Alan Moore (born 1953) is one of the most important comic book writers and has had a profound influence on popular culture. His works — Watchmen, From Hell, V for Vendetta, just to name a few — revolutionized the comics industry. Moore’s body of work demonstrates that comics can and should be taken seriously as a literary form. Even when mediated through the lens of superheroes, his stories raise crucial questions about ethics, politics, death, sex, and the meaning of life. Moore explores the human condition in both its divine, positive aspects and its egotistical, darker dimensions.
Religion and spirituality — understood as a connection with the universe, transcendence, and humankind — have always been central to Alan Moore’s work. In Watchmen, we encounter political and ethical dimensions; in Swamp Thing, an ecological tone emerges; and in From Hell, themes of archetypes and psychogeography are explored. The mystical quest became the central focus of Moore’s artistic output following a spiritual awakening in his early forties. With the aid of psilocybin, he experienced what he described as a metaphysical revelation, during which he discovered his spiritual guide: the Roman snake deity Glycon. Alan Moore, along with co-author Steven Moore and a circle of friends, delved into magical practices, Kabbalah, Tarot, esoteric rituals, and related traditions.
Promethea (1999–2005) serves as Alan Moore’s metaphysical manifesto. The character Promethea is the embodiment of imagination itself — a figure capable of ascending to the divine and returning to humanity to rescue it from materialism, violence, and greed. She encompasses all religions and spiritual traditions, representing the convergence of creative, artistic, and magical expression. Promethea is both profane and sacred, corporeal and metaphysical.
Moore explored his theology, theodicy, and spiritual practices through his comics, ultimately becoming a sui generis religious authority — particularly within esoteric circles such as Thelemites and Chaos magicians. For aspiring magicians, Moore’s works were not merely entertaining; they were perceived as carriers of deeper, esoteric truths. The same could be said of other artists working at the intersection of art and occultism, such as Kenneth Anger and Grant Morrison.
On the other hand, in his new book The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic, reviewed here, Moore reaches a new stage in his journey — moving beyond the comic or artistic format to fully embrace spiritual instruction. This 350-page volume is explicitly educational in nature, aiming to teach and inspire those interested in magic, esotericism, occultism, and spirituality. As Moore writes, its purpose is to support readers “in order to pursue [their] own interests and experiments” (p. 15).
The book is organized into recurring sections:
- “Lives of Great Enchanters”: Comic strips focusing on brief biographies of religious figures, magicians, and spiritual seekers — from Zoroaster to Aleister Crowley, passing through Lovecraft, Roger Bacon, and Éliphas Lévi.
- Pedagogical essays explaining the history and meanings of systems such as Kabbalah, the Tarot, and various ontologies (spirits, demons, angels, etc.).
- Instructional texts offering practical tools for attaining altered states of consciousness — including lucid dreaming, automatic writing, astral projection, the use of psychoactive substances, and sex magic. These also include practical advice for creating magical instruments (wands, cups, pentacles, robes, etc.) and performing rituals such as the Kabbalistic Cross or the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP).
- A novel, divided into six chapters, following the protagonist Adeline Carr as she discovers and explores the magical world, with all its wonders and dangers.
- A comic narrative centered on Alexander of Abonoteichus and his deity Glycon — a reflection of Alan Moore’s personal spiritual journey.
- Annexes, including tables of correspondences, magical alphabets, and templating pages for building your own ritual space.
It’s difficult to condense such a heterogeneous and expansive discussion on spirituality into a short book review, but I consider the following themes to be the most important.
Art is Magic
According to the authors, art is magic — not only in the conventional sense that it inspires wonder, but in a deeper, more literal sense: magic, like language, shapes consciousness and ultimately reality. Starting from the image of the “Dancing Sorcerer” painted in the Lascaux caves over 18,000 years ago, they argue that magic was humanity’s first linguistic act. In this sense, magic precedes culture, marking a crucial moment in human evolution.
This perspective implies a specific vision of religious experience — one that emphasizes the empirical exploration of reality (both visible and invisible) and challenges institutionalization and dogma. According to the authors, religion tends to focus on controlling reality, whereas magic is concerned with exploring it.
Exploring Human Consciousness as a Metaphysical Landscape
The authors focus on the exploration of consciousness, understood as a collective landscape populated by archetypes. Individual consciousnesses are not isolated monads, each with its own separate understanding of reality; rather, they share — whether consciously or not — a common metaphysical ground. This shared inner landscape is inhabited by entities such as demons, angels, gods, elves, grey aliens, and others. These beings can be invoked as symbolic or experiential tools to deepen our understanding of both the world and ourselves.
Ontological Instability
It remains unclear whether this metaphysical landscape is a real, separate ontological realm or simply a product of imagination. According to the authors, this ambiguity is not particularly relevant to the spiritual quest. They suggest: “You have no obligation to decide whether the experience is psychological or supernatural. A skeptical approach is probably the best” (p. 53).
The Spiritual Quest Should Be Fun: Popularizing Magic
Despite its educational aim, the book seeks to entertain the reader. The illustrations by Kevin O’Neill, John Coulthart, Steve Parkhouse, Rick Veitch, Melinda Gebbie, and Ben Wickey are stunning, and the adventures are exciting. Some sociologists might view this as evidence of the commodification and banalization of religion. However, the authors intend to convey a different message: magic is thrilling, fun, and adventurous. They aim to dispel the notion of the magical quest as dark, erudite, and elitist—reserved only for a select few. Instead, magic should be accessible to everyone. This is a political act of popularizing magic, challenging not only institutional religions and their moral codes but also esoteric authorities who claim superior and absolute knowledge.
Ethical and Political Magic
The emphasis on individual exploration does not imply, for these authors, an endorsement of individualism. On the contrary, they advocate practicing magic within small groups to avoid the dangers of solitary practice—such as loneliness and madness—as well as the pitfalls of rigid, structured organizations that impose inflexible systems.
Furthermore, although the authors argue that all social, moral, political, and theological structures should be challenged in favor of individual exploration, they do not promote an amoral spirituality. Instead, they call for conscious spiritual practices that do not use others merely as means to an end. In this, they criticize Aleister Crowley’s egoism and unethical behavior, despite acknowledging him as the most prominent modern magician. They also critique Chaos magicians for their materialistic and individualistic approach, which, in their view, overlooks the higher spiritual value of magic.
According to the authors, magicians should not exploit other entities for material gain but rather listen to and learn from these non-human beings, aiming to make the world a better place. For this reason, Moore’s magic is a political act, rooted in the long tradition of progressive esotericism—drawing from figures such as Éliphas Lévi, Discordianism, and Robert Anton Wilson—to resist the resurgence of illiberal politics and fundamentalist religions.
Readers interested in alternative spiritualities will appreciate this book for its beauty and erudition. Those expecting a new comic book, however, may be disappointed, as this work is more theological in nature—albeit a revolutionary one.
