Meetings with Remarkable Magicians

Life in the Occult Underground

By: Carl Abrahamsson, Frater U. D. - introduction

Narrated by: Carl Abrahamsson

• Explores the author’s extensive connections with infamous occultists and organizations, including Genesis P-Orridge and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, and the Ordo Templi Orientis

• Details the underlying occult impulses and magical experiences guiding the author’s artistic journey, his experiences in psychedelic culture and the punk subculture, and his experimentation with sex magic, occulture, and sigil magic

What does it mean to live a life as an occultist? There may be no single answer, but for Carl Abrahamsson, it has entailed work in music, art, and film as well as deep engagement with renowned occult figures and organizations for more than 40 years.

Illustrating the possibilities of a life infused with magic, Abrahamsson reflects on his decades spent in the company of some of the most unconventional thinkers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He reveals his involvement with psychedelic culture, the punk subculture, and numerous occult figures and organizations, including Genesis P-Orridge and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan, the Ordo Templi Orientis, and a branch of the American Golden Dawn.

Interwoven with his occult experiences and meetings with infamous practitioners of magic, Abrahamsson describes his evolution as a multidisciplinary artist, always imbuing his diverse artistic practice with a developing occult philosophy. He also details his ongoing efforts to disseminate the occult arts via publishing companies like Psychick Release, Looking Glass Press, Edda Publishing, Trapart Books, and the occultural journal The Fenris Wolf—as well as fieldwork in Tibet, Nepal, and India through the Institute of Comparative Magico-anthropology. Through each encounter and reflection on the magical, shamanic, and mystical practices that structured his own life, Abrahamsson illuminates how it’s possible to experience a life of wisdom and miracles.

Critic reviews

“A captivating exploration into the extraordinary life and magical practice of Carl Abrahamsson. Carl’s passion for documenting and celebrating the often-overlooked aspects of the magical world is evident in every word. Through his vivid descriptions and intimate anecdotes, he brings to life a world where magic and mundane intertwine, leaving readers both enlightened and fascinated. Meetings with Remarkable Magicians is a testament to the art of storytelling. His willingness to share his experiences and insights is an invaluable gift, especially for those seeking a deeper understanding of the esoteric arts. This book is a must-read for anyone intrigued by the lives of those who embrace the hidden forces that shape our world and the extraordinary individuals who harness their power. I am grateful that Carl has chosen to share his incredible journey with the world. This book is destined to be celebrated and cherished for years to come."

“Carl Abrahamsson’s Meetings with Remarkable Magicians is an engrossing journey through the heyday of chaos magick and occulture. An essential read for young witches and occultists who want not only to do magick but live magick as well.”

“Carl Abrahamsson has done it again. In his new work, the master occultist once again displays his uncanny knack for being at the right place at the right time to ask the right people the right questions. And boy, does he get answers. From his formative years in the 1980s and ’90s up to the present day, Abrahamsson has had his ever-sensitive finger on the always unpredictable pulse of postmodern occultism. In his new book, he shares the remarkable insights and adventures he has had along the way. A must-read for any student of the mystic arts.”

“On the surface, Meetings with Remarkable Magicians is an engaging and detailed record of a historic time when magick, art, and mainstream culture coincided. It’s a tale populated by diverse and wonderful characters and places. But it’s not just a description; this book is a work of magick itself, capturing a self-reflective arc of one man’s journey to transcendence. This is your own opportunity to meet a remarkable magician: Carl Abrahamsson."

“This book is no old-school hagiography, nor a simple recounting of ritual practices or name-checking remarkable and iconic figures in a magical and creative community. In fact, I would balk at describing it as a book and prefer to designate it as a high-order synaptic stimulant. Meetings with Remarkable Magicians is a fascinating, well-written piece of literature that buzzes with information, process, and art surrounding a group of people who chose to live their lives in a transformative, challenging, and often subversive but always creative manner. Simply enough, it’s a great book that informs you, shakes you up, and takes you to places where there is no such thing as stasis—only endless creative, transformative movement.”

If you enjoy self-congratulatory name dropping…

This meandering memoir of magical masturbation (no really) is easily the most self-indulgent autobiography I’ve ever read. I found it rather cringe. Even as someone with an interest in mystical pursuits I found myself bored to tears with this off-ramp of “you had to be there” stories so thick with winking references and dad joke-level occult plays on words enough to make satan himself bored with the narcissism of the tale. The author references a vast back catalog of self-published articles, zines, and indie music albums, his grandiose assessments thereof are so tedious and navel gazing that they relieved me of all curiosity about his art, music, or other writing. If you’re in on the joke of this book, good for you I suppose. Otherwise, skip it unless you enjoy a rinse and repeat of “I met this infamous person in a niche community you’re probably not cool enough to know about. I showed them my zine and a demo from my indie band and they said they really liked it.” It is deeply off-putting to spend an entire book fanboy-ing over one’s self, and that’s how this book came across to me.