Quite often when I visit the museum, especially one as full of art from across the ages as the museum of fine arts in Valencia I will find a handful of pieces which seemed to stand out for the distinct heads of esotericism or they trigger esoteric ideas or concepts that I’m already aware of and contemplating the works make me think about much more esoteric and metaphysical issues than otherwise.

In his wonderful book, Practical Magick which goes into a lot of detail on the history of magic as it is actually practiced, not as an intellectual exercise, Mitch Horowitz talks about an experience he had in which he conducted a ritual venerating an artwork:

“… many years ago on Canal Street near Manhattan’s Chinatown, I discovered an old office building that had a beautiful profile relief of Mercury above its entrance. ..I harbor questions about the lingering energies of the old gods. I made a practice, for many weeks, of taking the subway to that slightly out-of-the-way place every morning and praying to that image of Mercury.”(1)

I found this admission really interesting cause I’ve often thought about that. I’ve thought about the lingering energies of the old gods and how they perhaps can still be reached even on the psychological level if we generate them when we see them in museums or in this case, as a relief on the wall.

I have to say that at this particular point of my life, I haven’t actually done it not yet anyway but the idea is definitely there. I thought it was quite uncanny that I read this section of the book right on the same day that I was visiting the Valencia Museum of fine arts where I saw these particularly juicy examples. Will I go back and generate them? I’m not sure. But I do think they may be rather worthy of it.

I think this may be a regular subject. I may post on.- museum pieces that are worthy of veneration by magickal practitioners – or anybody who fancies doing a bit of veneration of the old gods.