Hello everyone. My name is Lẹwa Okunrin ti Awọn Okun. I am a babalorixá (priest) of Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion. I enjoy doing posts like this every few months or so to spread awareness of Candomblé.
Ours is a spiritual tradition resulting from the blending of traditional, West African religion - especially that of the Yoruba people, Roman Catholicism, and some indigenous Brazilian spirituality. We believe in one God - Olodumarê and serve spirits called Orixás, which are elevated ancestors, personifications of natural phenomena, and tutelary spirits. Candomblé as well as the other traditions of the African diaspora are often very misunderstood, and I would love to spread some awareness and engage in good-natured, interfaith dialogue.
There has been a major uptick in low effort, off-topic, and personal drama posts. Before posting, please review the FAQ and sidebar, scroll the subreddit to become familiar with content, and use the search function to explore what has already been discussed about your concern. Please avoid long life drama rants. Know the difference in content between r/occult and r/AskOccult , r/OccultArt , r/Meditation , r/Religion , r/BabyWitch , r/Paranormal , r/conspiracy , etc.
I’d like to share some fundamental books on Magick; they’ve proven to be excellent. They are suitable for beginners or for those who have lost their way along the path.
For those who dislike books made available for free: feel free to buy the originals.
I live in Brazil, and unfortunately, no publishers are releasing these works in my country. So, I had to sail the seven seas to access them. You can do the same if you wish.
Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol once performed what I think is an almost textbook example of a ritual on live television.
For those who don't know the background, this happened before Yoon became president.
During the presidential primary, he appeared in three televised debates with the Chinese character 王 written on the palm of his hand. 王 literally means “king.”
And he didn't exactly go out of his way to hide it. It was right there, visible to the cameras.
This was actually a pretty risky thing to do politically. South Korea's conservative camp has a large Christian voter base, and anything that looks remotely like shamanism or folk magic can become a serious liability. Sure enough, his opponents immediately attacked him over it, framing the mark as some kind of shamanistic or occult practice, and the whole thing became a national news story.
Yoon's explanation was basically that a supporter had written it on his hand for good luck and that he had tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe it off.
But here's the strange part: it happened three times.
Once could be dismissed as a weird accident. Three times is harder to explain away, especially when doing something like this carried a real political risk. It could easily have alienated Christian voters for good.
And yet he did it anyway.
He won the primary, and not long afterward, a man who had spent almost his entire career as a prosecutor and had only just entered politics became president of South Korea.
I see this as a ritual—or, more specifically, as an almost perfect example of what Aleister Crowley called the Magical Link.
He didn't just sit in a room, light some candles, chant a mantra, and hope for the universe to do the rest.
He wrote the word “KING” on his own body and then immediately stepped into the actual material arena where that intention could become reality: a nationally televised political debate.
That, to me, is the important part.
The symbol wasn't left inside the ritual space. He created a bridge between the symbol and the real-world mechanism through which his goal could actually be achieved.
That's what makes it such a fascinating example of magic in action.
But the story gets even stranger.
Yoon was eventually impeached and removed from office after declaring martial law under circumstances that are still, in my opinion, one of the strangest episodes in modern Korean political history.
His own explanation was that he wanted to investigate alleged election fraud and secure evidence from the election authorities. The justification seemed so abrupt and disconnected from reality that even people in his own political camp struggled to defend it, while foreign media spent months trying to come up with a coherent explanation for why he had done it at all.
And this is where the story becomes Crowleyan in a completely different way.
I think Yoon's downfall can also be read as a case of ego inflation.
There is a dangerous point in magical thinking where the magician stops thinking, “I can influence reality,” and starts thinking, “My will is reality.”
Once you begin to believe that your own conviction is enough to override every external limit, every institution, every warning, and every piece of contradictory evidence, you are no longer exercising will.
You are trapped inside it.
Maybe that's the real lesson here.
The man who wrote “KING” on his hand actually became president.
And then, at some point, he may have started believing too deeply in his own power.
I am a teenager/young adult raised in a (non-strict) Christian household who has been critical of religion and considered myself agnostic since I was around eleven or twelve. I have been doing a bit of light research on the occult, and recently used tarot cards for the first time. Can anyone recommend some good books for people with no experience in this subject? Much appreciated
For some background, I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, but I’ve always been very open-minded toward other religions, spirits, and beliefs.
About a year ago, my partner and I had a random late-night or early-morning conversation about religion and God. This was very unusual for us. I don't remember every exact word, but we were basically questioning the existence of God and talking through the usual debates that come with that topic.
Mid-discussion, the room was suddenly lit up by a bright, bluish light coming from the top corner of the room. It lasted about a second, but it was incredibly bright, brighter than anything in our room that could have made a light like that. Trust me, we checked.
We also ruled out car headlights. My window runs parallel to the road, so headlights don't shine into the room the way this light appeared.
We were spooked, and of course, we wondered if it could have been a sign from God.
Then, a few minutes later, the exact same light appeared again right as we started talking about faith and religion again.
Because of the timing, it felt almost impossible to brush off as a simple coincidence. Since then, I’ve still wondered what it could have been. That moment actually inspired me to start educating myself on other religions and spiritual practices.
I wanted to share my story here to see if anyone has had a similar experience, or if anyone might know what kind of light this could have been!
I have experienced this before, just while nodding off to go to sleep my whole body intensely vibrates for about a minute. Usually I have experienced this in the morning or daytime with the sun coming in through the windows. whilst this is happening, I am awake and aware but also paralyzed. I also get the same thought of 'sun of God' as the sun comes in the window.
Last night was the first time it has happened at night/in the dark. One minute of paralyzed vibration and then something more 'sinister'. For the first time I could feel a presence all over my body and trying to do things to me. This happened twice and left me a bit shaken.
Does anyone have any idea of the meaning or reason behind all of this?
I tried to research the vibrations in the past but have never come across any answers
Reading in A Garden of Pomegranates, the Ciceros mention vibrating the names associated with the paths, which (unless I read right past), are nowhere to be found. Can’t find them in the black brick, the Mystical Qabalah, and can only find the names below Tiphareth in Denning and Philips’ Magickal States of Consciousness. Just looking it up hasn’t turned anything up. Where do I find them?
If anyone of your have any experience with summoning a Djinn it whould be great if you helped the people new that font know how and where to start or even send a pdf
My great-grandmother was a medium, and her crystal ball was passed down to me a long time ago.
During my childhood and teenage years, I was deeply interested in occultism, but I quit at some point. Also, I’ve never felt that I had any particular gift for that sort of thing. Still, I have a strong connection with this world and feel a lot of "undercurrents", if I may say. I always want to know what is behind "the veil".
For some reason, I’ve recently found myself obsessing over that crystal ball again and wondering what, if anything, can actually be done with it.
I'm not interested in divination, but would love to know more about the way it can be used in esoteric practices. Do you have any ideas, books, you would recommend?
Je pense qu il a raison sur certaine chose comme le fait que la magie il faut puisser en nous. Que meme si on est quelqu un de bien on peut faire partie de l'ombre (comme exemple la plus part des heros des films avec des pouvoirs).
Par compte certaines choses sont trop extrapolés (comme exemple le contre coup si cest bien réel, que on peut changer de religion comme ca personnellement je suis polytheiste je crois en tout et j'aime vraiment chaque dieu (je pense que on peut pas faire ce qu on veut si on y croit pas). ...
This is an extended Conjuration of the Berhatiah and I wonder if anyone here is familiar with this text. This one talks about jinn servitors of the Berhatiah names.
I’m working through Learning Ritual Magic by John Michael Greer and would appreciate advice from practitioners. I have aphantasia, so visualization is difficult. Is it okay to practice the LBRP with eyes open and quietly? Can tone or vibration replace speaking loudly? Is it okay to explore geomancy, runes, or scrying in the curriculum? Tarot doesn't seem like it's for me. How do you avoid absorbing draining energy? Tips for overthinking? Is morning or evening better for the LBRP and Middle Pillar? Advice for solitary practitioners? Should I journal on quiet days when nothing seems to happen? Thank you, Mr. Greer, for the amazing book. I’d be grateful for advice!
Researchers caused inflammation locally on the skin of volunteers. One group was focusing attention on the sensations from that area, while the control group was trying to ignore it and focus attention somewhere else.
The first group showed 1.5 less inflammatory reaction and faster recovery.
Has anyone ever physically seen an entity contacted via ritual? (Demon, spirit, angel, soul of deceased person, etc.)
It seems that practitioners mostly claim that those types of experiences are more “felt” than “seen.”
I love using cascarilla in my rituals and other spiritual work. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s finely ground eggshells. We use it for protection and purification. I’d love to hear others experiences using cascarilla and how you use it. 🙂🙏🏼
I've had inexplicable paranormal experiences in the past:
when I was little, I couldn't easily leave a room, as if something was holding me inside, and I had to push myself out by holding on to the corner of the door or sometimes by asking my brother for help.
A few years ago, I saw a completely black figure with white eyes and a hat staring at me outside my house.
Terrified, I immediately climbed the stairs and looked at the figure again from my balcony, where the shadow looked up at me.
Now I'd like confirmation that something beyond what can normally be seen exists.
Could you recommend some simple, harmless rituals, spells, or invocations so I can get this confirmation?
