Lovecraftian Occultism
There are numerous complaints against using the fiction of Howard Philips Lovecraft in modern occultism. Some of these ideas include the assumption that if Lovecraftian entities were somehow real they would be malevolent; that Lovecraft was a staunch materialist who very clearly illustrated his disbelief in the occult; the fact that Lovecraft clearly describes the rituals and gods in a negative light; Lovecraft’s explicit insistence that his work was fiction; and that Lovecraft was extremely racist and closed minded. I would like to address these complaints, address some of Lovecraft’s works, and show some practical usages in and connections to the modern, Western Esoteric Tradition.
The idea that Lovecraftian entities would be malevolent, and the fact that these gods were illustrated in a negative light, have the same explanation. Yes, Lovecraft writes on the occult, but unlike most authors Lovecraft writes from the perspective of an outsider. Lovecraft carries an atmosphere of those like Crowley, Grant, Levenda, Aquino, and LaVey, but also shows the fear and ignorance of a strict Christian pastor. In other words, when Lovecraft describes hideous rituals, grotesque beings, and gory sights, it should be seen as something similar to the description of the Satanic Ritual Abuse scandals from the 1980’s. Simply, the religions of Lovecraft’s works are far overblown and taken as inherently, purely evil. When anti-occult religions accuse an occultist of worshiping Satan and being evil, should this ignorance bother or change the individual? If not, neither should the imagery of Lovecraft. An illustration of this is the ghastly “Dreams in the Witch House,” which includes acts of child sacrifice. It brings to minds Crowley’s line about sacrificing a child in The Book of the Law, in regards to using/wasting sperm (traditionally considered the sin of murder), which non-initiates take to mean literal sacrifice! Of course we can also draw comparisons to any such witch-hunt in history.
It is a well-known fact that H. P. Lovecraft was a materialist, and that he did not consider himself an occultist in any way to our knowledge. Yet his studies into occult works of the time are also well documented, and his works almost self-evidently show occult symbolism to those who know what to look for. These examples are too numerous to cover, so here are just a few examples.
In stories like the “Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” and “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft clearly describes a type of ascension from earth to the heavenly realm through a series of gates. He makes constant reference to the north and the northern circumpolar stars so central to stellar religion, discusses alchemy, necromancy, and his trinity of Yog-Sothoth, Azathoth, and Nyarlathotep can even be compared to the trinity of Crowley's Book of the Law! Again, it does not really matter if Lovecraft did not believe these things. In fact this makes it all the more impressive (and suspicious) that he made such solid occult works.
It is easier just to tag on Lovecraft’s racism here, which is partly due to the times, and should be ignored for all these reasons discussed above. The same goes for the fact that Lovecraft considered his works fiction. These objections to Lovecraft are rather silly and petty, and tend to come from more orthodox points of view. For one thing, simply because these are works of fiction does not imply the ideas and symbolism cannot be used successfully by the occultist. That depends on the individual's abilities, not what inspiration they use. As for the racism prevalent in Lovecraft, aside from being "part of the times," it adds to the fact that Lovecraft was something on the outside. When using the works of Lovecraft, the occultist is not trying to please the author, we are the author's greatest, most demonized fear.
Lovecraft and the Western Esoteric Tradition
Peter Levenda extensively discussed the connections between Crowley and Lovecraft in “The Dark Lord.” For example, while Crowley, the beast, was receiving the Book of the Law, Lovecraft was planning and writing his first story, “The Beast in a Cave,” about a man who goes into a cave, gets lost and stuck in the darkness, and turns into a beast. Crowley, of course, referred often to himself as “The Beast.” Levenda also states that the dates given for orgiastic rituals in Call of Cthulhu match the time Crowley wrote several important Thelemic works back to back. I further posit that the gods of Lovecraft match those of Crowley. Yog-Sothoth is the all of space and time, called that “the gate, opener of the gate, and key to the gate.” He appears as a group of shining orbs, bringing to mind the Tree of Life and other spherical initiation systems. In other words, Yog-Sothoth is the All. This is the same role as played by Nuit in Crowley’s ideology. She is the all, the start and end of initiation, all time and space and all points within them.
Azathoth is that from which every point within Yog-Sothoth comes forth. This of course matches the role of Hadit in Thelema, who is every conceivable point within the infinity of Nuit. It is not something that consciously creates or manifests possibilities, but a mindless, natural force in the Cosmos that brings about the objective universe we all share. Like Hadit, Azathoth is the center of the sphere, even often being placed at the literal center of the universe in Lovecraftian myth.
Nyarlathotep and Horus/Ra are perhaps the most interesting. Both represent the “visible object of worship” for the gods before them. They are the literal manifestation of Nuit/Yog-Sothoth and Hadit/Azathoth. Both bring destruction to the old ways. They are a messenger, the physical manifestation of the modern Aeon.
Further entities, like Shub-Niggurath resemble Babalon, who births and reabsorbs all initiates. Kenneth Grant found Lovecraft to be very important, and both LaVey and Aquino were quite interested in Lovecraft as well. The Temple of Set often seems to invoke Lovecraftian symbolism, which is of extreme interest to the Order of the Trapezoid.
Lovecraft is also of great practical use in the modern esoteric Left Hand Path. It is dark, centered on the nighttime and stellar religion over the day time and solar religion, and based on Form-like beings and human ascension. The gods of Lovecraft invoke very primal, easy to grasp images. Cthulhu, for example, represents that which lays just below the surface ready to rise. It brings to mind everything from the Kundalini Serpent to the Christian Devil! The gods are foreign and alien, not the omni-gods of Abrahamic religions, nor the blissful Oneness of the East.
Practical Use of Lovecraft with the Tree of Life
Lovecraft can even be compared to initiatory systems such as the Tree of Life, correspondences of which I will share here. Be warned, there are decades old spoilers below!
Malkuth
The bottom sphere on the Tree of Life represents the individual’s first step in their ascension of the tree. It represents “the Kingdom” and the vision is of one’s Holy Guardian Angel. In Lovecraftian mythology, this can be best represented by the story “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.” The Deep One city is the oldest earth-dwelling kingdom not made by those from other planets, dimensions, etc. The Deep Ones are native. The transformation that takes place in the main character also mirrors the vision of the Holy Guardian Angel. While believing he is an everyday person running from dark characters, he is actually one of these half-human immortal individuals, and the citizens of the town simply want him to know that and join them. This is the same as one’s higher self, egging us on to become something better as we foolishly cling to everyday life. Some of us come to accept and chase after the vision of our higher self, like the main character, and enter the kingdom. Since Dagon is the god of the Deep Ones, he inhabits the tenth sphere.
Yesod
Yesod is the foundation, and it represents the vision of the machinery of the universe. This, essentially, is the space, physical matter, and time that make up the objective reality we know. As we know from the mythos of Lovecraft, this is represented by the timeless and omnipresent force known as Yog-Sothoth, who inhabits the sphere. Stories such as “The Music of Erich Zann” and “From Beyond” tell of the universe as an unfathomably strange place made of eternal music, and filled with creatures of lifeforms unimaginable to us. This is what an individual beginning on their ascension sees. Think back to the beginning of the occult journey, how big, scary, and intimidating the universe looks as one gains their first bits of occult knowledge..
Hod
Hod is the vision of splendor, and represents the stage in one’s journey where we come to start meditating, gaining insight into the extensive and beautiful cosmos around us. It is where people tend to have mystical experiences or communicate with “spiritual entities”. There are many stories from Lovecraft that help us understand this stage. Specifically, the sphere is inhabited by the man known as Atal, who with a friend and mentor ascended a mountain to see the “Gods of Earth,” and witnessed his friend killed by the “Other Gods.” It is a good warning to the many who get stuck in this state of bliss that there is much more out there, and if you are unprepared for it, it could mean trouble. “The Other Gods,” “Celephais,” “The Cats of Ulthar,” the “White Ship,” essentially all the non-Randolph Carter dream land tales help us to understand the nature of this sphere.
Netzach
This is the sphere of victory and the vision of beauty triumphant. It is where the individual really begins and solidifies their magical practices, finding beauty in the way magic works and victory in the successful use of it. This sphere is inhabited by the individual known as Randolph Carter. His quest to Kadath represents every aspect of magic: the danger, the beauty, the difficulty, the success, and even the failure and limit of our own abilities. Randolph Carter journeys through the very Abyss and comes back as something more, the perfect example of magic and the overall goal of it. Stories for reference include “The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath,” “The Silver Key,” and “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.”
Tipharet
This is the sphere of beauty and the vision of the harmony of things. In the myths of Lovecraft, this is best exemplified by a man known as Wilber Whately. Remember, Lovecraft writes as an outsider looking in on the occult with fear, so what he sees as hideous is simply how the masses view us. Wilber is half human, half Other God, striking a perfect harmony between the upper and lower spheres, the point of Tipharet. He is a powerful magician with an otherworldly aspect to himself, but he is certainly not perfect and even fails his quest in the end. This is a reminder to the practitioner that reaching the sphere is an accomplishment and comes with great ability, but it is certainly not the end of the journey. Of course his story is “The Dunwhich Horror.”
Gevurah
The sphere of Gevurah represents strength and power, as well as restriction. It is both the strength of the magician as well as the restriction of the “light” of god. This is embodied in everyone’s favorite – Cthulhu. He is the tool of power which can bring back the Great Ones and the worship of the Other Gods. Likewise, Cthulhu being imprisoned represents that “restriction” represented in Kabbalah. In the tree of life, this is the last stage of ascension before prepping for the Abyss, meaning that awakening Cthulhu is the key to ascension. “Call of Cthulhu” is the obvious read!
Chesed
Chesed represents the vision of love (agape), meaning one sees the light on the other side of the abyss and must prepare to make the leap for it. This transformation of the self and leaping into space is represented by the Mi-Go in the “Whisperer in Darkness.” These beings worship the Other Gods as well, though more successfully, and serve their will. They are receptive to the higher forces. Again it is a perfect embodiment of the sphere, in which we continuously receive information from the supernal triad.
The Abyss and Da’ath
This is the (hotly debated as false) sphere of Knowledge, where gnosis essentially resides. In the Typhonian tradition, Kenneth Grant considered this the entrance to the Tunnels of Set. Most occultists consider it somehow evil, as they fear the confusion it can bring. In “The Shadow Out of Time,” a man stumbles into precisely such an abyss, in which he finds shocking knowledge. Unfortunately (or not?) he also finds himself unable to bring this knowledge back with him, in turn causing others to believe it is false knowledge. I won’t even say more, this is my favorite Lovecraft tale and you should read it immediately.
Binah and Chokmah
The former represents understanding and the vision of sorrow, whereas the latter represents wisdom and the vision of god face to face. The sorrow and understanding tie directly into overcoming the abyss and overcoming one’s newfound and severely questionable understanding of the world. It is a serious adjustment that takes a lot of time. These are where the true facts of reality come forth. The wisdom has to do with making use of this understanding, making the best out of everything, being successful magicians, even uttering a new Word to change the world. This is represented by the entity known as Nyarlathotep. The most interactive and intelligent of all the deities, he both understands exactly how the world is and brings sorrow, as well as uses his understanding of the world to manifest his will. He is the vision of god – Azathoth – face to face as he is a servant of the Other Gods – the actual, “supernatural” and fundamental aspects of reality that exist outside and independent of the universe (a polytheistic pantheon). He is the only one who seems to have been to the throne of Azathoth. “The Whisperer in Darkness,” “Dreams in the Witch House,” “The Haunter of the Dark,” and “Nyarlathotep” all help us understand these spheres on the tree of life.
Keter
The crown and the union with god are not directly explained in any one mythos story, but Azathoth clearly represents the primordial creator of mysticism, which the Tree of Life follows. Azathoth dreams reality into existence without even knowing it, which shows the impersonal nature of the cosmos over all. He is the Other God most closely connected to us as our creator, and leads us into the Ain (Soph) (Aur) which is the Other Gods beyond all space and time, which concludes the ascent of the Tree of Life.
The Nature of the Lovecraftian Gods
Now I would like to cover both how entities in the Mythos, including that worst ones, obviously care for, work with, and depend on humanity, and just give general thoughts in the vein of our conversation so far.
In “Beyond the Walls of Sleep” we learn that there are entities which are friendly with human beings. Essentially, the story describes a spirit trapped within an insufficient body. This entity is literally a “body of light”, as in astral travel, which is interesting to note as well. Further, this soul or astral body goes on to become a star in the sky, and the story clearly shows that there are other astral body and star hybrids out there. This keeps in line both with Egyptian mysteries and the mysticism of Thelema.
In “The Call of Cthulhu” we are shown that there are many, many human cults who are dedicated to worshiping Cthulhu and the Old Ones. Who these Old Ones are, we never seem to know for sure. They may be the Gods of Earth, or some spiritual life, it’s not clear. What is clear is that these cults are aided by other life forms, including great winged beasts and white, polypous “things.” Further, Cthulhu himself cannot be released from his prison without human beings to open the door and let him out. It is also alluded, through all the stories overall, that those who serve the Old Ones will be rewarded for it in a new world to come.
In many of the dreamland stories – “Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath,” “The White Ship,” “Celephais,” and others – we get progressions through stages, sometimes specifically referred to as spheres (like in Kabbalah), always cumulating in a great abyss beyond which things become chaotic, drive people mad, and reveal all the secrets of infinity. To me these can’t be anything except references to western occultism. Within this abyss are shapeless, formless, chaotic things, which just strengthens the connection for me. Something that the Dream Quest has is Nodens, and obscure, deity type entity which is opposed to Nyarlathotep and (indirectly) helps the good characters of the story.
In stories like “Haunter of the Dark,” “Nyarlathotep,” “Whisperer in Darkness,” and other stories based around Nyarlathotep, we see that the deity does, in fact, commune with humans and other alien life related to humans. In “The Dunwich Horror,” it is highly suggested that those who serve the Other Gods will be rewarded in the “next world”, being the world after the Old Ones and Other Gods have their way and rule. The Starry Wisdom Cult, for example, was able to gain vast insights about the cosmos from Nyarlathotep, simply by staring into a special stone.
There are many more alien races that work with, rely on, and coexist with humanity. In “At Mountains of Madness,” the Elder Things are suggested to have created humans themselves. The Great Race of Yith, from “The Shadow Out of Time,” seem to respect all life, desiring all they can know about it, and sharing their knowledge. The Mi-Go from “Whisperer in Darkness” also work with humans while serving Nyarlathotep. Hell, the very story “Shadow Over Innsmouth” can be seen as a metaphor for running away from one’s true self, HGA, shadow/anima(s), whatever you want to call it.
These are honestly just a couple points to touch on. I would love to just go through all of Lovecraft’s stuff page by page and dissect it, but of course there simply isn’t time! Hopefully this short article will have helped clarify some of the confusion surrounding the usage of Lovecraft in the occult, and will have inspired other to investigate this fascinating mythology.