F(r)iends in Low Places: Monstrous Identities in Contemporary Esotericism

This chapter summarises the darkest and deepest parts of the author’s PhD research into contemporary esoteric cosmology. Although this universe owes much to Christianity, it draws heavily on youth subcultures, Romanticism, popular science and various literary and cinematic genres. The result is a quite unique spiritual topography. A map of such a landscape will be sketched, both this-worldly and other-worldly, and particular attention will be paid to a lower, demonic dimension, which is crucial to all esoteric practices, but especially the darker ones. The argument then moves beyond the descriptive level and works to establish the following points. First, on the level of religious theory, despite its monstrous dimension’s infernal origins in Christian constructs of hell, esotericism actually gives us an example of a ‘cosmorphological’ rather than ‘world religion’ type. However, the lower realms we are presented with are also unlike traditional underworlds in several important respects. Second, on a more general theoretical level, this analysis of the monstrous shows that structuralism can still be surprisingly useful, even while we have to work our way beyond it. Third, on a practical level, the stigmatisation of the occult community can be at least partially explained if the monstrous aspects of its cosmology and aesthetics are examined and read properly - we can see monstrous identities which critics have tended to misunderstand. Finally, after such an analysis, Western esotericism can be seen for what it is - a predictable product of contemporary culture.