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Occultism, Mental Illness , and Satanism

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.satanism,alt.politics.satanism,alt.magick
From: satanservice.org@boboroshi (SOD of the CoE)
Subject: Occultism, Mental Illness (Cause/Effect?), and Satanism
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 08:46:33 GMT

50030121 VII om Hail Satan!

"Lupo LeBoucher" :
>>> ...nobody takes occultists seriously because at best they're
>>> grownups who still believe in the tooth fairy, 

depends on the occultists. some apparently achieve without
connection to tooth fairy mythos, whether in the context
of mysticism or that of some type of volitional rudder.

>>> and at the worst, they're screeching loonies.

agreed. there appear to be quite a few of them lodged rather
firmly in the alt.magick newsgroup cluster, for example, at
this very moment (demonstrating your claims?).

> ...if you look at the ideas and operative behavior of 
> funnymentalists, they're no different than occultists. 
> They believe in devils and angels 

their ontological status as spirits may vary, however.

> and a benificent white-bearded god who take interest in 
> their personal affairs, 

quite a few occultists reject this notion of the divine and
may see it as one of a number of potential operating perspectives.

> and believe there are various actions they can take which 
> will cause supernatural interventions of various kinds.

intervention implies theurgy. I have little to say in defense
of theurgists. the Great Martyrdom Cult is widespread. 

thaumaturgists apparently believe in their ability to harness 
the occult powers in nature (after Agrippa) or in the 
application of some formula for the achievement or discovery 
of something unusual/remarkable (like the Stone of the 
Alchemists or the turning of a New Aeon), in either case 
delusions are definitely potential traps or pitfalls of the Art.

> ...Whether or not [Curio's supposed mystical / occult practice]
> is a cause or effect of her mental illness, there is a direct 
> relationship between her occult practices and her delusions. 

sure, but there's a relationship between her delusions and any
number of other haphazard objects and persons too. the issue
is whether *particular* objects of her obsessions and dramas
and fabrications, are causing or merely being used as a focal
point within the maelstrom of the illness. 

compare individuals like Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson as regards
their mental illness and with what they've been entangled in the
"proof" that drugs cause mental illness (psychedelics and LSD-25 
in particular). did my lover become Bipolar *because* she had LSD-25
and engaged in a housewarming ritual? the answer isn't really as
simple as 'yes' or 'no'. it was a cataclysmic event; the choices
made that day affected us both forever, but I haven't seen the
same responses or results from similar combinations of chemicals, 
rites, or practices. more like wide variation based on the diverse
make-up of human beings and a few pitfalls associated with religion
and occultism into which the occasionally unbalanced will fall. 
your assertions re cause/effect here seem exagerated to me and may
be mistaking what attracts the unbalanced for what causes it.

> Kinda like Joan of Arc, I guess. 

more like Margaret Murray. ;>

> ..."Magical thinking" is a well known symptom of Cluster A 
> Schitzotypical personality disorder, which is well known to 
> occasionally bloom into full-on insanity. 

any relation to occultism actually demonstrated?

> I daresay most occultists I have known have at least a streak 
> of this. 

in terms of an inability to think critically about the world
and one's place in it in assessment of one's magical skills,
yes I would agree. it depends on what that DSM-IV A Cluster 
truly represents in terms of debilitation. I'm curious if
there are delusions of grandeur associated with occultism,
impurity-obsession, etc., or if there are of the same 
prepondance as in the general population. you seem to be
saying that occultism *leads* to psychological disturbances,
rather than that they are more often inherited and focussed
upon complex or notorious intellectual matter.

we'd probably agree that what is problematic is the loss of
mundane functionality. this loss runs counter to what many 
Satanists claim is their goal: optimizing subjective experience 
to a preferred standard rather than attempting to achieve 
some supernatural change in the perfect world of Nature).

> There's also been various research that the practise of 
> TM turns you into a walking, grinning tomato. 

TM isn't typically considered an "occult" practice, though
its mantra are said to be secret (as is traditional). its
order is mystic and its method is meditation -- something
*some* magicians utilize for their purposes (usually the
mystical theurges -- take it up with them).

blessed beast!

boboroshi at-sign satanservice.org: Satanic Outreach Director
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