Cultural Backlash: An Open Post

[causticus]

There were some interesting discussions on yesterday's Magic Monday post and on the past month's or so posts on the Ecosophia blog regarding the collapse of alternative spirituality in the West and a likely impending cultural backlash against decades of general rot and grubbiness that is decaying our civilization from within.

Some of us here in the US are afraid that a sudden cultural jolt in the other direction, away from leftism/progressivism, will result in any type of spirituality that doesn't fit a narrow, literalist Christian/Abrahamic format as being seen by the reaction mob as "part of the problem." Anything the people leading and directing this backlash deem to be adjacent to the aforementioned cultural rot will be lazily lumped together into one big, bad conspiracy against what they believe they are trying to save and preserve. This likely means anything occult/esoteric, overtly pagan, or too foreign will be included, with very little nuance. As we know, the moral collapse of both Neopaganism and the postmodern occult scene hasn't helped matters at all in this respect, especially in light of recent tragic events.

Anyway, I want to know what anyone else here thinks of this and anything in your own area (US or somewhere else) you have seen indicative of a new cultural direction that may or or may not involve the condemnation of the things I listed above (or anything else that comes to mind). Also, we could use this space to think up ideas on how to preserve and carry on various spiritual teachings and practices if/when an intolerant religious climate becomes reality.

This is an open post that will stay open for quite a long time.

Comments

Hermetics, Transcendentalism and Twelve Step Groups

[(Anonymous)]

Coincidentally, I got a note from someone I am close to yesterday saying along the lines that: "I think I need to learn about hermetics. I have the feeling you already know about that" and asked for my input. This person is LGBTQ+, generally on the left, and has flirted with pop-culture paganism, but not in a serious way. Likes fantasy novels and SF and going to Rennaisance fairs (I hope the people playing dress up at those don't get harmed... because I actually see a lot of possible value in RenFairs and they are one of the few surviving places of carnie culture). This sudden interest in Hermetics gives me hope. JMG even mentioned in a comment some time ago that those of us trained in the occult arts might have to prepare for an influx of students in the years ahead. For those who the standard religions don't apply, I think this is very true.

As an American, too, I think we could get back to some of the material in the Transcendental milieu and use that to our advantage. It is generally universalist... they were influenced by and influenced in turn the unitarians. I know a lot of the right leaning people in JMGs general sphere probably don't have much love for Unitarian, Universalists etc. (I don't really have much love for the UU as it is now myself and identify center-left -whatever is left of the left and may be salvaged from it anyway.) I am more universalist and less unitarian, but this whole area, along with Jacob Boeheme and William Blake and Swedenborg and the Quaker tradition - I think it is ripe for revival. And occultists who are ok with that kind of thing could find a home in these places. Or make new variations thereof.

Finally, I think the Twelve Step tradition is a nascent form of a possible future North American religion -and has offered a ton of practical and spiritual help to those afflicted with addictions. There emphasis on a "God of my own understanding" and a personal higher power, and deemphasis on specific religious dogmas, I think is something that will also be coming into play in the future spiritual trajectory of North America.

AA

Re: Hermetics, Transcendentalism and Twelve Step Groups

[causticus]

AA, these are all fascinating ideas. I've had a lot of similar thoughts over the past few years, like a "Universalist Church" of some sort that isn't a sock puppet of lib-prog platitudes and the Democrat party agenda. The UU church (which I personally can't stand) is exactly that. Otherwise, the bundle of American traditions you list is something I very much agree is due for a revival. Hopefully when the dust settles after the conclusion of our current political convulsions (whenever that might be), this can start to happen in one form or another. One thing I think is quite necessary though for a true universalism, is to fully pull away from the core Nicene Christian dogmas, which would include things like biblical inerrancy, biblical literalism. the linear historical conception, denial of reincarnation, ect. I'd take it a step further and say that a "Hermetic church" rather than an explicitly Christian one might be the way to accomplish this, otherwise the tendency to backslide into entrenched dogmatism will always end up happening, IMHO.

On getting rid of dogmas altogether though, I don't think that's a viable path forward, as we have already seen with many examples. The major problem with a strict "no dogma" approach is that it creates an intellectual and spiritual power vacuum that instantly gets filled in with pop culture nonsense and whatever political fads are currently favored by the bulk of the membership. I think there is a healthy middle-way between Rigid dogmatism and an "anything goes" freeforall; it's called having spiritual principles, and ones rooted in ancient wisdom rather than whatever collection of novelties some materialist intellectual from the last 300 years pulled out of their backside. If the religious org membership doesn't share a few core spiritual principles, then it's going to get totally infiltrated by outside ideas and the org in question will quickly become nothing more than a skinsuit for those outside influences. Hence, the story of nearly all liberal mainline Protestant churches.

On that last part, I've never myself looked deeply into the Twelve Step tradition, but I've heard about its efficacy from other people. Would be interesting if it became a platform for a broader religious tradition.

Re: Hermetics, Transcendentalism and Twelve Step Groups

[(Anonymous)]

"One thing I think is quite necessary though for a true universalism, is to fully pull away from the core Nicene Christian dogmas, which would include things like biblical inerrancy, biblical literalism. the linear historical conception, denial of reincarnation, ect. I'd take it a step further and say that a "Hermetic church" rather than an explicitly Christian one might be the way to accomplish this, otherwise the tendency to backslide into entrenched dogmatism will always end up happening, IMHO."

I totally agree with you on the above part. I grew up in a fundamentalist end times church, don't want to go back there at all. I personally practice hermetic stuff and druid revivalism.

And I do see your point in the way groups without some kind of spiritual principle can get infiltrated by people with political agendas. On the other hand, I think traditions like the Druid Revival and the Universal Gnostic Church, among others, are sound in the way they don't require specific beliefs at all, but do have traditions, principles, practices. Maybe some kind of praxis over belief is the way forward?

Thanks again for hosting the space and chatting about these topics.

AA

Re: Hermetics, Transcendentalism and Twelve Step Groups

[jprussell]

Ah, reading this thread, I was going to ask both of y'all if you were familiar with the Universal Gnostic Church, as it was born specifically out of unhappiness with the merger with Unitarianism and matches many of the concepts/approaches you were laying out as desirable. On the other hand "gnostic" is quickly becoming a bad word in the very circles most likely to be worried about alternative spirituality, and the UGC is far more focused on individual spiritual practice than anything communal/collective.

(Full disclosure, I'm somewhat biased, as I'm pursuing ordination in the UGC seminary, so I find it quite congenial to my own beliefs and practices.)

Cheers,
Jeff

Re: Hermetics, Transcendentalism and Twelve Step Groups

[causticus]

I'm quite familiar with UGC, and also find it quite congenial to my own beliefs and practices. Getting involved with that is somewhere deep on my to-do list.

I have the same reservations about the term "gnostic" being of a mostly pejorative nature in the peanut gallery consciousnesses. Of course UGC's version of gnostic is much more true to its etymology.

Yeah this thread has picked up quite a bit. Some more great comments just came through down below.

Re: Hermetics, Transcendentalism and Twelve Step Groups

[(Anonymous)]

I was a UU for the better part of a decade, before I found the Druid Revival.

UUism could theoretically have been a sheltering organization for religious dissidents, but in my experience it has a huge yawning abyss at its heart. By the time I left, it seemed to be divided into elderly atheists who were committed to their Protestant LARP, and an influx of wokies eager to turn the whole organization into another skinsuit.

While I met many wonderful people there, on the whole I am left with no fondness for them.

-Cliff

Re: Hermetics, Transcendentalism and Twelve Step Groups

[alexanderthered]

UU was one of the organizations that I looked in to when I had my spiritual experience and was looking for answers / an explanation.

What I found wasn't appealing, and I ultimately decided that it wasn't for me.

It's been completely taken over by post-modern secular Materialism, and as such their members in my experience ascribe to all of the stereotypically leftist stuff, from advocating for therapy as a catch-all for every problem, to all of the stuff folks call "woke".

My local UU has a palastine flag and a progress pride flag flying at its building, likely used as a filter to ensure that anyone who doesn't ascribe 100% with their viewpoints will not find them palatable (similar to how the gay pride flag is used on subreddit icons on reddit).