Got it in the mail today: Lovecraft's birthday, no less. And yesterday I got 2 plush Cthulhu's in the mail. How's that for a synchronicity?
I very much enjoyed "Pseudonomicon" (big surprise... Hine's probably my favorite occult writer). Kinda wished it was a tad longer, but maybe that would have been overkill. As a magician (and a huge Lovecraft fan!) it was a breezy read with some interesting theories. I was very much struck by his mention that touching a certain spot before one goes to bed is a sign of anxiety and fear of losing control... For years now I touch a chair a certain way before I go to bed at night, but I've never been able to understand why... OCD or something, probably.
This was my favorite passage:
"I've met any amount of desperately doom-laden young men who seem to be convincing themselves that bohemian decadence can be achieved whilst living in a small room on an even smaller income. A cynic, however, might look at these "outsiders" and point out that they happen also to be neurotic, repressed (whilst of course, maintaining the opposite), and desperately lacking anything which resembles basic social skills. It may not be nice to hear, but unfortunetly one of the attractions of the occult for some people is that you can convince yourself that you are a mighty adept whilst everyone else is continully amazed at your total ineptitude on planes more solid then the astral."
hah, that passage sums me up perfectly. Fortunetly Hine goes on to say that he was like that in his early years of magick so I guess there's hope for me yet (some of my new occult friends were dumbstruck when I told them I didn't know how to get to a place 20 minutes from where I live, despite the fact I've been living near there for 24 years!) Fun stuff. |
