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Cults
May 26, 2017 17:13:23 GMT
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Post by Manuel Herrera on May 26, 2017 17:13:23 GMT
Reading the works of Kenneth Grant I have noted that he never uses the word "religion", rather he speaks about "Cults". Ex. Draconian Cult, Cult of Thelema.
Does someone here have any insight on the meaning of this?
I think it might be due to a symbolic link with the works of Lovecraft (Cthulhu Cult) as something that distinguishes the Primordial Typhonian Tradition.
In another matter, how using the word Cult rather than Religion influences your personal initiation?
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Post by stephen on May 31, 2017 12:28:23 GMT
Essentially, Kenneth Grant is using the term 'cult' in its original sense as the specific cultivation of a form of active devotion to a deity, or mode of spiritual/magical practice. Sometimes, (possibly to distinguish the term from its more recent and popular negative connotations), he uses the term 'cultus', e.g. Zos Kia Cultus. If you wish to go more deeply into the definition the wikipedia entry on "Cult (religious practice)" is useful. A Cult is more focused and more limited than a Religion and may well be an element of a religion.
Grant also uses the terms 'Tradition' and 'Current' and 'Gnosis' - Typhonian Tradition, Ophidian Current, Necronomicon Gnosis - all with their different nuances. Personally, I would not describe myself as belonging to the Religion of Thelema, although there are many Thelemites who do regard it as a religion and pursue it as a such. Possibly somewhat arrogantly, I regard a religion as an ossified product of a spiritual current, something that has become an institution with fixed hierarchy and dogma and the exercise of social control and political influence. A Cult may arise as a focused expression of a Current or Tradition, such as the Cult of Thelema or the Cult of the Beast, for example, and may have a variable lifespan. Religions are something that we tend to get stuck with, unfortunately.
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Post by Gregory Peters on Jul 23, 2017 0:28:27 GMT
In addition to Stephen's excellent description, I think religion tends to connote something that is exoteric, more established and ingrained in such a way as to be part of the definition of a society or culture. This in contradistinction to a cult, which seems to imply something more esoteric and somewhat at odds, or at least not obvious, in the larger cultural/societal structures.
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Cults
Feb 7, 2018 15:51:54 GMT
Post by equinoxofthegods on Feb 7, 2018 15:51:54 GMT
I am inclined to believe that Grant is getting at the idea of a "Cult" incorporating psycho-physical or magickal techniques rather than simply "religious" or mystical practices. (See the essay Vinum Sabbati from Hidden Lore)
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Cults
Feb 9, 2018 0:00:02 GMT
Post by N0T 2 on Feb 9, 2018 0:00:02 GMT
I think he uses the dictionary definition. But also, the notion of something that is cultivated, which is the origin of the religious sense of "cult". So, people who actively cultivate principles and / or practices of Thelema, Lovecraftian cults from fiction, Tantra, Voodoo, etc - can be said to be participating in that cult or cults, i.e., cultivating that particular thing. This produces the "culture" of each stream. I would stop short of saying what Grant is doing though, as I am not him.
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