Playful Occultism (MMU Keynote)

The Ludic and the Lusory Attitude in Magical Practice

Howard, Jeff ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9077-1025 (2025) Playful Occultism (MMU Keynote). In: Multiplatform: Rituals of Play, June 12-13, Manchester Metropolitan University (Manchester, UK).

	Text (Paper for my keynote talk at the Rituals of Play Conference at MMU) ManchesterKeynotev11.docx - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives. Download (69kB)
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Abstract / Summary

Jeff will deliver a seminar on “Playful Occultism” that explores manifestations of the occult in relation to play and games. This relationship will take a twofold form: the influence of the occult on games and the aspects of play in occult practice. The session will explore case studies from the many tabletop and videogames that are influenced by the occult, arguing that one meaning of the occult involves games with hidden depth, analogous to what Doris Rusch would refer to as “deep games.” In some of these cases (especially solo role-playing games and LARPs), any sufficiently deep simulation of ritual is indistinguishable from ritual, causing the magic circle posited by early game studies scholar Johann Huizinga to break. At the same time, Howard argues that many forms of contemporary magical practice can be understood productively through the lens of play, from the influence of Crowley’s chess games on his astral visions to the elaborate metaphorical systems of Andrew Chumbley’s Sabbatic Craft and Kenneth Grant’s Typhonian Gnosis.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	play, games, occultism, magical practice
Subjects:	Computing & Data Science > Game Design Philosophy & Psychology
Department:	Games Academy
Depositing User:	Jeff Howard
Date Deposited:	21 Jul 2025 15:12
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2025 15:12
URI:	https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/id/eprint/6108

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