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Occulture: The Unseen Forces That Drive Culture Forward
Explores the role of magic and the occult in art and culture from ancient times to today
• Examines key figures behind esoteric cultural developments, such as Carl Jung, Anton LaVey, Paul Bowles, Aleister Crowley, and Rudolf Steiner
• Explores the history of magic as a source of genuine counter culture and compares it with our contemporary soulless, digital monoculture
• Reveals how the magic of art can be restored if art is employed as a means rather than an end and offers strategies to rekindle intuitive creativity
Art, magic, and the occult have been intimately linked since our prehistoric ancestors created the first cave paintings some 50,000 years ago. As civilizations developed, these esoteric forces continued to drive culture forward, both visibly and behind the scenes, from the Hermetic ideas of the Renaissance, to the ethereal worlds of 19th century Symbolism, to the occult interests of the Surrealists.
In this deep exploration of “occulture”--the liminal space where art and magic meet--Carl Abrahamsson reveals the integral role played by magic and occultism in the development of culture throughout history as well as their relevance to the continuing survival of art and creativity. Blending magical history and esoteric philosophy with his more than 30 years’ experience in occult movements, Abrahamsson looks at the phenomena and people who have been seminal in modern esoteric developments, including Carl Jung, Anton LaVey, Paul Bowles, Aleister Crowley, and Rudolf Steiner.
Showing how art and magic were initially one and the same, the author explores the history of magic as a source of genuine counter culture and compares it with our contemporary soulless, digital monoculture. He reveals how the magic of art can be restored if art is employed as a means rather than an end--if it is intense, emotional, violent, and expressive--and offers strategies for creating freely, magically, even spontaneously, with intent unfettered by the whims of trends, a creative practice akin to chaos magick that assists both creators and spectators to live with meaning. He also looks at intuition and creativity as the cornerstones of genuine individuation, explaining how insights and illuminations seldom come in collective forms.
Exploring magical philosophy, occult history, the arts, psychology, and the colorful grey areas in between, Abrahamsson reveals the culturally and magically transformative role of art and the ways the occult continues to transform culture to this day.
• Examines key figures behind esoteric cultural developments, such as Carl Jung, Anton LaVey, Paul Bowles, Aleister Crowley, and Rudolf Steiner
• Explores the history of magic as a source of genuine counter culture and compares it with our contemporary soulless, digital monoculture
• Reveals how the magic of art can be restored if art is employed as a means rather than an end and offers strategies to rekindle intuitive creativity
Art, magic, and the occult have been intimately linked since our prehistoric ancestors created the first cave paintings some 50,000 years ago. As civilizations developed, these esoteric forces continued to drive culture forward, both visibly and behind the scenes, from the Hermetic ideas of the Renaissance, to the ethereal worlds of 19th century Symbolism, to the occult interests of the Surrealists.
In this deep exploration of “occulture”--the liminal space where art and magic meet--Carl Abrahamsson reveals the integral role played by magic and occultism in the development of culture throughout history as well as their relevance to the continuing survival of art and creativity. Blending magical history and esoteric philosophy with his more than 30 years’ experience in occult movements, Abrahamsson looks at the phenomena and people who have been seminal in modern esoteric developments, including Carl Jung, Anton LaVey, Paul Bowles, Aleister Crowley, and Rudolf Steiner.
Showing how art and magic were initially one and the same, the author explores the history of magic as a source of genuine counter culture and compares it with our contemporary soulless, digital monoculture. He reveals how the magic of art can be restored if art is employed as a means rather than an end--if it is intense, emotional, violent, and expressive--and offers strategies for creating freely, magically, even spontaneously, with intent unfettered by the whims of trends, a creative practice akin to chaos magick that assists both creators and spectators to live with meaning. He also looks at intuition and creativity as the cornerstones of genuine individuation, explaining how insights and illuminations seldom come in collective forms.
Exploring magical philosophy, occult history, the arts, psychology, and the colorful grey areas in between, Abrahamsson reveals the culturally and magically transformative role of art and the ways the occult continues to transform culture to this day.
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2018
26 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Carl Abrahamsson
50 books55 followersCarl Abrahamsson (b 1966) is a Swedish writer, publisher, filmmaker, photographer and musician. He has written extensively about "occulture" – how occultism and hidden ideas interact with our general culture (literature, cinema, music, art etc). Abrahamsson also writes fiction and journalism. He is the editor and publisher of the annual magico-anthropological journal The Fenris Wolf, and the founder of the publishing company Trapart Books.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 1, 2018
The term 'occulture' is of course an amalgamation of the two words, 'occult' and 'culture' and how occult ideas have influenced the creative arts in recent decades. The writer, Abrahamsson, is in a position to know, having been an active contributor for the underground eighties Temple ov Psychic Youth, linked to Genesis P-Orridge and Psychic TV.
There are chapters on Crowley, La Vey, Steiner and Jung and how each have created lasting awareness-raising memes. Every man and woman is a star. And so on.
Magic is defined as the use of will to make things happen. The importance of music (La Vey) is emphasised as helping to create the ambience and passion needed to generate this will. It also leads to the prolific creation of music and there are many artists in this field influenced by Crowley for example, not mentioned by Abrahamsson in this collection of essays
Occulture can and does make itself felt through the fine arts too - in fact, most likely, there was no real schism in the artistic execution of the Paleolithic cave paintings and the Shamanic impulses that lead to them. Art can be talismanic. A whole chapter is actually devoted to the Magical practise of creating fetishist dolls. That does smack a little too much of Golem/Frankenstein myths to me alongside the titillating news stories of custom-built sex robots. Perhaps the concepts behind this may make more sense to others more steeped within this area of wisdom.
What Abrahamsson has to say about the potential for occultare to create an art revival away from the Emperor's New Clothes vacuity of post-modernist galleries that sell empty canvasses of nothing to moneyed coteries supported a dying and decadent industry really does strike home. Here in these pages is a call for the return of the artist as a Shaman/Magician who may well be able to bring more vitality beyond the Matrix of cultural stagnation than the tired reiteration of Duchamp's toilet.
For much the same reasons Abrahamsson is no great fan of social media platforms either, which he sees as creating an enslaving mindset rather than a liberating one.
The Magician/artist should look for their myths to live by from within, leaving behind real books, real talismans, genuine gnosis. This last comes from Jung, who was always keen to remind the callow initiate that Individuation can be an intensely isolating path.
Essays here do also emphasise the importance of pure motives in magic. On an personal level, to ask for a smartphone in some exciting ritual for examplight well produce the goods - but then what if the goods have been stolen. On a collective level, Abrahamsson takes us back to a proto-era of naturism, a kind of hippyism that began in Germany, where frolicking freely and naked in the sun sat naturally with the ecological awareness of the Anthroposophists. Here, Solar worship, realising the divinity within on glorious summer days does have a gloriously pure and innocent ring to it, but we all know how these ideas were distorted and corrupted by the Nazi movement. The Swastika then came to generate a polarizing imperialistic edge to this solar power. This reviewer is no expert on Steiner and his take on Earth, Sun and stars. This strongly ecological emphasis on organic gardening and the like does however presuppose more room for Earth and Moon and general groundedness in Malkuth than might otherwise have been the case. In fact, this book does include a chapter dedicated to the moon, which for Abrahamsson seems to symbolise the imagination and subjective realms of fantasy.
There is also a chapter on short-story writer and composer Paul Bowles, along with two other writers appreciated by Abrahammson.
An interesting set of essays indeed.
There are chapters on Crowley, La Vey, Steiner and Jung and how each have created lasting awareness-raising memes. Every man and woman is a star. And so on.
Magic is defined as the use of will to make things happen. The importance of music (La Vey) is emphasised as helping to create the ambience and passion needed to generate this will. It also leads to the prolific creation of music and there are many artists in this field influenced by Crowley for example, not mentioned by Abrahamsson in this collection of essays
Occulture can and does make itself felt through the fine arts too - in fact, most likely, there was no real schism in the artistic execution of the Paleolithic cave paintings and the Shamanic impulses that lead to them. Art can be talismanic. A whole chapter is actually devoted to the Magical practise of creating fetishist dolls. That does smack a little too much of Golem/Frankenstein myths to me alongside the titillating news stories of custom-built sex robots. Perhaps the concepts behind this may make more sense to others more steeped within this area of wisdom.
What Abrahamsson has to say about the potential for occultare to create an art revival away from the Emperor's New Clothes vacuity of post-modernist galleries that sell empty canvasses of nothing to moneyed coteries supported a dying and decadent industry really does strike home. Here in these pages is a call for the return of the artist as a Shaman/Magician who may well be able to bring more vitality beyond the Matrix of cultural stagnation than the tired reiteration of Duchamp's toilet.
For much the same reasons Abrahamsson is no great fan of social media platforms either, which he sees as creating an enslaving mindset rather than a liberating one.
The Magician/artist should look for their myths to live by from within, leaving behind real books, real talismans, genuine gnosis. This last comes from Jung, who was always keen to remind the callow initiate that Individuation can be an intensely isolating path.
Essays here do also emphasise the importance of pure motives in magic. On an personal level, to ask for a smartphone in some exciting ritual for examplight well produce the goods - but then what if the goods have been stolen. On a collective level, Abrahamsson takes us back to a proto-era of naturism, a kind of hippyism that began in Germany, where frolicking freely and naked in the sun sat naturally with the ecological awareness of the Anthroposophists. Here, Solar worship, realising the divinity within on glorious summer days does have a gloriously pure and innocent ring to it, but we all know how these ideas were distorted and corrupted by the Nazi movement. The Swastika then came to generate a polarizing imperialistic edge to this solar power. This reviewer is no expert on Steiner and his take on Earth, Sun and stars. This strongly ecological emphasis on organic gardening and the like does however presuppose more room for Earth and Moon and general groundedness in Malkuth than might otherwise have been the case. In fact, this book does include a chapter dedicated to the moon, which for Abrahamsson seems to symbolise the imagination and subjective realms of fantasy.
There is also a chapter on short-story writer and composer Paul Bowles, along with two other writers appreciated by Abrahammson.
An interesting set of essays indeed.
February 26, 2018
When I requested this book, I thought it was an exploration of how occult beliefs have infiltrated our culture- things like why we have a pyramid topped with an eyeball on our basic currency. Turns out, that’s not what this is, even though the description on the Amazon page makes it sound that way. There are some references to that- like how the first art that we know of, cave paintings, were of magical intent. But the ‘occulture’ that is referred to is a post-modern movement, not the spiritualists of yore- but I had to look elsewhere for this explanation as it’s not laid out explicitly in the book.
It wasn’t an easy read for me. I didn’t understand an awful lot of it, and because of that it bored me and I almost didn’t finish it. YMMV. Also, it’s wasn’t written originally as a book; the chapters are conference papers given at various events in the last few years, which results in chapters not flowing into each other. Three stars.
It wasn’t an easy read for me. I didn’t understand an awful lot of it, and because of that it bored me and I almost didn’t finish it. YMMV. Also, it’s wasn’t written originally as a book; the chapters are conference papers given at various events in the last few years, which results in chapters not flowing into each other. Three stars.
June 2, 2019
One of the first things I noticed with this book is that the chapter headings have notes below the titles that say each of them was first given at a lecture or printed as an article someplace, so it soon became clear that this is a collection of several years' writings collected by the author into book form for presentation to a new audience. The subject matter is sufficiently different in each to create a nicely balanced volume on occult influence in society and particularly in art.
This is not a book for learning to do magic(k), but is more about modern cultural influences and symbols that enter mainstream consciousness through various mediums of artistic expression. In the Forword written by Gary Lachman, he explains the term 'occulture', occult + culture, coined by Genesis-P-Orridge, a cult figure in certain circles of modern day magicians, then goes on to point out connections between art and the occult and the significance of interpreting one through the other.
The lectures and articles cover a fascinating variety of loosely related topics. They include commentaries on alternative lifestyles and the rise of occult culture through significant periods like the 1960s and 1980s and the British and German groups and personalities who shaped much of modern occult culture.
The reader gets the benefit of a perspective by someone who 'was there' and understands the significance of a variety of cultural influences that still affect the culture today. He speaks of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth as well as about Aleister Crowley and Anton LaVey and what he feels were the relevant contributions by controversial groups and personalities.
The perspective is very much about the intellectual side of the occult. No new age or airy-fairy crystal hugging comes into it. As occult history goes, this is an excellent reflection of the later twentieth century developments that built on the legacy of earlier magical Orders and traditions and the effects of an expanding cultural awareness that would shake the foundations of pre-twentieth century European occult study.
The significance of art and creativity is emphasised as is the freedom of social mores from the staid, limiting celibacy of groups like the early Golden Dawn and the cautions required by Medieval magicians to avoid any sniff of scandal that might lead to charges of heresy.
The history of Nazi involvement in the occult is detailed in one of the lectures and makes for interesting reading from a historical perspective as well. That lecture somehow moves from this to beatniks in California, which gives the reader an idea of the broad scope of some of the topics discussed.
This book would be of interest to anyone interested in occult history or in cultural development and the influence of art. It fills in the recent gaps in documented history for those of us who are too young to have been there for the changes in the 1980s and before as these periods are often not addressed in earlier books on the subject.
It also goes into everything from philosophy to conspiracy theories in recent decades and even Pokemon Go! I found all of the articles interesting for different reasons. A real treasure for anyone with interest in magick or the occult.
This is not a book for learning to do magic(k), but is more about modern cultural influences and symbols that enter mainstream consciousness through various mediums of artistic expression. In the Forword written by Gary Lachman, he explains the term 'occulture', occult + culture, coined by Genesis-P-Orridge, a cult figure in certain circles of modern day magicians, then goes on to point out connections between art and the occult and the significance of interpreting one through the other.
The lectures and articles cover a fascinating variety of loosely related topics. They include commentaries on alternative lifestyles and the rise of occult culture through significant periods like the 1960s and 1980s and the British and German groups and personalities who shaped much of modern occult culture.
The reader gets the benefit of a perspective by someone who 'was there' and understands the significance of a variety of cultural influences that still affect the culture today. He speaks of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth as well as about Aleister Crowley and Anton LaVey and what he feels were the relevant contributions by controversial groups and personalities.
The perspective is very much about the intellectual side of the occult. No new age or airy-fairy crystal hugging comes into it. As occult history goes, this is an excellent reflection of the later twentieth century developments that built on the legacy of earlier magical Orders and traditions and the effects of an expanding cultural awareness that would shake the foundations of pre-twentieth century European occult study.
The significance of art and creativity is emphasised as is the freedom of social mores from the staid, limiting celibacy of groups like the early Golden Dawn and the cautions required by Medieval magicians to avoid any sniff of scandal that might lead to charges of heresy.
The history of Nazi involvement in the occult is detailed in one of the lectures and makes for interesting reading from a historical perspective as well. That lecture somehow moves from this to beatniks in California, which gives the reader an idea of the broad scope of some of the topics discussed.
This book would be of interest to anyone interested in occult history or in cultural development and the influence of art. It fills in the recent gaps in documented history for those of us who are too young to have been there for the changes in the 1980s and before as these periods are often not addressed in earlier books on the subject.
It also goes into everything from philosophy to conspiracy theories in recent decades and even Pokemon Go! I found all of the articles interesting for different reasons. A real treasure for anyone with interest in magick or the occult.
March 10, 2020
This book felt long (even though it was relatively short) and dry. It most certainly is not a book for the average reader, as the chapters are individual lectures that the author had given in the past. Ultimately, I just couldn't get into the book; it was boring and uninteresting, giving me very little motivation to read. I would say that unless you are researching this topic for a thesis, you may be better off passing up this book.
February 19, 2018
The title says it all. Exploring the occult through popular culture and history. This is not the occult that we have come to understand, but rather occulture as in a post-modern movement. This is why I finished this book scratching my head. I was hoping for an exploration or uncovering of secret symbolism throughout popular culture, but instead received some lectures about the driving forces behind everything from Counter-Culture to Freud, from Dreams to the Media. These driving forces were explained from a philosophical and sociological angle, so I do feel a proper explanation of the “occult” was missing. Ironically, popular culture has distorted the occult to the point where we assume it is merely about magic and spells, but neglects to inform us of its psychological components- such as free will, cause and effect, intention, and individuation. This is where the author does a great job at exploring those components but neglects to actually explain what occulture actually is? Is it a corrupted esoteric lifestyle? Is it a desensitized trend? I would recommend placing the conclusion ‘Intuition as a State of Grace’ at the beginning of the book because it actually concisely summarized the contents of the book. This is a book I will read over and over again, hoping some of its content can actually sink in. If you would like to twist your brain and go on a mind bending journey through the underpinnings of society, this is a must read. I wouldn’t recommend this book if you are fairly new to exploring the occult, as your preconceived notions of it will surely be obliterated which you might find to be empowering or devastating.
May 3, 2021
An interesting collection of essays and lectures that will appeal to those already immersed in chaos magick, Alister Crowley, Jung etc. However, if you are just begin to explore these areas then this collection is way too advanced. And I'm not saying that as an intellectual of vast superiority but as someone just getting into the field and realizing that this book is too far advanced. lol
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it - because I did and I found much of the information quite illuminating.
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it - because I did and I found much of the information quite illuminating.
October 19, 2018
Amazing book. A series of essays on the current occult streams in art and culture in general as well as a deep dive into topics like Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY) and much more. Taking a decidedly scholarly approach, Abrahamsson tells these stories from a first hand perspective while still keeping the larger picture well in focus. A must read for anyone interested in the occult currents of the late 20th - early 21st centuries.
July 9, 2018
This book really didn't work for me. The description made it sound like it would be an exploration of how the occult has influenced culture, but I found it to be rambling and meta to a degree that was quite boring and hard to follow.
February 19, 2023
I wouldn't go as far as to call out Abrahamsson as a charlatan, but this collection of lectures and articles explains very little or virtually nothing about those unseen forces mentioned (promised?) in the title. Nor does he go in-depth in any of those texts. It'a a mere scratching on the surface, an obscured invitation ("DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?" of sorts to apply for a membership that will provide to you the Truth - if you can handle it. ("YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!").
I have friends in deep rabbit holes who would love this book for it's mix of talks on individual spiritual growth paired with the occational dog whistles about contemp(t)orary, woke society.
That said; some of Abrahamssons main points about the creative force of opposites and his mentions of magic/magick as a term for the unmeasurable, invisible (occult) aspects of existence do resonate with me. In a rationalist society, these occult aspects are - when discovered - forcibly transmuted into rational entities, thus losing all or most of their value. Or as Abrahamsson puts it, turn into "mere outer construction work" or "reading of a (cosmic) manual" (p 225).
Being a teacher, I se a possibility to interpret these occult aspects as forms of "applied experience" and magic as the process of a holistic, didactic analysis in the vein of Wolfgang Klafki (perhaps as preparation for the ritual of teaching - but that might be stretching it a bit).
Looking forward to experimenting further with this idea.
I have friends in deep rabbit holes who would love this book for it's mix of talks on individual spiritual growth paired with the occational dog whistles about contemp(t)orary, woke society.
That said; some of Abrahamssons main points about the creative force of opposites and his mentions of magic/magick as a term for the unmeasurable, invisible (occult) aspects of existence do resonate with me. In a rationalist society, these occult aspects are - when discovered - forcibly transmuted into rational entities, thus losing all or most of their value. Or as Abrahamsson puts it, turn into "mere outer construction work" or "reading of a (cosmic) manual" (p 225).
Being a teacher, I se a possibility to interpret these occult aspects as forms of "applied experience" and magic as the process of a holistic, didactic analysis in the vein of Wolfgang Klafki (perhaps as preparation for the ritual of teaching - but that might be stretching it a bit).
Looking forward to experimenting further with this idea.
July 28, 2020
A collection of previously-published essays, sophomoric in both style and character, and ranging from mediocre to unpublishable in quality.
If you are a practitioner of magick or have an intellectual interest in its intersection with art, this book is not for you; if you believe that "sjws are ruining magick" and would like someone to agree with you at length without supporting his points, you will find that this book meets your needs.
The experience of reading this slog was made even more disappointing by the occasional hint of potential: every few essays, Abrahamsson will make half of a good point, or reference a potentially interesting idea, only to drop it. Had he kept to the ostensible topic of his essays or explored interesting points rather than lazily going back to flogging the same dead horse in every section, he might have written something worth reading, but: what is good here isn't new, and what is new here isn't good.
I like and respect Erik Davis, Mitch Horowitz, and Gary Lachman, and would have loved to read the book they were describing in the glowing blurbs that somehow got attributed to this hunk of dry rot.
If you are a practitioner of magick or have an intellectual interest in its intersection with art, this book is not for you; if you believe that "sjws are ruining magick" and would like someone to agree with you at length without supporting his points, you will find that this book meets your needs.
The experience of reading this slog was made even more disappointing by the occasional hint of potential: every few essays, Abrahamsson will make half of a good point, or reference a potentially interesting idea, only to drop it. Had he kept to the ostensible topic of his essays or explored interesting points rather than lazily going back to flogging the same dead horse in every section, he might have written something worth reading, but: what is good here isn't new, and what is new here isn't good.
I like and respect Erik Davis, Mitch Horowitz, and Gary Lachman, and would have loved to read the book they were describing in the glowing blurbs that somehow got attributed to this hunk of dry rot.
November 22, 2019
I feel this book has been marketed a bit misleading, as the book barely is about occulture. It's a collection of different texts that have a very thin line going trough them.These texts might have worked as lectures, but on paper they feel empty. I think this book works best if you read it one chapter at a time, since reading it in one sitting doesn't give you a coherent narrative. You end up with a summary of a lot of well known information, sprinkled at times with the authors opinions about how bad everything digital is, and how mindless people are today. Ironic as the author doesn't seem to be able to actually convey any original thoughts.
Not a book for me personally, but might work for people new to the territory.
Not a book for me personally, but might work for people new to the territory.
August 21, 2021
This was an amazing read to be honest, that dives deep into cultural paradigm in the context of the occult and transferable to all manner of cultural tropes. Absolutely illuminating read that holds heavy insight into these important aspects of our human experience. Abrahamsson has done extremely well with this.
October 2, 2022
I usually enjoy reading about esoterica if the author keeps it at arm's length with healthy skepticism. I don't feel this author does this hence he gets a little loopy and a little credulous. Anyway, I am not a believer and do not look at this material the way a believer does, and am a little embarrassed for the author who clearly believes nonsense.
May 29, 2018
Magno
Without a doubt, this book is a central piece that traces the map for the relationship between culture and occultism.
After reading the book, a new horizon has been opened as a reader, an artist, and an occultist.
Without a doubt, this book is a central piece that traces the map for the relationship between culture and occultism.
After reading the book, a new horizon has been opened as a reader, an artist, and an occultist.
February 15, 2019
It's not bad, if you can ignore the underlying icky misogyny of the Golden Dawn tradition. I hate all that business, so I couldn't. Yet another bit of magical clap trap that assumes women are just standing around waiting to be some sort of magical receptacle. boo.
May 31, 2019
A little bit drier than I expected. The essays are very similar to reviews/alarmists on the occult culture. Hearkening back to the occult movers and shakers of the late 19th to early 20th century it goes over many counter-culture movements of the 60s-70s
March 2, 2020
Fun, if a bit rambling. Some interesting points and observations. Seems more like someone just logging things they know, heard or remembered hearing. I enjoyed his descriptions of ritual and his methods of manifesting.
July 11, 2020
This is a great collection of essays and lectures. Tributes to many foundation stones of occulture, as well as thoughtful analyses of processes used to drive ourselves and culture forward provide an excellent source of inspiration for me.
November 2, 2019
An interesting collection of essays, though several can be summarised as “old man shouts at cloud”.
April 29, 2021
Paul Bowles, WSB, Brion Gysin, Genesis P. Orridge, music, art, and everything I grew up on. I'm ditching Buddhism for Mysticism.
June 28, 2022
Such a profound and interesting book, showing the direct connection between art, magic (in its many forms), culture and will! I will certainly be reading more of Abrahamsson’s work.
October 30, 2025
Enlightening. Fascinating.
October 28, 2023
Still halfway through and on the fence but I think it's hilarious that the author has argued that Pokemon Go is evidence of the downfall of civilization exactly as many times as he's posited that Real Dolls are a perfectly normal and healthy emotional outlet (two each)
December 2, 2022
Rather than an in-depth look at how the occult influences culture, like I expected from the title, and like many descriptions of this would lead you to believe, this was instead a series of articles/lectures from various (mostly European) conferences and periodicals. They are on a variety of topics, but don't really make a comprehensive statement. They spanned a few different topics, from LaVeyan Satanism to Aleister Crowley to modern experiments with golems and music. Introducing me to Psychic TV is the main reason I am not going to try to return this book, because the quality of these articles was about what I might expect from a free blog article, and was generally more in the vein of Western ritual magic, which is of somewhat less interest to me, though not no interest. I have at least enough experience to have understood everything here, it just wasn't as compelling or interesting as I had expected. If you just want a series of essays about different occult topics that do not stray into paganism, this might be of interest, but don't expect a unified statement.
Sadly, both Audible and Goodreads hid that I had already read this book some time ago. I thought it seemed familiar, but also thought it might just be covering the same topics. In any case, my opinion of it did not improve upon a second attempt.
Sadly, both Audible and Goodreads hid that I had already read this book some time ago. I thought it seemed familiar, but also thought it might just be covering the same topics. In any case, my opinion of it did not improve upon a second attempt.
June 3, 2018
A really good reading, although I consider it to be far from an introduction to the topic, as I expected. Due to this, and since it deals with complex, more developed topics, it becomes confusing and hard to follow most of the time for the reader. This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but I missed a lot of information due to this. It certainly made me more interested in the topic, though.
December 18, 2017
I was expecting a book not and series of conference papers. Some chapters are interesting some are not. Not easy to read and sometimes it suffers from the content source.
I was really curious and had some expectations. Not all of my expectations were met.
Many thanks to Inner Traditions and Netgalley
I was really curious and had some expectations. Not all of my expectations were met.
Many thanks to Inner Traditions and Netgalley
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews