Oooo... the occult ...

[ysengrin]

The rather arbitrary list of occult paraphernalia according to the now defunct DemonBusters website. Bold the items you own. Commentary optional, but generally amusing.

1. Occult games (I Ching, ouija boards, tarot cards, crystal ball, fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons) -- Why, yes - thought I'd hardly call Albedo occult, for instance.


2. Ashes from fire pits, including fireplaces and wood stoves -- How about from a BBQ grill?


3. Robes and detachable hoods -- Yep, though in forest green instead of black. Oh, and do wet suit hoods count?


4. Gongs, drums and bells -- Yes, though no doorbell.


5. Wooden stand for an altar -- *snark* Two, one for the computer (a 'desk') and one for the TV (an 'entertainment center').


6. Chalice, goblet, cruet -- You mean, some folks don't have goblets? How about wine glasses?


7. Phallus (sculpture of the male sex organ) -- Ah, how symbolic do they mean? Does a taper candle count?


8. Heavy wooden staff, sword, knives -- A walking staff and (gasp) steak knives.


9. Small velvet pillow -- Small pillows, yes. Velvet, no.


10. Bullwhip, cat o'nine tails, ligatures -- Costume-related restraints.


11. Mirror -- OMG, we have a mirror in the house ...


12. Animal mask, possibly papier mache -- giggles. Yes, several. We *do* make them, y'know.


13. Black satin or velvet glove for the right hand -- No, but do they mean only for the right hand, or as part of a set?


14. Large ruby ring, worn on the first finger of the right hand -- Nope.


15. Flash powder, smoke bombs -- We have in the past - but we were also doing pyro FX at the time:)


16. Incense -- Yes, absolutely. Both cone and stick, though we don't have any loose grains at the moment.


17. Body paint, face paint -- Makeup for costuming, though would normal makeup count?


18. Metal crown with four candle holders -- Not even a Burger King paper crown.


19. Ferns, palms -- Ah, ferns grow naturally out here.


20. Human or animal bones (especially skull, long bones, finger bones) -- We have several for reference, and quite a few more that are faux.


21. Coffin -- a *prop* coffin, broken (mostly) down to save space. The lid is up on the wall 'cause it's pretty.


22. Ritual books, black books, diaries (such as the Book of Shadows, which may be handwritten) -- Yes, without even stretching it to cover the black-leather bound King James Bible. Oh, and does LJ count as a diary?


23. Medallions with satanic symbols (such as pentagrams, peace symbol, yin/yang, etc.) -- green man, dragons, etc. Yes, though I wouldn't call any of them satanic (I wouldn't call their examples satanic, either).


24. Occult jewelry -- See the previous entry :) Though, do crucifix(es) count?


25. Small animals in cages -- no pets allowed by landlord.


26. Graph paper for fantasy games -- Yep :)


27. Oddly shaped dice -- Bags full, you bet.


28. Horror masks and costumes -- Duh.


29. Crystals -- Yep, I like the way various crystals look - there's a crystal-studded geode right next to the computer I'm typing on.


30. Small metal figurines of mythological nature -- Yes, I have D&D minatures ... somewhere. If you expand that to include plastic, a whole bunch.


31. Posters of mythological beings, animals, half-animals -- of course, silly.


32. Nightmarish posters -- Nothing I'd call nightmarish, though that's more in the eye of the beholder.


33. Sexual, particularly sado-masochistic, posters -- nope.


34. Posters of heavy metal and punk rock stars -- nope.


35. Paraphernalia related to the martial arts - such as ninja costumes and throwing stars -- I'm guessing the Lion Dancer would count (under this and some of the other list items).

26 out of 35, and they didn't even ask about idols, candles or herbs :)

Comments

[johnnyblanco.livejournal.com]

Some people are just plain dumb.. and these people are prolly so uptight they never have any fun in their lives.. at all.. me.. personally.. I love what I do.. and if people don't like it.. they can kiss my fuzzy white ass. ;)

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I really hope that website was a parody... :)

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Nope, quite serious - http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=cabc&c=whs&id=6207

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*headshakes* Truly bizarre. Where do these people actually *come* from? I'm wholly unable to fathom how anyone (anyone who's not on a permanent bad trip, anyway) could seriously believe any of those things.

It's really, REALLY strange what some self-sustaining chemical processes have ultimately led to.

[ferretsage.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the shopping list. :>

[thakur.livejournal.com]

Also remember that Occult merely mean 'hidden from view' . that means that most religions and indeed furrydom would technically be a branch of the 'Occult'. most furries would do 'stuff' behind closed doors:)

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

The website the list came from - DemonBusters - was a last gasp from that period of the 1970's and 80's in America when some conspiracy theorists (with a heavy Christian leaning) thought there was a vast Satanist organization that was systematically brainwashing the youth of America (when they weren't involving and/or abusing said youth in demonic rituals). Folks like the Madraks (the authors of the DemonBusters website) played up "occult" as a code word for this supposed vast Satanist organization, usually capitalizing the word as if it was the name of this imaginary organization.

Lists like this were actually used in America (at least by nutters) to determine if your neighbors or (heaven forbid!) your children had fallen under "the Occult". Sadly, these type of lists - all as silly as this one - hung around for over a decade, and are making a bit of a comeback (minus the term "occult," which is slowly returning to its original usage).

I'm assuming that Australia was far more level headed about these sorts of delusions.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

... for what it's worth, it should be mentioned that the old DemonBusters website was rabidly racist, claimed that large corporations were embedding mind-control chips in their employees under the direction of Occult leaders, said Rubik's cubes were demonic portals, and claimed that Roman Catholic priests were part of the occult conspiracy.

The list was intended to be an example of what police officers should be looking for as evidence of "dangerous occultism." The Madraks (and their ilk) were actually giving lectures to police departments about how to spot "the Occult" in their heyday.

[silvermane3.livejournal.com]

Ooo I scored a 22 out of 35. Some a questionable so I left them out as they are a roomates and not mine in that case pretty much tied with you Ysengrin. Sad to say but mirrors? Posters? Don't most American homes have such items..We're all worshipping the devil for sure *shakes head* How bizzare but I expect nothing esle.