The Artist as Magician
Seances, spells, and the occult's role in art.
Last night I went to a talk about the artist as magician at one of my favorite places in LA at the moment, the Philosophical Research Society. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it’s an organization founded by esoteric author and scholar Manly P. Hall in the 1930s, when Los Angeles was deep in its occult era. These days they’re programming super interesting films, events, and lectures like the one I went to yesterday.
Pam Grossman, a writer and witch, gave the talk based on her new book, Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity. I haven’t read the book yet, but she spoke about so many of the things that I’ve been obsessed with currently: the artist as a medium of sorts, channeling their work from the ether while simultaneously shaping it into something only they could create, the alchemical process of bringing a work into being, creative rituals, calling on ancestors for inspiration, etc.
She gave some interesting examples of high profile artist/magicians — Patti Smith as necromancer, transmuting her grief into great works of art, David Bowie’s use of a bespoke computer program called the Verbasizer to generate cut-ups that he then turned into song lyrics as a kind of channeling.
Afterwards, my friend told me about a séance that was happening in a couple of weeks (at a different venue) and asked if I wanted to go. I, too, had read about a guy who was doing séances in LA and I assumed it was the same one.
But I was wrong!
That’s right, there are multiple highly advertised (at least on Instagram) séances happening across Los Angeles right now. Which got me thinking — are we in the middle of an occult revival?
In the 1920s, occultism exploded in Los Angeles. Spiritualism was everywhere, the Theosophical Society established its headquarters in Beachwood Canyon, and groups like the Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis were growing in popularity. Perhaps it was a cultural reaction to the horrors of World War I and the 1918 flu epidemic — people were searching to find meaning in a world that was making increasingly less sense. Séances flourished because grief needed a language, and magic provided one.
If that’s true, it would make sense for us to be experiencing an occult revival right now. After years of global instability, political upheaval, climate dread, pandemics, and the strange disorientation of living so much of our lives online, people are reaching for things that feel older, deeper. Technology has given us unprecedented access to information, but it’s also created a culture of overwhelm. Our devices can do everything except tell us who we are or why we’re here. No wonder we’re seeking enchantment.
But something about this current moment feels a little different than the Spiritualism craze of a century ago. The contemporary occult revival seems to also be about getting in touch with the creative self. The séance as metaphor for artistic practice.
I love the idea that creativity itself is a form of magic, one that anyone can practice but few take the time to ritualize. It’s especially relevant now, when the threat of A.I. looms over every creative industry. If artists really are magicians, no computer program can replicate that magic.
I’ll leave you with these three new(ish) works that feel, at least to me, like they were created with magic.
The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry
Faris Alrjoob’s short film about a woman coping with grief feels like a ritual — it’s meditative and beautiful. I’ve watched it twice now. You can stream it on Mubi.
This band Ak’chamel actually terrifies me. They are more shamans than musicians, they wear ancient-looking masks and robes and their music definitely feels channeled from another plane. Most of it is too intense for me (like I don’t know what will be conjured if I listen to it!), but this one song feels like it’s coming from a good magical place.
Melissa Broder’s novel about a grieving woman who finds a world inside a giant cactus in Death Valley feels very alchemical.
So what do you all think? Are we in the middle of another occult revival? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Until next time,
Tara