I know what you’re going to tell me, I don’t love the idea of having new terms that complicate my existence – in this case literally – either. But if there is something new to explain to you, I guess I’ll have to do it.
Where does the term ‘woo woo’ come from and what’s new with it?
First of all, we should not confuse the term ‘woo’, with ‘woo woo’, this first one was used many many years ago to imply that you were being courted or were courting someone. However, nowadays we neither court nor say ‘woo’ with that meaning, let’s say it’s old school.
Now, what does ‘woo woo’ really mean then? Well, although there is no specific date of how or where the term arose, it is thought that its etymology comes from the sound that people make to simulate or represent the presence of ghosts or paranormal creatures. This probably comes from the early 70’s when many of these themes or fashions began to emerge, but as I already told you, there is no record as such of when it was born.
What Does ‘woo woo’ Mean?
The slang ‘woo woo’, according to the Cambridge dictionary, means “ideas or methods that are based on false beliefs or imaginary things, rather than reason or scientific knowledge”, that is, something that’s ‘woo woo’ means that it can be anything that doesn’t have a scientific basis.
I mean yes, technically it is something ‘woo woo’ for your aunt to read the cards and see the colors of other people’s auras; but also that you practice yoga and cleanse your crystals in the light of the moon. But don’t worry, the truth is that there’s nothing wrong with anything that’s ‘woo woo’, or so I want to think.
So… what things can be ‘woo woo’?
Well basically any practice that involves an unscientific or unproven belief could be something classified as ‘woo woo’ in the holistic world. But some examples that I can give you to see if you are really on the ‘woo woo’ side of TikTok are: practicing yoga, Ayurveda, doing any type of ritual or manifestation, perhaps religions, your friend with fine-tuned senses who can feeling the vibes of other people, tarot reading, psychics and well, I think you already understood me, right?
