If you are new to the Band, occult imagery posts are shorter looks at the background and patterns in occult images. For more posts on occult symbolism, click here. For an introduction to the Band and the Dismantling Postmodernism series, click the featured post to the right or check out the archive.
Other links: The Band on Gab; The Band on Oneway
We Are the Clay
The basic dualist formula - body and soul. But this is the most basic distinction. The ancients saw human nature as more complicated.
Thinking of humans as a fusion of body and soul raises the issue of what we can call consciousness or intellect/intelligence. The ability to think is clearly a result of material processes - it has no connection or access to the world of the spirit - but is immaterial and not found elsewhere in matter. This led to the development of a three-part concept of human nature with the mind or intellect as a bridge between soul and body. This diagram oversimplifies the discussion in ancient philosophy, but it works for our purposes as a general structure.
William Blake, The Soul Hovering Over the Body Reluctantly Parting with Life, from The Grave, a Poem by Robert Blair, 1813, engraving, intaglio print, Portland Art Museum
The various ancient theories of mind fall into the general pattern of bridge between the material body and the soul or spirit.
This also lined up with how the ancients saw the universe because they had to conceptualize a way for the infinite to interact with the material world.
Some pre-modern versions of ancient cosmological principles ( click for Rosicrucian; hermetic) A lot of occult symbolism involves the intermediate zone between ultimate reality however understood - the infinite, God, the One, etc. - and the material world. The details depend on the particular occult group, but these are the higher planes where occult knowledge and spirit entities are slotted in.
Ignore the noise and consider the pattern.
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The three-part structure. World Soul is a Neoplatonic term, but is just used here to refer to the active presence of the infinite
in the finite world.
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The universe and the human were seen as having this same structure, with an active but intangible middleman between the purely spiritual and purely material. This is the idea behind the microcosm, or the alignment of the cosmic and human.
Esoteric traditions like Freemasonry and hermeticism pretend to understand the links between the human and higher levels of reality - the "World Soul" zone in our simplified pattern - although they like to mix and match sources. This crosses over into the occult when their focus turns to the spiritual entities believed to inhabit these immaterial spaces.
Automatic writing is one example of these occult practices. This involves "opening oneself to, or channeling, an outside entity then writing while under the influence. This is essentially possession, though the occultist seeks the experience out.
Séance with floating guitar and spirit hand writing messages, from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, April 2, 1887
There are different forms of automatism, with writing the most common. It peaked in the 19th century with the Spiritualist Movement. The article where this picture came from is an excellent overview.
W. T. Stead, What Life in the Spirit World Really Is, E. W. Cole, 1913, Melbourne
John Nevil Maskelyne, Modern Spiritualism: A Short Account of its Rise and Progress, with Some Exposures of So-Called Spirit Media, Frederick Warne and Company, 1876, London
It's not well known how widespread Spiritualism was. This needs more attention, given the Satanic themes in our current culture.
G.W. Cottrell Ad for Boston Planchettes, 1860s
The planchette was a device that was claimed to facilite automatic writing. The hand rested on the panel and moved the pen at the end. Planchettes were common into the 20th century, when they were replaced by the Ouija board as the pop occult tool of choice.
Automatic writing, like other forms of channeling is classified as a form of mediumship. This is defined as "the practice of certain people—known as mediums—to purportedly mediate communication between spirits of the dead and living human beings". Click for a selection of these practices. The official narrative is that Automatic Writing, like other forms of mediumship were "debunked". This meant that their claims could not be proven empirically, and so were dismissed from "serious" consideration.
Harvey Metcalfe photographs of a 1928 séance at fradulent medium Helen Duncan's house. Note the obviously fake props standing in for "ectoplasm".
Spiritualism collapsed as a popular belief because all the sensational cases turned out to be frauds. Slight of hand, hidden accomplices, double-exposed photos, hypnotic suggestion - the full repertoire of huckster tactics.
But look at false equivalence:
The reality is that Spiritualism was just one outbreak of a occult tendency that's been around pretty much forever. The form may belong to a particular time, but the pattern is a historical constant. First we'll look back, then look ahead.
Looking Back
Automatic writing is also classified as a form of Divination. This definition from one site is as good as any: an "attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency". To summarize, automatic writing belongs to a much larger pattern of occult behavior. This means that we have to look more broadly to understand its significance.
The word divination comes from the same root as the divine, because it originated in the ancient practice of asking the gods for answers. The ancients spent a lot of time in the World Soul zone, because they believed that things in higher planes effected things on earth. Here too we can see the esoteric/occult distinction, although it is not discussed in these terms.
Map of the Constellations by Johanne Gabriele Doppelmayr, 1730
Astrologers, augurs, and philosophers are more "esoteric" in that they seek structures of knowledge.
Heinrich Leutemann, The Oracle of Delphi Entranced
Oracles and prophets are more "occult" because they commune with supernatural beings directly.
Ancient oracles were essentially automatic "writers" in that they were taken over completely by a spiritual entity and delivered involuntary messages that required "expert" interpretation.
The power is in being the expert
From a Christian perspective, it's all Satanic delusion, because the correct spiritual path, the actual divine, unfolds across all levels of reality. This obviously oversimplifies the theology of the Trinity, but think of the way this limited human representation of God aligns with our levels of reality/human nature:
Gustave Doré, The Triumph Of Christianity Over Paganism, 1868, oil on canvas, 118 x 79 cm, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Canada
The early Christians didn't claim the pagan gods didn't exist, they reclassified them as demonic forces. They accepted that oracles were possessed by something, but recognized that the possessor wasn't benevolent.
As a general pattern, divine messages do not take possession of the recipient and compel involuntary action. Free will is central to Christian faith - God commands, angels council, but the faithful consciously choose to obey. There are many Biblical instances where God's express wishes are disobeyed. The difference between them becomes clear:
The closest Christian phenomenon would be mysticism, or communication from God. But the sort of possession associated with automatic writing is different from mystical experience.
Lucas Cranach, Ezekiel’s vision, 1534, colored woodcut illustration for the Luther Bible
Visionaries see or hear miraculous things, but remain conscious.
Gianlorenzo Bernini, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, circa 1650, S. Maria della Vittoria, Rome
In ecstasy, the God touches the soul directly. This is closer to grabbing a live wire than being possessed, in that conscious awareness is blown out by the overwhelming experience of the infinite on a finite mind. Suffice it to day that messages from the beyond aren't being penned.
Oracularism, Possession, and Automatic Writing express the opposite pattern. In all of these, the spirit enters you. The only real difference between them is the opinion on the supernatural entities that take over and compel action...
Looking forward
Automatic writing didn't end with the Spiritualism "craze" any more than it started with it. Even the term craze, usually accompanied with a theatrical picture, works to make the phenomenon limited safely to the past. But the "debunking" didn't end anything - it just moved the same old pattern to a new place.
1920s OUIJA Board Automatic Writing Booklet
The Ouija board was a device patented in 1891 that simplified the automatic writer's planchette into a standard form.
You can see the stylized planchette in this ad.
Ouija, Kennard Novelty Company, 1891
This is the original design patented in 1891.
Most of you have heard of Ouija boards, but not many people realize how long and consistently this "toy" has been pushed. The link has an impressive number of historical Ouija boards.
Magic Marvel, The Wonder Answer Board, Lee Industries, 1940's
A colorful knock-off that avoids the trademarked name. The backside is a "Master Play Board" for chess, checkers, solitaire, letter writing, and Gin Rummy.
So that's where it goes - it becomes a fun game for the whole family!
Ouija The Mystifying Oracle, late 1930s- early 1940s
From the back of the box: "Weird and mysterious. Surpasses, in its unique results, mind reading, clairvoyance and second sight. It furnishes never failing amusement and recreation for the entire family. As explainable as Hindu magic - more intense and absorbingly interesting than a mystery story." "We like to use it to unleash the hounds of hell... but that's just us."
They do hide in plain sight...
Ouiji The Mystical Talking Board, Copp Clark Publishing Company, 1950's
Something safer for the Eisenhower era?
Ouija Mystifying Oracle, William Fuld Talking Board Set, Parker Brothers 1972 and the 1992 version
Parker Brothers acquired the rights to Ouija in 1966 and promoted it as one of their board games like Sorry! or Monopoly.
Glow in the Dark Ouija Board Game, Parker Brothers, 1998
At some point, the decision was made to push the game to young people more aggressively. Hasbro bought Parker Brothers in 1991, and after 1998, folded the brand into Hasbro Gaming. The new ownership corresponds with renewed efforts to market the "game". The 1992 version above is a reboot of the stale 1970's formula, while glow-in-the-dark is the sign of this promotional focus. This would be one of the last Ouija boards under the Parker name but Hasbro was just getting started.
Ask what perspective might find this to be desirable.
Ouija, The Mystifying Oracle, Hasbro, 2013
How about this "fun, old-timey “update” of a classic board game that has been entertaining families for over a hundred years". Apparently, it’s "a bargain at about $20".
Hasbro's perverse pink Ouija Board, complete with smiling sun and moon. Consider how the occult is pushed on children.
This is not a coincidence.
It's not actually funny. Consider the history of automatic writing. Normalizing this in a kid-friendly way is obscene, regardless of your personal beliefs.
Thought that sun and moon looked familiar. Here they are in less cutesy form.
The Stranger Things ouija board, Hasbro
You may not have to consider. Just look at Hollywood. The only surprise was that it took so long.
This version is based on another overt Hollywood perversion of Christian faith, only you get to play along!
The Christian faith that rejects Ouija as Satanic is perverted into a vehicle for it!
How does divination become a game for over a century!?!?
To answer this, we have to remember that the occult was dismissed as "superstition" after the enlightenment, despite many Enlightenment figures being practitioners of esoteric, if not occult, traditions.
By this reckoning, the supernatural isn't real, so what harm could there be in teaching children to enjoy the occult. But why is keeping this thing in the market such a priority? Do you know anyone who enjoys a good game of Ouija? Has Ouija ever been part of your social life? Have you ever been invited to a Wednesday night Ouija match? Think how unpopular this is as a pass-time in real life, then ask, why has it been continually pushed for over a century? This isn't a normal market-driven pattern.
Of course, subversive toys aren't the only place automatic writing turned up after it was supposedly debunked out of reasonable society - it's just an easy one to show. In the next post, we will look at a much more serious occult pattern around mediumship, one that doesn't wave it away as a game, but treats it as a life-changing tool.
That would be psychology...
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