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Necronomicon 2019: Panel Discussion (Providence, RI)

Every angel is terrifying: exploring the mysterium tremendum in magical art. In his seminal work, "The Idea of the Holy," German philosopher and theologian Rudolf Otto codified the notion of the mysterium tremendum as an apprehension of the divine that has its "wild and demonic forms and can sink to an almost grisly horror and shuddering," but may also be "developed into something beautiful and pure and glorious." In this discussion we will examine how the holy or divine expressed in art and mystical traditions is also often terrifying, and how magic can be mistaken as demonic rather than daemonic. Panel participants: Peter Bebergal, Richard Gavin, Pam Grossman, Dennis Quinn, Janaka Stucky, Anthony Teth (Moderator)