AEWCH 309: FAKIRS AND FAKERS with RAPHAEL CORMACK / THE SPIRIT-ERA & ITS AFTERMATHS, PT 3

About this episode

This episode explores the themes of spiritualism and performance in the context of the Spirit-Era and its modern implications.

This is the third episode in a series called The Spirit-Era & Its Aftermaths in which I look at the way spiritual, technological, and occult flourishings at the turn of the 19th into 20th century are still with us today, and in fact, being echoed by our own time. The Spirit-Era is marked by occultists, paranormal investigators, and magicians... But it is also marked by performances of all kinds: stage magic, but also actual magic. Stage magic passing as real magic, real magic posing as trickery. There were the performance of spiritualism, of charismatic theologians, and of feats of incredible endurance. As in our own time, People had difficulty parsing out what was real and what was illusion. And there was no shortage of advice on how to attain magical aptitude and ability, or promises of unlimited health and vitality. Beyond this difficulty distinguishing truth from fantasy, there was a thrilling draw to the ambiguity, and whatever power might be there, in the spot in between what was and what might be . This negative space, this open area of reality, affected people all over the world, including the middle east. These tensions - between genuine and the spectacular…

People in this episode

Host: Conner Habib

Guest: DR. RAPHAEL CORMACK

Topics covered

• spiritualism
• occult
• performance
• illusion
• truth
• historical analysis

Keywords

• spirituality
• occult
• 19th century
• 20th century
• magical aptitude
• Fakirs
• Fakers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Durham University

Books & works: Holy Men of the Electromagnet

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