arcana psychonautica

Introduction

For years, I’ve explored different spiritual and mystical traditions, curious about how they intersect with mental health. Yet, discussions about the relationship between occult practice and psychological well-being are still surprisingly rare, and too often viewed through the lens of psychopathology.

In clinical settings, “magical thinking” is usually treated as a symptom rather than a way of making meaning or understanding the world. Paranormal experiences are often written off as psychotic phenomena, while in mainstream culture, fringe forms of spirituality remain stigmatized or dismissed as too weird. 

Empirical research reinforces this pattern. Yaden and Newberg (2022), for instance, found that paranormal experiences, such as sensing presences or ghostly encounters, did not correlate positively with well-being, unlike mystical or unitive states. In academic psychology and psychiatry, this view often connects to the concept of schizotypy, a personality dimension associated with unusual perceptual experiences, magical thinking, and openness to the paranormal (Wiseman & Watt, 2006; Dagnall et al., 2016; Dagnall et al., 2024). Within this framework, magical thinking is frequently interpreted as a sign of cognitive slippage or latent psychosis rather than a legitimate spiritual orientation. Research has also found that people with a history of trauma, particularly in childhood, are more likely to report paranormal or anomalous experiences. Studies by Berkowski and MacDonald (2014) and Rabeyron (2015) suggest that these experiences may, for some individuals, arise as symbolic expressions of unresolved emotional pain.

Taken together, mainstream research tends to frame paranormal and occult experiences as correlates of a pre-existing vulnerability, such as schizotypal traits, trauma, or emotional instability. While these studies generally stop short of suggesting that occult practice causes distress, they often frame such experiences within a clinical or pathological context.

Intrigued by these findings, I set out to explore the intersection of mental health and the occult through my own research. In early 2025, I conducted a global survey to better understand this connection and sought to capture meaningful insights from practitioners themselves. 

Methodology

• Participants: recruited online on social media (Reddit, Discord, Instagram) platforms and forums dedicated to the occult (wide range of traditions)
• Online survey in Microsoft Forms
• Survey items: demographic data, path, length and regularity of practice, motivation for practice, usage of mental health services, subjective rating of one‘s level of mental health, effects of the occult on mental health, rating of various negative and positive phenomena associated with the practice
• Mixed methods: Likert scale (quantitative), open-ended questions (qualitative)
• Statistical analysis: Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation, independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. Composite indices were created to capture positive and negative affect, and qualitative responses were examined through thematic content analysis to contextualize statistical findings.

Results