Pop Spirituality : The Application of Popular Culture in Contemporary Esoteric Practices
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Magical practices, as part of the larger contemporary esoteric milieu, have undergone significant changes in the past decades. Relying previously on the exclusivity of knowledge and membership, the shift towards individuality in practice and accessibility has been a common denominator for several of the post-modern esoteric movements. Among one of the most influential new “schools” of magic undoubtedly belongs Chaos Magick, which can be traced back to practitioners such as Austin Osman Spare. With the rise in popularity of individual, custom-designed magical rituals, popular culture has proven to be one of the important aspects associated with the practice. Influential, able to reach a wide audience and depicting visually attractive supernatural events, and abilities, it is of no surprise that several practitioners have started to include depicted fictional characters and places into their rituals. At the same time, many practitioners are artists themselves and intentionally manifest the esoteric knowledge in their audio-visual art. This presentation will focus on the mutual interaction between the occult knowledge represented through visual means in popular culture and the magical practice of modern magicians. |
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