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This was the title of a talk that I gave in the UK to the Leeds University Occult Society in 1988 and is a theme that I continue to explore daily.
Those influenced by occultism in its many different forms fall into one of three categories.
Ghouls are those we hear most about in the press and include those for whom occult symbols have become essential window dressing for their horrific crimes. A number of historical murderers and nasty people come to mind in this category -
including one of the ultimate historical bogey men - Blue Beard.
Rebels are Luciferian (no pun intended!). Lucifer the light bringer is the angel expelled from heaven for aspiring to godliness. The pride, sense of destiny and ego marks the Luciferian rebel out to go against the general flow of the vast majority of humanity. Messianic figures like the late Aleister Crowley fall into this category. The path that these people delineate for the seeker runs in directions that most people find ludicrous, irrational or just damned scary.
Pleasure seekers by contrast are those decadents who see the occult as a way of finding permission to behave in ways that they find attractive. Often dilettantes they are happy to adopt an occult gloss without necessarily clinging to the beliefs or disciplines that go with them. This category of occult explorer is by far the most common. An example from my youth was a group whose profession of witchcraft was a thinly disguised excuse for enjoying the mild bondage and flagellation so favoured by the late Gerald Gardner - father of modern Wicca.
To have fun with the occult you need to know into which camp you fit and more importantly where your bed fellows fit. For example ghouls and pleasure seekers are clearly mismatched! Without this awareness, forays into the arcane can be confusing, disturbing and occasionally damaging. This is were open-mindedness, skepticism, commonsense and a willingness to take risks become important. Some might say that these are the four best friends of the occultist. Others I know suggest that they are the four horsemen of the apocalypse!
Without doubt occultism in its many varied forms signposts the outermost limit of human experience whether through grace, emancipation, madness or cruelty. In these days of spiritual tourism it is essential to know with whom you are travelling. After all, it is the quality of the company that determines the success of a dinner party. Why should a spiritual quest be any different!
Footprints on the ceiling? Please investigate! (Dadaji 999)
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