Get in, Loser, We’re Getting Spiritual

Welcome to our ‘Spirituality’ issue, another new one (although we did find one from 2012, and maybe 2020’s Alient counts) from your favourite editor duo—but, like, is it though? 

Regardless of whether you’re deeply devoted to a deity or god/s, an atheist who ‘hates that astrology bullshit’, an enlightened, wellness, green-juice girlie, the witchy tarot friend with the clunky crystal rings, that bro hoping to be abducted by aliens, or that guy who doesn’t believe in God (but, like, this one time he got too high, man, and saw Jesus in the club)— everyone has their own form of spirituality.

Spirituality, moving away from its religious or ‘woo woo’ associations, is the essence of being connected to something bigger than yourself—whether that be gods, each and every human soul, aliens, ghosts and spirits, or just that voice in your head that tells you to get out of bed for your 9 a.m. lecture. It’s about where your faith lies. You know, that thing that lets you know everything's gonna be okay, and no one actually hates you.

University is a splendid time for connecting or reconnecting to spirituality. Think about it: you’re in your late teens and early twenties, alone for the first time, left to explore a world full of collected knowledge and inspiration. You’re bound to discover some sense of purpose or drive. You might see it in your new favourite band, hear it in a D&B hit at 121 Festival, taste in your campus subway sandwich. You might even see symbols in the shoes that skate past you on the street. Now you’re thinking big. You’re inspired to make something, experiment with your day-to-day routine, share interests in a conversation, or just keep going with your life toward the next best dopamine spark. 

It’s as simple as that. Spirituality is your sense of spirit. It’s what makes you more than just a body. It’s your mind and how that mind fits into and adds to this universe full of conscious minds ever evolving and reincarnating. 

I challenge you to take a deep breath, and look around you at what it is that makes you unique? Who are you? What kind of friend, student, partner, co-worker are you? What are your interests and values? Who are the people and what are the things you associate and dress yourself in?

We love to romanticise things like knowing yourself, and there’s value in it too. But unless you’ve been living under a rock, the word ‘spirituality’ probably makes a few things come to mind: crystal girls and astrology, witchcraft and manifestation, all the way through to incense and yoga. There’s no denying these things have a chokehold on the TikTok algorithm. While we’re open to learning more (and we know you’re dying to know about real-world religious cults), this issue is also here to be critical. What are the roots of these practices, and can I ^really trust the tarot readings on my FYP? 

For the ‘Spirituality’ issue, Niamh explores how consumerism has changed the ethics and authenticity of using crystals for spiritual practice. Jia follows this up by exploring how some ‘spirituality’ has been exploited from its Eastern roots and twisted into an accessory. Willem explores Catholicism through the lens of transness. Kiran almost joins a cult in the interest of ✨journalism✨ and has some lessons to share. Phoebe asks what witchcraft means to those who identify with the practice in Wellington today. 

In our news section, we have not one, but two Wellington Central Candidate Kōrero profiles for you! Ethan has been chatting up National candidate Scott Sheeran to bring you his reckons on greenfields housing development, the bus schmozzle, investment, and his old-school band days. Meanwhile, Zoë has been wrangling Labour candidate Ibrahim Omer to tell Salient about his priorities in transport, the cozzy livs crisis, advocating for workers, and his connections to VUW. We’ve also got news of voluntary redundancy at VUW from Niamh (kia kaha to our academic community). 

Arohanui,

Fran and Maia xx