Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

Latest Episodes:

Soul-Flight, Noetic Bodies, and Pneumatic Vehicles: Toward a History of the Platonist Subtle Body Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

We discuss the soul-flight practices found in our testimonies to the ancient Greek iatromanteis, Middle-Platonist and other early testimony to the theory of a soul-vehicle, and the subtle-body theories of Plotinus and Porphyry.

Methodologies for Studying the Subtle Body Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

We formally introduce the ‘subtle body’, the mysterious tertium quid which, alongside the soul and the physical body, occupies a central place in the anthropologies of many esoteric traditions. Featuring the triumphant return of Doctor Strange to the podcast.

Nilüfer Akçay on Porphyry’s On the Cave of the Nymphs Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

We speak with Nilüfer Akçay, author of the only full-length English monograph on Porphyry's On the Cave of the Nymphs.

Porphyry and the Barbarians: Ethnicity, Religious Practice, and Esoteric Interpretation Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

We get into Porphyry's reception of Greek and non-Greek wisdom, and the ways in which esoteric truth is to be found in various cultural locales. We also discuss the one place where it is most definitely not to be found: Christianity.

Dorian Greenbaum on Porphyry and Astrology Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

We talk astrology in Porphyry with Dorian Greenbaum, historian of astrology and philosophy. Along the way we situate ourselves within the history of astrology in the third century, discuss astrological world-views, and consider whether the oikodespotēs is the same chap as the personal daimōn.

Porphyry’s Gods: The Metaphysics and Physics of Divinity Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

We discuss the universe of Porphyry, which is crawling with gods, powers, and daimones, and some of the ways a human being might expect to navigate such a place. The episode features a long discursus on the theory of metempsychosis and a brief discursus on divine possession.

‘Poet, Philosopher, Hierophant’: Introducing Porphyry of Tyre Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

We introduce Porphyry of Tyre, a most prolific Platonist writer and thinker. Come for the Platonist metaphysics, stay for the esoteric reading-strategies, exorcisms, divine possessions, and lost work on the River Styx.

Charles M. Stang on the Divine Double in Late Antiquity Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

We discuss the motif of the divine twin, angelic counterpart, personal daimōn, and other forms of higher, divine self with Charles Stang. We may not be who we think we are, but that's good news.

Jason BeDuhn on Mani and Manichæism Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

We discuss one of the most anomalous, vexing, and fascinating religious movements in history, the first to span east and west, the elusive but crucial Manichæism, and its prophet, the great Apostle of Light, Mani. The eternal struggle between light and darkness is on, and minds will be blown.

Radcliffe G. Edmonds III on the ‘Mithrasliturgie’ Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

We discuss PGM IV 475-824, the famous ‘Mithrasliturgie’, with Radcliffe G. Edmonds III. Come for the immortalisation, divinisation, and visionary cosmic ascent, stay for the magical crocodile-surfing.