All Episodes

On Thursday October 11th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review the classic study on Renaissance Magick by Dame Frances Yates (1899 - 1981), "Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition." (1964) This is a book that should be the cornerstone of any Hermetic student's library. Although the Italian philosopher and magician Giordano Bruno (1548 - 1600) is the main figure on which Yates centers her work, the book is in fact a broad study of Renaissance Hermetic Magick evolving from its Italian origins in the late Middle Ages and on through to Bruno's exposition of its post Copernican version. Hermetic Humanists accepted Copericus but the Church refused to abandon the geo-centric universe. Bruno, a Dominican monk was burned at the stake. Many considered him a Scientific martyr, but Yates contends that his heresies were Hermetic as well as scientific. So if you would like to explore the life and beliefs of Giordano Bruno, join us for a Hermetic Renaissance Faire.
 

On Thursday September 27th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will review the new Collector's edition of Kurt Seligmann's 1948 classic
"The Mirror of Magic: A History of Magic in the Western World" and discuss Seligmann's career
as a surrealist painter,  a scholar of the occult and a practicing
ceremonial magician. This handsome new edition, published by Inner
Traditions, is a faithful reproduction of the original. Poke Runyon
inherited a 1948 copy Seligmann's  book from his late Master Frederick
Adams (1928 - 2008) with Fred's annotations. It was Fred's first book on
Magic and he treasured it. In his Introduction Seligmann wrote: "As an
artist I was concerned with the aesthetic value of Magic and its
influence on man's creative imagination." Fred Adams was also a very
talented artist and was inspired by The Mirror of Magic, as we hope a
new generation of readers will be when they discover this beautiful new
edition of Kurt Seligmann's Masterpiece.
 

On Thursday September 13th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will devote an hour to reviewing and updating the activities of our Active and Associate membership. We will discuss website participation and access. We will announce upcoming activities, events and programs for the remainder of the year. We are completing the Enochian Aethyrs and looking forward to the Seven Gates festival and Halloween Mot Mass.  This show is primarily for members but it should be of of interest to all our listeners. So if you want to find out what the people in the back room are doing, tune in and check it out.
 

On Thursday August 30th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will review and explore the almost one thousand page introspective
philosophical and spiritual journal of the late California
science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick. (1928-1982) This remarkable
documentation of a classic mystical experience and its ramifications in
and beyond the author's literary works. The exegesis is also a chronicle
of a genius battling for sanity and a true religious philosophy as he
lives and works through what is obviously and admittedly mental illness.
Dick is best known for his darkly paranoid  science-fiction novels and
stories. The novel VALIS (vast active living intelligence system) is the
fictionalized version of his 1974 vision and much of the exegesis
ruminates on its impact and significance. As a Roman Catholic Dick's
vision is Biblical, especially Christian, but he analyzes it as Gnostic
and Neo-platonic (Hermetic) and defines Christ as essentially female. He
later defines himself as a neo-Marxist philosopher and gives us insights
into the spiritual aspects of the 1960s and 70s counter culture that
continue to perpetuate the social and political divide in our society
today. So, if you want to spend an hour in the mind of Philip K. Dick
join us and we will inquire within. As Above so Below, As Within so Without.
 

On Thursday August 2nd , 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present a discussion on the alleged Parallel world or
trans-dimensional ariel Queendom of the Sylphs known as "Magonia" that
was documented in medieval histories and has recently inspired a fantasy
novel of that title "Magonia" by Maria Headley (2015) and was the main
theme for UFO authority Jacques Vallee's "Passport to Magonia" (1969-93)
which delt with the Magonian "close encounters" from the 9th century
and other supernatural visitations recounted in European folklore as
early examples of alien sightings, close encounters, and abductions, on
through to the mysterious "airship" reports from the American West in
the 1890s, comparing them with modern reports and investigations. Vallee
contends, and as Hermetic devotees we certainly concur, that most of
these events are inter-dimensional rather than extra-terrestrial; that
there are parallel worlds co-existing with us as near to us as our
furniture. This is also the main theme of our film Beyond Lemuria
(2007-14) and, as I mentioned last week, is set forth in the old
Hermetic book "Comte d'Gablis" (1760) -- So if you'd like to spend an
hour in the absolute elsewhere, tune in and we'll take you down the
rabbit hole.
 

On Thursday July 26th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
discuss the Mysterious Voynich Manuscript (Beinecke MS. 408) a late
medieval herbal, alchemical and astrological book written in an unknown
language and illustrated with pictures of plants and astronomical
arrangements that are not of this world. Authorship was originally
attributed to Roger Bacon (1214 - 1292) but carbon-dating placed the MS.
in the early fifteenth century. John Dee and Edward Kelley have been
suggested because of their similar Enochian language creation, but there
is no proof of their involvement. The mysterious MS has fascinated both
scholars and amateur researchers alike with solutions announced every
year since 1943 when the U.S. Government code-breakers attempted to
decipher it. A new solution was announced just a week before this
broadcast and has already been discredited. The main reason most experts
fail seems obvious to a Hermetic scholar. The Voynich MS was not written
in cipher. It was written in a language and in an alphabet that has no
analog on earth or in this earthly dimension. The key to finding the
origin of the Voynich material might be found in another mysterious
manuscript published in 1670. We will read this revelation as our
contribution toward solving the mystery -- so put on your Indiana Jones
fedora and listen in.
 

On Thursday July 12th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon,
will be visited by Lady Jo Carson of Feraferia who has just returned
from a pilgrimage to our favorite lost city Nan Madol on beautiful
Pohnpei Island in Pacific Micronesia. (Merritt's Moon PooL and Beyond
Lemuria.) Jo and John will share their adventure with us and we will
recall ours back in 1988 and recount the wisdom of the last "chumaro"
(Pohnpeian Kahuna) Maseo Hadley as reported by Peter Arthur. So if you
want to vicariously visit Lemuria then turn on your immaginator and join us.
 

On Thursday July 5th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will be joined by author Stephen Flowers, Ph.D. to review and discuss the new revised edition of "The Fraternitas Saturni" (2018). This being the fourth version of the original copyrighted in 1990, and including previously unpublished material making this rendition sensational in occult circles. Flowers traces the FS from its beginning, with Crowley and the O.T.O. inspiring Gregor Gregorius in 1925, through its activities in the Wiemar era, its suppression by the Nazis, its revival after WW II and its eventual split into three bodies after Gregorius died in 1964. We are introduced to the "Adonism" of Franz Sattler (Dr. Musallam) a neo-pagan Venus-Adonis cult (!) that included Wilhelm Quaintscher and Franz Bardon who carried it with them into the Frateritas Saturni. We revisit the infamous FOGC black lodge from Frabato, and the Weida Conference in which Crowley attempted to take over organized occultism in Germany. Most importantly Dr.Flowers presents a detailed analysis of the Gnostic and Luciferian philosophies and doctrines behind the Saturian Gnosis. He outlines their cumbersome 33 degree system and their training program; much of it very similar to Franz Bardon's work. Of course the FS is most noted for its sex magick and we have one of those rituals provided. Quite frankly, this book raises as many questions as it answers, but It is well documented with references to works in German that some of us are going to want translated. So, if you want the answers to questions you had, and more questions you may want to ask about the Fraternitas Saturni then tune in and take notes. .
 

On Thursday June 28th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present a discussion, by guest speaker V.H. Frater SithMeth on the
Arbatel of Magic (1575), a grimoire calling up a hierarchy of Olympic
spirits which is featured in The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy
attributed to Henry Cornelius Agrippa (1655). This is a very mysterious
manuscript which was outlined and summerized in the first installment,
but never finished. However there seems to be enough information, sigils
and instructions in what was published for some practical application.
Frater SithMeth will read his article on the Arbatel and we will explore
the possible use in relation to planetary magick. So if quaint and
forgotten books of lore fascinate you, join us and we will have a look
at one of the most mysterious.
 

On Thursday June 14th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on The Holy Grail and The Round Table in Magick. To begin this subject we will review the history of the Grail as presented in our poem: The Cult of The Sangreal which we published in our journal The Seventh Ray back in 1975 and which has since become the prologue to our First Degree (Pastophoris) initiation. We trace the Grail from its origin in ancient Phoenicia in the days of Melchizedek around 1500 B.C. It began with the ancient Canaanite God Baal’s yearly death at High Summer followed by his resurrection via the Chalice of heavenly nectar brought by his consort, the Goddess Astarte in the Fall. We trace this event through a series of mythical evolutions until the Grail becomes the cup of resurrection for the last of the dying gods, Jesus the Nazareen, raised by his consort Mary Magdalene.
This is the secret of the Grail Tradition which was carried on through the Arthurian Romances. It is a genealogical bloodline and a symbolic ritual implement. One of Four Grail Hallows presented in the Tarot and related to astrology. This symbolism is carried forth in the structure of Arthur’s (or more properly Merlin’s) Round Table. So if you would like to know what qualifies an aspirant to become a knight of the Round Table, tune in and we will start you on your quest. And Adonia is coming up at Rivendell this coming Saturday.

On Thursday May 24th, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a review and commentary on the Hypnerotomachia of Poliphili (1499-1999) translated by Joscelyn Godwin. This is one of the most important esoteric books ever published and five hundred years after its debut in Renaissance Italy in 1499, written in stylistic Italian, it finally became available in a readable English translation by Joscelyn Godwin. The Hypnerotomachia of Poliphili, subtitled "The Strife of Life in a Dream" is a romantic fantasy novel which establishes a template for many similar works to emerge in the five centuries following its initial publication: The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz (1616) The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1785) The Wizard of Oz (1900) The Club Dumas (1996) filmed as "The Ninth Gate" (1999) and the novel "The Rule of Four" (2004). The real secrets hidden in the book are not cryptic codes but rather allegorical and thematic. Like the one tale in the Arabian Nights that reveals occult and Magical secrets, the Chapter describing the Isle of Venus near the end of the book carries the true meaning and reveals the esoteric secrets. So if you want to learn what is really hidden in this marvelous old book tune in and we will visit Poliphili's magical dream-world.

On Thursday May 10th, 2018, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review two recent books: "Original Magic" (2017)  by Stephen E. Flowers and "Real Magic" (2018) by Dean Radin. These books don't have much in common. Original Magic deals with the ancient Persian
Magi, whereas Real Magic focuses on ESP and those who have special talents and powers. Both books are of interest to Hermetic students for different reasons, The ancient Persian Magi have been largely ignored in the present occult revival and yet their beliefs and practices have had a strong influence on modern Magick. Real Magic champions the natural psychic and clairvoyant and presents the usual arguments and data to validate paranormal experience and suggest that it can be induced by shamanic techniques. Radin also deals with controversial Futurist issues such as the universal mind. Both books are subject to some philosophical and technical criticisms but both are well worth reading.
 

On the Hermetic Hour for Thursday, May 3rd, 2018 we will again have the
leader of Feraferia, Lady Jo Carson, as our guest in an after event
commentary on the Beltane ceremony we featured on last week's show
(Thursday) and performed for fifteen members and guests on Saturday the
28th of April at Rivendell Hermitage and Temple outdoor Henge for this
event. Beltane is a cross-quarter ceremony falling between Vernal
Equinox and Summer Solstice. On Sunday Lady Jo led us through a new
development in her Green Pulse Feraferian divination system. Using
material developed by the late Master Frederick Adams, she created a
cloth Enneasphere that was large enough to dance on as the latest method
of astrological and Tarot association. A very shamanic process which
yields remarkable results. So join us and we'll give you our impressions
of an exciting new way to use your toes in magick!
 

On Thursday April 26th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon,
joined by Lady Jo Carson will preview the coming Feraferian Beltane
festival to be presented at Rivendell in Silverado on the evening of
April 28th, 2018. As most of us are aware Feraferia, was founded in 1967
by the late Frederick Adams and his Lady Svetlana. Feraferia is
America's original Goddess worshiping and Nature nurturing Neo-Pagan
Earth-Religion, presently led by Lady Jo Carson who will be our guest
and explain the significance and romance of the Beltane Rite: the
"Magick and Mysteries of Springtime". It is the story of the progress of
the Goddess through the Wheel of the Sacred Year, when the young Goddess
Kore and her consort Kuros fall in love, flirt and announce their
engagement. But before the marriage they need wisdom and advice. So
Women's and Men's mysteries are presented. Then everyone dances together
to charge a talisman which they may take home. An Aval Communion tops
off the ceremony. So if you want to hear more about this ancient rite
tune in and we will enlighten you. And visit the Fifi website at <
feraferia.org > And if you are nearby, try to make it to Rivendell
on Saturday evening.

On Thursday April 19th, 2018, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review a book titled LeMulgeton, Goetia and the Stellar Tradition by Leo Holmes (2013) a Brazilian author who has examined the 72 Spirits of the Goetia in relation to the earliest Zodiacal and fixed-star arrangement that we have, the Mul.Apin of the Babylonians, hence his title “Le Mul ge ton.” Holmes has also included references to the Egyptians, the Magi, the Yazidis, the Tarot, Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant. He has a complete sequence of sigils for the Behemian stars. Which is a valuable asset to any magician’s handbook. He agrees with us that Bael and Ashteroth are Ba’al and Astarte and advances his zodiacal circle from the Age of Taurus to the age of Aries, as we have in our Master Mandala and he has also declared that Zagan (number 61) is the Caananite God Dagon, which we will certainly consider. This is a small quarto book in limited edition published by The Fall of Man Press. Our copy, provided by Frater Damuzi, is number 260 of 300, so if you Goetic magicians want the book you should order it soon.