Hypnotic trance and ceremonial magic - a talk and induction

Eww, the Occult sounds creepy…

Our most ancient books preserve stories of hermits and herbalists getting hermetic, exploring techniques of trance to access hidden powers. Carl Jung referred to the hidden forces that drive our urges and organise our perceptions as “archetypes”, and felt how their movements could be traced not only in our dreams and flights of fancy but also in the outside world, in those uncannily meaningful and attention-grabbing accidents that he called “synchronicities”.

According to Jung, Alchemy offers precise descriptions of the dynamics of the deep mind.

Only by discovering alchemy have I clearly understood that the Unconscious is a process and that ego's rapport with the Unconscious and its contents initiate an evolution, more precisely, a real metamorphosis of the psyche.

- C. G. Jung

Alchemists, along with witches, mediums and others working with the powers of the unseen world, were outlawed In Medieval Europe under a series of oppressive religious movements and political regimes (power is the business of empire, and it doesn’t like to share). Their techniques were preserved, however, in coded documents and secret lodges.

This is one reason it is called occultism today - "occult" means "hidden". Similarly, we still talk about "cabals" of shadowy figures in secret meetings up to no good - the word comes from “Kabbalah” which means "received" in Hebrew. This secret wisdom that fascinates cosmologists, psychologists and mathematicians today was traditionally received as an oral transmission from teacher to student without ever being written down.

My introduction to Hypnosis and the Occult

As explained in the video, before it gets trancey, the therapist who introduced me to the art of hypnosis had a keen interest in magic and the occult sciences. When he hypnotised me and employed some of the tools of ceremonial magic, he not only cleared up a problem with anger that was troubling me, but also opened my eyes to an elegant way of engaging with the powerhouse of the deep mind.

It was my great pleasure to share some of this work in this talk, given at Occulture 2023.