A A A
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
Site Admin
Offline
I'm looking for resources on unusual/innovative forms of magic. I've become very disillusioned with much of modern occult literature; much of it is very poorly researched, and still more is regurgitated from older traditions by people who honestly have no idea that the “cutting edge” material they're working with has been around for a century or more. Chaos Magic, which seemed to hold such potential for innovation, really has made no great strides forward. Other, less eclectic traditions, either seem to pride themselves on a lack of innovation (“we do everything just exactly the way our ancestors did!”) or they are so bound up by oaths of secrecy that one would have to dedicate themselves to the tradition before ever getting a good idea of what it entails and whether or not it's actually innovating or stagnating.
So what's still out there? What am I missing? What are good authors that don't just cover the same old material again and again? Who's talking about new ways of doing things, new techniques, or even combining existing systems in new ways? Who's talking about the wealth of new visualizations that modern media have made available to the average person from warp speed to nanotechnology all the way to the energy-blasts of the Sword of Omens and what *those* all mean for magical work, quite apart from the shiny but ultimately not all that innovative “Let's invoke Cthulhu/Buffy/Rainbow Dash” approach to pop-culture magic? Hell, at this point I'll even settle for older systems that are just not that widely known as long as the material is solidly researched and well written.
Site Admin
Offline
Ok, since no one has offered any suggestions in the past few months, I guess I’ll start. This isn’t a suggestion for reading material, since I still haven’t really found any that meet the criteria I was asking about, but an observation:
Cartoons have created generations of children with more magical potential than the world has ever seen.
At first glance, that may sound like an absurd statement. Magic has been around for ages, clearly. Children have also been around for ages. What would cartoons provide them with that they’ve never before, in all of history, had?
A common framework for unusual visualizations.
Let me draw upon some of the cartoons from our own childhoods to make this point. I’ll start with a pretty popular show that I’m sure many of us watched, either in cartoon form or in the movies: Ghostbusters. I’m talking the Real Ghostbusters (Ray, Eagon, Winston, Peter, Janine, and Slimer) here, not that copycat bullshit with the gorilla. Anyone here have trouble visualizing a proton pack, or the beams they shoot? I know I can picture them very very clearly with very little effort on my part. And It seems to me that visualization would be pretty effective for oh, I don’t know, a ritual involving banishment?
Next cartoon: Superman. Too many individual cartoons to pick between, but I guarantee we’ve all got a real good mental image of Superman. What could we use that for? Well, instead of trying to visualize impregnable force fields, walls, armor, or what have you in order to shield yourself why not just visualize yourself as Superman? Is it even difficult for us to picture bullets bouncing off his skin? The invulnerability of Superman is damned near ingrained into our psyches at this point. Why not use that?
We’re basically programming ourselves and our children with highly potent thought-forms. Clear visualizations that they will need little to no effort to picture in the future, due to long-term repeated exposure as children. As occultists, how can we ignore the potential that offers?
Jarandhel Dreamsinger said:
Ok, since no one has offered any suggestions in the past few months, I guess I'll start.
I'm sorry, Jarin. I don't think my suggestions could be anything you haven't seen before, and I haven't found enough time to practice around schoolwork. It's hard to only be able to focus on so many things at once, with my varied interests, but I wouldn't want to call myself a practitioner and rarely practice. 🙂 And it feels like even in magic there's only so much that one can apply themselves to at one time. I don't like to do things in a harried way but I get anxious to acquire skill/proficiency as well.
This isn't a suggestion for reading material, since I still haven't really found any that meet the criteria I was asking about, but an observation:
Cartoons have created generations of children with more magical potential than the world has ever seen.
Yes, I completely agree. ;D
Let me draw upon some of the cartoons from our own childhoods to make this point. I'll start with a pretty popular show that I'm sure many of us watched, either in cartoon form or in the movies: Ghostbusters. I'm talking the Real Ghostbusters (Ray, Eagon, Winston, Peter, Janine, and Slimer) here, not that copycat bullshit with the gorilla. Anyone here have trouble visualizing a proton pack, or the beams they shoot? I know I can picture them very very clearly with very little effort on my part. And It seems to me that visualization would be pretty effective for oh, I don't know, a ritual involving banishment?
Oh yeah, I saw the movie a number of years ago. 🙂 I don't recall that much about it, but I think I know what you're talking about.
Next cartoon: Superman. Too many individual cartoons to pick between, but I guarantee we've all got a real good mental image of Superman. What could we use that for? Well, instead of trying to visualize impregnable force fields, walls, armor, or what have you in order to shield yourself why not just visualize yourself as Superman? Is it even difficult for us to picture bullets bouncing off his skin? The invulnerability of Superman is damned near ingrained into our psyches at this point. Why not use that?
I think that's a great idea. 
Really creative, and relevant to people today. I wouldn't have thought of that…
We're basically programming ourselves and our children with highly potent thought-forms. Clear visualizations that they will need little to no effort to picture in the future, due to long-term repeated exposure as children. As occultists, how can we ignore the potential that offers?
Well, I'm not anti-TV, and I'm not pro-TV either. Kids will always gravitate toward it and I think it's good for 'em in reasonable amounts. My siblings and I watched hours of cartoons, and we turned out alright…sort of. 
Additionally, we were fortunate because we were children at a time when there was a lot more “enchanted” stuff – I remember when Disney films had music by Hans Zimmer and Elton John, and this was not unusual. The first movie I ever saw in theaters was Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt! Gorgeous, meaningful little movie. So I think as long as the richness is there in some form, that kids will have enough soul depth to be magically aware, and I agree that cartoons (when well-executed) can nurture potential. 🙂 As long as the children are taken seriously, it all works out.
Site Admin
Offline
Yeah, we’re not doing this. Leaving actually means leaving.
Ancient of Days
Offline
Ummm, did I miss something…?
Jarandhel Dreamsinger said:
Yeah, we're not doing this. Leaving actually means leaving.
I will do what you ask. But not before I say that I wished you'd give me another chance. I'm trying to make things right…I know that I messed up. I blew it. But what else can I say? I'm the same age you were when you co-founded HOPE, Jarin. What if people had told you to leave? Is what I have done or said worse? I don't know if that's true or not.
I also don't know if any times when you seemed glad to see me were real, but to me you've been someone “amazing and wonderful”, and you've been there. You've been like an elder brother to me, and I've wished it were true…and even in my pain I feel that way. You must understand that I said that when I was upset, but I didn't want you to believe me. Please don't stand there and say “That was what you said.”
There is nothing more to say. I can't say “goodbye”. I can't.
Site Admin
Offline
Arethinn said:
Ummm, did I miss something…?
Yeah, this thread: https://dreamhart.org/forum/spiritwork/feeding-the-spirits/
Specifically the last post “But you don’t want to see me anymore. So I’m going to leave, okay? I’ll miss you. I hope you can somehow tell how much I mean that.”
I’m not going to play games here. Turning around less than a week after she says she’s leaving and pretending nothing ever happened, not even apologizing to the people here apart from me she compared to serial killers and demeaned for worshipping “bloodthirsty mesoamerican gods”, really just underlines the fact that she doesn’t actually believe she did anything wrong. Despite the apology she sent privately to me on the 11th, it’s still very clear to me that what she’s actually sorry for is being called on her behavior.
That, and no longer being able to latch onto me. Which, seriously, was starting to get creepy. “Eshira”, which she called me in that thread, means “beloved” in Aloryan. There are people from Alorya whom I’ve known for years that I wouldn’t call that, even if I do consider them family.
Edit – and this time I think I’ve fixed the banning so it will actually work properly and she won’t be able to post anymore. Forum module really needs a simple “ban” button…
Site Admin
Offline
Getting things back on topic after the digression: Unusual/Innovative Magic!
The prevalence of sci-fi has also presented us with unique thoughtforms that older occultists would not have had access to. From warp speed (a very useful visualization for attempting to use time magic to accelerate a car trip) to nanites (a useful visualization for healing, effectively creating and deploying thousands of microscopic, self-replicating servitors) to black holes (need to visualize an energy sink to get rid of something icky?) to SEP fields (it really is an easier way to handle the problem of invisibility), sci-fi has provided us with countless new visualizations that can be used to occult effect.
Most Users Ever Online: 252
Currently Online:
3 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
Arethinn: 217
Claude: 122
technobushi: 79
Ayaka Inu: 30
The Doctor: 28
casteylan: 25
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 1
Members: 577
Moderators: 0
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 6
Forums: 36
Topics: 217
Posts: 1337
Newest Members:
bomberniga2, Nox Gold, derekholt1980, xtw18387, Alica Pettit, Cels ArgentumAdministrators: Jarandhel Dreamsinger: 540
