The Art of the Occult: A Visual Sourcebook for the Modern Mystic (1) (Art in the Margins)

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The I'itoi is an indigenous spiritual symbol that signifies the challenging and balancing decisions in one's life that lead us to our ultimate dream state from the product of all of our choices. The ideal is to reach the center of this maze of decisions we make, which is a manifestation of our purpose and dream, and is accepted by the Sun God upon our death. It is also, perhaps, a response to the fear and anxiety of the current moment. “I think this surge in esoteric beliefs tends to show up in moments of crisis, when things are feeling uneasy and unsettled on a good day, and bereft of hope on the worst of them,” says S Elizabeth, author of The Art of the Occult. Growing up surrounded by richly decorated tarot cards and zodiac posters designed by Alphonse Mucha, Elizabeth sees the occult and art as inseparable.

In 1853, the Freemasonic author Jean-Marie Ragon had already used occultisme in his popular work Maçonnerie occulte, relating it to earlier practices that, since the Renaissance, had been termed "occult sciences" or "occult philosophy", but also to the recent socialist teachings of Charles Fourier. [9] The French esotericist Éliphas Lévi then used the term in his influential book on ritual magic, Dogme et rituel de la haute magie, first published in 1856. [10] Lévi was familiar with that work and might have borrowed the term from there. In any case, Lévi also claimed to be a representative of an older tradition of occult science or occult philosophy. [11] It was from his usage of the term occultisme that it gained wider usage; [12] according to Faivre, Lévi was "the principal exponent of esotericism in Europe and the United States" at that time. [13] The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, A symbol originating from The Eternal Champion, later adopted by occultists and role-playing games. The term occult sciences was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, [1] amongst figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin. [2] It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. The book taps into this archive collection as its main source, although artworks from the gallery collection predating this, and from the international collection are also featured in the book.For Colquhoun, automatism was less about self discovery and more about spiritual connection. “Whereas the majority of the Surrealists felt that such images or dream-content came from within—their personal unconscious,” Shillitoe elaborated, “Colquhoun believed that they could come from the spirit realm.” Her works acted as rituals and incantations, documenting her attempts to achieve enlightenment and connect with spiritual forces. Just like Hilma af Klint decades later, Georgiana Houghton created automatic drawings, claiming that she was led by a spirit called Lenny along with seventy Archangels. As a result, she produced abstract compositions of interwoven lights decades before the word abstraction was ever applied to art. The occult also had an influence on the exploration of the supernatural in Renaissance art. Many of the works of the period featured supernatural elements, such as angels, demons, and spirits. These elements were often used to explore the mysteries of the afterlife and to evoke a sense of awe and wonder. A different division was used by the Traditionalist author René Guénon, who used esotericism to describe what he believed was the Traditionalist, inner teaching at the heart of most religions, while occultism was used pejoratively to describe new religions and movements that he disapproved of, such as Spiritualism, Theosophy, and various secret societies. [17] Guénon's use of this terminology was adopted by later writers like Serge Hutin and Luc Benoist. [18] As noted by Hanegraaff, Guénon's use of these terms are rooted in his Traditionalist beliefs and "cannot be accepted as scholarly valid". [18] Aleister Crowley's drawing of Lam (not in the Book) may not be great art but it is genuinely occult. Leonora Carrington's 'Elohim' (in the book and in Tate Modern) is art and reaches out with authenticity to the occult, that which is hidden behind things and is more than the 'subconscious'.

Artistic occulture or occult artistry consciously centre the process on physical works (unless we count ritual as performance art) so that is what we should be looking out for. Not art as psychotherapy but art as consciously directed creation where there are 'forces' to be harnessed. Southern Mesopotamian "Demon Bowl" with incantation c. 200-600 AD. The bowl was used as an early form of protective Magic from dark entities. Exhibit in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Image via wikipedia. You can notice the early circular spell incantation or "Magic Circle". A Magic Circle is formed to create a sacred space or in the Demon bowl's case a cunning trap, in even earlier history the Sumerians called this practice Zisurrû , meaning “magic circle drawn with flour" used to ensnare evil forces. These are fine points but it is not enough to claim that someone who paints witches like Goya is interested in the occult. Rather they are interested in fear or folklore or popular memes or the market. The book does not, for example, include the work of the witch Rosaleen Norton.The earliest known usage of the term occultism is in the French language, as l'occultisme. In this form it appears in A. de Lestrange's article that was published in Jean-Baptiste Richard de Randonvilliers' Dictionnaire des mots nouveaux ("Dictionary of new words") in 1842. However, it was not related, at this point, to the notion of Ésotérisme chrétien, as has been claimed by Hanegraaff, [7] but to describe a political "system of occulticity" that was directed against priests and aristocrats. [8] As someone who feels deeply connected to spirit and earth, it’s important for me to view my artwork as craft and ritual,” says tan jones. “For me, every choice has meaning, every material is an ingredient in the cauldron that is the artwork.” Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Occult Art, Occultism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

A major retrospective of Serbian artist Marina Abramović, currently running at the Royal Academy, showcases an artist whose fascination with shamanism and astrology informs her work. Next year brings a landmark show at Tate Modern dedicated to performance artist Yoko Ono, much of whose work is inspired by spirituality and mysticism. The 21st century has seen a resurgence of Satanic and occult-inspired art, with a new generation of artists exploring the dark and mysterious themes of the past. From the occult-inspired works of contemporary painters to the dark and macabre sculptures of modern sculptors, these artists are pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable in the art world. The idea of occult sciences developed in the sixteenth century. [10] The term usually encompassed three practices–astrology, alchemy, and natural magic–although sometimes various forms of divination were also included rather than being subsumed under natural magic. [10] These were grouped together because, according to the Dutch scholar of hermeticism Wouter Hanegraaff, "each one of them engaged in a systematic investigation of nature and natural processes, in the context of theoretical frameworks that relied heavily on a belief in occult qualities, virtues or forces." [10] Although there are areas of overlap between these different occult sciences, they are separate and in some cases practitioners of one would reject the others as being illegitimate. [10]Strube, Julian (2016a). "Socialist Religion and the Emergence of Occultism: A Genealogical Approach to Socialism and Secularization in 19th-Century France". Religion. Routledge. 46 (3): 359–388. doi: 10.1080/0048721X.2016.1146926. S2CID 147626697. Sacred Geometry" refers to the assigning of sacred connotation to geometric shapes and proportions. The concept is thought to have originated in ancient Greece with the idea that the universe follows a distinct plan or pre-defined pattern. The geometric ideal heavily affected the physical world of religious structures including some of the most well-known; churches, mosques and temples. The concept of holy space extends to sacred groves, Magic Circles, holy altars and modern occult art. Many of the earliest references place "The Creator" or Godhead at the center; a great engineer figure that can be found in such faiths as Hinduism ( The Manasara), Christianity and Islam. Gibbons, B. J. (2018). Spirituality and the Occult: From the Renaissance to the Modern Age. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0415244480. The neologism occulture used within the industrial music scene of the late twentieth century was probably coined by one of its central figures, the musician and occultist Genesis P-Orridge. [42] The scholar of religion Christopher Partridge used the term in an academic sense, stating that occulture was "the new spiritual environment in the West; the reservoir feeding new spiritual springs; the soil in which new spiritualities are growing". [43] Occultism and technology [ edit ] By Chris Occult Uncategorized March 13, 2023 The Satanic and Occult-Inspired Art of the Pre-Renaissance Period