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Tag: occult

morning computer one by one

I’ve sometimes thought that that’s why I became a painter, because I have all these pictures inside me, yes, so many pictures that they’re a kind of agony, yes, it hurts me when they keep popping up again and again, like visions almost, and in all kinds of contexts, and I can’t do anything about it, the only thing I can do is paint, yes, try to paint away these pictures that are lodged inside me, there’s nothing to do but paint them away, one by one

THE OTHER NAME, Jon Fosse

Mars’ oddest cloud: the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud. 

Roberta Gentry:

“While the idea of God has received much attention from philosophers and progressive theologians, its counterpart, the dark figure of the Evil One, has been much neglected”. So begins The History of the Devil, wherein this perceived wrong is to be righted by Paul Carus, a self-described “theologian of science”.

Although an unfamiliar name now, at the end the nineteenth century Carus was hailed for his attempts to “conciliate science and religion”. He also played a key role in the introduction of Buddhist thought to the United States, to which he emigrated from his native Germany in the mid-1880s.

THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL AND THE IDEA OF EVIL

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Alchemists In Chelmsford

In 1415, the practice of artificially “multiplying” precious metals was illegal in England and Wales. The prohibition did not prevent one alchemist from setting up his furnace at the priory of Hatfield, near the town of Chelmsford in Essex, a subordinate priory of the great Benedictine abbey of St. Albans. The alchemist, William Morton, was not a member of the religious community, but a “wooleman” from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who had established a collaborative relationship with the former prior. Morton and his business partners, who included both religious and laymen, used the priory not only as a site for alchemical practice, but also as a platform for more ambitious bids for patronage. Their goal was to make two alchemical powders, or elixirs: one for transmuting “red” metals, such as copper and brass, into gold; the other for turning “white” metals, including lead and tin, into silver.

THE EXPERIMENTAL FIRE, Jennifer M. Rampling

Just up the road from me there was once a working alchemist. Closer by, there was once a cunning man.

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Viral WitchTok

The resurgence of interest in witchcraft coincides with periods of social and political instability, as anti-progressive movements gained traction after years of strong progressive sentiment. In this context, marginalised groups turned to esoteric practices not as reactionary escapism but as tools for self-preservation and empowerment. Viral WitchTok content often emphasises spells for protection, manifestation and enlightenment.

I’m not sure “viral WitchTok” was a phrase I ever needed to see, but apparently that’s where we are. Or where we’ve been, actually. I noted otherwise intelligent, educated and alert persons talking way too much about astrology in the 2010s. Maybe there’s a conversation to be had about the retreat from the real that started pre-pandemic.

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TANNHAUSER, Via Abraxas

Abraxas Publishing were kind enough to send me a copy of their facsimile edition of Aleister Crowley’s TANNHAUSER, in a gorgeous A4 form. Abraxas are doing all kinds of weird and occult stuff, and their website is really worth a look if you’re into that stuff. Lovely looking objects.

This should be the product link, in Finnish and in English.

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