Overview

Explore the esoteric knowledge and experiences of the psychedelic pioneer • Reveals Leary’s immersion in the Western occult tradition, his Eight Circuit Model of consciousness, and his theories on post-terrestrial human evolution • Details Leary’s tarot deck by looking at its unique card order, astrological correspondences, and practical uses for divination • Describes Leary’s encounters with figures such as Ram Dass and Robert Anton Wilson as well as revolutionary groups like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers Timothy Leary, American psychologist and countercultural icon, is well known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs and controversial experiments on human consciousness. What is less well known is his deep interest in Western esotericism, a dimension that Joseph L. Flatley explores in-depth. Flatley recounts Leary’s early life and career trajectory, highlighting the esoteric influences that informed his occult activities as well as his thoughts on reincarnation and his futuristic views of computers and human evolution. Readers will learn about Leary’s encounters with 20th-century groups and figures like Ram Dass, the Weather Underground, the Black Panthers, and Robert Anton Wilson, all of whom influenced his psychic explorations and the development of his eight-circuit model for understanding altered states of consciousness and the potential for transcendent experiences. Flatley also details the role of the tarot in Leary’s life and philosophy, showing how Leary created his own version of the deck, which is featured in this book. Flatley then reveals the correspondences between Leary’s deck and his eight-circuit model of consciousness and guides readers on how to use this tarot for divination.

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Reviews

“Timothy Leary was every bit as dangerous as Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover believed him to be, because he—the High Priest of LSD—could change people’s minds. Joseph L. Flatley’s The Occult Timothy Leary boils Leary’s lesser-known explorations of the Western esoteric tradition down to the good stuff. A volume like this has been long overdue!” * Richard Metzger, author of Disinformation: The Interviews * “The Occult Timothy Leary is a dazzling and brilliant look into one of the most powerful scientific minds to ever focus attention on the tarot, mysticism, and the transformative healing power of psychedelics. And, at the same time, few books can take us on such a wild and satisfying ride into 1960s intellectual bohemianism, high international revolutionary adventure, and even higher explorations of consciousness than Joseph L. Flatley’s vision of this sensitive and super fun maverick. Here is the momentous retelling of a rebel’s luminary, tenacious adherence to his vision of where the human race is meant to go next.” * Paul Wyld, author of Jim Morrison, Secret Teacher of the Occult * “Timothy Leary used to tell me he was the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley, which always confused me because Crowley only died after Leary was born. But The Occult Timothy Leary reveals how the conspiratorial thread braiding DNA and LSD (and probably the CIA and OTO) may be more magickal than mechanical, more spiritual than scientific. Here’s the alchemical underbelly of Timothy’s otherwise pharmacological biography, told with gusto and grace.” * Douglas Rushkoff, author of Team Human, Survival of the Richest, and Program or Be Programmed * “Flatley’s writing is conversational, journalistic, and rigorously researched, with plenty of footnotes for the insatiably curious. In a world that is frequently reducing psychedelics to piffling microdoses and granular pharmacological research, it’s a truly welcome reprieve to read a book that reminds us of the core issue of psychedelics: magical consciousness and the promise of personal and cultural transformation. If you’d like to know about Leary, Crowley, Robert Anton Wilson, Discordianism, tarot, acid, or the minute details of the American resistance movement of the 1960s, this book has it. ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’ was a magickal formula, a description of initiation. Dive in and do magick.” * Eliott Edge, international lecturer, multidisciplinary artist, and author of 3 Essays on Virtual Rea * “Peering deep into the fractals that made Timothy Leary such a charismatic character, Flatley goes beyond the smile and into the hidden layers of what made Leary one of the most compelling countercultural figures of the 20th century. This biography carves Leary’s place in the Mt. Rushmore of modern occultists with fellow travelers William Burroughs and Robert Anton Wilson.” * Steven Intermill, director of the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick, Cleveland, Ohio *

Author Information

Joseph L. Flatley is an investigative journalist, author, and publisher of the Failed State Update newsletter. His short films have been featured at Three Rivers Film Festival (Pittsburgh), NonPlussed Fest (Los Angeles), and Desert Daze (Joshua Tree, CA). He is also the author of New Age Grifter: The True Story of Gabriel of Urantia and His Cosmic Family.

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