Utopian communes, alternative spirituality, and radical political activism. In the minds of many, these social phenomena first burst into being during the cultural ferment of the sixties. But according to author and historian Gary Lachman, the countercultural characteristics usually associated with the mid-twentieth century actually have their deepest roots in a series of mystical and social movements dating back to seventeenth-century Europe. In this interview, EnlightenNext’s Carter Phipps speaks with Lachman about his latest book, Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen, and the rich history of the often overlooked intersection between Western esotericism, social change, and politics.
For those who are unfamiliar with Lachman, prepare to be impressed. After gaining notoriety as one of the original bassists for the famous punk band Blondie (which won him induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Lachman has since become a leading scholar of Western esoterica and occult spirituality, publishing major works on the “secret history of consciousness” in addition to intimate, humanistic biographies of the renowned mystics Emanuel Swedenborg, Rudolf Steiner, and P.D. Ouspensky. In this fascinating conversation, Lachman takes us on a journey through the history of Western occultism—from the Bohemian Brethren of medieval Europe to the free-loving, vegetarian Swiss community Monte Veritas of the early 1900s, and beyond—describing how such groups helped to significantly shape the social and political thought of their time.
BIO
Gary Lachman is the author of several books on the history of consciousness and western culture, including Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius; A Secret History of Consciousness; A Dark Muse: A History of the Occult (UK edition: The Dedalus Book of the Occult: A Dark Muse); In Search of P.D. Ouspensky; The Dedalus Occult Reader: The Garden of Hermetic Dreams; Into the Interior: Discovering Swedenborg; and Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work.
As Gary Valentine he was a founding member of the rock group Blondie and wrote some of the groups early hits and he was also a guitarist with Iggy Pop. New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation is an account of his years as a musician in New York and Los Angeles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His CD Tomorrow Belongs to You collects his work with own bands the Know and Fire Escape. In 2006 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He is a regular contributor to The Guardian, Independent on Sunday, Fortean Times, Quest, and other journals in the UK and US and frequently lectures on the meeting ground between consciousness, the occult, popular culture and the arts. He lives in London.
