Buzz
For some, the occult is a source of amusement, while others view it with genuine trepidation. Regardless of its validity, numerous renowned individuals have engaged in spiritualism and occult practices.
10. David Bowie
David Bowie, celebrated as one of the most iconic musicians of his era, was also a deeply curious intellectual. During the 1970s, he developed a fascination with the occult. While his onstage persona exuded an otherworldly aura, those close to him attest that his interest in the supernatural extended beyond his performances.
By 1975, Bowie's escalating cocaine addiction enabled him to work and create music relentlessly. The drug kept him awake during tours and recording sessions, but its adverse effects soon took hold, leading to a condition known as cocaine psychosis.
During this period, Bowie immersed himself in occult studies. Whether influenced by his cocaine use or genuine spiritual encounters, he became convinced that malevolent entities he had summoned were invading his life.
Fueled by his cocaine addiction, Bowie's fascination with witchcraft and the occult grew intense. He feared witches were trying to steal his semen to create a child for sacrifice. This paranoia coincided with the recording of Station to Station, an album laden with occult themes. Bowie later admitted he had no memory of creating the album, a testament to how severely cocaine had affected his mind.
Concerned friends noticed his deteriorating mental state. Despite maintaining his musical productivity, Bowie's psyche was unraveling. A friend persuaded him to let a white witch perform an exorcism on him and his home. Bowie claimed the ritual was successful, though this also aligned with his decision to quit cocaine, suggesting more than mere coincidence.
9. Elvis Presley
Similar to David Bowie, Elvis Presley struggled with a severe drug dependency, though his vice was prescription medications rather than cocaine. In her memoir Elvis and Me, his ex-wife Priscilla Presley revealed his deep fascination with the occult, which starkly contrasted his public persona. Despite being celebrated for his gospel music and Christian values, Elvis harbored a private interest in the supernatural.
Priscilla recounted that Elvis was perpetually seeking ways to achieve “higher levels of consciousness.” While drugs likely fueled his fascination with the occult, she noted that he voraciously read works by various authors on the subject. During periods of celibacy, he consumed barbiturates and the sedative Placidyl, battling drowsiness to delve into his occult literature.
Priscilla shared that Elvis eventually abandoned his occult interests and instructed her to burn all his related books. Sadly, he couldn’t overcome his drug addiction, which worsened over time, leading to declining health. In his later years, he reconnected with Christianity, finding solace in faith during his darkest times.
8. Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall, best known as the blond half of the iconic duo Hall & Oates, once delved deeply into the occult. In a 1987 Penthouse interview, he shared, “Around 1974, I ventured into the occult, dedicating six to seven years to studying the Kabbala, Chaldean, Celtic, and Druidic traditions, along with ancient methods for focusing the inner flame.”
Hall also claimed a familial connection to the supernatural, asserting that his great-great-grandfather was a warlock and that he was distantly related to the infamous occultist Aleister Crowley. He admired Crowley for their shared rebellion against religious upbringings, often provoking those around them with unconventional behavior.
Though Hall was once deeply engrossed in mysticism, he has since moved on. Reflecting on that period, he stated, “Many people go through such phases. I experienced it, retained some aspects, and discarded others. My life was unbalanced back then, during that time of exploration.”
7. Queen Victoria
During the late Victorian period, Spiritualism, a practice involving communication with spirits, gained widespread popularity across all social strata in Great Britain. Among its notable adherents was Queen Victoria, who, along with her husband Prince Albert, took a keen interest in the movement. The royal couple frequently participated in seances and other psychic gatherings.
After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria was inconsolable. Seeking solace, she turned to mediums in hopes of reconnecting with her late husband. Aware that many mediums were charlatans, she eventually placed her trust in Robert James Lees, a 13-year-old medium who claimed to channel Albert's spirit.
Victoria dispatched her courtiers to scrutinize the young medium. Lees astonished them by revealing intimate details of Albert’s life that were impossible to know, earning him an invitation to Buckingham Palace.
Lees visited the palace nine times, each session leaving Victoria utterly captivated. She offered him the position of resident medium for the royal household, but he declined, suggesting she continue communicating through Albert’s former gun boy, John Brown. For over three decades, Brown served as Victoria’s medium, exerting significant influence over her.
Following Brown’s death, Victoria considered publishing an account of his seances. However, her advisors warned that revealing her dependence on a medium could tarnish her reputation. Reluctantly, she abandoned the project, and her involvement with Spiritualism remained a closely guarded secret.
6. Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin’s connection to the occult has long been a point of contention, particularly among concerned parents. However, the band’s guitarist, Jimmy Page, was genuinely devoted to the teachings of occultist Aleister Crowley. Throughout his career, Page incorporated numerous occult themes into his work with the band.
During the 1970s, Page’s fascination with the supernatural inspired him to run The Equinox Booksellers and Publishers, a London-based occult bookstore and publishing house. He managed the shop for years until his commitments with Led Zeppelin became overwhelming. Despite this, he infused the band’s identity with occult imagery and symbolism.
On the iconic untitled album, commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, Page adopted the “zoso” symbol as his personal emblem. While its exact meaning remains ambiguous, zoso is thought to be a sigil tied to Saturn, a zodiac sign associated with occult power and potentially linked to a demonic name. Notably, Page, a Capricorn, is governed by Saturn in astrology. Additionally, Saturn is considered the planetary ruler of lead, a connection Page may have seen as symbolic of Led Zeppelin.
Though Page never formally became a Thelemite, his admiration for Aleister Crowley was profound. He purchased Crowley’s Boleskine House in Scotland and, through Equinox, reproduced Crowley’s 1904 spell book, The Goetia. Page also amassed and studied one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Crowley’s original works.
5. William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King stands as a pivotal figure in Canadian history, serving as Prime Minister during World War II and laying the foundation for the nation’s social welfare system. Despite his public achievements, he concealed a deep fascination with the occult from the public eye.
King’s interest in the occult began in 1925 after a fortune-telling session, which he described as “the most remarkable interview” of his life. This experience led him to seek out mediums to communicate with the deceased. Many believe his reliance on spiritualism served as a coping mechanism during his tenure as Prime Minister.
Aware of the potential scandal, King took great care to conceal his visits to mediums, often attending seances anonymously. His discretion was so thorough that one medium later admitted she had no idea he was a prominent political figure.
Despite his occult interests, King ensured they never influenced his political decisions. His diaries reveal that he abandoned spiritualism during World War II to concentrate fully on the war effort.
4. Mary Todd Lincoln
Following the US Civil War, America’s fascination with the occult surged, and Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of the former president, was no exception. She had been exploring spiritualism long before it became a widespread trend.
Mary Todd Lincoln’s life was marked by tragedy. In 1862, her son Willie died of typhoid fever, plunging her into deep grief. Seeking solace, she attended a seance to connect with her deceased son, hoping for closure. She later described the experience as profoundly successful, claiming to see the apparition of Willie. In a letter to her sister Emilie, she wrote, “He visits me nightly, standing at the foot of my bed with his sweet, loving smile. Sometimes, he is accompanied by little Eddie, my other child who passed away.”
The spirits reportedly provided her with insights into who remained loyal to her husband within his administration. After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, she increasingly sought comfort in spiritualism, attending more seances and even sitting for spirit photographer William Mumler. Her belief in the occult and mediums persisted throughout her life.
3. Isaac Newton
While Sir Isaac Newton is celebrated for his groundbreaking scientific contributions, he also dedicated significant time to occult studies, including alchemy (the precursor to modern chemistry), chronology, and biblical interpretation. During Newton’s era, certain occult practices were closely intertwined with scientific inquiry. Driven by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Newton pursued the occult with the same fervor as he did the natural sciences.
Newton was particularly captivated by alchemy. He devoted years to experimenting with the legendary philosopher’s stone, a mythical substance believed to transmute base metals into silver or gold. Even more intriguing, the philosopher’s stone was said to cure all ailments, potentially offering the key to eternal life.
Newton also delved into uncovering biblical codes, aiming to extract scientific insights from scripture. He studied the geometric dimensions of the Temple of Solomon, formulating a theory that it held the key to the mathematical secrets of the cosmos.
His fascination with the occult fueled many of his scientific breakthroughs. While he is celebrated today as a pioneering scientist, his contemporaries knew him as a man who explored the spiritual and enigmatic to address the challenges of his era.
2. Heinrich Himmler
While the notion of Nazis searching for the Ark of the Covenant might seem like a plot straight out of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Heinrich Himmler and the SS genuinely harbored a deep interest in the occult. Himmler even founded a specialized division, the Ahnenerbe, to explore these mysteries.
Though the Ahnenerbe was officially tasked with promoting Aryan superiority, it soon became Himmler’s vehicle for delving into mysticism. He sanctioned an expedition to Tibet to investigate occult theories, including the legend of Hyperborea-Thule, a mythical land believed by some to be the birthplace of the Aryan race.
Despite Hitler’s public condemnation of occultism, Himmler pursued his interests discreetly. He relied on a trusted advisor, 66-year-old Karl Maria Wiligut, who claimed to possess ancient occult knowledge and the ability to access memories from the dawn of time.
Wiligut’s declining health prompted Himmler to go to great lengths to keep him alive, eager to extract more information. Himmler maintained contact with Wiligut throughout his life, defying Hitler’s stance on the occult.
1. William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs, a central figure of the Beat Generation, embodied a lifestyle that defied convention, often engaging in unconventional and eccentric pursuits. Whether penning Naked Lunch, globetrotting, or tragically causing his wife’s accidental death, Burroughs embraced life’s extremes, including a fascination with the occult.
Burroughs’s journey into mysticism began during his travels to South America, where he sought a plant rumored to grant extraordinary abilities. In The Yage Letters, he documented his experiences through a series of correspondences with fellow Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, revealing his intrigue with black magic and curses.
His occult interests persisted throughout his life. In later years, Burroughs explored the spiritual potential of photography, theorizing that images could transcend time and space, placing the subject’s fate in the photographer’s hands. His relentless experimentation eventually led him to join the Illuminates of Thanateros, and he was reportedly buried with his initiation ring.
