The Haunted House We Forgot We Lived In The West has spent half a century raiding other people’s sacred traditions whilst standing in a house of extraordinary spiritual richness it has entirely forgotten to inhabit. A guided tour of the rooms nobody visits. In the previous article, we considered the New Age movement’s remarkable talent for helping itself to other people’s sacred traditions. The vision quests sold at a premium in Sedona, the chakra diagrams on tote bags in Tot

How the West Learned to Plunder the Sacred Spiritual Shoplifting: How the West Learned to Plunder the Sacred When the New Age movement decided that indigenous traditions were a spiritual buffet, it forgot that some dishes belong to people who might object to having them stolen, repackaged, and sold at £180 a head. There is a peculiar kind of audacity that belongs almost exclusively to the Western spiritual seeker. It is the audacity of a person who, having grown bored with th

Poltergiest : A Kind of Haunting THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT - POLTERGIEST (And Throw Your Crockery at the Walls) A Rational Mystic's Guide to the Poltergeist Phenomenon Somewhere in Germany, in the year 1599, a farmer sat down to breakfast. Before he could reach his porridge, the bowl levitated off the table, sailed gracefully through the air, and deposited itself, with some force, on the back of his head. The farmer was not amused. Historians, however, very much are! W

A Manifesto for the Rational Mystic I think, therefore I am confused I think thereore Iam Confused On Why the Universe Probably Doesn't Exist — But You Should Probably Still Pay Your Council Tax "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." — Philip K. Dick (A man who spent considerable time testing this hypothesis personally) The Problem With Reality (Besides Everything Else) Let us begin, as all good philosophical investigations must, with an admi

High Magic and Low Magic : Mage and Cunning Woman High Magic vs Low Magic: A Beginner's Guide to Mystical Snobbery Or: Why Some Wizards Think They're Better Than Other Wizards There is, within the world of occultism, a class system so entrenched it would make a Victorian aristocrat weep with recognition. On one side, you have the High Magicians: robed, educated, probably fluent in at least three dead languages, and deeply, deeply serious about their relationship with the cos

The Reptillians are Here according to David Icke The Icke Files: A Critical Examination of Britain's Most Prolific Conspiracy Theorist David Icke presents a fascinating case study in how conspiracy theories evolve, merge, and metastasise. The former footballer and sports broadcaster has built a lucrative career promoting an elaborate cosmology that encompasses everything from shape-shifting reptilians to Saturn broadcasting a false reality. Let's examine the key claims and th

A "representation" of old documents: Not the original "Protocols" The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: History's Most Influential Fanfiction A Forgery for the Ages If you're going to fabricate a world-dominating conspiracy, you might as well go big. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion didn't just go big—it went apocalyptic, becoming perhaps the most consequential literary fraud in human history. This toxic masterpiece of paranoid fiction has inspired pogroms, influenced Nazi

The Witch The Witch's Two-Century Makeover Introduction: The Devil's Housewife Gets a Rebrand Two hundred years ago, if you'd called someone a witch, you were essentially accusing them of having signed a dodgy contract with Satan, murdered babies, and ruined the neighbours' crops—all whilst wearing unflattering headgear. Today, you might be complimenting their Instagram aesthetic, their small business selling crystals, or their ability to manifest abundance through the power

Howling at the Moon - The Werewolf Werewolves and Lycanthropy Introduction: More Than Just a Bad Hair Day There's something deeply unsettling about the idea that your friendly neighbourhood accountant might, come the full moon, sprout fangs and develop an unfortunate craving for your jugular. Yet the werewolf has endured as one of humanity's most persistent and popular monsters, prowling through folklore from ancient Greece to modern cinema, leaving a trail of torn clothing a

A Journey from Lurid Fantasy to Mundane Reality The Occultist The Occultist The Popular Imagination: Sex, Drugs, and Summoning Things Ask the average person what occultists get up to, and you'll receive a delightfully lurid catalogue of activities that would make even the most dedicated practitioner wonder where they're supposed to find the time. According to popular perception, occultists spend their evenings: Summoning demons in chalk circles whilst wearing dramatically hoo

The Necronomicon - The Book of Dead Names The Necronomicon: Examining Fiction, Forgery, and Functional Magic The Necronomicon occupies a peculiar position in the landscape of Western occultism—a grimoire that shouldn't exist, yet somehow does. To address whether it constitutes a "valid system for occult practice" requires us to navigate the tangled waters between literary fiction, deliberate fabrication, and the curious alchemy by which imagined texts can acquire genuine magi

The Vampire of "Romantic" Fiction The Undead Through the Ages: A History of Vampire Lore and Myth The vampire stands as one of humanity's most enduring monsters, a creature that has stalked the collective imagination for millennia. Yet the suave, aristocratic bloodsucker of modern fiction bears little resemblance to the bloated, plague-spreading revenants that terrorised medieval villages. The history of vampire lore reveals not a single coherent tradition, but a complex tape

Heremtic Knowledge: The Thrice-Greatest Heremes The Thrice-Greatest Wisdom: A Journey into Hermeticism Picture this: It's 1462 in Renaissance Florence, and Marsilio Ficino, the brilliant translator working for the powerful Cosimo de' Medici, is labouring over a Latin translation of Plato's complete works. Suddenly, a manuscript arrives that causes him to drop Plato immediately—despite having promised his patron he'd finish the job. What could be so compelling that even Plato

The Rainbow Chakras The Rainbow Delusion When a yoga teacher in Hampstead tells you to "open your heart chakra" whilst bathing it in green light, or a wellness influencer peddles crystals aligned to your "seven energy centres," they're perpetuating one of the most successful acts of cultural repackaging in modern spirituality. The neat system of seven chakras, each with its assigned colour, location, and psychological correspondence, has become so ubiquitous in Western altern

A conflation of Myths - Santa and Jesus = Christmas The Tangled Roots of Christmas: Syncretism, Appropriation, and the Making of a Western Festival Christmas, as celebrated across the Western world, represents one of history's most successful exercises in cultural syncretism and religious appropriation. The festival we recognise today—with its decorated trees, gift-giving, feasting, and associations with winter warmth and familial gatherings—bears only superficial resemblance

East and West - Shared Traditions Bridges Between East and West: Buddhist and Western Occult Traditions Compared Introduction: A Global History of Esoteric Exchange The relationship between Buddhist traditions and Western Occult practices goes far beyond superficial similarity or modern syncretism. Contemporary scholarship demonstrates that "esoteric" and "occult" are comparative terms that emerged from entangled exchanges rather than unilateral Western diffusion. From the 18

Welcome, curious minds and seekers of ancient wisdom, as we embark on a journey to unravel the veil shrouding the mystical myths of Tarot. Tarot, an enigmatic deck of cards, has ignited fascination and intrigue for centuries, captivating the hearts and minds of those drawn to its mystique. The Origins of Tarot: Unraveling the Veil of Mystery Contrary to popular belief, Tarot's origins are veiled in mystery, intertwining with diverse cultures and histories. While often associa

Life Cycle of The Occultist. The Spiral Path: Introduction: Beyond Linear Progression The Western esoteric tradition has long understood that spiritual and magical development follows not a straight line but a spiral—a path that returns to its beginning, yet at a higher octave of understanding. Unlike exoteric religious models that posit a final destination of salvation or enlightenment, the occultist's journey is better understood through a cyclical framework that mirrors bo

Modern Mysticism: Noetic Studies The IONS Institute of Noetic Studies stands at the crossroads of science and spirituality, exploring the nature of consciousness and human potential. It offers a unique perspective on noetic beliefs and approaches, which focus on inner knowing and the mind’s connection to the universe. For enthusiasts curious about how these ideas fit into broader spiritual and scientific frameworks, understanding the purpose and methods of IONS provides valua

Some Serious Thoughts on the Topic Intimacy and Magick Sex Magick: History, Practice, and Social Dimensions Introduction Sex magick occupies a peculiar position within esoteric traditions: simultaneously ancient and modern, transgressive and traditional, intensely personal yet socially contentious. Unlike many aspects of occult practice that remain safely abstract, sex magick engages with fundamental questions about embodiment, desire, power, and the relationship between phys