The Society for the Proliferation of Obscure Occult Knowledge (SPOOK)

Our Official Motto:
Knowledge Is Power.
Power Corrupts.
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
We Proliferate Absolute Knowledge.

The purpose of SPOOK

SPOOK’s establishment has three basic principles:

SPOOK is established on the principle of better serving the community through better serving ourselves. Community services may include, but are not limited to: proliferating obscure occult knowledge (unless this is seen as a disservice), promoting chi flow, calling, propitiating, or exorcising spirits, demonstrating it is possible to live life and be happy simultaneously, etc.

At the core of SPOOKy philosophy is the idea of blasphemy for fun and prophet. By causing conflicting opinions to contact each other in an environment without "right" and "wrong," we can make the two opinions annihilate each other and generate gamma radiation. Unless we're mistaken. Critical thinking can lead to insight.

Once the acronym SPOOK was devised, the group had to be created. It was too funny not to exist.

The fallacy of the purpose of SPOOK

In proliferating occult knowledge, what we teach will become mainstream culture and no longer obscure. Thus, if SPOOK is successful it will become obsolete and unnecessary. If SPOOK fails to spread knowledge, the point of SPOOK will be lost and it will become obsolete and unnecessary. For these reasons, we, the deviants who created SPOOK, find the continued existence of SPOOK somewhat bothersome.

Things that are SPOOKy

Occultism, spirituality, theology, comparative religions, metaphysics, parapsychology, cognitive biochemistry, mysticism, shamanism, magick and all things ending in the suffix -mancy, the nature and history of evil, quantum physics and the paradox of perceived materialism, the nature of consciousness in all states, all supportable thoughts on the nature of the human condition, relations between humans (love, hate, lust, monogamy vs. polyamory, communication, hermeneutics, language, words of power, etc.), and topics that cause established disciplines to fail (physics explaining time, psychology explaining free will, mathematics explaining infinity, biology explaining identity, evolutionary theory explaining platypi, etc.).

Assorted links to assorted things:

A Short Explanation of the Usefulness of SPOOK
A Long Explanation of the Usefulness of SPOOK
SPOOK Constitution
The Member Code of Conduct
The Book of Insufficient Light (BoIL)
The Book of Ye Olde Blasphemy (BYOB)
The Forbidden Jokes List
Popular Blasphemy

The following are SPOOKy in the sense that Bastet is a facet of Brahman:

The Gumbo Sutra of Yao-za
Squidism - God is a Divine Squid

The SPOOK Manifesto

This document is one SPOOK member’s opinion. While it reflects the opinions of the vast majority (vast, vast, vast majority) of SPOOK, SPOOK does have members who in fact do not believe in any form of supernatural or otherworldly realities and/or beings. While the majority of SPOOK can’t quite figure out why those individuals associate with us, it is important to note that there are individuals in our organization who disagree with this position. It is also important to note that we like all of our members, regardless of their beliefs or lack thereof.

On a side note, for anyone who thinks we are just being paranoid about being sued by our members, this is not a disclaimer. This is simply one member pointing out that while I personally agree with this position, certain members of SPOOK (who are not involved in the creation of this website, as there are quite a few jokes they just wouldn’t make that some of us couldn’t bear not to make) disagree with the importance of spirituality.

That said, this document is to be recorded in the Book of Insufficient Light and Book of Ye Olde Blasphemy of all chapters of SPOOK.

The Manifesto of The Society for the Proliferation of Obscure Occult Knowledge (SPOOK)

Or: Why Spirituality Is Important

            It has come to my attention through personal reflection that there are many who would be quick to dismiss the Society for the Proliferation of Obscure Occult Knowledge as a group of semi-insane hacks. These people, for the most part, would be right. We never claimed the defense of sanity, and we never shall. After all, everybody owes it to him or herself to give true insanity a chance at some point in his or her life, preferably without said insanity being induced by drugs or other chemical influences.
            However, SPOOK’s existence, which admittedly is to entertain its founders, also has a rational purpose, making the admittedly large assumption of the existence of Purpose. We aim to make the world a better place and increase the strength of the community by introducing instruments of spirituality (sometimes derided as "occultism" and persecuted as such) in order to foster personal faith.
            It seems to us, the members of SPOOK, that the decline of religion, especially in the Western world, has been slightly preceded and probably caused by the eradication of mystic influences from religions. This has lead to spiritually draining worship services that emphasize a soulless, strictly textualized system of beliefs that serves nobody. Of course, the primary cause of this movement, especially in the United States, is the heavy influence of Puritanism, which has infiltrated every religion on these shores, but most heavily affects Christian Protestantism and its shunning of "papist" influences. The fact is that these influences were not "papist" as the adherents suggested, but instead were an important part of a tradition of worship intended to inspire awe at God’s power which would enhance and empower the individual faith of worshippers. Furthermore, cross-pollination between religious individuals in the American setting, combined with "age of reason" emphasis on strictly empirical study, has caused this cancer of non-spiritual religion to spread to most faiths present in the United States. In fact, the concept of religious fundamentalism has been a philosophical export of America that has put the world in spiritual, political, and physical danger.
            To this end, SPOOK encourages dialogue between those of any religion or creed with knowledge about their own faith’s mystical elements. Through this dialogue, we, the members of SPOOK, can practice new means of spiritualism that will enhance our own faiths, and thus make us better citizens of the world. In addition, this cross-pollination shall be open to the general public, and shall even be taught to the world at large in order to promote inter-racial and inter-faith harmony. SPOOK shall not rest until every possible means of mystic spiritual exploration has been disseminated to the entire world and thus has become mainstream. This lack of occult knowledge (which simply means "hidden knowledge", which anyone who has studied Latin knows) is the ultimate aim of SPOOK.
            The fact is that every mystic element known in faith seems to work, which can be confirmed empirically if necessary. Admittedly, those of Abrahamic faiths are not allowed to practice magic per se, but it would be in their best interest to know what those of faiths allowed to practice magic can do so that they can better recognize the results instead of mistaking them for clinical or psychological conditions. However, this ban on magic does not prohibit mysticism and occultism, and it is the stated position of SPOOK that such practices would benefit the adherents of these religions.
            That said, theology is of minor consequence to SPOOK. In fact, SPOOK does not claim to be of any religion, but instead advocates the practice of mystical traditions within one’s own religion. Even those without a religion may find some benefit from SPOOK’s services, as mysticism and spiritualism should have a place in every person’s life, as these ideas at least give us some respect for the forces that are around us, as well as our ability to control some of them, despite our miniscule role in the cosmos.
            Our efforts shall be directed to an Occult Enlightenment of the masses at large. We find ourselves countering the agents of religious fundamentalism that are characterizing the Great Apostasy currently enthralling the masses of the world in every religion and most personal faiths. To us, religious fundamentalism is the greatest blasphemy of all time, with the words of St. Paul against marriage and sex coming in at a very close second (how else are we supposed to reproduce?).
            To this end, SPOOK is commissioned to unveiling the mysteries of faith inherent in all religions and making them more accessible to the general public and removing any stereotypes associated with such mysteries. We shall keep our own faiths, but shall explore others for mystical and spiritual practices that may be useful for our own spiritual journey.
May whatever power you believe in bless and protect you.

--James A. McCormick, SPOOK-UH Primary Care Metaphysician
Signed Friday May 21, 2004, 01:13 (1:13 AM) Central Daylight Time (GMT -5)