The children of Aquarius in the country of the terreiros: new spiritual experiences in southern Brazil

Abstract

This is a study about a camp of intersection between different formsof spirituality, alternatives therapeutic practices and eclectic experiences lived byurban middle classes in the South of Brazil. Several authors call thisphenomenon New Age cultures, among other designations. In spite of beeing acontemporary world phenomenon, we can see some particular charateristics inBrazil: a confluence between the therapeutic and the religious; a tradition ofreligious circularity and informal therapeutic practices. In this study we try tounderstand this new configurations of spiritual experience approaching personalitineraries and personal experiences rather than an approach of a “religious camp”or religious rituals or doctrines. In these personal itineraries we can find somemeanings of the crossing of different religious and spiritual traditions andcosmologies, which I call a spirituality beyond the text and the temple.