For some at Ohio State, the occult is a field of academic interest, but for some students it is a way of life.
Arthur Holmes, an undecided freshman, is a satanist and chaos magician. His experience with the occult has been positive, but he said that the public generally misunderstands satanism.
“We don’t worship Satan as a deity. We see him as a representation of the carnal side of man and as a symbol of indulgence,” he said.
A number of OSU students participate in magic as followers of religions such as satanism and wicca. Some OSU professors are also interested in magic, and specialize in fields that concentrate on it as a historical and cultural subject.
“Ohio State has more scholars on the history of magic than any educational institution I’m aware of,” said Sarah Iles Johnston, professor of Greek and Latin and director for the Center for the Study of Religion.
There are six experts on the history of magic at OSU. They study the history of magic from a variety of perspectives such as its role in ancient Greek and Roman religions as well as in modern American culture.
Fritz Graf, chair of the Department of Greek and Latin, specializes in divert magic written in Greek and Latin. He is not an expert on modern magic but said that it still fascinates people as a glamorous religious alternative.
In light of student interest in the occult and faculty expertise, the Center for the Study of Religion chose to sponsor a lecture series called “Through A Glass, Darkly: Public Interest in the Occult,” Johnston said.
The third lecture in the series took place Jan. 25 at the Science and Engineering Library. Leigh Eric Schmidt, professor of religion at Princeton University, spoke on the life of Ida Craddock and her scholarly contributions to the study of sex worship and the sexual history of religion.
Donna Campana, a senior in history of art, is a follower of wicca, a nature-oriented form of witchcraft.
She gained an interest in wicca during her first year of college. One of her friends was wiccan and Campana found the religion to fit her personality and spiritual needs well.
“When I’m surrounded by nature or meditating I feel really good. I feel peaceful. That’s how I know that this form of spirituality is for me,” she said.
Like satanists, wiccans say their religion is often misrepresented.
“Most wiccans don’t believe in the devil. And, no, we don’t have orgies,” Campana said.
Wiccans and satanists have very different views about magic.
“In wicca you can call upon the power of a deity or spirit but there’s also some element of yourself that you’re using when casting a spell,” Campana said.
Holmes has performed a number of satanic rituals and said the magic is real, but that it has nothing to do with deities or spirits.
“We don’t see the power as supernatural. Rituals lead to clarity of thought, which allows a person to achieve goals through normal actions,” he said.
For information on the lecture series, visit the Center for the Study of Religion’s Web site at religion.osu.edu.
Hannah Tyler can be reached at [email protected].
