This morning Wikileaks released another batch of John Podesta’s emails with an interesting “October Surprise” inside. In an email dated June 28th, 2015, Podesta, writing to his brother, inquired about a “Spirit Dinner” being planned at the home of Marina Abramovic, the “grandmother of performance art” and the focus of a 2015 film The Artist is Present.
The term “Spirit Cooking” is linked to Abramovic from one of her performance art pieces with artist Jacob Samuel in 1996, which culminated in a cookbook of aphrodisiac recipes. Conspiracy websites and sites such as everipedia have linked Spirit Cooking with a ritual called “Cakes of Light,” from the religion of Thelema, founded by Alistair Crowley, in which honey, oil, menstrual blood and sperm are used.
Wikileaks tweeted:
The Podestas' "Spirit Cooking" dinner?
It's not what you think.
It's blood, sperm and breastmilk.
But mostly blood.https://t.co/gGPWFS3B2H pic.twitter.com/I43KiiraDh— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 4, 2016
Linking the occult, Satan worship, and New World Order to the American Presidency and political realm, have been simmering below the mainstream within the margins of conspiratorial public spheres for many years. Conspiracy sites have long promoted the theory that presidents of the United States are demons acting on behalf of Satan. Numerous articles, YouTube videos and internet conspiracy websites (such as BeforeItsNews) have linked Presidents Obama, Bill Clinton, and George Bush to an evil cabal controlling the American political system at the direction of Satan.
In 2011 Alex Jones’ Infowars announced that President Obama had pledged his allegiance to the New World Order and to Satan, linking this announcement to end times prophecy from a Christian, Islamic and Satanic point of view. Conspiracy sites have provided “proof” to their followers through images of Presidents using the “famous devil horn sign” in public, or images or videos of Obama and Hillary Clinton with horns appearing while they speak.
Conspiracists have long believed that Hillary Clinton is a member of a Satanic cult. Republican nominee Donald Trump has publicly referred to Hillary Clinton as the devil, and GOP nominee hopeful Ben Carson alleged Clinton was a supporter of Lucifer through her mentor Saul Alinsky (on whom Clinton wrote a thesis paper).
The overlapping of Christianity and conspiracy is also not a new concept. Scholar Mark Fenster argues that institutional instability coupled with the marginalization of people in the democratic process can naturally develop the acceptance of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy is fundamentally a theory of power that those who envision themselves as powerless in society, or through democracy, envision a ruling group who control all aspects of social life, politics and economics.
These ideas of infiltration, of powerlessness, can create a sense of disaster, which can include demographic shifts, alterations in class status, economic depression, and industrialization. Beliefs linking Christian apocalyptic thought, or contemporary signs of the ultimate battle between good and evil with conspiracy, are what Michael Barkun refers to as Improvisational Conspiracism. For this form of conspiracy to manifest, a bricolage of religion, occultism and conspiracy all needs to exist, and be borrowed from in the society.
The spirit dinner email is the epitome of improvisational conspiracism. Hillary Clinton and her team are practicing occultism linked to Alistair Crowley but, for those who “believe,” there’s also the ability to stop Satan and the New World Order. Christian leaders and politicians have publicly referred to Donald Trump as God’s chosen nominee. Conspiracy sites have created a Donald Trump Prophecy, placing Trump as the champion of the Good in this ultimate battle. Of course, for this battle to exist there has to be a leader of Evil as well.
Wikileaks referencing the Spirit Dinners are a culmination of the conspiratorial platform of GOP nominee Donald Trump. Trump has used conspiracy as a motivational tool for his supporters, but most importantly to these individuals he has brought their beliefs to the mainstream. In many ways he has provided validation for them by giving their beliefs a public, mainstream voice. As Franklin Graham stated in July, the nation needs to repent, and Christians need to vote for the nominee who would give their beliefs a voice.
