Occult Labor
Writing about the sacred, banal, and strange world of working bodies
For the tired global worker trapped between a data centre and some guy named Faust's nightmare
A resting spot for thinking intelligently and honestly about the philosophy, art, history, magic, witchcraft, and horror of work.
Recent pieces
Every company has a soul. Nobody agreed to give it one. That is the problem.
Mephistopheles has been replaced by a dashboard. The terms are worse.
Every repeated act is a ritual. The question is only who it serves.
The witch was not feared for her power. She was feared for her refusal.
Capitalism did not invent the working body. It only perfected the extraction.
Video
The Managed Self: Performance, Surveillance, and the Theatre of Productivity
A documentary essay on the psychic cost of self-optimisation — how the language of wellness became the language of control.
On collective thought-forms, corporate spirits, and the occult life of institutions.
From early modern sabbaths to contemporary burnout — the long tradition of saying no.
Three workers. Three cities. One unbroken dark.
A close reading of The Trial as employee handbook.