Book Review from Venture Inward Magazine, September/October 2009 Issue:
OCCULT AMERICA: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation
By Mitch Horowitz
Mitch Horowitz’s newly released Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation should be required reading for anyone who aspires to be an informed practitioner of personal
spirituality in the modern age. Even the most experienced and well-read among us is sure to learn a
considerable amount from this carefully researched and thoughtfully presented study of esoteric
traditions and their part in shaping the mindset of 21st-century America.
Horowitz’s careful scholarship and knack for intriguing details makes this survey of pioneering figures
constantly engaging. From the trance readings of the “Poughkeepbtemsie Seer” Andrew Jackson Davis
to the roots of the New Thought Movement in Phineas P. Quimby, we are introduced to dozen of
unique characters, each with his or her own contribution to a tapestry of occult teachings that is as old
as America itself. From Mesmerism to Theosophy to the Secret Teachings of All Ages, Horowitz’s own
genius lies in fitting all the historical pieces together, showing us the background and context of each
teaching, and helping us to understand what they collectively have to offer us in the 21st century. One
of the final chapters, “The Greatest Mystic Who Ever Lived in America,” is an especially cogent and
even-handed assessment of the life of Edgar Cayce, with a particularly insightful closing section on the
little appreciated ethical dimension of the man’s work.
This invaluable addition to anyone’s library, however, is not easy reading simply because it really
makes us think. The challenge of this book is how it makes us confront the inevitable contradictions to
be found along any path of transformation. In fact, reading this book reminded me of an axiom from
Shivas Irons, the central character in Michael Murphy’s classic novel Golf in the Kingdom, depicting an
old Scottish golf pro who taught spirituality through the game of golf. Shivas Irons writes that the
barometer of a person’s enlightenment is how he or she deals with a paradox.
And just so, Occult America deepens our enlightenment because it teaches us to deal with the
paradoxes that are embedded in 300 years of a movement that has profoundly influenced our modern
culture – teaching us to readily handle concepts such as meditation, intuition, karma, and higher states
of consciousness. Occultism (keeping in mind that this term really means “that which is hidden”) has
been infused with both the best and the worst of the human condition. Most of us sense that these
and similar concepts are valuable to the revitalization of the American culture; and it is crucial for us to
know where we collectively have come from with these ideas so that we can use them to bring out
the best of the American Spirit in the decades ahead.
Reviewed by MARK THURSTON, PhD, author of The Essential Edgar Cayce and 18 other books about
personal spirituality.
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