Armchair Occultism

In my opinion, armchair occultism is a common trap among the mystically inclined. It's easy to move from book to book, absorbing knowledge but not really doing anything with it. Intellectual and scholarly pursuit alone is worth the time for many but when armchair occultists clash with practical magicians it can sometimes get ugly. An armchair magician might say that something has to be done a certain way, no exceptions, because that's what the books they've read have said. How can they say this with certainty if they've never actually attempted it themselves, especially when a more pragmatic occultist has had success going against the grain? The reality is sometimes very different from what the books say.

Study is a necessary part of occult practice because one has to have something to practice in the first place and we learn about this through study. However, knowledge not applied has the same benefit as reading a novel. It can be entertaining, it can make you think, but it usually has no practical benefit. The practical magician, the one that studies to find new things to practice, is going to have the truer and more fulfilling experience. The practical magician is going to have something that the armchair occultist can only wish for: firsthand experience of the mysteries.

This said, it's a good idea to have a firm grasp of your source material and the knowledge of the past. Very few people have ever said "I'll just go practice magic today," without having picked up a book on the subject before. This is how knowledge progresses; we build upon the knowledge of those that came before us. I'll also tell the truth and say that it doesn't hurt your credibility to be able to throw out a few prominent (or even more obscure) examples of occult literature in discussions with like-minded individuals. Knowing where your practices came from can help you progress them. New material sparks new ideas and this requires study.

The gist of what I'm trying to get at with this post is that you should be mindful not to fall into the trap of armchair occultism if you hope to be a practicing occultist. As annoying as armchair occultists can be in discussions, the only true danger is in becoming an armchair occultist practicing solely in your head with what amounts to vague concepts and ontologies when you really wish to be "out there" doing something, applying the knowledge, and having the experiences firsthand. Study and theory have their place but they only have true value when they're applied. The thought of contacting spirits is perhaps more entertaining than the actual process, but it is nowhere near as awe-inspiring.

Firsthand experience should be the goal of occult study. Otherwise we're just accepting whatever dogmas or cosmologies have been laid out. An experiential approach is pure empiricism and the only way you're going to gain any true insight into whatever mysteries you're looking for. Someone has to try things and actually do something in order to write about it and pass it on to the true seekers and armchair occultists alike. Do you want to be someone that reads about the experiences and practices of others or do you want to be having your own experiences? Do you want to find the truth for yourself or accept it at face value?