Magick, Cult and Occult
This Magick, Cult and Occult hub brings together writings on ceremonial magick, Qabalah, archetypes, cults, secret societies, drugs, near-death experiences and the strange corners of human experience. Use the themes below to explore the material that best matches your interests or practice.
Browse by theme
- Foundations of magick & ritual practice
- Qabalah, archetypes & the Tree of Life
- Cults, secret societies & control
- Mysteries, strangeness & altered states
- The Magick Society & community
- Other writings in Magick, Cult and Occult
Foundations of magick & ritual practice
Core essays on what magick is, how it works conceptually, and the foundational formulae and practices that underpin ceremonial work.
- A Definition of Magick – Pt. 1 – exploring what is meant by “magick”, intent and change in accordance with will.
- A Definition of Magick – Pt. 2 – continuing the discussion with further nuances, examples and implications for practice.
- The V.I.T.R.I.O.L. Formula – an examination of the classic alchemical formula and its psychological/magickal applications.
- The Middle Pillar Meditation – working with a central ritual for balancing, energy work and inner alignment.
Qabalah, archetypes & the Tree of Life
Articles focused on Qabalistic concepts, Tarot trumps, sephiroth and paths, and how these archetypal structures show up in psyche and behaviour.
- Archetypal Equilibrium – on balance between archetypal forces and what happens when that balance is disturbed.
- Binah and Chokmah – exploring these two sephiroth and their psychological and magickal correspondences.
- Hod and the Trickster Archetype – looking at Hod, Mercury and trickster dynamics in both ritual and everyday life.
- The Hermit Archetype – reflecting on solitude, withdrawal and the inner guide as an archetypal pattern.
- The 29th and 31st Paths of the Tree of Life – an exploration of these specific paths and what they imply for experience and development.
- The Tower and the 27th Path – on disruption, collapse and sudden change as part of the Qabalistic journey.
- 23–23–23 – numerology, symbolism and the recurring “23” pattern in magick and culture.
- Justice / Adjustment (Lamed): Balance, Judgement and Psychological Equilibrium – a deep dive into the Justice/Adjustment trump and the idea of psychic balance.
Cults, secret societies & control
Here the focus shifts from personal ritual to collective structures: cults, anti-cult movements, secret societies and the mechanisms of power, initiation and mind control.
- Cults and Anti-Cults: Deprogramming – examining recruitment, indoctrination and the pitfalls of “deprogramming”.
- Secret Societies – an overview of secret orders, their appeal and their psychological functions.
- The Truth About Secret Societies – a guest exploration of why people join such groups and how initiation can be used to control.
- Mysteries and Strangeness – reflections on high-strangeness, liminal events and how they are framed by groups and belief systems.
Mysteries, strangeness & altered states
Essays that venture into the borderlands: near-death experiences, visionary states, entheogens, demons and the Goetia.
- Near-Death Experience (NDE) and Out-of-Body Experiences (OOBEs) – exploring reports of NDEs and OOBEs and how they intersect with magick and belief.
- Drugs – on psychoactive substances, ritual, trance states and the risks of chemical shortcuts.
- Aleister Crowley and the Goetia – discussing Crowley, spirit evocation and the practical/psychological reading of the Goetia.
The Magick Society & community
Information on the Magick Society project and how these teachings and explorations are being developed in community.
- The Magick Society – an introduction to the Magick Society, its aims and how to engage with the material.
Other writings in Magick, Cult and Occult
Additional essays, observations, and resources exploring the strange and the occult.
- The Truth About Secret Societies – additional writing on secret societies.
- Ritual as Psychological Invocation – seasonal writings and explorations on occult themes.
- The Great God Pan – an exploration of the archetype, mythology, and esoteric significance of Pan.
"One of the things people don't know about exorcism is that you can't really use exorcism on things that are older than Christianity." Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
"It is a terrible error to let any natural impulse, physical or mental, stagnate. Crush it out, if you will, and be done with it; or fulfil it, and get it out of the system, but do not allow it to remain there and putrefy. The suppression of the normal sex instinct, for example, is responsible for a thousand ills. In Puritan countries, one inevitably finds a morbid preoccupation with sex coupled with every form of perversion and degeneracy." Aleister Crowley
“If you wish to seduce an angel, you must play the part of a devil.” Eliphas Levi
“This elaborate Golden Dawn system became part of Crowley's own inner world ... He carried it further than even the Golden Dawn principals had envisaged. I know of nothing within the Order documentary that even hints at the kind of visionary and spiritual experience that Crowley managed to get out of it.” Israel Regardie
“Do I think I'm a holy man? Sometimes.” Lon Milo DuQuette
Please for the love of all things holy. I want to finish the Magick without Tears audiobook. Please finish it. It means so much to me. Thanks for reading.