David Bowie: Occult Hero
“Knowledge comes with death’s release”
(Chaz Anon) David Bowie understood the power of symbols unlike any other performance artist before him. He connected the perception of the individual to the universal mind, filling his collection of albums with occult imagery, triggering archetypal visions using classic symbolism. Bowie’s esoteric influences could be heard on albums as far back as The Man Who Sold the World, and continued all the way through to his final album Blackstar.
David was like a chameleon, changing characters from album to album, on each new release, a different aspect of Jungian archetype is explored. He could keep his audience engaged and entranced, interpreting information for them through music and movement, consciously and sub-consciously driving home a metaphysical message from behind the red curtain and beyond.
Major Tom
In 1969, nine days before the moon-landing of Apollo II, Bowie released Space Oddity. The space themed hit became the unofficial song of the most historic event of the 20th century.
The song centered around Major Tom, an astronaut who is launched into space, stuck on his ship, who then begins to think about his mortality, and feelings of helplessness and insignificance. This tune would fits nicely strumming in the background while watching the iconic film 2001: A Space Odyssey, also heavily esoteric in design, released the year before.
“Here am I floating ’round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do”
– Space Oddity
The character of Major Tom, like Bowman from 2001, represents the ascension of mortals towards divinity.
The Man Who Sold The World
Bowie’s interest in the occult first became apparent on his 1970 album The Man Who Sold The World. As far back as 1964, David ran in the same London circles as Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, an occultist, who was in Bowie’s “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long Haired Men” and worked on the track “I Pity The Fool” with him. The guitar part for the track The Supermen was inspired by a Page riff, which is one of Bowie’s earliest songs that explored esoteric themes directly.
Beginning with the “The Width of a Circle” and closing with “The Supermen”, This album was the launching point of Bowie’s exploration of mysticism, symbolism and occultism.
Hunky Dory
“I’m closer to the Golden Dawn
Immersed in Crowley’s uniform
I’m not a prophet or a stoneage man
Just a mortal with potential of a superman”
– Quicksand
The occult themed lyrics from Quicksand are hypnotic, forever etched into ones mind, repeatedly listening, revealing Bowie’s complete occult influence. In it, he references one of the most iconic secret societies: The Golden Dawn.
“The Golden Dawn was a magical secret society, a crowning glory of the occult revival which flourished at the end of the 19th century and taught a unique blend of Jewish mysticism (called Cabbala or Kabbalah, also to be found in Bowie’s symbolism), astral travel, magic, yoga (also practiced by Bowie) and how to communicate with angels and demons. For this latter communion it was first necessary to empty the mind, to make room for the unknown to enter – something that bears a strong resemblance to Bowie’s ‘cut-up’ method of writing lyrics”.
– Ibid.
When Bowie states that he is “immersed in Crowley’s uniform”, he is referring to Aleister Crowley, the iconic British occultist who was a member of the Golden Dawn. Crowley holds high rank in the occult world, mastering the mystic practices of Sex Magick, Black Magick and later creating his personal philosophy, the Thelema.
Magick techniques have become popularised through the writings of Aleister Crowley who was once a member of the Golden Dawn, and later of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), which was (and still is) deeply involved with sex–magic. The public perception of both the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis are pseudo–masonic organisations where the aspirant (or member) goes through stages of ceremonial initiation wearing semi–Egyptian costumes — similar to the one Bowie wore for a photo session with Brian Ward in 1971.
– Ibid.
Bowie: 'Oh! You Pretty Things' (1971):
I think about a world to come
Where the books were found by the Golden Ones
...
Let me make it plain
You gotta make way for the Homo Superior
Look at your children
See their faces in golden rays
Don't kid yourself they belong to you
They're the start of a coming race.
Homo Sapiens have outgrown their use
All the strangers came today
And it looks as though they're here to stay.
In 1976 Bowie stated:
“My overriding interest was in Kabbalah and Crowleyism. That whole dark and rather fearsome never–world of the wrong side of the brain.”
– David Bowie, from “Bowie on Bowie: Interviews and Encounters with David Bowie” by Sean Egan
In a 1983 interview, Bowie added:
“I had this more–than–passing interest in Egyptology, mysticism and the Kabbalah. At the time it seemed transparently obvious what the answer to life was. My whole life would be transformed into this bizarre nihilistic fantasy world of impending doom, mythological characters and imminent totalitarianism.”
– David Bowie, Musician, May 1983
Ziggy Stardust
In 1972, Bowie introduces a new alter ego who instead descends to Earth from the heavens.
For his fifth album, Bowie introduced the alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous alien rock star who was sent by the “Infinites” to announce the coming of Starmen to Earth.
In Bowie’s visionary performance, civilization was going to collapse and the ‘Infinites’ would arrive. Ziggy Stardust was to announce the coming of these ‘starmen’ bringing hope. Ziggy is their prophet, the messiah who takes himself to incredible spiritual heights, and is kept alive by the devotion of his disciples. When the Starmen finally arrive, they take bits and pieces of Ziggy so they can manifest themselves as real physical beings. Eventually they tear him to pieces on stage during the performance of the song ‘Rock’n’Roll Suicide’. At the moment of Ziggy’s death, the Starmen take on his essence, and become visible.
– Ibid.
With Ziggy Stardust, Bowie embodied the archetype of the “dying god”, a savior sent from above who ends up sacrificing his life.
The androgynous nature of Ziggy Stardust represents a state of a higher spiritual level. In occultism, the highest stage of illumination is achieved through the internalization of duality and the equilibrium between opposing forces – good and evil, active and passive, male and female. This concept is symbolically represented by the horned, hermaphrodite god Baphomet. It is also represented in alchemical symbolism such as the Alchemical Androgyne.
Station To Station
David drawing the Tree of Life on the ground.
In 1976, Bowie released Station to Station, of which he claims to have no recollection of the actual recording session, due to heavy drug use, cocaine being his drug of choice. He was quoted in an interview as saying he was, “an entirely different person,” at the time.
“Bowie himself remembers almost nothing of the album’s production, not even the studio, later admitting, “I know it was in LA because I’ve read it was”.
In the song 'Station to Station' Bowie writes about doorways to other planes of reality.
Here are we
one magical movement
from Kether to Malkuth
“Kether” is the godhead (highest) and “Malkuth” is the physical realm (lowest) which is what we experience here in earth. These are two of the 10 elements of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. This concept of “descent from the heavens” was first explored by Bowie in his character Ziggy Stardust.
In a 1997 interview, Bowie expands on the meaning of the song.
“The “Station to Station” track itself is very much concerned with the stations of the cross. All the references within the piece are to do with the Kabbala. It’s the nearest album to a magick treatise that I’ve written. I’ve never read a review that really sussed it. It’s an extremely dark album. Miserable time to live through, I must say.”
– Q Magazine, ChangesFiftyBowie”, 1997
Around this time period, according to a Rock n’ Roll legend, David ran into his old friend, fellow occult and drug aficionado Jimmy Page. The story claims that they met at the Plaza but David quickly felt threatening energy emanating from Jimmy’s aura. He then found himself overwhelmed by Jimmy’s Crowleyan mastery. And being high and on a week long bender of cocaine, the story concludes with David telling Jimmy to jump out of a window and kill himself because his ‘energy’ was freaking him out.
Blackstar
Released two days before his death, Blackstar is David Bowie’s epic final opus that seems to wrap up the mythology he created throughout his career. The video for the first single with the same name, has a dark theme, with familiar images that seem to tie all of his past characters together. He continues with the mystical concepts, this time a human being (Bowie) transcends, becomeing a god.
The video opens with a dead astronaut on a remote planet or moon. Could this be Major Tom? It would appear that Bowie is bringing his myth full circle, completing the narrative.
A young girl opens the astronaut’s helmet and finds a jewel-encrusted skull. Does this represent Major Tom’s ascension into godhood.
A young women takes the skull as if it is a religious artifact. A “grand priestess” holds the skull between two rows of women who cannot help trembling in its presence.
Sung in the matter of an incantation, the lyrics of the first verse allude to an occult ritual:
In the villa of Ormen, in the villa of Ormen
Stands a solitary candle, ah-ah, ah-ah
In the centre of it all, in the centre of it all
Your eyes
In the video, the men and women are separated, which conveys the idea of two opposing energies (male and female). Both groups end up making us witness an indirect sex magick ritual. The men are represented by three crucified scarecrows (who appear to be animated by an unholy force), moving their hips in a sexual manner.
The director of the video, Johan Renck, was strongly influenced by Crowley and has infused it with sex magick ritualism and esoteric symbiology.
“Well, I’m a huge Crowley fan, I’ve always been. I tried to make a movie on his life a few years ago but we didn’t manage to put it together. I love Crowley for being an audacious man at certain point in time. I think he’s greatly misunderstood. He was a good guy, but he was portrayed as an evil man and he wasn’t.”
– Vice News, Behind “Blackstar”: An Interview with Johan Renck, the Director of David Bowie’s Ten-Minute Short Film
Blackstar, refers to the occult concept of the Midnight Sun.
“Apuleius said when describing his initiation (vide ante): “At midnight I saw the sun shining with a splendid light.” The midnight sun was also part of the mystery of alchemy. It symbolized the spirit in man shining through the darkness of his human organisms. It also referred to the spiritual sun in the solar system, which the mystic could see as well at midnight as at high noon, the material earth being powerless to obstruct the rays of this Divine orb. The mysterious lights which illuminated the temples of the Egyptian Mysteries during the nocturnal hours were said by some to be reflections of the spiritual sun gathered by the magical powers of the priests. The weird light seen ten miles below the surface of the earth by I-AM-THE-MAN in that remarkable Masonic allegory Etidorhpa (Aphrodite spelt backward) may well refer to the mysterious midnight sun of the ancient rites.”
– Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages
Bearing in mind Bowie’s impending death, the lyrics of the song take on a very personal meaning:
“Something happened on the day he died
Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside
Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried
(I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar)”
– Blackstar
Is Bowie referring to his own death? Is he referring to his spirit-less body being taken over by a Blackstar? This is yet another allusion to Bowie being “taken over” by a mysterious being who states:
I’m the Great I Am (I’m a blackstar)
“I Am that I Am” is the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for his name.
The ‘blind man’ Bowie is in both the ‘Blackstar’ video and the ‘Lazarus’ video.
In the song and video for ‘Lazarus’, that he tended toward transcendent esoteric themes in his final days. These symbols continued to occupy Bowie’s mind towards the end of his life on earth, influencing the final gasp of artistry he shared with the world.
In the New Testament, Lazarus died and was resurrected four days later by Jesus Christ. In the context of Bowie’s terminal illness, the title Lazarus conveys the idea of immortality, while also alluding to his otherworldliness.
Look up here, I’m in heaven
I’ve got scars that can’t be seen
I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen
Everybody knows me now
– Lazarus
From a dresser in the corner of the room (possibly symbolizing a portal to another dimension), emerges another Bowie, the flamboyant, eternally-young Bowie.
The skull, the candle and the writing desk symbolism in the ‘Lazarus’ video have been said to come directly from Ancient and primitive Rite of Memphis- Misraim. Which had an enormous influence over Aleister Crowley and the order of the Golden Dawn. The scene of Bowie at the writing desk faced with the emblems of Mortality and impending doom, is the essence of the very lesson included in the Egyptian Rite, which was passed to the world through the mysterious and legendary Count Cagliostro .
