Not, like, politics or racism or anything like that, but everyone should have some weird or obscure thing they like that is definitely not something everyone likes. There is some kind of weird, obscure, maybe hard to find thing that speaks to you on a specific level that only a certain amount of people also like. I think it’s an important part of finding yourself.
For instance, my favorite book series is John Dies At The End, not just because it’s the most fun you can have reading a book, but because it introduced me to gonzo lovecraftian as a genre. I try to get everyone I know to read those books. A lot of people just don’t get it. Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place might have been the most formative experience in my life. A lot of people just don’t get it. (I’m from the states, I understand a lot of folks from the UK understand how great it is. Even better than quantum leap.) Tetsuo: The Iron Man is probably my favorite movie of all time. My brother loved it, it has made some people stop talking with me. I like weird shit, I could go on. I raced home from school to watch Beetleborgs.
What weird, obscure, specific thing have you fallen in love with that it seems like nobody else is aware of?
Also, Phantom Crash is the best game there ever was. I will fight you.
(This was an actual thought I had in the shower. I take long showers.)
I’m really a fan of the dogmatized occultisms. The orders like Illuminates of Thanateros, Golden Dawn, John Dee’s books, even Wicca, Discordians.
It’s really interesting rabbit hole that’s a nice open-mindness exercise, plus it’s fascinating to experiment with.
Almost everyone I’ve met who showed any interrest in occultism was always taking it too seriously, to the point of sounding unhealthy. They either knew and read the actual sources, and were too much into it, or they had some kind of random vibes-based new-age approach (and also were too much into it to the point of sounding insane).
I never really understood that. Maintaining an open mind while still keeping a little bit of dostance from it, taking it more like a research into history with a bit of curious practice (basically LARPing would be a perfect analogy), is fun and what I did, but people usually just let it take over their lifes in very unhealthy fashion.
I’ve tried out several of the orders/practices, and each one was fascinating to get into, I would say had overall positive effect on my life, even if it was just having fun larping/method acting and exploring what effects it has on my mental state.
I never interacted with the community, though. I’ve only met one other person who has similar aproach, and a lot of people who you’d consider insane upon hearing how they talk about it.
I highly recommend giving it a try with open mind. I work in IT, never really was into spiritualism or religion, but getting through i.e this book on Wicca, with an open mind, without prejudice and giving it a honest try, was really an eye openning experience. I didn’t stick with it for long, but the few months I tried were suprisingly fun. It’s basically solo LARPing.
Also, the whole history around that and other cults is really fascinating read, but trying out the practice is where most of the controversal (for some) fun is. But again - it’s like with religion - you have to be careful not to let it take over your life, annoy others with it, or use it as an excuse for anything, from why your life sucks or why you can be a dick.
Ah, finally, a kindred soul. Not only do I enjoy occultism, as in a subject to study (and I am familiar with all those you mentioned) with a bit of amusement sprinkled in, rather than practice, but also conspiracies. Truth be told, I don’t think I believe hardly any conspiracies at face value. Though plenty hold a lot of weight when you consider the evidence, not many feel like they’re 100% correct. But I sure like to read about them.