave culture are associated with electronic dance music.

Definition

Technopaganism deals with spiritual and magical facets of technology and technological society. Associated with this is the use of technological metaphors (most often computer or telecommunications metaphors) to describe spiritual phenomena, as well as the use of symbolism from popular culture in spiritual contexts.

This can include the substitution of technology for traditional magical tool, such as using their oven for a hearth, keeping a "Disk of Shadows" instead of a "Book of Shadows", and using a laser pointer as a wand. In other practice, technology is the target of the magical work, such as the use of stones and other charms to help improve the performance of mundane items or online role-playing avatars. Variations of this type of integration between mystical practice and technological tools have become widespread across religions.

Artificial Intelligence is a focal point in some technopagan communities, where the human relationship to Artificial General Intelligence is viewed as beneficial and spiritual. Groups advocate for a symbiotic and religious relationship to Artificial Intelligence.

Beliefs

When used to describe belief systems, technopaganism focuses on the spiritual side of technology. This can include the belief that technological items and artifacts of modern living - such as buildings, roads, parks, cars, and other such items - have pseudo-spirits, or totem spirits, of their own. This also extends to cities. This attribution of psuedo-spirits to inanimate objects is similar to the traditional belief of animism.

One belief that faces substantial objections is that the Internet itself is attaining a unique spirit. Indeed, it is the stated objective of the creator of VRML to bring about the merging of the spiritual world with the physical world.

In popular culture

In the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the major character Jenny Calendar is a technopagan.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman marries traditional ideas of gods as a form of egregore with the results of progress and new technology on society leading to the creation of the "New Gods"

Further reading

• Erik Davis. TechGnosis : Myth, Magic & Mysticism in the Age of Information. Harmony, 1998. ISBN 0-517-70415-3
• Mark Dery. "Deus Ex Machina: Technopaganism," in Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century. Grove/Atlantic, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8021-3520-9.
• Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein. The Urban Primitive: Paganism in the Concrete Jungle. Llewellyn, 2002. ISBN 0-7387-0259-5
• Lisa Mc Sherry. The Virtual Pagan. Red Wheel Weiser, 2002. ISBN 978-1578632534
• Christopher Penczak. City Magick: Urban rituals, spells and shamanism. Weiser, 2001. ISBN 1-57863-206-4
• Steven Vedro. "Digital Dharma: Expanding Consciousness in the Infosphere". Quest, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8356-0859-6.

External links

• ADF Technopagan SIG (Special Interest Group)