The Hermetic Hour

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From Vathek, Zothique, the Dying Earth and D&D Feb 01, 2013

Show notes

On Thursday January 31st, 2013 the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on the mysterious and fantastic origins of the the popular magical role-plying board game Dungeons & Dragons. We will trace the beginnings of "Oriental Gothic" magical fiction back to William Beckford's early 19th century novel "Vathek", a decadent Arabian Nights fantasy with diabolical themes, through Lord Dunsany's creation of exotic fantasy realms for his magical tales, to the early 20th century master Clark Ashton Smith who created the first "Dying Earth" setting he called "Zothique," the last continent under the dim Sun of a world soon to end. This idea was carried on by sci-fi-fantasy writer Jack Vance in his own cycle of "Dying Earth" stories in which he created the unique system of wizard spell-casting adopted by Dungeons & Dragons game players -- so, if you want to learn about the spell "Of Forlorn Encystment," or "the Excellent Prismatic Spray," tune in and we'll learn how it was done before Harry Potter.

Hermetic Yoga (re-broadcast) Jan 25, 2013

Show notes

This Thursday on the Hermetic Hour, host Poke Runyon will present a lecture on Hermetic Yoga. Poke will discuss the chakras in the etheric-plane Hindu tantric system, and the variations in Tibetan tantra. The kundalini in Hindu, Tibetan and Taoist procedures will be discussed. We will then differentiate between the etheric Hindu system, and our astral arrangement that follows the "lightning Flash" on the Western Tree of Life. The philosophical importance of the Western arrangement will be compared to the Eastern system's alchemical correspondences. We will discuss the origin of our system, from the Golden Dawn's Middle Pillar exercise, to its full development now used by the O.T.A. in its magical operations. The mantras and affirmations will be demonstrated and explained. Tune in and we'll meditate our way from Omega up to Tau, and beyond.

The Integratron, Giant Rock, and George Van Tassel Jan 18, 2013

Show notes

On Thursday January 17th, 2013 the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will present a report on our New Year's Day field trip to the famous "Integratron" near the Mojave Desert community of Landers, California. This marvelous building, or machine, created by scientist-mystic George Van Tassel in the 1950's, and featured in "Weird California," is a New Age shrine. Originally designed and constructed by aerospace engineer Van Tassel from plans and technology received from space-faring Annunaki, it was intended to be a giant electrostatic generator which could regenerate human tissue, create an inter-dimensional vortex, and even (according to rumors) act as a time machine. Physically it is a huge dome with remarkable acoustics. Although it fell into disrepair after George (Van's) death, it has now been beautifully restored -- even though the giant centrifuge has yet to be engaged (there are plans...) the building iteself is a magical experience. We enjoyed a crystal bowl "Sound Bath" inside the dome and felt wonderfully centered and invigorated. A Greatly Honored Frater in our group vibrated Holy Names of God in the central channel of the dome with awesome effect. We also visited remote "Giant Rock," the huge boulder out in the desert where George Van Tassel was first contacted by a UFO. You can read his own account of this experience in his "The Council of Seven Lights" which reminds us of Urancha, Phylos and Sitchin. We were hosted in nearby Joshua Tree by one of our sisters who prepared a breakfast for us that even the Elder Gods would have enjoyed. So join us Thursday and we will share the Integratron experience.

The Crata Repoa (re-broadcast) Jan 11, 2013

Show notes

The Hermetic Hour will present a lecture on the 1770 Crata Repoa system of magical initiation. I will briefly describe this 18th century German (and later French) recreation of an ancient Alexandrian mystery tradition on a Masonic initiatory model. The Crata Repoa was a structural outline for a magical order that precedes both the O.T.O. and the Golden Dawn's Cypher Manuscript by 100 years. We will discuss the original authors, what they were trying to accomplish, and the considerable influence their creation had on subsequent magical traditions. I will recount how I literally stumbled into a French version of the system in 1963, and adapted it to the fledgling O.T.A. in 1969 --- Carrying the story on into the 70s, 80s and 90s as we found out more about the system and expanded our program along the lines laid out in Crata Repoa. Tune in and we'll explore this baroque version of the secrets of the ancients.

Dashwood's Hellfire Club - Demythologized Jan 04, 2013

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.

Enochian Magick (re-broadcast) Dec 28, 2012

Show notes

On Thursday evening The Hermetic Hour will present an introductory lecture on Enochian magick. Your host, Poke Runyon, has been practicing this system for forty years and has some personal insights into its effectiveness, how it works, and what one can expect from it. We will begin with a brief history from John Dee and Edward Kelley in Elizabethan times, through the Golden Dawn's amplifications, Crowley's contributions, and the present day developments, including the work of Lon Milo DuQuette. We will discuss Terrestrial Victory, and how it became the modern system of the Thirty Aethyrs. We will recount some Enochian visions, and even deliver an Enochian Call --- You can close your eyes and see what kind of visions arise in your mind's eye. So, tune in on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. and we'll visit the Enochians.

"Mermaids, Sylphs, Gnomes, and Salamanders," by Wm R Mistele Dec 21, 2012

Show notes

On Thursday December 20th, 2012, the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will review William R. Mistele's latest book "Mermaids, Sylphs, Gnomes, and Salamanders." The author will call in and join us, as he did when we reviewed his first book on the subject "Undines, Lessons from the Realm of the Water Spirits." (see archives). Bill Mistele is a Hermetic magician of the Bardonian school and uses Franz Bardon's catalog of Elemental spirits as his happy hunting ground for channeling Elementals. Whereas Undines concentrated on the female water Elementals, this new book takes us through the whole spectrum. This time he refers to the classic Undines by their more common title "Mermaids," but they are the same Bardonian spirits. Mistele is a poetic, and very romantic writer--and a very talented skryer. He channels the Kings and Queens of the Elements, and presents their view and perspective with a sensitivity and insight that is as convincing as it is inspiring. These nature spirits are as Pagan as they are Hermetic, and in reading this latest book I am constantly reminded of the works of Fred Adams and the philosophy of Feraferia. I wish Fred and Svetlana were with us to enjoy Bill Mistele's revelations, and his delightful poetic prose style. So, tune in and meet the Boswell of the Elementals.

Secrets of The Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscript (re-broadcast) Dec 14, 2012

Show notes

On June 3rd, 2010 The Hermetic Hour will discuss the origin, history, and content of the Golden Dawn's Cypher Manuscript, that mysterious and controversial document that was the foundation of the Victorian era's Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. We will cover this subject in depth, explaining Wynn Westcott's creation of "Fraulein Sprengel," the fictitious Rosicrucian adept who was actually a pseudonym for two real women on the occult scene. We will examine the manuscript itself, and the secret knowledge it reveals about the qabalah, tarot and the Tree of Life. We will recount the notorious "Horos Affair" which nearly destroyed the Golden Dawn, and show how it was related to the Cypher Manuscript. We will briefly discuss Aleister Crowley's connection to the Order, and the difference between his Thelemic philosophy, and the Rosicrucian philosophy of the Golden Dawn. Tune in at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday and return with us to the thrilling days of yesteryear, when out of the inner sanctum comes the cry of the Kerux: "Hekas, hekas! este bebeloi!" The Golden Dawn rides again! ISBN-10: 097727652X Available from Amazon.com

Albert Pike and the Hermetic Tradition in Masonry Dec 07, 2012

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.

The Masonic Conspiracy (re-broadcast) Nov 23, 2012

Show notes

This week the Hermetic Hour will deal with the fascinating subject of Masonic-Occult conspiracy connections. We will discuss the actual and fanciful history of Freemasonry in relation to occultism, radical politics, and "The New World Order." We'll go from the Illuminati, the French Revolution, the Morgan Affair, the Palladian hoax, Fabian socialism, to Marxism. We'll reveal just what the "Great Secret" of Freemasonry really is and why the Masons are hated and feared by the fanatics and true-believers of the world's great religions---and the followers of radical political philosophies. We'll briefly review Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol." If you have a friend who believes that Masons are the secret agents of some shadowy world government, or satanic conspiracy, ask them to tune in. We will take calls, but this is a highly charged subject, so make your questions brief and reasonable. Tune in at 8:00 p.m. and, at the sound of the gavel in the East, we will seek the Light.

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