Thoth-hermes Podcast

SPRING EQUINOX AND A NEW PROJECT! As announced a couple of weeks ago Ike Baker from the great Arcanum Podcast and I have decided to produce a monthly show together, where we interview each time two people about a particular subject, mostly around occult and magical practices. And here we are: Enjoy a great talk, which we had about Modern Alchemy, with Phoenix Aurelius and Daniel Wiseman. This episode is also available as a Video on my and Ike's YouTube Channels. So this is the first episode of that kind, and it ends the long break that I took with this podcast This will not mean that I will do weekly show again, but from time to time in between those monthly talks will also present the kind of episodes that you have been used to. I hope you will enjoy this new format. I apologise for the brief message here, but life is still extremely busy and Ike and I were a bit late with the final edit of the show. Enjoy and looking forward to other projects I will produce for you.

If you CLICK ON TEXT IN CAPITALS in below's article, you will access the links to the respective subject! Welcome to Season 10, Episode 12 of the Thoth-Hermes Podcast.  This afternoon’s dialogue finds Rudolf and Brian Cotnoir in circulatio on the experience of alchemy.  Distilled in the process, Brian shares on his life as an author, filmmaker, and practicing physical alchemist of over 50 years.  Please, listen for dispersion.  Then CONSIDER HIS TITLES, On Alchemy (2023), Alchemy the Poetry of Matter (2017), many other publications and Zines! Brian received his initiation of the Adult Library Card in 7th Grade, along with the core occult section maxim “don’t tell your parents”.  We can speculate that many listeners would report a similar awakening.  His first fleeting (20 minute) experience of New York City’s Weiser bookstore was also nascent.  Continuing to function in consensus reality, Brian majored in Chemistry and minored in Physics, spending time also working at Weiser Books.

Peter Levenda, a native of the Bronx, New York City, has an MA in Religious Studies and has published over 20 books, mostly in the area of hermeticism and the occult, and a trilogy of books concerning Nazism and postwar Nazism, as well as a book on China trade. He is most known for Unholy Alliance, which has a foreword by Norman Mailer and which has been translated into a dozen foreign languages, and Sinister Forces: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft. He has also published his study of the Asian alchemical influences in the work of Thomas Vaughan, and the influence of Lovecraft on the work of Kenneth Grant. This is a warm November welcome to Season 10 Episode 11 of Thoth-Hermes Podcast. Today’s show brings us into conversation with American writer Peter Levenda. Peter has authored a range of titles on histories of American occultism, Nazi occultism, and the dynamics of conspiracy theory. After successfully pursuing an international business career Information Technology,

Greetings for Season 10, Episode 10 of Thoth-Hermes Podcast. In a calendrical resonance, Rudolf meets up with Robert Gordon- exactly one year after their last episode together! A gregarious Australian, Robert holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from University College London. In 2022, Lewis Masonic publishing released his book 21st Century Rosicrucianism. Today’s exploration centers on Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly in the context of language-based models. Rudolf characterizes digital technology as typically either a non-topic or guarded subject in the worldviews of esotericists. Later, Robert observes that many depth creators in high-technology, green technology, and adjacent fields have esoteric involvement. With these twin realities concurrent, the discussion emphasizes the need for active contribution to societal conversations about AI as a “technology of the imagination”. As both men gamely note, we are in the 21st Century, not the 16th- as much as we seek to honor history. Robert and Rudolf note

"What is clear is that there are three main themes running parallel through the Grimoires, with greater or less importance in individual works. These themes are spirit conjuration, divination, and simple charms/spells for dealing with the hardships of daily life and seeking to improve it." (David Rankine) Welcome to Season 10, Episode 9 of Thoth-Hermes podcast. Today, Rudolf shares a conversation with author and occultist, David Rankine. The exploration ranges over the past 40 years of modern British esotericism, and into David’s commitment to writing and knowledge sharing as an offering to Mystery. This is an easy-listening dialogue that carries its own treasures of tight question-answer teachings along in the flow. David quickly brings us into the 1980s UK occult scene, which he describes as collegial, confidential and non-competitive. Oxford, London and Leeds are all identified as hotspots during this period. Turning to the Now, David weighs the balance between organizations’ te

Today marks Season 10, Episode 8 of Thoth-Hermes Podcast. For this conversation, Rudolf reconvenes with Chuck “CR” Dunning. The conversation submerges into esoteric freemasonry, then transcends into the union of ritual and exoteric religion. Far from limited to the interests of masonry, this is a multi-layered dialogue about the timeless moebius between sincere seekers of “light, life and love”. Chuck is a retired academic and psychotherapist, a self-disclosed Scottish Rite Mason, and author dedicated to guiding initiates into contemplative practice. Chuck has soft-spoken depth rare in today’s scholarly world. His most recent book is an accessible compass of the Rose Croix mysteries. A Rose Croix Oratory (Stone Guild, 2023) has been lauded by readers and reviewers, appreciating its hands-on, plain-language approach. An upcoming publication will delve into Platonic mysticism and its parallels with Craft Masonry. The conversation speaks of the upper degrees’ mythos of descent, laying to waste, then renewal and

Autumnal greetings as we converge for Season 10, Episode 7 of Thoth-Hermes Podcast. Today, Rudolf is joined by Jon E. Graham, of Inner Traditions Bear and Company, to explore the current state of occult publishing. Jon joins us from the northeastern United States, in historic Vermont. Jon is a translator, author, and acquisitions editor at Inner Traditions. Jon relates his longstanding interest in initiatory synthesis between Surrealism and Occultism, the path which brought him into esoteric publishing. Jon recommends The Esoteric Secrets of Surrealism as a prompt for curious listeners. A second set of parallels that run in the conversation are the creative processes of a publishing house (Jon’s temple) and that of an opera house (Rudolf’s lineage). Together, they explore the balance of “profitable” and “important”, as well as inclusion of new and established authors. Several times, Jon emphasizes the influence occult practice (as simple as sincere meditation) can have in counterbalancing the online “noise ma

It’s the return of a good friend! Today we are joined by John Michael Greer, on Season 10 Episode 6 of Thoth-Hermes podcast. Please see earlier episodes with John Michael to learn more of his prolific background. In this episode, we explore three historic Esoteric minds: Dion Fortune, John Gilbert, and Mouni Sadhu (the “silent monk”). We also hear of his upcoming 7-volume release (theme: “tentacles”) and pragmatic thoughts on the balance of Making a Living and Making a Difference as an author and occultist. With John Michael’s usual good humor, we are provided with perspective around publishing’s norm of an audience “with the attention span of a hyperactive gnat”, and the dry statement “religion in the United States is not like religion anywhere else”. Along the way, we also get to hear some plain truths around Harry Potter, and in John Michael’s opinion the “one thing Crowley got right” (hint: it’s stellar). John Michael and Rudolf look at some of the gifts we inherit collectively from Dion Fortune (Violet M

Welcome to Episode Five, Season Ten of the Thoth-Hermes podcast. This brings us the opportunity to join Rudolf in conversation with Paulina Gruffman, on the subject of GRS Mead. Paulina is a nascent luminary in occult scholarship, currently at PhD candidate at Sweden’s Lund University. Paulina’s academic rooting began with reading CG Jung in her mid-teens. The relationship between Mead and Jung is explored in-depth during this episode. Paulina notes that Jung cited Mead in his own doctoral dissertation, holding dialogue and friendship with him during the development of his own career; 20 of Mead’s books are currently held in the Jung Archive. Paulina speaks as a focused and nuanced researcher, in a long-term journey of examining the entirety of George Robert Stow Mead. She details and distinguishes his pursuits as all three of an occultist, theosophist, and a highly capable “amateur” academic. She acknowledges the critique his work has received from 20th Century academics, undercutting his capability as “amat

Welcome to Episode Four, Season Ten of the Thoth-Hermes podcast. Today, Rudolf meets with Charlotte Cowell, translator of The Solar Way (Silver Age Russian Occult Rosicrucian Schools) and author of multiple other titles. Charlotte is the founder, owner and editor of Shin Publications. Charlotte is a delightful guest, simultaneously a fierce, warm and self-effacing intellectual presence in the conversation. A graduate of Oxford University (MA in Ancient and Modern History), Charlotte has pursued the Mysteries for several decades after receiving solo and spontaneous esoteric Christian rebirth in college. Charlotte cites The Meditations on the Tarot (Anonymous) as a cornerstone text for her during her initiatory unfolding. She is also refreshingly frank, in moments, around reconciling the dual paths of Christian… Esotericism. An example being, reading “Meditations” as distinct from using the Cards directly. Listeners on a similar trajectory may well relate to these personal processes. Charlotte brings us into th

Episode Three, Season Ten of the Thoth-Hermes podcast explores facets of Higher Worlds and the Anthroposophical traditiom. Today, Rudolf meets with Thomas Mayer, Anthroposophical teacher, author and direct democracy activist. In Thomas’s words, “you will meet the people you want to meet” which is an ongoing theme in this conversation. Thomas “met” Rudolf Steiner at the age of 15, reading “How to Know Higher Worlds”; 44 years later, he is an Anthroposophical meditation teacher, with his partner Agnes Hardorp. Thomas recently published “Answering the Call of the Elementals” which is intended as a lively workbook to intentionally strengthen a practitioner’s connection to those Beings. In their discussion, Thomas and Rudolf explore the path of supersensible perceptual development. Steiner’s work incorporated and influenced many aspects of esotericism; its wide-ranging impact is felt in the breadth of the interview. Topics range from the theme of the “I”/”Ich”, to organic architecture, to the Akashic records, to s

Welcome to Episode Two of Season Ten with the Thoth-Hermes podcast. Today, Rudolf dialogues with Marco Visconti, author of “The Aleister Crowley Manual: Thelemic Magic for Modern Times” (2023), published through Watkins Press. An Italian freemason living in London, Marco openly enumerates roadblocks and supports he has encountered in his personal magical development. Up into his mid-thirties, Marco pursued several initiatory paths alongside an international musical career. Retiring from musical performance, Marco committed to depth involvement with the Ordo Templi Orientis. He also worked on staff at London’s renowned Treadwell’s Bookshop. Following the OTO’s scandals and schisms of the late 2010s, Marco describes leaving the Order on conscience. He publicly articulated a depth essay on his experience of the OTO’s dysfunction. (CLICK ANYWHERE IN THIS PARAGRAPH TO SEE MARCO'S BLOG ENTRY ABOUT THIS) During the COVID pandemic, a door opened for the founding of Marco’s present initiatory school. Rudolf and Marco

This week’s interview is with the definitively pre-eminent hermetic scholar, Wouter J. Hanegraaff. Wouter outlines his pioneering path to Department Chair of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam. The interview explores the 1990s milestones towards academic recognition of esoteric history and practice. While not personally a practitioner, sub rosa or otherwise, Hanegraaff warmly engages on the questions surrounding practitioner-as-scholar status. This interview is replete with the naming of Rejected Knowledge. A Calvinist minister’s son, Wouter both respectfully and assertively notes areas of understudied “history” within Hermeticism and the Early Church. Wouter notes the unnamed role of Egyptian, Persian and North African Hermetic thinkers, and calls out the difficulty of philhellenism. He describes the “narrow bottleneck of transmission” within early conversion of hermetic texts into Christo-centered language and analogy, followed by a “millenia” of basic silence

In this week’s episode of the show the one and only John Michael Greer returns for his now 4th time on the Thoth Hermes Podcast. You are probably familiar with his blog www.ecosophia.net and I’m sure you’ll be enjoying our conversation on John’s latest work, the initiation system ‘The Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose’ or FHR which at the time of airing is available online for free, so please make sure to check out the show notes for further information. This time, JMG as he’s frequently called, tells us how the passing away of one of his teachers John Gilbert marked a pivotal point in his decision to form the Fellowship. John Gilbert whose name might also be familiar to most of you was one of the significant teachers of Western Esoteric Tradition and the founder of ‘The Magickal Order of the Golden Dawn’. He initiated JMG into this order but then encountered some difficulties in his endeavour to keep up an adequate organisational structure. After John Gilbert had deceased, JMG received permission from his wido

“The Rose starts to Unfold… following the Still Voice within…” This week, Rudolf meets up with initiate Robert Gordon. An Australian by birth and upbringing, Robert holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from University College London. Robert is a contemporary forty-something, with a career, family and devotion to a centuries-old esoteric tradition. This summer, Lewis Masonic publishing released his book 21st Century Rosicrucianism. Throughout the interview, the role of truly experiential initiation is honored, emphasized and examined. Robert joined a Masonic order at 21, inspired by studies in Anthropology interacting with a lingering childhood inclination towards the mysteries. From freemasonry, he journeyed into the variations of the Rosey Cross tradition. The conversation names the participatory paradox of both the slowness and persistent purpose found in an authentic Seeker’s process: “rest in it, sit in it, be in it, act in it”. Also, the fertility of any given individual’s conceptual discoveries: that, unwi

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE PAINTINGS BY MARLENE SEVEN BREMNER WE ARE TALKING ABOUT DURING THE INTERVIEW This week we have a refreshing interview with Marlene Seven Bremner, an American artist and writer presently residing in New Mexico. While a student of polarity therapy, Seven initiated into Jungian alchemical teaching, which in turn flowed into her personal study and distillation of the Hermetica. This discovery process included visual art, textual exploration, and ultimately the writing of a full manuscript.  Seven has recently released her first title with Inner Traditions, Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy: The Emerald Tablet, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Journey Through the Seven Spheres. The interview is a conversation aligned to her text, appealing to both the new and seasoned students of the Hermetica. Seven’s unassuming, lunar quiet blends with solar scholarly intensity as she traverses the conversation. Subjects explored in dialogue wit

Mark Stavish is back on the Thoth Hermes Podcast! And when you have someone like him to talk to, you choose subjects that need clarification, a structured mind and above all, a great knowledge of the field we all like: occultism, hermetism and the Western Traditions. Dualism and especially Non-Dualism have been terms that have found a lot of attention especially during the last 15 years or so. But how does Non-Dualism work in a hermetic and magical context, where duality seems to be the foundation of the material life. What is the difference between duality and dualism. What is the difference between a Gnostic dualism and the Hermetic approach? And why is Traditionalism or Perennialism, as it is often called (is it the same, actually?) also being sometimes under attack. In his very frank and outspoken way Mark will try to give answers to those questions, not without posing others. A highly interesting and educational talk!