The Art of The Occult
An Interview with author Sarah Elizabeth
On Disobedient Femmes, I talked to writer, blogger, online art curator Sarah Elizabeth about her book, The Art of the Occult, a visual sourcebook for the Modern Mystic.
The book features art from a variety of occult sources and practices: from theosophy and kabbalah, from alchemy; spiritualism to sacred geometry. It introduces the ideas behind different occult traditions and showcases the artists who have been influenced by them.
Included in the book are symbolic and mythical images of the Pre-Raphaelites; the automatic drawing of Hilma af Klint and Madge Gill; Leonora Carrington’s surrealist interpretation of myth, alchemy and kabbalah; and much more.
In the interview Ms. Elizabeth discusses how her interest curiosity about art and artists that she loved, combined with her interest in occult themes inspired this book, how art juxtaposes different realities and how it helps ask important questions particularly in times of upheaval.
Here are some highlights of the interview:
“One common thread in The Art of The Occult is my personal connection with each of these pieces of art, my love and my feelings for these pieces and what they evoke in me.”
“Shamans, prophets and artists used visual arts as a means of entering other realms for answers they sought. Art is where I turn when I don’t even know what questions to ask.”
“I have been into horror and ghost stories since I was very young. Which is funny because I was a kid who was scared of everything. But as I got older, I found that these movies, these books and stories, helped me get to know these monsters, and they were a little bit less scary.”
“I like the idea of bibliomancy — just selecting a book from your shelf at random, letting the pages fall open an picking something to guide your day or spend your time thinking about or philosophizing about or dreaming about. How can I work that into my day?”
“Remedios Varo would look up strangers in the phone books and send them these 20-page missives about these imaginary scientific experiments she was conducting. There’s recipes in the form of like spells that came from her dreams. She’s just so imaginative.”
Listen to the interview here:
