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The Mechanics of Magick Dark Rooms, Float Tanks, Initiation, and the Brain That Sees Without Light Part 2
Published 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
If you enjoy this episode, we’re sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects. In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we’ve got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge. So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.
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WORKS CITED
Arnold van Gennep. The Rites of Passage. 1909; English translation, University of Chicago Press, 1960.
Use for: separation, transition, incorporation, initiatory structure, and the candidate’s movement through old identity, liminal state, and return.
Victor Turner. “Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites of Passage.” In The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Cornell University Press, 1967.
Use for: liminality, threshold identity, the candidate as “betwixt and between,” and darkness as embodied transition.
Victor Turner. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine Publishing, 1969.
Use for: liminality, communitas, anti-structure, social transformation, and the ritual pressure placed on ordinary identity.
Catherine Bell. Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice. Oxford University Press, 1992.
Use for: ritualization, ritual power, the ritualized body, and the temple as a structured environment that trains perception and action.
Catherine Bell. “The Ritual Body and the Dynamics of Ritual Power.” Journal of Ritual Studies 4, no. 2 (1990): 299–313.
Use for: ritualized bodies, spatial discipline, gesture, power, and the way ritual arrangements shape action.
John C. Lilly. The Deep Self: Profound Relaxation and the Tank Isolation Technique. Simon & Schuster, 1977.
Use for: the isolation tank, reduced stimulation, altered consciousness, and the modern technological black room.
John C. Lilly. The Center of the Cyclone: Looking into Inner Space. Julian Press, 1972.
Use carefully for: Lilly’s altered-state/counterculture context, isolation tank work, consciousness exploration, and the bridge between research and psychedelic-era experimentation.
Justin S. Feinstein et al. “Examining the Short-Term Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effect of Floatation-REST.” PLOS ONE 13, no. 2 (2018): e0190292.
Use for: Floatation-REST, reduced environmental stimulation, anxiety reduction, mood change, and the clinical side of float tanks.
Hannah Hruby et al. “Induction of Altered States of Consciousness During Floatation-REST Is Associated With the Dissolution of Body Boundaries and the Distortion of Subjective Time.” Scientific Reports 14 (2024).
Use for: float tanks, altered states, body-boundary dissolution, and subjective time distortion.
Madison K. M. Garland et al. “A Randomized Controlled Safety and Feasibility Trial of Floatation-REST in Anxious and Depressed Individuals.” PLOS ONE 18, no. 6 (2023): e0286899.
Use for: safety, tolerability, repeated Floatation-REST, and caution against overclaiming.
Lashgari et al. “Floatation-REST Systematic Review.” 2025.
Use for: the broad current state of Floatation-REST research, including a
Thank you and enjoy the episode!
Links For The Occult Rejects
https://linktr.ee/theoccultrejects
Occult Research Institute
https://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/
Substack
https://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page
Cash App
https://cash.app/$theoccultrejects
Venmo
@TheOccultRejects
Buy Me A Coffee
buymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejects
Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejects
WORKS CITED
Arnold van Gennep. The Rites of Passage. 1909; English translation, University of Chicago Press, 1960.
Use for: separation, transition, incorporation, initiatory structure, and the candidate’s movement through old identity, liminal state, and return.
Victor Turner. “Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites of Passage.” In The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Cornell University Press, 1967.
Use for: liminality, threshold identity, the candidate as “betwixt and between,” and darkness as embodied transition.
Victor Turner. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine Publishing, 1969.
Use for: liminality, communitas, anti-structure, social transformation, and the ritual pressure placed on ordinary identity.
Catherine Bell. Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice. Oxford University Press, 1992.
Use for: ritualization, ritual power, the ritualized body, and the temple as a structured environment that trains perception and action.
Catherine Bell. “The Ritual Body and the Dynamics of Ritual Power.” Journal of Ritual Studies 4, no. 2 (1990): 299–313.
Use for: ritualized bodies, spatial discipline, gesture, power, and the way ritual arrangements shape action.
John C. Lilly. The Deep Self: Profound Relaxation and the Tank Isolation Technique. Simon & Schuster, 1977.
Use for: the isolation tank, reduced stimulation, altered consciousness, and the modern technological black room.
John C. Lilly. The Center of the Cyclone: Looking into Inner Space. Julian Press, 1972.
Use carefully for: Lilly’s altered-state/counterculture context, isolation tank work, consciousness exploration, and the bridge between research and psychedelic-era experimentation.
Justin S. Feinstein et al. “Examining the Short-Term Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effect of Floatation-REST.” PLOS ONE 13, no. 2 (2018): e0190292.
Use for: Floatation-REST, reduced environmental stimulation, anxiety reduction, mood change, and the clinical side of float tanks.
Hannah Hruby et al. “Induction of Altered States of Consciousness During Floatation-REST Is Associated With the Dissolution of Body Boundaries and the Distortion of Subjective Time.” Scientific Reports 14 (2024).
Use for: float tanks, altered states, body-boundary dissolution, and subjective time distortion.
Madison K. M. Garland et al. “A Randomized Controlled Safety and Feasibility Trial of Floatation-REST in Anxious and Depressed Individuals.” PLOS ONE 18, no. 6 (2023): e0286899.
Use for: safety, tolerability, repeated Floatation-REST, and caution against overclaiming.
Lashgari et al. “Floatation-REST Systematic Review.” 2025.
Use for: the broad current state of Floatation-REST research, including a