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Barbie and Religious Commodification

Catholic Barbie doll design

Muslim Barbie doll design 

Buddhist Barbie doll design

My project represents popular culture’s adoption of religion as a commodity. Inspired by the photo on the instruction page for this assignment, I decided to design religious attire for Barbie dolls. The popular doll brand represents a staple in Western society which is why associating it with religion is a controversial subject. Yet, dolls of Barbie dressed like Mary are in circulation which is why I wanted to design dolls that could be associated with other major religions. I attempted to design the dolls with a modern Western twist to represent the influence of popular culture on religious garments. Furthermore, I made sure to brand each doll with the Barbie logo to further the theme of religious commodification.

As we have looked at over the course, religious commodification is not a new concept. The commodification of religious identity is no different from any kind of commodification (ethnic, cultural, etc...). “To analyse such developments through the lens of religious studies or theology would be to give spiritual/religious value to something that has been rendered a commodity/product with a price; and that would validate only the claims of the "religious entrepreneurs" who say their products have a higher transcendental value, when they are simply goods that can be traded on the market like any other” (Noor). Apps like Buddhify and Headspace tap into this market by attaching an “authentic religious experience” to what is essentially no more than a podcast. The fact that Virgin Mary Barbie dolls are already a product means that the Barbie company, like countless others, has already tapped into the Christian market. My project acts as a glimpse into a future of what said continued commodification could look like. As a Western citizen, it is important to note my positionality in reference to the work. When considering identity boundaries, there is a question of the knowledge that an outgroup has about an in-group. As an individual who was raised Catholic, I would be considered in the outgroup in reference to Islam and Buddhist traditions. As McCutcheon argues, a position is somewhat “all or nothing”; our ability to understand religion is limited to our ability to understand individuals (McCutcheon). Therefore, if Barbie wanted to develop multi-faith dolls they would have to consult individuals within those religions or, as Chryssides, suggests, I would have to make my familiarity (Christianity) strange (Chryssides).

Works Cited: 

Chryssides, G., & Cotter, C. (Writers). (2012, February 20). The Insider/Outsider Problem [Radio series episode]. In The Religious Studies Program.

McCutcheon, Russell (ed.) 1999.The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion: A Reader. London: Cassell, pp. 405. Studies in World Christianity,5(2), 256-259. doi:10.3366/swc.1999.5.2.256

Noor, F. A. (2016, June 01). When religion becomes a commodity. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/when-religion-becomes-a-commodity

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Watch the Official EAT PRAY LOVE Trailer in HD

Eat, Pray, Consume

Originally published in 2006, the non fiction book, and later film adaptation, of Eat, Pray, Love share the story of Elizabeth Gilbert, a woman on a quest for self-realization in three remote locations: Italy, India, and Indonesia. While the book and movie alike have gathered a large following of women who cite Gilbert’s memoir as a source of empowerment, others critique the work for popularizing “orientalism”. By justifying spending as a means of achieving health and wellness Eat, Pray, Love  is able to promote an individual sense of false empowerment while instigating a form of new colonialism.

Original book cover

Gilbert’s journey begins from a sudden realization: her whole life has been centered around men. Therefore, in claiming her freedom through individual travel, Gilbert is able to directly oppose the patriarchy that has influenced the lives of countless women. This makes Eat, Pray, Love a relatable story for any woman. Although many people point to Eat, Pray, Love as a force of female empowerment, many critique the way in which this is presented, citing the book and film as a form of “spiritual materialism” (Williams, 2011, p.618). Problematically, the protagonist is a wealthy white women which promotes a sort of empowerment that can only be shared with women in of equal financial means. Williams argues this allows the book to “support an ideological system that makes it seem as if empowerment is only available to those with the power to buy” (Williams, 2011, p.619). Thus the working class black mother appears less likely to experience the the luxury of a spiritual awakening. Furthermore, by centering the journey as the site of enlightenment, Gilbert is only distancing the audience from agency by promoting materialism and dependency. The neoliberal subject is defined as “a concept of human subject as autonomous, individualized, self-directing decision-making agent who becomes an entrepreneur of one self; a human capital” (Turken, Nafstad, Blakar & Roen, 2015, p.1). In this way, the working class mother who is inspired must submit to capitalism in order to receive funds making them more reliant on the state. Moreover, if the woman is not able to achieve the success necessary for travel it is deemed her fault. This blame game only furthers women’s positions as subordinate by encouraging women to not only attach their happiness to a male dominated capitalist market, but, as Williams argues, “moves women further away from an awareness of the social factors that may contribute to their personal unhappiness” (Williams, 2011, 620). By discouraging women from asking questions regarding oppression, they are not able to improve their own situation. As for the few women who can afford the luxury of travel, they are discouraged from acknowledging their own privilege. Despite her apparent wealth, Gilbert presents herself as a victim which becomes increasingly problematic when situating herself within an Eastern context.   

Visual representation of the consequences of neoliberalism

With the immense popularity of Gilbert’s memoir and subsequent film it is of no surprise that the tourism industry has cultivated it as a marketing tool. The Eat, Pray, Love brand has been associated with a range of commodities such as “perfume, tea, yoga gear, prayer beads, and jewelry to EPL -themed travel tours that include spa treatments, visits to temples, and copious amounts of yoga and meditation” (Williams, 2011, 613). For those who cannot afford to travel, the associated products offer a “consumption-based shortcut” to the empowerment and enlightenment described by Gilbert. On the other hand, the Eat, Pray, Love marketing “downplays the consumerist core at the heart of tourism by ignoring the impact the industry has on a country’s development” (Williams, 2011, p.617). Therefore, the female neoliberal spiritual subject who travels runs a risk of reducing foreign locations and native populations to nothing more than tools for her own advancement. In this way, the Eat, Pray, Love brand represents a “new colonialism” which is characterized through “white people discovering themselves in brown places” (Sandip, 2010). By situating health and wellness as the reason for travel, the neoliberal woman is encouraged to view their consumption as pure and purposeful. While this has aforementioned consequences of linking a woman’s self worth to capitalism, it further creates a divide between consumption and production. Rowley cites this separation as “integral to the pleasure of consumption is that we not see the laboring or ailing bodies that make consumption possible’’ (Rowley, 2011, p.88). On the subject of Eat, Pray, Love, the traveler is looking to consume culture and must ignore the oppressed bodies around them in order to acquire an authentic experience similar to Gilbert’s. While scenes in the novel demonstrate Gilbert’s reflection on the poverty she witnesses in India, they are all formatted as a way to inspire her to reconsider her own position instead of reflect on the native peoples. Gilbert wonders how a woman busting up rocks can “be so happy doing rough work under such terrible conditions” (Gilbert, 2006, p.160) instead of questioning the conditions of the societies that lead them to their respective positions.

Gilbert choosing consumption over potential religious experiences

One scene in the film seems to highlight Gilbert’s privilege above all else. While in Indonesia, Gilbert meets a medicine woman who fled an abusive relationship with her daughter. The interactions she shares with the woman offer a platform for Gilbert to engage in a critical analysis of the effects of the tourism industry in Bali, yet, Gilbert takes another route to feed her white guilt and instead buys the family a new home. While on the surface this may seem like a selfless gesture, in fact Gilbert simply consumes the  it reduces the family to a product for consumption by placing value solely on the material. Moreover, in order to afford this new home, Gilbert reaches out to friends for financial aid. It is in her email that Gilbert perpetuates “orientalism” by advancing the Eastern victim narrative. It is “the result of cultural hegemony at work, that gives Orientalism the durability and the strength” to overpower any advancements Eastern civilizations may make for themselves (Said, p.2). In this way, Gilbert is enforcing financial and cultural domination.

Film representation of the family Gilbert “helped”

This is not the first time consumerism has been used as a way to foster a sense of spirituality in popular culture. Meditation apps have taken on the same role as Gilbert’s memoir; the role of providing the individual with an authentic spiritual experience. Whereas the $6.99 for Buddhify and the $129.99 yearly subscription for Headspace are of significantly less cost than a year long international trip, they operate on the same premise. While seeking to feed the busy Westerner’s spiritual craving, Eat, Pray, Love and mindfulness apps alike “become a virtual orientalism” by “poaching from Asian sources” (Grieve, 2017, p.209).

However popular the Eat, Pray, Love works have become, it is impossible to separate them from the capitalistic and colonialistic histories that have made it’s creation possible. Although Gilbert’s memoir does not engage in a critical analysis, it offers a space for the analytical reader to reflect on the West’s appropriation and commodification of the East.

Bibliography:

Gilbert, E. (2006). Eat, Pray, Love. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Mahan, J. H., & Forbes, B. D. (2017). Religion and popular culture in america, third edition.University Of California Press

Rowley, Michelle. ‘‘Where the Streets Have No Name: Getting Development Out to the (RED)’’ Gender and Global Restructuring: Sightings, Sites and Resistances. 2nd ed.Eds. Marianne H. Marchand and Anne Sisson Runyan. London: Routledge, 2011. 76–96.

Roy, Sandip. ‘‘The new colonialism of ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’’’ Salon. Salon, 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.

Türken, S., Nafstad, H. E., Blakar, R. M., & Roen, K. (2015). Making Sense of Neoliberal Subjectivity: A Discourse Analysis of Media Language on Self-development.Globalizations, 13(1), 32-46. doi:10.1080/14747731.2015.1033247

Williams, R. (2011). Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject. The Journal of Popular Culture, 47(3), 613-633. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x

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Eat, Pray, Consume

Watch the Official EAT PRAY LOVE Trailer in HD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjay5vgIwt4

Originally published in 2006, the non fiction book, and later film adaptation, of Eat, Pray, Love share the story of Elizabeth Gilbert, a woman on a quest for self-realization in three remote locations: Italy, India, and Indonesia. While the book and movie alike have gathered a large following of women who cite Gilbert’s memoir as a source of empowerment, others critique the work for popularizing “orientalism”. By justifying spending as a means of achieving health and wellness Eat, Pray, Love  is able to promote an individual sense of false empowerment while instigating a form of new colonialism.

Original book cover

Gilbert’s journey begins from a sudden realization: her whole life has been centered around men. Therefore, in claiming her freedom through individual travel, Gilbert is able to directly oppose the patriarchy that has influenced the lives of countless women. This makes Eat, Pray, Love a relatable story for any woman. Although many people point to Eat, Pray, Love as a force of female empowerment, many critique the way in which this is presented, citing the book and film as a form of “spiritual materialism” (Williams, 2011, p.618). Problematically, the protagonist is a wealthy white women which promotes a sort of empowerment that can only be shared with women in of equal financial means. Williams argues this allows the book to “support an ideological system that makes it seem as if empowerment is only available to those with the power to buy” (Williams, 2011, p.619). Thus the working class black mother appears less likely to experience the the luxury of a spiritual awakening. Furthermore, by centering the journey as the site of enlightenment, Gilbert is only distancing the audience from agency by promoting materialism and dependency. The neoliberal subject is defined as “a concept of human subject as autonomous, individualized, self-directing decision-making agent who becomes an entrepreneur of one self; a human capital” (Turken, Nafstad, Blakar & Roen, 2015, p.1). In this way, the working class mother who is inspired must submit to capitalism in order to receive funds making them more reliant on the state. Moreover, if the woman is not able to achieve the success necessary for travel it is deemed her fault. This blame game only furthers women’s positions as subordinate by encouraging women to not only attach their happiness to a male dominated capitalist market, but, as Williams argues, “moves women further away from an awareness of the social factors that may contribute to their personal unhappiness” (Williams, 2011, 620). By discouraging women from asking questions regarding oppression, they are not able to improve their own situation. As for the few women who can afford the luxury of travel, they are discouraged from acknowledging their own privilege. Despite her apparent wealth, Gilbert presents herself as a victim which becomes increasingly problematic when situating herself within an Eastern context.  

Visual representation of the consequences of neoliberalism

With the immense popularity of Gilbert’s memoir and subsequent film it is of no surprise that the tourism industry has cultivated it as a marketing tool. The Eat, Pray, Love brand has been associated with a range of commodities such as “perfume, tea, yoga gear, prayer beads, and jewelry to EPL -themed travel tours that include spa treatments, visits to temples, and copious amounts of yoga and meditation” (Williams, 2011, 613). For those who cannot afford to travel, the associated products offer a “consumption-based shortcut” to the empowerment and enlightenment described by Gilbert. On the other hand, the Eat, Pray, Love marketing “downplays the consumerist core at the heart of tourism by ignoring the impact the industry has on a country's development” (Williams, 2011, p.617). Therefore, the female neoliberal spiritual subject who travels runs a risk of reducing foreign locations and native populations to nothing more than tools for her own advancement. In this way, the Eat, Pray, Love brand represents a “new colonialism” which is characterized through “white people discovering themselves in brown places” (Sandip, 2010). By situating health and wellness as the reason for travel, the neoliberal woman is encouraged to view their consumption as pure and purposeful. While this has aforementioned consequences of linking a woman’s self worth to capitalism, it further creates a divide between consumption and production. Rowley cites this separation as “integral to the pleasure of consumption is that we not see the laboring or ailing bodies that make consumption possible’’ (Rowley, 2011, p.88). On the subject of Eat, Pray, Love, the traveler is looking to consume culture and must ignore the oppressed bodies around them in order to acquire an authentic experience similar to Gilbert’s. While scenes in the novel demonstrate Gilbert’s reflection on the poverty she witnesses in India, they are all formatted as a way to inspire her to reconsider her own position instead of reflect on the native peoples. Gilbert wonders how a woman busting up rocks can “be so happy doing rough work under such terrible conditions” (Gilbert, 2006, p.160) instead of questioning the conditions of the societies that lead them to their respective positions.

Gilbert choosing consumption over potential religious experiences

One scene in the film seems to highlight Gilbert’s privilege above all else. While in Indonesia, Gilbert meets a medicine woman who fled an abusive relationship with her daughter. The interactions she shares with the woman offer a platform for Gilbert to engage in a critical analysis of the effects of the tourism industry in Bali, yet, Gilbert takes another route to feed her white guilt and instead buys the family a new home. While on the surface this may seem like a selfless gesture, in fact Gilbert simply consumes the  it reduces the family to a product for consumption by placing value solely on the material. Moreover, in order to afford this new home, Gilbert reaches out to friends for financial aid. It is in her email that Gilbert perpetuates “orientalism” by advancing the Eastern victim narrative. It is “the result of cultural hegemony at work, that gives Orientalism the durability and the strength” to overpower any advancements Eastern civilizations may make for themselves (Said, p.2). In this way, Gilbert is enforcing financial and cultural domination.

Film representation of the family Gilbert “helped”

This is not the first time consumerism has been used as a way to foster a sense of spirituality in popular culture. Meditation apps have taken on the same role as Gilbert’s memoir; the role of providing the individual with an authentic spiritual experience. Whereas the $6.99 for Buddhify and the $129.99 yearly subscription for Headspace are of significantly less cost than a year long international trip, they operate on the same premise. While seeking to feed the busy Westerner’s spiritual craving, Eat, Pray, Love and mindfulness apps alike “become a virtual orientalism” by “poaching from Asian sources” (Grieve, 2017, p.209).

However popular the Eat, Pray, Love works have become, it is impossible to separate them from the capitalistic and colonialistic histories that have made it’s creation possible. Although Gilbert’s memoir does not engage in a critical analysis, it offers a space for the analytical reader to reflect on the West’s appropriation and commodification of the East.

Bibliography:

Gilbert, E. (2006). Eat, Pray, Love. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Mahan, J. H., & Forbes, B. D. (2017). Religion and popular culture in america, third edition.University Of California Press

Rowley, Michelle. ‘‘Where the Streets Have No Name: Getting Development Out to the (RED)’’ Gender and Global Restructuring: Sightings, Sites and Resistances. 2nd ed.Eds. Marianne H. Marchand and Anne Sisson Runyan. London: Routledge, 2011. 76–96.

Roy, Sandip. ‘‘The new colonialism of ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’’’ Salon. Salon, 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.

Said, E. (1982). Orientalism. The Antioch Review, 40(1). doi:10.2307/4638536

Türken, S., Nafstad, H. E., Blakar, R. M., & Roen, K. (2015). Making Sense of Neoliberal Subjectivity: A Discourse Analysis of Media Language on Self-development.Globalizations, 13(1), 32-46. doi:10.1080/14747731.2015.1033247

Williams, R. (2011). Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject. The Journal of Popular Culture, 47(3), 613-633. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x

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Watch the Official EAT PRAY LOVE Trailer in HD

Eat, Pray, Consume

Originally published in 2006, the non fiction book, and later film adaptation, of Eat, Pray, Love share the story of Elizabeth Gilbert, a woman on a quest for self-realization in three remote locations: Italy, India, and Indonesia. While the book and movie alike have gathered a large following of women who cite Gilbert’s memoir as a source of empowerment, others critique the work for popularizing “orientalism”. By justifying spending as a means of achieving health and wellness Eat, Pray, Love  is able to promote an individual sense of false empowerment while instigating a form of new colonialism.

Original book cover

Gilbert’s journey begins from a sudden realization: her whole life has been centered around men. Therefore, in claiming her freedom through individual travel, Gilbert is able to directly oppose the patriarchy that has influenced the lives of countless women. This makes Eat, Pray, Love a relatable story for any woman. Although many people point to Eat, Pray, Love as a force of female empowerment, many critique the way in which this is presented, citing the book and film as a form of “spiritual materialism” (Williams, 2011, p.618). Problematically, the protagonist is a wealthy white women which promotes a sort of empowerment that can only be shared with women in of equal financial means. Williams argues this allows the book to “support an ideological system that makes it seem as if empowerment is only available to those with the power to buy” (Williams, 2011, p.619). Thus the working class black mother appears less likely to experience the the luxury of a spiritual awakening. Furthermore, by centering the journey as the site of enlightenment, Gilbert is only distancing the audience from agency by promoting materialism and dependency. The neoliberal subject is defined as “a concept of human subject as autonomous, individualized, self-directing decision-making agent who becomes an entrepreneur of one self; a human capital” (Turken, Nafstad, Blakar & Roen, 2015, p.1). In this way, the working class mother who is inspired must submit to capitalism in order to receive funds making them more reliant on the state. Moreover, if the woman is not able to achieve the success necessary for travel it is deemed her fault. This blame game only furthers women’s positions as subordinate by encouraging women to not only attach their happiness to a male dominated capitalist market, but, as Williams argues, “moves women further away from an awareness of the social factors that may contribute to their personal unhappiness” (Williams, 2011, 620). By discouraging women from asking questions regarding oppression, they are not able to improve their own situation. As for the few women who can afford the luxury of travel, they are discouraged from acknowledging their own privilege. Despite her apparent wealth, Gilbert presents herself as a victim which becomes increasingly problematic when situating herself within an Eastern context.   

Visual representation of the consequences of neoliberalism

With the immense popularity of Gilbert’s memoir and subsequent film it is of no surprise that the tourism industry has cultivated it as a marketing tool. The Eat, Pray, Love brand has been associated with a range of commodities such as “perfume, tea, yoga gear, prayer beads, and jewelry to EPL -themed travel tours that include spa treatments, visits to temples, and copious amounts of yoga and meditation” (Williams, 2011, 613). For those who cannot afford to travel, the associated products offer a “consumption-based shortcut” to the empowerment and enlightenment described by Gilbert. On the other hand, the Eat, Pray, Love marketing “downplays the consumerist core at the heart of tourism by ignoring the impact the industry has on a country's development” (Williams, 2011, p.617). Therefore, the female neoliberal spiritual subject who travels runs a risk of reducing foreign locations and native populations to nothing more than tools for her own advancement. In this way, the Eat, Pray, Love brand represents a “new colonialism” which is characterized through “white people discovering themselves in brown places” (Sandip, 2010). By situating health and wellness as the reason for travel, the neoliberal woman is encouraged to view their consumption as pure and purposeful. While this has aforementioned consequences of linking a woman’s self worth to capitalism, it further creates a divide between consumption and production. Rowley cites this separation as “integral to the pleasure of consumption is that we not see the laboring or ailing bodies that make consumption possible’’ (Rowley, 2011, p.88). On the subject of Eat, Pray, Love, the traveler is looking to consume culture and must ignore the oppressed bodies around them in order to acquire an authentic experience similar to Gilbert’s. While scenes in the novel demonstrate Gilbert’s reflection on the poverty she witnesses in India, they are all formatted as a way to inspire her to reconsider her own position instead of reflect on the native peoples. Gilbert wonders how a woman busting up rocks can “be so happy doing rough work under such terrible conditions” (Gilbert, 2006, p.160) instead of questioning the conditions of the societies that lead them to their respective positions.

Gilbert choosing consumption over potential religious experiences

One scene in the film seems to highlight Gilbert’s privilege above all else. While in Indonesia, Gilbert meets a medicine woman who fled an abusive relationship with her daughter. The interactions she shares with the woman offer a platform for Gilbert to engage in a critical analysis of the effects of the tourism industry in Bali, yet, Gilbert takes another route to feed her white guilt and instead buys the family a new home. While on the surface this may seem like a selfless gesture, in fact Gilbert simply consumes the  it reduces the family to a product for consumption by placing value solely on the material. Moreover, in order to afford this new home, Gilbert reaches out to friends for financial aid. It is in her email that Gilbert perpetuates “orientalism” by advancing the Eastern victim narrative. It is “the result of cultural hegemony at work, that gives Orientalism the durability and the strength” to overpower any advancements Eastern civilizations may make for themselves (Said, p.2). In this way, Gilbert is enforcing financial and cultural domination.

Film representation of the family Gilbert “helped”

This is not the first time consumerism has been used as a way to foster a sense of spirituality in popular culture. Meditation apps have taken on the same role as Gilbert’s memoir; the role of providing the individual with an authentic spiritual experience. Whereas the $6.99 for Buddhify and the $129.99 yearly subscription for Headspace are of significantly less cost than a year long international trip, they operate on the same premise. While seeking to feed the busy Westerner’s spiritual craving, Eat, Pray, Love and mindfulness apps alike “become a virtual orientalism” by “poaching from Asian sources” (Grieve, 2017, p.209).

However popular the Eat, Pray, Love works have become, it is impossible to separate them from the capitalistic and colonialistic histories that have made it’s creation possible. Although Gilbert’s memoir does not engage in a critical analysis, it offers a space for the analytical reader to reflect on the West’s appropriation and commodification of the East.

Bibliography:

Gilbert, E. (2006). Eat, Pray, Love. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Mahan, J. H., & Forbes, B. D. (2017). Religion and popular culture in america, third edition.University Of California Press

Rowley, Michelle. ‘‘Where the Streets Have No Name: Getting Development Out to the (RED)’’ Gender and Global Restructuring: Sightings, Sites and Resistances. 2nd ed.Eds. Marianne H. Marchand and Anne Sisson Runyan. London: Routledge, 2011. 76–96.

Roy, Sandip. ‘‘The new colonialism of ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’’’ Salon. Salon, 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.

Türken, S., Nafstad, H. E., Blakar, R. M., & Roen, K. (2015). Making Sense of Neoliberal Subjectivity: A Discourse Analysis of Media Language on Self-development.Globalizations, 13(1), 32-46. doi:10.1080/14747731.2015.1033247

Williams, R. (2011). Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject. The Journal of Popular Culture, 47(3), 613-633. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x

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The Three Layers of Astrology

Astrology is commonly described as the “the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world” (OED). Since its emergence as early as 25 000 years ago, astrology has gone through periods of immense popularity and transformation in various locations around the world, making it an ideal subject for studying the relationship between religion and culture. Working in direct relation to Bruce Forbes’s analysis “Christmas Is Like a Snowball,” I theorize that astrology has developed in keeping with the same analogy of Christmas (a three-layer cake), thereby allowing the discipline to predict seasonal changes, adopt countless religious themes, and adapt to modern practice.

The first analogy Forbes presents is the three-layer cake. The three layers can be described as the seasonal roots, religious or national overlay, and modern popular culture. When applying this model to astrology, the first layer focuses on the changing of seasons. Early civilizations noted the changing of constellations and by the third millennium BC, they had developed a complex awareness of celestial cycles (Maxwell-Stuart, 2010). It was the coinciding of these cycles with seasonal patterns that led to the use of astrological symbols to represent seasonal tasks (Maxwell-Stuart, 2010). These symbols reminded a community to do season appropriate tasks, such as sowing and harvesting crops, fishing, and hunting. Furthermore, the changing of constellations allowed for the prediction of weather patterns (Maxwell-Stuart, 2010). This branch of astrology is referred to as mundane astrology, and is used to investigate patterns in history as well as to predict future events and consequences (Maxwell-Stuart, 2010). Early astrology offered civilizations a way to make sense of the world around them whereas mundane astrology provided them a sense of control over the grand forces of nature. It is not until astrology reaches Greece and Rome that religion and astrology combine to form the religious zodiac.

The second layer of the three-layer cake links astrology to religion. In ancient Greek tradition, gods were believed to present themselves through the stars or planets with which they were associated. With that Babylonian knowledge of celestial cycles, the Greeks were able to interpret messages of what is to come from these gods. Positive readings from the gods were a call for celebration, while negative readings were interpreted as indications of the gods’ dissatisfaction (Maxwell-Stuart, 2010). Divination is one way in which the Greeks attempted to reconcile with the gods through practices such as animal sacrifice. Religion and astrology further overlap when analyzing the history of Christmas. It was the Christian tradition that borrowed December 25th from the astrologically influenced celebration of the Unconquered Sun god as a way to incorporate their tradition into the already established Roman culture (Forbes, 2017).

The third layer reveals intersections between astrology and modern pop culture. Although there is no scientific proof that supports the existence of astrology it has made a major resurgence in mainstream culture. Banu Guler, co-founder of astrology app Co—Star describes how we often go about life with “no semblance of meaning,” citing astrology as an escape from this lack by providing “a way of putting yourself in the context of thousands of years of history and the universe” (2017). The Co—Star app provides an individual with daily personalized horoscopes based on their full natal chart. These horoscopes warn of luck and tensions in certain aspects of one’s life and offer advice on how to handle matters. Like retributive theology, where meaning is a conversation (Harris, 2019), the interpretation of horoscopes is an interactive exchange where readers are able to interpret the advice and apply it to their own life. This prominence of astrology in popular culture turns checking your phone in the line for coffee into a “temporary spiritualized micro-place [...] in the midst of urban professionals’ busy, stressed-out lives” (Grieve, 2017). Furthermore, when considering the religious implications of astrology, it is important to note its Eastern religious origins. There is a whole history of examples depicting the Western worlds’ appropriation and commodification of Eastern cultures and practices. This is precisely why filtering such a richly historic practice through the Western medium of the Smartphone can obscure the original meaning. After all, “the medium is the message” (McLuhan, 1967). Nevertheless, contemporary astrologers have tapped into a rich market by providing religious and non religious individuals a common ground to fill their spiritual cravings.

In conclusion, although not technically considered a religion, astrology stems from similar locations of fear, a lack of understanding, and a search for meaning. As the practice developed across the globe, countless religious meanings were then mapped on, thereby explaining the diversity in branches and practices. In the modern age, astrology now finds home across countless media platforms from print to Smartphone, conveniently providing the busy Western citizen with a satisfying spiritual experience.

Bibliography

Astrology | Definition of astrology in English by Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/astrology

Harris (2019, January 24) Lecture 3.

Mahan, J. H., & Forbes, B. D. (2017). Religion and popular culture in america, third edition. University Of California Press

Marketwatch, K. P. (2017, October 23). Millennials are ditching religion for astrology. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2017/10/23/millennials-are-ditching-religion-for-astrology/

Maxwell-Stuart, P. G. (2010). From ancient Babylon to the present. Chalford: Amberley Publishing.

McLuhan, M. (1967). The Medium is the Message: An Inventory of Effects. Corte Madera: Gingko Press.