Theosophy is a modern spiritual movement with its roots in Spiritualism and Hindu philosophy.

     Many feel that the eccentric Russian mystic—Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-91) was the ultimate “godmother” of the New Age movement. This is because, in Theosophy, she brought together elements that may be found in contemporary Transcendental meditation, Zen, yoga and vegetarianism.andBrahmanic notions such as reincarnation) should assist the evolution of the human race and prepare to cooperate with one of the Ascended Masters of the Great White Brotherhood whose arrival was imminent. Blavatsky believed that, as the world’s hidden leaders, members of this mystical brotherhood guided the destiny of the planet. Her ideas contributed to expectation of a New Age among practitioners of Spiritualism and believers in astrology for whom the coming of the new Aquarian Age promised a period of brotherhood and enlightenment

     Blavatsky’s successor, Annie Besant, predicted the coming of a messiah, or world saviour, who she believed was the Indian teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti.  Alice Bailey (1880-1949) brought forth her own version of Theosophy's messianic vision of a coming new world religious teacher, inspired by channeled prophecies from a hierarchy of 'ascended masters’.      

     Ms. Bailey coined the term “New Age” in 1948, the expression did not become popular until it became associated with the 'Age of Aquarius,' the title song in the 1960s hit musical, Hair.

     After Ms. Bailey’s death, former members of the Arcane School created a host of new independent theosophical groups teaching the idea of acoming New Age. These groups claimed the ability to transmit spiritual energy to the world and allegedly received channeled messages from various preternatural beings, especially the Ascended Masters of the Great White Brotherhood. For example, Scotland’s Findhorn Foundation believed that its purported contact with a variety of nature spirits produced spectacular agricultural feats, despite the poor soil and climate of the group’s settlement.