Colin Wilson's 'Occult Trilogy': A Guide for Students by Colin Stanley

Author:Colin Stanley [Stanley, Colin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781846947063
Amazon: 1846947065
Publisher: Axis Mundi Books
Published: 2013-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

Book 3: Beyond the Occult

Beyond the Occult, the third book in Colin Wilson’s ‘Occult Trilogy’, was published late in 1988, both in the UK and the US, by Bantam Press. It was the culmination of twenty years’ research into the paranormal which commenced with the publication of a huge volume, The Occult, in 1971 and was followed by the equally bulky Mysteries in 1978. The decision to write a book about the occult, against the advice of Robert Graves, turned out to be advantageous to Wilson as the books were, mostly, well received and spawned many popular spin-offs [see following checklist]. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how he could have supported himself and his growing family, post-1970, without undergoing more arduous lecture tours of the United States, if he had not taken this bold step.

Some readers, however, had been alienated by this seemingly new direction in Wilson’s work, but a careful examination of many of his previous books reveals, at the very least, a passing interest in the subject. Wilson himself has always considered his ‘serious’ occult books—i.e. the ‘Occult Trilogy’—to be a logical extension of his ‘new existentialism’, providing evidence that man possesses latent powers which, if tapped and harnessed, could lead to hugely expanded consciousness and potentially even an evolutionary leap. In a lengthy Introduction to the new edition of Beyond the Occult, published in 2008, Wilson writes:

“When The Occult appeared in 1971, it soon became apparent that many people who had regarded me as a kind of maverick existentialist now believed that I had turned to more trivial topics, and abandoned the rigour of my ‘Outsider’ books. To me, such a view was incomprehensible. It seemed obvious to me that if the ‘paranormal’ was a reality—as I was increasingly convinced that it was—then any philosopher who refused to take it into account was merely closing his eyes.” (Wilson (1), xxviii)

Beyond the Occult: “unites two main currents in my thinking: the ‘existentialist’ ideas developed in The Outsider, and the ideas that developed from my study of ‘the occult’.” (Wilson (1), xvii)

He may have left some readers behind but during the 1970s and 1980s he gained many, many more. Wilson was, as always, confident and upbeat, describing Beyond the Occult, in the first sentence of that same Introduction as “…my most important nonfiction book.” (Wilson (1), xvii)

The book is divided into 2 sections: Part One: Hidden Powers; Part Two: Powers of Good and Evil. In the introductory chapter to Part One, Wilson attempts to answer those critics who had accused him of gullibility: “When I began systematic research for my book The Occult, I must admit that my attitude was basically sceptical” (27*). As his research progressed, however, he became impressed by the consistency of reports of telepathy, ‘second sight’ and precognition:

“…in deciding what to believe and what not to believe I applied exactly the same standards that I would apply in science. If something had been observed independently by a number of trustworthy observers, then I was

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