I am officially retiring the old “best of” page from back in the Pop Occulture days. The “Essential Writings” page will hereafter take its place as a toehold into the worlds we’ve explored here together.

For safekeeping though, here is the old goodness:

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Welcome to the Best of Pop Occulture. Collected here are all my favorite articles and discussions that we’ve had here. They cover a huge variety of subjects, so there’s definitely something for everybody. Reading through a few of these articles ought to give you a good sense of what we’re all about here at Pop Occulture. For more great stuff to read, check out my Gnostic Essay collection, and the collaborative Pop Culture Tarot project.

Apocalypse

The end of the world is coming! Or is it? Nobody really knows, but people sure do like to theorize about it. This section features lots of wild speculation about the end of the world, what it will be like and when it will happen. Perhaps more importantly though, we also talk a lot about what purpose the Apocalypse myths serve psychologically and socially.

1. “YOU’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” PROPHECY & PROTEST
2. THE RAPTURE: SUCKER’S PARADISE!
3. APOCALYPTIC DREAMS
4. BLACKOUT 2003
5. MANSON’S HELTER-SKELTER APOCALYPSE
6. PROPHECY FOR RETARDS
7. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION OF THE APOCALYPSE
8. HOPI END TIMES PROPHECY

Christianity

Christianity is complicated, to say the least. There’s lots of good stuff in it, and there’s lots of bad stuff in it. If nothing else, it seems to be pretty much inseparable from Western Culture, historically, philosophically and in modern times. The articles here take a tough look at lots of different aspects of Christianity from the mundane to the arcane.

1. CAN ALIENS LOVE JESUS?
2. WILL THE LOGOS DESCEND INTO THE INTERNET?
3. COMMITTING YOURSELF TO CHRIST
4. COMPETING CHRISTIAN MYTHS
5. INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE
6. FAITH VS. WORKS
7. IS JESUS LUCIFER?
8. INFANCY GOSPEL OF THOMAS
9. SAVING SATAN
10. THE POPE AS ESOTERIC ROMAN EMPEROR
11. WHY THE VATICAN HATES LIBERATION THEOLOGY
12. ANARCHISM & LIBERATION IN EMERGENT DIALOGUE
13. THE COMING RISE OF CATHOLIC FUNDAMENTALISM
14. THE HERETIC’S GUIDE TO HERESY
15. EMERGING CHURCH ROUND-UP
16. CATHOLIC NAZIS
17. THE DOCTRINE OF PETRINE SUPREMACY
18. JESUS, PIMP SLAPS & NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE
19. CARDINAL RATZINGER - COULD THE NEXT POPE BE A NAZI?
20. PETER POPOFF’S “MIRACLE” SPRING WATER
21. THE ROMAN EMPIRE & CHRISTIANITY
22. ONE SIZE FITS ALL CHRISTIANITY
23. ADMITTING YOU’RE A SINNER
24. UNIVERSALISM & SALVATION
25. THE ROLE OF SATAN IN UNIVERSALISM
26. CONFESSIONS ABOUT CONFESSION

Conspiracy Theory

Thanks to the internet, conspiracy theories are now more popular than ever. Once the sole province of the basement lunatic, conspiracy theory now offers us important cultural lessons about media, government, truth, and good old fashioned weirdness. Articles in this section explore why conspiracy-thinking is important, and what we can do with it. Wear your tin-foil hat proudly!

1. RACISM & CONSPIRACY THEORY
2. CONSPIRACY THEORY = MEDIA LITERACY
3. LONDON BOMBER PHOTOSHOP SCANDAL
4. DALAI LAMA ON CIA PAYROLL?
5. AN INTEGRAL APPROACH TO CONSPIRACY THEORY
6. CONSPIRACY THEORY AS SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
7. COLONEL MUSTARD WITH THE CANDLESTICK
8. THE SYMBOLIC SIDE OF THE GOSCH-GANNON-GUCKERT CASE
9. A SPIRITUAL CONSPIRACY
10. CROSSING THE STREAMS
11. CONSPIRACY THEORY, ALCHEMY & GNOSTICISM
12. THE CONSPIRACY SPECTRUM
13. SCOOBY DOO & THE ROOTS OF CONSPIRACY THEORY
14. GET RICH QUICK WITH CONSPIRACY THEORY
15. CONSPIRACY THEORY, THE NEW SCI-FI?
16. MICHAEL JACKSON, MIND CONTROL VICTIM?
17. THE PIED-PIPER OF NEVERLAND
18. URI GELLER & SPECTRA
19. THE CONSPIRACY THEORY WITH A THOUSAND FACES
20. THE JOSEPH CAMPBELL OF CONSPIRACY THEORY
21. WHEN MIND CONTROL TECHNOLOGY BECOMES REALITY
22. A TALE OF TWO HUBBARDS
23. PUHARICH, E.L.F. & TOOTH IMPLANTS
24. TRAUMA-BASED MIND CONTROL
25. DID JFK DROP ACID?
26. THE OCCULT-CONSPIRACY OPERATING SYSTEM
27. HOW TO FIGHT THE EMPIRE AND WIN!
28. IS DISSENT REALLY DANGEROUS?
29. RADICAL CONSUMERISM
30. THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SCARED

Monsters & Entities

It seems like people have been experiencing and imagining weird creatures and entities all throughout time. Maybe we’re just lonely, or maybe we’re drawn to these sorts of beings because they are reflections of us on some level. Whatever it is, it’s a good creepy time. Warning: don’t read these articles late at night!

1. THE COMING OF THE UNIVERSAL ADVERSARY
2. THE WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY OF SPIRITS
3. I SEE MONSTERS!
4. THE NATION OF ISLAM’S UFO MYTH
5. THE GUARDIAN ANGEL
6. TOO MANY TULPAS
7. VISITS FROM THE DEAD
8. ALIENS & OCCULT INITIATION RITUALS
9. YOUR DATA BODY & YOU
10. WEIRD ENTITIES & CULTURE-BOUND SYNDROMES
11. THE CABIRI & UFO DWARVES
12. THE EXTERNAL SOUL
13. METATRON: ANGEL OF THE PRESENCE
14. THE ALIEN-ARCHON CONNECTION
15. FAKES, GREYS, ALIENS, ARCHONS, AGENTS, DEMONS, ECTHROI & ORGANIC PORTALS
16. REPTILIANS AS DISINFORMATION
17. FURRIES, PLUSHIES & OTHERKIN

Occcult, Esoteric, Magick

The occult is a field which is especially hard to define. The word itself means “hidden” and that tends to be the way that we approach it here at Pop Occulture. People throughout history have gone on wild quests and created all kinds of interesting methods for uncovering and deciphering the hidden. Pull out your magic wands and get ready to explore them here!

1. GOT A BLACK MAGIC BABY
2. THE OCCULT IN TODAY’S CULTURE
3. THE OUIJA BOARD
4. BY CONSCIOUS DESIGN
5. TO WISH IMPOSSIBLE THINGS
6. WICCA & CHRISTIANITY
7. ROLE-PLAYING GAMES GATEWAY TO THE OCCULT?
8. THE OCCULT BRAND
9. PAGAN PUSSIES
10. POP CULTURE MAGICK BY TAYLOR ELLWOOD
11. JAMES BOND & ALEISTER CROWLEY
12. EVIL AS THE CENTER OF EXPANSION IN RELIGION
13. DIVINATION & METEOROLOGY
14. THE POP OCCULT GNOSTIC CONSPIRACY
15. THE NEW NEW AGE
16. OCCULT SYMBOLS & TATTOO RESOURCES
17. CHAOTIC PATTERNS IN DIVINATION

Philosophy

Do you love debating ideas? Then these articles ought to interest you. They cover some of my favorite philosophical questions and approaches to knowledge.

1. THE PATH OF RADICAL QUESTIONING
2. IS SCIENCE A RELIGION?
3. THIS RELIGION WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN 30 SECONDS!
4. THE PHILOSOPHY OF PHOTOSHOP
5. REALITY AS MEANING
6. THE NON-RANDOM THRESHOLD
7. REPRESENTATION & REALITY
8. KEN WILBER CRITIQUE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
9. PHILOSOPHICAL VS. SCIENTIFIC SKEPTICISM
10. IS HUMANITY UNNATURAL?
11. REASON & THE HIDDEN WILL
12. KNOWLEDGE MAPPING

Psychology & Consciousness

One of the primary functions of the human animal, it seems, is to create and transcend elaborate realities. Where the limit really lies is a question which has driven humanity to incredible heights and creative endeavors. Explore these highs (and lows) of human consciousness by checking out some of these great articles.

1. WHAT DO DREAMS MEAN?
2. THE POWER OF LABELS
3. FLOOD DREAMS
4. PSYCHOSIS & THE OCCULT
5. THE ESSENTIAL HUMAN BRAND
6. HOW DOES NLP WORK?
7. SCIENTOLOGY VS. PSYCHOLOGY
8. CAVE PAINTINGS AND THE ORIGIN OF CONSCIOUSNESS
9. THE 8 DYNAMICS OF SCIENTOLOGY
10. MONOTHEISTIC & POLYTHEISTIC MIND THEORIES
11. SCI-FI: COGNITIVE DISSONANCE BUSTER!
12. HOW TO BOOST CREATIVITY
13. RELIGIOUS DUALITY & THE BICAMERAL BRAIN

Religions & Spiritual Issues

Have you ever wondered why humanity just can’t seem to shake it’s fascination with religion? I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out this mystery for myself. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve come up with so far along with some great questions & discussions for serious spiritual seekers.

1. RELIGIOUS LOGIC, Part 1, & 2
2. FOLK-SAINTS & FOLKSONOMIES
3. METROSPIRITUALITY: SHOPPING IS A FEELING
4. OVERSTANDING NUWAUBIANISM
5. CARGO CULTS, RELIGIONS & ULTRATERRESTRIALS
6. SPECULATIONS ON RELIGION IN THE FUTURE
7. IS CULT A USELESS LABEL?
8. THAT CRAZY XENU!
9. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, SCIENTOLOGY & GNOSTICISM
10. LANDMARK FORUM & SCIENTOLOGY
11. L. RON HUBBARD VS. PHILIP K. DICK
12. WHAT IS RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM?
13. FUNDAMENTALISM PART 2: BRAND IDENTITY & CULTURAL IMMUNE SYSTEMS
14. TRAINING ROUTINE ZERO
15. THE PROCESS CHURCH & SCIENTOLOGY
16. TYPES OF RELIGIONS: 1, 2
17. SCIENTOLOGY’S MARKETING STRATEGY
18. RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM: 1, 2
19. MONEY IN SPIRITUALITY
20. 3 TYPES OF RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION
21. JESUS IN YOUR BACK YARD
22. THE OCCULT & THE EXPERIENCE OF GOD
23. RELIGIONS AS SOFTWARE
24. OCCULT EVANGELIZATION
25. MYTHOLOGIZING THE PAST
26. RELIGION WITH ONLY ONE CALORIE