The Hermetic Hour

Latest Episodes:

The Hermetic Revival in the 21st Century (re-broadcast) Jul 14, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday March 21st, 2013 The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the rise of serious academic, intellectual, and scientific interest in Hermetic philosophy, spirituality and even practice in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. We will review the works of writers such as Joscelyn Godwin, David Fideler, Richard Kieckhefer, Kitty Fergueson, and Peter Kingsley. We will discuss the impact of new theories and discoveries in quantum physics on previous scientific and philosophical paradigms, leading to a renewed appreciation for the ancient Pythagorean cosmic and natural doctrines which were the foundation for the Hermetic sciences of alchemy, astrology, and the art of magick. In theoretical science one might say that the Qabalah is challenging Einstein. So tune in and find out just how serious the academy now regards our antiquated beliefs and superstitions. We don't need to go to the Moon anymore, we can send for it...

Ceremonial Masks and William Blake's America: A Prophecy Jul 07, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday July 6th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the making and use of Masks, for magicians taking the roles of Gods and Goddesses in Seasonal Ceremonies. Our guest for this discussion will be Frater Isa Magister of the Ubar Hermitage in Dallas, Texas, who has been making and using masks in ceremonies for some time. Following this discussion we will be joined by our second guest Bryan Dini, The Purple Man, and head of the iconoclastic Purple Party (a sort of traveling Burning Man show) who staged a dramatic street version of Blake's America Prophecy which can be viewed on the internet. So, if you want to celebrate the 4th two days late, join us and we'll do Blake and hang out the Gadston Flag.

Symposium - Assuming God and Goddess Forms in Ceremonies Jun 30, 2017

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On Thursday June 29th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a symposium on the topic of Assumption of God and Goddess Forms in magical ceremonies. Call in guests will include Frater Heracles John Sheffield whose new rituals and articles suggested the topic, Soror Urania Ann Finnin whose Celtic Church, the Roebuck, has been doing these operations for years, and Soror Ariel Jo Carson of Feraferia who will be presenting a Lammas Rite at Rivendell in August, so if you would like to attend this meeting of the minds on the subject of being God and Goddess-like, tune in and we shall bring the heavens down to Earth.

Enochian Aethyrs - Facing Choronzon Jun 23, 2017

Show notes

As most of our active and Associate Members know we are mainly focused on Solomonic Ceremonial magick, but we also use the Aethyr System from Dee and Kelly’s Enochian corpus, which provides us with an operative alternative when the Moon is not well aspected for Goetia. The Aethyr System, originally called “Terrestrial Victory” and was a thirty-level sphereical model of the Universe with the Earth in its center and the Aeythrs or Heavens (Gnostic Aeons originally) surrounding and expanding from the terrestrial center like the layers of an onion with the lowest as number 30 TEX rising on up to LIL as number one enclosing the outer limit of the circular universe. All of these levels are related to the Four Elemental Tablets, called The Watchtowers which relate to the celestial sphere and are positioned around the magic circle. Each of these Aethyrs have angelic governors whose sigils are outlined on the tablets. This is derived from Kamea Magic. The Aethyrs themselves derive from Valentinian Gnosticism, and the Book of Revelation The Magicians who explore these astral realms will activate the tablets, with Enochian Calls, and then scry into an orb on the altar within the magic circle. You can see this in our introductory video “The Rites of Magick.” We have discussed this on the Hermetic hour before but tonight we are going to go much deeper into the mysteries and paradoxes of this powerful system of magic. So, if you want to learn how to open Pinhead’s (Choronzon’s) Box tune in and chant with us: Zacar od Zamran!

Balancing the Male and Female Aspects in Hermetic Magick (re-broadcast) Jun 16, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday February 28th, 2013, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon, will explain the fundamental and practical changes the Order of the Temple of Astarte (O.T.A.) has made in Qabalah, Yoga, Angel gender, Evocation of Spirits, and both Biblical and Pagan mythology in order to make Hermetic visionary magick a gender-balanced system that men and women can feel is equally theirs, and still be within the compass of the genuine Western Esoteric Tradition. As most of you know The G.D., the O.T.O., Freemasonry and the Rosicrucians are all patriarchal, male-dominated and male-oriented systems in which there is no veneration of a true Divine Feminine and little concern for feminine viewpoint. The O.T.A. was founded in 1969, when modern Neo-Paganism was emerging as a dynamic spiritual force. We were very much influenced by Feraferia, and Robert Graves. We knew that if traditional magick was to be valid in this modern age, the balance of male and female elements had to be created and maintained. This is a controversial subject and we will be open to call-ins on the topic -- so, tune in and find out about traditional magick's affirmative action program.

Dashwood's Hellfire Club (re-broadcast) Jun 09, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday, January 3rd, 2013 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on Sir Francis Dashwood's 18th century "Hellfire Club." We will recount the outrageous exploits attributed to Dashwood and his cult of "randy rakes' and merry ne'er-do-wells who called themselves "The Medmenham Friars" or "Franciscans" after "St. Francis" Dashwood, their founder and sponsor. Lots of fun, but behind all this naughtiness there was a genuine libertine appreciation for the erotic beauties of Classical Paganism. Dashwood was closer to Thomas Taylor and William Beckford, and the later Norman Lindsay -- and even our own Frederick Adams, than to De Sade and the French satanists. The Medmenham Frairs were certainly libertine, but their devil was Pan, not Satan, and their diety was the Goddess. Dashwood, before Crowley, was influenced to replicate Rabilias' Abbey of Thelema and carved "Do What Thou Wilt" across the door to his chapel. From Dashwood we get "The Frair's Club" and probably "The Bohemians." He was a successful politician and public servant, married and respectable until slandered in the press in his later years. Hopefully we will have Dave and Ann Finnin call in. They visited "The Abbey" and were conducted through the infamous grotto by the present Earl of Dashwood, and can give us a first hand look at the remains of a Pagan enclave that flourished at the time of the American Revolution.

The Magick Behind Pepe the Frog Jun 02, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday June 1st, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on the current magical phenomenon of "Pepe the Frog." Pepe is a meme (an iconic symbol like the smiley face) which was taken over by anti-progressive political forces during the last presidential campaign. Originally created as a Pogo type character in a counter-culture comic book, Pepe escaped into public domain and was used on the internet as a humorous joke platform until he was captured by the Donald Trump supporters in the Fall of 2016. Since then Pepe has developed a mythology (ancient Egyptian frog God Kek) and a philosophy of Primordial Chaos, or Anarchy, a Nation of his own "Kekistan" with a history and a world wide diaspora much like Judaism, with a national anthem: "Shadilay," and a green and black flag that looks like it came off of a Nazi U-Boat. The magick behind Pepe's turn to the Right came from Cornelius Agrippa's "Natural Magic" (Duck powder creates frogs) and was implemented by Hillary Clinton when she ordered adult sized Donald Duck costumes to be fabricated and then sent her Ducks out against Donald Trump. Trump retaliated by capturing Pepe and adding the frog to his own crew of "Deplorables" (again using one of Hillary's creations against her) She confirmed Pepe's transformation into a "right wing bigot" on national television and even though Pepe's cartoonist creator killed him off, millions of devout Kekistanis throughout the world wide web would let him not let him die. Poke will be joined tonight by deep internet-lurker Frater SithMeth as we delve into the magical mysteries of Pepe the Frog.

Albert Pike and the Hermetic Tradition in Masonry (re-broadcast) May 26, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday December 6th, 2012 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on the Masonic scholar and author Albert Pike, his legacy and his unique contributions to American Masonry and the Western Esoteric Tradition. Pike was and still is a very controversial figure. He was also a paradox: opposed to slavery, he still served as a general in the Confederate army. He was an advocate of Native American rights and led a regiment of Confederate Indians against the Yankees whom they hated. He was the father of Scottish Rite Masonry in America, rewriting and organizing a jumble of continental Masonic degrees into a coherent system that has become the largest Masonic jurisdiction in the world. He was an occultist much influenced by Eliphas Levi, and a proponent of the Hermetic Tradition which he showcased in his favorite Scottish Rite degree Knight of the Sun (the former 28th degree), which he devoted more text to than any other degree in his classic "Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite." Even back in the 19th century he was a lightning rod for anti-masons, being the alleged Luciferian Master of the mysterious lady sex magician "Diana Vaughan" in the great French "Palladian Hoax". So if you want to get the inside story on this giant of American Masonry and his efforts to preserve the ancient mysteries behind Freemasonry, tune in and we'll shed some Light on the subject.

Astral Dynamics by Robert Bruce May 19, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday May 18th, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss "Astral Dynamics" (2009) by Robert Bruce. Robert Bruce is an Australian writer not to be confused with the Scottish "Robert the Bruce". In Astral Dynamics Bruce has delivered what may well be the best practical manual on Astral Projection (OBEs and similar phenomenon) since Ophiel's "The Art and Practice of Astral Projection" (1961). Of course I must admit that I have a special interest in this book because Bruce describes, validates and teaches methods and techniques that we use in our magical instructions and training. His description of the chakras (psychic centers) is virtually in-line with our Western Middle Pillar system and his Third Eye projection is very much like ours. He describes projecting into paintings and projecting from Lucid Dreaming states. His energy work techniques are very Bardonian and his description of the Astral Planes is in line with our experiences. All considered this is a great book and we highly recommend it. So Turn on, tune in and pop-out!

Lucifer Princeps by Peter Grey May 12, 2017

Show notes

On Thursday May 11th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review "Lucifer Princeps" (2015) by Peter Grey. This book is quite different in style from its predecessor "The Red Goddess" which, although well-researched, explored the background and origins of Aleister Crowley's "Babalon" in a popular style. Lucifer Princeps however is a scholarly work and might even be an academic dissertation or thesis edited for the lay reader. Being an academic work it suffers from the assumption that the reader is familiar with the material that the writer is working from. Fortunately this corpus is mostly Biblical and Apocryphal but he cross references other mythologies. Nevertheless the book is a wonderful resource and a great contribution to the Western Esoteric Tradition. He starts with Isaiah's lament and curse as the beginning of the Lucifer's Fall from Heaven story. This sets the stage for a parade of sources from ancient Summerian and Canaanite mythology. We learn about the first ascent to Heaven by the Summerian king Etana, and then the Canaanite god Athar who tries to sit on Baal's throne. We learn that the Yahwehists hated the pagan gods of the heavens and that the War in Heaven was actually Yahweh against El and the Elohim. Lucifer is finally revealed as our old friend Semyaza (Semhaza), the leader of the 200 Fallen Angels from the original Book of Enoch. The author concludes his work by offering us a mini-grimoire of Semhaza and his 20 officers, leaving us the job of obtaining their sigils -- which we will certainly do. So if you want get a head start on this project, tune in and give a listen.

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