Drawing on participant-observation research conducted with occult communities in England and America, this article outlines and advocates a methodological approach for the study of subjective realities. The only way to gather data on social worlds focused around spiritualist or other highly subjectivist phenomena is to enter into them. In this work I explore the historical antecedents and epistemological justifications for “apprentice participation” and explore, through my research experiences, the benefits and problems associated with this methodological strategy.
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