Esoterica

  • Esoterica

    Meddling with Wizards

    Occult LA

    Occult LA

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica
    7 min

    The Source Family

    My introduction to a new book on the most colorful of Cali cults

    My introduction to a new book on the most colorful of Cali cults

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Articles and Essays, Esoterica

    Phantasy Island

    Stanzas by Giorgio Agamben

    Stanzas by Giorgio Agamben

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    TechnoPagans

    May the Astral Plane be Reborn in Cyberspace

    May the Astral Plane be Reborn in Cyberspace

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica
    19 min

    Dub, Scratch, and the Black Star

    Lee Perry on the Mix

    Lee Perry on the Mix

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Art and Design, Esoterica

    Managing Superstition

    The Shroud versus the Code

    The Shroud versus the Code

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Quotes

    Quote 2

    There is a difference between psychedelic experiences and psychedelic people

    There is a difference between psychedelic experiences and psychedelic people

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica, Scholarship

    Prestigious Demons 2

    Hail the Simulacrum

    Hail the Simulacrum

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    The Counterculture and the Occult

    Counter(o)cculture

    Counter(o)cculture

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Articles and Essays, Esoterica

    Jodorowsky’s Spiritual Memoir

    On koans and rotting dogs

    On koans and rotting dogs

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica
    8 min

    RAW Rah Rah!

    Robert Anton Wilson

    Robert Anton Wilson

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica, Scholarship

    The Magick of H.P. Lovecraft

    from The Occult World (Routledge, 2014)

    from The Occult World (Routledge, 2014)

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica, Scholarship, Technoculture

    Babalon Launching

    Jack Parsons, Rocketry, and the "Method of Science"

    Jack Parsons, Rocketry, and the "Method of Science"

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica, Scholarship
    29 min

    Profane Illuminations

    Robert Anton Wilson's Hedonic Ascesis

    Robert Anton Wilson's Hedonic Ascesis

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica, Scholarship

    Prestigious Demons 1

    The Disappearing Member

    The Disappearing Member

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Quotes

    Quote 1

    But what if the medium is the message?

    But what if the medium is the message?

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica, Scholarship

    Prestigious Demons 3

    Presto!

    Presto!

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    My Favorite Martians

    A UFO Epistemology

    A UFO Epistemology

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Hoodoo You Know

    Goofer dust and teacup lore

    Goofer dust and teacup lore

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Quotes

    Quote 4

    It is too close, too far-out, its sacred transmissions too muddled with the scandalous grit of its concrete historical unfoldment

    It is too close, too far-out, its sacred transmissions too muddled with the scandalous grit of its concrete historical unfoldment

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Voices Carry: Jack Spicer

    My vocabulary did this to me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer

    My vocabulary did this to me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Quotes

    Quote 5

    Terminal. What other journey, you might ask, begins at the end?

    Terminal. What other journey, you might ask, begins at the end?

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica, Psychedelics, Scholarship
    30 min

    Gnostic Psychedelia

    And the Archetype of the Archons

    And the Archetype of the Archons

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Quotes

    Quote 3

    “Messages from beyond” are forms of information, and information is a trickster

    “Messages from beyond” are forms of information, and information is a trickster

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Articles and Essays, Esoterica

    H.P. Lovecraft’s Magick Realism

    A profile of Lovecraft's life and work

    A profile of Lovecraft's life and work

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Paracelsus in the World

    Renaissance Magic and Science

    Renaissance Magic and Science

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Cthulhu is not Cute!

    Plushies, tentacle porn, the terrifying obscenity of Cute.

    Plushies, tentacle porn, the terrifying obscenity of Cute.

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Lachman on Ouspensky

    In Search of P.D. Ouspensky

    In Search of P.D. Ouspensky

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica
    19 min

    Cameo Demons

    Profile of the Sun City Girls

    Profile of the Sun City Girls

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Kosmiche Krautrock

    Krautrock and the Sublime

    Krautrock and the Sublime

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    The Comic Book of Thoth

    One hundred (and maybe one) years of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot

    One hundred (and maybe one) years of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Babalon Rising

    Jack Parsons' Witchcraft Prophecy

    Jack Parsons' Witchcraft Prophecy

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...
  • Esoterica

    Astral Organics

    A Cow Jumped Over the Moon

    A Cow Jumped Over the Moon

    Here is the abstract: The writer Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) played a significant intellectual role in the American counterculture in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Drawing from a wide range of discourses, as well as his own occultural fictions and personal experiments in “hedonic engineering,” Wilson presented a pluralistic view of reality that combined a pragmatic skepticism with a creative and esoteric embrace of the “meta-program- ming” possibilities of altered states of consciousness. In his 1975 Illuminatus! trilogy, written...