Occulture

Jasun Horsley is the author of The Vice of Kings: How Socialism, Occultism and the Sexual Revolution Engineered a Culture of Abuse. He returns to the podcast for another conversation after rattling a few cages back in episode 90. But that is exactly why I asked him back. I want to rattle some cages every now and then. I think that’s necessary. And the title is quite reflective of the content of the book and the content of this conversation. We are going to chat a bit about Jasun’s family history, which has ties to the Fabian Society and their socialist ideals and subsequent cultural movement, which may be the driving force behind the idea known as social engineering. We also talk about the role of occultism in this. One note, though. We had to cut this way shorter than we both probably would have liked, because Jasun’s schedule changed on the day of the interview. So a bit of a shorter show here both on Patreon and the free feed. Although there is a Patreon extension of about 22 minutes, which is where we tal

  Hey yo, so I was recently on a podcast called An Infinite Path, hosted by former guest and I guess a friend of mine on some level, Niles Heckman. Niles was on the show back in episode 84, and this is a great continuation of that chat, only with me in the hot seat this time.  Although I have to be honest, this was recorded the morning after my office Christmas party, so I had a bit of the ol’ cocktail flu. I lost my train of thought a few times, so my apologies to Niles and to any of you who continue to listen to this.  Regardless, it turned out a lot better than I remember it being as we were recording it. We talked about my influences and inspirations for this podcast, art, the occult and esoteric, occulture at-large, what I’ve taken from the conversations on this show, my growing skepticism and where that comes from, and summoning Alan Moore.  A fun and introspective chat, with a great outro that I have to thank Niles for throwing together. Enjoy.    https://www.nilesheckman.com/ https://www.nilesheckman.

Jeff Nixa is a shamanic practitioner, teacher and author of The Lost Art of Heart Navigation: A Modern Shaman’s Field Manual. In 2010 he founded Great Plains Shamanic Programs, an array of counseling, healing and education services, including one-on-one fire talks, seminars, university classes, outdoor retreats, and wilderness trips. In this chat Jeff and I are going to dig a bit into what is known as the heart path and that lost art of heart navigation. Basically, that’s taking wisdom from ancient shamanic traditions and using it to teach ourselves how to follow our heart so we live a more fulfilling life. And despite what I just said about my personal new year celebration, I think it’s a great chat for this time of year when many of us are looking to make some changes in our lives. And it is a great companion to the last episode of 2018 about the forgotten art of love. I was under the weather a bit when we recorded this. I think I had a bit of what Jeff calls hurry sickness. Just working myself into a state

It’s the last show of 2018, and this year-end show has somehow developed a theme of what we call in my hood, real talk. Last year I chatted with a man named Gilbert Bates about love, the three levels of consciousness, primal pain and primal therapy, which got a tremendous response. So with that in mind we return to the subject of love to close out the Gregorian calendar year that has been 2018. Our guest for this one is Dr. Armin Zahdeh, who published a book in 2017 called The Forgotten Art of Love: What Love Means and Why It Matters. Armin is a cardiologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University. He has authored more than 100 scientific articles and is an editor of scholarly books in medicine. Besides medicine, he has a strong interest in philosophy with a particular focus on mending its ideas with concepts from biology and sciences. In the book, Armin revisits psychologist Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving and examines love through the lenses of biology, philosophy, history, religion, sociology, and econom

It is with certain seasonal celebrations in mind that we welcome back the one and only Dr. Al Cummins. Al, of course, is a professional diviner and historian, as well as a poet and consultant of all things magical. He was here not too long ago, back at the beginning of October in episode 105 where we talked about geomancy, cartomancy and other forbidden arts. And what a great companion piece that is to this chat that you’re about to hear. Al is going to rap about a book he published earlier this year called A Book of the Magi: Lore, Prayers and Spellcraft of the Three Holy Kings. And in the Patreon extension we’ll also get into one of those other forbidden arts - necromancy, particularly as it was practiced in 17th century England, which is a period Al has some serious interest in. One note on the chat: a couple Skype dropouts, which I did not notice live, but nothing that detrimental to the quality of the audio or the conversation, which is a rather jolly one.   PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occult

Brad Warner is the author of six books, including the critically acclaimed Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality. This book put Brad on the map in the Buddhist community because of its no-nonsense, plainspoken - and maybe even outspoken - approach to zen, meditation and the nature of individual reality. In fact, Hardcore Zen actually begins with these words: “Nothing is sacred. Doubt - in everything - is absolutely essential. Everything, no matter how great, how fundamental, how beautiful or important it is, must be questioned.” So you know that yours truly - what, with my plainspoken mantra recited at the end of each episode - you know that this is right up my anti-dogmatic, anti-authoritative alley.   PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture Psychedelics in Buddhism & drug-based spirituality Encountering demons during meditation Conspiracy thinking The self image as a useful fiction Teaching Buddhism in the same way you teach art “From birth to death, it’s just li

Quite a different experience this time around. Katy Bohinc is back in the house. She was our guest in episode 71, talking about her previous book of poetry Trinity Star Trinity. She’s got a new book of poetry out now called Scorpio, which has garnered some really nice press recently. I think the poems mimic the persona of the astrological sign of Scorpio, the traits and characteristics present in those of us born from October 23 to November 21. Equal parts dramatic, nostalgic and erotic, but with a throughline of that elusive L word that you hear so much about. And this conversation with Katy, I think, mimics those same Scorpionic traits and tendencies. Some good, grounded energy running through here. But the experiential part of this is we recorded this in the car, together, a few days after Thanksgiving, so just after Scorpio season ended. Driving through rural southwest Ohio. And I think the mood of that was also captured. Of course the car recording does come with a caveat in terms of quality, so venture

Dr. Nick Berry is the proprietor of Essential Oil Wizardry, which is, I dare say, the leading essential oils company in the world. Sorry, doTerra. But not sorry. Because Nick has definitely set the standard for essential oils, with custom extraction methods and meticulously harvested and crafted blends. I mean, he’s using ultrasonic technology, he’s amplifying the oils with targeted frequencies in crystal bowls, he’s imprinting the oils with orgonite, mixing in ormus. He’s an artist, magician and alchemist in the purest sense of the words. What’s more, he takes a holistic approach to health and wellness that supports mind, body and spirit. He’s a licensed pharmacist with a diverse background integrating the study of plants, pharmacology, alchemy, superfoods, therapeutic-grade essential oils and nutrition. Needless to say, Nick knows his shit. And hopefully after some time with him, you’ll know some shit too - and hopefully be at least somewhat curious about incorporating essential oils into your daily health

Our guest this time around is Dr. Kristen Gallerneaux, an artist, curator and sonic researcher with a Ph.D. in Art Practice & Media History, an MA in Folklore and an MFA in Art. She is also the Curator of Communication and Information Technology at The Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, Michigan, where she continues to build upon one of the largest historical technology collections in North America. But it is Kristen’s recent book High Static, Dead Lines that forms the basis for our conversation. This book has been described as “a literary mixtape that explores the entwined boundaries between sound, material culture, landscape and esoteric belief.” The book contains essays and fictocritical interludes are arranged to evoke a network of ley lines for the “sonic spectre” to travel through—a hypothetical presence that manifests itself as an invisible layer of noise alongside the conventional histories of technological artifacts. And the connective thread is the recurring presence of sound charting the contentious

Stefan Kiesbye is the author of the recently released novel Berlingeles, a dystopian cyberpunk story that conjures up names like William Gibson, Philip K Dick, Franz Kafka and the television series Black Mirror. Stefan teaches creative writing at Sonoma State University in Northern California and Berlingeles is his sixth novel. It’s set in a future Los Angeles that has been walled in, much like Berlin back in the day, and follows the stories of Gaz, a rising member of the city’s most notorious street gang, and a 96-year-old man known only by the letter K.   Here’s a line from the synopsis of the book: “Seeking a way out of this hellish maze of sweeping slums, waves of violence, and little hope, Gaz might just have found his path to salvation, while the underworld hangs on the prophecies of blind prophet Gerut, and the rest of the lost city still smolders in the ashes of a civil war.” And a story like that, with themes like this, combined with Stefan’s background, made for quite the chat, so hopefully you take

We are all the way live with this one, and that’s because we welcome an old friend back into the house. Susie Chang returns to the show to talk about her life, her journey and her new book Tarot Correspondences: Ancient Secrets for Everyday Readers. Some of you surely know Susie as the cohost of the Fortune’s Wheelhouse podcast, which I geek out on every Wednesday. And some of you may remember her first visit here back in episode 70 with her co-host Mel Meleen. For those who don’t know Susie, she’s a multi-talented artist and creator. Many different areas of practice and expertise, and I think that came through in the conversation you’re about to hear. And that conversation lives at the same intersection that some of my favorite chats live at: this nexus of idea-sharing, personal introspection and a healthy dose of laughter.   PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture The switch of the order/number of the Strength and Justice cards Why the Golden Dawn system is still the standard bearer in tarot and

Chris Knowles is the synchromystic mind behind The Secret Sun, a blog that should be required reading for any open-minded types out there. Some of you are no doubt aware of Chris’s work on his blog, and if you’re not, you’ll get a crash course here. And just a crash course, not a deep dive. Because Chris is so much more than just his blog. He’s also the author or co-author of three books, the Eagle Award-winning “Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes”, “The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths, and the Movies”, and “The Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll”. He’s also had a career in the advertising, publishing and entertainment fields. All of that forms the basis for our chat here, about Jack Kirby, black magick LARPs, and if you’re on Patreon, the siren of the philosophers.   PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture The increase of siren symbolism in culture Supernova 1987a Chris’s definition and views of apocalypse The constellation Lyra Star maps Sound/sonic frequen

Happy Halloween or Samhain or Day of the Dead or whatever you may be celebrating this time of year. And we have a show that’s apropos this time around. Dacre Stoker and JD Barker are in the house. They are the co-authors of the recently released novel Dracul, the official Stoker-family endorsed prequel to the original Dracula story. Very cool, very excited to have them here for our annual Halloween episode. As you will hear in the chat, Dacre is the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker, the author of that original Dracula story. Dacre is a former teacher and athletics coach; he even coached for Canada during the Olympics. But he’s made the transition to full-time writer and speaker. He gives presentations about Bram and Dracula, takes folks on tours of sites related to the Dracula mythos as well as the real-life inspiration for the character, Vlad the Impaler. And, along with his wife, manages the Bram Stoker Estate. JD is an international best-selling author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thr

If you’re into stories about the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, you’ll probably dig this story of three small town teenagers who start a podcast to investigate an urban legend called the Blackwood Bugman, who’s linked to a host of mysterious disappearances and murders. And, of course, the kids soon find out that the danger is much more real than they first thought. As stories like this tend to go. Listen to more Blackwood here.

You won’t find too many people who work in and around paranormalia like our guest this time around. His name is Joshua Cutchin, and he’s the author of the recently released Thieves in the Night: A Brief History of Supernatural Child Abductions. Thieves in the Night deals with complex and delicate issues pertaining to human sexuality, reproduction, mental health, and gender, with a particular focus on the Faery Faith and the parallels to UFO and extraterrestrial abduction experiences. And as Josh himself notes in his intro to the book, this should be treated as a thought experiment and launching point for further discussion and debate of the paranormal, rather than objective truths. Which is an approach I can absolutely get down with. And get down with that approach Josh and I most definitely did.   PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture The story of the Tailor and the Changeling Changeling analogs in the alien hybrid theory and other spiritual and Fortean phenomena More on mental disorders and cha

I remember the first time I sat down and watched Night of the Living Dead. I was 16 years old, and I rented the VHS tape, no joke, from my local video store. Around this time of year. And I was blown away by the aesthetic of the film, the black and white, the social commentary, and what I would later come to know as the zombie motif in fiction. And I’ve been - not obsessed - but heavily interested in this motif since then. And I’ve been looking for someone to chat with about it for two years now. Because not only is the zombie an integral part of horror fiction and greater pop culture, it’s an integral part for an entire sociopolitical and religious structure that emanates in Haiti. You wouldn’t know that if all you know about the zombie is from George Romero films or Walking Dead comic books. Thankfully, our guest this time, Dr John Cussans, is in the house to dig deep into the history of the zombie and tell us about something he calls the zombie complex. John is an artist, writer and educator based in Londo

Our guest this time is one of the first guests to share the airwaves with me. His name is Peter Bebergal, and he’s written maybe the coolest book you’ll read this year. Actually there’s no maybe about it. It’s the coolest. It’s called Strange Frequencies: The Extraordinary Story of the Technological Quest for the Supernatural, and it’s a journey through the attempts artists, scientists, and tinkerers have made to imagine and communicate with the otherworldly using various technologies, from cameras to radiowaves to maybe even something like this here podcast. Which makes sense, because technology has been used for centuries to bridge the gap between the material and the mystical, revealing that the workshop and the séance parlor have more in common than we might think. And if technology is the bridge between worlds, then I say we’re living in the most magical time in recorded human history. PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture Performance and it being the most potent form of magic The role of em

Michael Wann is going to talk about the Kavanaugh-Ford story here, but more on a psychological, symbolic, archetypal level. We’re not getting political about it. We’re not dismissing the allegations or the claims of anyone involved. We recognize the systemic cultural problems that this story highlights. We’re just not talking about them directly. I guess you could say we’re looking at a more occulted layer of what this story represents. We’ll also touch on the connection between the Kavanaugh-Ford story and the recent UFC fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, as well as Kanye West, SNL, Donald Trump and pro wrestling.

Dr. Al Cummins is in the house to chat about some of the forbidden arts, as they were known during the Renaissance: a few different forms of divination, including geomancy, which Al is gearing up to teach here very soon. More on that after the chat. And also cartomancy, which both fascinates and excites me, probably in an unhealthy, strange sort of way. Of course, Al is a professional diviner and historian, as well as a poet and a consultant of all things magical. His approach to ritual, divination, and sorcery comes from both a long-term practice and an academic background in the history of early modern magic. And we put that background to the test at the very end of this chat. We had a little fun, and if you’re a patron, there’s something really cool in store for a couple of you here soon.   PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture Saint Raphael the Archangel and working with him for matters of health and healing, both physical and psychological The physical, psychological and spiritual nature of

It’s the first of October so you know what that means. It’s time to get a bit spooky. And who better to get spooky with than Tracy Twyman. Because I’ll tell ya, every time I listen to her talk, I get the bejesus scared out of me. She’s real, she’s raw, and she brought something fierce here. Of course, Tracy needs no introduction. She’s been here before in episode 58 to discuss her novel Genuflect and some of the wild ass ideas she threw in there. I’d recommend listening to that first if ya haven’t heard it yet. It’ll give some further context to this discussion. But not completely necessary. Tracy’s had quite an interesting trip around the sun since then, though, and she will tell us all about it, or as much as she wanted to about it, and how she sees it all connecting inside this Metaverse we seem to be living in.   PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash and the parallels the book’s narrative has with the internet and modern technology Inanna and the Tower