As the title might suggest, the series explores the origins of superstitions. It looks at everything from why we bless people after they sneeze, to why we have bridesmaids, or try not to walk under ladders.
Take a look at the episode below on cats (my cat Carl thought it was especially interesting), and visit the Origins: Superstitions website to see more.
In his new book, due out in January, Horowitz explores the history of the positive thinking movement in America, and its one simple, yet incredibly powerful idea that ‘thoughts are causative’.
With its roots in America’s mystical and occult sub-cultures of the mid-19th Century, this idea, and the movement it spawned, have influenced American life and culture far more than most people might realize.
Take a look at the video below to hear Horowitz talk about his book, and the importance of that one simple idea.
Apparently he’s working on a new book, and I look forward to reading it. In fact, if it’s got anything to do with the occult, I’ll probably be posting about it.
But what I’m writing about today is Horowitz’s Occult New York Walking Tours. Who knew there was so much occult history smack dab in the middle of the Big Apple?
On the tour, Horowitz guides the curious through New York City’s Flatiron district, Murray Hill, the Grand Central neighborhood, Midtown and the West Side.
These areas don’t seem so inspired today, but at the end of the 19th Century, they were hotbeds of spiritualist activity, and there’s traces of that past all over.
Take a look at the video below to see some of the sites on the tour and hear Horowitz talk about why they were important.
I don’t know when the next tour will be, but I hope there’ll be one when I’m next in New York.
Though experiments in Quantum Physics have turned up remarkable, and sometimes seemingly magical events on the quantum level, Horowitz cautions New Agers and Occultists from jumping to conclusions.
Phenomena like entanglement and the uncertainty principle are exciting. But they don’t prove telepathy, clairvoyance, or the power of positive thinking.
They can and should, however, get us to pay attention and start a conversation. Something interesting is going on. We just don’t understand it yet.
Take a look at this video of Mitch Horowitz talking about the emergence of liberalism, occultism and the feminist movement in the United States. It’s part of the Big Think series.
In it, he argues that it’s no surprise these movements grew together, as all three were rooted in radical ideologies of democracy, equality and personal empowerment.
The book chronicles the history of spiritualism and the occult in the US starting in the 1770s, and focusing on the Burned-over District in Upstate New York.
This video is a quick overview of some of the main themes in the book.
Take a look, and if you get chance, read the book. It’s fascinating.
Starting in 1774 with Ann Lee, aka Mother Ann of the Shaking Quakers, he traces the American Occult movement through to the present-day New Age scene. Horowitz examines the influence of groups like the Freemasons, Rosecrucians, and Spiritualists on not only religion in America, but politics as well.
Victoria Woodhull
He frequently points to the close connections between the American occult, abolitionists and suffragette movements. Philosophies of equality, democracy and personal strength ran deeply through them all and have been part of American culture from its very inception.
Horowitz details the history of the Burned-Over District and the Psychic Highway. He introduces us to characters like Andrew Jackson Davis, the Poughkeepsie Seer, and Jemima Wilkinson, who was the first American-born woman to found a spiritual order.
Students of American social, religious or political history should take a look. But if you’re in the psychic or occult field, especially if you’re American, Occult America should be on your must-read list.
Not only are you likely to learn a lot, you’ll have a great time doing it.
Is Jay-Z an occultist, a freemason, a member of the secret Illuminati? Seems like a crazy question to me, but apparently some of the symbols in his videos are raising eyebrows.
The question is crazy because – who cares? At least that’s my take. But I guess some people do. And I’d have to agree that some of the symbols in his videos are also symbols used by various ‘occult’ or secret/hidden societies. In fact, you can find most of them in a single pack of Tarot cards. But so what?
If Jay-Z is part of some secret group, it’s still a secret. His videos haven’t shown me where to sign up for the Occult. And I could only dream that he’s a Tarot reader. If he is, we definitely want him on Beyond Worlds or Psychic Friends Live.
Take a look at what occult expert Mitch Horowitz has to say about the whole thing. He’s recently published a book about the Occult in America and is especially good at finding hidden codes and other open secrets.
