Defiers of Culturally Imposed Reality

I was reflecting earlier on how direct and personal experience and practice of the numinous is a maligned lifestyle in modern culture. I then reminded myself that this is far from new – since the decline of ancient paganism and occultism and the spread of authoritarian monotheism, forging one’s own foray into the world of spirit is an activity which has been both frowned upon (and officially persecuted) for well over a thousand years.

Psychics and occultists have long been the defiers of culturally imposed reality – or, to put it more accurately, defiers of culturally imposed interpretations of reality.

In sixteenth century Britain, spiritual beliefs were more widespread than they are today, but people were immensely restricted on what they could do with spirituality and how they manifested it. There was a belief in non-physical entities, but summoning and communicating with these entities yourself was strongly condemned. Likewise, belief in magick was normal – but practicing said magick was an offence, an affront to the sensibilities of the religious leaders, who proscribed witchcraft as an act of evil, of devilry, wickedness of the highest order. This is one of the reasons why alchemists often couched their views in esoteric language – symbolism which would be understood only by an elite few. To put their pronouncements in laymen’s terms could very well have meant imprisonment or death.

Now even in these very anti-occult times, it was possible for a few people to get away with openly deviating from majority Christian ruling. (John Dee, adviser to Elizabeth I, practiced scrying and openly conducted communication with angelic entities who dictated the famous Enochian language.) In general, however, publicly declaring yourself to be practicing witchcraft, or some other form of verboten spirituality, would have been suicidal. The only valid manifestation of spirituality was to be undertaken through adherence to Christianity, with metaphysical powers to be the domain of God and His angels. Attempting to develop these metaphysical abilities yourself was seen as sinful.

In many ways, the modern UK is vastly more tolerant, but by no means all. The contemporary West is just as anti-occult as ever, it’s just that the invective is mostly a result of wider acceptance of strict materialism. (There are still some fundamentalist monotheists who think that witchcraft is ‘the devil’s work’ but their voices are waning and have been losing traction with the growth of liberal and moderate monotheism.) In my experience, I’ve found that if you’re open about your practice of occultism in the UK, you’re much more likely to be scolded and sneered at by some smug self-proclaimed “sceptic” than you are to be told that you’re evil and going to hell.

Materialism, while not the lone worldview, is very culturally strong at the moment, certainly much stronger than alternative spirituality and occultism. And the “rules” of the materialist worldview is that the material world is all there is; that there is no “spiritual” plane, no magick, no non-physical entities, nothing except this world here. Inevitably, the rise of materialism will continue (not necessarily intentionally) the cultural alienation of psychics, New Agers, occultists…those who experience and practice stuff that, according to the radicals, DOES NOT, CANNOT AND MUST NOT exist.

Witchcraft is no longer illegal, true (though it’s worth noting that the Witchcraft Act of 1735, which continued the criminalisation of witchcraft, was not a product of religious bigotry but of Enlightenment-era intolerance, in which it was assumed that witchcraft was impossible, so anyone trying to do it or claiming to do it was to be punished with fines or a prison sentence. The Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951 – up until then, anyone publicly practicing witchcraft was breaking the law. To put that into perspective, consider that it was in 1967 that homosexuality was decriminalised – it was only a mere sixteen years before that, that witchcraft was decriminalised.)

So we’re currently free to do what we will, and many of those with a materialist persuasion are willing to live and let live when it comes to innocuous manifestations of spirituality. There is, however, a movement of radical materialists whose aim is to eliminate *any* kind of metaphysical belief or practice, and they have agitated for legislation which would impinge upon our rights. I don’t doubt that if radical materialists gained significant political power that we would shortly be seeing a curtailing of our spiritual freedoms.

It’s hard to imagine a world in which alternative spiritual beliefs are the cultural philosophical norm. Occultism and the paranormal went through a wave of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, but even then, it hardly became mainstream. Maybe acceptance of occultism will rise. Or maybe not. But in the here and now, psychics and occultists are what they have been for many, many years – defiers of culturally imposed interpretations of reality.

All I can say to the rest of you, is – keep on keeping on. I know it’s hard. A lot of people just don’t “get” you. Some hate you and think you’re dangerous. Some will bully you. Some want to criminalise what you do. But as we defy culturally popular interpretations of reality, we can also defy the prejudice of the ignorant – by standing true to what we think and what we practice, to upholding the dream of a diverse and tolerant society and solidly refusing to break away from our practices due to taunts or peer pressure. Continue defying culturally imposed interpretations of reality by thinking for yourself and creating your own path. For it is free thought – and marching to the beat of your own drum – that are some of the beauties of occultism.