An earlier version of this essay was initially published in the I:MAGE Exhibition Catalogue. Robert Ansell and Livia Filotico, eds. Somerset: Fulgur Ltd. 2014 Regardless of how one approaches metaphysical and scientific concepts of color through the centuries, one thing is certain: color is a mighty slippery subject. Over time…

Ithell Colquhoun’s reputation as a Surrealist artist, writer and occultist has been surging in recent years. Most know her through her quirky travelogues of Ireland and Cornwall Crying of the Wind: Ireland(1955) and The Living Stones: Cornwall (1957), her Surrealist occult novel Goose of Hermogenes (1961), or perhaps her idiosyncratic…

Several months ago, I was approached by a journalist who wanted to discuss with me his hypothesis, a rather popular one if this year’s press is any indication, that the current widespread interest in the occult is the result of people adapting to these troubled times. He was not at…

Lodge 49 is probably the most accurate portrayal of the occult on television. — The Lodge 49 season two finale has come and gone, and it was breathtaking. This show, about the members of an esoteric fraternal order in Long Beach, California, has such a sedate and otherworldly quality while still managing to be utterly real and relatable. …

This essay was adapted from a lecture titled Toward Progressive Magicks: Identifying Obstacles, Dismantling Frameworks delivered at the Towards a Progressive Magic evening, at the Horse Hospital in London, May 30, 2019 sponsored by Strange Attractor Press. Make no mistake, there are reasons why new activists from the radical right…

It happened again the other day, that same familiar rage combined with numbness while reading the posts in a Facebook group. Once again, in a discussion group devoted to esoteric practice, I saw a woman make a post and very quickly get piled on by men, asserting that she was…

On Paganism, Fakelore, and Tired Conversations about Authenticity I am currently attending the American Academy of Religion conference, which is the largest conference of scholars of religion in the world. I’m a pretty active member of the organization, but primarily I serve as the Co-Chair of the Contemporary Pagan Studies Unit. Right now there is a lot of…