Podd: Rejected Religion Podcast

RR Patreon T2 Free Content Ayesha Adamo: The Open Fluidity of No-Mind, The Acéphale, & 'Endarkenment'

5 mars 2025 | 22 min

Ayesha Adamo is an academic, performing artist, and filmmaker currently working towards a PhD in Religion at Rice University under Jeffrey J. Kripal. Her dissertation project explores fluid cosmological ideas, both historically and in current quantum mechanics. She holds an MA in Religious Studies from Universiteit van Amsterdam’s Centre for the History of Hermetic Philosophy & Related Currents and is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, with a degree in music. Rumor has it she was once in an Asian pop band on EMI Records. Her most recent articles can be found in Anthropology of Consciousness and Religious Studies Review. She is also an ordained Hierophant and Grand Chief of Temple of Thelema.

In this discussion, we first look at Georges Bataille and his interpretation of the Acéphale. Bataille (1897-1962) was a philosopher and intellectual, interested in surrealism, and anti- fascist, who, in 1937 founded two groups with the goal of exploring how combinations of power and ‘the sacred’ were at play in society. The first group was called the College of Sociology that gave lectures (exoteric group); the second group was Acéphale, an esoteric ‘secret society.’ Additionally, a public review by the same name, whose emblem was a headless man, was published in 1936. Ayesha talks a bit about this Acéphale emblem and what this represents, including remarks about the connections to Aleister Crowley’s concept of The Abyss; the notion of receptivity, and the difference between the ‘magical’ and ‘mystical’ currents.

Moving from Bataille to George Balanchine, the famous choreographer who co-founded the New York City Ballet Company in 1948; Balanchine is probably most known for his plotless ballets and minimalism, and has a famous quote, “Don’t think Dear, just do!’ Ayesha shares how are she is linking these two figures and the concept of the Acéphale. She is currently thinking about how the meditative state is the artist’s state as well.

Ayesha then expands on her 2023 article, “The League of Endarkenment: Hakim Bey and the Way of Disappearance into Nature” talking about “Endarkenment” and how this fits into this same area of headlessness, the mandrake, and disappearance.

Lastly, taken from her paper abstract, Ayesha talks more about what she means by “the open fluidity of no-mind” and “the performance of headless meditation.”

*Note 1: I mistakenly say ‘Endarkment’ instead of ‘Endarkenment’ (my apologies!); plus, around the 29:00 minute mark, the name ‘D.T. Suzuki’ is unfortunately cut off due to audio issues. Please find more information about Suzuki in the program notes below.

*Note 2 (Not Ignoring the Elephant in the Room): Peter Lamborn Wilson, who wrote under the name ‘Hakim Bey,’ was a controversial figure, and unfortunately, rumors have arisen surrounding some of his writings regarding NAMBLA. Accusations were made by a particular website (run by one person, a fellow anarchist) against Wilson, and due to the nature of the internet, damaging assumptions were made. This article A Tribute to Peter Lamborn Wilson - The Brooklyn Rail is a collection of testimonials, and discusses this matter in more detail, giving much needed context.

PROGRAM NOTES:

Ayesha Adamo | Student | The People of Rice | Rice University

Ayesha Adamo | Rice University - Academia.edu

Instagram

Ayesha Adamo

https://www.hds.harvard.edu/faculty-research/programs-and-centers/program-evolution-spirituality#:~:text=The%20Program%20for%20the%20Evolution%20of%20Spirituality%20%28PES%29,also%20prepares%20students%20for%20ministry%20in%20these%20mov (More information forthcoming regarding this program and how to join remotely!)

It Takes a Lunatic | Officiële Netflix-website

ORGCHAOSMIK - GUSTAF BROMS

D. T. Suzuki: A Biographical Summary - Association for Asian Studies

What are Superfluids and Why Are They Important?
Is 'Perpetual Motion' Possible with Superfluids?

Ayesha’s article in The Fenris Wolf (#13) is forthcoming; I will post a link (on Patreon) when it becomes available.

Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea

End Production: Stephanie Shea

RR Patreon Tier 3 Roundtable Dr. Sarah Perez & Dr. Cavan McLaughlin: Tulpas/Other-than-Human Beings & Reality Shifting

19 februari 2025 | 36 min

This is the 'Free Content' version of this interview, the full episode can be found at my Patreon: www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion

My guests this month are Dr. Sarah Perez and Dr. Cavan McLaughlin.

Sarah is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern. While her previous research focused on early modern pamphlet about deathbed visions, she is currently working on contemporary spirituality with a focus on eco- and online-spirituality as well as youth culture.

Cavan McLaughlin is a Senior Lecturer in Media Production at the University of the West of England (UWE), with research interests related to the role and function of occulture. Editor of the volume Trans- States: The Art of Crossing Over (2019), Cavan has also published on Crowley, esotericism and narrativity, open-source occultism, and contemporary occulture. Having recently defended a practice-based PhD entitled ‘Occultural Production as Re-Vision and Weird Worlding, they remain a practicing filmmaker, artist, and all-around creative media practitioner. As a media professional of over twenty years, Cavan has been involved in almost all aspects of audiovisual production, specializing in video art, music videos, and visual poetry. Cavan is the founder and Chair of Trans- States (trans-states.org); co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Monad: Journal of Occultural Studies (monadjournal.com); and, a trustee of the Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices (www.rensep.org). Cavan has a profound affection for cows, fungi, and rainbows.

This is a discussion that I have wanted to have since the last ESSWE 9 Conference in 2023. In the session “Creativity and Occultural Production” I attended, Cavan and Sarah presented some very interesting papers. I also presented on another day about my research regarding tulpas and Otherkin, and as Cavan and Sarah’s topics were in this general area as well, I thought to myself, how wonderful it would be if we could get together and talk about all of this in more detail.

We each take turns talking a bit about our own projects, and from there, the discussion leads into sharing our insights and the interconnectivity of our individual research, and how underrepresented this is within academia. Some key concepts that came forward were: imagination, mind/consciousness, Cavan’s term ‘alienated agency’, power dynamics, new materialisms (inspired by Donna Haraway and Karen Barad), and serious play. We also discuss how other-than-human cultures overlap with neurodivergence and gender, as well as the importance of being ethically responsible (as researchers) and being cognizant of this very normal diversity in expression.

Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea

https://www.relwi.unibe.ch/about_us/personen/dr_des_perez_sarah/index_eng.html#pane1299843

https://westengland.academia.edu/CavanMcLaughlin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfb_AmzPZw4 [Cavan McLaughlin - ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’ (Occulture Conference 2023)]

https://uva.academia.edu/StephanieShea

RR Podcast E35 Free Content Matt Marble: The American Museum of Paramusicology

18 februari 2025 | 39 min

Matt Marble is an artist, author, audio producer and director of the American Museum of Paramusicology. Both creatively and through historical research, his work explores the inspired intersections of art and metaphysics and the intuitive disciplines they mutually employ. Matt is the author of Buddhist Bubblegum: Esotericism in the Creative Process of Arthur Russell, and the producer/host of Secret Sound, a podcast exploring the metaphysical biopics of American musicians, and The Hidden Present, an audio interview series exploring intuitive discipline and spiritual imagination. Additional works have been featured by the California Festival, Warp Records, and the Philosophical Research Society. His writing, research, media production, and personal archive constitute the American Museum of Paramusicology (AMP), through which he also publishes the monthly AMP Journal.

The term “paramusicology” was first coined in 1993 by author Melvyn Willin to address psychic and pagan histories of music. Musicology being the study of music, paramusicology is the study of paranormal music experience. Though the term has struggled to find solid footing, the paranormal generally refers us to that which is "beyond" or “outside” the normal—to experiences or phenomena which cannot be explained by scientific reasoning, objective perception, or causal agency. This points our awareness to what may be called the numinous* in human experience. Due to its abstract nature, to even convey the numinous requires active imagination and symbolic communication. The AMP explores how the numinous informs human listening. And it unpacks the esoteric philosophies and intuitive disciplines which facilitate and draw from our spiritual and auditory imagination.

In this discussion, Matt shares a bit about his background, as well as his inspiration for creating his platform. He talks about his visual art project known as Wondering Stars, a mixture of music and physical visual works, and how this came out of his dreamwork.

He also talks about his podcast, The Secret Sound, and his 7-part series called The Hidden Present, and we even go into a short discussion about musical modes (as used in Western music - (*thanks to my brother Dan for making that distinction) and their ‘moods’, as well as how these can be useful tools for creativity.

We then move to talk about the AMP Journal, and focus on Issue 16 from last August called “Spirit Invocations.” In this issues, Matt wrote about the film Longlegs and how sound (not ‘song’, as I misspoke in the introduction) is key to this film, including the role of folk music and rock and roll and the esoteric aspects of these, along with how Marc Bolan served as inspiration and perhaps as blueprint of sorts for the main character. He also discusses the concept of the Fohat ( taken from the Theosophical Society) and how this may have inspired the ideas behind the metal balls that Longlegs placed inside the doll heads in the film.

PROGRAM NOTES

https://www.mattmarble.net/matt-marble (all links at the top of the page)

https://www.mattmarble.net/buddhist-bubblegum

https://www.mattmarble.net/amp-longlegs

https://mattmarble.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanMuseumofParamusicology

https://www.instagram.com/americanmuseumofparamusicology/

Full episode can be found at https://www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion, or purchased for a one-time fee.

Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea

RR Podcast E34 David Metcalfe: 'Beyond the Stars' Course, UAP Phenomena, Culture & Belief

3 februari 2025 | 50 min

David B. Metcalfe, Windbridge Institute Scholar in Virtual Residence, is a researcher, writer, and multimedia specialist focusing on areas where creativity, culture, and consciousness collide.

In 2011 he established the Liminal Analytics: Applied Research Collaborative to focus on building multidisciplinary lines of communication through applied scholarship, digital media, and social network development.

David’s work has appeared in Oxford University Press and other peer reviewed anthologies. He was a research assistant for the University of Chicago under Dr. Hussein Ali Agama focusing on archival research, and he is currently the Editor-in-Chief for the Windbridge Research Center’s Threshold: Journal of Interdisciplinary Consciousness Studies.

I originally had asked both Dr. Diana Pasulka and David to join me for this episode, but due to scheduling conflicts, Diana had to decline. (I am eager to talk with Diana at another time, however!)

In this episode, David talks a bit about his background and his interest in the broader topic of ‘anomalous phenomena,’ and how this led him to meet Dr. Diana Pasulka and become involved in planning the course “Beyond the Stars” with her. This groundbreaking course explores the history of UFO/UAP phenomena, specific case studies, the main research traditions, and also how religion and esotericism are linked to this phenomena. The course also delves into the related areas of consciousness studies and theories of synchronicity/coincidence.

David also shares his reflections/takeaways regarding the course and the participants, the gradual shift in attitudes surrounding this type of phenomena, and what he thinks is ‘the bigger picture’ regarding anomalous experiences.

We also go on a few related tangents regarding memory, false memory syndrome, owls, and how popular culture absorbs and transmits ideas about high strangeness. Everything is connected.

PROGRAM NOTES

David Metcalfe:

https://davidmetcalfe.wordpress.com/
https://uga.academia.edu/DavidMetcalfe/Papers

https://www.academia.edu/92502645/Knowing_Others_The_New_UFO_Esotericism_of_D_W_Pasulkas_American_Cosmic_

Dr. Diana Pasulka:

https://dwpasulka.com/
https://www.academia.edu/89404115/Introduction_Believing_in_Bits_Digital_Media_and_the_Supernatural_

“Beyond the Stars” Course Information:
https://dwpasulka.com/courses/

Other References:

https://www.societyforuapstudies.org/

https://www.dukeupress.edu/in-and-out-of-this-world

https://impossiblearchives.rice.edu/
https://impossiblearchives.rice.edu/ufo-and-impossible (It seems the registration is closed for this conference as the attendee limit has been reached.)
https://thesolfoundation.org/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlWCeD3J0zVb4KSeaeDNdw

Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea

RR Patreon Tier 3 Free Content Dr. Dean Radin: Science, Magick & the SIGIL Experiment

2 februari 2025 | 32 min

Dean Radin is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), Associated Distinguished Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and cofounder and chairman of the biotech company, Cognigenics. He earned an MS (electrical engineering) and a PhD (psychology) from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and in 2022 was awarded an Honorary DSc (doctor of science) from the Swami Vivekananda University in Bangalore, India.

Before joining the IONS research staff in 2001, Radin worked at AT&T Bell Labs, Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, and SRI International. He has given over 750 talks and interviews worldwide, and he is author or coauthor of some 7 patents, 300 scientific and popular articles, four dozen book chapters, and nine books, four of which have been translated into 15 foreign languages: The Conscious Universe (1997), Entangled Minds (2006), Supernormal (2013), and Real Magic (2018).

In this interview, Dean opens the conversation by talking about why the scientific community is slow to emerge with theoretical explanations as to why anomalous phenomena occur, even with the empirical evidence. He then explains how the three main classes of magickal practice (Divination, Enchantment, and Theurgy) coincide with the three main of psychic phenomena that have been studied over the years by scientists (Clairvoyance, Psychokinesis, and Survival after death).
First explaining the three most notable types of tests that have been developed over the years (tossed dice, random number generator outputs, and photon interference), Dean then explains in more detail the last test and the mystery of the ‘wave-particle duality’ that ‘violates the commonsense doctrine of realism, which assumes that the physical world is completely independent of observation.’
We then move on to the SIGIL (scientific investigation of gazing with intention/intuition at light) experiment that Dean performed with the funding of the Bial Foundation and RENSEP, involving practicing magicians and mediators, and the results of this experiment. Dean talks a bit about further experiments that could be created on the foundation of the SIGIL experiment, and also how all of this ties into the larger discussions about the nature of consciousness and interconnectedness.

https://www.deanradin.com/

https://www.cognigenics.io/

https://noetic.org/

https://www.youtube.com/@InstituteofNoeticSciences

https://www.rensep.org/

https://www.youtube.com/@rensep

https://www.instagram.com/ionsonline/
https://www.instagram.com/rensep_official/

Photo Credit: Jordan Engle @ Lens & Soul
Theme Music & Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea

The full episode can be found at my Patreon page; it can also be purchased for a one-time fee: www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion

RR Patreon Tier 2 Free Content- Dr. Tara Smith: Ecology, Zen Buddhism & The Anthropocene in Frank Herbert's _Dune Trilogy_

21 januari 2025 | 29 min

Dr. Tara B. M. Smith is an early career interdisciplinary academic that works in the fields of science fiction, literature, religion and popular culture. Tara is currently a research affiliate at the University of Sydney. In 2024 Tara was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at the Harvard Divinity School, Boston, writing on religious ideas and experiences of people that paint and play within the science fiction “grimdark” universe of Warhammer 40,000. Tara is a passionate educator who holds a Graduate Certificate of Higher Education and has taught in academic settings for over 5 years across a variety of units including media studies, religious studies, writing skills and composition. When Tara is not studying, she spends time with her two cats Thomas and Momo and her fiancé Luke in Sydney, Australia.

While most people who talk and think about the story of Dune focus on the political and religious aspects of the series [for example, the Bene Geserit with their genetic breeding program and the Kwisatz Haderach, or the Butlerian Jihad -the war against thinking machines = technology and AI], Tara's article, “The Anthropocene in Frank Herbert’s Dune Series” from 2021 takes a different approach and explores the ecological/philosophical aspects of the story. As she notes, Frank Herbert was warning his readers about their anthropocentric tendencies and urging people instead to think about ecological conservation, or at least he appears to be planting a seed in the minds of the readers to be more aware of their place or role on the Earth.

Poem mentioned in this interview:

“I drove my feet through a desert

Whose mirage fluttered like a host.

Voracious for glory, greedy for danger,

I roamed the horizons of al-Kulab,

Watching time level mountains

In its search and its hunger for me.

And I saw the sparrows swiftly approach,

Bolder than the onrushing wolf.

They spread in the tree of my youth.

I heard the flock in my branches

And was caught on their beaks and claws!”

– from Arrakis Awakening by the Princess Irulan (Herbert 1978, 228)

Dr. Tara Smith:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-b-m-smith-phd-fhea-306418192/

“The Anthropocene in Frank Herbert’s Dune Series”, Foundation 140, 50.3 (2021): 62-74. The_Anthropocene_in_Frank_Herberts_Dune.doc

Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea
The full episode can be heard at my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion, or can be purchased for a one-time fee.

Rejected Religion Special Announcements 2025

13 januari 2025 | 3 min

Happy New Year to you all! For those who may not be following me on Patreon or social media, I have some important announcements for 2025.

The first being that I’m offering a special 75% discount on the first month’s membership for all Patreon tiers! This offer lasts until the end of February. Use the code RRDINER75 for the discount.

And on the topic of the RR Diner, there’s also news about a change to my Patreon Tiers 3 and 4:

The content of Tiers 3 and 4 has merged, and Tier 4 is now the RR Diner Book Club! The Club will meet 4 times per year (February, May, August & November) and the price for Tier 4 has been lowered to $17.50 as of January 1st. This price includes all the content from Tiers 1-3 plus the Live Zoom meetings for the Book Club. I’ve already announced the first book over at my Patreon, which is The Super Natural: A New Vision of the Unexplained by Whitley Strieber and Dr. Jeff Kripal!!

Plus, I'm overjoyed to announce that both authors have agreed to join me for the Live Zoom Meet in February!! We are in the process of finding three potential dates that will be listed via a poll on the Patreon page for Tier 4 members to vote on. That information will be following soon. For now, you can start reading!

Additionally, you can view two free content videos – one about Sidereal Astrology & How to Understand Natal Charts, the other about a new book called _Void Machines_ by Dr. Christian Greer and Dr. Michelle Oing. This art collage book is about 'Talismanic Frequencies of Peak Experiences.' Those videos are free to watch at my Patreon page, my website or my Vimeo channel.

I’m also excited to announce that I will be collaborating with the Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices, otherwise known RENSEP. I will be hosting and moderating some very special conversations between scholars and practitioners throughout the year, called “Spotlight with RENSEP -- Esoteric Crossroads: Scholars Meet Practitioners.” This content will be available for everyone, and we hope this will promote engagement between the two platforms, as well as offering new topics and opportunities for learning and discussion.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the first Scholar-Practitioner Conversation in early 2025!

Lastly, the new content for January has been delayed due to unexpected internet stability issues that are preventing me from recording interviews. However, I’m hoping to have things fixed well enough so I can get back to work at the end of this week, and start posting again soon.

Thanks for your patience!

I’m looking forward to an excellent new year!

www.rejectedreligion.com

www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion
Discount code: RRDINER75

https://vimeo.com/user220298192

Music: Daniel P. Shea

RR Pod E33 [Free Content] Brennan Kettelle- P2 Monster Theory: Psychoanalysis, Foucault, 'Stigmatized Alignment,' & Hauntology

15 december 2024 | 52 min

This month’s guest on the Rejected Religion Podcast is Brennan Kettelle. Brennan returns for Part 2 of our discussion on Monster Theory, this time looking at the applications of Monster Theory, as well as a more in-depth look at how Brennan is using this theory, along with other related concepts and theories.

Brennan is a PhD researcher at the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP), University of Amsterdam. Brennan holds an MA in Gender and Cultural studies (2016) and a research MA in Religious Studies, specializing in Western esotericism (2021). She is currenting writing her doctoral dissertation, investigating historical associations between the religiomythic demoness Lilith and queerness within artistic, literary, and occult discourses. Brennan also teaches an 8-week online course on Lilith - focusing on Lilith’s origins and cultural receptions within Western esotericism - for the Brooklyn-based organization Morbid Anatomy. Utilizing monster theory and queer theory in her research, Brennan is more broadly interested in investigating themes of the ‘monstrous-queer’ within esoteric literature, orders, and figures, as well as esoteric themes within queer subcultures, politics, and histories.

Some highlights:

Brennan’s areas of exploration are primarily located in Gender Studies, Queer Theory, Religious Studies, Horror Theory, and Esotericism. In addition, as Monster Theory has a foundation in psychoanalysis and postmodern theories, Brennan expands on this in greater detail. This leads us into a conversation about the recent film, The Substance, as well as theories found in Foucault’s works.

Shifting the focus to Religious Studies, Brennan notes how monsters are most often aligned with evil; however, there are exceptions to this when it comes to werewolves in the Bible, for example. [Note: the text that I am reading from regarding werewolves in the Bible as well as the Werewolf Renaissance is taken from my own Research Master thesis.] Religion and Horror Studies intersect in films such as Longlegs, where we can see themes such as “monstrous infection” or a returning sickness.
As Brennan states, “the monster is the illumination of everything a society oppresses or represses.”

Speaking on the working term of ‘stigmatized alignment,’ Brennan uses the examples of poet Renee Vivien, and “The Witch of Kings Cross” Rosaleen Norton to explain this concept in more detail.

In closing, Brennan touches upon the adjacent theory of Hauntology, where past ‘monsters’ linger in the present and haunt us. Time, in this instance, could be seen as a monster as well.

This is the Free Content version of Episode 33; you can find the full episode at my Patreon page: https://patreon.com/RejectedReligion?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
This episode is also available for a one-time purchase.

PROGRAM NOTES

Find Brennan:

https://uva.academia.edu/SBrennanKettelle

https://www.instagram.com/_restingwitchface/

Monster Theory Resources:

https://ieas-szeged.hu/downtherabbithole/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Barbara-Creed-The-Monstrous-Feminine-2007.pdf

https://archive.org/details/monstersincloset0000bens

https://www.amazon.com/Celluloid-Closet-Arthur-Laurents/dp/B001NI5C6U

https://archive.org/details/religionitsmonst0000beal

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203361894/philosophy-horror-noel-carroll

https://revisesociology.com/2016/09/21/foucault-surveillance-crime-control/

https://medium.com/deterritorialization/jacques-derridas-specter-s-of-marx-and-the-concept-of-hauntology-reflections-on-deconstruction-2eb687322a69

https://academic.oup.com/fs/article/59/3/373/638853

Films and Shows Mentioned (Selection):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17526714/ The Substance

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23468450/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt Longlegs

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14966898/ Late Night with the Devil

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/ Stranger Things

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5040012/ Nosferatu 2024

Renee Vivien:

https://allpoetry.com/Renee-Vivien

https://youtu.be/3dUc17ut3as?si=KJ9ZDCBFct00eQuj Spotlight with Brennan Kettelle 2021

Rosaleen Norton:

https://www.witchofkingscross.com/about-new/

Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea

End Production: Stephanie Shea

RR Patreon Tier 2 Groves of Orpheus with Peg Aloi: Contemporary Reception of Witchcraft and 'The Occult' in the USA

12 december 2024 | 42 min

This month’s Patreon Tier 2 guest is Peg Aloi. Peg is a freelance film and TV critic, a former professor of media studies, and co-editor (with Hannah Sanders) of The New Generation Witches: Teenage Witchcraft in Contemporary Culture (Routledge) and Carnivale and the American Grotesque: Critical Essays on the HBO Series (Macfarland). With Hannah she also co-organized two scholarly conferences at Harvard University on paganism, witchcraft and media. Peg's forthcoming book The Witching Hour: How Witches Enchanted the World is a cultural analysis of the witch in contemporary media. Peg was also one of the co-founders of The Witches' Voice and wrote about film and TV for the site for over a decade. Her long-running blog "The Witching Hour" can now be found on Substack.

This conversation was inspired by a lecture in April of 2024 by Peg for The Last Tuesday Society called “The Satanic Panic: Its Roots and Branches,” that explored a number of disparate but often-related elements that converged to create the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s, including Satanic-themed horror films. In this discussion, we pick up were Peg left off and explore how viewpoints surrounding Witchcraft and ‘The Occult’ have changed since that time until our present day. Peg talks about various instances within popular culture that have shown a shift in the ‘negative’ paradigm. This conversation spans several different areas, ranging from politics and society, education and scholarship, entertainment media, films and series, to magic and other ‘occult’ practices.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

You can find the Full Episode with Peg Aloi at my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion
The episode is also available for a one-time purchase.

PROGRAM NOTES

Mentioned by Peg:

Documentary Hail, Satan? https://youtu.be/27RtJp-rhHk?si=1IEizfm8d4xCVvV5 (trailer)

Agatha, All Along https://youtu.be/R9pXbNz6Vbw?si=WDEc8Q3Lb-92pNlB (trailer)

AHS: Coven https://youtu.be/ra8aQ-CfKVw?si=J9W74jUct4dNJcPm (trailer)

Film Realm of Satan https://youtu.be/7ANZCk97F7Y?si=L7rC4VStmYo_NkrL (trailer)

Find Peg Aloi here:

https://x.com/themediawitch

https://themediawitch.substack.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7lfIuXsQmI (Podcast)

Works:

https://www.amazon.com/New-Generation-Witches-Witchcraft-Contemporary/dp/0754657841

https://www.amazon.com/Carnivale-American-Grotesque-Critical-Essays/dp/0786448164

The Witching Hour: How Witches Enchanted the World (forthcoming)

Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea

Rejected Religion Spotlight - Dr. Bernd-Christian Otto & Andrea Centore from RENSEP + SPECIAL OFFER TO VIEWERS

24 oktober 2024 | 40 min

My guests this month are Dr. Bernd-Christian Otto and Andrea Centore, co-founders of the Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices, otherwise known as RENSEP. In this discussion, Bernd and Andrea talk about how this network came to be, why it was created, and the exciting work that they are doing. As the name suggests, RENESP is focused on working with practitioners in all areas of esotericism, and fostering the relationships between academic research and real-life practitioners. RENSEP is still in its early stages, having officially launched in 2023, and is a unique resource for both researchers and those outside of academia who are interested to interact with scholars, as well as to help educate the public about esoteric practices.

Bernd-Christian Otto (b. 1976) is a scholar of religion. After gaining his PhD in 2009 at the university of Heidelberg (Germany) with an extensive study on the conceptual history of magic, Otto pursued his academic career at various universities, among them Heidelberg, Erfurt, Bochum, Leipzig, Erlangen (Germany) and Bergen (Norway). Otto is co-founder and permanent fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies ‘Alternative Rationalities and Esoteric Practices from a Global Perspective’ at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (www.cas-e.de); he is a board member of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (www.esswe.org); and he is co-founder, trustee and scientific director of the Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices (www.rensep.org). Otto's research focuses on magic and esotericism, where he combines different methodologies such as conceptual history, discourse analysis, social theory, ritual studies, qualitative interviews, participant observation, and practitioner-scholarship. His book publications include "Defining Magic: A Reader" (Routledge 2013), co-edited with Michael Stausberg; the duograph "Magical Manuscripts in Early Modern Europe: The Clandestine Trade in Illegal Book Collections" (Palgrave MacMillan 2017), co-authored with Daniel Bellingradt; and the anthology "Fictional Practice: Magic, Narration and the Power of Imagination" (Brill 2021), co-edited with Dirk Johannsen.

Andrea Centore holds a master's degree in Translation Studies from the University of Mons-Hainaut (Belgium), and a master's degree in Religious Studies from the University of Amsterdam. His research explores the intersection of Jewish and Islamic esotericism through the perspectives of intellectual and global history, with a particular focus on Kabbalah and Sufi lettrism. In addition, Andrea has engaged with texts from a wide range of esoteric traditions including Islamicate occultism, strands of Western esotericism, and Nāth Tantric Yoga. He is the co-founder and managing director of the Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices (RENSEP), where one of his key aims is to foster a more systematic dialogue between the academic community and esoteric practitioners. Andrea is also an entrepreneur in the professional services sector.

We take a look at the website, and the different options available to the members. Not only are there blog posts and research updates available, but members can also take part in study groups and take part in livestreams with scholars and practitioners alike (titled “ask a scholar” and “ask a practitioner”). Another great opportunity is the ability to meet new people, forming connections with other members to foster communication and learning, growing one’s own network of contacts in the process. RENSEP has also just launched an open-access, peer-review journal, too, called Praxis-Knowledge!

RENSEP is a fantastic place to share and learn with other people with similar interests, and is one-of-a-kind with regard to online communities that offer grounded, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed research and a wonderful platform for practitioners to engage with scholars and others who share the same interests.

Bernd and Andrea have also very generously offered a 50% discount on membership for all viewers/listeners of Rejected Religion! Use the promo code RR50 when signing up at www.rensep.org!

Patreon members also receive special discounts --

Tiers 1& 2 get 70% off on membership, and Tiers 3 & 4 get a FREE membership!

This is a fabulous opportunity to join and start learning about esoteric practices, with access to information and resources that usually only are available to those within academia!

Members can find their promo codes on the Patreon page. Rejected Religion | Illuminating the Obscure | Patreon

My thanks to RENSEP for making this possible!

Theme music & video production: Stephanie Shea of Rejected Religion

Rejected Religion Bonus - Forbidden Knowledge Winter Course with Dr. Christian Greer & Brennan Kettelle RMA

23 oktober 2024 | 41 min

Patreon Tier 3 FREE Content- Dr. Jonathon O’Donnell Research Updates – Modern Demonology, Spiritual Warfare & Politics, Technology & the Environment

20 oktober 2024 | 88 min

RR Patreon Tier 2 Groves of Orpheus Free Content- Dell Rose RMA Ornamental Hermits: A Different Kind of Spirituality

15 oktober 2024 | 50 min

RR Pod E32 Dr. Joel Bordeaux: Zeena's 'Left-Hand' Path from Satanism to Buddhism

4 oktober 2024 | 66 min

RR Pod E31 P1 Brennan Kettelle: Monster Theory, Lilith & Esotericism

24 september 2024 | 44 min

RR Patreon Tier 3 Excerpts Dr. Aaron French - New Research Updates RE: Ufology, Esotericism, Technology & Religiosity

15 september 2024 | 26 min

Note: This audio upload is a selection of clips taken from the full-length Patreon interview with Dr. Aaron French. To hear the full interview, please visit my Patreon page; you could consider joining to have access to more content like this, or have the option for a one-time purchase of the full episode (visit the 'shop' link for more information about pricing).

PROGRAM NOTES (FULL EPISODE):

My guest this month is Dr. Aaron French. Aaron received his doctorate in the study of religion, including an emphasis in science and technology studies, from the University of California, Davis. His monograph Max Weber, Rudolf Steiner, and Modern Western Esotericism: A Transcultural Approach will be published by Routledge in late 2024 in the “Asia, Europe, and Global Connections: Culture, History, and Trans-Area Studies“ book series. Aaron has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and regularly gives lectures and presentations at international conferences. He currently teaches in the international Religious Studies Masters program at the University of Erfurt in Germany and works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Freie Universität Berlin.

In our conversation, Aaron talks about new areas of research that he’s been exploring regarding the field of ufology, and its connections with esotericism, technology and religion. He’s currently editing a forthcoming interdisciplinary academic collaborative work about this, called Religion and the UFO Phenomenon: Methodological Challenges, that asks the questions, “how best should scholars of the humanities and social sciences approach the UFO phenomenon as an object of study? Why are otherworldly experiences intertwined with new forms of religiosity?”

Aaron also gives a re-cap of the recent developments in the U.S. with regard to the UAP, or Unidentified Arial Phenomena, in Senate hearings and discusses the issues surrounding disclosure, with the largely failed attempt to establish a committee that would force the US government to declassify and release all information on UFOs. He then moves on to discuss his own developing research into the connections between ufology and esotericism, and how religion is being transformed, with some in academia speaking now of a new religiosity forming around these experiences. Aaron’s work is looking at this modern esotericism that keeps popping up in this new ‘hybrid technoscientific religiosity’ as he terms it. Ideas of evolution and training for humans who are interested in future realities in space are also discussed in terms of ritual initiation or Hero’s Journey that is likened to the Jedi training of the Star Wars story.

In closing, we also explore occulture and the cultural impact on all of this a bit, specifically how these ideas are played out in shows like X-Files and of course, my favorite, Twin Peaks.

NOTE: Around the 1 hour 13 minute mark, I mistakenly say "accelerators" instead of "accumulators" when talking about Wilhelm Reich's orgone accumulators. My apologies.

Alongside this work, Aaron has recently co-edited the volume Modernity and the Construction of Sacred Space, which is available in open access on the De Gruyter website. You can find his latest article on Rudolf Steiner "Esotericism against Capitalism? Rudolf Steiner’s Reform Pedagogy as a Site of Resistance" in volume 14 (no. 2) of the journal Approaching Religion, which is also published open access.

Rejected Religion | Illuminating the Obscure | Patreon

To access my previous discussion with Aaron about UFOs, Steiner and Hynek PLUS more relevant links to the topic, please follow these links:
https://rejected-religion-introductory-episode-1-what-do-i-mean-by.simplecast.com/episodes/rr-podcast-e24-p1-dr-aaron-french-us-from-the-future-magic-technology-rosicrucians-steiner-new-age-ufos

https://rejected-religion-introductory-episode-1-what-do-i-mean-by.simplecast.com/episodes/rr-pod-e24-p2-dr-aaron-french-us-from-the-future-magic-technology-rosicrucians-steiner-new-age-ufos

Dr. Aaron French
(99+) Aaron French | Universität Erfurt - Academia.edu
Aaron J. French (uni-erfurt.de )
(99+) Modernity and the Construction of Sacred Space | Aaron French - Academia.edu
(99+) Esotericism against Capitalism? Rudolf Steiner’s Reform Pedagogy as a Site of Resistance | Aaron French - Academia.edu

David Grusch Congressional Testimony videos: Bing Videos
UAP Task Force AARO: AARO Home

Dr. Diana Pasulka
Amazon.com : Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences: 9781250879561: Pasulka, D. W.: Books
American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology: Pasulka, D.W.: 9780190692889: Amazon.com : Books

Dr. Jeffrey Kripal
Amazon.com : How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else: 9780226833682: Kripal, Jeffrey J.: Books

Spacekind Foundation: SPACEKIND.ORG
"Overview Effect": The Overview Effect: It will transform how you think forever (youtube.com )

Theme Music: Daniel P. Shea

RR Patreon Excerpts Tier 2 Eliott Edge: Are We Living in a Simulation?

8 september 2024 | 62 min

Full Title: Are We Living in A Simulation? Testing Tom Campbell's Consciousness-Based Simulation Theory

This hour-long audio clip is a collection of excerpts from a three-hour long conversation with guest Eliott Edge that can be found on my Patreon page. A new option of a one-time purchase is now available as well, if you'd like to listen to the whole episode! Please visit my Patreon to learn more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/rr-patreon-tier-111609568

As listed on Eliott’s website bio, he "is a critically-acclaimed author, artist, and international speaker. Eliott has published and presented through The Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technologies, The University of Melbourne, Stevens Institute of Technology, Anthology Film Archives, The C.G. Jung Center, The Fenris Wolf, The Museum of Computer Arts, VRTO, Block Seoul, and Disinformation. His work has been included in university curricula as well as cited in Masters' theses and Doctoral dissertations. Edge’s interests include cyborg anthropology, simulation theory, media theory, consciousness and psi research, liminality, psychoanalysis, psychedelics, western occultism, contemporary folklore, as well as AI, culture and film criticism. Edge is a member of Das Unbehagen: Free Association for Psychoanalysis, and a Media & Arts Advisory Board member for The Lifeboat Foundation."

In this discussion, Eliott shares his insights and views surrounding the work of Thomas Campbell, a former NASA physicist who specialized in technology development and complex-system risk analysis for both government and industry. In addition, for more than 50 years, he conducted scientific, drug-free research into altered states of consciousness. Out of this work came My Big TOE, or Theory of Everything, a scientific model of reality based on the insight that consciousness is fundamental to all existence. Eliott is currently working on his own book that discusses Campbell’s simulation theory, which posits that our idea of reality is actually a virtual simulation. According to Campbell, consciousness is the fundamental basis of what we consider reality, and the physical universe is a virtual construct created by this consciousness.

In our discussion, Eliott talks as well about another simulation theory called the ‘ancestor simulation hypothesis’ and the problems associated with this. We also talk about how paranormal, or supernatural experiences such as out-of-body experiences, remote viewing, ghosts, UFOs, etc., play into this concept. As Eliott is not only interested in the scientific side of the story, he also talks about how occult practitioners, such as those found in ritual magick and chaos magick, as well as religious practitioners from any path can also benefit from learning about Campbell’s work. He explains everything in a down-to-earth manner so that anyone from any walk of life can understand the principles.

Eliott Edge
writing | Eliottedge
OddEdges - YouTube
Eliott Edge and Tom Campbell in Conversation Part 1 of 2 (youtube.com )
Eliott Edge and Tom Campbell in Conversation Part 2 of 2 (youtube.com )
Home | Testing the Simulation Hypothesis (testingthehypothesis.com )

My Big TOE (my-big-toe.com )
Tom Campbell - My Big TOE (my-big-toe.com )
My Big TOE Trilogy : Thomas Campbell : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Experiential Expanded Consciousness Meditation Programs and Research – The Monroe Institute
The Monroe Explorer Tapes - YouTube
Explorer Series: Compiled Audio Files (1-32) : The Monroe Institute : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Theme Music: Daniel P. Shea

RR Spotlight Drs. Marco Pasi and Wouter Hanegraaff: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the HHP Centre

2 september 2024 | 42 min

RR Patreon Excerpt Tier 3- Tommy Cowan: Research Updates on Burroughs, Cutups, Gender, Alchemy & Transformation

17 augusti 2024 | 46 min

Tommy Cowan is currently a PhD student in the Literature, Media, and Culture program at Florida State University. His primary interest is the confluence between literature and esotericism, including how literatures/texts are conceptualized as esoteric ritual, and the reception/transmission of literary esotericism as an intellectual tradition. He received his MA in Religious Studies from University of Amsterdam (2019), graduating Cum Laude. His 2019 master’s thesis centers around spirituality and esotericism in the works of American author William S. Burroughs. He is also an Associate Editor for Correspondences: Journal for the Study of Esotericism.

As this discussion was centered on research updates, we cover a range of topics- but highlighting a few here: We start with Tommy’s research on Burroughs that grew out of Tommy’s work with Florida State University’s archive complied by Professor Bucher. Just a head’s up – our discussion is mature in nature, so listener discretion is advised, as they say. We cover two of Tommy’s papers- one that deals with sexual hanging as something that Burroughs was trying to read in an esoteric sense; the other deals with the tension between Burroughs’ misogyny and his ‘feminine’ coded texts, which leads into a related topic of transgenderism and alchemy, and circling back to sexual metaphors with brief tangents into Wilhelm Reich’s orgone energy and David Lynch’s atomic bomb scene in Twin Peaks: The Return. After all that, we move on to the concept of ‘normative esotericism,’ as Tommy is looking at ways in which esoteric philosophies and thought reinforce hegemonic normative culture. Lastly, Tommy talks about his new research into how animals enter into symbiotic relationships with plant and fungi substances, plus how we can analyze our own relationship to entheogens.
Check out my Patreon page for the full interview!
Rejected Religion | Illuminating the Obscure | Patreon

Theme Music: Daniel P. Shea

Rejected Religion Spotlight Charlotte Rodgers: Art, Animism & Memory

11 augusti 2024 | 73 min

Excerpt RR Patreon Tier 2 'Deep Dive' with Bob Cluness

10 augusti 2024 | 15 min

This is an excerpt of my recent upload on Patreon Tier 2 'Groves of Orpheus.' If you are interested to hear more, please consider checking out my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion. You can find this full interview plus more to come!

My guest this month is Bob Cluness. Bob was a guest on the podcast (E28) in December of 2023, and I asked him to come back for a deep dive into many of the things we only just scratched the surface of in the podcast interview.

For those who may be new, Bob is a PhD candidate and researcher in the cultural studies program at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. He graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in film studies on accelerationist aesthetics and action cinema, and in 2020 he received a master’s degree in cultural studies with a thesis on the weird and eerie in contemporary and digital cultures. His current PhD project deals with the relationship between and esotericism and acceleration in UK subcultures in the late 20th century, through a discursive analysis of chaos magic(k) and the Cybernetic Cultures Research Unit, also known as CCRU. As part of his Academic research, Bob’s interests look at the myriad intersections between esotericism and contemporary subcultures, such as cyberpunk, cyberspace and technology, the counterculture and the New Age, comics, zine culture, and music.

Bob is a powerhouse and a fantastic source of knowledge, as you will hear in this discussion. We get more into the CCRU, and especially Nick Land and his story; we talk at length about accelerationism, traditionalism and chaos magick - and how this all plays into politics, economics, culture, music, gender – basically every aspect of our lives.

This discussion is a long one - over three hours! :)

My apologies for the poor sound quality of this audio. I had last-minute, unexpected, technical issues so I had to improvise without my professional recording equipment. Hope it’s still acceptable, and I hope you will enjoy this discussion.

RR Pod E30 P1 Dr. Phil Legard: Sound, Occulture, & the Imagination

4 augusti 2024 | 67 min

Rejected Religion on PATREON - COMING SOON

28 juli 2024 | 2 min

RR Spotlight Dr. Tara Smith: Warhammer 40K and Spirituality

27 maj 2024 | 58 min

RR Pod E29 Mike Marinacci: Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches

1 mars 2024 | 78 min

Spotlight Dr. Randall Hall: 'Weird' Music, The Sacred, and Initiatory Experiences

17 februari 2024 | 98 min

This interview was recorded December 7, 2023.

Dr. Randall Hall is professor of music at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, as well as a performing saxophonist and composer. He's also writing a book about 'speculative' and 'weird' music as it relates to the Sacred and ritual experiences. In this special Spotlight interview, Randall shares his process of creating music that attempts to re-create a modern theurgic repertoire. (Theurgy is the practice that refers to the ascent of one's soul to the divine.) In the first part of our interview, Randall talks about his first 'encounter' with the concept of 'the harmony of the spheres' and his search to find it, and then explains the concepts of 'speculative' music that reach back to the Pythagorian-Platonic tradition. He also briefly traces a history of the development of musical ideas about consonance and dissonance, and how musical theory has changed with regard to the idea of 'Divine' music.

Speaking about 'weird' music, Randall shares how the Divine is not always 'beautiful' but oftentimes terrifying to behold. Following the writings of Porphyry, when one sees or experiences something 'weird,' this is our indicator that we should pay attention to it, and that it signifies an opportunity for higher learning. Esotericism became the key for Randall to begin digging into these strange mysteries. He discusses his ideas about how music and esotericism are intertwined, and yet how there's not much discussion about musical practice in conjunction with ritual. Randall is trying to create a hermeneutical crisis in the listener, through set and setting, to allow the imagination to 'kick in' and allow the 'weird' to speak.

There's much more that Randall shares in this interview that can't be summarized here!
Clips used in this video, from the album Oracle, Voces Mysticae and Mithras Liturgy, are used with kind permission from Dr. Randall Hall.

PROGRAM NOTES

Randall Hall - Home
Music | Randall Hall (bandcamp.com)
Randall Hall | Spotify
Facebook

Theme music: Stephanie Shea

Spotlight Sue Terry: Magickal Women Conference & Owl House Seminars

10 februari 2024 | 76 min

RR Pod E28 P2 Bob Cluness -An Esoteric Menagerie: The Weird & Eerie, Slenderman, CCRU, Accelerationism, Chaos Magic(k) and Digital Technology

7 december 2023 | 105 min

RR Pod E28 P1 Bob Cluness -An Esoteric Menagerie: The Weird & Eerie, Slenderman, CCRU, Accelerationism, Chaos Magic(k) and Digital Technology

6 december 2023 | 89 min

RR Pod E27 Dell Rose- Cultural Receptions of Emanuel Swedenborg: Connecting the Spiritual with the Material

19 maj 2023 | 77 min

My guest this month is Dell J. Rose. Dell is a cultural historian and current Ph.D. researcher at the University of Amsterdam’s HHP Center. He is also the recipient of the Swedenborg Doctoral Scholarship from the Swedenborg Society in the UK. Dell holds a Bachelor's degree, with majors in English, History, and Religion, and a Master's degree in Folk Studies. His current Ph.D project deals with Charles Augustus Tulk, the reception of Swedenborg’s ideas amongst 19th-century reforming societies, and the role that Swedenborgian ideas played in 19th-century political discourse. Dell has many academic interests which examine the interface between culture and esotericism including Christian theosophy, especially Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig and Jakob Böhme. Dell is also interested in Willem Bilderdijk studies, and the relationship between Romantic nationalism and esotericism. He has also worked on the Christian interpretation of Sabbateanism and Karaitism, and he has written on the philosophy of Franz von Baader. Other interests include work on the relationship between technology and esotericism, especially in the history of aviation and the airship.

This month's topic centers around Emanuel Swedenborg, who was, and still is, an extremely influential figure within the currents of esotericism. Dell Rose begins by giving a short introduction about Swedenborg, and then moves to discuss other aspects of Swedenborg's life and beliefs that led to his eventual 'revelations' about the nature of the spiritual world and free will.

Dell is particularly concerned with the cultural reception of Swedenborg, and he notes that Swedenborg's influence is varied, but overwhelming. This influence is seen in all forms of cultural life from the 19th century onward, in areas such as art, literature, poetry, and music; but also in the political sphere, including public planning, cooperative societies, and women's rights. Dell shares his own research into Charles Augustus Tulk, who was keen to implement Swedenborg's ideas onto social issues, as well as other figures who were also inspired by Swedenborgian thought.

PROGRAM NOTES

Dell J. Rose: Research: Dell J. Rose - HHP | History of Hermetic Philosophy and related currents (amsterdamhermetica.nl)
Dell Joseph Rose – Swedenborg Society

Selected works by Emanuel Swedenborg:
Arcana Coelestia volume 1 (swedenborg.com)
Heaven and Hell (swedenborg.com)

Swedenborg Foundation: Swedenborg Foundation - Explorations of spiritual love and wisdom inspired by Emanuel Swedenborg

Karl Herman Vetterling ('The Higher Buddhism in Swedenborg'): 5db21a82014ef811ec8a2232_Herman Vetterling.pdf (webflow.com)
Thomas Lake Harris (Swedenborg ideas eventually transmitted to Japan): American Communities and Co-Operative Colonies : Hinds, William Alfred : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Alfred Deakin (Australia): Alfred Deakin | National Museum of Australia (nma.gov.au)

Charles Augustus Tulk: Microsoft Word - lines_swedenborg.doc (ucl.ac.uk)
Swedenborg’s Influence – The Swedenborg Project
Charles Augustus Tulk 1786 - 1849 | Sue Young Histories

Theme music: Daniel P. Shea
Other music: Stephanie Shea

RR Pod E26 Prof.Dr. Wouter J. Hanegraaff: Hermetic Embodiment, Interpretation, & Imagination

18 februari 2023 | 121 min

RR Pod E25P2 Dr. Luke Walker- Allen Ginsberg & His Blakean Revival: 'Counterculture' and Esoteric Intersections

23 december 2022 | 69 min

RR Pod E25P1 Dr. Luke Walker- Allen Ginsberg & His Blakean Revival: 'Counterculture' and Esoteric Intersections

22 december 2022 | 73 min

Spotlight Cavan McLaughlin - Trans-States Exhibition & Conference Series

12 december 2022 | 40 min

RR Pod E24 P2 Dr. Aaron French - US from the Future? Magic & Technology: Rosicrucians, Steiner, New Age & UFOs

19 november 2022 | 58 min

RR Podcast E24 P1 Dr. Aaron French - US from the Future? Magic & Technology: Rosicrucians, Steiner, New Age & UFOs

18 november 2022 | 84 min

Spotlight Richard Mason: Arthur Edward Waite & the 'Trinick-Pippet' Tarot

12 november 2022 | 41 min

Richard Mason returns to discuss A.E. Waite's order, The Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, and the special tarot deck developed for private use in rituals. Waite formed the order in 1915 (during WW1) and enlisted the help of artists and a financial backer to create the tarot 'deck,' that is now housed in the British Museum. Notable in the artwork is the shift from 'magic' to 'mysticism', and this artwork reflects Waite's strong views of a 'secret tradition' - a blend of Christianity with various esoteric concepts.

Note of Clarification: 'W.M. Yeats' is incorrect; W.B. Yeats was intended during conversation; The master album of the Trinick-Pippet drawings are located at the British Museum (not the British Library).

Thanks to Richard Mason for generously providing the images used in this video.

PROGRAM NOTES

Contact Richard Mason: [email protected]

Primary Sources:
-Myer, Isaac, Qabbalah. The Philosophical Writings of Solomon Ben Yehuda Ibn Gebirol or Avicebron, and their connection with the Hebrew Qabbalah and Sepher ha-Zohar (1888)
-Encausse, Gérard, Qabalah: The Secret Tradition of the West (1892)
-Édouard E., Blitz, Treatise on The Great Art: A System of Physics According to Hermetic Philosophy and Theory and Practice of the Magisterium (1898)
-A. E. Waite’s occult journal The Unknown World (1894-95)
-Waite, A. E., Azoth, or The Star in the East (1893)
-The Doctrine and Literature of Kabbalah (1899/1902)
-Steps to the Crown (1907)
-The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail (1909)
-The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry (1911)
-The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross (1924)
-The Holy Grail its Legends and Symbolism (1933)
-The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry (volume II) (1936)

Secondary Sources:
-Gilbert, R. A., A. E. Waite: A Bibliography, (1983)
-Gilbert, R. A., A. E. Waite: Magician of Many Parts, (1987)
-Hanegraaff, Wouter, “The Mysteries of Sex in the House of the Hidden Light: A. E. Waite and Kabbalah” (2018)
-Ferguson, Christine, Reading with the Occultists: Arthur Machen and A. E. Waite and the Ecstasies of Popular Fiction (2016)
-Parisious, Roger, Figures in a Dance: The Rider-Waite Tarot, (1987)
-Roukema, Aren, Esotericism and Narrative: The Occult Fiction in Charles Williams Fiction, (2018)
-Südekum, Stuart, “The Secret Tradition of Silence” (2014)
-Südekum, Stuart, Drinking from the Haunted Well: A mystical exploration in the Fairy Land of A. E. Waite, (2014)
-Seidmann, Gertrud, The Rev. Greville John Chester and ‘The Ashmolean Museum as a Home for Archaeology in Oxford’. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 16(1), (2006), pp.27–33.

Theme Music: Stephanie Shea

RR Pod E23 Drs. Michelle K. Oing & J. Christian Greer - Kumano Kodo: Pligrimage, Liminality, Spirits, and Sacralization

23 oktober 2022 | 104 min

RR Pod E22 Andrea Franchetto (The problems of) Defining 'Magic', Legitimization, and (the importance of) Space in Grimoire Traditions

18 augusti 2022 | 118 min

RR Pod E21 Ralph Tegtmeier - Chaos Magic Part 2: Emic Experiences

6 juli 2022 | 51 min

Rejected Religion Spotlight Occulture Series - Netflix's Archive 81 & Stranger Things 4

4 juli 2022 | 34 min

Spotlight Ninian Nijhuis - Western Sidereal Astrology

17 maj 2022 | 65 min

Ninian Nijhuis holds a Research Master in Religious Studies (University of Amsterdam); a BA in Law and an LL.M. in International Public Law (University of Utrecht). Her main focus is on Western Esotericism and her key fields of interest are Jungian psychology, sidereal astrology, mysticism, spirituality and its connections to science. Additionally, she is Head of Social Media at the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP Centre) and the University of Amsterdam, and currently works as a sidereal astrologer and coach.

In this interview, Ninian and I discuss sidereal astrology, and how it differs from tropical astrology (the system that most people in the West are familiar with). Ninian shares the history of astrology and of these two systems; why these systems became separated (with tropical astrology the most popular form in the West, and sidereal astrology in the East); and how sidereal astrology made a 'comeback' in the West via Cyril Fagan and others.

Ninian also shares her personal journey and views with regard to astrology, her research interest on an academic level, and how she uses sidereal astrology together with Jungian psychology in her own work.

RESOURCES

You can find Ninian at https://niniansiderealastrology.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niniannijhuis/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ninian.nijhuis

Academia.edu: https://uva.academia.edu/NinianNijhuis

Ninian's article about Western sidereal astrology: https://www.academia.edu/50008714/Western_Sidereal_Astrology_From_Ancient_Babylonia_to_the_Modern_West

From her website:https://niniansiderealastrology.com/2021/11/19/what-is-western-sidereal-astrology/

If you are interested in the academic study of Western Esotericism, and would like to be kept up-to-date on current lectures, courses, conferences, books, podcasts, etc., please check out -

https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamhermetica/

or https://www.amsterdamhermetica.nl/

or https://www.facebook.com/amsterdamhermetica

Theme Music: Stephanie Shea

RR Pod E20P2 Dr. Dylan Burns - Gnosticism: The Metaphysical Twist

8 maj 2022 | 72 min

RR Pod E20P1 Dr. Dylan Burns - Gnosticism: The Metaphysical Twist

7 maj 2022 | 80 min

Spotlight Korhsi Dosoo: Ancient Magical Papyri and Their Modern Reception

13 april 2022 | 76 min

RR Pod E19 w/ Dr. Christian Greer- Chaos Magic Part 1: Etic Examinations

16 mars 2022 | 86 min

Spotlight - Midnight Mass Discussion Panel

14 februari 2022 | 78 min

RR Pod E18 'Listener Response' with artist Michael Carter

6 februari 2022 | 100 min

Spotlight with Brennan Kettelle (University of Amsterdam): Queering Lilith

5 februari 2022 | 61 min

Spotlight Karen Swartz - Gender, Authority, & the Anthroposophical Society: A Curious Case Study

25 januari 2022 | 56 min

Rejected Religion Spotlight with Thomas Van Breda (University of Amsterdam) - Dion Fortune: Servant to the Masters

18 januari 2022 | 73 min

Rejected Religion Spotlight Tommy Cowan- Bill and Bob: Burroughs's Concept of Possession in Relation to Twin Peaks

11 januari 2022 | 44 min

Rejected Religion Spotlight Dr. Joel Bordeaux - Batman, Buddhism & Bricolage: Grant Morrison & The Dark Knight

4 januari 2022 | 73 min

Rejected Religion Spotlight Ninian Nijhuis- Carl G. Jung: Fantasy, Madness, and the Exploration of Consciousness

28 december 2021 | 57 min

RR Pod E17 P2 Roundtable with Pádraic E. Moore and Ewoud van Rijn - The 'Esoteric Turn' in Contemporary Art: Connection and Communication

16 december 2021 | 53 min

RR Pod E17 P1 Roundtable with Pádraic E. Moore and Ewoud van Rijn - The 'Esoteric Turn' in Contemporary Art: Connection and Communication

15 december 2021 | 59 min

Spotlight Elena Sperner: Real Vampyrism, Identity, Diversity Awareness, and the Role of Religion

4 december 2021 | 64 min

Rejected Religion Spotlight Richard Mason: Arthur Edward Waite and his 'Secret Tradition'

25 november 2021 | 40 min

RR Podcast E16 P2 Dr. Jenny Butler: Death, the Otherworld & The Good People in Irish Folklore & Contemporary Pagan Worldviews

12 november 2021 | 68 min

RR Podcast E16 P1 Dr. Jenny Butler: Death, the Otherworld & The Good People in Irish Folklore & Contemporary Pagan Worldviews

11 november 2021 | 65 min

Rejected Religion Spotlight (Audio)- Keith Readdy & Boleskine House Foundation

14 oktober 2021 | 46 min

Rejected Religion October Announcement

14 oktober 2021 | 2 min

RR Pod E15 P2 Mriganka Mukhopadhyay 'Voices From Within': An Indian Perspective on the Theosophical Society in 19th c. Calcutta

25 september 2021 | 60 min

RR Pod E15 P1 Mriganka Mukhopadhyay 'Voices From Within': An Indian Perspective on the Theosophical Society in 19th c. Calcutta

24 september 2021 | 53 min

RR Pod E14 P2 Stewart Clelland: Freemasons, The Green Book of the Élus Coëns & Gnostic Reintegration

22 augusti 2021 | 64 min

RR Podcast E14 P1 Stewart Clelland - Freemasons, The Green Book of the Élus Coëns & Gnostic Reintegration

21 augusti 2021 | 57 min

RR Pod E13 P2 Dr. S. Jonathon O'Donnell- Demons & the Demonized: Power & Spiritual Warfare in the USA

18 juli 2021 | 69 min

RR Pod E13 P1 Dr. S. Jonathon O'Donnell -Demons & the Demonized: Power and Spiritual Warfare in the USA

17 juli 2021 | 72 min

RR Pod E12, P2 Dr. Manon Hedenborg White - Women of Thelema: Authority and Agency

10 juni 2021 | 50 min

RR Pod E12, P1 Dr. Manon Hedenborg White - Women of Thelema: Authority and Agency

9 juni 2021 | 48 min

RR Podcast Ep.11, Pt.2 with Dr. Rune Rasmussen - Nordic Animism: Reconnecting with a Rejected Knowledge Tradition

16 maj 2021 | 77 min

RR Podcast Ep.11, Pt.1 with Dr. Rune Rasmussen - Nordic Animism: Reconnecting with a Rejected Knowledge Tradition

15 maj 2021 | 52 min

RR Podcast Ep. 10, Pt. 2 with Aaron J. French: The Mandela Effect - Reality, Memory, Conspiracy & Occulture

9 april 2021 | 72 min

RR Podcast Ep. 10, Pt. 1 with Aaron J. French: The Mandela Effect - Reality, Memory, Conspiracy & Occulture

8 april 2021 | 66 min

RR Podcast Ep.9, P2 with Dr. Christian Greer: Holy Goofs, Psychedelics, Conspiracy & The Discordian Society

17 mars 2021 | 76 min

RR Podcast Ep.9, P1 with Dr. Christian Greer: Holy Goofs, Psychedelics, Conspiracy & The Discordian Society

16 mars 2021 | 66 min

RR Podcast Ep. 8, Pt. 2: Roundtable Discussion with Thomas Van Breda & Robert Cabrales- Hellier, Penny Royal, Magick & The Weird

11 februari 2021 | 80 min

RR Podcast Ep. 8, Pt. 1: Roundtable Discussion with Thomas Van Breda & Robert Cabrales- Hellier, Penny Royal, Magick & The Weird

10 februari 2021 | 94 min

RR Podcast Ep.7, A Warm up to 'Hellier' and High Strangeness

23 januari 2021 | 44 min

RR Podcast Bonus Episode w/ Dr. Patricia Shea: Deep-Diving into the Celtic Wheel

6 januari 2021 | 96 min

RR Podcast Ep.6 w/ Dr. Patricia Shea: Finding Wisdom in Celtic Spirituality, Mysticism, and...a Pandemic?

11 december 2020 | 96 min

This month's special episode concerning inner, personal experiences in Celtic Spirituality is an interview with my aunt, Dr. Patricia Shea. She is Professor Emeritus of Education, and holds an MA in Religious Studies. Currently, she is a life coach, faciliator, and spiritual director. Patricia was also a Catholic nun in the Order of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for many years. At this stage of her life, however, she considers herself a Celtic Crone. What Patricia will be sharing in this interview is an integration of what she has learned from others within the area of Celtic Spirituality, combined with her own personal perspectives based upon her life experiences. This is not an academic discussion, but more a space for Patricia to share her own insights about her spiritual path, including her views about religion, and mysticism as well. We discuss what Celtic Spirituality is, the Celtic Wheel and how this is attuned to the Earth, the Winter Solstice, and even some opportunities a worldwide pandemic can offer to help us all explore deeper questions about life. Wishing you all a Happy Solstice!

EPISODE REFERENCES - SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cahill, Thomas. How the Irish Saved Civilization. 1995

Conway, D.J. & Lisa Hung. A Guide to the Celtic Dragon Tarot. 2011

Freedman, Mara. Kindling the Celtic Spirit, Ancient Traditions to Illumine Your Life throughout the Seasons. 2001. Kindling the Celtic Spirit: Ancient Traditions to Illumine Your Life Through the Seasons: Freeman, Mara: 9780062516855: Amazon.com: Books

~www.chalicecentre.net

~Grail Alchemy, Initiation in the Celtic Mystery Tradition. 2014

Greer, John Michael. The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth. 2006 The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth: Greer, John Michael, Carr-Gomm, Philip: 9781578633548: Amazon.com: Books

Hamilton, Claire. The Celtic Book of Seasonal Mediations. 2003

~Maiden, Mother, Crone; Voices of the Goddess. 2005

MacEown, Frank. The Celtic Way of Seeing: Mediations on the Irish Spirit Wheel. 2007

~The Spiral of Memory and Belonging, A Celtic Path of Soul and Kinship. 2004

Matthews, Caitlin. The Celtic Tradition. 1995 The Way of - The Celtic Tradition: Matthews, Caitlin: 9780007154333: Amazon.com: Books

~The Celtic Spirit, Daily Meditations for the Turning Year. 1999

~The Celtic Wisdom Tarot. 1999

~Celtic Visions. 2013

~Psychic Shield, The Personal Handbook of Psychic Protection. 2006

~Singing the Soul Back Home, Shamanic Wisdom for Every Day. 2018

Matthews, John. The Sidhe: Wisdom from the Celtic Otherworld. 2004.

~Celtic Totem Animals: Meet your animal helpers on your own shamanic journey. 2002

Matthews, John and Caitlin Matthews. Walkers Between the Worlds, 2003. Walkers Between the Worlds: The Western Mysteries from Shaman to Magus: Matthews, Caitlín, Matthews, John: 9780892810918: Amazon.com: Books

Momma White Cougar. The Sacred Wheel. Published by publishmybookonkindle.com

Monaghan, Patricia. The Goddess Path. 1999

Newell, Phillip. Listening to the Heartbeat of God.: A Celtic Spirituality. 1997

~A New Harmony: The Spirit, the Earth, and the Human Soul . 2012 A New Harmony: The Spirit, the Earth, and the Human Soul: Newell, J. Philip: 8589901111111: Amazon.com: Books

~Celtic Prayers from Iona. 1997

~Celtic Benediction: Morning and Night Prayer. 2000

O’Donohue, John. Anam Cara, Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World. 1997 Anam Cara: A Book Of Celtic Wisdom: John O'Donohue: 9780060929435: Amazon.com: Books

~Beauty, the Invisible Embrace. 2004

~Eternal Echoes, Exploring Our Yearning to Belong. 1999

~To Bless the Space Between Us, A Book of Blessings. 2008

~Wisdom from the Celtic World. 9 CD’s from Sounds True

Taylor, Joules. The Book of Celtic Symbols, Symbols, Stories & Blessings for Everyday Living. 2007 The Book of Celtic Symbols: Symbols, stories, and blessings for everyday living: Taylor, Joules: 9781782498247: Amazon.com: Books

~Celtic Messages, Book and 52 cards for affirmation and divination. 2007

RR Podcast Ep.5, P2 w/ Dr. Marco Pasi: Hermes's Smörgåsbord of Esoteric Delights

15 november 2020 | 57 min

In Part 2, Marco and I switch gears and talk about why Satan plays such a large role in heavy metal music by using Dr. Kennet Granholm's essay, "Why all that Satanist stuff in heavy metal?" We then shift the discussion to why some people think that occultism leads to fascist and Nazi ideologies with the help of Dr. Julian Strube's essay, "Doesn't occultism lead straight to fascism?" Lastly, we talk about Marco's own essay, "But what does esotericism have to do with sex?" that discusses how sex is actually a very important aspect for some esoteric practitioners.

EPISODE NOTES

Dr. Kennet Granholm's Academia.edu page: https://independent.academia.edu/KennetGranholm

Wiki page about backmasking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backmasking

Judas Priest articles: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/judas-priests-subliminal-message-trial-rob-halford-looks-back-57552/

https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/17/arts/2-families-sue-heavy-metal-band-as-having-driven-sons-to-suicide.html

Led Zeppelin articles/information: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-10-wildest-led-zeppelin-legends-fact-checked-153103/if-you-play-stairway-to-heaven-in-reverse-you-hear-satanic-messages-154807/

https://jeffmilner.com/backmasking/stairway-to-heaven-backwards.html

Dr. Julian Strube's Academia.edu page: https://uni-hamburg.academia.edu/JulianStrube

Dr. Julian Strube, "Nazism and the Occult", in The Occult World: https://www.academia.edu/20054488/Nazism_and_the_Occult

Dr. Nicolas Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology: https://www.amazon.com/Occult-Roots-Nazism-Influence-Ideology/dp/0814730604

Dr. Marco Pasi's Academia.edu page: https://uva.academia.edu/MarcoPasi

Dr. Marco Pasi, "The Modernity of Occultism: Reflections on Some Crucial Aspects" (in Hermes in the Academy): https://www.academia.edu/470659/The_Modernity_of_Occultism_Reflections_on_Some_Crucial_Aspects

Dr. Hugh Urban, " Magia Sexualis": https://www.academia.edu/8979724/Magia_Sexualis

Wiki page about Morning of the Magicians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Morning_of_the_Magicians

Hermes Explains book: https://www.amazon.com/Hermes-Explains-Questions-Western-Esotericism/dp/9463720200/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=marco+pasi&qid=1593693803&sr=8-13

RR Podcast Ep.5, P1 w/ Dr. Marco Pasi: Hermes's Smörgåsbord of Esoteric Delights

14 november 2020 | 59 min

RR Podcast Ep.4, P2 w/ Robert Cabrales: Hyperstition - Fictions Becoming Real?

26 oktober 2020 | 72 min

We start the episode with a short re-cap of the important concepts from Part 1. In this second part, Robert and I discuss how feedback loops work with the help of the film, The Sixth Sense. We also talk more about the difference between virtual reality and actual reality with the discussion of the concepts of re-enchantment and dis-enchantment. We also discuss how and why the Pepe the Frog meme was used by chaos magicians and others to attempt to influence the 2016 US election. Robert brings up the topic of Bob Lazar (to my pleasant surprise), and conspiracy theories are discussed in relation to hyperstition.

EPISODE NOTES

Lemurian Time War http://www.ccru.net/archive/burroughs.htm?LMCL=Mce24a&LMCL=q2_Nlu&LMCL=mttdXf&LMCL=ntDctj&LMCL=pVW4ZS&LMCL=c1yUJ5&LMCL=dFDG23&LMCL=wdLYre

The Ghost Lemurs of Madagascar http://www.williamflew.com/omni103a.html

CCRU Archive Material http://ccru.net/archive.htm

Robert Cabrales's "The Hyperstitional Philosophy of Time-Travel Cybernetics: Theosophy, the CCRU, and Black-Box Poiesis" https://www.academia.edu/40394659/The_Hyperstitional_Philosophy_of_Time_Travel_Cybernetics_Theosophy_the_CCRU_and_Black_Box_Poiesis

Articles about Chaos Magic by Colin Duggan [see first two papers on the list] https://ucc-ie.academia.edu/ColinDuggan

Mutants and Mystics : Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal by Jeffrey J. Kripal https://www.amazon.com/Mutants-Mystics-Science-Superhero-Paranormal/dp/022627148X

"The Magical Theory of Politics: Memes, Magic, and the Enchantment of Social Forces in the American Magic War" by Egil Asprem https://online.ucpress.edu/nr/article/23/4/15/107331/The-Magical-Theory-of-PoliticsMemes-Magic-and-the

"Accelerationism, Hyperstition and Myth-Science" by Simon O' Sullivan https://www.academia.edu/19888801/Accelerationism_Hyperstition_and_Myth_Science

Thee Psychick Bible: A New Testament by Genesis P-Orridge https://www.amazon.com/Thee-Psychick-Bible-Testameant-Book/dp/1932595392

"The Poememenon: Form as Occult Technology" by Amy Ireland https://www.urbanomic.com/document/poememenon/

"Charles Fort" by Jeffrey J. Kripal in The Occult World, edited by Christopher Partridge https://www.amazon.com/Occult-World-Christopher-Partridge/dp/1138219258

RR Podcast Ep.4, P1 w/ Robert Cabrales: Hyperstition - Fictions Becoming Real?

24 oktober 2020 | 60 min

In Part 1, Robert discusses the origins of Hyperstition, and our old friend William Burroughs from Episode 3 joins us again, as Burroughs's ideas about Time and Control play an important role in this story. And, as with Burroughs, the use of magick to try to change reality is also important here, especially with regard to semiotics. Theosophy's theory about root races, Aleister Crowley, and Lovecraft also get a mention.

EPISODE NOTES