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Modern Occult Map
The other day, I was thinking that it might be interesting to try and compile some kind of visual representation of social currents in modern occultism. I realize such an undertaking would probably be pretty huge and quickly out-dated, but I’d like to try it nonetheless.
The way I was imagining approaching it was like this. We figure out the most popular “camps” online for occult and alternative religious exploration, figure out what defines them and who’s involved in them - and where these camps cross-over, if anywhere. Also, I’d imagine that we could probably figure out their philosophical roots and influences, and so on.
The reason I originally thought of this, is that I was talking with JP or somebody about how I’ve noticed that certain occult groups online only very rarely intersect with my own site. Good example is the site Key23, which is kind of a bastion of collaboration for people who (it seems - I could be wrong) are more into the chaos magick side of things than we are over here. Maybe it’s just that the folks who read both them and me aren’t very vocal about it - and there actually *is* a lot of cross-over.
My suspicions, though, is that there are clearly defined groups online exploring alternative religion, and that for some reason a lot of us just keep to ourselves. The purpose of this map would be, then, to start conversations about why that is, what the divisions and similarities are between different groups of people exploring the same areas, and how our identities are created and supported by our interaction with each group.
In any case, if this sounds like an interesting project to you, I’d love to hear how you think a map like this would work. Who would be on it and why? What are the major and minor camps of people exploring these areas online, and why do we all do it a slightly different way? How come sometimes there’s a lot of cross-pollination, and sometimes almost none at all? Thoughts? Ideas?
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January 25th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
I swear I’ve seen something like this on the web, or perhaps in a book. I recall it being a large diagram, like a family tree, showing the “lineage” of magickal/occult currents. I also recall being quite impressed by its inclusiveness. But, for the life of me, I cannot find it now. Perhaps it was a dream.
January 25th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Humorous:
[url]http://seapagan.org/pagan-hierarchy/[/url]
channel null has an excellent (and long) overview of modern Satanic groups and their parapolitical ties, in his series:
Skeleton Keys to the Global Narco-Oil-Pedo-Trafficking Pirate Empire
January 25th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
maybe a good place to start would simply be listing them! there’s key23, barbelith, disinfo, etc. i’d bet with the visitors you get here you could have a pretty comprehensive list in no time.
January 25th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Yeah, I agree. Let’s list the major ones. Those are a good start. What else could we include:
- Otherkin community on LiveJournal
- Pagan community on LJ
- Various gnostics groups on the web, etc
I also should say that I’m more interested in having this be a map of online alt-religion communities - rather than like a historical summary, yadda yadda.
January 25th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
so like communities instead of information sites?
lessee . . . .
well, the old stand-bys: the subgenii and the discordians.
January 25th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Yeah, I guess that’s what I find more interesting is the social aspect of it.
January 25th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I guess that wahtever map you make out there is unlikley to lead anywhere, since majority of people who rattle on magic for days on end in the net have very vague ideas about what magic really is. They overinduldge in speculations, still magic is firmly grounded in real life and scary for any ordinary person. I think that people, who are for real sit calmly and go on about thier own magical business, not wasting thier energy on speculations. As for spiritual communities and alt-religions, people tend to search for like minded individuals and it’s very attarctive sort of thing to create “alternative lives/personalities” on the net. To my mind majority is just bored with everyday reality and it’s a perfect way to escape from it. I presume that spiritual truthes and experiences may be gained only by means of face-to-face contact with people, who possess it. Spiritual quest is not as simple as it might seem after surfing the sites and forums dedicated to such matters.
January 25th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
It certainly appears that they are more chaotic over at Key23, and that is probably the nature of the social beast it is harnessing, but the quieter authors are almost certainly not, so there is a mix in there. However, I confess that I spend more time talking at Key23 authors “behind the scenes” than I do contributing to the main space, so my perspective may be skewed.
Anyway… yes…
Supposing that two sites share a common aim or set of interests, cross-pollination is partly social (you’ll visit sites recommended or hosted by friendlies) and partly image (you’ll post on sites that are safe and encourage discussion). The opposite effects come into play at times - friendlies saying that sites are bad, feuding between personalities, the perception that it isn’t safe to post or discussion isn’t open to anyone.
Though why social systems work the way they do is a very difficult question, and painting the answers in such broad strokes makes me sound like a flakey politician…
…so I skip to my own questions after reading Pam’s comments:
Pam: Do you feel that studying the “philosophy” of any practice is inherently wasteful? Is it a waste of time to worry about what is truth?
January 25th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
Maybe you can start by following people’s links and blogrolls. I am into druidry, so I have links to OBOD and ADF, but also to Witchvox. I find discordians and chaos magicians and such interesting, but not so interesting as to spend a lot of time with them. This site is the closest I come to that stuff, and it suits me fine. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, it’s just not my cup of tea.
January 25th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Interesting, since I don’t consider myself a Discordian or “chaote”. Hehe. I hate that word. Choads!
January 25th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Oh, I don’t consider you one, either. But you talk about a wide variety of High Wierdness, and that’s good enough for me. =)
January 26th, 2006 at 1:35 am
Um. Eye am om. And this is ur list. Is each stare of different wood
January 26th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Do you feel that studying the “philosophy” of any practice is inherently wasteful? Is it a waste of time to worry about what is truth?
Well, I strongly believe that studying of philosopy & theolgy is a very worthy activity. However tonns of volumes are dedicated to the very definition of truth. To my mind, it’s great when people expand thier understanding and broaden thier intellectual and spiritual horizons. However, in-depth study differs a lot from “theoretical speculation”. It’s easy to read & quote Paolo Cohelo and much more difficult to tackle 7 volumes of Carlos Castaneda and later on compare certain things he wrote about to Chinese philosophical workings. Plus there is a practical part to many teachings and things which are to be understood from practice only. It’s like speaking a language. Ramblings of people over the net remind me someone, who’d say “Oh, chinese language is great!” and the others’d reply “Yeh, you know, I find this hieroglyh especially beautiful”, still none of them speak a single word of Chinese. That’s exactly what I call “rattling”.
What I am saying is that studying is excellent as far as it’s studying, not a “small talk” with a spiritual flavour added.
January 26th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
map it via the qaballah, cant wrong with the tree of life.
. /\ .
January 26th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silent.
I got your books in the mail yesterday, thanks a lot!
January 26th, 2006 at 9:25 pm
Pam, you said earlier:
Later, you added:
There is a lot of focus in your comments on what is ‘real’, and you spend some time attacking speculative thought.
I am not talking about studying or engaging in a practice, and my question may have been confusing in that regard. I am talking about scrutinising the underlying beliefs of many practices to draw a sense of its essence.
We are not baking bread — we are asking ourselves “What is flour? What is water? What is yeast?” All of these things can be used in many ways, and all the uses look and act differently, but they are still flour, and water, and yeast.
(Of course, the questions we are asking are a bit more complicated than that. We are questing after the very nature of truth itself.)
Will becoming a baker, engaging in the practice of baking, lead you to know what flour is? Certainly… in one way. Becoming a farmer will let you know how to grow grain, becoming a miller will let you mill the grain… but what is the flour? What is the essence of it? What is the “transcendant quality” of it?
Now, you may be happy with being a baker, or a farmer, or a miller. You may not care about the “essence” of it.
Some people do, and many, many more volumes will be written by their likes.
Though perhaps that’s not what you mean when you say “small talk” with a spiritual flavour added.