A central figure in Victorian Spiritualism, Madame Blavatsky is credited with starting the New Age movement. She influenced everyone from Aldous Huxley and HP Lovecraft to Aleister Crowley and David Bowie. Even Dungeons & Dragons borrows from Blavatsky.
Although her “miracles” were debunked, her ideas were far from harmless—her bizarre theories about race heavily influenced the Nazis.
We are recording a Week in Weird for #SupernaturalSelection in a couple of hours, so now is a great time to send us a question. Serious or not. We'll answer them.
I accidentally deleted my first post with my introduction, so here we go again!
Hi, I'm Mar, a Spanish nonbinary queer creature [she/they]! I'm an intersectional transfeminist, illustrator and tattoo apprentice, and also a singer, actor and alternative model when the stars sweetly align.
I strongly believe that art can be a form of magic. I love to draw powerful women and queer characters, often with a dark, occult, mythological touch. I also have a soft spot for paganism, witchcraft, vampires, angels and demons. Animism, paganism and witchcraft itself are essential to me, and designing sigils fascinates me.
I also love to dance like a maenad, laugh wildly, autumn, abysses, wind, storms and bonfires; and to sing and listen to intimate, feral and a bit terrible songs.
I'm new on Pixelfed, and I'm so happy to be here! 🖤
I like to make fun of the #Kybalion a lot, so I also like to offer people some good alternatives. It claims to be about Hermetic philosophy, but we all know it isn't. What is Hermetic philosophy? How can you learn about Hermeticism? Try some of these delightful books!
QSFer Ryan John Cavell has a new queer adult horror book out: The Toy Hospital.
Christmas will never be the same again! Nestled amongst the coffee shops and boutiques of Manchester there slumps a Toy Hospital, where two old ladies spend their days fixing, healing, and loving the lost and unfortunate playthings that comes into their care...
A lot of you have probably heard of Nicholas Chapel because he wrote that excellent article debunking the origins of the Kybalion, "The Kybalion's New Clothes." He got a lot of attention for that piece, but it turns out that Mr. Chapel is also a brilliant ceremonial magician and IT security person.
I had the pleasure of interviewing him for my #podcast back in 2021, and it's an episode that anybody can enjoy.
Some occult texts are riddled with misinformation and misdirection purposefully and knowingly included by the author. Sometimes called "blinds," their purpose is to obfuscate the secrets contained within the text, and to prevent or sabotage the work of the uninitiated who attempt to use the text without the proper knowledge, training, or experience.
I open the guest room door
as violent winds pummel the inn.
Lightning illuminates the blood
dripping onto the floor.
I shiver in fear.
Who else is here?
Are the Penobscot Indians friends or foes?
If enemies, Elizabeth doesn't want it to be so.
But would she rather have enemies within her friends?
I don't believe so.
Have you got something to share? If you've created something, send it in for the Hermetic Library Zine! If you've got an upcoming event, let's add it to Hermetic Library Calendar! Head to the blog for submission information.
According to the Welsh, water that takes long to boil is bewitched; to make it boil, use three different kinds of wood on the fire. Also, water drawn in silence before sunrise on Sunday, in one jug from three separate flowing springs, is imbued with magic. #FolkloreSunday#folklore#superstition#occult#Celtic#Wales