Occult reaches students, staff

For some at Ohio State, the occult is a field of academic interest, but for some students it is a way of life. Arthur Holmes, an undecided freshman, is a satanist and chaos magician. His experience with the occult has been positive, but he said that the public generally misunderstands satanism. "We don't worship Satan as a deity. We see him as a representation of the carnal side of man and as a symbol of indulgence," he said. A number of OSU students participate in magic as followers of religions such as satanism and wicca. Some OSU professors are also interested in magic, and specialize in fields that concentrate on it as a historical and cultural subject. "Ohio State has more scholars on the history of magic than any educational institution I'm aware of," said Sarah Iles Johnston, professor of Greek and Latin and director for the Center for the Study of Religion. There are six experts on the history of magic at OSU. They study the history of magic from a variety of perspectives such as its role in ancient Greek and Roman religions as well as in modern American culture. Fritz Graf, chair of the Department of Greek and Latin, specializes in divert magic written in Greek and Latin. He is not an expert on modern magic but said that it still fascinates people as a glamorous religious alternative. In light of student interest in the occult and faculty expertise, the Center for the Study of Religion chose to sponsor a lecture series called "Through A Glass, Darkly: Public Interest in the Occult," Johnston said.