The Story of Doreen Virtue — and Why It Now Means Everything to Me

Many of you who moved through new age spirituality in your late 20s will remember Doreen Virtue. She was everywhere — oracle decks at sister circles, angel card readings, bestselling books like Angel Therapy, Messages from Your Angels, and Healing with the Angels. Her angel and goddess oracle decks were practically a staple at every women's circle, every healing space, every spiritual gathering of millennial women finding their way.

She built an entire empire around angels, ascended masters, and spiritual intuition — and millions of women, myself included, were drawn into it.

What I didn't know back then was how much her story would one day mirror my own.

Two Women, Two Religions, One Search

Doreen grew up in Christian Science. I grew up Mormon. Both of us raised inside a framework that used the name of Jesus but taught something different from the true gospel. Both of us left that behind and went searching — and both of us ended up deep in new age spirituality, convinced we had finally found something real.

She earned her master's degree in psychology and rose to become one of the most influential voices in the new age world — speaking at sold-out events globally, appearing on Oprah and The View, publishing over 50 books translated into 38 languages. I had just finished my own MA in integral psychology when, in 2018, I came across a letter she had written to the public.

She had become a Christian. And she was renouncing everything.

The Moment Everything Changed

It began simply — she picked up the Bible and read it. Really read it. For the first time.

When she reached Deuteronomy 18, something shifted. She later recalled:

"I remember reading through the list of the things that the Canaanites did and realizing it was the same things that I was doing. Then I got to the part where it says, 'Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.'"

The veil lifted. She fell to her knees and gave her life to Jesus.

And then she walked away from everything.

Her publisher fired her. She and her husband left their 50-acre ranch in Hawaii. The hate mail came daily — former followers accusing her of betrayal, of madness, of being brainwashed. She lost income, status, and an identity she had spent decades building.

Having to admit she was wrong to the entire world — with books in 38 languages — was, in her own words, deeply humbling. But she said she needed that humility to learn how to lean upon God.

She later went back to seminary and earned a master's degree in biblical and theological studies. She didn't just walk away — she rebuilt her entire foundation on the Word of God.

I Thought She Had Lost Her Mind

At the time, fresh out of my own psychology degree and deep in the new age world, I genuinely thought she had lost her mind. I was honestly a little offended. The oracle decks, the angel work, the goddess circles — this had felt sacred to me. And here was the woman who helped build that world, calling it deception.

I couldn't understand why anyone would blow up their own empire like that.

But I hadn't met Jesus yet.

And if you haven't met Him, it really is difficult to understand why a follower of Jesus would take such radical, costly action just to live in alignment with the Word of God. It doesn't make sense from the outside. It looks like loss. It looks like madness. It looks like throwing everything away.

And Then It Happened to Me

Nearly three years ago, I met Jesus — and from that moment, my life has been quietly, steadily transformed.

A healthier and happier marriage. A calmer nervous system. A more peaceful home. More abundance flowing in ways I didn't expect.

And alongside all of that beauty, there has been a deep unlearning. A renouncing of new age practices I once held as truth. A stepping back from circles that are no longer aligned. A closing of doors through which darkness had been creeping in — doors I didn't even know were open.

Because when you truly give your life to Jesus and make that promise — in my house, we shall serve the Lord — cleaning house becomes a necessary action step. Not a punishment. Not a loss. An act of devotion. A way of protecting what God is building inside your home and your heart.

It has felt so good. So right. So relieving. So clarifying. So freeing.

Now I Understand

I now understand completely what happened in Doreen's life.

Two women, raised in religions that looked like Christianity but weren't. Two psychology degrees. Two lives shaped by the new age. Two moments of encounter with the real Jesus — and everything changed.

The shift, the rebirth, the willingness to lose everything for truth — I get it now in my bones.

She didn't lose her mind. She found it. She found Him.

And I know that some of you reading this will think I've lost mine too. That's okay. I understand that reaction — I had it myself once.

Only a few will understand. And that's exactly how it's always been on this road.

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If Doreen's story resonates with you, her book Deceived No More: How Jesus Led Me Out of the New Age and Into His Word is a powerful read. And if you're somewhere in the middle of your own searching — I'd love to hear from you.