Hyperstition and the Act of Personal and Cultural Psychic Stewardship

Be Careful What You Become Passionate About...or Not.

Known as "the Godfather of Accelerationism", Nick Land's philosophy has been central to the development of Speculative Realism in which Land brought together the occult, Cybernetics, science fiction, and Poststructuralist philosophy in an attempt to frame the phenomena of techno-capitalist acceleration. A complex and fascinating figure, one of his most influential areas of work has been that of Hyperstition.

The concept reflects the power of collective human thought and belief systems which can generate something almost—if not actually—tangible or real. Hyperstition is a concept that blends the terms "hyper" and "superstition," to encapsulate the idea that certain beliefs, desires, or narratives can become a reality just by believing in their existence, or by means of large groups of individuals propagating specific beliefs, desires, or narratives.

Hyperstition speculates that certain ideas, once they gain enough traction—generally as a result of shared beliefs along with collective emotional attachment—will influence the future and bring about their self-fulfillment. The more people believe in, and act upon a concept, the more likely it is to come true. Hyperstition also sits well within the context of how science fiction, conspiracy theories, or speculative ideas influence culture, technology, and society. For example, ideas within science fiction can inspire technological advancements or social changes. Thus making those fictional ideas real over time, and such concepts also share a similar cultural spectrum with that of Chaos Magic. Above all else, Hyperstition emphasises the power of narratives, memes, and collective imagination towards shaping emerging realities. If an idea captures the attention and emotional gravitas of enough people, it can then ostensibly "infect" people's minds, creating the necessary agency and change to bring the belief into manifestation.

While from a superficial aspect, this brings about some worrisome speculation surrounding Hyperstition finding its way into propaganda and social engineering— which it no doubt has—it can also provide the ability to transcend such forces by application of a kind of counter-Hyperstition. Creating something of a social or cultural Egregore.

Egregors originate from occult and mystical traditions, referring to a collective entity or consciousness formed by the combined thoughts, emotions, and intentions of a group of people. This entity is considered to have its own independent existence, influencing and being influenced by the group that created it. While on the surface it may appear to be fantastical to the average person, the reality is that many of the social and political movements of the 20th and 21st centuries can be viewed as the manifestation of Egregors which began their origin within Hyperstition. Think of how the Hyperstition of Gender Ideology has generated numerous social and political Egregors to the point whereby staff at the National Health Service in the UK are now required to ask biological males if they are pregnant before giving them an x-ray.

The manifestation of such situations also contains within them the seeds of their undoing. In that, the same Hyperstition that brought them into reality can also be used to replace them with something else.

If you would like a deeper dive into this topic this article provides a more comprehensive and esoteric view.