Epic laws of the occult.

It amazes me how journalists who have no real background or contextual knowledge in the occult choose to write slaphappy articles about occult material. In the old days, if somebody sought to disparage an esoteric group, they were fully aware of the potential for a strong push off a short bridge or a meeting with a rock hurled at fast-ball speed. It was a break neck business. Secrecy was more guarded than the abandoned hangars at Area 51 and with as much force. There’s the line, cross it at your own peril. In the times of the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece, a blabbermouth could likely end up with a mouthful of blood or worse if he disrespected the secrets of initiation. And still to this day, there are those who tread on supernatural ground completely oblivious to the ten foot demon looming behind them with razor-sharp fangs, an ugly disposition, and the propensity to incur real psychological harm just for the sport of it.

On August 2, 2011, reporter Zen Gardner wrote an article about the “11 occult secrets now in the open.” Although the piece was written in a semi-candid style, there was a treacherous undercurrent of maliciousness that seeped out of its pores. Indeed, I felt as though I needed a good shower after reading this sordid piece of fear mongering and inaccuracy. Good old Zen seems to triumphantly assert that he has seen through the veil of occult secrecy and it’s a place of ‘hidden agendas’, clandestine operations, and smug nastiness. Capitalizing on the rumor-panics of the past, the author seeks to undermine occult processes by perpetuating an ‘in the know’ attitude; when in fact, the dirty dingbat probably has no experience with the occult at all. Here’s a summation of his uncovered secrets.

1)      Paradigm shift- We’re entering a vibrational shift over a period of time.

2)      2012 – Many environmental changes.

3)      Emergence of illuminati and occult-based world.

4)      Control of world by freemasons and corporate world.

5)      Zionist agenda.

6)      Vatican assassins.

7)      Human/extraterrestrial – intervention theory.

8)      Religion makes a move to subjugate the masses.

9)      Prevalence of mental-conditioning machine.

10)  Mind control.

11)  The occult fears mainstream world culture.

Even I’m perplexed at the sheer lunacy of some of these assertions. Mind control, a mental-conditioning machine, and Vatican assassins? This author is more paranoid than  Dali lost at Disneyland with a head full of hashish and no map out of toon town. A horrific absurdity. When in fact, the occult is arguably an entity with minimal secrets. In what I call the five epic laws of occult folklore, the arts and sciences of this genre follow distinct patterning and methodology. These laws can be judiciously described as: 1) The law of correspondences 2) The law of contrasts 3) The law of hierarchy 4) The rite of revealing 5) The dying god motif.

The law of correspondences gives form to the magic and mystery of occultic folklore. Participants engage in a highly sophisticated and complex set of symbolic correspondences utilized to glean subtle insights into the cognitive processes of the psyche. It is a method of self-perfection and its goal theophanic realization. Some of these correspondences include pictorial, numerical, and liturgical archetypes used as foundations for belief and disseminated through the teacher/pupil formula.

In the law of contrast, polarity becomes a key concept in understanding the meaning of the narratives. Working with the use of reversals, contrast becomes a way of defining a constituent unit through the association with its opposite. For example, this is the idea behind the Judaic Sephiroth and Qliphoth. According to Judaic mysticism, ten Sephiroth or emanations make up the ‘Tree of Life’. These stages of consciousness represent esoteric growth in the practitioner. Conversely, each Sephiroth also has a Qliphoth or ‘shell’ that acts as an opposite or adversary to its counterpart. Whereas a Sephiroth has a corresponding angel, the Qliphoth has a corresponding demon and so on. There are a plethora of contrasting principles in occult folklore. And most times they are reconciled by a third autonomous entity or principle.

Occult folklore also makes use of the law of hierarchy as a way to define the various steps that elucidate esoteric knowledge. The hierarchy usually begins with a probationary period in which the initiate is not yet a member of the lodge but undergoes a temporary period of purification. In Freemasonry, this time period is called the Entered Apprentice stage. It is a phase of preparation and the duty is to awaken latent powers within. The symbol of this step is one of youth. Its tarot attribution would be The Fool. An initiate beginning the esoteric journey yet full of promise and inherent power. According to Manly Hall, the “Entered Apprentice must realize that his body is the living temple of the living god and treat it accordingly; for when he abuses or mistreats it he breaks the sacred obligations which he must assume before he can ever hope to understand the true mysteries of the craft” (47). During this time period, the fledgling is encouraged proper diet, exercise, and mental preparation. The hierarchal structure accelerates higher and more advanced degrees as the pupil continues his study and ritual.

The law of revealing makes use of an unveiling to instill insights into sacred. Often times, there is a sudden shock that accompanies this unveiling. It is also a way to pass on esoteric knowledge by accentuating the secrecy of initiation. The neophyte is literally in the dark before the secret is passed to him. The law of revealing is a rite. It makes use of ritualism and symbol to emphasize the numinous qualities of the supernatural. Nowhere is the rite of revealing more prevalent than in the mysteries of ancient Eleusis. The mystae, or first-time initiates were blindfolded and made to wander through the dark. Like the goddess Persephone, the initiates themselves suffered the terror of being in the underworld. Michael Cosmopoulos states that, “the Epoptae (advanced initiates) who are waiting outside the Telesterion could see her (Persephone) together with her mother, emerging from the cave precinct where she arose from the underworld. The light that came from within the Telesterion came, I imagine, from the torches that were suddenly lit by the hundreds perhaps thousands of these Epoptae standing on the steps that line the walls of the Telesterion. It was at this moment that the neophytes entered and beheld the image of the reunited goddesses” (2003: 67). The sense of shock that accompanied this revealing was an integral part of the Eleusinian mystery. It both exhibited a sense of awe and imparted an important esoteric teaching.

The dying god motif is nothing new to students of religion and mysticism. From Osiris to Jesus to Hiram Abiff, the idea of dying and being reborn is an essential aspect of occult folklore. We see this in the ritualization of ancient Egypt. Initiates first went through a purification ceremony in which water was used to ready them for their ultimate becoming. When nighttime came, the initiate was dressed in a linen robe never previously worn and led him to the remotest part of the sanctuary or penetralia. The next part of the ceremony is important because it deals with the neophyte going through his symbolic death. By dying to this former life, the man was reborn as a god. According to Robert Turcan, this moment occurred “in the middle of the sanctuary, a platform was set up which the new initiate mounted. When the curtains were drawn, he was revealed ‘like a statue’, crowned with palm-leaves and armed with a torch, for the admiration of the faithful who filed slowly past his feet” (1997: 72). Here we see the rite of revealing leading into the dying god motif. The neophyte was revealed as a statue or more accurately, as a god to his fellow brethren.

When the occult chickens come home to roost, it becomes apparent that though there is secrecy as part of the occult, in no way does that secrecy imply some ‘nefarious agenda’ on the part of the practitioners. However, there are epic laws that govern the ritual and symbol of the occult. These laws largely stem from the past but remain legitimate in modern times. If uninformed journalists want to stick their nose in occult business they are certainly welcome to do so but shouldn’t be surprised when occultists flog them like a mule. So what? It wouldn’t be the first time somebody has received a vicious beat-down for wandering into uncharted depths. In this day and age, we can’t be too careful. The tide is coming in fast.