The other day, I listened to M83’s amazing new album “Fantasy.” Afterwards, I went back and re-listened to some of the songs that stood out to me, then looked at their lyrics. I was shocked to see that a lot of the lyrics seemed to reflect concepts in the Western mystery tradition. After being unable to get the music out of my head all weekend (especially “Earth to Sea”), I decided to sit down and write this article exploring two of the symbols in detail and providing an overview of the rest of the symbolism I picked up on.

Now, I am not saying that Anthony Gonzalez, primary songwriter and lead vocalist of M83, intentionally included all of this occult symbolism in this album. Instead, I am saying that the lyrics and the Western mystery tradition seem to both talk about similar concepts.

Defining “Occult Symbols”

Before we can talk about “occult symbols,” I should first define the word “occult.” When most people hear the word “occult,” images may come to mind of pentagrams, witchcraft, Satanism, and so on. However, the word “occult” simply means “hidden from view.” In fact, the word “occultation” is still used in astronomy today to describe when one celestial body blocks our view of another celestial body. An “occultation of the star by the Moon” is just a fancy way of saying, “We can’t see that star anymore because the Moon is in the way.” Thus, I think it’s fair to say that the opposite of the word “occult” is the word “visible.”

Another word frequently used alongside “occult” is the word “esoteric.” The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “esoteric” as “designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone.” The opposite of “esoteric” is “exoteric” which is defined as “suitable to be imparted to the public.” A key to understanding both of these words lies in their etymology. The Latin root “eso” means “inside” or “inner” while the Latin root “exo” means “outside” or “outer.” That’s why we refer to the hard outer shell of an insect as its “exoskeleton”; we’re essentially calling it “the skeleton on the outside of their body.”

A perfect example of something both “occult” (or “not obviously visible”) and “esoteric” (or “inside instead of outside”) is a dream. When you look at someone asleep and dreaming, all you see is a physical body with its eyes closed. Their dream is something completely “hidden” from your view, happening “inside” their consciousness. Similarly, our “imagination” is another occult tool accessible to us and us alone. You can’t show your imagination to anyone else; you can only use your words or create artwork to describe it.

A relevant M83 lyric here is:

You don’t have to show your face
We only look inside, you see

“Radar, Far, Gone”, track 6 of M83’s album Fantasy

The Western occult traditions — whether it’s Qabalism, Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, Gnosticism, and so on — have focused on two themes. The first is exploring the hidden forces within us that are either dormant or unconscious.

However, according to Dion Fortune in her book “The Mystical Qabalah,” simply being able to sense these forces only makes someone a “psychic.” In order to become an “occultist,” we must learn how to work with these forces. Thus a second theme of the occult traditions is the study of how a human being, through the use of symbols and practical rituals, can attain new levels of consciousness — which ultimately results in a better understanding and control of the world both inside us and outside us.

In one of her lectures, Reverend Ann Davies of the Builders of the Adytum described this journey to expand our consciousness as the “climbing of Jacob’s ladder.” This is a reference to the Bible passage in the Book of Genesis 28:12 where Jacob falls asleep, “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”

This is also apparently referenced in the M83 lyric here:

Hello freak!
Can you see the sky ladder?

“Us and The Rest”, track 4 of M83’s album Fantasy

But why would the M83 lyric use the term “freak?” Perhaps it is because the majority of humans are so busy on the physical plane of manifestation that they do not look for the sky ladder — which is okay, since unawareness and ignorance are also divine birthrights. Therefore, the person who decides to turn inward and seek spiritual ascension becomes, by definition, the oddball of the group — a “freak.” I am reminded of verse 23 in the Gospel of Thomas: “Jesus said, ‘I shall choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand, and they shall stand as a single one.’”

To summarize, “occult symbols” are the symbols and metaphors that have been passed down through Western esoteric literature and organizations intended to help people attain a better understanding of the hidden forces that affect us, with the ultimate goal of an expansion of consciousness.

All that being said, let’s look at the symbols.

Occult Symbol #1: Water

One common set of symbols in the occult tradition is the four classical elements of fire, water, air, and earth. From a physical sciences perspective, these four elements can be seen as the four stages of matter — solid (earth), liquid (water), gas (air), and plasma (fire). However, from an esoteric perspective, these four elements have been used as symbols and metaphors for all sorts of philosophical and psychological concepts.

The element of “water” is referenced in M83’s “Fantasy” through the song titles “Water Deep,” “Oceans Niagara,” and “Earth to Sea.” So what are some of these metaphorical meanings of water?

Water as the Unconscious Mind

The first is that “water” represents the unconscious mind. As Carl Jung wrote:

“Water is the commonest symbol for the unconscious. The lake in the valley is the unconscious, which lies, as it were, underneath consciousness, so that it is often referred to as the ‘subconscious,’ usually with the pejorative connotation of an inferior consciousness… Psychologically, therefore, water means spirit that has become unconscious.”

Carl Jung, Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 1 Para. 40
(from carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog)

The metaphor of “water as the unconscious mind” makes sense when you think about it. When you look out at a body of water, you can’t see underneath the surface. Similarly, unless we do deep intentional study of the forces coming from our own unconscious mind, it will remain like a body of water we cannot see underneath. Thus, the unconscious represents all of the monsters (and treasures!) lurking beneath the surface of our conscious mind. This is why traditions have long referred to the unconscious as “the Great Sea.”

Our understanding of the metaphor of “water” can be better understood when we compare it with “air,” which has been associated with the “conscious mind.” While air (or “wind”) is a transparent, highly-active fluid blowing freely above the water, capable of changing direction at any moment and easily allowing light to pass through it, water is a more opaque fluid that both absorbs and reflects light, and its fluidity is slower and more bound to the laws of “inertia” and gravity.”

Water as the Emotions

From the “water as unconscious mind” metaphor naturally arises the “water as emotions” metaphor. This is said to be why Venus — who represents our instinctual and emotional nature — was born out of the sea. I can’t find the exact quote anymore (if someone could help me out!), but it was also said by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn that when a body of water is troubled and waves are crashing about, then the solar disk of the Sun becomes fragmented and reflects sporadically across the water’s surface. The goal of their organization was to help aspirants bring the body of water to a calm stillness so that they may more clearly perceive the disk of the sun in its whole form, unbroken, pure. In other words, once we calm the turmoil caused by our emotions, our intellect, and our body, then and only then can we begin to more clearly our spiritual nature or higher self.

Water as Intuition and Imagination

In his book “The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order,” Paul Foster Case wrote:

“Occult water is something characterized by fluidity, by wavelike motion, by the formation of currents, tides, and whirlpools, and by its tendency to run downhill, that is, from higher to lower levels of expression. It is sometimes called “astral fluid,” and sometimes “first matter.””

Paul Foster Case, “The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order”, p. 263

There’s two takeaways from this passage that I’d like to focus on. The first is water’s tendency to “run downhill,” which aligns with Jung’s observation of the lake forming in the valley of the landscape. Water is associated with “intuition” because intuition can be thought of as a downward-flowing of insight from a higher level of spiritual consciousness into our lower level of “observing self” consciousness. Water also has a “receptive” quality to it because, unlike dirt or stone, you can jump into a body of water and go swimming. Thus, water represents both the reception and the downward flow of intuition.

Water as Imagination

The second takeaway from the Paul Foster Case quote above is the one most relevant to M83’s album “Fantasy,” which is water as the astral fluid of our imagination. But what is astral fluid? Here’s a little thought experiment to help you understand.

Close your eyes and envision a door with as much visual detail as you can. What color is the door? What shape is it? What material is it made out of? What does the door handle look like?

According to Western occultism, that door pictured in your mind is happening in the “astral plane” and is made out of a substance that is called by many names, including “astral fluid.” If “physical matter” is the “stuff” that physical things are made out of, then “astral fluid” is the “stuff” that imaginary (or psychic, or astral) things are made out of.

This imaginary “stuffness” is associated with “water” because, just as water freely changes its own shape to match the shape of the cup it’s poured into, so does the “stuff” of our imagination change its shape to fill the mental form we create with our mind.

Whereas materialistic mindsets and sciences tend to ignore the imagination, imagination is the foundation of the occult traditions. (This is why Alan Moore in Promethea associates “imagination” with the Qabalistic Sephira of “Yesod” which is the Hebrew word for “foundation.”) In Carl Jung’s words:

Fantasy is not nothing. It is, of course, not a tangible object; but it is a fact nevertheless… Fantasy is, you see, a form of energy, despite the fact that we can’t measure it. It is a manifestation of something, and that is reality.

Carl Jung, Evans Conversations, p. 22
(from carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog)

So, if “fantasies” are made out of this kind of “imaginary matter,” then who’s shaping this matter? Who’s sculpting it from imaginary matter into imaginary forms? This brings me to occult symbol #2 in M83’s album Fantasy.

Occult Symbol #2: The Depths

I heard of a legend
Where the others go

…

To the living dreams
I think I’m falling into the deeper end

“Earth To Sea”, track 5 of M83’s album Fantasy

Where things start getting really interesting is when we realize that, within this inner realm of our imagination, there exists a Life Force with its own seemingly autonomous nature, operating totally outside of the control of our conscious “thinking” mind. Carl Jung named this, the spirit of The Depths. He later established a new approach to psychology that focused on working with this unconscious nature, which he called “depth psychology.”

The most obvious example of this autonomous Life Force is dreaming while asleep. How many times have you woken up from a dream and went, “Well, that was really weird.” Did you feel like you consciously sculpted that dream experience, or did you feel like it was given to you? Dreams are a great example of an experience delivered to you from the “deep end” of your unconscious.

However, we don’t have to fall asleep in order to allow our autonomous unconscious mind to express itself. For example, close your eyes and re-imagine that same door as before. Take a few moments to bring it into visual clarity.

Something is inscribed above the door. What does it say?

Now… open the door. What do you see?

In that example, did you consciously come up with the inscription above the door and the contents behind the door, or did they just kind of appear? If nothing really came to mind, then it’s worth pointing out that, just like learning a new language or learning how to ride a bike, learning how to allow The Depths to express itself to your conscious mind is a skill that takes practice.

In her book “The Mystical Qabalah,” Dion Fortune describes this process from a Qabalistic viewpoint in the passage below. (Please note that in this passage, I believe Hod refers to the conscious mind, Netzach refers to the unconscious mind, Yesod refers to the realm of imagination, and “Astral Light” is another word for astral fluid.)

The functioning triangle of the Lower Triad consists of Hod, Netzach, and Yesod. Hod and Netzach, as we have noted before, are respectively Form and Force on the astral plane. Yesod is the basis of etheric substance, Akasha, or the Astral Light, as it is variously called. Hod is especially the Sphere of Magic, because it is the sphere of the formulation of forms, and is therefore the sphere in which the magician actually works, for it is his mind that formulates the forms, and his will which makes the link with the natural forces of the Sphere of Netzach that ensoul them.

Dion Fortune, The Mystical Qabalah, p. 244

In other words, if the conscious mind (or Hod) builds up a form in the imagination (or Yesod), the unconscious mind (or Netzach) can “ensoul” it and bring it to life. Said yet another way using symbolism from the Book of Genesis, if the conscious mind sculpts a form using the dust of the imagination, the unconscious mind can then breathe the breath of life into it, turning it into a living being.

Carl Jung called this conscious exploration of autonomous fantasies from The Depths “active imagination.” Notice how, in order for it to be “active” imagination, there must be a component of consciousness involved. When we dream and do not consciously interact with or reflect upon that dream, we do not explore The Depths. “Active imagination” can only happen through the interacting of both the conscious and unconscious mind. Lucid dreaming is very similar to active imagination. However, lucid dreaming means you’ve fallen asleep and you become conscious during your dream, whereas active imagination is more about being awake and drifting into an intense daydream.

A perfect example of the powerful results that can come from this blending of the conscious and unconscious mind is Napoleon Hill’s “imaginary Council meetings” as he described in Chapter 14 of his book “Think and Grow Rich.”

“The procedure was this. Just before going to sleep at night, I would shut my eyes, and see, in my imagination, this group of men seated with me around my Council Table. Here I had not only an opportunity to sit among those whom I considered to be great, but I actually dominated the group, by serving as the Chairman.”

Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, p. 210

Here we can see that, although Hill allowed himself to drift into his imagination, he retained his “conscious mind” by placing it as Chairman of the group. This “group of men” he interacted with was 9 people he admired most, including people like Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Charles Darwin.

He said his original purpose for the experiment was to “rebuild my own character so it would represent a composite of the characters of my imaginary counselors.” (p. 210) However, “After some months of this nightly procedure, I was astounded by the discovery that these imaginary figures became, apparently real.” (p. 211)

Each of these 9 men developed their own personalities, their own habits, their own preferences, and began to say frighteningly profound things in their council meetings — things that Napoleon Hill felt were not coming from his conscious mind. In fact, at one point, the meetings became so realistic that Hill discontinued the practice for several months, fearing for his sanity. I recommend reading the chapter yourself to learn all of the details of his experience.

Hill concludes:

“My original purpose in conducting Council meetings with imaginary beings, was solely that of impressing my own subconscious mind, through the principle of auto-suggestion, with certain characteristics which I desired to acquire. In more recent years, my experimentation has taken on an entirely different trend. I now go to my imaginary counselors with every difficult problem which confronts me and my clients. The results are often astonishing, although I do not depend entirely on this form of Counsel.”

Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, p. 215

In other words, the imaginary forms (or “the counselors”) sculpted by Hill’s conscious mind eventually became ensouled by the spirit of The Depths, becoming seemingly alive and autonomous beings, capable of providing information and insight to him which he felt his conscious mind could not come up with on its own. Perhaps the “deeper end” alluded to in M83’s album “Fantasy” is this stage where your fantasies and imagination begin to act on their own, out of their own autonomous nature.

Overview of Remaining Symbolism

Although I could write for weeks about occult explanations of the symbolism in this album, I need to get started on my “Taurus in Tarot Cards” article. So, I’ll wrap up this article with a quick overview of other relevant symbolism I detected while listening to this album.

• Track 3: “Amnesia”
  • This track could be interpreted as a soul reincarnating back into physical manifestation, where there is “darkness” and “sadness.” In ancient Greek mythology, there was a river of forgetfulness in Hades named Lethe. According to Wikipedia, “souls were made to drink from the river before being reincarnated, so that they would not remember their past lives.” In other words, the souls would experience amnesia.
• Track 5: “Earth To Sea”
  • While I already discussed the concept of the “sea” at length, the concept of “earth” in the occult traditions represents the physical external visible material world. Thus, the idea of “Earth to Sea” could represent the journey from the outer physical world into the inner imaginary world.
• Track 7: “Deceiver”
  • In this song, the “distant writer” who writes the singer’s destiny could be thought of as a person’s Higher Self, Soul, or Holy Guardian Angel — the higher being that incarnates into this world with a destiny. Another interpretation is that it could be thought of as the cosmic source of universal consciousness (or God or Kether), which all individual units of consciousness are extensions of.
• Track 8: “Fantasy”
  • “Living in a fantasy” can be related to the idea of conscious exploration of the unconscious through the imagination, as explored in this article.
• Track 9: “Laura”
  • This is a dense one. The song sounds like a conversation between an individual unit of consciousness (the male voice) and the great cosmic mother (the female voice). In Qabalah, the cosmic mother is associated with Sephira 3, named Binah. In Aleister Crowley’s Thelema, which is inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology, the “night sky” (mentioned by the female voice) is associated with the sky goddess Nuit, always depicted as wrapping her body over the earth. Crowley also declared in Thelema that “Every man and every woman is a star” — a concept reinforced in the lyrics of this song.
• Track 10: “Sunny Boy”
  • These lyrics sound like they could be about uniting opposites through the reconciliation of the male and female — a theme very prevalent throughout Western alchemy. In A. E. Waite’s tarot card for The Lovers, you’ll see a male (Adam) and a female (Eve) under an angel. According to people like Paul Foster Case, this card represents a union of the self-conscious thinking mind (the male) with the subconscious feeling mind (the female) which together allows for expression of the superconscious higher mind (the angel). In this song, the female voice (the subconscious mind) is asking if the male (the conscious mind) has ever believed in “cosmic adrenaline” or “dancing” or “kissing” — all things that incite and enflame the emotional chemistry of the human vehicle. In this song, the self-conscious is falling in love with the subconscious.
• Track 11: “Kool Nuit (feat. Kaela)”
  • As mentioned earlier, Nuit is the ancient Egyptian goddess of the starry night sku. (However, it’s also just the French word for “night.”) A big theme in Western Alchemy is the “marriage of the Sun and Moon.” I think it’s cool that the last track has the “Sun” in its name, while this next track has the word “Night” in its name. In this track, the woman voice describes herself (in French) as “daughter of the fire and wind.” With this, all four of the classical elements — fire, water, air, and earth — were referenced in this album. That line also reminds me of the Hermetic emerald tablet, which says the “The Sun is the father… The wind carries it in its stomach.” The Sun can be interpreted as a symbol of fire.
• Track 13: “Dismemberment Bureau”
  • If “Amnesia” is about a soul reincarnating into manifestation, this track is about that soul disintegrating back into the spiritual realm. The male voice of the soul seems to say that it will carry its “wants” and its “love” until the end of time, while the female voice of the cosmic mother alludes to how human incarnation is such a good way for the soul to learn. This corresponds to the popular idea that our souls manifest into the world in order to learn certain lessons, and once we die, if we did not learn all of the lessons that we needed to, our soul drinks again from the river of forgetfulness and reincarnates back into physical manifestation, over and over, until we learn what we must. The idea of the “Dismemberment Bureau” also reminds me of Crowley’s idea of Choronzon—the being on the threshold who destroys forms attempting to pass into the higher realms.