I think that Mr. John Michael Greer’s monthly column on the subject of magic, The Well of Galabes, deserves a wider audience. His column on peak oil, The Archdruid Report, already has such a following. But Galabes doesn’t seem all that well-known yet.
In this month’s column, he discusses the role of the secret sex-magic cult in launching the modern-day occult revival. Worth a read; there’s a great deal of historical context that I genuinely didn’t know until this afternoon.
This month triX celebrates the artist known as bluefluke, creator of the free, and undoubtedly ass-kicking PSYCHONAUGHT FIELD MANUAL, an expertly crafted, irreverent expose of practical diy chaos magic, with generous dollops of heart. He was kind enough to answer our 13 Questions challenge.
triX:
What inspired you to create the Psychonaught Field Manual?
bluefluke: Originally I had just planned on making simple one panel meme style images. Like “How to meditate!” or “How to create a servitor!” in a single small image that people could post on forums and image boards. I eventually made so many of them that it only made sense to put them together, rewrite a more descriptive narrative and make the thing into a comic book. I always wanted to make one and now I had an excuse.
tX:
What has the response been like?
bluefluke: It proved me wrong and restored my faith in the people. I was fully prepared to be swept under and drowned in a sea of “I’m King of the wizard people and you’re doing it wrong!” or “You’re an Illuminati shill selling *insert conspiracy here* to children!” But this imaginary army of ghoulish hate trolls and zealotous redneck barbarians never appeared. Instead it exploded on tumblr and reddit. Jason Luv even posted it on Ultraculture. Everyone has been so nice.
tX:
Who/What/Where do you consider your ‘magical home’/community?
bluefluke: The Discordian scene here in Cincy. It’s warm, loyal, open to new tech/ideas and artsy in all the right places. It’s a perfect spiritual incubator for someone like me. Fits like a glove.
tX:
Which artist inspires you most?
bluefluke: Moebius is my hero. Always will be. His work makes me want to be a better artist.
tX:
What kind of practices are you currently exploring/or have incorporated as personal discipline?
bluefluke: Automatic writing/drawing. It’s something I hadn’t taken much stock in previously but recent experimentations have yielded astonishing results. It’s good to be wrong.
tX:
How important do you find personal expression in magical work?
bluefluke: I truly believe creative endeavours such as art, writing and music are the very language of magic translated to the closest representation possible in the material world. I know that sound pretentious, don’t judge me. I am fragile.
tX:
How has art influenced your magic and vice versa?
bluefluke: As I said previously, I find it difficult to differentiate the two.
tX:
Are you familiar w the concept of ‘self-secret’?
bluefluke: If I understand the phrase correctly I’m assuming it to be similar to the concept of your Superconscious/HGA/Higher Self protecting you from ugly truths you cannot handle and only by “knowing thyself” can one see these truths clearly.
tX:
What, in your opinion, is the most annoying thing about the occult scene?
bluefluke: Egotistical jackassery and mindless zealotry. Never fully buy into anyone else’s bullshit. That goes double for you own bullshit. It’s a stumbling block and the death of magical/spiritual growth.
tX:
What is the most promising thing about the occult scene at the moment?
bluefluke: Thanks to the internet even the most highly guarded secret practice is open to the public for experimentation and peer review. The result is leaner meaner more effective tech that can be shared and improved on by larger groups than at any other point in history. Moreover, a grand and unprecedented sort of “interfaith” dialog now exists between people who would have, even a decade ago, never considered each other peers, much less as friends. A Chaos magician, a Mason and a Taoist walk into a bar…
tX:
How did you get into illustration/drawing?
bluefluke: I learned to draw using an NES emulator that would allow you to replace in game graphics with your own. It was a great teacher because it forced you to be creative in order to get the most out of the consoles (very) limited graphical abilities. Although I’ve shed these restraints I still use many of these techniques which is why people tend to find my art style “familiar” but can’t quite put their finger on why this is so.
tX:
Are there more publications and/or projects currently in the pipeline?
bluefluke: Besides the Psychonaut Field Manual I’m working on a Tarot deck made for both divinatory and Kabbalistic practitioners equally and respectively. I’m hoping to release it sometime in october. Fingers crossed!
tX: If you could weave one grand spell for humanity, what would it be?
bluefluke: I would weave into us a greater empathy so as that we might unite into a greater whole, Babylon style.
