This is a solo episode about the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the most beautiful book in Venice. This mysterious volume was printed in Venice in 1499 by Aldus Manutius, with a typeface created by master punchcutter Francesco Griffo. Illustrated with 172 amazing woodcuts, it was written in a strange combination of Latin, Greek, and Italian. The illustrations… Read more »
Travis Lawrence is an artist, printmaker, explorer of symbolism, meddler in metaphor, and allegorical adventurer. In this episode, guest co-host Coleman Stevenson of the Dark Exact joins me to dive into Travis’s history with art, the method behind his creative vision, and some of the mysteries behind his amazing work. We explore Jungian psychology and… Read more »
In March of 2020, during the COVID-19 shutdown of pretty much everything, many Masonic Grand Lodges in the United States and Canada cancelled all lodge meetings and Masonic functions. While necessary, this was disappointing, particularly because I had several lectures lined up at various lodges on a number of topics. In addition, both Esoterika Lodge… Read more »
This episode of the podcast is a solo show about practical spirituality. This category is one that I just made up, and covers spiritual, esoteric, or mystical practices that impact your external world by either making you a measurably better person, or by providing you with helpful life skills that positively impact your life and… Read more »
Secret Societies in America: Foundational Studies of Fraternalism Edited by William D. Moore and Mark A. Tabbert Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2011 294 pages Paperback $24.95, ISBN 978-1-61342-024-9 The magnitude with which fraternal organizations influenced American society and history is something that we hear a lot about through conspiracies, but not enough about from main-stream historians…. Read more »
Rosicrucian Trilogy: Fama Fraternitatis, 1614; Confessio Fraternitatis, 1615; The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz, 1616 Trans. Joscelyn Godwin, Christopher McIntosh, and Donate Pahnke McIntosh Weiser Books, 2016 184 pages Paperback $22.95 USA, ISBN 978-1-57863-603-7 Hardcover $45 USA, ISBN 978-1-57863-609-9 The Rosicrucian movement began with three mysterious documents published in the early 17th century in Kessel,… Read more »
Ritual meals are an ancient human tradition, dating back at least 12,000 years. When it comes to Hermetic tradition, such as it is, the Asclepius or Perfect Discourse has vague instructions and a prayer for a ritual meal in its final chapter.
This is a list of books on Freemasonry. In case it hasn’t been made abundantly clear by my numerous podcast appearances, public lectures, and short list of published articles, I’m a Freemason. This generates a lot of curiosity in those who aren’t Masons. Occultists and esotericists, the main audience for this website, have lots of… Read more »
Alchemy is an ancient practice that can be considered in part as a precursor to chemistry. However, like Freemasonry, it can be said to have both a speculative and an operative side. While “operative” alchemy deals with the transformation of base metals into gold, “speculative” alchemy uses similar symbolism, allegory, and language to speak of spiritual truths and a path to inner light and wisdom.
On Saturday, June 17th, I will be part of a panel discussion on grimoires. This panel is part of the quarterly speaker series at Esoterika Lodge #227 in Portland, Oregon.
