People who can’t find answers in science or comfort in religion usually turn to the occult. I’m aware that many creative people who are into so-called “New Age” practices started doing so as a reaction to religious trauma. After all, intuitive realities can be found beyond dogmatic institutions, especially if that institution claims to be the only way. That said, it’s also absolutely true that there are many New Age fraudsters, taking advantage of the vulnerability of earnest seekers. These ego-driven false gurus, plastic shamans, and pseudo-mystics swim in their own irony—those who seek liberation and transformation from timeless traditions and sacred symbols end up trapped in cult-ish spaces. As a pragmatic guide for the discernment of seekers, read my previous essay, How to Approach a Study of Spirits, where I also share practical tips for you. In general, doubt anyone who claims to be the only one who knows a particular technique (and offers services and training, for a really, really high price), or who says that they gained their wisdom somewhere exotic (this usually means that they are exploiting a culture). Be a discerning seeker: there are things worth finding in the muck of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience.
Beyond this, the suspicion most people have about the supernatural mainly comes from scientific snobbery and religious irony. If we’re only talking about facts, then let’s do so—there are many empirical studies that show that there is something, even if that something is undefined.1 There is a tendency to create a hard line between what is worthy of scientific study, and what is nonsense (or “non-science”). In my opinion, anything is worth studying, especially if it is rich in meaning. In my case, as a social scientist, my fascination about the supernatural is cultural, in that I wonder what it implies about individual and collective worldviews, as well as how it influences (or shapes) social dynamics. Scientific snobbery also has a colonial flavor, particularly if the suspicion is directed at a culture’s folklore. Many times have foreign scholars labeled our experiences as “primitive” superstitions or cultural forms of mental disorders. Clinical labels strip meaning away, and we must resist these attempts to sterilize our stories.
Filipino culture is highly spiritual. The philosopher Fr. Leonardo Mercado observed that we rarely ask a person whether or not they believe in a God—this, he said, is a western thing, borne out of the assumed separation of material and spiritual. Here, we acknowledge invisible forces. The psychologist Fr. Jaime Bulatao said that the old spirits still exist, but with Christian names. It is not about the labels we use—the fact that we use labels at all implies an underlying spiritual realities. But in the Philippines, which is majority Catholic, occult and traditional practices, usually involving divination, healing, and mediumship, are demonized. I see this as an affirmation of spiritual reality: in fact, local exorcists have reported dealing with cases involving beings of folklore.2 Once you read these cases and align them with ethnographic data about engkanto kidnappings and household disturbances by duwende, or actual news reports about mass spirit possessions and people being the victim of kulam, you’ll understand how there is real malevolence out there. To call them “demonic” in the Christian sense may come from our colonial history, but, well, they really are dangerous. This is why we have way more superstitions about protecting yourself and maintaining harmony with spirits—precisely because you wouldn’t want them to hurt you! But are they totally “evil”? If we are respectful enough, not really—just don’t offend them.3
Creating a Space
A lot of this knowledge has been suppressed—derided by “scientifically-minded” people as nonsense (or “non-science”), and by religious people as “demonic” (implying, therefore, that we should not involve ourselves in it in any way, risking openings for potential spiritual attack). But I actually think that these realities should be studied more and explored as potential tools for psychospiritual development. We can start by creating spaces for honest discussion and the sharing of tools.
A few months ago, I was able to participate in Mystival, which was a gathering of practitioners within the mystic arts: crystal healers, tarot readers, charm and candle makers, and occult bookshops. Many of them were small businesses and independent artists. (There was also some really good vegan food.) Actually, there was nothing really “supernatural” about the event—it was like any themed art fair.
You don’t actually have to believe in spirits and magic to enjoy collecting pretty rocks, rare books, and unique art. I personally approach these things from a psychological perspective, as ways to work with the creative unconscious—but then again, inner realities are simply reflections of external realities, and “magical” forces and folkloric beings are projections of our collective unconscious. As the magicians say, “As above, so below; as within, so without!” In Jungian, transpersonal, and indigenous psychology (my main influences), we honor ways of knowing that connect us with all realities, within and beyond us. This involves symbols, archetypal deities, and the mystical state. It’s all very exciting, and incredibly freeing, to reconnect with these realities—as children, we had no question about the truth of these things!
By themselves these topics can seem unusual, but notice how often we discuss them: during ordinary dinners with friends (when we share our scary and fascinating anecdotes), during family gatherings (when we talk about how a dead relative made themselves felt through omens and dreams), coming home from religious retreats (when we discuss the eerie feeling we got during moments of silence in dead hallways), etc. Talismans are sold outside many old churches and ordinary households have multiple religious objects. You might see a Sto. Niño dressed in green (for luck) beside a Laughing Buddha (again, for luck), in a house blessed by a Catholic priest and arranged according to principles of Feng Sui—we don’t discern between sources of power! So, in your journey to find mystical truths, you are not alone. Find yourself a grounded guide, like-minded companions, and remember to come back to earth once in a while. If you like, you can see it as a form of “inner child healing.” Be careful where you go, and don’t take it too seriously!
There will be another Mystival event this coming February 24 and 25, at Balay Kalinaw. You can register through this link.
Bethany Butzer explains the inherent bias against parapsychology, the study of the paranormal in this academic paper.
Read The Exorcist Files, which is a set of interviews by Joy L. Cuadrante, edited by exorcist Jose Francisco Syquia. Published by St. Pauls, 2020.
Any serious demonologist knows what I’m talking about. Demons are just the gods and spirits of foreign religions: they are neither “good” nor “bad.” They can bless you and harm you.