pop culture characters in magic practice

[Morell]

I feel like starting another threat in this matter. With @Saint we had interesting debate over what pop culture characters we use in our occult practice and connect with so I think hat we should have a threat where we can talk it more broadly.

So the topic is: do you use some pop culture character in your practice? Which one and how does it work for you?

 

[ashlesha]

I don't use any modern pop culture characters in my practice, but I'm pretty sure some of the people we pay homage to in my tantric lineage probably didn't historically exist. More like pseudonyms and anthropomorphized embodiments of enlightened mind. We see this in other cultures for characters like St. Cyprian or Hermes Trismegistus too. Not so much an egregore, but maybe a spirit coming to make itself known that we wouldn't call a fictional character until later when myth is put down in favor of historicity.

It's very cliche, but if I did use a pop culture character, I would probably use superman. Justice, strength, stamina, clever, solar, pretty much everything you'd want to help build a good (normal) life.

 

[Morell]

I don't use any modern pop culture characters in my practice, but I'm pretty sure some of the people we pay homage to in my tantric lineage probably didn't historically exist. More like pseudonyms and anthropomorphized embodiments of enlightened mind. We see this in other cultures for characters like St. Cyprian or Hermes Trismegistus too. Not so much an egregore, but maybe a spirit coming to make itself known that we wouldn't call a fictional character until later when myth is put down in favor of historicity.

It's very cliche, but if I did use a pop culture character, I would probably use superman. Justice, strength, stamina, clever, solar, pretty much everything you'd want to help build a good (normal) life.

Wow, Superman is interesting idea. Would love to hear how that would ho.

And you are right, pop culture slowly turns into myth that feels historical. And it can also be inspired by history like Dracula. The vampire has very little to do with the original yet historicity only added oil to the flame so to speak and gave it more strength. Perhaps king Arthur or Merlin were pop culture figures of their time too. I play with idea that the same might have happened with Jesus. Not intending to offend anyone, but I find it interesting, because it is proven that myths and tales influence the real life way more than how real life influences myths.

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So for myself, currently I'm actively working with Sephiroth (FF7 Character) and Alucard. (Castlevaina)

Alucard has been with me for years now and helps me with getting into vampirism and its current. Sephiroth, he is of immerse willpower and discipline, which is something I truly need to develop myself. Also I like blades and Sephiroth gave me proper push to start practicing katana. I have training blade which is much safer than real sharp one would be, but weight is very similar and practice is just as real. I could consider those two my guides. I treasure their help.

 

[ashlesha]

Wow, Superman is interesting idea. Would love to hear how that would ho.

And you are right, pop culture slowly turns into myth that feels historical. And it can also be inspired by history like Dracula. The vampire has very little to do with the original yet historicity only added oil to the flame so to speak and gave it more strength. Perhaps king Arthur or Merlin were pop culture figures of their time too. I play with idea that the same might have happened with Jesus. Not intending to offend anyone, but I find it interesting, because it is proven that myths and tales influence the real life way more than how real life influences myths.

---
So for myself, currently I'm actively working with Sephiroth (FF7 Character) and Alucard. (Castlevaina)

Alucard has been with me for years now and helps me with getting into vampirism and its current. Sephiroth, he is of immerse willpower and discipline, which is something I truly need to develop myself. Also I like blades and Sephiroth gave me proper push to start practicing katana. I have training blade which is much safer than real sharp one would be, but weight is very similar and practice is just as real. I could consider those two my guides. I treasure their help.

For superman, we already have a pretty iconic sigil to focus on, multiple currents & versions of him to establish epithets, and a trademark "stance" if we wanted an asana. Writing an invocation wouldn't be too hard either if just focusing on solar aspects. The real question to me is why I would pick him over other already existing deities and figures that represent what I would want to cultivate in him? Helios, Surya, Archangel Michael, etc all seem to offer more in terms of established ritual to build from, not to mention divine names that seem to already carry a strong-enough power source to offer an easy "in" to their magical current.

For yourself, it seems like the associations and properties you want to cultivate in yourself from your characters are more multifacted than my plain-jane solar attributions, so it makes much more sense!

I would totally agree on the Arthur & Merlin point of being pop culture figures of their time, along with the myths of Hercules for the Greeks, or Arjuna for Indians, great generals for Chinese, etc. I've been reading more about voodoo recently and it seems like since many of their loas are built off of "heroic dead" that may have once lived historically, these form spiritual entities that are much more capable of understanding the human condition, and supporting their devotees in ways that make more transactional sense than an archetypical symbolic aggregate that many deities are.

I also agree with your point on Jesus and biblical myth, and I don't think this takes away from their influence! Personally, I place myth ABOVE historicity when it comes to magical current, as the imagination & mind seem to originate in a higher ontological sphere that places them closer to where identity exists as mythology and symbol, rather than objective, factual, lived dates and experiences. This allows us to experiment and grow metaphysical models, making our maps of consciousness more versatile, and hopefully if we're out of the armchair, our personalities & lived experienced more versatile!

 

[Morell]

The real question to me is why I would pick him over other already existing deities and figures that represent what I would want to cultivate in him?

Good question! And I can answer it, actually.

Since I didn't grew in Christian family, but rather a-religious, these things, like angels, Jesus and demons were never close to my heart. Tru power of any of us is in our heart and what is close to it, allows us to grasp it, there is compatibility. When I learned about Demons, angels and such, it felt like something made up, never felt the magic nor calling. It doesn't work for me. But these pop culture myths, I learned to love them. And that makes them work for me way better that what is well established through history.

True, I do not have advantage of many other occultists connecting with these egregores, but fanbases replace that energy well enough. So their reality is in fact probably no weaker than any other being, older or not.

In a way I can see similarity with older beings. Like Marvel comix reincarnated Norse gods over and over in multiple ways. They became new, but they still are from their own current. Middle-arth gods, Valar, are transformation of Norse gods too. Frankenstein monster is recreation of the Golem from Prague. Dracula is reformation of died out noble families mixed with immortality and undeath. We could find some historical trail in any legend, I believe.

 

[Kepler]

do you use some pop culture character in your practice? Which one and how does it work for you?

For work with the previous Mercury retrograde the characters Deadpool, Quicksilver, and Captain Angel as harmonious astral forms to align with celestial attributes.

A longer term example of adapting pop culture would be the Mockingjay Salute as an symbol of celestially aligned defiance to replace the godform of Set Fighting.
The lyrics by Lorde for a song about the Everdeen character caught my attention for their congruency to progressive ordeals in The Book of Law chapter III verses 64 -67.

...the scars that mark my body, they're silver and gold
My blood is a flood of rubies, precious stones
It keeps my veins hot, the fires find a home in me

- Yellow Flicker Beat

A harmonious pop culture appearance of a particular living celestial mythology.

 

[Rusty64]

So the topic is: do you use some pop culture character in your practice? Which one and how does it work for you?

From other threads I've collected you practice some Nordic stuff, particularly Loki. Have you ever tried to use the Marvel Loki as a symbol as part of your practice?

 

[glaive]

I honor the god Fedhas Madash, from the roguelike

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, for herbalism, the processes of growth/decay, and all things fungal. I don't exactly summon Fedhas, but I'll call on it to gain insight on matters of its domain.