18 ICSA TODAY
New Age
New Age elements entered Romania during the communist
regime and became visible immediately after the 1989
events.3 However, the actual New Age boom occurred after
the year 2000, typically through Occidental trends or
movements, such as Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment
(RSE) or Humanity’s Team, and the creation of an
autochthonous New Age, which stresses the notion
of Romania’s esoteric mission.
The first missionaries of the RSE, a New Age movement
established by the American JZ Knight, arrived in Bucharest
in early 2009. The introductory meeting with interested
persons passed almost unnoticed by the mass media, but it
was mentioned by Web sites that specialize in esotericism.
Similar meetings were concomitantly organized in Iaşi
and Timişoara. These free-of-cost events offered by Greg
Simmons, one of the school’s trainers, were intended to
prepare the ground for the first RSE seminars in Romania,
which were held in Brebu Nou (Caraș Severin County) from
October 10 through October 18, 2009. I was surprised by
the prohibitive cost of participation in the event, which
amounted to $1000, plus the $500 cost of the follow-up
activities. It is worth mentioning that this sum did not
include accommodation, meal, and translation costs. We
do not know whether a great number of participants
attended the course. The official RSE Web site states that
81 persons attended, with 20 of them having come from
Austria and Switzerland.
This year, the course was held in the Sovata resort in
Transylvania (May 7–11, 2011). The event addressed “all
those interested in finding and experiencing the truth of
who they are, where they come from, what their destiny is,
and, more importantly ...how they can fulfill this destiny.”4
In 2011, RSE launched the Ramtha Video program, which
provides video-taught Ramtha doctrine, obviously
translated into Romanian. In recent years, the bookshops
that specialize in esotericism have published several RSE
books authored by JZ Knight.5 RSE also has a Romanian-
language official Web site (www.ram-romania.ro), which
is a rather awkward translation of the English version.
In other developments of imported alternative spirituality,
Humanity’s Team, another New Age movement present in
Romania, was established by the American Neale Donald
Walsch, the author of the Conversations with God books.
Humanity’s Team aims to promote Walsh’s ideas throughout
the world, especially his pantheist notion that “we are all
one.” The Romanian branch, established in the year 2007,
organizes events (conferences, workshops, participation
in spirituality fairs, etc.), courses, lectures, periodical
meditation meetings, participation in international events
(peace marches, etc.), activities that promote the protection
of the environment and our planet, petitioning for unity,
and so on. The movement also has a Romanian-language
Web site (http://www.humanitysteam.ro/) and supports
the Romanian translation of Walsch’s books.6
A number of lectures, courses, and seminars on New Age
topics are organized daily in Bucharest and other cities.
There are also esoteric clubs, such as the Mandala Club in
Bucharest (http://www.mandalaclub.ro/). Interested
persons can find here a vegetarian restaurant, a tearoom
with ecological teas, a bookshop centered on spirituality,
esotericism and personal development, and a silver and
semiprecious-stones jewelry store they can attend music
soirees, go on trips and to thematic camps, visit exhibitions,
and watch films they also can receive counseling on
astrology and personal development, and coaching on
professional and personal life and couples life issues.
Autochthonous forms of promoting the “new age” in
Romania have developed alongside the imported options.
An example is the Cosmos review, which first appeared in
July 2007 and provides a mix of articles on reincarnation,
healing techniques, chakras, tarot, esotericism, paranormal
and UFO phenomena (even abductions), star signs and
astrology, phytotherapy, extinct civilizations, the Galactic
Confederation with its light entities, the Illuminati group and
other secret societies, Romania’s esoteric mission, the year
2012, revelation of the new world order, the reptilian race,
Gaia, and more. The authors of these articles, most of them
dissimulated behind pseudonyms (e.g., Count Incappucciato,
Asterion, Mahatma), claim to be mediums for various entities
(aliens, members of extinct civilizations, angels, etc.) who
address various messages to contemporary people.
The Proliferation of Neopaganism in Romania
Neopaganism has found fertile ground in the former
communist countries, as well as in Greece. In Central and
Eastern Europe, the best organized of such groups are
those in the Baltic states, probably because of the late
Christianization of these territories, which occurred in the
13th and 14th centuries through the missions and crusades
carried out by the Papacy.
Neopaganism organized at the world level attempts to
“conquer” Romania by various means, such as holding
workshops or endeavoring to gain visibility on the Internet.7
Currently, two Web sites promote paganism in the
Romanian language respectively, http://www.paganism.ro/
and http://www.ro.paganfederation.org/, which is the
Romanian-language Web site of the Pagan Federation
International (PFI). Supporters of neopagan ideas are
explicitly urged to become members through this site, and
the steps to follow for membership are clearly explained.
In 2008, the Romanian branch of the Pagan Federation
organized the first course in Romania on Wicca witchcraft
the course was entitled “The First Steps Onto the Path”
(August 23–24, 2008). The course was organized by
Morgana, the world coordinator of the Pagan Federation,
and by Saddie, engaged in organizing the PFI in Hungary.
Both these names are, of course, pseudonyms. Workshop
attendees received a full initiation package for long-term
guidance that contained materials (including questions
and answers) about the Wiccan Wheel of the Year and
various neopagan books. Trainees also received personal
mentors with whom they could communicate by email.
Another course, “Elements of Wicca Magic and World,” was
held in Cluj-Napoca (April 15–17, 2011) with the declared
purpose of “understanding Wicca in the 21st century.”8
New Age
New Age elements entered Romania during the communist
regime and became visible immediately after the 1989
events.3 However, the actual New Age boom occurred after
the year 2000, typically through Occidental trends or
movements, such as Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment
(RSE) or Humanity’s Team, and the creation of an
autochthonous New Age, which stresses the notion
of Romania’s esoteric mission.
The first missionaries of the RSE, a New Age movement
established by the American JZ Knight, arrived in Bucharest
in early 2009. The introductory meeting with interested
persons passed almost unnoticed by the mass media, but it
was mentioned by Web sites that specialize in esotericism.
Similar meetings were concomitantly organized in Iaşi
and Timişoara. These free-of-cost events offered by Greg
Simmons, one of the school’s trainers, were intended to
prepare the ground for the first RSE seminars in Romania,
which were held in Brebu Nou (Caraș Severin County) from
October 10 through October 18, 2009. I was surprised by
the prohibitive cost of participation in the event, which
amounted to $1000, plus the $500 cost of the follow-up
activities. It is worth mentioning that this sum did not
include accommodation, meal, and translation costs. We
do not know whether a great number of participants
attended the course. The official RSE Web site states that
81 persons attended, with 20 of them having come from
Austria and Switzerland.
This year, the course was held in the Sovata resort in
Transylvania (May 7–11, 2011). The event addressed “all
those interested in finding and experiencing the truth of
who they are, where they come from, what their destiny is,
and, more importantly ...how they can fulfill this destiny.”4
In 2011, RSE launched the Ramtha Video program, which
provides video-taught Ramtha doctrine, obviously
translated into Romanian. In recent years, the bookshops
that specialize in esotericism have published several RSE
books authored by JZ Knight.5 RSE also has a Romanian-
language official Web site (www.ram-romania.ro), which
is a rather awkward translation of the English version.
In other developments of imported alternative spirituality,
Humanity’s Team, another New Age movement present in
Romania, was established by the American Neale Donald
Walsch, the author of the Conversations with God books.
Humanity’s Team aims to promote Walsh’s ideas throughout
the world, especially his pantheist notion that “we are all
one.” The Romanian branch, established in the year 2007,
organizes events (conferences, workshops, participation
in spirituality fairs, etc.), courses, lectures, periodical
meditation meetings, participation in international events
(peace marches, etc.), activities that promote the protection
of the environment and our planet, petitioning for unity,
and so on. The movement also has a Romanian-language
Web site (http://www.humanitysteam.ro/) and supports
the Romanian translation of Walsch’s books.6
A number of lectures, courses, and seminars on New Age
topics are organized daily in Bucharest and other cities.
There are also esoteric clubs, such as the Mandala Club in
Bucharest (http://www.mandalaclub.ro/). Interested
persons can find here a vegetarian restaurant, a tearoom
with ecological teas, a bookshop centered on spirituality,
esotericism and personal development, and a silver and
semiprecious-stones jewelry store they can attend music
soirees, go on trips and to thematic camps, visit exhibitions,
and watch films they also can receive counseling on
astrology and personal development, and coaching on
professional and personal life and couples life issues.
Autochthonous forms of promoting the “new age” in
Romania have developed alongside the imported options.
An example is the Cosmos review, which first appeared in
July 2007 and provides a mix of articles on reincarnation,
healing techniques, chakras, tarot, esotericism, paranormal
and UFO phenomena (even abductions), star signs and
astrology, phytotherapy, extinct civilizations, the Galactic
Confederation with its light entities, the Illuminati group and
other secret societies, Romania’s esoteric mission, the year
2012, revelation of the new world order, the reptilian race,
Gaia, and more. The authors of these articles, most of them
dissimulated behind pseudonyms (e.g., Count Incappucciato,
Asterion, Mahatma), claim to be mediums for various entities
(aliens, members of extinct civilizations, angels, etc.) who
address various messages to contemporary people.
The Proliferation of Neopaganism in Romania
Neopaganism has found fertile ground in the former
communist countries, as well as in Greece. In Central and
Eastern Europe, the best organized of such groups are
those in the Baltic states, probably because of the late
Christianization of these territories, which occurred in the
13th and 14th centuries through the missions and crusades
carried out by the Papacy.
Neopaganism organized at the world level attempts to
“conquer” Romania by various means, such as holding
workshops or endeavoring to gain visibility on the Internet.7
Currently, two Web sites promote paganism in the
Romanian language respectively, http://www.paganism.ro/
and http://www.ro.paganfederation.org/, which is the
Romanian-language Web site of the Pagan Federation
International (PFI). Supporters of neopagan ideas are
explicitly urged to become members through this site, and
the steps to follow for membership are clearly explained.
In 2008, the Romanian branch of the Pagan Federation
organized the first course in Romania on Wicca witchcraft
the course was entitled “The First Steps Onto the Path”
(August 23–24, 2008). The course was organized by
Morgana, the world coordinator of the Pagan Federation,
and by Saddie, engaged in organizing the PFI in Hungary.
Both these names are, of course, pseudonyms. Workshop
attendees received a full initiation package for long-term
guidance that contained materials (including questions
and answers) about the Wiccan Wheel of the Year and
various neopagan books. Trainees also received personal
mentors with whom they could communicate by email.
Another course, “Elements of Wicca Magic and World,” was
held in Cluj-Napoca (April 15–17, 2011) with the declared
purpose of “understanding Wicca in the 21st century.”8
