If you have been in the magick circle for at least a good while then you have probably heard and know about the 'armchair occultists' (alternatively armchair magicians or anything similar in term) - but I'll put it into perspective for those who aren't sure:
Picture somebody interested in video games: they don't actually PLAY video games mind you, but they like learning about them and acquiring the relevant knowledge. Their understanding of what it's like to play video games stems from watching walkthroughs and reading reviews, which then plays into their differing opinions towards certain games, ranging from what they think of a certain title to how games may be designed. However they may crank it up a notch and start expressing their opinion on forums, perhaps even claiming that their perspective is superior to an extent - and bro you best bear in mind that this person has still not picked up a controller.
That is essentially the armchair occultist.
so like let's kinda admit that in any field of interest, no matter what, there will be people who aren't exactly the most hardcore. Not all Christians are super-disciplinary in their vows/rituals and not all people who enjoy ancient history are going out becoming archaeologists and starting up burial sites. Some if not most simply enjoy learning about their interest and that's it. The occult is a very deep and strange field in terms of reading and that would be enough to fulfil someone's intrigue. With that knowledge comes sparking discussions and making noise about the subject, next thing a subreddit is getting popular and there's a YouTube video with like a million views covering it or some shit
idk fam it's just Intellectual Curiosity. That and the history of it all. You get occultists who are essentially historians and have no interest in practice and those are honestly great to have around, being able to preserve the facts and what remains of the past and now helps a lot to pave the future of mysticism. shoutout to holybooks.com in that regard for the fountain of public domain knowledge. This information in the modern day is more accessible than ever which means an increasing amount of occultists and witches and magicians and whatnot - it's good to have the ol armchair around sometimes
however if you're already aware of this term then you know how it goes next
judgment of experience, despite none.
Magick is ultimately a practice, an art and a science you actively partake in. The experiences will be wholly unique to you as you eventually grasp a belief system through a process of trying different forms of magick and discovering whether or not it works for you. That is why it is bad for the armchair occultist to claim that they know the right way to do things and try to speak for experiences they ultimately don't have. Kundalini Yoga for example is very much a sacred art and few can speak of its effect because they had actually gone the full length to practice something many claim to be life-changing yet a great risk without the aid of a mentor. Therefore you may show interest in the significance of Kundalini, but try not to speak strongly of an opinion unless if you're willing to do the thing.
idk this was kind of a waffle and i think i made my point at the start earlier of this post, but basically this should be telling that you should beware falling into the armchair trap unless if your interest in mysticism is nothing more than a pursuit of knowledge. all well and good to invest that way, just try not to step on the toes of others
