As much as I joke about Bowie and others like him who were into magic, how many successful "occultists"
(sarcasm quotes will not be included hereafter, but please know they are there) can you think of who actually lead happy lives, or could be thought of as good or successful people? Blavatski ended up an elephant-footed grump who would be in the deathfats forum if she were alive today, L. Ron Hubbard founded Scientology, Parsons got blown up, Crowley got the fame he wanted after death so he never got to enjoy it, Hess was a nazi so we know how that one ended... Sure there are some exceptions, but you see what I'm getting at here.
Personally, the only practitioners I've ever found worthy of respect are those who just have magic as a "normal" part of their life. Little grannies who know herbal remedies, people who use folk beliefs in their daily life, "pagans" who practice self-cultivation as a form of worship... stuff like that.
When you think of the people who are the subjects of this thread, we don't think of people who have achieved much of - if any - of what they claim to be working towards through their practice. Instead, by and large they need to be weak in body and mind; lacking in self-control, self-care, and self-love (despite their assertions otherwise); isolated and lonely individuals. What's more, literally everything I just described above could just as easily be explained by the fact that magic in the neo-pagan/witchtok/hextagram/whateverthefuck variety and shit like brujeria/palo mayombe/etc. enables and often
encourages poor life choices.
Some examples:
- The encouragement of destruction and filth in things like palo mayombe leads directly to social isolation. Can't have company over if your nganga-room smells like rotting blood and spoiled alcohol.
- The fact that hexes and spells can "come true" as a matter of pure coincidence or subconscious action is a form of variable-interval operant conditioning. We already know this is the most effective means of forming habits, and can become a behavioral addiction very quickly. (This same principal is used for addicting games and apps.)
- Believing yourself to be a "purely spiritual being" and teaching yourself disdain for the physical world can lead to neglect of your body, and seeking escape through drugs can damage it.
- Tulpas are just fancy imaginary friends, and treating them as if they are real is self-induced psychosis.
- Shifting is maladaptive daydreaming with occasional bouts of lucid dreaming, the former of which is unhealthy, and the latter of which is freaking awesome, but being used for live out Harry Potter fanfiction, which is gross.
- Manifestation blurs the lines of what is and is not under your control, while simultaneously putting you into a psychological trap wherein anything bad that happens to you is something you brought upon yourself.
So, yeah, I'd argue they are facing negative "spiritual" consequences as a result of their involvement, but not in the way movies show it. If I were a demon, getting someone into this bullshit would be a wonderful way to fuck with them, no curses or summoning circles required.
