Spiritual Fiction- The Untapped Source

Certain books in magic I refer to as “spiritual milestones”.  When we drive along a highway the mile markers help us know how far we have come if we have no other way of knowing.  Within the last few hundred years a plethora of spirituality influenced books have come along.  These includes older works such as Dante’s Divine Comedy or more recent works such as Aleister Crowley's Diary of a Drug Fiend.  These are not the only ones and in many ways these sorts of books are still coming and being produced by modern authors as well.

For those of us who are not lucky enough to be part of a well functioning spiritual organization or who are solo practitioners, the notion of having some sort of check point is an important one who one is beginning their self-development.  The idea here is that the protagonist/character of story provides a vehicle by which the author can describe a state of being that he/she wishes to share with the reader.

In Diary of a Drug Fiend, part of the book deals with the protagonist and his new wife celebrating a new life together with a rather large supply of Cocaine and Opium  that was supplied to them.  The “milestone” that the book mentions is the experience of watching your bodies cravings independently of your minds experience and being able to see your body  and subconscious attempting to place you into positions in which you would want to imbibe/partake of the substance in mind.

We often find this in the horror genre, when the protagonist/victim is faced with a spiritual untruth that within their literary world exist in reality.  This can be most often seen within Lovecraft’s world as well as modern horror as well.  Herbert West-Reanimator, Rats In the Walls, and other stories of his each create untruth that the we, as spiritual individuals, I feel must eventually come to terms with.  Our own experiences prove these horrors untrue but because of our perspectives and experiences we understand the horror and consequences thereof. ((One of the topics that I developed an understanding of was spiritual development through horror; “Horror Gnosis: Proof by Negation)).  Even in Cinema we find examples of these sorts of stories such as Revolver; a movie which explains the consequences of the shadow self through an analysis of gamesmanship theory/conartistry.  

Of the various types of books that are available (Grimoires/Workbooks, Magical Theory, Mythology, Philosophy, Psychology, and Spiritual Fiction) I feel that this is the type that is the most ignored however I feel it is also one of the most valuable as well; especially to those who are developing and growing themselves without access to teachers.  How do we validate some of our more extreme experiences without having sort of teacher who we can simply ask.  I feel that this sort of fiction and narrative can function here in this regard when otherwise one cannot justify or validate a mental state or experience that one has.