Occult Confessions

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7.1: Shamans and the Spirit Cure Jul 19, 2019

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How does belief shape the power of medicine? Tribal shamans among the Native Americans, Inuit, Hmong, and throughout the world demonstrate effective healing by applying their arts to body, mind, and spirit. We open our series on spiritual healing by considering how and why shamanic spirit healing has worked for thousands of years.

6.6: Cold War Psychic Spies Jul 05, 2019

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During the Cold War, the CIA and US military endorsed psychic warfare by employing two physicists from the Stanford Research Institute to train a crew of paranormal spies, also known as remote viewers. In this episode, we consider the history of Project Stargate (also known as Gondola Wish, Grillflame, and Starburst) as it locates crashed planes, enters the enemy's mind, and details secret activities at Arctic military bases.

6.5: The Magical Battle of Britain Jun 21, 2019

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How did King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and the Quest for the Holy Grail inspire Dion Fortune's nationwide campaign to protect the British from Nazi psychological, spiritual, and physical conquest during World War Two? In this episode we discuss Fortune, an important inspiration for modern-day Wicca and neo-paganism, and how Arthurian legend informed the magical process she led to repel the Nazis.

6.4: Aleister Crowley Goes to War Jun 07, 2019

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Notorious occultist Aleister Crowley engaged in a campaign of anti-British propaganda during World War One, but there is evidence that he may have been doing so in service of the British Government as an undercover agent. This case is bolstered by Crowley's relationship with James Bond author and British Intelligence Officer Ian Fleming during World War Two. In this episode, we ask whether Aleister Crowley was, in fact, a secret agent.

6.3: Chinese Secret Societies May 24, 2019

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The White Lotus Society, Red Turbans, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and "Boxers" were all inspired by mystical visions or held a series of supernatural beliefs that drove them to rebel against the powers that be inside China. In our nod to "Game of Thrones," we analyze both successes and failures in dynastic overthrow from Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan to Cixi, the Dragon Lady.

6.2: The Ghost Dance May 10, 2019

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The Lakota chiefs gathered at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and each spoke their piece about whether or not to send a delegation West to Nevada to meet the messiah. They decided a delegation would go out in late summer or fall 1889 under the leadership of Good Thunder. In 1890, the official delegation return with the opinion that the messiah had, in fact, arrived. Short Bull, who had fought with Sitting Bull in the War of 1876, and Kicking Bear were among this delegation and would go on to lead the Ghost Dance Religion among the Lakota. They both opposed the reforms visited on the Lakota by the US government after Sitting Bull's defeat.

6.1: The Livonian Werewolf Apr 26, 2019

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At a trial in late seventeenth-century Livonia, Thiess of Kaltenbrun claimed to be a hound of God, a werewolf who transformed to do battle with witches in hell. In this episode we try and figure out the origins of Thiess's conception of himself as a holy werewolf. We discuss berserkers, wolf warriors, Hungarian shamans, benandanti, and European werewolf lore.

5.6: Satan at the United Nations Apr 12, 2019

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Right wing Christian conspiracy theorists have suggested that Helena Blavatsky's Theosophical Society is secretly controlling the United Nations through an organization called the Lucis Trust and that this is part of a conspiracy to promote Satanic principles around the world. In this episode, we figure out exactly how and why these ideas don't exactly add up and why people choose to believe them.

5.4: The Secret Doctrine Mar 22, 2019

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A few years before she died, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky finished her masterwork, The Secret Doctrine. This remarkable book outlined the creation of the universe and of humanity as well as the spiritual evolution of all beings back into unity with the Absolute.

5.3: The Mahatmas and the Russian Spy Mar 08, 2019

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Was Helena Blavatsky the agent of a secret group of occult adepts or a pawn in a vast, international chess game? Advocating for Indian religious traditions, she did not endear herself to Christian missionaries and this seemed to serve her Masters' purposes. Until they allowed her to fall victim to a reputation-destroying scandal.

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