What got you into the occult?

[Morell]

Not ashamed... World of Warcraft.

 

[Denise13]

Lifelong interest.

Formally, my aunt started me on astrology at age 8, though she wasn't overly knowledgeable on the subject. By 12 I was reading Waite, Abramelin, etc and it kept going.

 

[hollowglasd]

I was given a tarot deck as a teenager and down the rabbit hole I went

 

[Emperor Time]

My mom was always into the paranormal which got me into it as well.

 

[alexander]

I guess I've always been interested. Started off slow, gathering some books, a lot of reading/research, not so much actually doing the rituals/spell work. little by little I've started to experiment, and noticed some of the things I've tried are really starting to pan out. I'm trying to get better at documenting/writing down dates, what rituals, etc...not easy when you have ADD lol.
but yes, my intentions were always to just make things happen and improve life, even little things

 

[Reaper]

Witchcraft was my gateway. I was always into the paranormal from the time I was a kid. As an adult I went down a long and interesting spiritual path of learning about several different religions to see " what really stuck". I found Witchcraft and slowly ended up in the occult. I've never been happier, and never looked back.

 

[Zander]

Pain and desperation. I was a christian, poor, seeing my family suffer without a way to help them. I prayed and prayed, no answer just pain. At some point, pain and silence turned to anger that gave me the courage to 'transgress' by taking the leap into the darkness.

 

[Ohana]

Bioshock the video game. So I learned about it became obessed. Helped me leave bad, toxic environments I was in to live. Then after a series of odd events learned about the intangible could technically exist too then now here I am learning everyday.

Now I know about pop culture magic so might try to with Bioshock. Its a video game with a lot of emotional weight for me and helped a lot with channeling energy.

 

[Borealis]

Folks-tales

 

[GanGreenGroin]

I remember seeing a purple neon outine when i was 5 or 6.
In bedroom the outline stretched out a hand and i could see a face but no face was there, freaked out i screamed and dad came in and settled me down( dad wasnt a believer)
Jump forward a year and flicking through a photo album (it was the 80s) in my grandparents and i told my dad that a photo was of the ghost i saw the previous year.
Dad laughed and said it was was his grandad but he had been gone over 20 years and no more was said.
I told his dad and thats when i learnt he (my grandad)was a spiritualist.
Then a million questions and answers......

 

[GreyBird]

Living in China and talking to so many witches.

 

[Sedim Haba]

Kabbalah, in the 1970's. Got so deep into Lurianic Kabbalah that I underwent Orthodox conversion,

because the real teachers won't teach goyim (non-jews). O conversion failed, converted another branch

but got the teacher anyways. Until he passed from liver disease. That was 40-ish years ago. Miss him.

 

[Jhary-a-Conel]

Books about witchcraft were reliable sources of pictures of girls with no clothes on.

 

[Jonathan Strange]

I read the Invisibles by Grant Morrison when I was beggining to have access to the internet, in 2001, 2002, and it made me search for other things like it.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

I read the Invisibles by Grant Morrison when I was beggining to have access to the internet, in 2001, 2002, and it made me search for other things like it.

I've just finished a re-read of the Invisibles
It's interesting to see where the fiction and the fact cross over in Morrison's magnum opus

 

[dollethic]

To be honest, I've just always been drawn to urban legends and loved performing those rituals that kids do on sleepovers by myself, and recently I simply started getting more into it all. I have also witnessed things that cannot be explained without involving the supernatural. My interest comes mainly from the media, mostly horror movies and shows.

 

[System Error Message]

a realisation of the self and meeting other people who are into this stuff, just both my practice and theirs dont fall under any standard occult practice or knowledge. I did indeed leave the practice for a while due to self doubt only to find that it made things worse and never to trust what other people in the occult tell you about your practice and about yourself given even those in the occult deny anything else and just call you crazy instead.

I grew up in a religious environment so my practice had never any physical acts to it. meaning everything i did was pure visualisation.

 

[ladiesman_217]

I grew up in a high-demand religion - what many people would consider cultish.

Disadvantages aside, it helped me develop my spiritual side from birth. I learned to pray, read scriptures, have faith, feel the Spirit, and many other rituals/practices. And I actually responded to them. I'd have really strange, overwhelming experiences that seemed to confirm the truth of what I'd been taught.

Later on I found more "objective" views of my church that seemed to disprove everything I'd learned, which caused a horrible spiritual crisis lasting almost a decade. I couldn't square my new knowledge with the unmistakable spiritual experiences I'd had. And so I reached to the occult for answers, something I had previously thought of as 1) Satanic 2) Cringe or 3) Pure fraud.

I'm still in the novice stage, but the knowledge and wisdom I've gained has been priceless.

 

[Universe Grey]

I went searching for the truth about reality. I have already had the feeling of everything not feeling right with the belief of God being the Good and Satan been the bad guy and causing trouble. Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and God still put the taboo tree in the same garden instead of hiding it somewhere else. I know my purpose doesn't lie with the religion I was brought up with. So I choose to create my own path and rules and connecting with the divine for perspective about this world and how everything really is

 

[Akhkharu]

At some point when I was 13 years old, I became interested in illusionism. I found it fascinating and believed that magicians actually manipulated matter to perform their tricks. Later, I came across a video that claimed these magicians made demonic pacts with spirits accompanying them. In that same video, the author cited "The Secret Teachings of All Ages" (1928) by Manly P. Hall, which led me to research it further. My interest in superficial magic faded, and I was drawn to occultism. I discovered Goetia and became extremely fascinated by Astaroth. The idea of coercing demonic entities didn't impress me; what truly captivated me was their very existence and what they could provide—the Obscure, the darkness, the Chaos—that filled my eyes. It was a turbulent time in my life. I grew up in a hostile and impoverished environment, while also dealing with an alcoholic stepfather. I discovered Heavy Metal and made friends, spending a lot of time away from home to forget the problems within. Consequently, there was no time to dedicate to spirituality and its pursuit. The desire remained latent, but I no longer had the willpower to seek the path. Many things happened: I ran away from home several times, had relationships, broke hearts and had my heart broken, started using drugs, and that sums up a part of my adolescence. I ended up being imprisoned at some point in my life, and after my release, some changes occurred that only solidified from 2024 onwards, when I fully awakened to the Left-Hand Path, which I continue to follow, dedicated to its mysteries and transcendence through the Gift of the Black Flame that Satan granted us and which remains lit life after life, until we can overcome this existence, which I hope will be in this one.