manifesting at the collapse of the american empire
roe vs. wade has been overturned, and the tiktok astrologers are telling me that today is an auspicious day to manifest abundance.
as organized religion loses its foothold in the american cultural zeitgeist and adherence to christianity falls to record lows among gen Z and millennials, the void left in its wake must be filled. during the pandemic, 28% of americans polled reported an increase in religious activity, and searches for terms such as “prayer” rose to their highest recorded levels across 95 countries. in times of hardship, people become desperate for salvation. but with a waning population of people participating in christianity in particular, many have turned religious focus elsewhere.
for many, the void has been filled by blind worship of celebrities, resulting in overzealous, fanatic “stan” culture in which celebrities are treated as deitites or faith leaders. celebrities and influencers are given a parasocial deity status, viewed as inherently righteous and incorruptible. studies have shown that cognitive biases dependent on several intersections of cultural norms and privilege have led people to assume that attractive and famous people are more trustworthy. messaging from celebrities has a profound effect on consumers, driving fans’ behavior and influencing social factors ranging from market trends to public health campaigns.
with the push toward accessibility and relatability of celebrities and influencers through the proliferation of social media, people feel parasocially closer to celebrities than ever before. celebrities who were already considered to be not only trustworthy but authoritative on any subject that they choose to speak on are now doing so with the support of parasocial friendship. that celebrity is not as removed from you as you may think- tomorrow you may go viral on tiktok, and then you’ll be sitting next to them at a brand dinner, you’ll hit it off, and you’ll become best friends.
it’s been written extensively that americans, particularly republicans and conservatives, view themselves as “temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” the promise of the american dream has led generations of people, american and foreign, to believe that all one has to do to achieve millionaire or billionaire status is to simply wait for their big break. this concept is not limited solely to monetary gain. many americans operate under the idea that one day they’ll finally be discovered or their talent will be recognized, and they’ll be catapulted to fame and glamor. in the age of the internet, the line between civilian and celebrity becomes increasingly blurred with the possibility of going viral, particularly on platforms like tiktok. more than ever before, people believe that their current predicaments or struggles are only temporary, as they’ll one day be rich and famous. because these struggles are viewed as a temporary setback rather than an intentional subjugation under capitalism, they do not feel compelled to try and change the system. after all, one day they’ll never have to worry about student loans or car payments or overdue utilities ever again. as soon as their content goes viral, they’ll soon be making millions.
one of the ways that many believe this supposed class transcendence will transpire is through “manifestation.” manifestation, formerly known as the law of attraction, promises that anything you want, anything you desire, will simply be made available to you through little to no action of your own. in 2021 alone, there was a 15,492% increase in google searches for “manifestation.” a quick youtube search offers thousands of results on manifestation- “manifest in your sleep” “sound frequency to manifest your dreams” “easy 10 minute manifestation meditation.” on tiktok, the hashtag “manifestation” has received 17.8 billion views. many popular creators have accumulated follower bases of over a million. creators whose content centers around manifestation often brag that through simply manifesting, they were able to grow their wealth, receive new homes or cars, find true love, and achieve “abundance” or the state of financial reward that exceeds their wildest dreams. one creator claims that she was previously living in poverty, choosing between buying groceries and paying her utilities, and that through nothing other than the law of attraction she was able to manifest a 5-figure monthly income and a luxury condo in new york city.
the reality is that the majority of people who have grown large social media audiences have made their income from that audience, often through advertisements, sponsored posts, and brand deals. many more sell courses, classes, workshops, and merchandise all related to manifestation, with some courses costing over $1,000 per person. abraham hicks, one of the most famous proponents of the law of attraction, has amassed a net worth of over 10 million dollars. the cost of attending one of her workshops is around $250 per ticket. what these creators have peddled to their audience as being the result of manifesting is really the result of successful marketing, and playing to their audience’s fears and anxieties relating to financial insecurity, rising rent costs, exponentially climbing inflation, and increased social isolation and loneliness.
when westerners become disillusioned with christian ideological centricism in their societies, they often turn toward the metaphysical and watered down interpretations of eastern religions. manifestation, itself, is thought to be a bastardized interpretation of certain vedic hindu beliefs dating back thousands of years. in many of these practices, they are centered around a western, often capitalist and individualist mindset of “self improvement.” this self improvement often aims to better one’s material circumstances, to help them find a relationship, or to reflect themselves back to them, and it’s only been exacerbated by the internet. yoga is now only an exercise, with many yoga videos promising waist slimming, fat loss, and general reshaping to whatever the dominant bodily trend is at the time. reiki is now for the purpose of helping you attract money and love. unblocking your sacral chakra is essential to having a more fulfilling sex life. tarot and other divination methods promise outcomes of love, money, career advancement, and cutting off toxic friends.
on tiktok, manifestation, astrology, and tarot have combined and taken shape as the holy trinity of compensatory spirituality. the hashtag “astrology” has amassed 38.5 billion views, and “tarot” has amassed 26.5 billion views. the most popular astrology creators have begun focusing their content around the most auspicious dates for manifestation, and the days on which manifestation should be avoided at all costs. tarot readers have allegedly manifested for their videos to reach only those members of the audience for whom the message will truly resonate- and in many cases, that results in view counts well into the millions and hundreds of thousands of likes. the advice they offer or the results they promise all revolve around the same central themes promised by the law of attraction- money, love, material gain, and fame or achievement. playing to the same insecurities as creators who solely make content about manifestation, people who are feeling unstable in their lives may feel comforted and assuaged by what is advertised as a promise of capitalist success to come. if you were unable to make rent on time, don’t worry. the tiktok tarot reader has manifested for you to see their video in which they promise you that financial abundance is just around the corner.
many people have assigned a kind of omniscient knowledge to the social media algorithms that push content onto their feed. surely, it’s not a result of AI scanning a video and categorizing it by content, then suggesting it to users whose viewing, liking, and saving history signals that they may view, like, and save videos that are similar in theme. rather, it’s a sign from “spirit” that the creator, who is uniquely entrusted with the privilege to channel them and be a conduit for their messaging regarding the material conditions of millions of tiktok users, has chosen for you to see this video at this time as it is crucial to your situation that you view it. many creators insist that in order to receive the full benefit of the reading, you must like, comment, and share as a form of “consent” to receiving the blessings promised, rather than as a way for that creator to ensure that their analytics remain profitable.
with the chaos ensuing in america, people are feeling increasingly hopelessness, angry, desperate, and anxious about threats to their lifestyles. with each devastating political development, these feelings only increase. the learned helplessness and rugged individualism that controls the american people supports a focus on personal improvement rather than unification and the fight to change the circumstances of every american. rather than demanding better rights for ourselves, rather than demanding human dignity and livable wages, affordable rent, affordable food, healthcare, and childcare, we must simply improve our own material conditions in order to keep up with the staggering cost of living in america. rather than combating the individualist shift toward cultural loneliness and isolation and the degradation of empathy for each other, we must simply find romantic love. rather than fighting the rigged capitalist system that traps a class of people in abject poverty with no hope of breaking out of the cycle, we must strive for achievements in our own careers.
manifestation promises a hyper-individualist solution to the problems caused by late stage capitalism, with the uniquely american entitlement of not having to do very much to achieve these rewards. it also relies on a type of victim blaming that damns those who are struggling to survive under capitalism. surely, poor people are only poor because they haven’t learned how to effectively utilize the law of attraction to make six-figure incomes fall into their laps through no effort of their own besides thinking about it constantly or writing it down 111 times on a piece of paper. in many ways it offers a surprisingly (yet unintentionally) apt example of what it takes to achieve capitalist success in america, which is to say, a marketable idea that exploits the insecurity of those who are impoverished and subjugated.
in this way, america remains the snake eating its own tail. the problems that capitalism has caused continue to grow, and are aided and abetted by hyper-individualist “solutions” to those problems that only feed into that very system. it is impossible to manifest our way out of late stage capitalism. we cannot find the answer to poverty in tarot cards. if we want to affect true systemic change and create a better society that protects the rights and dignities of all people, we cannot operate under the individualist framework of self-focused material improvement. it is critical to build movements of mutual support and care that address people’s needs, and that aim to better the social and material conditions for everyone equally. but while people remain focused on climbing the ladder of capitalism rather than deconstructing it, we will continue to face the same issues repackaged time and time again, being delivered by new charlatans, as more and more people set aside their autonomy to follow advice that lines those charlatans’ pockets.