art | The Blog of Baphomet

When we consider the interface between magic, the visual arts and publishing nobody does it better that Fulgar Esoterica. Tenacious as Frater Perdurabo himself, since 1992 this small team has been working deligently away, bringing great esoteric art to wider audiences. Publications such as Zos Speaks! were instrumental in bringing the name of Austin Spare back into the mainstream artistic cannon without playing down the occultism of his work.

I & Myself in Yoga Austin Osman Spare

Recent ventures have included the outstanding Abraxas journal which, far from being the same old waffle about goetic spirits and spooky sigils, instead showcases some of the great occultist/artist practioners from the past and present. If you’re connected with the contemporary ‘occult scene’ in Britain it’s really refreshing to pick up a copy of Abraxas and discover a whole host of practioners who are of the ‘artist magician’ variety (and not a roll-call of the same old names, writing basically the same old guff.)

Later this year there are plans for a major exhibtion I:MAGE 2014, Travelling with Unfamiliar Spirits at The Cob Gallery, London from 21 October 2014 – 2 November 2014. In advance of the event there’s plenty of bloggage from some of the partcipating artists. Here for example artist/occultists Jesse Bransford and Max Razdow share with us their record of dream incubation using the Icelanding Seiðr paradigm.

Have a browse round the Fulgar site and, if you an artist, you may want to get in touch. The zeitgeist means a re-evaluation of magical art is in the air, and usually this means the art produced by esoteric practioners (rather than by artists who are inspired by occult motifs). Moreover this isn’t some recuperation by capitalist culture (the preditory art world looking to make big bucks from our magick$) but a movement in large part inspired by practioners within both the artworld and academic community.

Totentanz.
Charlotte Rodgers
Mixed Media with Crane’s head,fox bone and Turkey Chick.
Image by Marc Aitken

Recent events such as the Magickal Arte exhibtion in London, the purchase of work by Genesis P-Orridge by Tate Britain, the Visions of Enchantment Conference and launch of Black Mirror are part of this movement. There seems to be a real renaissance in the art of magick, and whether as an audience member, academic, artist or occultist there looks to be a rich, strange and rewarding journey ahead.

Greg Humphries is one of my closest friends. I met him over 15 years ago in the Watershed Arts Centre in Bristol. Our meeting was set-up by the wonderful and wise Ronald Hutton who said we simply had to get to know each other. I remember carrying a copy of Crowley’s Magick (the Routledge & Kegan Paul edition, affectionately known as ‘The Big Pink Stiff One’ back in the day) to identify myself. We got on like a temple on fire, soon agreeing that an acid test of a good magician was their ability to interact successfully with spirits. And since the most frequently encountered spirits are other humans the measure of a mage is often nothing to do with their ‘occult powers’ or dark-n-spooky look, but rather their social intelligence, thoughtfulness, and standing in their community. We started doing magick together very soon after that meeting (with a big set of rituals on the run up to the major solar eclipse of 1999, but that, as they say, is another story). We’ve continued to do magick together ever since.

Many years later we wrote Now That’s What I Call Chaos Magick, Volumes I & II. I wrote volume I and Greg the second part of the book (although it was many years before someone pointed out to me that nowhere in the book do we say who wrote which bits). This book detailed our differing but complimentary approaches to the process know as Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.

Greg in his natural environment

At the time Greg was already a practising artist (an early digital artwork of his is on the cover of Now…). I’m lucky enough to own several of his paintings. Artworks where the paint is often mixed with pigments and materials from the landscape they are inspired by. But then Greg’s art underwent a transformation. Away from visual art, and into what for him is a deeper practice. These days he makes artists’ charcoal, coppices trees, fashions powerful bows with hand-made arrows fletched in the traditional manner. He carves, builds, makes fire with a bow drill and works with the land. More than this, as an artist, as a magician, he passes these skills on to others. You can find out more about his work and the courses he offers at www.futuretracks.co.uk and via his page on facebook.

This interview was conducted as we sat by the wood burner in my cottage (if you listen carefully you might be able to hear my Guinea pigs rumblestrutting in the background). The music used at the beginning and end of the interview is by Munacuyki Sumaqta.

Enjoy!