All Episodes

On Thursday June 29th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will 
present a symposium on the topic of Assumption of God and Goddess Forms 
in magical ceremonies. Call in guests will include Frater Heracles John 
Sheffield whose new rituals and articles suggested the topic, Soror 
Urania Ann Finnin whose Celtic Church, the Roebuck, has been doing these 
operations for years, and Soror Ariel Jo Carson of Feraferia who will be 
presenting a Lammas Rite at Rivendell in August, so if you would like to attend                                                                                                       this meeting of the minds on the subject of being God and Goddess-like,                                                                                                            tune in and we shall bring the heavens down to Earth.
 

As most of our active and Associate Members know we are mainly focused on Solomonic Ceremonial magick, but we also use the Aethyr System from Dee and Kelly’s Enochian corpus, which provides us with an operative alternative when the Moon is not well aspected for Goetia. The Aethyr System, originally called “Terrestrial Victory” and was a thirty-level sphereical model of the Universe with the Earth in its center and the Aeythrs or Heavens (Gnostic Aeons originally) surrounding and expanding from the terrestrial center like the layers of an onion with the lowest as number 30 TEX rising on up to LIL as number one enclosing the outer limit of the circular universe. All of these levels are related to the Four Elemental Tablets, called The Watchtowers which relate to the celestial sphere and are positioned around the magic circle. Each of these Aethyrs have angelic governors whose sigils are outlined on the tablets. This is derived from Kamea Magic. The Aethyrs themselves derive from Valentinian Gnosticism, and the Book of Revelation The Magicians who explore these astral realms will activate the tablets, with Enochian Calls, and then scry into an orb on the altar within the magic circle. You can see this in our introductory video “The Rites of Magick.” We have discussed this on the Hermetic hour before but tonight we are going to go much deeper into the mysteries and paradoxes of this powerful system of magic. So, if you want to learn how to open Pinhead’s (Choronzon’s) Box tune in and chant with us: Zacar od Zamran!

On Thursday June 1st, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on the current magical phenomenon of "Pepe the Frog." Pepe is a meme (an iconic symbol like the smiley face) which was taken over by anti-progressive political forces during the last presidential campaign. Originally created as a Pogo type character in a counter-culture comic book, Pepe escaped into public domain and was used on the internet as a humorous joke platform until he was captured by the Donald Trump supporters in the Fall of 2016. Since then Pepe has developed a mythology (ancient Egyptian frog God Kek) and a philosophy of Primordial Chaos, or Anarchy, a Nation of his own "Kekistan" with a history and a world wide diaspora much like Judaism, with a national anthem: "Shadilay," and a green and black flag that looks like it came off of a Nazi U-Boat.  The magick behind Pepe's turn to the Right came from Cornelius Agrippa's "Natural Magic" (Duck powder creates frogs) and was implemented by Hillary Clinton when she ordered adult sized Donald Duck costumes to be fabricated and then sent her Ducks out against Donald Trump. Trump retaliated by capturing Pepe and adding the frog to his own crew of "Deplorables" (again using one of Hillary's creations against her) She confirmed Pepe's transformation into a "right wing bigot" on national television and even though Pepe's cartoonist creator killed him off, millions of devout Kekistanis throughout the world wide web would let him not let him die. Poke will be joined tonight by deep internet-lurker Frater SithMeth as we delve into the magical mysteries of Pepe the Frog.
 
 

On Thursday May 18th, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will 
review and discuss "Astral Dynamics" (2009) by Robert Bruce. Robert 
Bruce is an Australian writer not to be confused with the Scottish 
"Robert the Bruce". In Astral Dynamics Bruce has delivered what may well 
be the best practical manual on Astral Projection (OBEs and similar 
phenomenon) since Ophiel's "The Art and Practice of Astral Projection" 
(1961). Of course I must admit that I have a special interest in this 
book because Bruce describes, validates and teaches methods and 
techniques that we use in our magical instructions and training. His 
description of the chakras (psychic centers) is virtually in-line with 
our Western Middle Pillar system and his Third Eye projection is very 
much like ours. He describes projecting into paintings and projecting 
from Lucid Dreaming states. His energy work techniques are very 
Bardonian and his description of the Astral Planes is in line with our 
experiences. All considered this is a great book and we highly recommend 
it. So Turn on, tune in and pop-out!

On Thursday May 11th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review "Lucifer Princeps" (2015) by Peter Grey.  This book is quite different in style from its predecessor "The Red Goddess" which, although well-researched, explored the background and origins of Aleister Crowley's "Babalon" in a popular style. Lucifer Princeps however is a scholarly work and might even be an academic dissertation or thesis edited for the lay reader. Being an academic work it suffers from the assumption that the reader is familiar with the material that the writer is working from. Fortunately this corpus is mostly Biblical and Apocryphal but he cross references other mythologies. Nevertheless the book is a wonderful resource and a great contribution to the Western Esoteric Tradition. He starts with Isaiah's lament and curse as the beginning of the Lucifer's Fall from Heaven story. This sets the stage for a parade of sources from ancient Summerian and Canaanite mythology. We learn about the first ascent to Heaven by the Summerian king Etana, and then the Canaanite god Athar who tries to sit on Baal's throne. We learn that the Yahwehists hated the pagan gods of the heavens and that the War in Heaven was actually Yahweh against El and the Elohim. Lucifer is finally revealed as our old friend Semyaza (Semhaza), the leader of the 200 Fallen Angels from the original Book of Enoch. The author concludes his work by offering us a mini-grimoire of Semhaza and his 20 officers, leaving us the job of obtaining their sigils -- which we will certainly do. So if you want get a head start on this project, tune in and give a listen.

On Thursday May 4th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will 
review and discuss "The Red Goddess" (2007) and "Lucifer Princeps" 
(2015) by Thelemic magician Peter Grey. The Red Goddess is devoted to 
establishing the history and mistique of the Thelemic composite pagan 
goddess "Babalon", which he correctly derives from Ishtar and Astarte. 
This evolution is for the most part well-researched and well reasoned 
from a Thelemic perspective, although Grey is critical of Crowley and 
seems to think that Babalon is too good for the Beast. Most importantly 
he supports the Divine feminine in magical religion. In "Lucifer 
Princeps" he does the same for Lucifer on the male side of the magical 
religious pantheon. In this case he works from Isaiah back to the Book 
of Enoch, correctly concluding that Lucifer was originally Semyaza and 
of Canaanite origin. With the exception of his interest in Simon Magus 
Grey seems to ignore the early Christian Gnostic contributions to Magick 
but his books are nonetheless readable and thought provoking -- so tune 
in and we shall look at our magical history through a glass darkly.

On Thursday April 2Oth, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon 
will continue to review and discuss the modern English (2004) 
translation of Otto Rahn's 1937 Lucifer's Court. This was Rahn's travel 
journal from Southern France to Iceland when he researched his personal 
quest to solve the mystery of the Holy Grail as described in the 
Medieval romance Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach. Rahn believed that 
the Medieval Cathars -- the Gnostic Heretics who were wiped out by the 
Roman Catholic Albigensian Crusade in the 1300s, were the keepers of the 
Grail. In this instalment we will get into the possible Persian 
Manichean origin of Parzival (Aryan of course) and Rhan's fascination 
with Hercules and the Argonauts legends (also Aryan) We will also 
discuss Nigel Graddon's 2008 Bio on Rahn and his rundown on all of our 
favorite Nazi Spook Books influenced by Rahn's quest. So tune in and we 
will follow the shadow of the swastika from Southern France to Tibet and 
back again.

On Thursday April 13th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon 
will review and discuss the modern English (2004) translation of Otto 
Rahn's 1937 Lucifer's Court. This was Rahn's travel journal from 
Southern France to Iceland when he researched his personal quest to 
solve the mystery of the Holy Grail as described in the Medieval romance 
Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach. Rahn believed that the Medieval 
Cathars -- the Gnostic Heretics who were wiped out by the Roman Catholic 
Albigensian Crusade in the 1300s -- were the keepers of the Grail and 
that they were devotees of Lucifer. He was very favorable to Nazi Aryan 
race theories and was invited to join Himmler's SS. Rahn's veneration of 
Lucifer as the God of the Medieval French and German heretics may be the 
main source of what has been called Nazi Satanism. Lucifer was actually 
another name for Semyaza, the leader of the Fallen Angels in the Book of 
Enoch. We will try to sort out the errors in Otto Rahn's work and give 
him credit where credit is due. In spite of his political incorrectness 
he was an intrepid anthropologist and folklorist and his book is a 
fascinating read for those interested in the occult history of Europe. 
So tune in and we will explore the castles and caverns of the lost land 
of the Troubadours in search of the Holy Grail.

On Thursday March 30th the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon (or
Roygnon) will review and discuss the 1982 Bestseller "Holy Blood, Holy
Grail" by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. This is the
book that generated "The Da Vinci Code" and is the first mainstream
modern speculation on Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene and possibly
having heirs who become The Grail Family and, according to the author's
become the magical, holy bloodline of the Legendary Merovingian dynasty
of French Kings in the days of King Arthur. This bloodline is
perpetuated and protected by a medieval secret society that still exists
in modern France, The Priory of Sion (Zion). The book is a door-stopper
and not very well organized. They try to make it read like a detective
story rather than a straight forward documentary presentation. Unless
you are fascinated by the subject you may get bogged down with all the
mystery before you reach the solution -- but if you stick with it the
overall effect is convincing. And to devout Christians perhaps shocking.
There are some problems, not with the idea of the Grail family. That is
very well presented, but with the authenticity of the Priory of Sion
itself. Yes there was one back in medieval times -- but is today's
fraternity and its family leadership directly connected to the early
medieval Merovingians? In any case the book is a great introduction to
this fascinating subject. It certainly got me to looking into my old
French antecedents. I discovered the Merovingian "golden bees" on the
Roygnon family crest and began to wonder if I had a little of this
magical blood? I recall Hamlet said: "To bee or not to bee." I wonder if
he was Merovingian. Tune in and we'll explore the mystery of the Grail
Family.
 

On Thursday March 16th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will review and discuss Joseph P. Farrell's 2014 book "Thrice Greatest
Hermetica and the Janus Age".This is a confusing title for a sometimes
confusing book, but it is still worth our attention. Basically it
outlines an historical conspiracy theory that goes this way: The
Medieval Knights Templar (the first military industrial and
international banking conglomerate) in collusion with the Republic of
Venice launch a Roman Catholic Crusade allegedly aimed at Palestine but
deflected to Constantinople to destroy and loot the Byzantine Greek
Orthodox half of the old Roman Empire. The Templars are okay with this
but when the greedy Pope sicks them on the Gnostic Christians (Cathars)
in their own home turf, Southern France, they back out.
The Cathars are destroyed. The Pope's buddy the King of France asks a
loan from the Templars, they refuse him, so he and the Pope turn on them
and destroy them in France. But they survive in Scotland, England and
elsewhere. and they are still allied with wealthy Venice. They are an
underground network, Meanwhile the Roman Church allies with Genoa,
Florance and Spain. The Venetians and the Templars make it to America
before Columbus (a Genoavian-Spanish agent) but Columbus plants the
Spanish flag. The Templars and Venetians infiltrate England with a
culture war -- infusing the English (Dee, Fludd and Shakespeare) with
Hermeticism and the proxy war for the New World is on. Drake, Morgan et
allia against the Spanish. What a plot! Sounds crazy but Joe has a PhD
from Oxford in Medieval Church history so he is worth reading on
subjects like this. Tune in and we'll check it out.
 

On Thursday March 9th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar Winning 1976 motion picture Network. Network is a scathing satire on the intellectual and moral corruption of American Television networks, especially their News Departments. Much of the corruption Network presents was just beginning to come about in 1976, but was fully in place by the 1980s according to Dave Itzkoff in his book “Mad as Hell” 2014, and is presently erupting in the Network News Media's efforts to actually support the overthrow of the elected government of the United States of America. The focus of the 1976 film is t.v. Anchorman Howard Beale who is about to be fired for low ratings. Depression and alcohol have driven Beale to madness and he becomes The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves preaching his mantra chant: “I'm Mad as Hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!” This drives his ratings sky high until the Network entertains a bid from a Saudi Arabian conglomerate. Beale urges his viewers to protest the Arab deal to the White House and is successful in delaying the procedure. The head of the Network's corporation Arthur Jensen confronts Beale and convinces him that the New World Order has made populist democracy obsolete. So Beale goes back on the air trying to sell the Globalist agenda. Telling his followers that democracy is obsolete and that they should accept dehumanization. Of course his ratings drop to the cellar. But Jensen won't let the Network fire him, so the executives convince the radicals of their documentary Mao Tse Tung hour to machine-gun Beale in the studio as he comes on stage for his show. This will up their ratings and pay for Beale's deficit. It's all a business. That's the gist of it but stay with us and we'll dig deeper into this masterpiece of American prophetic cinema.

On Thursday February 23rd, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present the the modern yoga ritual version of the Chemical Wedding
of Christian Rosencreutz. This is the fully developed Rosicrucian
version of Hermetic Yoga Beyond the Middle Pillar as presented in volume
one of Hermetic Yoga, Beyond the Middle Pillar. This advanced
version, draws upon The Naassene Document, the Gospel of
Philip, the Gospel of Mary, the Chemical Wedding itself, and the works of
Jacob Boehme and Johann Gichtel. This reveals that the Ninth Degree of
the O.T.O. and the Great Rite of the Gardnerians are both derived
from original Valentinian Gnostic Christian sources. So if you want to
experience some R-rated Rosicrucian yoga, tune in and we'll take you into
the mirrored chamber of the Sacred Marriage.
 

On Thursday February 9th, 2017 The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present the second part of The Chemical Wedding of Christian
Rosenkreutz by Valentin Andreae 1616, followed by an interpretation of
the symbolism in relation to internal alchemy, the extended Middle
Pillar chakra system and Valentinian Gnostic Christianity. We will
describe the Sacred Marriage within the adept him/or/herself as an
analog to the operations on the Sixth Day in the Tower of Olympus. We
will refer to works by Jacob Boehme, The creation of the Magical Child,
Johann Gichtel and the mysteries of the Spiral and the Lightning Flash.
And the Homunculus of Paracelsus. This is the lost Key to Rosicrucian
Sex Magick and the ultimate secret of the Hieros Gamos. Tune in and be
enlightened.
 

On Thursday February 3rd, 2017 the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon,
will present our interpreted and explained version of The Chemical
Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz (1614). The Chemical Wedding is the
third of the mysterious Rosicrucian documents that appeared in Central
Europe in the early 17th century. It is an alchemical fantasy that might
even be called "Science Fiction." Occultists have tried to unravel it's
secrets for the last four hundred years and we will offer our
interpretation tonight as we accompany old Christian Rosencreutz on his
visit to the mysterious castle and his participation in the alchemical
operation to resurrect the King and Queen. The solving of its riddles
has been just as exciting an adventure as the story itself. So tune in
and come with us to the Castle of the Rosicrucians.
 

On Thursday January 19th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss the 1934 horror classic "Creep Shadow, Creep" by Fantasy Grand Master Abraham Merritt. This forgotten tale has influenced such modern films and t.v. shows as Dark Shadows and recently "Outlander." It deals with a family feud that carries on for thousands of years between reincarnating ancestors of two ancient Breton Celtic clans. The lord of Carnac and the Royal family of the legendary sunken city of Ys. In their present (1930s) incarnations an anthropologist, specializing in the occult (like Indian Jones) and a psychiatrist specializing in hypnotic age-regression with a beautiful daughter who was and is a reincarnating evil soul-stealing witch. This story was the second in a series of such tales by Merritt, being the sequel to "Burn Witch, Burn" (1934) which was made into a film with Lionel Barrymore and influenced both Twilight Zone and the "Chucky" series. So if you want to discover the roots of ancient evil surviving in the deep mind, tune in and we will explore the dark world of the creeping shadows.