You may be interested in checking out The Midnight Archive:

“The midnight archive is a new web series which aims to document the exotic, the strange, the eccentric and the truly unique. Often dark and always on the fringe, the series puts an honest look into some of the most fascinating people, places and artifacts that many people are wildly unfamiliar with. From a woman who mummifies pets to the largest collection of automata, the idea is for the subject matter to tell its own story and give the viewer just a taste of something ‘unusual’. No dramatic stings, no editorial drama - just the facts.”

Episode 8 is part 2 of Mitch Horowitz talking about “Occult NYC”

“Episode 08: Occult NYC Part 2 - We return to NYC as Mitch Horowitz, Author of Occult America, takes us to some of the more mysterious places in this fine city. We’ll learn about Madame Blavatsky’s midtown occult salon, get some insight into Grand Central’s mystic design, and in my case at least - become acquainted with the occult stylings of Fred F. French. Make sure to keep aware of Mitch’s walking tour which is hosted by The Brooklyn Observatory and Pam Grossman. and don’t forget to pick up Mitch’s book at amazon.com.

Also stay posted as Mitch and I are planning a 'mini-series’ on the history of the occult in america - sort of a hyper-speed journey through this country’s occult past!”

Also, I noticed that the previous installment, episode 7, was about The Grand Guignol, which is always going to catch my eye … might be worth following what their up to over there.

Original Article

Occult Guide is a new web community created by Rik Garrett, who has been a contributor to the Hermetic Library visual pool and is the creator of the blog Occult Chicago.

“Welcome to Occult Guide, an interactive mapping website dedicated to locations of occult interest around the world. Intended as a resource both for travelers and for those exploring their own cities, Occult Guide features locations of historical as well as contemporary significance.

Take a look at the maps. Once you register and create a profile, you can:

submit locations in your own city for the worldwide maps
customize your profile, complete with blog, photo album and more
add friends
join in the discussion forums
create and join groups based on location or common interest
create and edit collaborative documents within groups” [via]

“A fully user-fueled website, Occult Guide shares locations of occult interest as a means of both celebrating historical traditions and advancing current study and practice. We encourage people of all paths to contribute to the site, creating a resource for all seekers of hidden knowledge.

Members can contribute locations to the global map, join discussion forums, or create groups with other users who share a common path or interest. If you have an interest in magick, Wicca, Paganism, Hermeticism, Satanism, Thelema, Theosophy, or other schools of thought — we need your help! Please join in the discussion here and submit locations to add to Occult Guide’s worldwide map.” [via]

Original Article

If you’re in Europe, anywhere near Strasbourg, you may want to rush out to see Europe and the Spirit World or the Fascination with the Occult, 1750-1950 which runs only through Dec 2nd through Dec 12, 2012.

“‘Europe and the Spirit World or the Fascination with the Occult, 1750-1950’ is a cross-disciplinary exhibition exploring the influence of the occult on artists, thinkers, writers and scholars throughout Europe, at decisive moments in the history of the modern world. The exhibition is organized into three sections:

- The creative arts: painting, drawing, sculpture, print-making and photography, the literature of the irrational and unexplained.

- The esoteric tradition revisited, with an extensive chronological survey encompassing the movement’s foundational texts and print iconography.

- The relationship between occult phenomena and the scientific world, through key scholarly figures and thinkers, and an examination of their experiments and scientific instruments.

With some 500 works of art, 150 scientific artefacts, 150 books and 100 documents from a host of European countries, Europe and the Spirit World will be presented in a dedicated 2500-m² space at the the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Strasbourg.”

Original Article

New Retrospace post waxing nostalgic over the rise and fall of mainstream coverage of the occult the during the 60’s and 70’s at “The Occult #3: Generation Hexploitation”.

“There’s so much about the 1960’s and 1970’s that fascinates me. The titanic shift in the psychology of the U.S. and other Western countries during this period will forever both confound and interest me. Somehow, in just a few short decades, this country went from Singing in the Rain to I Spit on Your Grave. This shouldn’t be all that much of a surprise considering everything that was going on in the world: a war in Vietnam, students protesting in the streets, a president assassinated, nuclear annihilation right around the corner, a march on Selma, etc., etc. Amid all this, one thing that has intrigued me for a long time is the so-called ‘Occult Explosion’.” [via]

Original Article

You may be interested in Light Grey Art Lab’s Tarot, Mystics and the Occult project and exhibition. The exhibition runs Oct 19th through Nov 9th, 2012, at Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis, MN. In particular, you may be interested in the collaborative showcase of tarot card inspired art by 78 artists.

“As you may have guessed, we’re going all out for this show. We’re looking to really fill the gallery with mystical, magical and incredible pieces -and- the space will be filled with fate-tempting booths with live tarot readings and other fortune-telling and mystical experiences! For this project: Each artist selected for the Tarot exhibition will be exhibiting an incredible large-scale print of their work and we’ll also be publishing a limited quantity of fully illustrated Tarot Decks containing the work of all 78 artists, just for this occasion!”

Original Article

A Book of the Offices of Spirits is now available from Teitan, via Weiser Antiquarian.

“York Beach, Maine, USA: Teitan Press, 2011. First Edition Hardcover. Small quarto. (6 ¾” x 8 ¾") 100pp. Bound in heavy black cloth with a gilt design on the front cover, and gilt title to the spine. Black “coffin silk” endpapers. Printed in red and black on acid free paper, sewn. Edition limited to 800 numbered copies. $50.00"

“‘A Book of the Offices of Spirits’ is the first ever publication of this Solomonic text or grimoire which, in common with the better-known 'Goetia,’ is essentially a catalog of demons, giving their name, description, rank in the infernal hierarchy, number of attendant legions, offices (abilities), as well as a variety of magical rituals for their conjuration and other purposes. The text has its origin in a magical manuscript written by one John Porter in 1583, which was itself probably drawn from earlier European sources. In the early nineteenth century the Porter manuscript came into the possession of the British occult fraternity, 'the Mercurii,’ and a transcription of key sections was compiled by John Palmer. Palmer’s transcription was in turn copied by the renowned occult scholar Frederick Hockley, and this transcription, along with another anonymous late nineteenth century manuscript copy, for the basis for the present work.”

Original Article

The Book of Baphomet by Julian Vayne & Nikki Wyrd, published by Mandrake of Oxford, was recently adapted as an Occult of Personality post at “Baphomet Unveiled”.

“The year is 1307 and The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, better known as The Knights Templar, are about to get busted. An avalanche of accusations is made against the members of this powerful military Order who have been in the business of protecting Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land since 1129. Among these charges, brought against them by King Philip IV ‘the Fair’ of France, is that the Templars are idolaters. Their idol is a head, a cat, a many-faced form, a skull stuffed with grain… Whatever the details might be its name, though confessed by only a few, is Baphomet.”

“Any historian worth their discourse will explain that Baphomet (whichever of the variegated spellings we prefer) is simply the Infidel’s rendering of Muhammed. The irony that Islam, with its proscription against representation in religious art, should be the imagined origin of such idolatry raises a wry grin.

While this etymology for the name Baphomet is pretty much accepted in the academy, part of the delight of this entity is that it acts as a strange attractor around which many weird and wonderful notions coalesce.” [via]

“You hold in your hands the material result of many years’ hard craft. This Book contains some of the secrets of Life itself; or rather, the occult deity of Life on Earth, Baphomet. Horned, vital, beautiful, awe full, our aeons old Chaos Magick idol finds a name from the Knights’ Templar, then goes incognito through the Enlightenment (when flourished those great natural philosophers beloved of science historians), before emerging via devil worship and witchcraft into this era of Deep Ecology.

Darwin could have used a picture of Baphomet as his frontispiece, to demonstrate the one flesh from which all species originate. Contacting this Great Spirit, the anima mundi, allows access to a new way of ordering the world, with fresh visions of how and why we could Live. Here the authors weave strands from their lives into a rich tapestry of images, which might give you a pointer or two towards your own self-realisation, whilst amusing, entertaining, and instructing along the way.

Revolution, evolution, leap beyond the apocalypse to the Now!” [via]

The Book of Baphomet - First Official Trailer from julian vayne on Vimeo.

Original Article