The occult and creative inspiration?

Post Reply New Topic

I'm sure all of you have heard of countless artists, probably as many as you've heard interviewed, who'd swear that the music doesn't come from them but through them. For anyone who's a producing musician you can't help but notice, when you're either making beats or song writing, all too often the best tunes you've ever made rather than being weeks of work in pre and post production came from a few hours in one sitting where you're mind just seemed on fire with something.

I've had that experience personally, and its quite a thing. It ties in tightly as well to what I used to find, in my late teens, with psychedelic experiences where I'd feel like I really was drawing things through from somewhere else, ie. very real bits of knowledge. The term 'occult' itself means hidden and it deals with hidden sources of knowledge or wisdom. In generally its quite frowned upon simply because we have dominant religious world views that put it in direct opposition and, in particular cases, a very cogent argument is made that its not a direct morality issue on our part so much as who's influencing it and how the sort of spiritual exopolitics work.

To give an example for myself though, since I was 9 or 10 I found something absolutely magical about really deep, powerful, or generally serious or exploratory music. I think some of my earliest experiences with that in 5th or 6th grade would have started with older Metallica, went on to Alice In Chains, Tool, Skinny Puppy, all kinds of stuff that had a very authentic and unusual push to it where it just felt like there was something coherent down below it that connected but what was being mapped literally wasn't of this world.

For better or worse music these days is getting this aspect more and more 'right', for better or worse depending on whether you'd consider that an enlightened or illumined feature. In some cases I'd have to argue that its broken out into all out straight-forward shamanism. One of the clearest examples I can think of for that in the last few years is the full length Lana Del Ray Ride video. I had to laugh when I watched that because you can hardly get more occult. Essentially its full submission to the desire to figure yourself out by any means necessary, chase any desire, and completely drop all guise of conventional morality - and do so with the full weight and power of your own personal spirituality/religion vested in the process. When viewed in a new age sort of way that's fearlessly authentic living, when viewed from a Christian lens that's quintessential 'illuminated' living (ie. leadership from the angelic torch-bearer and lord of the world).

The funny thing about this stuff, in some people's cases you can tell a lot from their backgrounds that it just makes sense - ie. where they sit within society. At the same time a lot of people touching base with these kinds of energies seem to just pop right up out of the grass roots and often enough were raised with one type of western religious variant or another (ie. occult upbringing doesn't account for it). The question becomes though, particularly in organic cases (ie. lets say Gaga - I *think* she fits this profile), what is the realistic possibility of there being some type of compulsory dynamic? When I say that I think of the possibility that Gaga could have either been who she is or she could be a nurse's assistant, or she could be bagging groceries at Wal Mart (ie. that would make it a nearly irresistible compulsion being that we all have an instinctive need to have our lives mean something and, generally, the more the better). I could be entirely wrong but there's a lot of impetus to chase such types of 'authenticity' (in quotes for the possibility that its seeded rather than originated in us, to where we're left somewhat agnostic on the difference thus left to follow our own instincts/beliefs), and - I'll be honest - I can identify because I clearly had a little bit of that in me myself, perhaps more than a little.

So for the creative types here, what do you make of it? How broad based do you think this phenomena is in references to the archetypes that fuel it? What do you think it is exactly? It seems like inspiration can come from a lot of angles but you can tell whether its inspired or illumined by its output largely. I'd be curious to see what you guys think on it.

Imo, creativity has natural, not super-natural causes. It seems to occur more often in obsessive, compulsive people, as well as those who seem a little "hyper" and energetic.

I've never seen a dull, lethargic, or unfocussed person who was also creative.

It flows in from your subconscious mind...happens to me all the time.

Caffeine does it for me. I guess that simulating a "manic" phase is important in my creativity.

I worship caffeine!

I think this has happened to me and I have come up with improved lyrics for some of my favorite rock songs as these songs have played out in my head. However I have been accused of not coming up with an original idea.

I definitely agree with those of you who say that its a subconscious feed. The strange thing though, when you bring hallucinogens to the equation, particularly stronger doses, you do find strange things happening such as things coming through that seem to not only have their own but even foreign autonomy. I've had that happen back when I used to trip, I've also had my sensitivities to such things sober even turned up during such times or at times of intense self-inquiry.

Seems like there's a vast quantity of info out there, trick is sorting out what you want and, probably most important, what the risks or consequences can be to different methodologies or where these things get pulled in from.

there are two elements that make art art in my eyes or ears and give it that authentic feel i think you might be talking about. i see it as a form of communication, but even more than the intention of simply transporting a certain message and making it available to other people it is communication from self to self. which might sound a bit silly, but when you are converting something that can not be translated into ordinary language or put into words at all in a tune or a picture you are 'naming' it in a way, and i think this expression for one self is a very important part of it, regardless of whether other people get it or assign their own completely different meaning to it instead. the second component of an 'authentic' piece of art would then be aesthetics, or better still a deep fascination with visual, auditory or verbal beauty (and the pattern or architecture of it) that only a few might share that excessively but to whom it then will mean unspeakably much.

despite being sceptical towards outside sources i can see how that compulsion or insane almost unconscious drive of creativity might feel or appear like a possession of sorts. i can only report my own experience here because my ability to guess how other people see things is limited, but im never planning, never thinking through, never using templates or direct references when painting. its just something that i have to get out of my head, an idea that takes shape while im at it and that i can not leave alone until i found exactly what i meant. i only ever really like what i do when i can look at it a day later and almost discover it as if it was something foreign, even though it conveys a very intimate thought or feeling or concept. i think there is a similarity between creativity, tripping and dreaming in the sense that our mind is able to imagine things our conscious self or other parts of our mind can still be surprised by because they simply (and neuroscientifically quite literally) werent in the loop. from that line of thought i find a definition of the occult as 'the hidden' or unknown self quite interesting (never thought of it that way), because art is probably a good example for the dimension of what one might find buried under commonplaces.

With music at least, I might have just come up with a concise and quick way to phrase it. When an artist can deliver an idea so forcefully and viscerally that you both flush and blush simultaneously listening to it, almost as if there's a simultaneously beautiful and sadistic element that captivates the listener, there's something going on there; its tough to tell what simply because music, audition, and response is something that's remained in this sort of kitsch/trite corner of neuro-science to the point that it barely seems like anyone's deemed it worth bothering with. To the extent that music emotionally impacts us and how it impacts us, it seems like it could be a medicine in and of itself in so many ways albeit it would never be right to reserve sound to a prescription-only basis. Its a psychedelic delivered in the most raw pre-chemical form, I'd even go as far as saying pre-material form.

When I write, I normally drink two pots of coffee, because I have to be wide awake to make it work.
As for writing or music flowing out of the artist from somewhere else, rather than seeming to be creating it - I've always attributed that to the unconscious mind at work - maybe even Freud's Id - which it then pushes forward through the conscious mind.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

An addict to Columbia number 2 cash crop.

ruveyn

i think this is a very apt definition. i also tend to be most impressed and touched by music that has multiple layers in the way it feels, which sometimes might even stand in strong contrast to each other, calmness and urgency, harmony and violence, but which has this force and beauty coming through on all levels. there is an article [link] taking up that kind of idea that you, and maybe also you caffeine enthusiasts around here, might find interesting although the object of study addressed in it is viennese expressionism. its essentially about great eric kandels latest obsession with neuroaesthetics and hes stating some thoughts that remind me of your observation on the impact of music. personally i find the psychoactive capacity of the auditory channel even more powerful than the visual one.

Part of what I love about electronic music - whether its dnb, dub techno, even the rare well-done dubstep or trance, is that the kind of dynamic tension you're talking about is quite vogue since it started. Particularly with genres like dnb there's hardly a genre off limits to bend/blend into it and particularly with the deeper more pensive side (pensive is another trait to music that I really get a lot out of) some amazing content gets created. Techno tends to either pull calm acoustics in at unusual angles or occasionally you'll have a really brash, redneck acid techno track, melodically and behind the ripping 303's and sliced metallic groans, start to take on a very blue-grass swagger. Meetings like that are particularly thought provoking.

Absolutely!

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer