This week, May 27th, 2010, 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…

William Blake has long been one of the many influences on the style and visuals of director Ridley Scott, most notably in his 2012 Alien: Prometheus, but also other films such as Blade Runner, Legend and Hannibal. In this podcast, Jason Whittaker explores how Ridley has used Blake, with particular emphasis on the Romantic artist's re-reading of Mil…

This Thursday, May 20th, the Hermetic Hour will feature the conclusion of Prince Aqhat and the Magick Bow, preceded by a brief synopsis of the story thus far, and followed by a brief commentary. We will then take calls (if any) and answer questions about Prince Aqhat, or magick in general. In the last quarter of the hour Poke Runyon will read excer…

Tune in to hear Poke Runyon read the second of three installments of his historical novelette, "Prince Aqhat and the Magick Bow."بقلم The Hermetic Hour

For our next show, Poke Runyon will read the first of three installments of his historical novelette, "Prince Aqhat and the Magick Bow." This is a modern rendition of an ancient Canaanite legend that dates from the time of Melchizedek (1500 B.C.) and is based on the scribe Elimelech's version written down on clay tablets before Moses brought the He…

When most people think of William Blake, one of the first words they use is visionary. In this podcast, Jason Whittaker explores what that means in relation to Blake, and also how the Romantic artist gave a practical guide in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell on how to become a visionary poet.بقلم Jason Whittaker

This Thursday the Hermetic Hour will present a lecture by Poke Runyon on Dark Mirror Evocation and Angelic Invocation that was first delivered at a symposium sponsored by Paul Clark's Fraternity of the Hidden Light in 2002. This talk will reveal the philosophy, the techniques, and the effects related to these "grand operations" of ceremonial magick…

William Blake has been claimed by a number of esoteric and even occult thinkers and practitioners. At the end of his life, he was as much known for his series of Visionary Heads - apparitions of spirits and historical figures - and this made him attractive to later spiritualists in the Victorian era. In this podcast, Jason Whittaker explores how Bl…

Introduction to Hermetic and Solomonic ceremonial magick, as taught and practiced by The Church of Hermetic Sciences and The Order of the Temple of Astarte (O.T.A.). We will outline Hermetic philosophy and its history, drawing a distinction between Hermetic magick and witchcraft and satanism. We will discuss the principles of invocation (calling do…

On Thursday January 19th,2023 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss the 2016 book "The Ba'al Theory of Christianity" by author Glenn Young. This book is subtitled: "Exploring the Impact of Human Sacrifice on Western Religion." This subtitle and Young's insistence on equating Carthaginian child sacrifices with Palestinian P…

On Thursday January 12th, 2023 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review "Letters on the Royal Art" by 19th century German author J. B. Kerning. Kerning was a musician, a mystic and a Freemason. The book is composed of letters describing the spiritual absorption of the symbols, words and signs used in the three degrees of Blue Lodge Mason…

On Thursday October 6th, 2022 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will chair a discussion on the recent discovery of the ancient Pagan origins of many Spirits in the Solomonic Goetia of the Lemegeton. This new research for the forthcoming Second Edition of our very popular 1997 The Book of Solomon's Magick has been undertaken by two of our seni…

Often hailed as "the Scottish William Blake", Alasdair Gray's love of both the graphic arts and written word does indeed owe much to his admiration for the Romantic poet and engraver. In this talk, originally delivered as part of the Global Blake In Conversation series, Jason Whittaker explores some of the connections between Gray's mythic work and…

On Thursday September 29th, 2022 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss our new book (magazine actually) titled Hermetic Yoga for the Golden Dawn. Which we have just published and is now available on Amazon. This document is a spin-off from our Hermetic Yoga books which are familiar to most members and regular listeners. Bu…

On Thursday August 17 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a review and discussion of Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 science fiction novel Starship Troopers and the 1997 film version. Poke will be joined by Max Paul (Frater SithMeth)in the discussion of this controversial cult classic. Set in a future interstellar time period where Earth…

THE DREAM CRUCIBLE™️ Season 1 Episode 1 Music Track 4 "Clock-Tick-Tock" Copyright: Title "Clock-Tick-Tock" under license from Storyblocks. Duration: 1:00 Send us a text Support the Show. https://www.deborahlouiselevin.comبقلم Deborah Louise Levin, Creator

On Thursday June 20th, 2024 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a dramatic reading of Chapters Eight and Nine of the magical adventure novel: The Tomb of Prester John. We will pick up the story in Thyatria home of the Biblical Jezebel, modern Akhisar in Turkey where Doc Roland and beautiful Sophie Eskandar have just recovered and t…

In this episode, Annise Rogers looks at the development of the figure of Samson in Blake's early collection, Poetical Sketches, exploring the connections to John Milton's Samson Agonistes, the violent and disturbing allusions to this hero in the Bible, and how he may have served as an early prototype of Orc and, later, the giant Albion.…

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 t…

On Thursday June 6th,2024 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss the new expanded Second Edition of "Celebrate Wildness, Magic, Myth and Love on the Feraferian Path" with author Jo Carson, president of Feraferia, Inc. America's first and still foremost nature and goddess venerating Neo-Pagan tradition. Lady Jo will be our c…

Critics have long noted the influence of William Blake on James Joyce's final novel, Finnegans Wake. What has been understudied, however, is the way Joyce extends Blake's subversive transformation of the epic tradition in his long poems, especially Jerusalem. While Ulysses is typically regarded as Joyce's major engagement with epic literature, Matt…

On February 27th, 2022 The Host of the Hermetic Hour was the call-in guest of Masonic brothers At the Fort Worth, Texas Masonic Lodge's weekly Pod cast. Poke was interviewed by the Master, Worshipful brother Gabriel, who was very knowledgeable on esoteric subjects and asked me some very provocative questions. We covered everything from my childhood…

Billy Bragg in conversation with Jason Whittaker on the influence of Blake on his life, music and politics, looking also at questions of the hymn Jerusalem and Englishness. This is taken from a recording originally made for The Blake Society in 2022.

In this episode, Mike Goode considers the ways in which William Blake's famous invocation, "To see a world in a grain of sand" has become a viral meme jumping across different media formats, from poetry anthologies to popular TV shows and even computer viruses. This podcast is adapted from a talk originally made to the Global Blake conference in 20…

On Thursday February 17th, 2022 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will discuss and review the current trend in Fantasy novels involving themes and characters from The Arabian Nights mainly the Jinn which King Solomon imprisoned in his sealed jars. A few weeks ago Poke had been putting together a show dealing with The CITY of BRASS from Burton…

In this episode of Visionary: How William Blake changed the world, Jason Whittaker is joined by Sharon Choe, Annise Rogers, and Hannah McAuliffe to discuss one of the darkest works ever created by Blake - The First Book of Urizen. Pubished in 1794, this illuminated book is a satire on the the Book of Genesis that shows a horrific vision of material…

On Thursday May 16th, 2024 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss Russian Philosopher Aleksandr Dugin's relation to Traditional Hermeticism, Nazi Theosophy, and occult themes influencing his geopolitical "Eurasia" movement, which seems to have evolved into a chaos magick doomsday cult. We will also review his insightful cri…

On Thursday February 3rd , 2022 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a dramatic reading of the first two chapters of his magical adventure novel “The Tomb of Prester John.” This is the second broadcast of the novel, presenting the second chapter but also a re-written version of chapter one, so if you missed the first broadcast you w…

On Thursday May 2nd, 2024 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review the 1930 classic historical novel "Salome: My First 2000 years of Love", by George Sylvester Viereck and Paul Eldridge. This is the second of a three-decker trilogy by Viereck and may be called a fictional feminist manifesto. Glamorous feminism, because its heroine the im…

On Thursday January 13th, 2022 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review "Aleister Crowley in England" (2021) by Tobias Churton. This is the final part of Churton's serialized biography of The Great Beast, following on "The Beast in Berlin," "Crowley in America," and "Crowley in India." The compendium will be the most complete and best do…

In this episode of Visionary: How William Blake changed the world, Jason Whittaker considers the ways in which Blake influenced the writer Angela Carter, in particular her science fiction satire, The Passion of New Eve, a retelling of Milton a Poem and a scathing critique of Blake's ideas of gender and sexuality.…

THE DREAM CRUCIBLE™️ Season 1 Episode 1 Music Track 3 "Rain-Thunder-Church-Bell-Ambience" Copyright: Title "Rain-Thunder-Church-Bell-Ambience" under license from Storyblocks. Duration: 2:30 Send us a text Support the Show. https://www.deborahlouiselevin.comبقلم Deborah Louise Levin, Creator

On Thursday April 18th, 2024 -- The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review the new publication of "My First Two Thousand Years" (1928) by George Sylvester Viereck and Paul Eldridge. This is a controversial but literary biography of the mythical "Wandering Jew". Sylvester Viereck was a German patriot who employed Aleister Crowley to write a…

In this episode of Visionary: How William Blake changed the world, Jason Whittaker considers the ways in which the SF author J.G. Ballard rewrote Blake's Milton a Poem in his fantastical novel, The Unlimited Dream Company.

On Thursday April 11th, 2024 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will have as his call in guest America's foremost ceremonial magician, Maestro Lon Milo DuQuette. The primary subject Lon will discuss is his latest project: a color it yourself version of his and his wife Constance's 1998 Tarot of Ceremonial Magick. The new project, the color it …

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday December 12th, 2019 -- will feature a discussion and review of the new edition of The Tarot of Ceremonial Magick by Lon and Constance DuQuette which was first issued in 1995 along with the book of the same title. Your host Poke Runyon will have as his guest the Maestro himself, Lon Milo DuQuette, who will describe and…

On Thursday September 23rd, 2021, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review Journey to the Castle (2021) by Ann Finnin who will join us on the show to guide us recalling her journey to find the roots of Traditional British Witchcraft. As most of us know modern British witchcraft is divided between Gardnerian and Robert Gravesian branches.…

In this episode of Visionary: How William Blake Changed the World, Jason Whittaker, Sharon Choe and Annise Rogers review the exhibition William Blake's Universe on display in early 2024 at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, considering some of the highlights of the exhibition and how it seeks to link Blake to contemporary European artists.…

On Thursday September 9th, 2021 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the vast Central Asian kingdom of Tartaria and the medieval legend of Prester John, the mysterious Christian monarch who was said to have ruled a huge empire West of China and to have written letters to the Pope and kings in Europe. Mentioned by Mar…

This episode of Visionary: How William Blake Changed the World, traces the history of his famous poem beginning with the lines "And did those feet", better known as the hymn Jerusalem. It begins with the circumstances of Blake's composition after his trial for sedition in Felpham, before exploring how the poem was set to music by Sir Hubert Parry d…

On Thursday August 26th, 2021, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon, will explore the place of Hermetics and Hermetic Magicians in the coming Futurist society influenced and augmented by genetic engineering, nanotech, computer technology, artificial intelligence, and Clio-dynamics We will refer to our broadcasts over the past few years dealing w…

In their various ways, William Blake and J. R. R. Tolkien are two of the most important creators of imaginary worlds in literary history, having inspired generations of writers and artists to devise their own myths and legends. In this podcast, Jason Whittaker is joined by Sharon Choe, William Sherwood and Annise Rogers to discuss the ways in which…

In this podcast, Hannah McAuliffe, Jon Mee, and Sharon Choe (Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, University of York) discuss William Blake’s changing conception of the body. The podcast considers Blake’s visual and poetic depictions of the body and how he uses the body as a metaphor both in his work and for his work. The episode covers Blake's e…

On Thursday August 19th the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present two Prophetic essays by American rocket scientist, magician and philosopher John Whiteside Parsons. Chapters Two and Three of "Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword taken from The Seventh Ray, Book IV, Omnibus, The Violet Ray" a reprint of the original publication in the Seventh Ra…

On Thursday February 29th 2024, The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will broadcast a memorial for Wiccan and Neo-Pagan elder Edward Sitch 1937 - 2024, with Pagan leaders and friends calling in sharing remembrances of Frater Ea and "Sitch the Witch" as Tom Snyder dubbed him. Ed was a VMI grad and a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force Reserve. He served…

On Thursday August 5th, 2021 - the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on Magical (Electional) Astrology from Ficino to Campanella with Bishop Michael Beeson (V.H. Frater Suen). We will refer to D.P. Walker's book Demonic and Spiritual magic from Ficino to Campanella, recounting Campanella and Pope Urban's magical astrolog…

THE DREAM CRUCIBLE™️ Season 1 Music Track 2 "Bonsai-Viper-Car-Crash" Copyright: Title "Bonsai-Viper-Car-Crash" under license from Storyblocks. Duration: 2:09 Send us a text Support the Show. https://www.deborahlouiselevin.comبقلم Deborah Louise Levin, Creator

On Thursday July 8th, 2021, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon and Very Honored Frater Suon will present a discussion on the Ars Notoria, a medieval Solomonic grimoire of prayers and meditations designed to assist in learning the Hermetic arts such as astrology, alchemy, philosophy and even theology. Although attributed to Solomon it is heavil…

On Thursday June 3rd, 2021 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a reading off the newly drafted Corpus Christi ceremony which will represent the Rosicrucian climax of the ancient pagan seasonal ceremony round. It will be performed following the Spring Sacred Marriage Nuptiae rite. In keeping with the Sacred Marriage being the suprem…

On May 27th, 2021 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will have as honored guest Lady Jo Carson Avatrix of Feraferia who will discuss her restoration and fulfillment of Master Fred Adams cosmos encompassing mandala, the Enneasphere which incorporates Qabalistic astrological and Tarot correspondences in one great design. This masterpiece can be …