Occultism: a postmodern
perspective
Phil Hine (1988)
Living as we do, in a society which is rapidly mutating itself by
means of computers, camcorders and cable TV; in which men can
walk on the Moon, whilst others sell their children to the organ
dealers; where the mysteries of life are probed during DNA
manipulation and the realities of other people's death served up on
prime-time television, it is easy to wonder, where does 'the occult'
fit in? Isn't there enough fear and horror, beauty and wonder on
this crazy old world of ours without looking into dark corners and
'dabbling' with the forbidden? In a world where political 'isms'
have largely taken over the job of meat-grinding populations from
religious 'isms', who needs more of the same? Isn't the occult just
a mess of half-baked psychobabble indulged in by those who need
to justify their inadequacies, inequality, and intellectual
shortcomings?
What is 'the occult' anyway? A quick flip through the dictionary
tells us that the term refers to 'secret', 'hidden', or 'the
supernatural', none of which helps too much. After all, our society
is rotten with secrets; presumably anyone who studies economics
or political theory can be classed as studying 'the occult', since the
workings of governments and multi-nationals rapidly leads you
into areas which are truly 'occult'. But no, that's not how we
usually think of the word. 'Occult' conjures up images of robed
figures, or better yet, naked figures, cavorting in graveyards and
behind closed doors; of wizened old men studying dusty books
inside mouldery libraries; teenagers dabbling wth ouija boards and
the entire works of Clive Barker.
The subject of the 'occult' covers a vast range of subjects, from
Alchemy to Zen, from spiritual speculation about the universe to
bending cutlery. What formerly may have been 'hidden' is being
increasingly brought into the neon glow of modern society;
through books, films, videos, fanzines, conventions, - all the
extensions of the new mass communications media. Occult
symbols abound on record sleeves, company logos, and designer
fashion. In short, becoming another commodity. Occultists can no
longer pretend that theirs is a specialist interest. It's another
subculture; another fashion. Like any fashion, it moves through
changes and fads. Like any fashion you can buy into it and acquire
a passing knowledge of its tacit beliefs, values, and assumptions.
Like any other fashion, it provides its adherents with a sense of
communality, against other groups.
Occultism as a subject of enquiry is perhaps less interesting than
the people whom it attracts. A great many people become
involved in the occult not because they wish to explore 'lost' areas
of knowledge or have conversations with demons, but because it
imparts them with a sense of connection with the past. In a culture
where the edges of present time are crumbling into the future at a
rate that is often difficult to comprehend, the sense of connection
to historical time is vague, to say the least. The contradictions of
post-Capitalism have fragmented consensus reality to a point
where alienation and powerlessness are endemic in our culture.
Occultism offers an alternative: a sense of connection, perhaps, to
historical time when the world was less complicated, where
individuals were more 'in touch' with their environment, and, had
more personal control over their lives. Occultism, and the subjects
within it, strive to look at basic questions: "Where am I going?",
"How will I get there?", "How much fun can I have on the way?".
Occultism offers possibilities - that which has not been explained
by science; capabilities we may have which go beyond our
accepted limitations; powers which we can tap into to change
ourselves, and our world. Science does not have the enduring
quality that occultism can offer. Science is changing too fast.
Most of us are operating on a view of reality set up by Newton (an
alchemist, by the way), whilst pure science is already beginning to
find out where Einstein went wrong.
Science and the occult are wary bedfellows at the best of times.
Most science is based on logic, which assumes universal axioms.
This has proved to work very well for building bridges or
smashing atoms, but less so when it comes to human beings.
Logic is a descriptive tool, no more, and its limitations when
applied to human behaviour are slowly becoming apparent.
There's parapsychology of course. Probably the most hotly
contested area of science this century. And still not much nearer
to 'explaining' the effects that it is monitoring. Scientists using the
language of science to explain occult phenomena is almost as
painful reading as occultists trying to do the same. Appropriating
the terms of science though is necessary. We've come to expect it,
especially in a society where 'science' sells washing powder and
other basic necessities. Science gives something the stamp of
authenticity in the same way that religion does. It needn't even be
'good' science, so long as it sounds at least halfway plausible.
Veracity of belief is the key, here. Go back a few centuries and
the peasant-in-the-street would tell you that yes, the Gods were
real, and that if you kept them happy, they didn't strike you down
with a bolt of lightning. Unless you have a strong religious sense,
it's difficult to achieve this level of certainty nowadays. Instead,
Gods can be thought of as metaphors, archetypes, role models,
self-replicating morphogenetic fields, etc, etc. Moreover, you
don't need huge connolades, vast temples, three thousand
screaming worshippers and a naked virgin on an altar to get their
attention, all you need is a dab of incense, a meditation cushion,
and some electrodrone music. Yet, unaccountably, something
wonderful may happen. This perhaps, is the real place of the
occult in modern society. Our world is so crowded with marvels
and miracles that they have become commonplace to us;
especially when we no longer see ourselves as miracles. We swim
through the world, deafened by the buzz of machines and the
flicker of the videodrome, our senses are dulled from the
information overload. Yet, shifting to another position, we
suddenly find that the world is magical. That humanity is, as Alan
Moore so eloquently put it, "unpredictable beyond the dreams of
Heisenberg; the clay in which the forces that shape all things
leave their fingerprints most clearly."
If it is so simple, why can't it be simply stated? Well, we tend to
need a lot of convincing. The keys to change are not enough, we
need a cultural backdrop in which to set them - systems of beliefs,
maps, explanations that allow us to stretch the credibility
envelope to accommodate new ideas and perceptions. So we
search for knowledge amongst books, books, and yet more books,
when it becomes increasingly plain that the answers are within
our grasp. Entering the doorway marked 'occult' we find ourselves
within a labyrinth, which offers packages to suit most tastes, from
potboilers of 'mysterious phenomena' to hardcore books on
magick. Most people tend to settle into one particular subject that
excites them the most, and participate to varying degrees. The
first level of enquiry is, often as not, reading. The second level is
practice, usually within the bounds of one or another of the many
esoteric systems of knowledge. The third level is that of going
beyond the boundaries within the occult - the gaps which are
usually unmarketable, unattractive, and above all, personally
risky. For me, the occult is a fascinating subject because it draws
from the past and attempts to synthesize with the frontiers of
science and technology, as well as art, philosophy, and social
engineering. Occult practices (hopefully) lead the individual to
look within, and also, at their social conditioning and adherence
to belief structures. At the same time, occult practices can
encourage the individual to look at the wider world; what's going
on, and what (if anything) we can do about it. It's a meeting point
in the cultural melting pot, where all avenues of exploration can
meet, merge, and produce new syntheses. A node where ideas
mutate each other and, the individuals who wield them.
In many senses, occultism is an 'escape route' from the limitations
of consensus reality. Some escape routes are well-signposted and,
despite their surface gloss, mere dead-ends. We search for that
which is 'hidden' from us, and may come to discover that magick
leads us back to ourselves, and the very basics of how we relate to
each other and the world about us. That perhaps the really
engrossing mysteries are those by which we live daily, on an
unconscious basis - that which we tacitly take for granted. For me,
the potential of occultism is less about becoming 'spiritual', and
more about becoming spirited. We live, for the most part, in a
dismembered world of things and objects. Magick may lead us to
attempt to create a dialectical world of processes - where
understanding, rather than explaining, is venerated; where
differences are acknowledged, rather than merely being glossed
over. The occult may offer the keys to understanding ourselves,
but the will to do so must be ours. Else the occult becomes merely
another arena in which we continue to act out the same games of
power and control - 'being right', 'getting even', being 'an expert',
'being better than so-and-so'. Make no mistake, the occult is
permeated with the same word-viruses that permeate the rest of
our culture, as is clearly shown in the rapid growth of spiritual
consumerism. Popular occultism does not challenge anything.
Unpopular occultism challenges consensus reality by enabling us
to meet, head-on, our taboos and fears. Not to exorcise or explain
them away, but to understand the power of these 'monstrous souls',
and in understanding them, allow them to grow. This is a difficult
and demanding task, more so because, while it is an essential part
of occult development, it has been obscured and mythologised as
somehow 'sinister'. Our society has locked its collective demons
away in a dark cellar. They have responded by rotting the
foundations and occasionally flooding the streets with sewage.
Magick and mysticism are two poles of action within the occult.
Magick is the way of action-in-the-world. Hence the phrase "Do
What Thou Wilt." Magick is about do-ing. Mysticism however, is
more associated with transcending reality, or of achieving zero
states of enlightenment. Neither are mutually exclusive, however.
But mysticism often requires a spiritual dimension of experience,
whilst modern magick is becoming increasingly concerned with
the world as we experience it, rather than the world as we tend to
model it. After all, the map is not the territory. We might create
temporary islands of order with which to zoom in on one
particular part of our experience, but in the real world, so much of
our experience is cast against a backdrop of chaotic terrain. We
may search for 'evidence' of a grand plan behind the scenes, but
what of the possibility that there may not be one. Why do we need
to explain the world so completely anyway? The Uncertainty
Principle itself assumes the status of a taboo, and to banish it we
search for meaning through the shattered remains of past cultures,
through a labyrinth of lost gods and hidden knowledge when we
know, deep down, that knowledge alone cannot fulfill the void in
our hearts, that wisdom springs from experience and the mindful
application of learning and insight. Occultism may give us a link
to the past, but it also reminds us that the present is continually
changing, and that individuals participate in their own futures.
The questions which occultism addresses are changing as society
changes, as we dream new possibilities of what we might become.
It is the constant mutation and diversification of contemporary
occultism that gives it its postmodern flavour - new magical
systems and diversifications are being created all the time. All
limitations have been thrown off, and today's magicians are
equally likely to be interested in the more novel applications of
high technology as they are the more traditional tools of magick.
Witness the growth of 'oracular' performance art, which directly
draws upon shamanic techniques such as suspension, body
piercing, and trance states. Artists are returning to shamanistic
practices, and it is also worth noting that modern magicians are
usually occupied with one or more creative endeavor, be it
writing, artwork, music, or multi-media using computers. An
important part of the magical process is the 'earthing' of ideas and
flashes of illumination into consensus reality, so that they can be
transmitted and left for others to use as 'signposts' for their own
progression. Modern occultism can thus be characterized as an
exercise in Collage.
This is an age of magick, where reality can be manipulated,
twisted, served up for entertainment and likewise shattered for
fun, profit, & control. Even our chosen escape routes feed the
beast. Cracking open a new novel, freshly smelling of shrink-wrap
and clean pages, I settle back and delve into a larger-than-life
narrative outlined in clear, crisp serifs and quickfire bursts of
prose. Walking down a street at sunset, striding with a sense of
purpose, shades angled for maximum coverage. From a window, a
heavy bass line growls into gear, followed by sawtooth guitars.
The sounds, the street, sundown & shades form a composite
scene; and I realize - I'm in a movie. Like many modern films it
has good sets, wild special effects, but the script leaves something
to be desired.
Desire. All aspirations and desires have been carefully packaged
and subsumed into the structure of commodities. Even the most
intrepid psychonaut must eventually, it seems, move into the
marketplace. Pre-packaged realities eye each other, juggling for
position. You only have so much time to devote to any one style.
So which is it to be? The only stable principle is pleasure - from
whatever you draw your kicks, no matter your justifications, noble
or otherwise. We tend to go for the simplest solutions - beliefs in a
bag, stereotypes, ideals in bite-size take home portions. Fast-
Dumped into our minds, hard-wired in through social
conditioning and everyday/extraday experience, they form the
bedrock on which we build the shining cities of self, dream, and
ideal. The whiter the city, the deeper, more convoluted the sewers
that support it.
We are not encouraged to go for 'the big picture', except through
the accepted routes of isms and ists, whereby the imagination is
fed through logic gates, carefully screened, directed, curtailed and
manicured. Going for 'the big picture' conjures up images of
psychic panic ...paranoia or other forms of socialized madness
where our none-too-stable coping strategies fail under the
information overload. If you want to glimpse the big picture, then
you'd better wear shades, or better still, blinkers. Reality is at
fault; please do not adjust your mind.
We are all engaged in the evolution of the beast, at once both
passive and active. Passive in that we can observe what happens
to ourselves, and active in that we do participate at many levels, in
the continual reflection and intensification of symbols and images
that are all around us. In our heads and lurking in every square
meter of territory to assault and engage our senses. Reality
becomes a sea of dreams on which any individual or group can
form islands built from images, symbols, clusters of belief and
viral ideas. This is the realm of the magicians, who are able to
adroitly manipulate images without any apparent effort. Some
may be highly visible as celebrities, media darlings, walking
talking ciphers for the projection and intensification of
charismatic power. The most successful are the adepts of the
invisible. Not so much hidden masters from Tibet as those who
can gosub direct to the Deep Mind - those who can pull strings
without us being aware of the fact. Puppeteers in the inner theatre
of the mind. Slipping in a word here, a phrase there. A blip across
our screen, and they're gone.
Art imitates life. In the inner theatre, it pays off not to be stage
centre, in full view of the lights. No, to be on the periphery is
better, or best yet, to be part of the scenery. Here, the most deadly
predators are the ones that we (as audience) have grown used to.
If a thing becomes 'known', it is often dismissed as harmless,
irrelevant, or we become 'wise' to its games. Alas, appearences
can be deceptive.
Sitting in a smoke-limned pub, against a background buzz of
deals, assignations and remixed dub, I focus in on a packet of
John Player Specials. Black and gold project the image - corporate
desire sigilised. A black formula one racing car curves a graceful
arc round an s-bend in my brain. Gold is quality. Black evokes
associations at once simple, elegant, and hi-tech. Like some
billionaire's coffin the packet commands the visual field. An
everyday object, yet loaded with images, associations, memories.
An icon of the hyperreal. Continually mutating, looping time and
image back on itself as fashions are revived, reach a sudden peak
and are cast into the strata of subcultures. Reality becoming a
virtual field, constantly recycled through walkmans, videos,
computer images, televisions, and playbacks.
A while back I had my first taste of a computer-generated skin-
flic. A series of digitised images looped together. A couple
copulating. You could slow them down or speed them up, reverse
the thrusts and jerks. A frozen slice of fucking, forever doomed to
never coming. Suddenly our replication systems have a new
dimension to them, faster than we can evolve a framework to fit
them into. Whilst the effects of visual images are only just being
chartered, the digital revolution is on us. Lila, illusion, spins her
net and we are enmeshed in images under other images, dancing
to songs hidden in other songs, and lulled to sleep by false
promises lurking within other messages. As hackers of the
hyperreal we have to lever images apart, disentangling the webs,
charting the temporary tunnels, climbing invisible mountains, and
slipping between the cracks in the solid foundations of the world
which wraps around us. Such is the role of the occultist in
postmodern culture.
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