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Show What's Behind the Occultism Craze? The lemon 1s natures own cosmetic RRecently I visited several bookstores specializing in material on witchcraft, astrology, and other forms of mysticism. i asked some of the browsers there why they were interested in the occult. “I believe there’s a master plan to the cosmos, and I wantto learn it,” said one person. “I need something like horoscopes or Tarot cards to make my decisions for me,” said Even those who have not experimented with hallucinogenic drugs are still interested in ‘personal encounters’ with time and space— sensations such as ‘I felt I was leaving my body.’ Occultism talks to them about such experiences.” Manypeople turn to the occult, some psychologists believe, because they feel the world has “gone crazy,” with no end to violence and destruction. “In occultism,” says one authority, ‘people can escape from the world’s problems and from their own.” another. “My marriage is on the rocks. 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More and more people are experimenting with séances and ritualistic “black arts.” Even some universities offer courses in the history of occultism. According to psychiatrists and socal psychologists who have looked into this extraordinary trend, this kind of interest in and reliance on the mystical recurs in cycles and tends to occur in times of personal emotional upheaval. ‘ Orne: kinds of solutions to life seem to have failed these people,” observes Dr. Ari Kiev of Cornell University. “Possessions have not proven satisfying to lonely, bored, de- pressed people. Occultism reinforces their hope that things will magically be better.” Apparently science has also let them down, according to research psychologist Stanley Krippner. He cites our polluted environment and conflicting medica! opinions of the birthcontrolpill. “The greatest influence in the occult revival,” Doctor Krippner contends, “is that many people are having experiences that are not explained by tradition or by education. 4 Family Weekly, February 28,1971 D.. Henry Pinsker, a New York City psychiatrist, sees many disturbed patients who dabble in the occult. “These are the romantic, the cuggestible, and the chronically ill,” he says. “Every reasonable remedy seemed to fail them, so now they try abracadabra. They find gratification in the Satan culture.” Young men and women (the under-30's) are most visible in the new army of occultists. Psychologists say it echoes their search for an emotional anchor. Can such venturing into the occult do harm? It may be dangerous, medical authorities insist. People with a physical or mental illness may be deterred from seeking legitimate professional help. For instance, a college student was running along a beach last summer when he stepped on a broken bottle with his bare foot. Instead of going to a doctor, he listened to one of his friends intone a Buddhist chant while another recited an American Indian prayer, and a third waved a magical charm over the injured foot. The young man developed gangrene. Are there any merits in occult practices? A celebrated “good” witch, Louise Huebner, contends that many of her followers suffer from a sense of being “nobody” and that her sorcery makes them feel they have value. Whatever the virtues or dangers, expert consensus seems to be that reac‘1ing out for contact with occult “higher powers” revresents a retreat from reason. The rage for occultism will probably fade, as it has periodi- cally in the past. Butit’s safe to predict that man’s quest for the unexplainable will continue. —T. K. WALLACE |