Carl Abrahamsson - Böcker

Explores the role of magic and the occult in art and culture from ancient times to today• Examines key figures behind esoteric cultural developments, such as Carl Jung, Anton LaVey, Paul Bowles, Aleister Crowley, and Rudolf Steiner• Explores the history of magic as a source of genuine counter culture and compares it with our contemporary soulless, digital monocultureArt, magic, and the occult have been intimately linked since our prehistoric ancestors created the first cave paintings some 50,000 years ago.In this deep exploration of “occulture”--the liminal space where art and magic meet--Carl Abrahamsson reveals the integral role played by magic and occultism in the development of culture throughout history as well as their relevance to the continuing survival of art and creativity. Blending magical history and esoteric philosophy with his more than 30 years’ experience in occult movements,Showing how art and magic were initially one and the same, the author reveals how the magic of art can be restored if art is employed as a means rather than an end--if it is intense, emotional, violent, and expressive--and offers strategies for creating freely, magically, even spontaneously, with intent unfettered by the whims of trends, a creative practice akin to chaos magick that assists both creators and spectators to live with meaning. He also looks at intuition and creativity as the cornerstones of genuine individuation, explaining how insights and illuminations seldom come in collective forms.Exploring magical philosophy, occult history, the arts, psychology, and the colorful grey areas in between, Abrahamsson reveals the culturally and magically transformative role of art and the ways the occult continues to transform culture to this day.

An intimate exploration of the life, philosophy, and lasting occult influence of Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of SatanWith his creation of the infamous Church of Satan in 1966 and his bestselling book The Satanic Bible in 1969, Anton Szandor LaVey (1930-1997) became a controversial celebrity who basked in the attention and even made a successful career out of it. But who was Anton LaVey behind the public persona that so easily provoked Christians and others intolerant of his views?One of privileged few who spent time with the “Black Pope” in the last decade of his life, Carl Abrahamsson met Anton LaVey in 1989, sparking an “infernally” empowering friendship. In this book Abrahamsson explores what LaVey was really about, where he came from, and how he shaped the esoteric landscape of the 1960s. The author shares in-depth interviews with the notorious Satanist’s intimate friends and collaborators, including LaVey’s partner Blanche Barton, his son Xerxes LaVey, current heads of the Church of Satan Peter Gilmore and Peggy Nadramia, occult filmmaker Kenneth Anger, LaVey’s personal secretary Margie Bauer, film collector Jack Stevenson, and film historian Jim Morton. Abrahamsson also shares never-before-published material from LaVey himself, including discussions between LaVey and Genesis P-Orridge and transcripts from LaVey’s never-released “Hail Satan!” video.Providing inside accounts of the Church of Satan and activities at the Black House, this intimate exploration of Anton LaVey reveals his ongoing role in the history of culture and magic.

Since the dawn of time, magic is the node around which all human activities and culture revolve. As magic entered the development of science, art, philosophy, religion, myth, and psychology, it still retained its essence: that we have a dynamic connection with all other forms of life.Exploring the source magic that flows beneath the surface of culture and occulture throughout the ages, Carl Abrahamsson offers a “magical-anthropological” journey from ancient Norse shamanism to the modern magick of occultists like Genesis P-Orridge. He looks at how human beings relate to and are naturally attracted to magic. He examines in depth the consequences of magical practice and how the attraction to magic can be corrupted by both religious organizations and occult societies. He shows how the positive effects of magic are instinctively grasped by children, who view the world as magical.The author looks at magic and occulture as they relate to psychedelics, Witchcraft, shamanism, Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY), the panic rituals of the Master Musicians of Joujouka in Morocco, psychological individuation processes, literary “magical realism,” and the cut-up technique of Beat icons like William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. He explores the similarities in psychology between poet Ezra Pound and magician Austin Osman Spare. He looks at the Scandinavian Fenris Wolf as a mythic force and how personal pilgrimages can greatly enrich our lives. He also examines the philosophy of German author Ernst Jünger, the magical techniques of British filmmaker Derek Jarman, and the quintessential importance of accepting our own mortality.

An unconventional memoir of a man immersed in magic and the occult• Explores the author’s extensive connections with infamous occultists and organizations, including Genesis P-Orridge and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, and the Ordo Templi Orientis• Details the underlying occult impulses and magical experiences guiding the author’s artistic journey, his experiences in psychedelic culture and the punk subculture, and his experimentation with sex magic, occulture, and sigil magicWhat does it mean to live a life as an occultist? There may be no single answer, but for Carl Abrahamsson, it has entailed work in music, art, and film as well as deep engagement with renowned occult figures and organizations for more than 40 years.Illustrating the possibilities of a life infused with magic, Abrahamsson reflects on his decades spent in the company of some of the most unconventional thinkers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He reveals his involvement with psychedelic culture, the punk subculture, and numerous occult figures and organizations, including Genesis P-Orridge and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan, the Ordo Templi Orientis, and a branch of the American Golden Dawn.Interwoven with his occult experiences and meetings with infamous practitioners of magic, Abrahamsson describes his evolution as a multidisciplinary artist, always imbuing his diverse artistic practice with a developing occult philosophy. He also details his ongoing efforts to disseminate the occult arts via publishing companies like Psychick Release, Looking Glass Press, Edda Publishing, Trapart Books, and the occultural journal The Fenris Wolf—as well as fieldwork in Tibet, Nepal, and India through the Institute of Comparative Magico-anthropology. Through each encounter and reflection on the magical, shamanic, and mystical practices that structured his own life, Abrahamsson illuminates how it’s possible to experience a life of wisdom and miracles.

I spillrorna efter långvariga krig och katastrofer är Sverige ett löst sammanhållet feodalt rike omgärdat av okända hot och plågat av inre stridigheter. Regenten Soldan Ridderberg styr med järnhand, med hjälp av de mäktigaste adelsmännen. Han värnar om den unge Hjalmar Stackelstad, som tillåtits leva isolerad på en gård och arbeta med att uttolka ”Codex Nordica” – en samling tankar om en återuppbyggnad grundad i humanistiska ideal och inte endast rå makt. Tillsammans med den äldre vännen Jonas Trädgårds jobbar Stackelstad och Ridderberg med att få till stånd en omröstning för att få Codex att bli hela landets rättesnöre. Somliga adelsmän är för, andra emot. I det att man röner vissa framgångar och Stackelstad tar allt mer synlig plats, blir han mer och mer misstänksam mot alla. Varför har han fått leva ett så privilegierat liv? Vilken betydelse har manuskriptet egentligen? Är det överhuvudtaget möjligt att återgå till ett civiliserat liv efter en så lång tid av kaos? I det att Stackelstad och Trädgårds sprider tankarna på Mellansveriges gods och gårdar, ökar motståndet – både det osynliga och det synliga. Den intellektuelle som förankrats i ideal och eftertanke möter motvilligt de ränker och det våld han hittills skyddats från. Men det är nu inte längre fråga om att vilja eller inte vilja för Stackelstad. Han befinner sig oundvikligen i framtidens absoluta mittpunkt – både Sveriges och sin egen.