The Hermetic Hour

Latest Episodes:

The Mystery of Melchizedek (rebroadcast) Aug 05, 2022

Show notes

On November 2nd, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the Biblical mystery man Melchizedek who appears in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and later in the New Testament. Melchizedek literally means King and Priest or Priest-King. He was said to have given the first communion to Abraham in the days before Joseph became a leader in Egypt. Although legendary he was said to have established an order of priesthood to rival that of Moses brother Aaron. He represented the original Canaanite god El ("the most High God") whereas Aaron's priesthood was that of Moses' Jehovah (Yahweh). After the Babylonian captivity Ezra attempted to overwrite all references to El in the Bible and make Jehovah the supreme being. The New testament declares twice that Jesus the Nazarene is a priest after the Order of Melchizedek -- We will look at this in relation to the Egyptian and Phoenician situation at the time and later Gnostic Christian writings. So if you want to do some Biblical detective work tune in and we'll solve the mystery.

Hermetic Yoga at the OHM Shasta Conclave Jul 29, 2022

Show notes

This last weekend, July 22nd through the 24th, The Ordo Hermeticus Mysteriorum held its long postponed (due to the pandemic) conclave at Mt, Shasta Resort, Mt, Shasta, California. Attending were nearly thirty officers of the Order (R.R. et A.C.) Led by worshipful Paul Clark and Gracious Lady Cindy Forbes. Guest Speakers were Right Worshipful Kevin Townley (author of 'The Cube of Space") Chic and Tabatha Cicero (noted Golden Dawn authorities) worshipful Merrick Rees Hamer (G.D. Temple Chief, C.H.S. Vice President and Phylos in BEYOND LEMURIA, which was shown on the 24th) and Carroll "Poke" Runyon (Frater Thabion, OTA Magister and President of C.H.S., writer and producer of BEYOND LEMURIA). Poke's Lecture "Hermetic Yoga" was assisted by "The Head" created by V.H. Frater SithMeth (Max Paul) which is shown above with the event coffee cup and the rose given to us by Wor. Paul Clark. The text of the lecture follows and will be presented on the Hermetic Hour this week and then, with the power point illustrations included became a video on the Ordo Templi Astartes You Tube channel.

The Labours of Hercules in the Hermetic Tradition (rebroadcast) Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday October 12th the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon and special guest Frater Soun of Ubar will discuss the mythical Labours of Hercules in relation to the Hermetic tradition. We will develop the background of the myth evolving from Babylon's Gilgamesh through Melqart of Phoenician Tyre into the ancient Greek hero myth so often seen in films and television. We will look at works by Manley Hall, Albert Pike, Robert Graves, Alice Bailey and especially the French author Charles Francois Dupuis (1742-1809) who seems to be the only scholar who has sequenced the twelve labours in proper Zodiacal order. The labours of Hercules are a chart of the souls journey through a cycle of lifetimes. They represent the great wheel of birth and death and are considered one of the Keys to the mysteries. So If you want to follow the big guy with the lion skin and the club tune in and we'll go adventuring.

Gilgamesh, Mythical Hero of an Epic Adventure (rebroadcast) Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday October 5th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon joined by Frater Soun, Magister of Ubar Lodge in Dallas, will air a discussion on the evolution of the the Solar Hero in mythology from the Sumerian Gilgamesh who was the model for the Phoenician Melqart, who in turn inspired the Greek Heracles. Gilgamesh is a four thousand year old epic adventure story which circulated throughout the whole Middle East with copies found among the Hittites and the Canaanites. Even as Ishtar and Tammuz were translated into Astarte and Ba'al, and subsequently became Aphrodite and Adonis. Gilgamesh like Hercules slays a lion, a bull, a giant and many-headed monster. His victories and Hercules' labours are seen as representing the sun's yearly progress through the signs of the Zodiac. So tune in and we'll go back to the days of myth and legend and make our way through "The Circle of the Beasts" as the Zodiac was originally called.

Sekret Machines - Sources and Follow-Up Books (rebroadcast) Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday September 7th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a follow-up to our previous review of "Sekret Machines" (2017) by Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley. In this program we will look at their major source work: "Insiders Reveal Secret Space Programs & Extraterrestrial Alliances" (2015) by Michael E. Salla, Ph.D. and his (2017) sequel "The U.S. Navy Secret Space Program & Nordic Extraterrestrial Alliance." These books and the plot of Sekret Machines are primarily based on the revelations of the age regressed whistle blower Corey Goode and other former U.S. Navy and Air Force operatives in a parallel secret advanced Space Program with alleged bases on the Moon and Mars. We will also examine Tom DeLonge and Peter Lavenda's (2017) book "Gods, Man and War" which establishes the historical and anthropological validity of the Ancient Alien and UFO connection without evoking secret space program conspiracies. So if you want to return to the absolute elsewhere for another hour, tune-in and we will have both a critical and a sympathetic look at this phenomenon.

Sekret Machines - Chasing Shadows, by Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley (rebroadcast) Jul 01, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday August 31st the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a review of the recent best selling novel: "Sekret Machines - Chasing Shadows" by Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley. This book purports to be The Truth about "The Phenomenon" (UFOs, Ancient Aliens, the Nazi Bell et alia) presented as fiction. It is very effective as a Dean Koontz-Dan Brown style multiple-viewpoint thriller. Readers will at first believe that this is a novelized version of the "X-Files" t.v. series but the final chapter proves that the 1940s Shaver Mystery by Raymond A. Palmer and Richard S. Shaver was the real inspiration for this project. We do not say this to discredit Sekret Machines but rather to recommend it. So if you want to spend an hour in the Absolute Elsewhere, tune in and we will take the elevator down to the "deep utilities" and visit with the Deros who run The New World Order.

"Three Books of Occult Philosophy" by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1533) Jun 24, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday June 23rd, 2022 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will reappraise and read from the Hermetic classic "Three Books of Occult Philosophy" by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, first published in 1533 in Latin. This master work has been the foundation study of Hermetic science, Magick and mysticism for nearly 500 years. It is divided into three sections, or books: The Natural World, The Celestial World, and The Divine World. The first, The Natural World dealt with The Hermetic Elements, the second The influence of The Heavens, Stars and Planets upon human affairs and events and the third the Divine World, dealt with the spiritual sciences of Magick and Qabalah. Unfortunately many students get these volumes as a reference work. Agrippa intended it to be read and studied from beginning to end as one continuous and contiguous work. The Hermetic Elements of the Natural World are reflected in the Celestial World, and spiritually empowered and directed from The Divine World. We will demonstrate this with selected readings from the first Volume. We will be reading from the newly translated 1533 Latin edition from Inner Traditions translated by Eric Purdue. So if you want an old fashioned introduction to wizardry, tune and we'll start you on the path.

Stories of Magic and Enchantment with William Mistele (re-broadcast) Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday August 17th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon is honored to present a review and discussion on the new book of magical fiction "Stories of Magic and Enchantment" by William Mistele, with the author as our guest. This book is handsomely published by Falcon Books, a new publisher in the field. As regular listeners will recall, we have supported Bill Mistele from the beginning of his writing and publishing career, having had him on as a guest with his first book "Undines" (2010). This was followed by "Mermaids, Sylphs, Gnomes, and Salamanders" in 2012. As you might suppose Bill is very much into Franz Bardon's Hermetic Elemental personifications. He writes from a deep empathy for sacred nature and its spirits, encountering them in human form as magicians often do. He favors the feminine spiritual perspective. His stories are remarkably free from the usual horror and conflict we associate with supernatural fiction. We might say they are totally opposite to Lovecraft, while being lovingly crafted. Bill has a degree in philosophy and has spent years studying and meditating with Buddhist and Taoist teachers. He finally devoted himself to the Bardonian system of magic and has more books in the works. So, if you would like to meet a true magical maestro and learn about his visionary work, tune in and be enchanted.

Shamgar, The Whole Story (re-broadcast) Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday July 20th,2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present the dramatic conclusion of Shamgar, the Purple Dragon by Poke Runyon. The first part of this Biblical adventure was aired on September 4th, 2014's Hermetic Hour and has remained unfinished until the original manuscript was rediscovered. Now we can complete this Cecil B. DeMillish Biblical epic from the Book of Judges. Shamgar's saga recounts how a Phoenician Pirate who claimed to be descended from Pagan Gods, becomes a Judge of Israel and battles the Philistines, slaying them with an ox goad years before Samson used the jawbone of ass. Shamgar almost becomes Israel's first King but his magical ox goad is passed down to a future contender at the beginning of the common era. So if you want to enjoy the Old Testament from a Canaanite perspective, tune in and join us as Shamgar rides again.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft May 27, 2022

Show notes

On Thursday May 26th, 2022 The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon and guest Maximilian Paul will review and discuss Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s tour-d-force horror novel “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward” written in 1927 and published posthumously in 1941. This macabre epic has influenced the works of Stephen King and Clive Barker and has inspired two film versions, which we will also review and discuss. The Charles Dexter Ward story deals primarily with traditional supernatural themes: Alchemy, Necromancy, Medieval black magic, vampirism and demonic possession. The central character Charles Dexter Ward is a young scholar in Providence Rhode Island in the 1920s who becomes fascinated with the history of his notorious 17th century ancestor Joseph Curwen. The wizard Curwen had moved from Salem to Providence to avoid the witchcraft trails in 1699. He was an alchemist fascinated with a necromantic version of palinogenesis; raising the dead from their cremated remains. He with two equally sinister European sorcerers began grave robbing; collecting the remains of dead sages and scientists to learn their secrets. They also discovered secrets of immortality. This worked against Curwen in Providence where he showed no signs of age for forty years. He did manage to marry so as to leave a bloodline so that he could return – which he did in1928 when he possessed his great-great grandson Charles Dexter Ward through a strange portrait in his old house which young Ward had moved into. Young Ward is possessed by Curwen and eventually finds his grave and brings him back to life. But Old Curwen then murders young Charles and usurps his modern identity. However the Ward family physician Dr. Willet, and Ward’s father have Curwen (believing him to be Ward) committed to an Insane asylum. And that is where the story begins. So stay with us for all the inner secrets of what many consider to have been Lovecraft’s best horror novel.

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