The phrase "Earth Changes" was coined by the American psychic

Edgar Cayce Edgar Cayce (; March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) was an American clairvoyant who claimed to diagnose diseases and recommend treatments for ailments while asleep. During thousands of transcribed sessions, Cayce would answer questions on ...

in the 1930s in reference to his belief that the world would soon enter a series of cataclysmic events causing major alterations in human life on the planet. This includes "natural events" (such as major

earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...

, the melting of the polar ice caps, a pole shift of the planetary axis, major weather events,

solar flares A solar flare is a relatively intense, localized emission of electromagnetic radiation in the Stellar atmosphere, Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar partic ...

and so on) as well as huge changes of the local and global social, economical and political systems. Cayce's term was taken up in certain segments of the

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

movement, often associated with other predictions by people claiming to have psychic abilities. These beliefs have occasionally been associated with Christian millennialism and beliefs about UFOs. Some New Age adherents believe that Earth changes will preface a "Golden Age" of

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

and

world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...

Prophecies of Edgar Cayce

In the 1930s and 1940s, Cayce made many prophecies of cataclysmic events involving the whole planet, with a series of "earth changes" occurring between 1958 and 1998. He predicted that the polar axis would shift and that many areas that are now land would again become ocean floor, and that

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

would rise from the sea.

Prophecies of others

In the late 1980s, Lori Toye published the ''I Am America Map'', based on several visions that she claimed to have beginning in 1983. The ''I Am America Map'' sold over 40,000 copies, and was followed by subsequent maps: Freedom Star World map, Golden Cities map, and an Earth Changes Progression series of maps. These maps represented the earth's future geography after climatic earth changes.Larson, Bo
''Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality.''
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2004. pg. 161 In 2004, self-proclaimed psychic Gordon-Michael Scallion issued a variety of prophecies centering on the concept of "Earth Changes". He publishes a monthly newsletter, ''The Earth Changes Report''.

Reception and interpretation

Prophecies of Earth changes have been described as a form of pseudoscience, in which terminology and ideas borrowed from science are used to rationalize non-scriptural apocalyptical thought based on visionary experiences. David Spangler, a leader of the

Findhorn Foundation The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain.''The Dictionary of Alternatives: Utopianism and O ...

spiritual community, described prophecies of Earth changes as an expression of collective fear and anger, rather than as foretelling of actual future events.

References

{{Doomsday Prophecy Environmental sayings Apocalypticism

Prophecies of Edgar Cayce

Prophecies of others

Reception and interpretation

See also

References