The Hermetic Hour

Latest Episodes:

The Magick of the Arabian Nights (re-broadcast) Sep 30, 2016

Show notes

The Hermetic Hour will feature a discussion by host Poke Runyon on the "Magick of the Arabian Nights" or Alf Laya wa Laya as Crowley liked to call it, referring to Richard Burton's annotated translation. Actually the magick in Burton's version is mostly in the footnotes, but there is one specific tale which outlines the whole scheme of Muslim magical "Abjad," which is a Western term for Arab Qabalah. We will discuss that tale -- you'll have to listen to learn which story has the mystic juice -- and we will then move on to the King Solomon (Suliman) legends, the nature and hierarchy of the Jinn, the Turkish version of the Masonic third degree, the North Sabian (Harranian) contribution, Sufi methods and teachings, and the legacy of Picatrix -- so, if you want to get the gen on the Jinn, tune in and we'll open sesame for you.

Wilhelm Reich and Orgone Energy (re-broadcast) Sep 23, 2016

Show notes

The Hermetic Hour will feature a discussion by host Poke Runyon of the life and work of Dr. Wilhelm Reich, his psychology, methods of therapy, and his development of free energy technology for medical treatment. We will frankly discuss the incredible suppression of Reich's discoveries, and his persecution by the FDA, the American Medical Association and the U.S. Government, resulting in his imprisonment and untimely death. Dr. Francis Regardie employed Reich's methods in his chiropractic practice and had a full scale Orgone Accumulator in his home. We have constructed Orgone pads and found them quite effective. This technology and methodology is now "legal" to practice and employ, but "The Powers that Be," will never admit that it works -- so, if you're a-Freud Jung was Reich, tune in and we'll confirm it.

The Splendor Solis by Solomon Trismosin Sep 16, 2016

Show notes

On Thursday September 15th, 2016 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the Alchemical Classic "Splendor Solis" by Solomon Trismosin 1582. This magnificently illustrated work is considered to be the most beautiful illuminated manuscript of all the Medieval and Renaissance occult books. It draws on all of the earlier Alchemical classics such as the Turba Phiosophorum. Solomon Trismosin was said to have been the mentor of the most famous of all alchemists Paracelsus. The twenty-two beautiful allegorical paintings that illustrate the book are the work of the Renaissance master Lucas van Leiden. The symbolic paintings have been likened to the twenty-two greater arcana of the Tarot.This book has been a great influence on Rosicrucianism and deserves a place in any study of that tradition, so if you want to peek at the Splendor of the Sun, put on your dark glasses and tune in.

Nazi Occultism, Then and Now (re-broadcast) Sep 09, 2016

Show notes

The Hermetic Hour will feature a discussion by host Poke Runyon on the controversial subject of Nazi Occultism, its origins and predecessors, and its present day revival in "The Cult of the Black Sun". We will explore the early influence from the Theosophy of H.P. Blavatsky, the development of the "Ariosophy" movement in Germany between the world wars, the Thule Society of Sebottendorff, Himmler and his Runemiester Wisethor, the fascination with Central Asia, and The Polar Myth. We will debunk the "Spear of Destiny" and other Nazi spook books that were more fiction than fact. We will also de-establish the connection an opportunistic European-American magician is trying to make between the G.D. and Nazism. This is a hot topic and an alarming subject. No matter what your views on it may be, if you are involved in occultism you need to know about it -- so, tune in and we will spend an hour on the dark side.

James Branch Cabell's JURGEN, Crowley's favorite novel Sep 02, 2016

Show notes

On Thursday September first, 2016 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will discuss James Branch Cabell's romantic fantasy novel JURGEN (1919).This delightfully satirical and deeply esoteric work is considered Cabell's masterpiece and a classic of American literature. It might best be quickly described as an Oz book for adults. Modern readers will liken Cabell's tale to a Monty Python script. Chapter XXII was inspired by Aleister Crowley's Gnostic Mass which prompted Crowley to praise Cabell as America's greatest novelist. We will read the infamous 22nd chapter along with some of the symbolically described erotic passages that got the original book banned in New York. This backfired and made JURGEN a national bestseller in the 1920s. And it is still a great read -- so if you want to spend an hour with Messers Cabell and Crowley, tune in and we will follow Jurgen chasing his first love all the way from puberty to Hell, which is a liberal democracy and up to Heaven which is a Southern Baptist dictatorship, administered by a black house slave. Maybe we can get it banned again!

Orwell's 1984 and José Ortega y Gasset's Revolt of the Masses Aug 26, 2016

Show notes

On Thursday August 25th, 2016 The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on two modern classics that hold up mirrors to modern society and recent history: George Orwell's 1984 (1949) and Ortega de Gassett's Revolt of the Masses (1929).Both authors were socialists and both were involved in the Spanish Civil War. 1984 is called a "dystopia"and describes British post World War II socialism evolving into a nightmareish doubleplusungood (Stalinistic) tyrany where everyone is brainwashed into believing that: "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength." In "Revolt of the Masses" Ortega de Gassett disputes the liberal dictum that universal literacy and education can enoble and uplift "the common people" into a body politic capable of rational and reasonable self government, Hence democracy must be controlled by an intellectual elite (sound familiar). Both these books are classics and more important today than when they were written. We will try to put them in a Hermetic perspective for you (sociology is the new black magick) so if you want to peek into the future from way back when, tune in and we'll part the veil.

Zoroaster's Telescope and Urania's Mirror Aug 19, 2016

Show notes

On Thursday August 18th, 2016 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review new issues of old Hermetic Magick books. Starting with Zoroaster's Telescope (1796-2013) and on to Urania's Mirror (1822-2004) and finally The Harmonia Macrocosmica of Cellarius (1660 - 2013). The first item on our list is more of a board-game than a book; a very elaborate and frankly confusing French divinatory system that uses hexagonal "tiles" with magical and astrological data drawn from an urn or box and applied to a board called a mirror. which has hexagonal compartments. Divination follows from the numbers in the mirror's cells and the pattern various tiles make on the mirror. Urania's Mirror is a small book describing the astrological constellations and their mythology accompanied by a set of thirty-two cards on which the mythical figures of the zodiac are depicted in very romantic style. This style is influenced by our last selection: The Harmonia Macrocosmica of Andreus Cellarius, a magnificently illustrated atlas of the heavens. So if you'd like to explore some recent revivals of ancient wisdom tune in and we'll have a look.

1950s Prophetic Sci-Fi Novels: The Marching Morons and The Weapon Shops of Isher Aug 12, 2016

Show notes

On Thursday August 11th, 2016 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will discuss two prophetic science fiction stories from the 1950s: C.M. Kornbluth's "The Marching Morons" and A.E. Van Vogt's "The Weapon Shops of Isher." Both are considered classics of the genre and deal with controversial social issues. Kornbluth's "Morons" predict a future where the average I.Q. is 45 and a tiny intelligent elite struggle to preserve the self-destructive swarming mass of sub-human humanity. In Van Vogt's "Weapon Shops" a group of gun manufacturers and dealers struggle to arm the citizens of a tyrannical and corrupt world government headed by a psychopathic empress (she sleeps with snakes) who is determined to disarm and enslave them. Both of these stories deserve to be looked at again in light of present and pending events. So if you want a glimpse of today and tomorrow as seen by the prophets of yesterday, tune in and we'll roll back the clock to the 1950s.

Helena Blavatsky -- The East Comes West (re-broadcast) Aug 05, 2016

Show notes

The Hermetic Hour will feature a discussion by host Poke Runyon on the influence of Helena Blavatsky and Theosophy on western occultism and magick. This a broad subject because Blavatsky's impact on all areas of western esoteric theory and practiced is vast and pervasive. We will begin with her Egyptian connection with The Brotherhood of Luxor, and French Masonry, her mid-19th century connection with American Spiritualism, her first opus "Isis Unveiled," which was essentially Hermetic. The meeting in England with her future Eastern Master "Mahatma Morya" (Ranbir Singh). Moving her Theosophical Society to India under the secret sponsorship of her "Mahatmas." Her professed Buddhist philosophy and the development of her universal religion featuring spiritual Darwinism and Aryan Solarism. "The Secret Doctrine" and "The Stanzas of Dyzan." Her anti-Biblical, anti-Christian bias. The German offshoots of Theosophy: Rudolph Steiner's Christian Anthroposophy, and the proto-Nazi Ariosophy. The American cults: the Ballard's "I AM," Elizabeth Claire Prophet, The "New Age Movement," and Richard Shaver's "Mystery." We will also discuss the Hermetic reaction to her successes which resulted in Anna Kingsford's Hermetic Society, and The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. So, if you want to glimpse Blavatsky unveiled, tune in and get Theosophized.

Frank Herbert's Dune - Hermetic and Political Allegory Jul 29, 2016

Show notes

On Thursday July 28th, 2016 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss Frank Herbert's 1965 science-fiction classic Dune from a magical (Hermetic) perspective and as a prophetic political allegory. Sci-Fi Writer Orson Scott Card wrote: "Remember that Herbert wrote Dune in the 1960s, before the first oil embargo, before any Islamist government was ever formed. Whether Dune had any causal influence on the rise of Al Qaeda, Herbert certainly did a superb job of predicting the rise and the power of such an ideology. The spice must flow, and so must the oil. So the political allegory is obvious but what about the hermetic magical aspect: in the 1960s when Herbert conceived Dune the big psycho-spiritual experience was LSD. Acid offered expansion of consciousness, instant enlightenment and for some, extension of consciousness. Soul travel. Hermes once wrote that one could go anywhere in the Universe instantly at the speed of thought. Some Eastern gurus had also declared that this was possible. So Frank Herbert's Spice Melange was conceived as a psychedelic agent that would enable astronaut navigators to warp space with the power of their minds -- and go anywhere in the galaxy mentally and physically. That is one Hermetic magical aspect. There is also a witchcraft cult that engages in genetic engineering, trying to breed a Demigod messiah who will launch a Jihad to conquer the galaxy. So if you'd like to consider the not so hidden inner meanings of this classic, tune in and we'll have a 21st century look back at Dune.

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