Zeitgeist

Earthseed: a new religion inspired by Octavia Butler’s “Parable” series

God is Change.Shape God.The Destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars. Click here to visit the Earthseed website, home of one of several new religions inspired by speculative fiction author Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998): Most religions are ultimately cargo cults. Adherents perform required … Read moreEarthseed: a new religion inspired by Octavia Butler’s “Parable” series

“W.I.T.C.H.es Brew” (2017)

Molly Birnbaum writes for Topic on the Trump-era revival of W.I.T.C.H. as a tactic of political protest and occult resistance: “Anonymity is dramatic,” says a W.I.T.C.H. (Anonymity also prevents doxxing—a real threat in this day and age.) “The witch is a powerful figure when so many people feel like they’re losing control,” another W.I.T.C.H. explains. … Read more“W.I.T.C.H.es Brew” (2017)

“The Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame” (1979)

Pioneering American neo-Druid Isaac Bonewits first published the ADCDEF in the second edition of his book Real Magic, in the midst of a widespread and sometimes justified moral panic about new/minority religions. As Bonewits commented, many years after its original publication: Minority groups, especially religious ones, are often accused of crimes by members of the … Read more“The Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame” (1979)

“Afro-Futurism and Black Religion: Connecting Imaginations” (Comic-Con 2020)

Moderator Aaron Grizzell (MA, executive director, Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation) leads a discussion on the relationships between Afrofuturism and Black religion with panelists John Jennings (MFA: professor of Media and Cultural Studies, UC Riverside 2-time Eisner Award winner (2016, 2018), Kinitra D. Brooks (PhD: Leslie Endowed Chair of Literary Studies, … Read more“Afro-Futurism and Black Religion: Connecting Imaginations” (Comic-Con 2020)

Read this first: “A Cultpunk Manifesto”

We are Cultpunks.  We affirm that belief systems, rituals, symbols, pilgrimages, tenets, holy days, shrines, festivals, taboos, mythologies and pantheons can and should be created as works of art.  If so, then surely any sufficiently advanced magic is likewise indistinguishable from technology, and religions may usefully be considered as psychological technologies.  Just like any other tech, … Read moreRead this first: “A Cultpunk Manifesto”

“Turn Your Life into Art: Lessons in Psychomagic from the San Francisco Underground”

Veteran Burning Man philosopher Caveat Magister wrote this memoir/manifesto/manual for would-be psychomagicians, most especially those inspired (more or less directly) by the often clandestine workings of San Francisco’s underground experiential arts scene between the late ’70s and circa 2015. If you’re intrigued by Gary Warne’s Suicide Club, the Cacophony Society, the origins of Burning Man, … Read more“Turn Your Life into Art: Lessons in Psychomagic from the San Francisco Underground”

The Meaning of Life According to Tom Robbins

Tom Robbins is the author of numerous counterculture classics including Another Roadside Attraction (1971), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976) and Jitterbug Perfume (1984). The search for meaning is not a whole lot different than the yearning for certainty, which is to say, an unsuitable pursuit for any who might aspire to nimbleness of mind, … Read moreThe Meaning of Life According to Tom Robbins

The Great Fairy Science (from “The Water Babies” by Charles Kingsley)

Although Charles Kingley’s 1863 children’s novel has fallen from favor, his image of the Great Fairy Science – “who is likely to be queen of all the fairies for many a year to come” – might serve as an icon for certain nontheistic practices of magick. It’s a fun coincidence that the word “steam”, proudly … Read moreThe Great Fairy Science (from “The Water Babies” by Charles Kingsley)

The Toxteth Day of the Dead

One of several distinctly English responses to the Dia de Muertos ethos – see also the Glastonbury Festival of Death and Dying – the Toxteth Day of the Dead is an initiative by musicians/culture jammers KLF (a.k.a. the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs and the Timelords, among others). Here’s a BBC audio documentary on their current project, the People’s … Read moreThe Toxteth Day of the Dead