i think the great value of the occult in the arts--thinking of austin
spare and yeats, is that they allow for a new capacity for invention, or
as the voices told the aging yeats "we are here to give you new
metaphors".
even if you don't literally "believe" in the system you can still use
it as a unifying narrative against which one works.
blake is the great example of this.
i would argue that emily bronte's continuation of the collective
childhood myth of angria, glasstown &c. is just such another.
there's the sad equation of the occult with stupidity and superstition,
as in T.S. Eliot sniffing down his long nose at Yeats--or with
degenerative habits and downright perversity--as in A. Crowley lurking
about on the shores of Loch Ness--but hey--most magicians I have known
are about as perverse and diabolical as your corner auto mechanic.
and--just to be clear--I've seen ghosts but I don't believe in
them--that is, literally.
and here's one more thing: with occult systems you don't have to keep
feeding the meter as you tech-gnostics do to keep global corporations
treating you "artists" and "poets" as chumps and dupes. it's one
easy payment of your soul to the King of Darkness and you're on your
way. He doesn't nickel and dime you to death with constant upgrades.
:-)
Jehovah Jess
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