{"product_id":"dark-star-rising-isbn-9780143132066","title":"Dark Star Rising","description":"\u003cb\u003eWithin the concentric circles of Trump's regime lies an unseen culture of occultists, power-seekers, and mind-magicians whose influence is on the rise. In this unparalleled account, historian Gary Lachman examines the influence of occult and esoteric philosophy on the unexpected rise of the alt-right.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDid positive thinking and mental science help put Donald Trump in the White House? And are there any other hidden powers of the mind and thought at work in today's world politics? In Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump, historian and cultural critic Gary Lachman takes a close look at the various magical and esoteric ideas that are impacting political events across the globe. From New Thought and Chaos Magick to the far-right esotericism of Julius Evola and the Traditionalists, Lachman follows a trail of mystic clues that involve, among others, Norman Vincent Peale, domineering gurus and demagogues, Ayn Rand, Pepe the Frog, Rene Schwaller de Lubicz, synarchy, the Alt-Right, meme magic, and Vladimir Putin and his postmodern Rasputin. Come take a drop down the rabbit hole of occult politics in the twenty-first century and find out the post-truths and alternative facts surrounding the 45th President of the United States with one of the leading writers on esotericism and its influence on modern culture.\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eBEYOND THE ROBOT\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An enthralling account of the life and work of Colin Wilson, the often controversial writer who explored the nature of human consciousness in dozens of books ... Lachman writes about philosophical and mystical ideas with exceptional grace, forcefulness and clarity.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Dirda\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e, \u003c\/b\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Colin Wilson came to a sudden and unparalleled celebrity with his first book, \u003ci\u003eThe Outsider,\u003c\/i\u003e in 1956, and after that was strenuously ignored by every respectable critic. So much for respectability. Gary Lachman has written an intellectual biography of a writer who might be called the only optimistic existentialist, and done him justice. Wilson was always far better and more interesting than fashionable opinion claimed, and in Lachman he has found a biographer who can respond to the whole range of his work with sympathy and understanding, in a style which, like Wilson’s own, is always immensely readable. I enjoyed \u003ci\u003eBeyond the Robot\u003c\/i\u003every much.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Philip Pullman\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Without question, the definitive guide to the life and ideas of one of the most stimulating writers of our time. Highly recommended.” \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eDavid Fideler, author of \u003ci\u003eRestoring the Soul of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Gary Lachman makes ideas thrilling.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Ptolemy Tompkins, author of \u003ci\u003eParadise Fever\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"In \u003ci\u003eBeyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson\u003c\/i\u003e, author Gary Lachman has done us a great service in illumining what an original and inspired thinker Wilson was. In the process of doing so, the question arose in my mind as reader: Is Lachman himself stepping into becoming the modern-day Colin Wilson? This is one of those rare books that I read cover to cover, not wanting to miss a word. I simply loved it!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003ePaul Levy, author of \u003ci\u003eDispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eALEISTER CROWLEY\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Clocking in at 394 pages jam-packed with in-depth information, factoids, anecdotes and insights from the first sentence to the last. A historical biography through and through, Lachman’s book is meticulously researched and it is quite easy to believe that the author, like a professor well-versed in their subject, could analyze and extrapolate at much greater lengths. The oft touted declaration of Crowley as the Wickedest Man in the World, may well have been overblown in it’s own time, but he’s certainly not an individual with whom it is easy to empathize. As detestable as he is, there is an undeniable fascination in his exploits, and Lachman seems the perfect man to deliver them.”\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The Examiner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Gary Lachman has become an increasingly prolific engine of literate, well-written, and clear-headed books about esoteric history and ‘occulture.’ ”\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Erik Davis, author of \u003ci\u003eTechGnosis\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Thinking outside the box, Lachman challenges many contemporary theories by reinserting a sense of the spiritual back into the discussion.” \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Leonard Shlain, author of \u003ci\u003eArt \u0026amp; Physics\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAlphabet versus the Goddess\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eGary Lachman \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of many books on consciousness, culture, and the Western esoteric tradition, including \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Teachers of the Western World; Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson; Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work; In Search of P. D. Ouspensky; A Secret History of Consciousness; Politics and the Occult;\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Quest for Hermes Trismegistus\u003c\/i\u003e. He writes for several journals in the US and UK and lectures on his work in the US, UK, and Europe. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and he has appeared in several radio and television documentaries. He is assistant professor in Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. A founding member of the rock group Blondie, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. He can be reached at GaryLachman.co.ukChapter One\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'm a Winner\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Billionaire Donald J. Trump's victory in the November 2016 U.S.      presidential election came as a surprise to many, but surely not      to Trump. \"I am a winner,\" he said throughout his campaign, and it      seems he was right. Winning is important for Trump; as more than      one commentator has pointed out, it's no exaggeration to say that      it is practically the only important thing for him. As he wrote in      his self-help book The Art of the Deal, designed to help its      readers become winners too, \"I'm the first to admit that I am very      competitive and that I'll do nearly anything within legal bounds      to win.\" Most people who know Trump would agree with this      self-assessment, although some might suspect that when necessary,      he wouldn't be averse to stretching the acceptable boundaries of      achieving success just a bit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But business is one thing. Surely politics is another. Or is it?      Trump's victory left many reeling and set the political pundits      pondering on the reasons for his upset. Scrambling for answers,      they looked to white middle-class dissatisfaction, Russian      intervention, and Hillary Clinton's bad reputation, among other      things, for clues. But one sure contribution to Trump's ascendancy      must be his positive self-image, his certainty that, as he told      his supporters over and over, he is a winner and that he will get      what he wants. \"People may not always think big themselves,\" Trump      tells his readers, \"but they can still get very excited by those      who do.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Trump is one of those who do. He thinks big. There is nothing      small about him. From Trump Tower to his aborted plans to build      the largest building in the world to his massive Atlantic City      casino, practically everything Trump turned his hand to was on a      large scale, driven by a desire, with him from an early age, to      \"make a statement . . . to build something monumental,\" to take on      what he called the \"big challenge.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e What accounts for this strident self-confidence, this unshakable      assurance of success and driving need to stand out from the      mediocre many? Narcissism, megalomania, egomania, selfishness,      insensitivity to others, and other personality traits have been      offered as explanations for Trump's unswerving optimism and      self-belief. To be sure, Trump's psychological profile can      accommodate these characteristics and more; as I will try to show,      he strikes me as an example of what the writer Colin Wilson called      a \"Right Man,\" someone who under no circumstances will admit to      being wrong, and who will stop at practically nothing to get his      way. But in the flurry of news reports, articles, posts, and      tweets that followed in the wake of Trump's victory, one possible      reason that could account for Trump's perpetually upbeat demeanor      rose out of the mass of sound bites and caught my attention.      According to some reports, Trump's at times ruthless belief in his      own powers and abilities may lie in his interest in an obscure and      somewhat \"magical\" philosophy known as New Thought, Mental      Science, or, as it is sometimes also called, \"the power of      positive thinking.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Trump's mentor in positive thinking was the man who popularized      the phrase, the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale. In 1952, Peale's      book The Power of Positive Thinking appeared and immediately      became a success, spending ninety-eight weeks at the top of the      New York Times bestseller list and making its author a wealthy      man. It is still a healthy seller in the self-help and      self-improvement market. Peale read earlier New Thought writers      such as Ernest Holmes, Charles Fillmore, and Napoleon Hill and      absorbed their fundamental insight, that the mind can influence      reality directly, or, as its most basic formula has it, \"thoughts      are causative.\" This means that by merely thinking we can change      the world around us. If that isn't magical, I don't know what is.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Peale took this idea and, as the historian of New Thought Mitch      Horowitz put it, \"reprocessed mind-power teachings through      scriptural language and lessons.\" According to Peale, one could      achieve both spiritual and material success in life-he believed      that contrary to much ancient wisdom the two are not mutually      exclusive-and thinking positively was the way to do it. Trump      started attending Peale's sermons as a boy in the 1950s and he      took this message to heart. Later he transferred it to the bank.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Peale played a large role in Trump's life. His parents attended      Peale's services at the Marble Collegiate Church on New York's      Fifth Avenue and Trump himself was a familiar face among the      parishioners there for more than fifty years. Trump was married to      his first wife, Ivana Zeln’kov‡, at the church, and rumor had it      that he met his second wife, the model Marla Maples, there too.      Trump denied this but he did admit to seeing Marla at the services      often. In any case, his marriage to Marla was performed in the      church by Peale's successor, the Reverend Arthur Caliandro.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Peale's doctrine of \"positive thinking\" appealed to Fred Trump,      Donald's father, another successful businessman, who said that      there was \"nobody else like Peale,\" an estimate Donald agreed      with. Trump admitted to two mentors in his life: one was his      father, the other was Peale. Given Trump's great respect for his      father, this was admiration indeed. Trump called Peale \"a great      preacher and a great public speaker\" and admitted that after      hearing one of his sermons he could have \"sat there for another      hour.\" What religious or spiritual import Trump absorbed from      Peale's sermons is debatable, but Trump was clearly impressed by      the Reverend's \"speaking ability\" and \"thought process.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e What did Peale speak of? What were his thoughts about? Mainly      about success, in the world of the spirit, yes, but in the      material one even more. As Gwenda Blair, a biographer of the Trump      family, said in a podcast, Trump's obsession with winning may be      rooted in the kind of this-worldly advice he absorbed at Peale's      sermons. The idea that winning was everything was brought home in      those Sunday services. \"That's a very Norman Vincent Peale      notion,\" Blair said, \"that notion of success above all.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If Trump thought highly of Peale, the admiration was mutual. In      1983, to congratulate him on the opening of Trump Tower, a      fifty-eight-story multimillion-dollar contribution to Manhattan's      skyline, Peale sent Trump a note predicting that he would be      \"America's greatest builder.\" Peale was always impressed by      successful people and effective self-promoters, and he was drawn      to Trump after seeing him on television. What Peale may have      thought of Trump's political success is unknown-he died in      1993-but given that he backed Republicans throughout his life we      can imagine. Richard Nixon sought solace at Peale's church after      losing the 1960 election to John F. Kennedy, and was later      consoled by Peale during the height of the Watergate scandal;      Ronald Reagan was a fan too. With Trump in the White House, the      idea of being \"America's greatest builder\" takes on a new meaning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Trump took Peale's teachings as a kind of scripture and suggested      that he won the approval of his mentor. \"He thought I was his      greatest student of all time,\" Trump, no practitioner of false      modesty, reported. Peale taught Trump to think only of the best      outcomes-to, in the words of an old song, \"accentuate the      positive, and eliminate the negative.\" \"The mind,\" Trump believed,      \"can overcome any obstacle. I never think of the negative.\" No      wonder he's convinced he's a winner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It is easy to see New Thought or Òpositive thinkingÓ as a scam, a      metaphysical snake oil sold to the losers in lifeÕs scramble for      success. Or as a self-serving religion to its winners, like Trump.      Or, as Barbara Ehrenreich does, as a puritanical philosophy that      denies valid cause for sorrow or sadness and demands of its      practitioners Òperpetual effort and self-examination to the point      of self-loathing,Ó not to mention cheerfulness on tap. But a      closer look reveals something much more interesting.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As mentioned, the philosophy of New Thought is based on the idea      that the mind can influence reality directly, that mental effort      alone can make things happen. In all of its different versions,      whether as Mental Science, Science of Mind, Creative      Visualization, and others, it emphasizes the same idea. If we can      imagine an outcome clearly enough, persistently enough, with      enough confidence and commitment, it will materialize. The mind,      it affirms, can create reality. We need only believe firmly and it      will be so.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e New Thought's insistence on the power of the imagination to create      reality seems harmless, if absurd. Most of us accept that reality      is not so accommodating and reject the idea outright. Experience,      we say, tells us that it just can't be true. But the beliefs of      New Thought are rooted in ancient occult ideas, insights into the      magical nature of the mind and reality that informed the      philosophers of second-century Alexandria and the geniuses of the      Renaissance, and which today are seen to be more and more in line      with our understanding of physical reality at its most fundamental      level.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ever since the rise of quantum physics, we've known, as the      physicist Werner Heisenberg tells us, that the observer influences      the observed. Around the same time as the first forays into the      quantum world were being made, in the early twentieth century, the      philosopher Edmund Husserl came to a similar conclusion. Husserl's      fundamental insight, which informed later developments such as      existentialism, is that perception is intentional. That is, for      Husserl, consciousness does not merely reflect a world that is      already \"there,\" as a mirror does, whether we want it to or not,      but actively reaches out and \"grabs\" it, rather like a mental      hand, and, as it were, molds it into shape.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e On a different track, a bit earlier than Husserl, and taking a      hint from the German poet and scientist Johann Wolfgang von      Goethe, the esoteric teacher Rudolf Steiner, most known today as      the founder of Waldorf Education, argued that our minds are not      mere witnesses but cocreators of the world around us. And today,      some of the most respected and successful people on the planet      even suggest that the entire world we know is really a kind of      collective dream, a simulation, maintained by a secret elite,      aware of reality's plasticity and equipped with the knowledge and      will to manipulate it-an idea that itself goes back to the beliefs      of an ancient mystical sect known as the Gnostics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e So if people adhering to the philosophy of New Thought, as Trump      does, maintain that the mind can create, alter, or affect reality,      they seem to be in good company.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It really should be no surprise that a president who declared      himself for ÒAmerica firstÓ should be a devotee of New Thought.      The phrase Ònew thoughtÓ itself was coined by one of AmericaÕs      greatest thinkers, the nineteenth-century poet, essayist, and      orator Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson was the leader of a school of      philosophy known as Transcendentalism, which is a good candidate      for the first homegrown American intellectual movement. Another      famous Transcendentalist was Henry David Thoreau, author of the      classic Walden. In an essay aptly named ÒSuccess,Ó Emerson wrote:      ÒTo redeem defeat by new thought, by firm action, that is not      easy, that is the work of divine men.Ó The notion of success must      have been important to Emerson, as he also wrote a poem about it,      although some believe the poem attributed to him was really      written by Bessie Anderson Stanley. Either way, the kind of      success the poem and EmersonÕs essay aspire to is not the kind we      associate with Trump, having more to do with achieving a kind of      inner harmony and leaving the world a better place than building      monumental skyscrapers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Transcendentalism had its roots in German and English Romanticism,      which itself was rooted in notions of the mind and its relation to      reality associated with a school of German philosophy known as      Idealism. Rudolf Steiner, mentioned above, was deeply influenced      by German Idealism. The two philosophers most associated with      Idealism were Immanuel Kant and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Idealism's view of the world reached Emerson through English      thinkers like the historian Thomas Carlyle and the poet Samuel      Taylor Coleridge, both of whom were readers of German metaphysics.      The simplest way to understand Idealism is to say that it is the      polar opposite of the materialism that was the prevalent view of      reality in Emerson's time and remains so today. That is to say,      where materialism says that \"matter,\" the hard stuff of the      physical world, is the fundamental truth about reality, Idealism      says that what is \"really real\" is the mind, consciousness, or      spirit, and that the physical world is ultimately an expression of      this.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Kant, for instance, believed that the physical world we see, the      universe of space and time, is actually a product of our      perceptual apparatus. For Kant our minds somehow organize the raw      data of reality into the world perceptible to our senses. Kant did      not mean, as some think he did, that we create the world out of      whole cloth, that it is a pure fabrication. He is not saying that      everything \"is in our heads.\" Such a route leads to solipsism, the      belief that \"you\" are the only thing that you can know, which      leaves one in a kind of epistemological bubble, in touch with      nothing else. There is a \"real world\" out there, but we never see      it as it is \"in itself\"-that is, as it appears when we are not      perceiving it-but only as our minds deliver it to us. For Kant, it      is through the mind's action on the raw data of existence that      anything like a \"world\" appears for us to experience. Hegel got      over the hurdle of Kant's verboten world \"in itself\" by saying      that the entire universe, ourselves included, is participating in      a vast process of evolution, in which Mind or Spirit, the ultimate      reality, comes to awareness of itself through human consciousness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There are other aspects of Idealism, and Edmund Husserl, mentioned      earlier, was a late exponent of it. The general idea is that for      Idealism, the mind is not some accidental passive product of a      blind material universe-something many scientists and philosophers      persist in insisting on today-but is in fact in charge and at the      center of things.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Transcendentalism had roots in other schools of thought that      emphasized the mind over matter. One was Hinduism, especially the      spiritual scriptures of the Upanishads, which see the material      world as a kind of illusion or dream called \"Maya\" from which our      minds must awaken. Another was the teachings attributed to the      mythical founder of magic, Hermes Trismegistus, \"thrice-greatest      Hermes.\" As the historian Frances Yates argued, the philosophers      of second-century Alexandria and the geniuses of the Renaissance      mentioned earlier were devotees of the teachings of the      thrice-greatest one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Emerson's journals make more than one reference to Hermetic      philosophy, which has come down to us in a collection of      philosophical, mystical, and magical texts known as the Corpus      Hermeticum. Central to Hermetic philosophy is the power of      imagination. In Book XI of the Corpus Hermeticum, Nous, or the      Universal Mind, tells Hermes that \"within God everything lies in      imagination.\" He tells his awestruck student, who receives this      revelation in a kind of waking dream, that \"if you do not make      yourself equal to God you cannot understand him.\" Such is the      power of the imagination that if Hermes were to command his soul      to go anywhere, Nous tells him, it would be there \"quicker than      your command.\" With imagination he can \"grow to immeasurable      size,\" \"be free from every body,\" and \"transcend all time.\" And in      a belief that will echo throughout the history of New Thought,      Nous counsels Hermes to \"Suppose nothing to be impossible for      yourself.\"","brand":"Tarcher","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302014800101,"sku":"NP9780143132066","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780143132066.jpg?v=1767724717","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/dark-star-rising-isbn-9780143132066","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}