What got you into the occult?

[Lu_CiD]

when I was really young I started picking up on energetic forces around me simple stuff at first like the energy from the atmosphere before it started storming. over the years that grew and when I moved to a new place across the country that happend to be in a very fucked up place energy wise I started to try and study, learn what little I could about what I was feeling and seeing etc.
also around that time I was visited by this thing I call the Greyman, who stalled me and would stay outside of my window at the tree line and watch me at night trying to get me to come to him but thats a long story in itself.

my interest grew from there and I made firnds with ppl that were more knowledgeable about witchcraft and the occult and as soon as I had a few authors names I delved into anything I could get my hands on and have studied and practiced off and on ever sense. mostly studied but im now much more into both things.

 

[darthreverened999]

for me specifically even though I was raised primarily catholic gnosticism mysticism and esotericism in general was a huge part of my childhood since the age of 3 years old. And also throughout my life I always had encounters with various spirits and deities, now I want to forge a connection to them hence why I am interested in learning angelology and invoking celestial beings.

 

[PedroM]

The Invisibles and other references in pop culture.

 

[lunarAura]

During the Covid lockdowns, I experienced some type of spiritual awakening, realizing the extent of corruption around me. This led me directly into the occult. Wish I had been introduced to it earlier in life, better late than never I suppose.

 

[Phillian]

I had always felt drawn to the occult. From myths to folklore, to believing that nature was hidden among the flowers, trees, rivers, and seas, all sorts of magical beings. Not only that, but I always knew things and still do without asking or anyone sharing that information with me; sometimes that information came as a "feeling", other times as a shiver, and other times just like information I had always known. Nowadays, I call this my intuition, as well as knowledge from previous lives...

Before I delved into my craft, I was already exploring it with the whims of a child, by brewing "potions" of mud & herbs to patch wounds, collecting tokens & talismans through my walks in the woods, fields, and seashores. Sayin' silent prayers of hymns I had invented as I dive into the ocean. I would dance under the moonlight or when it poured rain in the garden, believing my dance would nourish the plants in our garden, or make the heavy rain stop... It was years later that I began to explore a bit more consciously the craft, through tarot... Yet, after a few readings and some prophetic dreams, I got scared, for a while, to touch tarot again...

However, the cards and the occult still draw me, and I find my passion for mythology and cartomancy aligning in the form of oracles... And thus returning my path into the craft.

 

[Hydor]

A joined a meditation group via some much older friends when 18. It was very much in the theosophical tradition and took I issue with some of what was taught and began my own studies.

 

[DarkWer]

I didn't truly encounter any occult knowledge of any kind until around 2013 or 2014. I was newly a teenager, and I looked up random stuff on Google sometimes. I don't remember what it is I searched, but I stumbled across some website called "Joy Of Satan." That website gave me my first look at magick. Stuff like chakras and demonology. I read just about every page on that website I could find at the time. once I did that, I moved on. That was my first impression of the occult for about five or six years.

In January of 2019, I once again came across the occult. This time I found it... in the Google Play store! I was just browsing it out of boredom when I spotted and app recommended to me whose name I cannot remember, but I do remember saying it would teach you magic. I soon discovered it was actually (poorly) pirating a book titled Everything You Want To Know About Magick: But Were Afraid To Ask authored by Shawn Martin Scanlon. This was my introduction to hermeticism and ceremonial magick. Once I finished the book, I tried it out as prescribed by the book, but didn't stick with it. I was uncomfortable by all the kabbalah bits (I was atheist at the time), and I felt like I was, like, stealing or something. Like, it wasn't meant for me to practice. (I have a hard time putting it into words without sounding antisemitic when that is not in the slightest reason why I didn't want to practice it.) I did, however, appreciate the book for giving me a better idea as to what magick is like in the real world.

From there, other smaller things happened like looking up what the deal was with tarot cards (I was mostly interested in finding out if tarot cards were in fact playing cards (I was right to a degree)). That's when I learned entire magick organizations like the Golden Dawn existed (and is where I learned who Aleister Crowley is outside of the song "Mister Crowley"). I went through a bit of a crisis of faith in that I had none at all and was found wanting, but I'm a picky bitch. Did some searching and tried out a couple things before landing on the path I have now begun: neo-animism and werewolf magick. So, since what I'm doing is a revival of old practices, I guess I'm pagan now, and I'm very happy with it as it feels right to me.