Scott Gosnell joins me for an amazing conversation about Giordano Bruno‘s work, in particular On Magic and Thirty Statues, which he just finished translating and publishing. Our conversation dives into Bruno’s art of binding and his suggestions on how to bind entire cities. We also get into the crazy world of the Florentine Renaissance and… Read more »
Among the twos, the Two of Cups is my favorite. My preference for this card probably comes from its amazing depiction in the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, which portrays a man and a woman staring into each other’s eyes. Meanwhile, a freakin’ massive winged lion head atop a caduceus seemingly sprouts from their clinking cups. This card… Read more »
Teacher and independent scholar Ted Hand joins me in this episode for a deep dive into the angelology of Pico della Mirandola, followed by a crazy romp through the gnostic world of Philip K. Dick. It’s a dense episode, and (hold on to your hat!) it’s all connected! We follow Pico’s adventures through the Florentine… Read more »
The Lovers is the 7th card in the Major Arcana, so it’s number VI, because we start counting at zero with The Fool. As I frequently point out during tarot readings, every six is about love in the Tarot. Sometimes it’s not so obvious, such as with the Six of Swords, and sometimes it’s too… 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.
Back in March, I had a conversation with Jeremy Crow in episode 28 of My Alchemical Bromance. We discussed the Left Hand Path (LHP), about which I had only a surface understanding before we really dug into it. While there are multiple ways to differentiate between the two paths, we focused on one in particular… Read more »
When a person gets involved in ritual magic, they probably aren’t prepared for the amount of artwork they need to create. Wands, altars, and magical tools and weapons all need to be created, typically by hand.
Help support my writing and works by becoming a supporter on Patreon! Access to exclusive patron-only content starts at just one dollar! Here are some exclusive pieces that I plan to offer: Ritual outlines based on grimoires and the Greek Magical Papyri Techniques related to the occult Art of Memory Early access to articles and… 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.
A while back, I featured the Devil card as Card of the Week. In that post, I emphasized a few elements of the card’s symbolism that I find very poignant. In particular, the chains or rope binding the foreground figures is voluntary, meaning that the bonds can be thrown off. This symbolism isn’t consistent across… Read more »
