Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff

The Esoteric State of the Union: Magic, Will, and the New Neighborhood with Mitch Horowitz

18 snips
Feb 11, 2026
Mitch Horowitz, occult historian and author known for Occult America and Daydream Believer, discusses magic as causative ritual and the power of defined will. They explore retrocausality, communicating with nonhuman intelligences, and petitionary practice. Topics also include chaos magic in politics, UAPs as interdimensional phenomena, and how AI and quantum ideas challenge consciousness.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
ANECDOTE

Personal Magic Changed A Family Health Story

  • Douglas Rushkoff recounts inviting an occult practitioner to help his daughter's health and witnessing rapid, uncanny coincidences during the workings.
  • He describes pharmacy and insurance approvals arriving in synchrony with rituals, which felt like real causative effects.
INSIGHT

Magic As Causative Ritual

  • Mitch Horowitz defines magic as 'causative ritual' that blends metaphysics, psychology, and chaos theory.
  • He argues meaningful correlations between ritual and outcomes justify taking magic seriously beyond mere superstition.
INSIGHT

Retrocausality And Nonlinear Intelligences

  • Rushkoff and Horowitz describe retrocausality: rituals sometimes produce effects that feel like they precede the action.
  • They link that to communicating with non-linear intelligences and the need for patience and persistence in petitionary work.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app