ABSTRACT
Amerindian immersion in nature lives on in a traditionalist version as well as in a New Age incarnation that is decidedly eclectic. Puritan/Calvinist awe at the violent wilderness and respect for its negative forces thrives in the work of some contemporary nature writers. Republican apotheosis of nature in a politicized ideology ranges through the present-day environmental movement, for example, as it manifests itself in the "Greens" and in ecofeminism. Transcendentalists prosper in the general harmonial-metaphysical dialectic of New Age religion and in the special case of Goddess religion. Traditionalists and New Age Indians, whether native or adoptive, place nature at the center of religion and life. Balancing ritual with teaching, the gatherings open with the construction of a huge circle of stones to mark a sacred space. A crystal healing ceremony provides the focus for group meditation for healing, and a children's blessing honors the contribution of the youngest members of the community.
