I am the author of two influential books on shamanism, mysticism, the psychedelic experience, and the occult: Breaking Open the Head and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. My written work has been favorably compared to Aldous Huxley, Carlos Castaneda, Terence McKenna, and I’m sometimes described as a contemporary version of Timothy Leary, advocating for the exploration of consciousness. Over the last few years, I have also turned my focus to visual art; my drawings and watercolors were inspired, at first, by my visionary experiences. I felt compelled to explore the limits of language by creating a new sign system, much like an occult alphabet or the angelic hieroglyphs discovered by the English magus Jonathan Dee. My father, Peter Pinchbeck, was an abstract artist in the tradition of the New York School, and I grew up surrounded by his iconic paintings and minimal sculptures, living in his loft on Greene Street. I also worked as an art writer and reviewer for years, writing columns on contemporary art for The Art Newspaper of London and Art & Antiques. My work as an artist is a return to my origins and my roots, and a journey I am finding satisfying, even ecstatic, and deeply illuminating.