Mystics, Oracles, and Bones: Spiritual Resistance for Justice, Healing, and Resolution.

This conceptual essay examines the enduring human impulse to seek meaning, justice, and healing through mystical traditions in response to suffering and harm. When traditional solutions through grievance, the law, or mediation fails, some individuals may turn to spiritual practices not as superstiti...

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Publicado en:Comparative Civilizations Review Vol. 94; no. 94; pp. 182 - 199
Autor principal: Hollis, Leah
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations Spring2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        au: Hollis, Leah
        affil: Penn State University.
      su:
        Mysticism
        Divination
        Ethics
        Justice
        Healing
        Folklore
        Esotericism
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          Mysticism
          Divination
          Ethics
          Justice
          Healing
          Folklore
          Esotericism
      keyword:
        bones
        justice
        mysticism
        bones
        justice
        mysticism
      ab: This conceptual essay examines the enduring human impulse to seek meaning, justice, and healing through mystical traditions in response to suffering and harm. When traditional solutions through grievance, the law, or mediation fails, some individuals may turn to spiritual practices not as superstition, but as embodied strategies of survival, reclamation, and clarity. Comparing diverse traditions from a variety of cultures, including oracle bone divination in ancient China, the Oracle at Delphi in Greece, West African Ifá, Benin’s Voudou, diasporic Hoodoo, Celtic Druidic law, and Sufi mysticism, this paper explores how mystics have long served as interpreters of suffering and perceived facilitators of moral balance. The analysis also considers contemporary echoes in cultural narratives, such as The Matrix and Star Wars, where mystical figures guide the oppressed toward liberation. These traditions offer more than metaphors; they are vehicles for spiritual resistance, especially for those marginalized by bureaucratic systems. Ultimately, this essay argues for the recognition of "mystical resistance" as a global and historical phenomenon.
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    language: English
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