There are at least seven types of modern Essenes:

• Nazorean Essenes of the Order of O:N:E: - serious seekers after the ancient wisdom of the Essenes and Nazoreans. Aware of Aramaic Essene texts like the Ginza and of ancient rites like Maswetta baptism and who worship the Great Life. These usually appreciate the monastic expression of Essenism and realize the connection such had to early Christianity, Gnosticism, and Manichaeism. (There is at least one copycat church that uses the name Nazorean Essenes and accepts some Nazorean ideas of O:N:E:, but which seems fundamentally to be rooted in normative Christianity.) Nazorean Essenes are also Gnostics.
• Dead Sea Scroll Essenes: Usually Christian  readers of the Dead Sea Scrolls who mistakenly assume the Qumran community was Essene and some sort of prelude to Christianity. They tend to buy into the radical form of militant Judaism promoted in the Dead Sea Scrolls and see John the Baptist as Essene. They are usually ignorant of the true Nazorean Essenes and continue to honor YHWH and Jehovah.
• Scholar Essenes - scholars, avid readers or historians who have read of the Essenes in Philo, Josephus, or in Masonic or Theosophical books and who admire them greatly. These are usually unaware of the true Nazorean Essenes, although some may have a vague knowledge of the Mandaean remnants of the sect or be aware of the Mandaean Book of John the Baptist if they are extremely well read.
• New Age Essenes: These tend to associate the name "Essene" with some sort of ancient Christianity.  They are usually ignorant of the true Nazorean Essenes. They may know something of the true Essenes through Edgar Cayce channelings but usually do not engage in Essene practices or lifestyle. Some of these may think they know all about the Essenes after reading the Essene Gospel of Peace book series. These associate the name with vegetarianism, health spas and week end retreats.
• Szekely Essenes: Readers of the Gospel of Peace scribed by Szekely. These sometimes accept other channeled modern texts like the Gospel of the Holy 12 and the Aquarian Gospel. These often believe in Szekely's Essene Communions but seldom do them. These often associate the name with dairy using vegetarianism, fasting, enemas and colonics. Often new agers, hippies, health nuts, and proclaimed raw foodists. (Historians say new Essenes were given a maddock when they joined the group, some Szekely Essenes would seem to change this to an enema bag.)
• Rastafari Essenes - hippies or marijuana worshippers who use the name "Essene" lightly and vaguely, often as some sort of justification or rationale for rejecting mainstream culture and churches and in order to give their own drug filled lifestyle the stamp of legitimacy that association with an ancient sect might suggest. Often ignorant of the true Nazorean Essenes. Rastafari Essenes are often connected with the Ethiopian Church or one of the Jamaican churches like the 12 Tribes. These tend to honor a black Yahweh as God.
• Hippy Essenes - often these are lost souls who may have found an "Essene Gospel of Peace" in a health food store and read a few pages. To these "Essenes" is a vague term inferring respect for the earth and love of nature. Many of these are unconsciously associated with  the back to nature movements that arose out of Germany in the last century and which had some influence on California diets, ideas, and some new age authors. These tend to think the ancient Essenes were just laid back hippies like themselves, not realizing that ancient Essenes were extremely dedicated, disciplined, and intent on gaining enlightenment through constant study, service and prayer.