The Occult Knowledge Strategies of Epist

The Occult Knowledge
Strategies of Epistemology in La Société Voudon Gnostique
Maria Liberg
Bachelor thesis in Religious Studies (15 ECTS credits)
Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion
University of Gothenburg
Term: Autumn 2013
Supervisor: Henrik Bogdan
Abstract Title: The Occult Knowledge – Strategies of Epistemology in La Société Voudon Gnostique
Author: Maria Liberg
Term: Autumn 2013
Department: Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion
Supervisor: Henrik Bogdan
Summary: The academic research on Western esotericism in general and contemporary
occultism in particular has been largely neglected in earlier scholarship and has only recently
gained serious academic attention. This thesis examines how the contemporary occult group, La
Société Voudon Gnostique, headed by David Beth and an organization under the general current
Voudon Gnosis, legitimate their claims to knowledge, mainly through three discursive strategies
of epistemology offered by Olav Hammer, namely: the appeal to (1) tradition; (2) scientism as a
language of faith; and narratives of (3) experience. Since Hammer argues that these strategies
can be found in esoteric currents in general, but only examines theosophy, anthroposophy and
New Age as well as only examining “esoteric spokespersons” this thesis aims at examine them
in relation to contemporary occultism as well as in relation to both the spokesperson and to
“ordinary adherents”. In order do this, La Société Voudon Gnostique works as a case study in
qualification of being a contemporary occult group that has gained no academic attention before.
The conclusions of this thesis are that the strategies are all prevalent, to a more or less
extent, in La Société Voudon Gnostqiue and they are also used by the adherents. Besides the
strategies proposed by Hammer, this thesis argues that the secrecy and elitist approach, which
can be found in the texts, also can be seen as a discursive strategy of epistemology.
Keywords: Strategies of epistemology; Knowledge; Western esotericism; Occultism; La
Société Voudon Gnostique; David Beth; Olav Hammer.
1 Table of Contents 3 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTORY WORDS 1.2 AIMS AND PURPOSE 1.3 METHODOLOGY 1.3.1 SELF-­‐POSITIONING 1.3.2 CASE STUDY AND QUALITATIVE TEXT ANALYSIS 1.4 A BACKGROUND TO THE FIELD AND PREVIOUS RESEARCH 1.4.1 WESTERN ESOTERICISM 1.4.2 OCCULTISM 1.4.3 MICHAEL BERTIAUX AND VOUDON GNOSIS 1.6 DISCUSSION OF THE SOURCE MATERIAL 3 4 5 5 6 8 8 9 12 13 2. THEORY – STRATEGIES OF EPISTEMOLOGY 14 2.1 TRADITION 2.2 RATIONALITY AND SCIENCE 2.3 EXPERIENCE 15 20 23 3. HISTORY AND CONTEXT 25 3.1 VODOU AND GNOSIS 3.1.1 VODOU 3.1.2 GNOSIS 3.2 VOUDON GNOSIS AND MICHAEL BERTIAUX – A BACKGROUND 3.3 LA SOCIÉTÉ VOUDON GNOSTIQUE AND DAVID BETH 25 25 27 27 31 4. LA SOCIÉTÉ VOUDON GNOSTIQUE AND THE STRATEGIES 33 4.2 TRADITION: “A GOLDEN PRIMORDIAL TIME” 4.2.1 THE ANCIENT AND PRIMORDIAL 4.2.2 THE NEGATIVE OTHERS 4.2.3 THE POSITIVE OTHERS: DISEMBEDDING AND RE-­‐EMBEDDING 4.3 RATIONALITY AND SCIENCE: “ESOTERIC RATIONALITY” 4.4 EXPERIENCE: “THE CHOSEN” 4.4.1 FIRST PERSON NARRATIVES 4.4.2 SECOND PERSON NARRATIVES 4.4.4 AUTHORITY AND INDIVIDUALISM 4.4.5 EXCLUSIVENESS, ELITISM AND SECRECY 33 33 35 37 41 45 45 46 48 50 5. SUMMARIZING CONCLUSIONS 53 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 57 6.1 PRIMARY LITERATURE 6.2 SECONDARY LITERATURE 6.3 ELECTRONIC RESOURCES 57 57 60 2 1. Introduction 1.1 Introductory words The academic discipline of what is called ‘Western esotericism’ has had a huge upsurge and
progress in the last two decades and is now becoming more and more professionalized,
institutionalized and recognized as an important and significant field among other academic
disciplines and researches. However, there is still a lot to be done both to get the field
recognized as important in the academic world and also in terms of research that needs to be
carried out on a lot of currents and traditions that have gained little or no academic attention
before. The neglect of these currents has made the map of the religious landscape, and the
Western society as a whole, both in the past and today, incomplete and it is the task of scholars
to include all the cultural and religious phenomena that have influenced people and societies,
which they demonstrably have not done. As one of the leading scholars of Western esotericism,
Wouter J. Hanegraaff points out; this recent serious academic attention that Western esotericism
has gained is likely to transform our perception of Western religious history as a whole.1 And
what has gained surprisingly little, and perhaps the least, scholarly attention within this field is
contemporary occultism, which according to the scholars of esotericism Egil Asprem and
Kennet Granholm could be due to an emphasis on historical perspectives and a general
reluctance to incorporate theories and methods borrowed from the social sciences within the
study of Western esotericism.2 In other words, there is a lot of research that needs to be carried
out on contemporary esoteric currents and expressions and as a small contribution to this puzzle
the present thesis will focus on the contemporary esoteric current of Esoteric Voudon or the
Voudon Gnostic current and more precisely the group La Société Voudon Gnostique.
The Voudon Gnostic current is a highly complex and syncretic field that mixes such
diverge traditions as Vodou, Gnosticism, Thelema, Shinto, Neo-Pythagoreanism and many
others – but to make the picture a little less complex one could say that it is a mix between an
African-American religious tradition (Vodou) and Western occultism. The current was made
famous to the Western occult audience with the occultist, Old Catholic bishop and Hierophant
of the Voudon Gnostic current, Michael Bertiaux (b. 1935), who is the writer of the primary text
of Voudon Gnosis, The Voudon Gnostic Workbook, first published in 1988. The book fetched
high prices on the second hand book market before it was republished in 2007 and, according to
its description; it is an “object of desire” among students of the occult and is described as an
1 Hanegraaff 2005, p. 340. 2 Asprem & Granholm 2013b, p. 1-­‐3. 3 “unholy grail”.3 Bertiaux’s student and the previous Sovereign Grand Master of Ordo Templi
Orientis Antiqua (O.T.O.A.) and La Couleuvre Noir (L.C.N.), David Beth, published in 2008
the book Voudon Gnosis offering an exposition of the Voudon Gnostic system and The Voudon
Gnostic Workbook. A largely revised edition was published 2010. Them too, have fetched high
prices in the second hand book market, which could indicate the popularity amongst occultists
for this current and these types of modern grimoires.
Even though The Voudon Gnostic Workbook was published for the first time in 1988,
there has hardly been any academic research on this current which is rather unfortunate since
knowledge about this type of current would help supplement the picture and give us a broader
and deeper understanding of the religious and occult landscape of the 20th and 21th centuries.
To demarcate this field of inquiry and begin to unravel in the complex field of Voudon
Gnosis (from here on the current will be in normal letters and the book in italics), this thesis will
focus on David Beth’s group La Société Voudon Gnostique (from here on S.V.G.) and more
precisely to examine how Beth and the members of S.V.G. legitimize their claims to knowledge.
Olav Hammer’s Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New
Age (2004) will then work as the theoretical framework in this thesis, which will have the aim of
testing Hammer’s theory on the material from S.V.G.
1.2 Aims and purpose Olav Hammer proposes in his dissertation Claiming Knowledge three discursive strategies of
epistemology which he argues applies to contemporary esoteric currents and groups in general,
or as he call it “the esoteric tradition”. However, in his study he focuses almost exclusively on
Theosophical, Anthroposophical and New Age texts and therefore it would be interesting to see
to what extent these strategies applies to a contemporary occult group such as La Société
Voudon Gnostique. The main aim of this thesis is therefore, as stated above, to examine how
S.V.G. legitimate their claims to knowledge, mainly in relation to these three strategies as
proposed by Hammer. This thesis will thereby be a case study where S.V.G., as a contemporary
occult group, is chosen to test if, and to what extent, Hammer’s theory applies to contemporary
occultism and for this purpose I will examine Beth’s book Voudon Gnosis. Furthermore,
Hammer examines these strategies in relation to esoteric spokespersons, and does not examine
whether or not the strategies are also used by “ordinary” adherents of the groups. By looking at
the anthology ATUA (2011), which is written by members of S.V.G., the second aim of this
3 See the official description of The Voudon Gnostic Workbook. 4 thesis is to examine if the members themselves are using these strategies. The question this
thesis will address is then:
•
How does La Société Voudon Gnostique, as according to Voudon Gnosis and
ATUA, legitimate their claims to knowledge, and thereby their movement? In
order to answer this question I will analyse the texts through the theoretical
perspectives offered by Olav Hammer in Claiming Knowledge.
1.3 Methodology 1.3.1 Self-­‐positioning In his Manufacturing Religion. The Discourse on Sui Generis Religion and the Politics of
Nostalgia (1997), Russell T. McCutcheon argues that the sui generis discourse in the study of
religion, i.e. the normative and essentialist notion that religion as a unique phenomena can be
studied as something “in itself” is still prevalent in the academic study of religion, especially in
North America. He argues, as many others, that religious actions and beliefs are not merely
wrong or mythical but that whatever, if anything, these rites, beliefs and institutions really are
“is a question beyond the historically and empirically determined scales of the naturalistic
scholar who wishes to make a contribution to intersubjectively available research.”4 He also
states that if one is presuming that religion is just false thinking and nothing else one is involved
in a reduction “that ultimately rests on a similarly unsure footing as such metaphysically based
statements concerning the truth of one or more religions or the essential religious unity of
humankind.”5 In other words, metaphysical claims can be neither verified nor falsified within
the boundaries of academia and science, a statement that is very much linked to the concept of
methodological agnosticism, and which in my opinion is the only reasonable approach to apply.
Hanegraaff, in his article “Empirical method in the study of esotericism” (1995) argues that
religionist and reductionist approaches have dominated the study of esotericism and instead he
advocates an empirical method informed by methodological agnosticism, which he claims is
neither religionist nor reductionist and which has been to a large extent neglected in earlier
scholarship. Hanegraaff argues that the worldview of believers of any given religion or tradition
encompasses an empirical perceptible realm as well as one or more meta-empirical realms and
that the scholar is dependent on the believers’ own descriptions and expressions of the metaempirical realm(s) since it cannot be investigated scientifically by the scholar. Because of this,
4 McCutcheon 1997, p. 18. 5 McCutcheon 1997, p. 18. 5 scholars “can thus neither verify nor falsify its existence, or any claims made about it,
methodological agnosticism is the only proper attitude.”6 This does not imply that the empirical
researcher claims that the empirical realm is the only reality, but simply that it is the only realm
accessible for investigation. Hanegraaff contrasts this to the approach of the positivistreductionists, which also take this stance, but holds it axiomatically meaning that they treat the
meta-empirical realm as being falsified, which implies a self-contradiction since the metaempirical realm thus has been made empirical. In other words, the reductionist approach is
unscientific since it claims more than it can prove. The sui generis religionist approach on the
other hand is axiomatically claiming scientific validity for the meta-empirical realm thus making
it unscientific as well.7 Hammer calls the empirical method analytic and identifies it with a
sharp distinction between the emic (or believers’) perspective and the etic (or analytic)
perspective, as well as with the phenomenological concept of epoché, the bracketing of
questions of truth or falsehood.8 To sum up these arguments up in the words of Hanegraaff:
Regardless of a scholar’s personal beliefs (or lack of them), the existence or non-existence of divine
or sacred realities is simply beyond empirical verification or falsification by scholars qua scholars.
Therefore a scholar may or may not personally share the beliefs of those he studies, but in his
research he should limit himself to what can be verified empirically and historically: he can
describe, analyze, interpret, or even seek to explain what people believe, but cannot affirm that they
are either right or wrong.9
1.3.2 Case study and qualitative text analysis When conducting a case study one is studying one or a few occurrences of a particular
phenomenon in order to provide a thorough description of events, relationships, experiences or
processes in the particular case and this is very common when doing small-scale studies. The
searchlight is cast upon particular events rather than on a broad spectrum in order to gain
valuable insights, details, depths and nuances that for example a survey study would not be able
to capture, but still with the hopes that the results can have further consequences and say
something about the general phenomena in question. However, when conducting a case study
like this, one might be asked, and rightly so, questions about generalizations and if one’s study
is representative. Answers to this type of questions or criticism can of course be different
depending on the study in question, but in this case I will rely on the reasoning that even if every
single case is unique in some regards, this is also an example that is part of a broader category,
6 Hanegraaff 1995, p. 100. 7 Hanegraaff 1995, pp. 99-­‐100. 8 Hammer 2001, p. xiv. 9 Hanegraaff 2012, p. 357. 6 in this case contemporary occultism, and in that sense S.V.G. must be regarded as one among
other contemporary occult groups, i.e. is of a certain type. In qualification of being a part of this
category, i.e. is identified as having some common traits as other types of this category, the
choice is thereby legitimized as a good example.10 However, one might still ask why I have
chosen to focus on S.V.G. out of all contemporary occult groups in existence. Here I will argue
that by using S.V.G. as a case study to test Hammer’s theory (with the conviction that S.V.G.
can say something about contemporary occultism in general) and simultaneously shedding light
upon a group that has gained no academic interest before (and thus making the map of
contemporary occultism or contemporary religiosity more complete) the choice of group is
legitimate. It might be to overestimate this kind of study if one is to draw too general
conclusions out of it but we also have to remember that it is by conducting case studies we can
obtain the holism of the phenomena in question and that it also by a number of different case
studies that we then can make even bigger general and structural conclusions.
Since the primary source material of this thesis is a book written by the spokesperson for
S.V.G. and one book written by members and the aim is to examine and analyze their contents
in relation to a theory, the most suitable method for conducting this kind of research is a
qualitative text analysis. When using this method one is doing a thorough reading of the parts,
wholeness and the context of the text in order to obtain the pertinent and that one is regarding
some passages of the text as more important than others depending on the research question.
The researcher is then asking questions to the text to see if the text or oneself can answer them
and the questions often concern how the chain of argumentation looks like; what the arguments
really are and on what premises the conclusions rest. The qualitative text analysis can further be
divided into two types depending on the research questions; those about systematize the contents
and those about critically examine the contents.11
Since this thesis is investigating to what extent these books contains arguments or
strategies for certain points of views one could also argue that this thesis is involved in a form of
argument analysis, since the aim of such an analysis is to investigate what reasons a text gives
for a certain perception and understanding. It evolves around a certain question where there are
different opinions – in this case different opinions on what constitutes history, science and
experience. This type of analysis could also be used in order to interpret the texts better and to
understand how they reason.12
10 Denscombe 2009, pp. 59-­‐73. 11 Esaiasson et al. 2012, p. 210-­‐211. 12 Hellspong 2001, p. 108-­‐109.
7 1.4 A background to the field and previous research This sub-chapter aims at giving a brief overview of the complex fields of Western esotericism
and occultism to provide the reader with the frame of which this thesis is written within13, as
well as highlight some of the previous research carried out on contemporary occultism and
Voudon Gnosis.
1.4.1 Western esotericism Western esotericism is a hard-defined and elusive umbrella term, of which scholars constantly
are debating the definition, nature and demarcation. Hanegraaff states that defining esotericism
is just as hard as defining religion and this disagreement has led to theoretical and
methodological differences resulting in a variety of competing disciplinary approaches.14 The
study of Western esotericism emerges from the understanding that we in Western culture can
find “certain types of human experience and practice which display a sufficient degree of
similarity and specificity to be set apart – for pragmatic reasons at least – as a domain of
research.”15 In order to get a grip about what these similarities are it is useful to distinguish
between three general ideal-typical strategies, which have been used in Western culture in order
to find “truth”. The first one relies on reason, rationality and science; the second one relies on
the authority of established religions and doctrinal theology and the third one relies then on
personal spiritual experiences and insights, gnosis. This last strategy has always had a
problematic relationship to the first two and has been condemned as irrational by the first and as
threatening and relying on excessive individualism by the second. The traditions, currents and
phenomena that can be said to belong to this last strategy of gnosis are very diverse in many
respects and ranges from ancient Gnosticism and Hermetism to Renaissance Hermeticism,
Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Christian theosophy, Kabbalah and up to present day
Occultism and New Age movements, although there are disagreements on what currents to
include as well.16 One important thing to remember here is that not all of these currents and
ideas were originally seen as belonging together and that Western esotericism is an artificial
category and a modern scholarly construct, not an autonomous tradition.17
In the wake of the Enlightenment the historiography of the 19th century seems to have
largely neglected the field of what is now known as Western esotericism and it was long viewed
13 Due to the quite strict limitations of a Bachelor thesis this overview is very brief and does not intend to give a full nor a particularly multifaceted picture of the complex field that is Western esotericism. For longer and more detailed discussions see for example some the works used in this thesis: Hanegraaff 2004; Hanegraaff 2010; Hanegraaff 2013; Faivre 1994; Bogdan 2007. 14 Hanegraaff 2004, p. 489. 15 Hanegraaff 2004, pp. 489-­‐491. 16 Hanegraaff 2004, p. 492-­‐495. 17 Hanegraaff 2013, p. 3. 8 as irrational and proto-scientific, not worthy of investigation. This could however be due to the
writings of occultists such as Éliphas Lévi (1810-1875) and H.P. Blavatsky (1832-1891) who
indeed begun to write large “histories” of the field but overlooked critical approaches to
historical evidence in advantage of their “tainted” occultist historiography.18 Since then, the
academic study of Western esotericism has seen the rise and fall of different paradigms, and
usually the starting point is set with the publication of Frances A. Yates’ Giordani Bruno and
the Hermetic Tradition in 1964, even though the birthdate of the academic field is under debate
as well.19 However, this “Yates paradigm” and the following “religionist” appropriation of it by
for example “Eranos” scholars such as C.G. Jung (1875-1961) and Mircea Eliade (1907-1986),
is today out-dated and it was only in the beginning of the 1990s that the field got serious
recognition as an academic field in its own right. This new state was first entered in 1992 with
the French scholar Antoine Faivre and his definition of Western esotericism as “a form of
thought” based on four intrinsic (correspondences, living nature, imagination & meditations and
experiences of transmutation) and two non-intrinsic (the praxis of the concordance and
transmission) characteristics.20 This definition and approach has had a huge influence on the
further academic study of Western esotericism but it too has been challenged, notably from
Kocku von Stuckrad and Wouter J. Hanegraaff, and it has been suggested that this definition has
severe restrictions to modern and contemporary periods. Where all of these discussions and
debates will lead us is for the future to tell.21
1.4.2 Occultism The term occultism (deriving from the Latin word occultus, meaning “hidden”) has sometimes
been used interchangeably with esotericism, especially in older studies, or more specifically as a
synonym for the so-called “occult sciences”: astrology, alchemy and magic. The adjective
occultus has a much older history but as a noun ‘occultism’ acquired an increasing popularity
with the French occultist Éliphas Lévi in the 1850’s and in English in 1875 with Helena
Petrovna Blavatsky one of the founders of the Theosophical Society. It was then used to denote
sets of beliefs, ideas and practices, which has been defined as these “occult sciences” or “occult
philosophy.” The object of these disciplines was to investigate and use concepts and forces of
18 Hanegraaff 2005, p. 338 19 Hanegraaff 2005, p. 339. For a discussion on the birth date of the academic study of esotericism, see: Wouter J. Hanegraaff, ”The Birth of Esotericism from the Spirit of Protestantism” in ARIES, vol. 10, nr. 2, 2010, pp. 197-­‐216. 20 Hanegraaff 2005, pp. 339-­‐340. For an explanation of the characteristics see: Antoine Faivre, Access to Western Esotericism, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994, pp. 10-­‐15. 21 Hanegraaff 2005, p. 340. 9 nature that traditionally had been defined as “occult” (hidden) since they were not directly
observable and were viewed as impenetrable to the human sense.22
Within academia it has been suggested that occultism could be seen as a practical
application of the theoretical framework of esotericism and Faivre who “described the occult
sciences as the practical dimension of esotericism and referred to them as ‘occultism’” has thus
defended this view. This approach has however been criticized for being artificial and was later
dropped by Faivre himself. Today, the most common scholarly use of the term occultism is to
refer to a specific type of esotericism or as developments within the broader category of
esotericism. The development occurred in the 19th and 20th century to come to grips with a postenlightenment and disenchanted world and in that sense occultism has been defined as “all
attempts by esotericists to come to terms with a disenchanted world or, alternatively, by people
in general to make sense of esotericism from the perspective of a disenchanted world”23 or
simply as “secularized esotericism”. The secularization of Western culture and religion naturally
had its implication for esotericism as well and if we, as Hanegraaff suggests, understand the
term “secularization” as referring to a “process of profound change and transformation of
religion under the impact of a combination of historically unprecedented social and political
conditions, we may speak not just of a ‘secularization of religion’ but also, more specifically, of
a ‘secularization of esotericism’ during the nineteenth century.”24 The result of these specific
developments and changes are thus what is commonly referred to as occultism. Early signs of a
secularization of Western esotericism can be found in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg
(1688-1772) and Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) and Hanegraaff claims that the occultist
milieu of the nineteenth and twentieth century differs from traditional Western esotericism in at
least four crucial ways: Firstly, whereas esotericism originally was grounded in an “holistic” and
“enchanted” worldview where all parts of the universe were seen as linked together by invisible
networks of non-casual “correspondences” and the nature was seen as permeated with a divine
power, modern esotericism has had to compromise in various ways between this “holistic”
worldview and the “mechanical” or “disenchanted” worldview – “accordingly, occultism is
characterized by hybrid mixtures of traditional esoteric and modern scientistic-materialist
worldviews.”25 Secondly, with the emergence of new translations of oriental texts as well as of a
comparative study of religions of the world, terms and concepts borrowed from religions such as
Hinduism and Buddhism got incorporated into the already-existing Western-occultist
framework. Thirdly, in the nineteenth century debate between Christian creationism and the new
22 Pasi 2006, pp. 1364-­‐1365, Hanegraaff 2005b, pp. 884-­‐887. 23 Hanegraaff 2005b, p. 887-­‐888. 24 Hanegraaff 2004, p. 496. 25 Hanegraaff 2004, p. 497. 10 theories of evolution, occultists generally took the side of “science”, much as a part of a strategy
of presenting occultism as scientifically legitimate (more on this in the theory chapter).
However, the types of evolutionism found in occultism depended more on philosophical models
originating in German Idealism and Romanticism than on Darwinian theory. Fourthly, the
emergence of modern psychology had a huge impact on Western occultism where it proved
possible to present Western esoteric worldviews in a new psychological terminology. Most
influential in this regard was Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). Hanegraaff also mentions, as a fifth
aspect, the impact from the capitalist market economy where the New Age movement
increasingly has taken the shape of a “spiritual supermarket” where the religious consumers can
pick and choose whatever they prefer and suits them and their needs best.26
The Italian scholar Marco Pasi also claims to have distinguished some common features of
occultism, namely: The already mentioned emphasis on solving the conflict between science and
religion; a depreciation towards Christianity or sometimes even a full-blown anti-Christian
attitude; the importance given to the spiritual realization of the individual, to be achieved
through various techniques; and finally an effort to construct its identity in demarcating itself
from other contemporary heterodox movements, in particular from spiritualism.27
As mentioned earlier, what have gained perhaps the least academic interest within the
academic study of Western esotericism are contemporary phenomena and Egil Asprem and
Kennet Granholm claims that this neglect is due to a strong historiographical emphasis in earlier
research on Western esotericism. They state that a lot of earlier research was carried out by
other academic disciplines, such as history of ideas, history of science and history of arts, which
tended to focus on and specializing in Renaissance and early modern European culture. They
also claim that contemporary currents have been the focus of other branches of religious studies,
for example that sociologists of new religious movements have focused on “New Age
spiritualties” for decades and that “pagan studies” has emerged as a religious studies subfield it
its own, while scholars in the field of Western esotericism have to a large extent neglected
contemporary currents like these. Another factor for this neglect seems to be a general
reluctance from scholars in the field to incorporate perspectives, theories and methodology from
the social sciences as well as that most scholars within the field identifies themselves as
historians and thereby sees the contemporary as outside of their field. Furthermore, Asprem and
Granholm provides us with examples on how this lack of research looks like – they bring up the
famous scholar of esotericism Kocku von Stuckrad’s work Western Esotericism: A Brief History
of Secret Knowledge (2005) which they claim is “rather thin on recent and contemporary
developments” as well as another famous scholar of esotericism Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke’s
26 Hanegraaff 2004, pp. 496-­‐498. 27 Pasi 2006, pp. 1366-­‐1367.
11 work The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction (2008) which contains a
chapter entitled “Ritual Magic from 1850 to the present” but which only examines ritual magic
up until the 1950s!28
There are however some exceptions from this rule. Just to mention a few examples: the
British scholar Dave Evans’ The History of British Magic After Crowley (2007), based on his
dissertation, where he examines the developments of British magic after Crowley’s death in
1947 with both historical and anthropological methodologies and from both emic and etic
perspectives; The Finnish scholar Kennet Granholm’s dissertation Embracing the Dark (2005)
in which he investigates the Swedish dark magical order, Dragon Rouge, (officially founded in
1990) both from a historic-descriptive point of view as well as an analysis of meaning-making
of the people within the order; Asprem and Granholm also bring up Hanegraaff’s New Age
Religion and Western Culture (1996) and much of the work by Olav Hammer29 as exceptions
from the neglecting of contemporary currents from scholars working within the field of
esotericism.30
1.4.3 Michael Bertiaux and Voudon Gnosis As already mentioned, there is no academic research carried out on La Société Voudon
Gnostique and as far as I am concerned they are not even mentioned anywhere. This might not
be surprising though, since they are a very new society and what has been written and examined
about them and their spokesperson David Beth is solely non-academic. 31 This might also
however, together with the thin academic research on Bertiaux and the Voudon Gnostic current
in general, support Asprem and Granholm’s (and others) thesis about the lack of research on
contemporary currents.
There are however some, even though rather thin, academic research carried out on
Michael Bertiuax and the Voudon Gnostic current. He and the organization The Monastery of
the Seven Rays, which he was long associated with, are included in Melton’s Encyclopedia of
American Religions (1999) as well as in Lewis’ Satanism Today – An Encyclopedia of Religion,
Folklore and Popular Culture (2001). The article in Satanism Today is very short and builds on
the article in Encyclopedia of American Religions where Gordon J. Melton briefly mentions its
Martinist history, the establishment in Haiti and the development into the Gnostic Church as
well as The Monastery of the Seven Rays (more on this in the chapter on Voudon Gnosis and
Michael Bertiaux). Another organization associated with Bertiaux, the Ordo Templi Orientis
28 Asprem & Granholm 2013b, p. 1-­‐3. 29 See for example the work which frequently is being used throughout this thesis – Claiming Knowledge in which Hammer investigates relatively contemporary forms of esotericism from 1875 to 1999. 30 Asprem and Granholm 2013b, p. 2 31 See for example the interview with David Beth on occultofpersonality.net. This website provides ”recorded interviews with serious esoteric researchers and teachers from all over the world”. 12 Antiqua (O.T.O.A.) is mentioned in the passing in Marco Pasi’s article on Ordo Templi Orientis
(O.T.O.) in Dictoinary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism as one of the organizations related to
the O.T.O. but which took a different direction than the main branch of O.T.O when mixed with
vodou.
Bertiaux is also furthermore mentioned in a recent article entitled “The Beast and the
Prophet – Aleister Crowley’s Fascination with Joseph Smith” (2012) by Massismo Introvigne.
In this article, which investigates “the problem of an alleged magic or occult connection in
respect of Mormonism” 32 , Introvigne relates Bertiaux to the phenomenon of “wandering
bishops” – a lineage of bishops outside of the mainstream Roman Catholic Church claiming
apostolic succession. Introvigne states that while Bertiaux has passed on the O.T.O.A. to other
people he continues to be a Gnostic bishop and “combines the tradition of the Gnostic Churches
with what he prefers to spell ‘Voudon’”.33
Most that is written about Bertiaux is however also non-academic. As will be seen under
the chapter “3.2 Voudon Gnosis and Michael Bertiaux” there are some interviews conducted
with Bertiaux carried out by non-academics and these will be used and problematized in that
chapter. Bertiaux and his teachings are also examined in several of the famous occultist Kenneth
Grant’s (1924-2011) works34 and Bertiaux’s work first came to more widespread attention with
Kenneth Grant’s Cults of the Shadow (1975).35
1.6 Discussion of the source material First of all, the most famous of all the works published from the Voudon Gnostic current is The
Voudon Gnostic Workbook by Michael Bertiaux first published in 1988 and re-published in
2007. This huge grimoire consists of 642 pages of occult lessons and consists of everything
from how to become a “Lucky Hoodoo” and “Grimoire Ghuede” to “Angelic Gematria” and
“Gnostic Energies in Esoteric Hinduism”. However, for reasons explained below, this will not
be the source material in this thesis. Other published works by Bertiaux are the Cosmic
Meditation (2007) and Vudu Cartography (2010) and he is also the author of the four-year
courses to the Monastery of the Seven Rays, which have not been published.
As mentioned, this thesis will instead examine the two books Voudon Gnosis (2010) and
ATUA (2011). Voudon Gnosis is written by David Beth and was first published in 2008 as an
exposition of The Voudon Gnostic Workbook (more about this under the chapter on S.V.G. and
David Beth). It is 160 pages long and divided into eleven main chapters and two appendices.
32 Introvigne 2012, p. 255. 33 Introvigne 2012, p. 263. 34 More specifically: Cults of the Shadow (1975, see especially pp. 164-­‐195); Outside the Circles of Time (1980); Nightside of Eden (1977); Hecate’s Fountain (1992). 35 Staley 2008, p. i. 13 ATUA is a journal edited by Beth and is composed by essays written by 16 members of S.V.G.
(including Beth) and consists of 197 pages. According to Beth, the purpose of ATUA is “to serve
as a doorway from the inner magical and Gnostic worlds of La Société Voudon Gnostique
(S.V.G.) to an informed outer public of esoteric practitioners” and will be published at irregular
intervals. 36 The reasons for choosing these books are quite simple. First of all, this is a
Bachelor’s thesis and within its limits it is not possible to include all the existing material from
the Voudon Gnostic current. For example, the four-year courses from the Monastery of the
Seven Rays consists of several hundreds of pages and, no matter how interesting it would be, it
is not possible to examine them within the limits of a Bachelor’s thesis. Therefore, I will leave
the courses, and The Voudon Gnostic Workbook to further investigation in the future. But of
course, the main reason for choosing Voudon Gnosis and ATUA is that this thesis aims at
investigating S.V.G. and their relation to the strategies proposed by Hammer and therefore I
have chosen the book written by their own leader and the book written by the members
themselves in the first place.
2. Theory – Strategies of Epistemology Olav Hammer argues that there are mainly three discursive strategies used by contemporary
esoteric spokespersons to rhetorically37 legitimate their claims to knowledge. The strategies are:
the appeal to, or construction of, (1) tradition; (2) scientism as a language of faith; and
narratives of (3) experience. There are also numerous different positions within these strategies
and they are more to be seen as “umbrella terms” for various positions, approaches and
expressions of discursive strategies, rather than homogenous units. The strategies are
“discursive in that they are part of the religious discourse rather than its praxis and strategies in
that they construct and defend the discourse.”38 They can furthermore be combined and invoked
in the same context and are thus working as complementary together.39
Hammer states that there has been an increasing interest in religious innovation in the
modern post-enlightenment milieu and that his study “attempts to understand some of the
mechanisms by which a number of modern esoteric currents have attempted to modernize,
democratize and legitimatize themselves, adapting themselves to an increasingly hostile cultural
environment.”40 He also asks himself how one can understand the relationship between the
seemingly pre-Enlightenment elements of contemporary religiosity and the relatively modern,
36 Beth 2011, p. 9. 37 Rethorically in the Aristotelian sense: to present a valid argument to persuad the reader. 38 Hammer 2001, p. 42. 39 Hammer 2001, pp. 42, 373. 40 Hammer 2001, p. xiv. 14 post-Enlightenment legitimizing reasons given by adherents attempting to explain why such
unorthodox beliefs should be accepted.41 He further argues that modern prophets present and
legitimize their teachings as a logically and coherent structure called from a single source but
that it appears this way only from the adherent’s perspective and as eclectic constructions or
bricolages from the scholar’s perspective. This eclecticism is typical for the development of
New Age religiosity and many esotericists engage in the paradoxical task of combining
seemingly rational arguments with claims of possessing ancient, revealed wisdom.42
Very few modern religious texts seem to be based on pure fideism, the position that faith
should be held irrespective of arguments. In an earlier age, when almost every member of a
society believed in the same God(s), it could be enough for prophets to rely on their charisma or
having been chosen by their God, but in the modern, post-enlightenment society one often needs
some kind of “evidence” and arguments to back up what one is claiming to know.43 That leads
us to the problems that writers from almost every modern religious tradition face, namely how
to make the claims of possessing true knowledge sound plausible and how to persuade the
reader that what is being claimed is true and that one really knows what one purports to know.
This means that when using discursive strategies one is mastering some set of techniques
whereby one can make a potential audience accept one’s claims, which is the rhetorical goal for
the spokesperson since the reproduction of myth and legend elements often need to be defended
by having recourse to a set of arguments. The question is then: “precisely what counts as
evidence within the religious tradition under scrutiny?”44
2.1 Tradition The first discursive strategy that Hammer discusses is the appeal to, or construction of, tradition.
The word tradition can have multiple meanings and Hammer and Lewis write in the anthology
The Invention of Sacred Tradition (2011) that:
In the dictionary sense of the word, tradition constitutes a set of inherited patterns of beliefs and
practices that have been transmitted from generation to generation. In another sense, tradition can
rest simply on the claim that certain cultural elements are rooted in the past. Claim and documented
historical reality need not overlap.45
41 Hammer 2001, p. 2. 42 Hammer 2001, pp. 10-­‐11, 163, 497. 43 Hammer 2001, pp. 42, 497. 44 Hammer 2001, p. 42. 45 Hammer & Lewis 2007, p. 1. 15 Hammer makes a clear distinction between “actual” (or etic) tradition on the one hand and
revealed or mythic (emic) tradition on the other. Throughout his study, Hammer focuses on the
latter understanding of tradition, adding that the purpose of his chapter on tradition is “to
highlight certain features of the emic view of tradition, especially in its relation to the process of
religious globalization”.46
Other scholars that have discussed different understandings of tradition as well as invented
traditions are Egil Asprem and Kennet Granholm in their article “Constructing Esotericisms:
Sociological, Historical and Critical Approaches to the Invention of Tradition” (2013). They
state that the word tradition can mean anything that has been handed down from the past to the
present; it can be synonymous with religion, i.e. “the Islamic tradition” as well as to denote
religious practices, which are supposed to be unaffected by modernizing influences - so called
”traditional religion”. They further argue that the distinction between etic and emic
historiography is crucial and that the etic and critical stance need to be applied even more to the
study of esotericism than it usual have. According to them, the research on esotericism has
mainly focused on emic conceptualizations of tradition rather than on developing critical
historical research.47
The strategy on tradition is first and foremost about trying to place one’s doctrines and
rituals within a broader historical context, to create a historical lineage, and this is what many
religious movement texts are engaged in. In this regard, “the esoteric tradition” is of course no
exception. The claimed historical background of doctrines and rituals within a religious
movement can differ vastly from the history as seen by a non-believer, and the etic
historiography will normally deal with the human creators of the religious elements under
scrutiny and place them in a more or less well-defined social and historical context. The emic
historiography on the other hand is “constructed by means of a massive disembedding from a
fairly well-defined range of times and places…(a) project aimed at showing that the various
local traditions are mere reflections of a philosophia perennis, an ageless wisdom” 48 .
Historically verifiable traditions are thereby coexisting with recent innovations whose origins
are spuriously projected back into time. According to Hammer and Lewis, this notion of
inventing ancient historical linages seems to be most prevalent in the world of religion and they
also claim that a lot of New Age books and websites on the market are claiming that the history
behind their teachings are hundreds or even thousands of years old, but the secular
46 Hammer 2001, pp. 87-­‐88, 23. 47 Asprem & Granholm 2013a, pp. 26-­‐27, 32. 48 Hammer 2001, p. 44. 16 historiography dates these teachings to 1970’s or 1980’s.49 According to Hammer, esoteric
writers will also attempt to stress continuity and disregard change.50
One can further question what it really means that a religious tradition is “invented”.
According to Hammer and Lewis it can cover several distinct cases, for example
pseudepigraphic texts that can be strategically misattributed to someone else, often more wellknown, by the actual writer, or anonymous texts that can be misattributed to well-known writers
by later commentators and readers as well as to people who never existed. Invented traditions
can furthermore have different affects on different religions or traditions - in some cases a
pseudepigraphic text adds new material to an already existing body of literature and in other
cases it can serve as a founding document for a religion.51
Furthermore, the self-presentation of a given religion can broadly be sub-divided in two
stages: firstly, a religious tradition often present their teachings and practices as handed down
from a transcendental source, but most religions also present narratives of how these teachings
were revealed to the first human recipients and then transmitted down through generations. As
for the first stage, it is impossible to prove or disprove such claims within scholarly boundaries
and one therefore has to apply the notion of methodological agnosticism. As for the second
stage however, methodological agnosticism need not apply, and there are several occasions
when scholarship has contradicted the historical claims put forth by a religious movement.52
This can create a discrepancy between the believer and the non-believer since such a secular
historiography, as proposed by a non-believer, can be seen as inadequate or even false by the
believer.53 The confrontation between the two views may never have to take place but different
movements vary in their position towards the secular historiography - the spokespersons are
often aware of the gap between their view and views of non-believers and their responses can
vary from acceptance to all-out rejection.54
The emic historiography is often concerned with sacred geography - geographical
locations where specific events are supposed to have taken place. This is also true to religions in
general, e.g. Christianity, but what is special to esoteric movements is that these places are often
located well outside the Western hemisphere. It is a common conception within esoteric
movements that true wisdom comes from outside the West and thereby are non-Western places
and cultures often viewed as better and more spiritually developed than Western ones.
Spokespersons claim they are not inventing a new, modern creation but rather transmit a
49 Hammer & Lewis 2007, pp. 1-­‐2. 50 Hammer 2001, p. 159. 51 Hammer & Lewis 2007, pp. 2-­‐3.
52 Hammer & Lewis 2007, p. 2. 53 Hammer 2001, pp. 85-­‐86. To exemplify this Hammer writes that mormonism as seen by a mormon was not created by Joseph Smith but transmitted to him from a transcendental source. 54 Hammer 2001, p. 86. 17 wisdom and a tradition with roots in a golden age and several cultures become direct or indirect
designated as bearers of this wisdom. Places that often become designated are for example
Egypt, India, Cayce, Tibet, Native America and non-verifiable primeval utopias such as Atlantis
and Lemuria. 55 By pointing out, and drawing inspiration from, different places, cultures,
practices and thoughts, one is constructing and defining one’s own identity in relation to others,
they become so called significant Others. These significant Others can be positive as well as
negative and Hammer talks about these significant Others in forms of a mental map or a pool,
that emerged in the beginning of the nineteenth century and from which spokespersons can pick
images of non-Christian wisdom.56 A pair of terms that here could be analytically useful are
disembedding and re-embedding. Disemebedding refers to processes where certain cultural or
religious elements are separated from their original context and becomes situated in new ones,
re-embedded. This could also be linked to the reflexivity that characterize late modernity and
the market characteristic that could be inherent in this form of religiosity, where every element
can be made to an object of personal choice. Thus, disembedding and re-embedding is closely
linked to the concepts of syncretism and eclecticism.57 Asprem and Granholm furthermore
connect these terms with the concept of detraditionalization - a term borrowed from Paul
Heelas and Linda Woodhead - that in this context applies to changes in perceptions of authority.
Traditionalized religions “involves faith in knowledge and wisdom taken to be transmitted from
the transcendent and authoritative past” in contrast to detraditionalized religions that applies a
more individual and subjective stance and turns the question of authority from without to
within.58
There has been an idea ever since antiquity that nothing can be both new and true and the
authority gained by claiming that one´s tradition has roots in a golden and legendary past,
whether recent or ancient, can serve several purposes. It allows adherents of a group to identify
with a common history, it gives the doctrines and practices an aura of plausibility, and it enables
spokespersons to ascribe at times radically new ideas to ancient, founding figures.59 Hammer
further accounts for several different questions one can ask regarding this construction of
tradition and which are important for the understanding of tradition as a discursive strategy:
Who are the significant Others, what are the specific cultures invoked by Esoteric writers in their
construction of tradition and how did these cultures become incorporated into the mythography of
the Esoteric Tradition? Related to this is the question of precisely which elements of the modern
55 Hammer 2001, pp. 89-­‐90, 97, 99. 56 Hammer 2001, pp. 44, 499. 57 Asprem & Granholm 2013a, pp. 29-­‐30; Hammer 2001, pp. 13-­‐14. 58 Woodhead & Heelas, ”Detraditionalization” cited from Asprem & Granholm 2013a, pp. 28-­‐29. 59 Hammer & Lewis 2007, p. 6; Asprem & Granholm 2013a, p. 34. 18 Esoteric Tradition are purportedly taken from these cultures. Secondly, how are these cultures seen
to be interrelated at various stages of the development of the modern Esoteric Tradition? Is there,
for instance, an overarching myth linking the various significant Others? Thirdly, how do writers
from within the Modern Esoteric Tradition relate to the tradition that has dominated their own part
of the world, i.e. Christianity? Finally, through what mechanism are concrete doctrines and rituals
transformed from being part and parcel of a non-Western religion to constituting part of a
discursive strategy of the Modern Esoteric Tradition? How have the original versions of concepts
such as karma or chakra been transformed into their modern counterparts?60
The emic historiography can further be broadly divided into two trends: The wholesale
invention of tradition and the reworking of an already existing tradition. The reworking process
can take different forms. For example, some esoteric movements have taken fictional accounts
and elements from popular culture and transformed them into legend elements taken factual by
the esoteric movement; for example Plato’s Atlantis, Castaneda’s fictional discussion with Don
Juan, the books by Emma Hardinge Britten, the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, the Book of Dzyan and
so on, or even more recent examples such as Jediism and Matrixism.61
In short, tradition as a discursive strategy is often about converting already existing
religious material into something new and by doing so spokespersons radically reinterpret
history, sometimes to the point of inventing traditions.62
Hammer further writes that the gap between the emic and the etic historiography can be
quite striking and when scholarship disproves the legends of movements it can appear quite
embarrassing from an outside perspective.63 However, he makes a very important point in
stating that “it is not intended to assess and quantify the relative importance on “invented” vis-ávis “real” history […it] should not tempt the reader to assume that all Esoteric writers present an
equally ideologically skewed picture of history.”64 Hammer and Lewis also write that many
traditions themselves have adopted historical scepticism within its own ranks and that this has
led to creations of religiously informed critical methods and they also bring up examples among
modern Pagans where the Pagans are fully aware that they are not even recreating, but
inventing, a whole new tradition. However, they find their invented rituals so emotionally
rewarding that they don’t seem to be bothered that they have made them up themselves.65
Secondly, Henrik Bogdan points out in his Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation (2007)
that the founding myths of the majority of esoteric societies in the West are of a twofold nature:
factually and legendary. That is, even the movements themselves are most often aware of the
60 Hammer 2001, p. 97-­‐98. 61 Hammer 2001, p 157; Asprem & Granholm 2013a, p. 46. 62 Hammer 2001, pp. 157, 500; Asprem & Granholm 2013a, pp. 45-­‐46. 63 Hammer 2001, p. 155. 64 Hammer 2001, p. 98-­‐99. 65 Hammer & Lewis 2007, pp. 14-­‐15. 19 “real” history but they are not looking to deceive members or would-be members with their
emic historiography though it should rather be seen “as an expression of a certain form of
thought in which legitimacy can be found on spiritual rather than historical grounds.”66. In other
words, emic historiography is often to be interpreted, as it often is by the movement’s own
members, symbolically rather than literally. This is, I would argue, a very important point to
remember when talking about the origins and the historical claims of esoteric movements, as
well as religions in general. Otherwise it is easy to get the impression that all esoteric
practitioners, and religious people, just ignore or apply a hostile stance towards secular
historiography, which most often is not the case.
2.2 Rationality and science The scientific worldview has certainly influenced most post-enlightenment religions and for a
lot of people science has replaced religion as the one and only way to knowledge and truth.
Before the enlightenment scientists could still argue that they were investigating God’s nature
and relation to the world and for early hermeticist and magicians there were no science as such
that needed to be confronted. However, with the emergence of a modern natural science during
the enlightenment, esoteric traditions, Hammer writes, have felt the need to come up with
several different strategies to come to grips with its main competitor, whether by embracing or
rejecting it.67 In fact, many traditions “have actively positioned themselves and been defined by
others in terms of their position in relation to science”.68 In the late eighteenth century Franz
Mesmer (1734-1815) and the following mesmerists gathered experimental evidence concerning
Mesmer’s alternative medicine. By being empirical and “scientific” they combined and created
a syncretism between faith and rationality, which many esotericist still are aiming at today.69
Hammer defines scientism as:
The active positioning of one’s own claims in relation to the manifestations of any academic
scientific discipline, including, but not limited to, the use of technical devices, scientific
terminology, mathematical calculations, theories, references and stylistic features – without,
however, the use of methods generally approved within the scientific community, and without
subsequent social acceptance of these manifestations by the mainstream of the scientific community
through e.g. peer reviewed publication in academic journals.70
66 Bogdan 2007, p. 124. 67 Hammer 2001, pp. 201, 212. 68 Hammer 2001, p. 212. 69 Hammer 2001, p. 502. 70 Hammer 2001, p. 206. 20 He makes a further distinction with the example that proclaiming that there once was a continent
named Atlantis does not constitute scientism while reinterpreting archaeological findings to
“prove” it, is scientism.71
Hammer accounts for four different positions religions and traditions can make use of in
their relation to science: First, the God of the gaps position where religion fills in the blanks left
by science. As such blanks are filled in by science itself the religious apologists often finds
themselves in an increasingly defensive position. Secondly, the hard-line conflict position where
science and reason are viewed as subservient to revelation. Thirdly, the two worlds position
where religion is viewed as something completely different from science and thus
incommensurable with science. Fourthly, the scientistic position where science is used to prove
the claims of the religion under scrutiny.72 The different positions in relation to science are good
examples of how something, in this case science, is viewed as a Significant Other, both positive
as well as negative, and how this is used to define ones own movement. The different views on
science can be invoked by the same movement but on different occasions and shows how “a
critique of science coexists with claims that one’s own New Age doctrines are, in fact,
scientific.”73 Even though all the positions can be found in esoteric movements the scientistic
position seems especially prevalent and it is common to insist that science and spirituality are
two sides of the same coin.74
Esoteric spokespersons often claim that there are good scientific arguments for seemingly
miraculous events created by a lot of spiritual practices such as clairvoyance, healing and
positive thinking. Four domains of miracle stories seem especially prevalent: healing narratives,
material success stories, divination stories and stories about extrasensory powers such as ESP
and psychokinesis.75 There is also a vast spectrum of other scientistic strategies one can use. A
common and simple one is paratextual markers such as endorsements and academic titles but the
spectrum goes from the appeal to academic credentials to the use of ideas, terminologies,
methods and theories borrowed from science. Many New Age texts will present a terminology
that is borrowed from the physical sciences with words such as energy, frequencies, vibrations,
dimensions and the term science itself. It also appears that there is a tendency to use the word
science rhetorically which goes hand in hand with the double image of science as a negative as
well as a positive Other. Another notion of the scientism strategy can also simply be the claim
that one’s beliefs and practices are logical and rational.76 Other commonly invoked themes in
71 Hammer 2001, p. 207. 72 Hammer 2001, pp. 4, 202-­‐203. 73 Hammer 2001, p. 233. 74 Hammer 2001, p. 203. 75 Hammer 2001, pp. 203, 306-­‐307. 76 Hammer 2001, pp. 236-­‐337, 243. 21 the scientific strategy are for example quantum metaphysics, cryptozoology, evidence
suggestive at reincarnation, astrological claims, crop circles, chemical or biological
transmutations, tachyons, free energy and many others. It is in other words very common for
esoteric traditions to use contemporary science as a source of legitimacy. However, the use of
the word science in an esoteric context often have little do with the non-esoteric meaning of the
word and when scientific theories, and thereby the rhetorical legitimacy derived from it, become
out-dated the spokespersons and the movements often shift their focus to new and more
promising theories. When magnetism became an everyday phenomenon it got replaced with
electricity as a metaphor for vital forces and electricity then got replaced with relativity theory,
atomic theory and quantum physics. By using a scientist and rationalistic vocabulary, the
esoteric movements are trying to appeal to and make their activities acceptable to, a more and
more secularized audience.77
It also seems to be common to use the two worlds approach, especially in New Age texts
from the 1960s and onwards, where the argument that religious sentiment and cognitive modes
such as intuition and emotions are fundamentally different from science, yet complementary,
and that these two worlds should be kept apart. C.G. Jung is often invoked in such arguments
and in an ideal world “people would develop logical, linear thinking as well as holistic or
intuitive apprehension”.78 It is furthermore uncommon for esoteric writers to discuss creation
and evolution is often accepted as a fact.79
Esoteric spokespersons can also borrow research and theories, not only from natural
sciences, but from humanities and social sciences as well. In fact, many esotericists are eager
readers and consumers of the academic research on esotericism, even though most scholars on
esotericism stress that their field is a scholarly construct and that esotericism does not exist as an
object in itself. But when esotericists read the academic workings and become influenced and
informed by it, they are however actively creating esotericism as an object in itself. Asprem and
Granhom state that: “However, with esoteric actors becoming increasingly familiar with
scholarship from the field of Western esotericism, esotericism is indeed becoming an object.”80
When esoteric writers reinterpret the history as told by professional anthropologists,
archaeologists, psychologists, philosophers, scholars of religion and historians they hardly get
any resistance from these academics but the picture is somewhat different when it comes to the
reinterpretation of natural science which have a vociferous anti-pseudoscience movement.81
77 Hammer 2001, pp. 203, 208-­‐209, 237, 323-­‐324, 503. 78 Hammer 2001, p. 231. 79 Hammer 2001, p. 256. 80 Asprem & Granholm 2013a, p. 43. 81 Hammer 2001, p. 250. 22 2.3 Experience Traditions may be spurious, the scientific underpinning weak. When all is said and done, the New
Age spokesperson will readily adduce a supporting claim of an entirely different order […] The
ultimate litmus test is whether you can experience their veracity for yourself. Who can doubt the
existence of earth energies or ley lines after having learned to identify them by means of a
pendulum or dowsing rod? Who can remain sceptical as to the efficacy of healing after having been
cured of a debilitating illness? Who could wish to question the skills of the astrologer after a
successful chart reading?82
The third and last strategy that Hammer discusses is that of experience. Since esoteric beliefs in
general and to a large extent are based on personal experiences, it should come as no surprise
that esoteric texts make numerous of references to experiences. In fact, these narratives of
experiences, and descriptions of rituals of how one can attain these experiences, are often a very
crucial part of esoteric texts. Experiences as a part of religions in general are by no means
something new, but the emphasis and the value that is being put on the experiences are a part of
the modern age and a characteristic of our own time. Earlier, personal experiences could even be
viewed with suspicion and would often be seen as a threat to the establishment.83
Religious experiences can take on many forms. They can appear in the outer world such as
answered prayers, seemingly miraculous healings, strange and meaningful coincidences and
meetings with spiritual beings and they can also appear inside of the experiencer in form of
visions and mystical experiences.84 Experience as a discursive strategy can then also appear in
different forms, for example maybe one of the simplest one can be to simply pray or to “feel in
one’s heart whether the doctrines are true.”85 The narratives can further be classified based on
the experiencer - many narratives are told in third person, about people who the writer knows or
knows about, that are supposed to have been, for example, healed, met angels or other beings,
have conducted effectful divinatory rituals, astrological chart readings and so on. The people
behind these experiences can be more or less anonymous and unknown to the reader and they
work as rhetorical examples of experiences. These experiences then become related to a
worldview that defines what experiences that “counts” and one reason for using these narratives
can simply be to make repetition take the place of demonstration. Another can be to make the
narratives work as frameworks and thereby relate them to events that have taken place, as well
as function constitutively by shaping the expectations and experiences of the readers. 86
82 Hammer 2001, p. 331. 83 Hammer 2001, pp. 331-­‐332, 503-­‐504. 84 Hammer 2001, p. 334. 85 Hammer 2001, p. 42.
86 Hammer 2001, pp. 332, 351-­‐352. 23 Other narratives are told in first person where the spokespersons write about what they
have experienced for themselves and the most important ones are often told to convince the
reader that the spokesperson has gained privileged insights through revelatory experiences and
that he or she is the genuine recipient of spiritual truths. In other words, the status that comes
with these privileged insights is used to legitimize one’s doctrinal claims. Questions one can ask
regarding revealed insights as a discursive strategy is then: How are the recipients of this reviled
knowledge portrayed in the texts, who are they? What are the sources behind the messages and
how are they described?87
Many religious and esoteric traditions claim that only a privileged few can attain higher
knowledge or gain access to spiritual truths through revelations. Hammer brings up Theosophy
as a prime example of this claim where the privileged spokespersons present themselves as the
sole legitimate conduits of ancient wisdom. But there are other positions where there is claimed
that nearly everyone can gain these insights and rise to an exalted position. Hammer claims that
this is especially true to much of the New Age literature where, at least in theory, everyone is
ultimately their own guru. These narratives are often told in second person since they aim at
giving the individual tools and rules of how to gain these insights.88
The process of receiving messages supposedly from something else than other humans or
ones own consciousness has been labelled differently in different times and cultures. For
example, earlier in pre-modern cultures the mediators were often said to be possessed by spirits
or gods, as being in trance, ecstasy or doing a shamanic flight, or as mediumship or prophecy.
Today we often label the same kind of experiences and contacts as channeling.89
However, the experience strategy contains problems and almost paradox situations and
claims, when it boils down to the questions of authority and the privilege of interpretation. If, in
theory, everything that rings true to the readers and adherents is true, how do the spokespersons
keep their authority? Also, who decides how an experience should be interpreted? Older esoteric
traditions, such as theosophy 90 and anthroposophy, were to a large extent based on the
experience of a privileged few and an eventual acceptance of individual experiences and
interpretations was often viewed as potentially threatening and that there was a risk of
undermining the hierarchy through which knowledge was transmitted. Only within the latest
generations of esoteric movements has the notion of individual experiences been given a more
87 Hammer 2001, pp. 333, 369, 372-­‐373. 88 Hammer 2001, pp. 333, 415-­‐416. 89 Hammer 2001, p. 369. 90 As an example of this Hammer writes that the narratives of experience that can be fond in theosophical texts typically concern the spokespersons themselves or of experiences some theosophists had of the miraculous powers of Helena Blavatsky. Hammer 2001, p. 339. 24 important role.91 Even though privileged experience remains an important element from certain
points of view, Hammer claims, as stated earlier, that the new focus shift appears clearly in New
Age texts where one can find rejections on the authority of a privileged few and that religious
experiences of every individual should be accepted if it rings true to the individual; in the ideal
sense, everyone should trust their own experiences and feelings over the claims of the
spokesperson or movement texts.92 As Hammer puts it, “the esoteric tradition bears witness to
the gradual democratization of religiosity.”93 This is however problematic in the sense that
spokespersons still have to persuade members and would-be members that they possess the true
knowledge and that the claims of one’s competitors’ on the spiritual market are less valid while
simultaneously keep this emphasis on individual experiences and interpretations. Hammer
comments on this paradox that there still is, in practice, an underlying de facto hierarchy within
New Age and that some revealed messages are more highly appreciated than others while, in
theory, spokespersons can claim that whatever rings true to the individual actually is “true”.94
Yet another problem that arises with experience as discursive strategy is the fact that while
tradition highlights similarities and connection with the past, experiences of revelation
highlights the new and the unique at the expense of historical links.95
3. History and context 3.1 Vodou and gnosis 3.1.1 Vodou An important part of S.V.G. is, as heard obvious in the name, its inspiration and parts taken
from “traditional” Vodou (also sometimes spelled as ‘voodoo’) and to get a deeper
understanding of this religious tradition I will in this section briefly mention the main
components of the system of Vodou and its new syncretic expressions.
Vodou is a syncretic religious system mainly practiced in Haiti and it arose when
Western- and central-African slaves were brought to Haiti with the slave trade mainly during the
17th and 18th century. Vodou is related to other Afro-American religions such as Umbanda,
Candomblé, Santeria and Palo Monte and it is mainly the African Yoruba and Bakongo
religions that have influenced these African-American religions. Some of the main beliefs and
91 Hammer 2001, pp. 338-­‐339. 92 Hammer 2001, pp. 340, 416. 93 Hammer 2001, p. 339. 94 Hammer 2001, p. 377. 95 Hammer 2001, pp. 340-­‐341. 25 practices of Vodou are the belief in human souls and the cult of a countless number of spirits,
lwa or the “mysteries”, that are subordinated to a creator god and where every person is born
with a stronger connection to one or more of these lwa. The creator god, called Bondye, is
remote and uninvolved, while the spirits are immediate and which you serve with rituals often
incorporating music, dancing, sacrifices and possessions. What from the beginning seems to
have been a strategy for the slaves to hide their religious practices by incorporating elements
from the French Catholic Church soon came to be an integrated part of Vodou and AfroAmerican religions in general. A concrete example of this syncretism is that many of the
Vodoun spirits often are believed to be the same as the Catholic saints.96
With the migration of Haitians to the U.S., Vodou has also become situated in new
contexts and adapted to new environments. For example, a local derivation of Haitian Vodou
known as New Orleans Vodou has been dated to the late eighteenth century or earlier.97
However, in the last thirty years there has been a heavy immigration of Haitians to the U.S. and
Elizabeth McAlister in her book Rara! Vodou, Power and Performance in Haiti and its
Diaspora (2002) gives the example of how the Vodou festival Rara has been adapted in its new
environment, for example with completely new songs about the diaspora experience and she
states that the Rara festivities in New York displays many of the characteristics of an “invented
tradition”.98
Christopher R. Feldman, in his essay “Orishas on the Tree of Life: An Exploration of
Creolization Between Afro-Diasporic Religions and Twentieth Century Western Occultism”
(2012) claims that, contrary to what many people, and even practitioners think, the syncretism,
or creolization, of Vodou and other spiritual systems is still an on-going development and he
states that “African-inspired religions have found expression in a startling number of ways in
the Americas.”99 He states, as the subject of this thesis also shows, that a number of practices
have arisen that combine African diasporic religions with Western esotericism. In his essay,
Feldman examines two case studies: the synthesis of tarot and Umbanda spirits (Orixá) and the
mix of tarot and qabalah with New Orleans Vodou.100 His conclusions of his test cases are that
each of these “cultural flows” underwent years of creolization in their environments where they
evolved and that it now could be said to have evolved yet another layer of creolization in the
confluence of these separate flows101 – a statement which could definitely said to be true
regarding the current and material in the present thesis.
96 Thylefors & Westerlund 2006, pp. 10-­‐13, McAlister 2002, p. 10. 97 Feldman 2012, p. 1. 98 McAlister 2002, pp, 4-­‐5, 196. 99 Feldman 2012, p. 3. 100 Feldman 2012, pp. 1-­‐2. 101 Feldman, p. 24. 26 3.1.2 Gnosis The term “Gnosis” derives from the Greek noun Gnòsis meaning knowledge and is also a term
under constant debate and disagreement concerning its meaning. In antiquity the religious
phenomenon which today is called “Gnosticism” was simply called “Gnosis”, in that sense
meaning religious and spiritual insight based on revelation. Roelof van den Broek argues
however that “the terms ‘Gnosis’ and ‘Gnostics’ are applicable to all ideas and currents, from
Antiquity to the present day, that stress the necessity of esoteric knowledge” and that the term
“Gnosticism” should be used to denote the Gnostic systems of antiquity.102 Hanegraaff also
argues that the use of the word “Gnosticism” is already problematic when talking about the
relatively limited period of late antiquity and is “downright disastrous” when dealing with more
recent esoteric movements.103 There are however various currents and churches claiming a
connection to ancient gnostic teachings, a claim which also can be found in S.V.G. However, to
use the word gnosis as a synonym for higher knowledge or spiritual insight seems to the most
common use of the term in S.V.G.
3.2 Voudon Gnosis and Michael Bertiaux – a background This subchapter aims at giving an overview of the history of, and the main beliefs and ideas
behind, the Voudon Gnostic current as well as its main characters, especially Michael Bertiaux
who made the current known to a Western audience. As mentioned earlier there is hardly any
academic research, in its strict sense, on the current but there are however some interviews with
Bertiaux conducted by Nevill Drury, John Fleming and Bjarne Salling Pedersen as well as a
very short biography written by David Beth. As for the biography by David Beth from 2007,
one of course have to bear in mind that it can hardly be said to have been written by an
“outsider” and could therefore be tendentious and angled. As of course this could be the case for
any article or interview. The interview by Nevill Drury was published in his book The Occult
Experience (1985) and Drury was a well-known researcher and publisher on modern Western
magic and he received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Newcastle in 2008. This
is probably the closest we can get any to academic research on Bertiaux or Voudon Gnosis. The
interview by Bjarne Salling Pedersen from 2003 was published on the website for the NeoLuciferian Church of which he and Bertiaux are the founders, and the same source criticism has
to be applied as for that of David Beth’s biography. The interview by John Fleming was
published in Neighboordhood News in 1979 and I have not been able to find any information
about the author. However, all the interviews are reproduced on the Fulgur website, which is the
102 Broek van den 2005, p. 405.
103 Hanegraaff 1992, p. 5-­‐6. 27 publishing house for Michael Bertiaux’ latest books and are most likely approved by him, so at
least they can say something about the history as seen by himself.
Michael Bertiaux was born 18 January 1935 in Seattle, USA where he grew up in a
Theosophical household. He early on felt attracted to the esoteric and spiritual parts of religions
but started his career in a more orthodox fashion, namely in the Anglican Church, where he,
after being educated by Jesuit fathers at Seattle University, graduating in philosophy and
attending an Anglican seminary, was ordained a deacon.104
In 1963 Bertiaux was offered to go to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to teach philosophy in the
Anglican Church College which he accepted and it was there in Haiti where he came in contact
with practitioners of a syncretism between vodou and French esoteric teachings and who
allegedly “were keen to see their system of Haitian magic adapted for an American audience”
and asked Bertiaux for help to present the “more positive side” of vodou.105
These French esoteric teachings in Haiti are claimed to be derived from Martines de
Pasqually (1709 or 1727? – 1774) and Louis Claude de Saint-Martin (1743 – 1803) who were
the founding figures of what is known as Martinism. Pasqually declared himself a Roman
Catholic but belonged to a very particular and archaic form of Christianity or “JudeoChristianity” and claimed that the esoteric knowledge he possessed had been transmitted to him
by succession and that this gnosis and tradition had supra-human origin. Pasqually was a
freemason and a disciple of Emanuel Swedenborg and Rosicrucianism but founded an order of
his own – l’Ordre des Chevaliers Maçons Élus Coëns de l’Univers, more commonly referred to
as the Elus Coëns in the 1767 and between 1767-1772 he organized his order with instructions,
rituals and various recommendations. In 1772 Pasqually left for San Domingo where he was
actively engaged with his order until his death in 1774 in Port-au-Prince. After his death most
temples, which were around a dozen, fell into decline but at least two of them in France were
active until the revolutionary epoch.106 The Roman Catholic Louis Claude de Saint-Martin met
Pasqually in 1768 and joined the Elus Coëns and after Pasqually’s death in 1774, Saint-Martin
became the dominant figure of the tradition and famous to a group of occultists. The history of
this movement is then only known in fragments, but by the end of the 18th century, a branch of
the Martinist tradition had been established in Haiti. However, in Haiti the Martinist tradition
tended to blend with vodou and after a silent period, Martinism revived in Haiti in the 1890s.107
It was in Haiti in the 1960s where Bertiaux met a Dr. Jean-Maine who is supposed to have
initiated him into the secrets of Voudon Gnosis. Dr Jain-Maine, who became exiled from Haiti,
104 Biography of Michael Bertiaux written by David Beth in 2007, www.fulgur.co.uk/artists/michael-­‐
bertiaux/, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐27; Drury 1985, p. 93-­‐94. 105 Drury 1985, s. 94.
106 Var 2005 pp. 931-­‐935; Melton 1999 p. 796. 107 Drury 1985, p. 95; Melton 1999 p. 796. 28 and Bertiaux then met up in Chicago where the two collaborated until Jean-Maine’s death in the
early 1980s. Upon Bertiaux’ return to the States the Anglican clergy grew suspicious of his
occult involvement and his career within the Anglican Church was soon over. Bertiaux then
moved to Chicago and started working and lecturing at the Theosophical Society’s headquarter,
but shortly after changed profession to become a social worker which he pursued until his
retirement in the late 1990s.108
In the 1960s Bertiaux was consecrated as an adept within an organization known as The
Monastery of the Seven Rays.109 According to The Encyclopedia of American Religions, The
Monastery of the Seven Rays is “the organizational umbrella given to the various magical
activities focused in the person of Michael Bertiaux, (b. 1935) a noted Chicago occultistmagician” and “is a magical order drawing upon modern thelemic magick (derived from the
writings of Aleister Crowley), voodoo, and the nineteenth-century French gnostic-occult
tradition.”110 And according to Nevill Drury, Bertiaux “considers this occult order to be the
‘magical offshoot of Roman Catholicism’ although it is rather less likely that the Vatican would
consider it so.”111
David Beth claims that Bertiaux “stands unique in the spiritual world”, that his system is
unlike everything else and that he doesn’t just rework the occult past. Because of his esoteric
creativity he has managed to incorporate many other spiritual systems into this “very elaborated
and specialized form of Voudon taught to Bertiaux by his Haitian master Jean-Maine” in a
highly empowering and syncretistic way; they mix currents as far apart as German Idealism,
Theosophy, Shinto and Bon-Po.112
Describing the Voudon Gnostic Current is not an easy task to undertake and Bertaiux has
been connected with several different organizations. What the tradition looked like in Haiti
before Bertiaux made it famous in the West is not documented and the current, one can say, is
like an umbrella for various groups headed and founded by Bertiaux and later by his students
and that have worked, functioned and aimed differently but all with roots in the Voudon Gnostic
tradition. As mentioned, the system is also very complex and consists of parts taken from
multiple and diverse currents and religions.
However, worth mentioning here are the organizations Ordo Templi Orientis Antiqua
(O.T.O.A.) and La Couleuvre Noir (L.C.N.) which used to be headed by Bertiaux and JeanMaine and then later by David Beth. Marco Pasi brings up the O.T.O.A. in Dictionary of Gnosis
108Biography of Michael Bertiaux written by David Beth in 2007, www.fulgur.co.uk/artists/michael-­‐
bertiaux/, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐27. 109 Drury 1985, p. 96. 110 Melton 1999, p. 796. 111 Drury 1985, p. 96. 112 Biography of Michael Bertiaux written by David Beth in 2007, www.fulgur.co.uk/artists/michael-­‐
bertiaux/, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐27. 29 and Western Esotericism (2005) when he writes about groups whose origin are somewhat
related to Ordo Templi Orientis but which have developed in different and new directions. He
states that O.T.O.A. is also called “Franco-Haitian OTO” and that Bertiaux claims direct
filiation “from Reuss’s OTO through Papus and a family of Haitian occultists, although no
documentary evidence has been offered to back up this claim.”113 Pasi further states that
O.T.O.A. is characterized by an original mix between Crowleyan magic and vodou traditions
and that it has attracted people outside of the US, notably in Spain and Italy.114
In the interview with David Beth on occultofpersonality.net he clarifies the aims of and
the differences between O.T.O.A. and L.C.N. He states that they both were previously Haitian
based secret occult, or Gnostic occult societies and that even though they are most often referred
to as together they are technically separate organizations and should be viewed more like sisterorganizations. The O.T.O.A., claims Beth, is a synthesis of ancient Haitian and African sorcery
and Gnosticism and European Gnostic Hermetic currents and that the O.T.O.A. came to be
because the Haitian initiates fused these different system in a thorough way. He claims that if
one study the system of O.T.O.A. it provides you with the principles and teaching tools and a
fundamental basic knowledge about what Voudon Gnosis is all about while the L.C.N. is a more
specialized course of higher studies with a bigger focus on the aspect of sorcery and of direct
spiritism. The Voudon Gnostic Workbook is thus the main public teaching tool of L.C.N. and
Beth claims that its main purpose is to establish a contact with the spirits.115 Other organizations
connected with Bertiaux are the Fraternitas Saturni, the Neo-Pythagorean Church and the
Ecclesia Gnostica Spiritualis.116
Also, it should be mentioned that there is a huge emphasis put on artistic expressions and
art in the Voudon Gnostic Current and Bertiaux himself stresses the importance of creative
aspects of magic and gnosis and he himself has produced many paintings which he claims work
as magical instruments and gateways to the spirit world. He claims that many Haitian occultists
expressed their ideas through art since their ideas couldn’t be expressed in words only, but
sometimes through colours like abstract expressionism.117
113 Pasi 2005, p. 906. Theodor Reuss (1855-­‐1923) was the former head of Ordo Templi Orientis. See the whole article on Ordo Templi Orientis by Pasi in Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism (2005). Papus (pseudonym of Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse 1865-­‐1916) was a key figure behind the revival of Martinism. See the articles ”Papus” by Laurent and ”Martinism: second period” by Introvigne in Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism (2005). 114 Pasi 2005, p. 906. 115 Interview with David Beth from 2009, www.occultofpersonality.net/podcast-­‐55-­‐david-­‐beth/, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐27. 116 Interview with Michael Bertiaux, conducted by Bjarne Salling Pedersen in 2003, www.neoluciferianchurch.dk/ber-­‐int.pdf; Melton 1999, p. 796. 117 Interview with Michael Bertiaux, conducted by Bjarne Salling Pedersen in 2003, www.neoluciferianchurch.dk/ber-­‐int.pdf 30 3.3 La Société Voudon Gnostique and David Beth In the ages of the great systems such as Bruno, Eliphas Levi, Papus, it seemed that the many
attempts to achieve a solution has resulted in a kind of an intellectualised straight-jacket […]
somewhere in the middle of these questions we find David’s own beginning to face these questions
which had focussed the attention of previous problem solvers. In David’s case, however, he was
sensitive to a new source of mind-energy – the youth-culture of the contemporary electronic age118
These are the words of Bertiaux in his foreword to the second edition of Voudon Gnosis where
he writes about David Beth and his call to form a new group. Beth was a student of Bertiaux for
many years and used to be the Sovereign Grand Master of the O.T.O.A. and L.C.N. As the
Sovereign Grand Master of these organizations he believed it to be amongst his duties to
provide insights and new perspectives on the “fascinating world of Les Vûdu” and so wrote
Voudon Gnosis. However, within one year after the publication of the first edition (2008), which
was mainly a commentary to the Voudon Gnostic Workbook, he resigned from the positions and
the membership within the orders as he saw his task fulfilled and wanted, according to himself,
“retreat more deeply into the Inner Courts and push ahead the work I had begun in the Inner
Cells of the Voudon Gnostic Continuum.”119 The second edition of Voudon Gnosis, published in
2010, is completely revised and according to Beth the book “has turned into a comprehensive
exposition of Voudon Gnostic sorcery as practiced within our cultus” and that he felt a second
edition necessary due to demands from “serious occult students around the world as well as to
reflect certain new developments and requirements within the Voudon Gnostic Continuum.”120
According to both Bertiaux and Beth himself, the reason for founding S.V.G. seem to be a
dissatisfaction, or an esoteric dissatisfaction as Bertiaux calls it, with existing answers as well as
already existing groups and on S.V.G’s website as well as in the introduction to Voudon Gnosis
we can read what Beth states is the very raison d’être of S.V.G:
This group has been formed specifically to conduct individual experimental and progressive
research into the vast field we understand as Esoteric Voudon or Voudon Gnosis. A great need was
felt for a very select, intimate and focused magical vehicle for experienced adepts and students
within the Voudon Gnostic Continuum. Existing groups fall short of this specific goal for various
exoteric and esoteric reasons while they still may have their place and validity in the gnostic
Universe of Les Mystéres (…) The goal was to manifest flawlessly the more powerful, inner
revelations and transmissions of the Gods of Esoteric Voudon as well as to push evolution and
research of Voudon Gnosis freely beyond all frontiers of orthodoxy. This led to the creation of the
118 Beth 2010, p. ix. 119 Beth 2010, p. 3. 120 Beth 2010, p. 3. 31 Voudon Gnostic Society together with a number of artists and advanced adepts from various
esoteric disciplines.121
Beth also states that S.V.G. consists of only four degrees since they want to have “as little
hierarchy as possible but as much as necessary to allow for a perfect flow of magical and gnostic
energies.” He also states that they apply the rule of quality above all else which they ensure by
having a group structure of an upside down pyramid – many masters and few students. He
further states that they are not interested in educating neophytes but define themselves as “a
vehicle for the further magical education, exchange, research and empowerment of advanced
students and masters of the Magical Arts.”122 On their website one can also read that they work
mainly in private and that they are very selective meaning that membership is by invitation only
or “through a rigorous probationary period.”123
Michael Staley writes in his foreword to the first edition of Voudon Gnosis that many have
found Bertiaux’s work exciting but simultaneously difficult to enter and that Beth’s book
therefore is of great value and guidance of someone who has had many years of experience
working with Bertiaux. He further states that it is the task of a successor to develop the work of
his predecessor which is the principle behind the idea of a spiritual lineage.124
David Beth is furthermore a bishop in the Ecclesia Gnostica Aeterna, an apostolic gnostic
church which, according to Beth, teaches gnostic attainment and development and spiritual
liberation through the sacraments empowered by the apostolic succession. Beth states that the
sacraments are for them not ultimately tied to Christianity but rather a continuation of “the
ancient mystery schools” and the gnostic Christianity and that the sacraments are providing
seeds for gradual enlightenment to reach a unifying state with the kosmos. However, he differs
this kind of gnosis from the one of ancient Gnosticism and states that they are not escapists or
dualists like the ancient Gnostics but sees the body and senses as means to achieve gradual
enlightenment. Beth is also the leader of the Fraternitas Borealis which is, according to him, “a
Hyperborean kind of magical group” which also works with this kind of kosmic gnostic
tradition and tries to achieve the same thing but put a bigger emphasis on experimenting,
magical explorations and techniques and sorcery.125
121 www.voudongnosis.org, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐27; Beth 2010, p. 4. 122 Beth 2010, p. 8. 123 www.voudongnosis.org, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐27. 124 Staley 2008, p. i. 125 Interview with David Beth from 2009, www.occultofpersonality.net/podcast-­‐55-­‐david-­‐beth/, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐27. 32 4. La Société Voudon Gnostique and the Strategies The present chapter then, contains the actual investigation and analysis and will discuss Voudon
Gnosis and ATUA in relation to the strategies proposed by Hammer and others. The first
subchapter “4.2 Tradition: A golden primordial time”, will discuss these texts in relation to the
strategy on tradition, “4.3 Rationality and science: Esoteric rationality” will discuss the texts in
relation to science and rationality and “4.4 Experience: The Chosen” will discuss them in
relation to experience.
4.2 Tradition: “A golden primordial time” The following examination and analysis will be divided, as stated above, according to
Hammer’s division between the three strategies. The subsections are my own divisions
developed from what I have found in my research and analysis, but of course they also relate to
what Hammer discusses under the three strategies respectively.
4.2.1 The ancient and primordial In Voudon Gnosis there are numerous of references to primordial times. In fact, the first lines in
Voudon Gnosis, in the foreword by Bertiaux, read: “Legend says that at some primordial time
there was only one fundamental energy in magical/occult experience”.126 Bertiaux then claims
that everything was static but then, according to Plato and Jean-Paul Sartre, this unit was
broken, and ever since then the real goal of magical and occult thinkers have been to restore this
unity from a primordial and legendary time, “the moment of eternal truth.”127 Already here, in
the very first lines, we can see references to all three strategies: Tradition/history – a better
primordial and legendary time, science – references to well-known philosophers and the word
experience.
The claim that the knowledge which is being transmitted within the S.V.G is rooted in a
better and golden past is very prevalent in Voudon Gnosis and also on their website, where we
can read: “[…] David Beth decided that structures needed to be made available which are new
and unique but are also simultaneously deeply rooted in ancient mechanisms of primordial
gnosis and sorcery.”128 They are claiming that they are returning to the true Secta Rouge
tradition129 and that they understand the need to return to and embrace the roots of the tradition
in order to utilize all its potential and power.130
126 Beth 2010, p. ix. 127 Beth 2010, p. ix. 128 www.voudongnosis.org, accessed 2013-­‐12-­‐25. 129 A Secta Rouge is, according to Beth, a feared and dreaded magical society within Haitian Vodou. 130 Beth 2010, p. 5. 33 La prise des yeux (the seizing of the eyes), elemental vision, esoteric vision, occult
imagination and inner sight are all terms of what is claimed to be one of the mysteries, most
significant powers and methods of the Voudon Gnostic Orders and which Beth claims was
taught by Hector Jean-Maine. La prise des yeux is supposedly achieved through “the raw furor
of our elemental worship” and is supposed to be given as a gift from the world of the spirits to
those who have dedicated their fullness of being to the Voudon Gnostic Gods. When using this
as well as other powers Beth claims it allows the initiate to participate entirely and fully in the
worlds of the spirits and that the entities seizes the eyes of the initiate allowing him or her to
‘see’ the objects in their magical reality and to communicate with it as well as enter and
investigate the “inner planes”131. When Beth writes about La prise des yeux he claims that they
are, by using this technique, “suddenly able to reclaim the primordial ability to understand the
language of animals, plants, landscapes and move beyond the profane vision and image of the
physical world.”132
The sixth chapter in Voudon Gnosis is called “Elemental Sexual Magic” and Beth states
that it is the use of sexual energies and magic that empower all of the Voudon Gnostic
Operations and that sexual magic is a direct link to, and a way of communication with, the
guardian spirits of Voudon Gnosis. He also claims that the sexual magic system they apply is
the most complex and elaborate than most, if not all, other systems that exist. He writes that one
can use different operations or methods to gain access to these sexual energies and for example
he brings up what is called the “elemental shadow-power shaman” (what exactly this operation
is about is not stated) and that this operation “is interested in drawing the most powerful magical
energies from the raw, archaic and aboriginal elements of man, indeed even his pre-human
heritage.” It is also written that the energy derived from an orgasm can be used and directed into
the future towards an ideal evolution or backwards into deep primordial states of
consciousness. 133 These sexual energies, it is stated, originate from what is called “The
transcendental Id” which, according to Beth, is the archetypical source of all magical force. He
further writes that when one is working with these elemental sexual energies one “will be
confronted with forms of energy and practices which he may find extremely unsettling and
against his civilized nature, so only those who feel the call to travel back to the beginnings of
time, to the creature of instinct and raw power, will be allowed access to these special
sanctuaries.”134 He further argues that in these sexual magical workings their “nocturnal temples
131 Beth 2010, pp. 22-­‐26. 132 Beth 2010, p. 26. 133 Beth 2010, p. 40. 134 Beth 2010, p. 47. 34 of primitive powers, the sexual magic of secret cults of ancient times are being continued” and
that these rites bring them back in contact with elemental powers of their pre-civilized selves.135
As stated earlier, Hammer makes a distinction between teachings and practices that are
claimed to be handed down from a transcendental source and how these teachings then are being
transmitted through humans, and examples of this can be found in Voudon Gnosis. For example,
when writing about The Voudon Gnostic Workbook Beth states that the contents of the book is
connecting them with ancient times of primordial Saturnian and Kosmic gnosis and that
“esoteric currents are made available to us via powerful transmissions from archaic entities and
strange magical realms.”136 It is here made clear that knowledge has been handed down from
non-human beings but also that that knowledge is now being transmitted from, in this case,
Bertiaux via The Voudon Gnostic Workbook to Beth and other members of S.V.G. This is also
made clear when he states that students within the society are getting help from mentors and
guides that are humans as well as non-humans, within their society.137
In the examples above we can see references to a pre-human stage and where not only the
human history is of importance, but also an appeal to a form of pre-history that transcends
humanity. Words such as ancient, elemental, primordial, archaic and archetypical can be found
throughout all of Voudon Gnosis and this shows exactly how important it is for esoteric groups
and spokespersons to refer back to a kind of more “real” and true time, or in some cases pretime, with supposedly raw, untamed and instinctive powers and where humans supposedly even
had other abilities than today, such as to understand animals and plants. Here, one of course has
to bear in mind that claims like this could be meant to be interpreted in a mythical rather than
literally sense. In any case, these claims are very much in line with Hammer’s notion about the
creation of an emic historical lineage back to a golden age and in line with the thought that
nothing can be both new and true. There is however no claims that the group itself should be
ancient, but instead, as Beth claimed, the structures are regarded as new and unique but
simultaneously rooted in ancient and primordial gnosis.
4.2.2 The negative Others In an age where most magic and occultism have become materialistic pop culture, we seek a return
to the inner sanctuaries of primordial gnosis to which few are called and even fewer admitted. Our
gnosis is not for all, we are truly the Sitra Ahra, the ‘other race’.138
135 Beth 2010, p. 47. 136 Beth 2010, p. 12. 137 Beth 2010, p. 11. 138 Beth 2010, p. 5. 35 In these lines it becomes clear that S.V.G. is not trying to appeal to the large mass, as Hammer
stated that many New Age groups for example are trying to do. Instead they are claiming that
this path is only for a selected few. There is also a strong critique against other contemporary
occult groups, which Beth claims are turning into popular culture and in ATUA Beth distinguish
between their members on the “merciless path” from what he calls members of esoteric social
clubs and ‘conventional’ magical societies. On this matter he further writes that Bertiaux “never
cared nor intended to appeal to an esoteric or occult mass market”.139
According to Beth, La prise des yeux and the sexual energies are closely related to the
manifestation of the so-called Points Chaudes, the hot points. These hot points are allegedly
both intelligent entities as well as dynamic processes of energies; they are communication
energies of Les Vûdû and are 336 in number. Making use of these point chaudes is in turn
related to the work with the Grimoire Ghuédhé, which “teaches the intimate contact between the
initiand and the powerful Lwa of death and sexuality, the Ghuédhés.” Beth writes that when the
sorcerer activates certain hot points on his body, they can become dwelling places for the spirits,
Lwa, of the Grimoire Ghuédhé and that they then can be of assistance in any magical
operation.140 When they are working with the Grimoire Ghuédhé Beth states that they are
“totally unconcerned by what materialistic religions and profane ethics define as good or
bad.”141 He also states that they are, as initiates of the Grimoire Ghuédhé, true Catholics members of the Catholic Church of Ghuédhé and that their work is not limited by human-made
concepts; “The Ghuédhé Catholics focus on true occultism and Gnostic unity with ChristLeghba-Ghuédhé-God.”142 He continues with explaining that while in the past true Catholic
occult anatomy only was concerned with men, this is not the case within the Voudon Gnostic
Continuum and that in the S.V.G. one finds powerful priestesses adding their unique qualities to
the cultus.143
Here we can find some good examples of how Beth positions Voudon Gnosis and S.V.G.
against other groups and religions and what he means by “materialistic religions” becomes clear
later on in Voudon Gnosis where he writes that to them, like in the “esoteric paganism of ancient
times”, the poles of being are present and past, rather than present and future like the Abrahamic
religions and he continues in a footnote: “The past, golden age of the heroic and pagan cultures
which provided all rejuvenation and metaphysical links stand in stark contrast to the futurism of
the Abrahamic religions and resulting materialism which promises a vague escapism of a future
139 Beth 2010, p. 13; Beth 2011, p. 9. 140 Beth 2010, pp. 30, 49. 141 Beth 2010, p. 52. 142 Beth 2010, p. 52. 143 Beth 2010 p. 53. 36 ‘good’.144 We can see here that the traditional Abrahamic religions are not highly regarded
within S.V.G. two reasons being their alleged materialism and their focus on the future rather
than on the present and past and neither does S.V.G. care what these religions define as good or
bad. This is a good example of something, in this case the Abrahamic religions as well as other
occult groups, becoming portrayed as a “negative Other” and that Beth is trying to position
S.V.G by showing what they are not.
Furthermore, there is also a strong critique against the modern society, especially in the
West. When writing about the elemental sexual magic, Beth claims that in order to work within
this field one must have done deep and intense investigations of the self and “have thrown off
most of the conventional and modern shackles that keeps the primal man in bondage.”145 In the
first appendix of Voudon Gnosis he continues on the matter when writing about the importance
of what he calls “Esoteric Active Imagination” or “Creative Imagination” which supposedly is
the imaginative, perceptive ability of the soul. Beth writes:
However, the powers and strength of the soul have been gradually decreasing in the course of
historical time, in the West faster than anywhere else. Modern Western culture, especially since the
Age of Enlightenment, only recognizes as valid two forms of knowledge: the abstract, conceptual
and the concrete, sensory […] According to our cultural ignorance it is imaginary and accordingly it
cannot be real. Being able to find the Divine in everything around us, that existence can be
perceived as the image of God, signifies a way of perceiving which depends on a psycho-spiritual
power which has more or less degenerated or been altogether lost in modern humans.146
As we have seen in this section we have basically three positioning’s that Beth makes use of:
positioning against other occult groups, against the Abrahamic religions and against the modern
society, which all become significant but negative Others.
4.2.3 The positive Others: disembedding and re-­‐embedding As mentioned earlier, S.V.G. as well as the whole Voudon Gnostic current in general, draws
upon many different religions and esoteric currents and this partly gets its explanation in
Voudon Gnosis and in relation to the Christ-myth. They are relating the figure of Christ to the
sun, which gnostic sects have done since the dawn of Christology, but Beth claims they are not
involved with sun worshiping, but rather creating a “powerful God-image” from where they can
draw upon the solar qualities of Christ and all the magic done in the name of Christ to use this
power in their own sexual magical workings. Supposedly, all the psychic energy that has been
generated by Christians throughout the times is being stored in an astral reservoir, which
144 Beth 2010, p. 93. 145 Beth 2010, pp. 47-­‐48. 146 Beth 2010, pp. 111-­‐112. 37 Voudon Gnostic sorcerers can tap from. Beth writes that Bertiaux uses this principal, to draw
upon power and energy from different traditions, also in relation to for example Hinduism and
Shinto, and thus opens up a broad and effective magical universe. Here we can see how different
systems are incorporated into the system of Voudon Gnosis to, in a sense, get maximum benefit.
Beth is however careful to point out that these are not random or superficial choices but
demands profound knowledge of the systems to “incorporate the esoteric cores”.147 Beth further
writes that Bertiaux acknowledges that there is a gnostic source at the root of all religions and
spiritual systems which is in line with this drawing upon different systems and the notion of
philosophia perennis, the idea of a universal and eternal truth and wisdom underlying all
spiritual systems.148 With this idea in mind, it is no wonder how something that looks like
constructions and bricolages from the outside easily can be made into a coherent system from
the inside.
Jónas Sen writes in his essay “The Inner Territories of Grimoire Ghuédhé in ATUA about
the importance of the ceremony of the Eucharist in Voudon Gnosis. Here he states that the
Catholic elements in many Eucharistic liturgies within the Voudon Gnostic continuum may
come as a shock to some “pagans”. He quotes Bertiaux in saying that “In our order we find this
(hostility) among those who have certain “hang-ups” about the Christian cultural phenomenon
[…] The true magician must be completely dethatched in order to realize his unity with the
absolute. This means that, like Proclus, the magician must be able to be at home in all temples
and in all churches.”149 He then also states that the mix of Haitian Vodou was made possible due
to the fact that the systems of Catholicism and the native religion of African slaves are based on
“nearly identical spiritual practices, though the form differs” and that the saints of the Catholic
church have personifications and roles similar to the spirits, Lwa, of Vodou.150 It here becomes
obvious that Christianity, although maybe not the mainstream one, does play an important role
in S.V.G. and there is an emphasis put on not being hostile against Christianity, which in that
sense contradicts Marco Pasi’s characteristic of occultism as anti-Christian.
The syncretism within S.V.G. becomes obvious on several different aspects and passages
in Voudon Gnosis as well as in ATUA. When writing about the Christ-myth Beth also states that
they equate Christ with Damballah and Leghba, being two of the most important Lwa.
Damballah is described as the fiery solar serpent and Leghba is the guardian of the crossroads
making the figure of Christ “turned into the Sun God at the crossroads.”151 Beth further writes
that Bertiaux and Jean-Maine referred to Voudon Gnosis as northerly and that the original
147 Beth 2010, pp. 19-­‐20. 148 Beth 2010, p. 19; Hanegraaff 2013, p. 52. 149 Bertiaux, The Voudon Gnostic Workbook, cited from Sen 2011, p. 27. 150 Sen 2011, p. 27. 151 Beth 2010, pp. 20, 69. 38 sanctuary in Haiti was called the ‘Temple of the Two Yggdrasils’. He further writes that
Bertiaux states that the magic of Norse sorcerers and that of the Voudon Gnostics essentially are
the same and that the Monastery of the Seven Rays can be said to teach the “Norse-voudoo
magic of Atlantis in its traditional and futuristic dimensions.”152 He also claims that deities have
identified themselves as both Voudon Gods and Germanic deities during Voudon Gnostic inner
plane contacts and that it is taught that both Voudon gods and the Germanic/Norse sorcerers are
the transported gods of Atlantis. Here Damballah is also related to Odin and Leghba to Loki.153
In ATUA, Craig Williams claims that the figure of Christ (or Krist as he spells it) “does
not provide salvation per se, but rather provides an example which the Gnostic initiates can
emulate and actualize themselves.”154 In his essay Williams also use a lot of terms and refers to
concepts borrowed from Hinduism and Tantra and relates them to the Voudon Gnostic current.
For example he claims that one of the most important concepts in Voudon Gnosis is the idea of
“aloneness” which he relates to the Hindu concept of kaivalaya and that various keys can be
found within the occult system of Vedic astrology, Jyotish, which can guide the Voudon
initiate.155 Williams, in his second essay in ATUA, also incorporates Tantric concepts and
introduces what he calls “three unique doorways into the Tantric tradition of the Dark
Goddess.”156 Ariock van de Voorde on his hand incorporates Zazen meditation borrowed from
Zen Buddhism in his description of a ritual and claims that “Zen is right at home with the
methods of La Société Voudon Gnostique.”157
Other important elements that are being incorporated into the system of S.V.G. is
teachings and knowledge deriving from Africa, not only via Vodou, but directly through Beth
who was born and grew up in Africa. He writes that his many years spent there influenced him
profoundly on a spiritual and magical level and that he there was initiated by a lineage of
African sorcerers in what is called the Cult of Juju Rouge as well as being influenced by other
indigenous sorcery as well. He states that he has now in the S.V.G. fused these teachings with
those of the Voudon Gnostic Continuum and thus created a very powerful magical system. The
Cult of Juju Rouge, according to Beth, originates from West Africa and “is a pure witchcult that
transcends typical Western morality and broader definitions of good and evil.”158
The Yoruba people in West Africa have the highest birth rate of twins in the world and
Beth claims that twin cults are very important in Yoruba societies and religious Yoruba systems
of Ifa and that the S.V.G. draw their knowledge about religious and esoteric importance of twins
152 Bertiaux, Course of the Monastery of the Seven Rays 4th year cited from Beth 2010 p. 26. 153 Beth 2010, pp. 25-­‐26. 154 Williams 2011a, p. 12. 155 Williams 2011a, p. 12-­‐13. 156 Williams 2011b, p. 150. 157 Voorde Van de 2011, pp. 19-­‐24. 158 Beth 2010, p. 76. 39 “directly from a secret esoteric society and cult which was centred in Nigeria.”159 Beth claims,
in a footnote, that due to his unique “twin background” of African birth and years spent there as
well as having white European roots, his double exposure to African and European systems of
magic, gnosis and sorcery and being born in the sign of Gemini, he was the first white initiate of
this secret cult and has been made the hierophant of its rite. Supposedly, one of the tasks given
to him by High-priests was to “act as a bridge between African forms of sorcery as taught within
this cult and European forms of gnosis and magic as transmitted in groups such as the
Fraternitas Borealis.”160 He also states that he is not surprised of having found connections
between Voudon Gnosis and African sorcery since “many of the inner teachings of Esoteric
Voudon come directly from the inner schools of the primordial Afro-Atlantean tradition.”161
In a couple of passages in Voudon Gnosis there are references to the mythical places of
Atlantis and the land of Hyperborea, as we for example saw earlier when Beth referred to
Bertiuax who wrote about Voudon gods and Germanic sorcerers being transported gods of
Atlantis and that Monastery of the Seven Rays teaches Norse-Voudoo magic of Atlantis. Beth
also writes about “the mythical tradition of Hyperborea-Atlantis” and that legends and traditions
of their current “is said to come from an unfathomable past, from the original Hyperborean polar
continent”.162 This is also in line with Hammer’s claim about creating a lineage back to mythical
times and places and if we are to apply Hammer’s distinction between tradition and scientism
when it comes to mythical places, these examples certainly fall under the tradition-strategy since
there are no efforts made trying to re-interpret archaeological findings or alike, but mere
statements about these places and their supposed existence.
What has being highlighted in this section is the syncretism within S.V.G. and the
disembedding and re-embedding it implies. We have seen how such diverge aspects as the
figure of Christ, Norse deities, Voudon spirits, Tantric Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, indigenous
African sorcery and knowledge supposedly originated from Atlantis-Hyperborea are all taken,
disembedded, from their original contexts and becoming situated, re-embedded, in this highly
syncretistic society that is S.V.G. Most of these elements also originate from outside the West,
completely in line with Hammer’s claim about how the emic historiography often is concerned
with sacred geography and how places and cultures outside West often are more highly regarded
than Western. This syncretism and the notion of philosophia perennis could also be linked to
one of Faivre’s components of Western esotericism – the praxis of the Concordance, which
159 Beth 2010, p. 78. 160 Beth 2010, p. 78. 161 Beth 2010, p. 80. 162 Beth 2010, pp. 27, 116. 40 denotes a tendency to try to establish common denominators between several, or all, different
traditions in hope of obtaining a gnosis of superior quality.163
4.3 Rationality and science: “Esoteric rationality” As we saw in the last subchapter, the modern world with the values it implies, is often not
highly regarded within S.V.G. and obviously this standpoint also have affects in regard to
rationality and science, maybe two of the most characterizing features of the modern world. As
we saw, modernity is seen as keeping the primal man in bondage and making him loose his
spiritual powers and on several places in Voudon Gnosis Beth emphasizes that their teachings,
practices and knowledge is not to be interpreted in a rational sense, in the usual sense of the
word. In the introduction he states that it cannot be the rational judgemental mind that receives
the book, but that it is the soul that must be its main receiver. He continues on this when writing
that the Monastery of the Seven Rays courses are not to be understood purely rational and in the
introduction we can read: “Thrown into a world of separation from life and a dictatorship of the
rational, we free the instinctual and primordial beasts within through the rush of cosmognoic
ecstasy.” 164 Here we can also see an example of two strategies working together – the
positioning against rationality and an appeal to the tradition strategy. Beth also writes that “in a
time where the rational, calculating a acosmic spirit rules absolute as the tyrannic deity of the
Kali Yuga, it is left to a few cells of kosmic rebellion to celebrate and pass on the secrets of the
soul to a chosen few” and that in our world and time the metaphysical soul essence in humanity
is dead or degenerated. He also states that they have to be aware not to import worldly and
profane ideas into the spiritual/occult realm.165 This critique of the modern age can also be
found in ATUA where Jessica Grote claims that myths and legends in our contemporary times
has been reduced to “a mere form of entertainment” and that myths and their symbols “are doors
of perception which allow a deeper glimpse of reality than that of modern day science.”166
Van de Voorde also states, when writing about kōans (a story, statement or question
from a master to a student) that they are not meant to be understood or thought about in a
rational sense – “the answer or insight comes from ‘elsewhere’”. He rhetorically asks how many
times one has read Kenneth Grant or Michael Bertiaux without understanding or gaining clarity
about their texts and ideas and claims that this is because sometimes “understanding comes from
initiation and connection to the current that informs and empowers the initiation.” He also writes
163 Faivre 1994, p. 14. 164 Beth 2010, pp. 6-­‐9. 165 Beth 2010, pp. 89, 116. 166 Grote, pp. 44-­‐45. 41 that when one is encountering a difficult passage in the V.G.W. for example one should meditate
on it and not try to think or analyse it but “let the Gnosis work”167 Thus, there is a dichotomy
between the profane, rational and calculating domain and the spiritual/occult domain and Beth
claims that “sometimes esoteric truths may be hard to accept, or collide with our profane ideas
and status quo […] but as true magicians and Gnostics we must push away all sentimentality
and try to access the roots of things.”168
However, Beth is not claiming that their teachings are completely un-logical or un-
scientific. Instead, he talks bout “Esoteric Logic”, “Esoteric Science” and “Gnostic science”:
What we have come to term Esoteric Logic in the secrets of Esoteric Voudon is, in essence, not a
conceptual type of work or expression. The essence of our Esoteric Logic is connected to a deep
level of elemental manifestation. It is non-verbal and deeply Plutonian in its rawness.169
One thing you can be sure of is that all which is presented in the Courses works beyond any doubt.
There are no mathematical proofs to support this, but we are talking about a Gnostic science,
knowing.170
Beth also quotes Bertiaux in saying that “Esoteric voudoo is the science of orientation of the
temple of consciousness, which you must create with your will, mind and imagination.”171 As
we have seen here, there is a repudiation against secular logic and science but still there seem to
be a need to use these words, just with the add of “esoteric” or “gnostic”.
There is also a use of scientific terminology to a certain extent. Obviously, the word
energy can be found throughout all of the books, if one is to interpret that as scientific
terminology, which Hammer does. The word can be found in in different contexts, for example:
magical energy, spiritual energy, esoteric primordial energy, mind-energy, dynamic processes of
energy and so on.172 Other words that could be said to be borrowed from a scientific vocabulary
are for example: power, force, dimensions, vibrations, and radioactivity. These can also be used
in different contexts, such as: magical powers, fields of power, powers of the soul, magical force
field, spiritual force, sexual radioactivity, positive and negative vibrations and so on.173 Beth
also writes about them using “laboratories” in their workings, and for example he states that
they “draw power and energy from these various systems and use them for magical operations
167 Voorde Van de 2011, p. 21-­‐22. 168 Beth 2010, p. 105. 169 Beth 2010, p. 21. 170 Beth 2010, p. 10. 171 Beth 2010, pp. 58, 64, 54. 172 Se for example, Beth 2010, pp. ix, 14, 30, 73. 173 Se for example, Beth 2010, pp. 14, 30, 60, 66. 42 in our laboratories of Luciferian transformation” 174 and that they in their “secret research
laboratories” constantly are working on new methods for “obtaining and using sexual magical
energies.”175
There are furthermore references to a lot of well-known philosophers throughout Voudon
Gnosis and Beth writes:
Master Bertiaux once said in an interview that, without having studied Hegel and the German
philosophers, whom he considers highly esoteric, one cannot be his student. He and other adepts
have and had great intellectual training and thus were able to incorporate highly abstract and
theoretical systems of philosophy and thought into the occult and Gnostic framework of their
Voudon Gnostic Orders. But unlike the philosophers, who were in most cases ‘only’ thinkers
(maybe esoteric thinkers, but not occultists) the adepts of the Voudon Gnostic Societies were
indeed able to bring alive these theoretical systems in a magical way – to empower and feed these
systems and turn them into practical magical and esoteric worlds for the use of spiritual and magical
evolution.176
We can in this quote see the emphasis put on intellectual training and on studying philosophical
systems, especially the German ones, and how these are merged with magic and occultism to get
a more accomplished system. Beth states that the uniting of the two poles of the abstract and
elaborate philosophical systems and the primitive and sexual energy gave birth to a new
Ordnung.177
The philosopher that without doubt is the most prominent in Voudon Gnosis is Ludwig
Klages (1872-1956), a German philosopher and psychologist who was influenced by Goethe
(1749-1832) and Nietzsche (1844-1900) and interested in the divergence between what he called
the conscious reflective spirit or mind and the unconscious operational soul. One of his most
famous work is his Der Geist als Widersacher ser Seele (The Spirit-Mind as the Adversary of
the Soul, 1929-32).178 Bertiaux writes in his foreword that ‘Geist’ (spirit-mind) “is identified
with a logical straight-jacketting of the most severe neo-Kantian type” and that the view of “the
mind-as-machine is in radical opposition to ‘Seele’ (the living soul, the soul of nature), which
David sees as an absolute truth and as the eco-Gnostic drive of his Voudon
‘Lebensphilosophie’.”179 There are references to and quotes of Klages in several passages in
Voudon Gnosis and Beth states that Klages has been a great influence on both Bertiaux and
himself and that Klages book Vom Kosmogonischen Eros has been one of the most important
174 Beth 2010, p. 19. 175 Beth 2010, p. 46.
176 Beth 2010, pp. 41-­‐43. 177 Beth 2010, p. 43. 178 www.ne.se.ezproxy.ub.gu.se/ludwig-­‐klages, Nationalencyklopedin, Ludwig Klages, accessed 2013-­‐11-­‐25. 179 Beth 2010, pp. xi-­‐xii. 43 influences on his occult life. Beth also claims that Bertiaux is the first in the English-speaking
world to point out Klages esoteric significance in general and for Voudon Gnosis in
particular.180 There are furthermore several references to Klages in ATUA, for instance in the
essays by Jessica Grote and Zdravko Božić.
Other philosophers that are mentioned in Voudon Gnosis are for example Max Scheler
(1874-1928), Jung and Nietzsche who Bertiaux claims has influenced Beth and Beth himself
refers to Meister Eckhart and Jung who he claims have hinted at an esoteric Christianity.181 On
one occasion Beth also quotes the well-known philosopher and professor Henry Corbin (19031978) when talking about esoteric love.182
This is all I have been able to find that in some ways relate to science and rationality. As
we have seen, there are some use of a scientific vocabulary and also a use of the terms logic,
rational and science itself but with the add of “esoteric” or “gnostic”. If we are to apply the
different positions that Hammer accounts for, namely the god of the gaps, the conflict, the two
worlds and the scientistic, one could say that S.V.G. falls under the category of the conflict
position, or possibly the two worlds position, since there is quite a heavy emphasis on the
negative aspects of modernity, science and rationality. Hammer claimed that the use of the
scientistic approach seem to be the most common one invoked by esoteric groups, a claim that
can not be said to be true regarding S.V.G. - besides the use of some scientific words and the
appeal to some philosophers, there is nothing that indicates that they are legitimizing themselves
on natural scientific grounds. On the contrary, natural science and the rational and logical legacy
after the Enlightenment are most often rejected and thus presented as a Negative Other. In other
words, S.V.G. is making use of the strategy of rationality and science and it is used to define the
group, but as opponents to the scientific and rational modern world rather than presenting their
beliefs and practices on these grounds. Neither I have found anything that indicates them
positioning themselves against any other scientific discipline.
Hammer furthermore claims that there is a common tendency to adopt en exclusivist and
elitist view of Western intellectual development - to view science, technology and rationalist
philosophies as a part of a dynamic modernity whereas folk religion and occult and esoteric
currents are viewed as stagnant survivals of magical thinking or reflexes of pre-scientific
speculation.183 In the case of S.V.G. one could say that it is the other way around – the modern
society, with all the values it implies, is seen as a dictatorship, which keeps mankind in bondage,
and the exclusivist and elitist view is rather applied to occult and magical ideas and practices.
180 Beth 2010, pp.11-­‐12, 26-­‐27. 181 Beth 2010, pp. xi-­‐xii, 117. 182 Beth 2010, p. 114. 183 Hammer 2001, p. xiii 44 4.4 Experience: “The chosen” Since Hammer classifies narratives of experience depending on the experiencer this thesis will
use the same classification. Besides Hammer’s strategies I have also found another theme in my
research, that of exclusiveness, elitism and secrecy, which I will argue also can be seen as
discursive strategy of epistemology.
4.4.1 First person narratives In Voudon Gnosis Beth makes numerous of references to his own life and experiences and in the
first chapter he writes that the focus of the book is on presenting a glimpse of his own personal
understanding, evaluation and application of Esoteric Voudon as well as that of S.V.G.184 He
states that in the book he will share with us the “many keys to the primordial kingdom of the
Soul” and that he will relate to us his own “experiences and applications of such keys within the
Gnostic World of Esoteric Voudon.”185 Bertiaux also states in his foreword that Voudon Gnosis
has become Beth’s teaching tool as well as his personal example and diary.186 Beth even shares
with us extracts from his own magical diary where he describes a ceremony he attended in
Africa, and which supposedly was a “crucial moment in a magical and initiatic ceremony which
lasted three days.”187 In that excerpt he describes the scene and what he felt and experienced
during this moment of the ceremony and he states that he has been privileged to have been in
close contact with these Western and Central African traditions. He also writes how he was
chosen by a secret society in Africa to become an initiatic High Priest of their tradition and
claims that one the main reason for this was an oracle, which the presiding High Priestess
received and which supposedly said:
The spirits decided for you to be initiated also to act as a bridge between Africa and African
spirituality and the white Western World and the white initiatic traditions due to your unique
background of being a German born to white parents in Angola and spending many years of your
life in various African countries as well as Europe and the USA, sucking up both the ‘fire’ of the
South and the ‘ice’ of the North. A child of both worlds and a student of the mysteries you are a
chosen one of the spirits in perilous times.188
This is a perfect example of a narrative in first person and how knowledge is being legitimated
through the claim of being chosen by spirits. As Hammer claims, the main purpose for first
person narratives is that they should convince the reader that the writer, the spokesperson, are
184 Beth 2010, p. 12. 185 Beth 2010, p. 6. 186 Beth 2010, p. xii. 187 Beth 2010, p. 85. 188 David Beth, ‘The Crimson Idol’, magical diary, 1999. Cited from Beth 2010, p. 86. 45 the genuine recipient of spiritual truths and privileged insights and thereby gaining an exalted
position, which Beth certainly seems to do here. Who can argue with someone over authority
and interpretations who claims to have been chosen by spirits? The authority gained by this
story gets even more weight when he writes that it is the first time he puts this gnosis, which
earlier has been an exclusively oral tradition, in writing for the first time.189
Ariock Van de Voorde in his essay “Zazen Voudon” in ATUA also provides us with a first
person narrative of a different sort. In it he writes about the anti-climax he felt the first time he
read The Voudon Gnostic Workbook in the mid 1990s and that his only question after reading it
was “What the hell is this?”. When he read Voudon Gnosis many years later he thoroughly
enjoyed it and started reading The Voudon Gnostic Workbook again. He states that it was a
whole new experience because he had changed due to “age, experience, Gnostic insight, fungalaided brain re-writing…” and he began corresponding with “Tau Beth”. He further states that
since he connected with the Voudon Gnostic current he has found it to be “a deep well of
inspiration, energy and insight.”190 In ATUA, Vadge Moore also shares with us his journey and
experiences of Voudon Gnosis and states that this might serve as a “blueprint” for one’s own
journey.191 Narratives like these can of course also work as strategies of epistemology, since this
shows that even though the system might seem incomprehensible at first, one can overcome it
and experience and gain insights for oneself, which Hammer claims is the ultimate test of a
claim to knowledge, and how these experiences then can serve as inspiration or “blueprints” for
others.
4.4.2 Second person narratives Let us now turn to narratives that are told in second person; that is narratives that often aims at
giving the reader tools and rules of how to experience and gain insights and spiritual truths for
themselves. As Hammer states, these often consists of ritual instructions and explanations of
how to access these revelations and in the Appendix II in Voudon Gnosis Beth presents just this.
It is stated that he in the following section will present “some intense Voudon Gnostic rituals as
practiced by operative magicians within the S.V.G.” and that these rituals can be conducted by
anyone who has studied this book and applies its principles. 192 What then follows are
instructions for four different rituals: In the first one, “Time Traveling using Le temple des
Houdeaux”, Beth claims that after you have successfully established Le temple des Houdeaux
you can use it for a great variety of magical operations and that the following ritual is “a
189 Beth 2010, p. 78. 190 Voorde Van de 2011, p. 17-­‐18. 191 Moore 2011, p. 88. 192 Beth 2010, p. 119. 46 personal version of a ritual for traveling into the past of our earth.”193 The second one, “An
Empowerment Rite of Voudon Gnostic Sorcery” has, according to Beth, been developed to help
individual sorcerers connected to the Voudon Gnostic Continuum to “regularly renew their
special and intimate bond to most important families of Esoteric Voudon and receive their
empowerments” and that the sorcerer thereby affirms his relation to the spirits and accepts their
unique blessings.194 The third “Voudon Gnostic Group Ritual” ha been composed for at least
four people and aims at drawing the power of the four main Esoteric Voudon Gods into the four
ritualists, who will each embody the power of one Voudon God.195 The fourth and last one “An
enhanced ritual of Lucky Hoodoo” is an enhanced version of the HooDoo rite of the Lucky
Hoodoo manual, included in The Voudon Gnostic Workbook, which supposedly enables the
magician to establish a firm and direct contact with the planes of the spirits and which “is
perfect for the beginner student and non initiate of Voudon Gnosis to obtain spectacular results
of elemental magic and establish contact with certain spirits of an elemental nature.”196 Each of
these rituals is then followed by precise instructions on what paraphernalia to use, what to utter,
what moves to make and so on. In other words, the descriptions and instructions of these rituals,
which even explicitly is said to suit non initiates, is thus a perfect example of an appeal to the
strategy of experience or the “try-for-yourself” strategy and is thus very much in line with
Hammer’s description of the strategy as the “ultimate litmus test” to see if you can experience
their veracity for yourself.
In ATUA Ariock Van de Voorde also gives instructions for a ritual on “Zazen Voudon”.
This ritual has, according to Van de Voorde, the aim of gaining “deeper understanding of the
concepts of Voudon Gnosis and to facilitate connection with the current”.197 Also Jessica Grote
provides ritual instructions, on how to become possessed by a lwa,198 as does Craig Williams
with his “Nightside Ritual” with the alleged purpose to connect the Voudon Gnostic sorcerer
with the Dark Goddess current.199
Before moving on to the question of authority it could be worth mentioning that I have not
found any narratives told in third person, about someone that the writer knows or knows about,
that have had extraordinary experiences in Voudon Gnosis or in ATUA. Beth as well as the other
members of course makes numerous of references to Bertiaux, but these are working as
background narratives when they outline the system and beliefs of S.V.G. and are not really
narratives of experience in the strict sense.
193 Beth 2010, p. 121. 194 Beth 2010, p. 125. 195 Beth 2010, p. 138. 196 Beth 2010, pp. 147-­‐148. 197 Voorde Van de 2011, p. 20. 198 Grote, p. 50. 199 Williams 2011b, p. 162. 47 4.4.4 Authority and individualism Let us now address the question of authority versus individualism, which is a returning question
in Hammer’s analysis. On this question, Bertiaux makes it clear in his foreword to Voudon
Gnosis that Beth respects “the border-realms of his own totemic universe” and that “each initiate
is encouraged to work on his own ritual space and seek to probe deeply the riches of personal
symbolism, as found in the ego-narratives of individuated-psychic history.”200
There is without doubt a huge emphasis put on individualism in Voudon Gnosis and
ATUA. Beth writes in Voudon Gnosis that he and Bertiaux always teach that the work within
Esoteric Voudon is always very individualistic and that S.V.G. has “as little hierarchy as
possible, but as much as is necessary to allow for a perfect flow of magical and Gnostic
energies”201 and that requirements like these never can be met in an organization with order-like
or masonic structures. 202 In ATUA, Beth states that a main emphasis within S.V.G. is
individualistic practice and that they teach the “mystery of isolation”, meaning that they are not
organizing themselves in covens or lodges but instead establishing their “individual lairs of
sorcery” and are connected through a “global magical web of power zones”.203 He further states
that the system presented by Bertiaux is a subjective one and that students should, step by step,
create his/her own magical universe instead of becoming a mere imitator – the main point being
that one is not supposed to agree or copy everything that is said but instead construct one’s own
magical world/universe.204 When Beth writes that the Voudon Gnostic current works with a
great number of spirits, all with different energies and qualities, and thus require different
methods of interacting, he also states that these different techniques, which the Société has
developed, also aids the different talents of their initiates since “not everyone is equally suited or
talented to work on the same aspects and with the same tools.” 205 Furthermore, before
explaining the rituals in the appendix Beth writes that the rituals can be individually modified to
suit the need of the magician and in the description of the first ritual “Time Traveling using Le
temple des Houdeaux”, he states that one should keep in mind that Gnostic Voudon is partly
spontaneous and individual and that a ritual thus can be adapted to personal preference once the
concept is fully understood.206 On this topic, Craig Williams also quotes Bertiaux in saying that
“each magician must determine for himself his own grimoire, but this is only possible after such
200 Beth 2010, p. xii. 201 Beth 2010, p. 8. 202 Beth 2010, p. 5. 203 Beth 2011, p. 9. 204 Beth 2010, pp. 9-­‐10. 205 Beth 2010, p. 87. 206 Beth 2010, p. 121. 48 a person has advanced very far in the magical discipline.”207 And Ariock van de Voorde states
that “it is important to find what is right for you when following the path to knowledge.”208
However, it is not all about individual and subjective universes and magical preferences.
Beth also claims that the tools to achieve this as well as the truths which reign in this universe
are universal. 209 Also when writing about time traveling he states that it is important to
remember that time traveling and astral traveling is not the same thing since this distinction
avoids “questionable, shallow and merely subjective experiences” and that the astral world
could be seen as having more of a psychic nature and thus have “many subjective qualities.”210
He further states that while it is important to find one’s own individual path it is also important
that at the same time acknowledge the vocation of the priesthood.211 Yet in a different passage,
where Beth writes about The Grimoire Ghuédé, he claims that before one can enter into more
advanced areas of the Voudon Gnostic current one has to be called to the Inner Cultus of the
Grimoire Ghuédé - “Great Grimoire Guhédé himself, who is a Lwa, must call you to be a
member of his cult, and we have ways to determine when he does. All other candidates will be
refused because we cannot go against the will of the Lwa.”212 He here makes it clear that only a
few can determine when someone lower ranking is ready to take another step, thus exposing the
hierarchy and the privilege of interpretation existing in S.V.G. On this question he also claims
that only a very few Masters of the Continuum “have and had the powers and duty to serve as a
bridge between the Inner and Outer Temples, and hold special sacramental tools to protect the
Voudon Gnostic kingdoms”213 and that members with potential are guided by those teachers –
“while an initiate can be guided to the highest level of realization and empowerment of Esoteric
Voudon, the sacramental grace to confer and transfer powers to others are only possessed by an
esoterically chosen few High Priests within the Continuum.”214
However, these passages that mentions the hierarchy are not many, and besides these
examples and Beth’s statement about being chosen by the spirits in Africa, there is not much
pointing towards a strong hierarchy. In other words, the emphasis put on individualism,
individual preferences and abilities, to find one’s own path and to create one’s own magical
universe is much more prevalent than the emphasis put on the claiming of authority and exalted
positions. In this sense, S.V.G. bears witness to the “gradual democratization of religiosity”
which Hammer writes about and thus can be said to belong to the latest generation of esoteric
207 Bertiaux, Course of the Monastery of the Seven Rays, 4th year. Cited from Williams 2011, p. 13. 208 Van de Voorde 2011, p. 19. 209 Beth 2010, p. 106. 210 Beth 2010 p. 61. 211 Beth 2010, p. 109. 212 Beth 2010, p. 49. 213 Beth 2010, p. 15. 214 Beth 2010, p. 15. 49 movements where personal experiences is given a more important role. But at the same time
there also seems to be a form of underlying hierarchy, in form of Beth’s claimed position as
chosen and with a special background and with the emphasis on the few advanced and chosen
masters and High Priests.
4.4.5 Exclusiveness, elitism and secrecy A theme that constantly returns in Voudon Gnosis is the emphasis put on being initiated and the
claim that their knowledge and practices are exclusive and not for all, thus a form of elitism.
This of course also relates to the question of authority in a sense, but whereas the previous
subsection focused on authority and positioning within S.V.G. this section will focus on their
positioning against non-members.
Beth emphasis in several passages the need to be initiated if one wants to get the deeper
meaning, knowledge and experience of S.V.G. – “the deep layers can solely be penetrated
through direct guidance by a few Masters of the Voudon Gnostic Continuum.”215 The realms of
the Voudon Gnostic Continuum can thereby only be accessed if one is formally attached to the
initiatic chain of the Hierophant Bertiaux and to the Masters of the Continuum and it is allegedly
even
impossible to achieve this link and access the inner layers without being attached in an esoteric way
to the Continuum of Michael Bertiaux and initiatic Voudon Gnosis, as they are the successors of the
Jean-Maine family to which the spirits of the Inner Temple of this Continuum are bonded and
loyal.216
Beth also emphasise the necessity to experience for oneself and he claims that even though
magical writings in a an esoteric context can work as magical tools and keys, the real secrets of
Voudon Gnosis are not to be found in a book:
The keys to fully unlock the doors leading to them [magical realms] are not in written form. The
gates are being guarded by the spirit wardens and human protectors of the current, who operate in
an esoteric symbiosis to admit only those loyal students capable of navigating these esoteric and
nocturnal worlds.217
He claims that many writings of Esoteric Voudon, especially the Voudon Gnostic Workbook,
Voudon Gnosis and the Monastery courses and his own book can be published without causing
any harm to the group’s innermost secrets and gnosis, since them themselves are not the secrets.
215 Beth 2010, p. 14. See also p. 51. 216 Beth 2010, p. 15. 217 Beth 2010, p. 14. 50 He also claims that Bertiaux did this since he supposedly knew that some of the results and
techniques used in Esoteric Voudon actually could aid adepts, even if they weren’t directly
connected to the Voudon Gnostic Continuum. These published “secrets”, Beth writes, are meant
to work as esoteric inspiration and aid spiritual growth, but however, without the initiatic link
one cannot penetrate the deep layers and for initiates of S.V.G. and these materials possesses
many more additional qualities and possibilities and Beth states that they obviously have much
more material for initiates.218 In the chapter Elemental Sexual Magic Beth states that he will not
go into detail explaining exactly their rites and methods since they are reserved for those few
adepts entering this field of work. 219 When he does write about the four rituals mentioned above
he states that they can be conducted by anyone who have studied his book he also claims that
“although the effects and results of this sorcery will obviously differ in intensity and quality for
the initiate and the non-initiate, it is without a doubt that they will have a very powerful impact
on the practitioner!”220 Van de Voorde claims that getting access to occult materials and a basic
occult initiation is fairly simple today but that it requires hard work to obtain results. He also,
like Beth, writes about how this path is only for the few who are drawn towards the group – “if
you were meant to have the knowledge, and go through the work to find it, further insights will
come with surprising speed and ease”, and if one is reading his essay it is because the spirits
have led you there.221 He also claims that you can connect to the current on your own but that
there are certain empowerments that can only by transmitted directly from high initiates.222
Jessica Grote on her hand criticises the idea that “all occult knowledge should be universal” and
claims that this idea is only a product of our modern time and is rooted in individual fears to be
left behind.223 Vadge Moore also writes in ATUA that the darker path is for the few, for the “true
Voudonic Supermen and women that feel a deep, abiding need to traverse this dangerous
path.”224
Beth further emphasis that S.V.G. is not a group for magical beginners or for people
“looking for their superficial or occult fix”225, but rather for people who already have knowledge
about the art of magic:
We are not a society interested in educating Neophytes but define ourselves as a vehicle for the
further magical education, exchange, research and empowerment of advanced students and masters
218 Beth 2010, pp. 13-­‐16. 219 Beth 2010, pp. 10, 47. 220 Beth 2010, p. 119. 221 Voorde Van de 2011, pp. 18-­‐19. 222 Voorde Van de 2011, p. 20. 223 Grote 2011, p. 46. 224 Moore 2011, p. 90. 225 Beth 2010, p. 8 51 of the Magical Art. Thus we apply the rule of quality above all else. Our group structure is that of
an upside down pyramid – many ‘masters’ and few students in order to ensure the quality and
empowerment of our work.226
In short, there is a form of exclusivist approach within S.V.G. which we saw already in the
subchapter on tradition when Beth stated that their gnosis and path are not for all and that they
are different from other occult groups in that they are not turning into “materialistic pop culture”
and not trying to appeal to the large masses.
By making one’s knowledge secret, exclusive and inaccessible for most, one is also
making it more desirable and the more important and even the more “truer” the knowledge
seems to be. The American professor in religious studies Hugh B. Urban sums up exactly how
secrecy can be viewed as a discursive strategy and how this brings authority and “symbolic
capital”:
Secrecy, I submit, is better understood, not in terms of its content or substance – which is
ultimately unknowable, if there even is one – but rather in terms of its forms or strategies – the
tactics by which social agents conceal or reveal, hoard or exchange, certain valued information.
In this sense, secrecy is a discursive strategy that transforms a given piece of knowledge into a
scarce and precious resource, a valuable commodity, the possession of which in turn bestows
status, prestige, or symbolic capital on its owner.227
The scholar of esotericism Kocku von Stuckrad also writes about secrecy and argues that “as
scholars we have to focus less on the content of secret knowledge but on the very fact that this
knowledge is claimed.”228 He too writes about how the alleged secrets brings different types of
capital: “It is a common feature of many discrete societies that members enjoy access to
superior, exclusive and elitist knowledge, which means an increase of social, cultural and
symbolic capital.”229 He further writes that this secret knowledge and the capital it implies also
create the belief in the legitimacy and the importance of participating in these forms of capital,
and he also links this to the notion of tradition – by claiming superior knowledge from a secret
line of wisdom one is increasing one’s social, symbolic and cultural capital.230
However, the mere existence of the books used in this thesis shows that they are not all
about secrecy since they have chosen to make some of their material and ideas official and
published. One may also just turn to Facebook for example to find most of the members
226 Beth 2010, p. 8. 227 Urban 1998, p. 210. 228 Stuckrad von 2010, p. 56. 229 Stuckrad von 2010, p. 58. 230 Stuckrad von, p. 58. 52 included in ATUA and where for example Hagen von Tulien is selling “Lucky Hoodoo Cubes”
and different forms of sigill art, which anyone can buy, and can in that sense be seen as trying to
appeal to an “occult mass market”. As stated earlier, it is also claimed in Voudon Gnosis that
anyone, even non-initiates, can use the rituals described as long as one has studied the book and
applies its principles.
What we have seen here then, in the last two sections, are ultimately two different
positionings from Beth’s side. The first one is about him positioning himself against lower
ranking members in S.V.G. and is thus a question of authority and privilege versus
individualism and individual experiences/interpretations. The second one is about positioning
the members of the whole group against non-members by claiming the exclusiveness of the
group and the reserved and secret knowledge it possesses. What has been made clear in this last
section is that even though “everyone” can study Voudon Gnosis and try the rituals described,
everyone is certainly not suitable to become an initiate of S.V.G. and one can not reach the
deeper secrets and knowledge without being an initiate. One allegedly has to be called to the
group and be meant to attain the gnosis they possess and this is clearly not for all. In this sense,
Hammer’s claim about the “democratization of religiosity” and the idea that everyone can gain
insights and reach spiritual truths cannot be said to be true for S.V.G. In other words, this
democratization and these “new” ideas about rejection of authority and that nearly everyone can
gain insights and gnosis seems to be partly true within S.V.G. regarding their own members and
structures, but not regarding their stance outwards, against non-members, where they rather
apply quite an elitist approach.
5. Summarizing conclusions This thesis has shown that the three strategies of epistemology proposed by Olav Hammer are
all prevalent, more or less, in the texts of La Société Voudon Gnostique. We saw in the chapter
on Tradition how, in line with Hammer’s description of the Tradition strategy, an emic
historiography is being constructed with numerous of references to a golden, primordial and
sometimes even pre-human past. We saw how other occult groups; the orthodox Abrahamic
religions and the modern, Western society were all being portrayed as negative Others,
something that S.V.G. wanted to position themselves from. We also saw the obvious syncretism
in S.V.G. and how various and very diverse traditions, currents and concepts such as the figure
of Christ, Norse deities, Voudon spirits, Tantric Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, indigenous African
sorcery and knowledge supposedly rooted in a mythical Atlantis-Hyperborea tradition were all
being portrayed a positive Others and how these traditions were being dis-embedded from their
original contexts (often non-Western ones) and re-embedded in this new one. One reason behind
53 this syncretism seemed to be the idea of an “astral energy reservoir” composed by all the energy
and magic ever done in the name of these systems and concepts and how this incorporation of
“esoteric cores” could be linked to the notion of philosphia perennis, an ageless and eternal
wisdom underlying all spiritual systems, as well as to the well-know characteristic of Western
esotericism proposed by Antoine Faivre – the praxis of Concordance, meaning just this, to try to
establish commonalities between two, or all, traditions in order to obtain a gnosis of superior
quality.
In the chapter on Rationality and Science we saw again how the modern Western world
with the emphasis put on science and rationality is not highly regarded within S.V.G. and how
this is seen as “keeping the primal man in bondage” and making him loose his spiritual powers.
We thus saw how there is a strong dichotomy between the modern, rational and scientistic
domain and the occult/spiritual and how it is claimed that not everything is supposed to be
understood in a rational sense. We however also saw how there seems to be a need to still use
the words “logic” and “science” as long as one put the word “esoteric” before them, and also a
use of a scientific vocabulary, to a certain extent, with words such as energy, power,
dimensions, vibrations and so on. We also saw references to several well-known philosophers,
most notably Ludwig Klages. However, as we saw in the chapter on theory Hammer claimed
that it is common for esoteric movements to use the “scientistic” strategy, meaning that one
claims one’s practices and believes being grounded in and provable with the help of natural
science, but as we have seen there is very little pointing to that S.V.G legitimize their claims to
knowledge on scientific grounds. Rather, they are positioning themselves against modern
science and rationality and claim that most modern people are missing something in their allrational and scientistic way of thinking and proclaim instead a form of “esoteric rationality”.
Hammer however also claimed that the strategy of rationality and science includes all
positionings against rationality and science, weather by embracing or rejecting it, and he also
stated that several positionings could exist in the same text – something that could be said to be
true for S.V.G. since there is a positioning against science and rationality but also a use of some
“borrowed” words. Perhaps it is not strange however that Hammer could find the appeal to
science-strategy to a larger extent than I could since he studied early 19th century occultism theosophy and anthroposophy - emerging in a time when the belief that scientific knowledge
was the key to human progression had gained huge ground and was, perhaps one could say,
“fashionable”. He also investigated New Age movements which often claims to possess
knowledge and use practices that could be used by almost everyone and since these movements
are popular primarily in the West they have to face and appeal to an audience that are to a large
extent secularized and where the belief in modern science and rationality is strong. With this in
54 mind it is no wonder that claiming one’s practices to be scientifically grounded and one’s beliefs
to be rational has a big place in these movement’s discursive strategies. Of course,
contemporary occultism exists in the same arena, but as this study has shown, within these
movements there seem to be a not so strong longing to appeal to the large masses and claiming
to be for all, as it is within New Age movements.
In the chapter on Experience we saw how some narratives were told in first person, and
where Beth made numerous of references to his own understanding and experience of Voudon
Gnosis. He described how he attended a ceremony in Africa where he allegedly received an
oracle saying that he had been chosen by the spirits to act as a bridge between African and
Western spirituality – a prime example of a narrative told to convince the reader that one is a
true recipient of spiritual truths. We also saw how narratives in second person, often aiming at
providing tools and rules of how to gain insights for oneself, i.e. ritual descriptions, were
provided in order to let anyone who had studied Voudon Gnosis try to experience for
themselves. On the question of authority within S.V.G. we saw how much emphasis that is
being put on individualism and individual preferences and where every member was encouraged
to work on their own “magical universe” and not becoming a mere imitator. However, it was
also noted how important it is to acknowledge the vocation of the priesthood and it was made
clear that there is an underlying hierarchy and privilege of interpretation within S.V.G. with few
Masters and “esoterically chosen” High Priests. The emphasis on individualism is more
prevalent though, which can be seen as a “gradual democratization of religiosity” which
Hammer claims is characteristic of many contemporary esoteric currents.
We also saw how there is a form of elitist and exclusivist approach within S.V.G.
grounded in the secrets they claim to possess and Beth emphasize the need to be initiated if one
wants to penetrate the deep layers of Voudon Gnosis and fully participate in the secrets, even
though “everyone” can perform the rituals described. However, it is stated that only a few are
called to their path and are meant to attain their gnosis and that they are not for magical
beginners, thus making their secrets and knowledge even more desirable, important and “true”.
These claims can fruitfully be seen through the statements of Hugh B. Urban and Kocku von
Stuckrad who claim that the secrecy also can be viewed as a discursive strategy since this secret
knowledge is transformed into a scarce and precious resource of which in turn bestows status,
privilege and symbolic, social or cultural capital on its owner. In this sense, the “gradual
democratization of religiosity” and the idea that nearly everyone can attain spiritual truths
cannot be said to be true for S.V.G regarding their stance outwards.
Last, but not least, this thesis has also shown that all of the strategies proposed by
Hammer and which are being used by the spokesperson of La Société Voudon Gnosqtique,
55 David Beth, are also used by adherents of the group. They too incorporate different concepts
borrowed from various “exotic” traditions, describe their own experiences, provide the readers
with ritual instructions, put on a critical stance towards modernity and rationality and so on.
To sum it up, it seems that the strategies proposed by Hammer also can be found in
contemporary occultism, if one is to generalize the results from this thesis, although more
research should be carried out on these questions before making too general conclusions. What
is most interesting to me is their rejection of modern day science and rationality in contrast to
the movements under Hammer’s investigation, and it would be interesting to look deeper into
these differences and strategies.
My hope is that this thesis has brought some new perspectives on strategies of epistemology and
on the contemporary occult scene. I also hope that it has raised some new questions and
promoted further research that needs to be executed both in terms of further investigation as to
what extent these strategies applies to contemporary esoteric spokespersons and adherents as
well as further research on Voudon Gnosis and La Société Voudon Gnostic. Due to the neglect
of research on contemporary esotericism and especially on the Voudon Gnostic current there is a
lot further questions to ask and new perspectives to add and it is my conviction, as stated in the
introduction, that research needs to be done on these type of contemporary movements in order
to get the full picture of our contemporary religious and esoteric landscape as well as modern
society as a whole.
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Bertiaux, Michael. The Voudon Gnostic Workbook. San Francisco: Red Wheel/Weiser, 2007.
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