How true is it that reading fiction strengthens your magickal practice?

[jacobus]

I was reading Theodore Rose's "Lucifer and the Hidden Demons" the other day. He says that reading fiction is one of the greatest things you could do in your occult practice. How true have you found this to be?

 

[Adrian]

I will be speaking from my experience as someone who practices Greek goeteia. Most of my sources are works of fiction from that period as there are not a lot of occult/historical sources on things like ritual setup, choreography, etc. 'Write what you know' is as old as time and at least some of the ritual practices from fiction have to be accurate to some degree.

 

[Eliyel]

It probably depends on the fiction you're reading, but I've found it to be more of a setback than a help. As a long-time occult-horror nerd, getting into actual occult practices has been a tedious process of unlearning all kinds of tropes and misconceptions that get thrown into works that prioritize entertainment over accuracy. I also see a lot of people get so entrenched in their favorite fantasy worlds that they're unwilling to accept that reality might differ from their expectations, which ends with them getting stuck in a rut of mistaking their own daydreaming for spiritual encounters and never making any real progress.

If you enjoy fiction and find it more engaging than textbooks and theses, I'm sure it can be a useful tool to get a vague idea of the bare basics of some subjects. But the number of fictional occult films, books, and games I can now recognize as having done considerable legitimate research on the subject they covered is very, very low.

 

[Beyond Everything]

He says that reading fiction is one of the greatest things you could do in your occult practice.

lol would that it was so simple

 

[Morell]

I was reading Theodore Rose's "Lucifer and the Hidden Demons" the other day. He says that reading fiction is one of the greatest things you could do in your occult practice. How true have you found this to be?

It can alter your mindset so it can alter your practice both for the better and for the worse. It can be used intentionally for improvement. I like to read vampire tales books to strengthen my connection with the current, but it is re-reading stories I already know for the purpose. Fortunately the effect has to be build up, so no reason not to read something new and explore what is out there.

In fact, computer games and fiction tales lured me into learning magic in the first place, although it also meant unpleasant obstacles. Simple fact is that while we know it is a fiction, our subconscious is way less able to discern. But learning is in repetition, so no reason to be afraid.

 

[D Magick Johnson]

It helps us have a bigger imagination.

 

[halafman]

This reminds me of something I read by Stephen Buhner in his book about plant intelligence. Storytelling is usually our first experience of altered states of consciousness. Words as symbols bring out feelings and visions as we imagine the story to life. Think about how you can be lost in a story, only to be snapped out of it by an external distraction. More than that stories teach us to generate meaning from feelings, the core of sensory development and intuition; a person can be warm or cold bright or gloomy etc.

Books are Magick! … but I wouldnt go there for occult knowledge, with a few exceptions, I always thought Terry Pratchet and Douglas Adams had an interesting occult undercurrent.