The Hermetic Hour

The Chakras and The Book of Revelation (re-broadcast)

On Thursday November 13th the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the relationship between the mystic roses or chakras of yoga with the Seven Seals of the Book of Revelation in the Bible. This is of special interest to Rosicrucians and the Rosicrucian tradition in our own Inner Order the O.R.C. We will follow the order of the Seven branch candlestick as does the Golden Dawn but we will mention other arrangements, such as suggested by James Pryce (1910) in Apocalypse Unsealed and his current imitator: Zachary Landsdowne, author of "The Revelation of Saint John" (2006). Revelation has been the cornerstone of Christian mystical texts since the first century of the common era. So if you want to discover what those Seven Seals are hiding then tune in and let's open them up.

Magical Fiction and Films (re-broadcast)

The Hermetic Hour, hosted by Poke Runyon, will present a lively review of magical fiction and films. We will go from "The Saragossa Manuscript"(1841) through Dion Fortune's "Moon Magic", Somerset Maugham's "The Magician" (novel and film), Chambers "The King in Yellow", Lovecraft's dream cycle, Merritt's lost worlds (that influenced Shaver), Jack Williamson's "Darker than You Think" (Jack Parson's favorite), Clark Ashton Smith dream-maker extraordinary, his imitator Jack Vance (from which we got Dungeons & Dragons), "Valis" by Philip K. Dick -- just to name a few. Then the films: Orson Welles' "Black Magic" on Cagliostro, Jean Cocteau's "Orpheus", Merrian Cooper's "She", "Simon King of the Witches," "What Dreams May Come," "Crowley," and Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain." A smorgasbord of mind-benders. Tune in and feast on it!
 

Angel Magick (re-broadcast)

On September 23rd, 2010 at 8:p.m. the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon,
will lead a discussion on Angel Magick (good spirits too) with an emphasis
on crystal ball scrying techniques, training, equipment, and talisman
construction and charging. We will discuss the recent books recounting Dr.
Thomas Rudd's 17th century work in this field, and relate some experiences
we've had in the circle doing this work. This will be call-in night, so have
your questions ready on any topic we've covered. Tune in and get
Theurgerated, or Thaumatergified. 
 

Hermetic Yoga - Beyond The Middle Pillar (re-broadcast)

On Thursday October 16th the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present an advance review on his forthcoming book Hermetic Yoga Beyond
the Middle Pillar this is a new offering from CHS/OTA that has been a
long-time in the works. The yoga system described and brought to life in
this book has been practiced by the O.T.A. since 1975 and is an
extension of Israel Regardie's Golden Dawn Middle Pillar exercise
following the Lightning flash going down the spheres from Kether to
Malkuth forming a complete straight line chakra system similar to the
Hindu system of Laya Yoga, In this case the Spheres of the Tree of Life
are the planets within. this system traces its origin to two German
Rosicrucian mystics Jacob Bohme and Johann Gitchel. The late Frederick
Adams of Feraferia was also working on a similar system and an essay of
his is included Adams also provided the beautiful cover art depicting a
Goddess in the stars. Also included is an essy by Frater Osiris (Michael
S. Downs) linking Hermetic Yoga to The Chemical wedding of Christian
Rosencreutz via Johann Gitchel' s spiral path of the planets in his
natural man drawing which is one of the keys to the Hermetic Yoga
conception. The book will be followed with a deck of Yoga cards which
will enable the practitioner to carry the system in his pocket for
meditation and study. This is going to be a great aid to magick and
spiritual development and provides a vital resource that Western
magicians have needed for centuries. Now we can call on the Gods within
and exercise all of the powers that our oriental colleagues have called
upon for centuries. So if you want to get a head start on the latest
magical tools of empowerment tune in and we'll start warming up for the
session.
 

The Book of Abramelin - New Translation

On Thursday August 29th, 2919 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss the new translation (2006) of the 15th century German Book of Abramelin attributed to Abraham von Worms, translated by Steven Guth and edited by Georg Dehn from Ibis Press. This new translation directly from the original German manuscript supersedes MacGregor Mather's translation of the French version in 1893 Which has been a cornerstone of magical libraries since the beginning of the last century. The new Abramelin is excellently introduced by my esteemed colleague Maestro Lon Milo Duquette. The old French version was poorly translated (from the German) and incomplete. The original has all four books and completes all the magic squares. This German version was used by Franz Bardon to name his solar spirits. It should go on the shelf of every magical library. So if you want to square-up with the Angels tune in and we'll run the numbers.

The Mysterious Naassene Document from Hippolytus (re-broadcast)

On Thursday October 9th 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the mysterious Naassene document featured in Hippolytus's influential refutation of all brassieres. Everybody loves a secret document especially if it is ancient and reveals secrets, and the good bishop Hippolytus had a real doozie in his purported Naassene Gnostic sermon, which forms chapter five of his marvelous refutation of all heresies which before Nag Hammadi yielded much of our knowledge of what the Gnostics were actually preaching. This Naassene Gnostic sect is according to the good bishop venerating the cosmic serpent hydra draco et all there are several. but they are mainly trying to do is equate the Christian passion and resurrection with a series of ancient dying gods from Osiris Persephone to Adonis Phoenician and Attis Anatolian and establish Jesus as the last of the year kings or green men of antiquity. Fortunately Hippolytus provides us with a full transcript of his copy like Beowulf his original has suffered rewrite by both Jewish and Christian editors in attempts like making Grendal a descendant of Cain to add Old testament prophecy and New Testament symbolism into the otherwise pagan dying god theme.The Naassene document has influenced many modern occult writers For us in the O.T.A. the main inspiration for our seasonal ceremonies besides the Ras Shamrah tablets was Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance (1920) which owes much to the Naassenes. So if you want to find out where the Holy Grail's first holy blood came from tune in and we'll open the old bishop's secret book.

The Sibylline Oracles

On Thursday August 15th,2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the ancient "Sibylline Oracles" created, or re-created,in Greco-Roman Alexandria in the first centuries of the common era.These prophetic verses, attributed to the Sibyls, or prophetic priestesses of ancient Greece were actually a hoax, written by Jewish and Christian Gnostics in an attempt to recast the legendary lost prophetic books of ancient Rome to include the Bible and predict Christianity. They were so successful and popular that the early Christian Church approved of them. They were accepted into the Hermetic tradition, along with The Orphic Hymns and the Chaldean Oracles.They became an influence on western magick and Fairy lore. We will refer to Jake Stratton-Kent's summary of the Oracles in "Geosophia" (2010) and Milton Terry's translation 1899. So, if you want to catch up on this often forgotten aspect of western magical lore, tune in and we'll lift the veil.
 

The Orphic Hymns - Magick’s Oldest Liturgy (re-broadcast)

On Thursday September 25th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present a discussion of The Orphic Hymns which are the Western Esoteric
Tradition's oldest liturgy. These hymns to the planets, the gods and
goddesses, the stars and all aspects of ancient Greek mythology were used by
the Orphic sect before the Golden Age of Greece, in the days of Pythagoras,
to guide the dead souls on their spiritual journey up through the celestial
spheres and into the realm of the zodiac and beyond. This was a special and
separate aspect of Greek mysticism which had its influence on Pythagoras`,
the Gnostics, the Mythraites, and the Italian Renaissance Hermetics. Most
recently Christopher Warnock has included the hymns in his "Planetary
Magick." We will concentrate on the 18th century Thomas Taylor
translation -- which we use -- and read a Robert Graves poem combining a
number of Orphic memorials into a connected instruction which may have
played some part in the Elusinian Mysteries. So. if you want to know what
that strange stuff they sing to harp music accompaniment at the beginning of
Seasonals, then tune in and we'll take you back three thousand years.
 

Gnostic Christian Marcus - the First Rosicrucian? (re-broadcast)

On Thursday September 18th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present a discussion on the career and contributions of Marcus the
Valentinian (died 175 a.d.). Marcus was as much a Hermetic as he was a
Gnostic Christian. The Church Fathers accused him of being more Pythagorean
than Christian. He was the developer of the Soma Sophia system of celestial
Greek qabalah which we have decoded and perfected (see The Seventh Ray, Book
III ) and, according to Kieren Barry, Marcus had an influence of the creation
of the later Sepher Yetzirah. Marcus developed some of the basic concepts of
what became the qabalah. Marcus was a Phoenician, influenced by the earlier
Samaritan Simon Magus. Like Simon Marcus had a Priestess whom he venerated
as an equal. He gave communion with his priestess by his side and turned
water into wine at the altar. The early Church Fathers considered this
blasphemous. Marcus's cult spread from the Middle East to Southern France in
the days Gnostic Christian Marcus - the First Rosicrucian? before Constantine
force-reformed Christianity. So, if you want to explore the most ancient
origins of what we call "The Western Tradition," then tune in and we will
spend an hour with a man who may have been the first Rosicrucian.
 

”The Chemistry of Alchemy” by Cobb, Fetterolf, and Goldwhite (re-broadcast)

On Thursday September 11th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will review the new book "The Chemistry of Alchemy" by three chemists Cathy
Cobb, Monty Fetterolf and Harold Goldwhite. The authors are all chemists and
chemistry teachers, but they have a fond affection for Alchemy and reveal
the Art as their hobby. This is a one-of-a-kind book: an introduction to
practical laboratory Alchemy through history from a scientific perspective
so that the student learns what alchemical terms really mean ( for instance
Mercury can mean any metal in liquid or molten form, and Sulfur is any
sulfide) and what the old alchemists were trying to do and how they actually
tried to do it -- and in some cases did it. The book is filled with
fascinating experiments that the apprentice can try in his or her kitchen
laboratory with the professional chemists' emphasis on safety and with safer
substitutes for dangerous materials such as real mercury. They even have a
recipe for making what some alchemists thought was The Philosopher's Stone.
You will also learn how to make "alchemical gold" good enough to have gotten
you buried alive or burned at the stake in the Middle Ages. Although the
authors retain their scientific perspective they have profound respect for
the genuine accomplishments of The Art and its venerable adepts. This book
is a must-have for anyone who aspires to be a modern alchemist. -- So tune
in and we will spend an hour in the laboratory with modern masters of the
ancient Art.
 

”American Cosmic” by D.W. Pasulka

On Thursday July 18th, 2019 the Hermetic Hour will review and discuss "American Cosmic" by Diane Pasulka. Again our guest reviewer will be Frater Dumuzi. Diane Pasulka is a professor of religious studies and approaches the UFO phenomenon from her academic perspective. She is a colleague of Jacques Vallee and shares many of his views. She quotes Carl Jung and cites the experiences and work of numerous "experiencers" (her term for contactees). She compares the UFO sightings and encounters to religious and mystical encounters such as the Miracle of Fatima and UFO artifacts to the Shroud of Turin. She also suggests that popular media feeds and perpetuates the phenomenon. Her approach is very subjective and impressionistic and her narrative is rambling and not well focused, but this, in and of itself, reflects the history of the activity she is attempting to describe. So, if you think "The Truth is Out There" tune in and we'll look in Dr. Pasulka's X-Files.
 

Graham Hancock’s ”Magicians of the Gods” and ”America Before” with Frater Dumuzi

On Thursday July 11th, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon and his colleague Frater Dumuzi will present a review and discussion of the recent Graham Hancock books Magicians of the Gods (2015) and America Before (2019). These works are the latest in a series of speculative efforts to support the long-standing theory that our present civilization (especially Western Civilization) was preceded by an advanced antediluvian culture that might have been Plato's Atlantis. The survivors of which, according to Hancock, created the monolithic architecture of the late neolithic and passed on their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy to the Sumerians, and Egyptians. Recent discoveries such as the 12,000 year old temple complex of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey lend these ideas credibility but they are still resisted by the Cultural Marxists who believe that civilization must evolve from the simple to the complex. Hence Hancock's books are controversial. So, put on your fedora, oil up your bull-whip and join us for an hour of adventure.
 

Shamgar, The Phoenician Judge of Israel (re-broadcast)

On Thursday September 4th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on Shamgar, son of the Canaanite War Goddess Anath "who killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad and saved Israel "(over a hundred years before Samson) and became a Judge (ruler of all the tribes) of Israel. Shamgar's story is briefly told in the Biblical Book of Judges. Beyond that lies the realm of myth and legend in which it is suggested that Shamgar was a Phoenician pirate called "Tekheleth Tholi." The Purple Dragon based in Tyre and sent by King Abi Milki to aid the Israeites against the Philistines. He joins the host of the Hebrew Judge Ehud, and marries his daughter Jael, who eventually tries to kill him. His ox goad is said to have been a magical weapon forged by the blacksmith Tubal Cain. The legend is perpetuated in the Gnostic Christian tradition of Marcus from whom we get the Greek Qabalah. Shamgar's exploits should be considered symbolic rather than historic, like the story of Hiram Abiff in Masonry or the Labors of Hercules in Phoenician and Greek astrological lore. If you want to return to the days when Gods and Giants walked the earth, tune in and we'll evoke the shade of Shamgar.

When an Esoteric Society Becomes a Cult (re-broadcast)

On Thursday August 21st, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time the Hermetic Hour
with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the historical
development of "cultism" in esoteric societies, staring with Baron von
Hund's Masonic Strict Observance in the mid 1700s, which in turn influenced
Weishaupt's Illuminati, Blavatsky's Theosophy and even The Golden Dawn with
their "Secret Chiefs" and more modern groups we will tactfully leave
unmentioned.This is an important issue because the paradigm that began with
Strict Observance and was adapted by Blavatsky has since been applied to any
esoteric group that has an initiatory structure. So if you want to find out
what was and what is behind esoteric cultism, tune in and we will lift the
veil.
 

The Sixth and Seventh Degrees of The Crata Repoa Reformado

On Thursday June 20th, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a report on the modern versions of the 6th and 7th degree initiations of the 18th century Crata Repoa. This system was originally intended to replicate an ancient Alexandrian mystery school initiatory program. Manley Hall called it "Egyptian Freemasonry." It was created by a committee of German Masonic scholars who accessed the Classical pagan works of Iamblichus, Porphyri, Plutarch and others to create an outline for a system of Seven Degrees, intended to convey the secrets of ancient Hermetic magick to initiates. But it was far from complete. It was an outline. It declared what was to be taught without providing the actual lessons. When we adopted it as an initiatory structure in 1970 we updated it with additional source material extending from Classical times through the Dark Ages, Medieval times, the Renaissance and the Rosicrucian era. We made the Crata Repoa the repository of the Western Esoteric Tradition, from King Solomon to the Holy Grail, to Christian Rosencreutz. We have discussed the degrees from Pastophoris through Alchemia on previous Podcasts so tonight we will put the cap on it (the four-corned red cap) with the final chivalric degrees the 6th Astronomus, (At the Gate of the Gods) and the 7th Propheta (one who knows the mysteries). So tune in and we'll tell you how the modern Crata Repoa culminates.
 

The Magick of the O.T.A. from Gnostica 1977 (re-broadcast)

On Thursday July 24th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a reading of his 1977 article in Gnostica No. 44, "The Magick of the O.T.A." This article described the philosophy, structure and activities of the Order thirty-seven years ago. You may be surprised to discover how long some of our advanced programs have been operative, such as our unique Hermetic Yoga system, our Celestial Magick Vault and our Magical journal The Seventh Ray. The article is short enough for the author to informally update the information given out at that time. So, if you want to learn where we were and what we did back then, and how we have evolved in the intervening years, tune in and be enlightened.
 

The O.T.A. Method of Astral Time Travel (re-broadcast)

On Thursday July 17th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the Order of the Temple of Astarte's unique method of Astral Time Travel. We first conceived and developed this method back in the early 1970s as an outgrowth of our Pathworking program. It has much in common with remote viewing in that a "target area" and, in our case, a time in the past, is selected and mapped. Then a celestial reference point and distance in light years is selected. This data is absorbed and studied. For example: if we want to visit ancient Alexandria (one of our favorite tours) we consult archaeological books with accurate graphic recreations to set the general environment at the time. We can use the overhead mirror or the Soul Door as our launch portal. We can use Kusor's Boat if we are launching through the Soul Door. In either case we will use a constellation rather than a Tattwa for a concentration point on the mirror. This is a second degree practice because previous Pathworking experience is required for it to be effective. It is a deep trance activity and can produce significant results. The more precise, well documented and prepared these operations are, the more impressive they will be. So if you want to read lost books in the Great library you should at least know what ancient Greek looks like. Tune in and we'll take you on a very long journey. 

Kiefer and Oren, the Story of a Tree by Merrick Rees Hamer

On Thursday May 23rd, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a reading of Kiefer and Oren, the Story of a Tree by Merrick Rees Hamer. Merrick is a leader in Masonry, The Golden Dawn and the Church of the Hermetic Sciences. As a Librarian he is also a professional story teller. This particular story is about a boy and a Tree. The story is a beautiful expression of the rapport we can have with nature if we personify it, and the depth of meaning we can find in the loss of natural beauty. If time permits we will present another short story by our host from The Seventh Ray 1975, Daughter of the Oak, about a boy and a girl and a Tree. In this tale the Tree comes to a similar fate but the boy learns the wrong lesson. So if you want to visit the forest with us, tune in and have a seat on the stump.
 

Secrets of Sufi Freemasonry (re-broadcast)

On Thursday June 19th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present a discussion on the English translation of "Secret Practices of
the Sufi Freemasons" by Baron Rudolph von Sebottendorf first published
in German in 1924. This is a highly controversial book by a notorious
author. Sebottendorff was the founder of the Thule Society which
Germinated (pun intended) into the Nazi Party. When he tried to take
credit for that the Nazis kicked him out and sent him back to Turkey.
How he managed to be a devout Muslim and a Nordic pagan at the same time
is one of the many mysteries this book conjures up. Transcending his
politics and fanaticism there is very provocative and profound occult
knowledge in this book --- much of it hidden even to European students
until recently. We will compare Sebottendorff's revelations with Gerard
de Nerval's "Sufi" version of The Masonic Temple Legend, and P.B.
Randolph's discovery of a Syrian Love Cult which may have been the
original source of the O.T.O.'s 9th Degree. So, tune in and find out how
the Sufis get a grip on themselves.
 

”Hunt for the Skinwalker” by Colm Keller, with Frater Heracles

On Thursday May 9th, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on interdimensional alien phenomenon inspired by the book “Hunt for the Skinwalker” by Colm Kelleher (2005). Our guest will be Very Honored Frater Heracles of Avalon Lodge in Texas who will recount his own close encounter with UFOs and share his thoughts on this and the Skinwalker anomaly. The book describes the long lasting ordeal of a cattle ranching family whose Utah ranch was literally haunted by these interdimensional beings and/or machines. They encountered huge wolves that were impervious to gunfire, horrible mutilations of their live stock and inexplicable physical phenomenon. A team of scientists began observations on the property and were able to confirm the family’s incredible accounts. This haunted ranch was called “A Pathway for the Skinwalkers” by the local native Americans. This book is similar to “The Mothman Prophecies” by John Keel (1975) So, if you want to peek behind the curtain, tune in and spend an hour with us in the Land of Oz.
 

The CHS/OTA Vision and Mission Statement

On Thursday May 2nd, 2018 The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present the official Vision and Mission Statement of the Church of the Hermetic Sciences and its fraternal order, the Order of the Temple of Astarte. This is the same document that is in our training manual and delivered to new initiates when they begin training. It gives our history, our philosophy, our traditional initiatory system, our accomplishments, our special programs: yoga, visualization, ceremonial magick, alchemy, divination, soul-travel and celestial qabalah. As a bonus feature we will discuss the mystery of the Pagan Communion Set and the mysterious magical alphabet inscribed thereon. We will direct you to our website where you can see it and perhaps help us solve the mystery. So join us and get magical.

The Magical Multiverse (re-broadcast)

On Thursday June 12th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present a discussion on ancient and modern Multiverse concepts in relation
to Hermetic Magick, the Qabalah, astrology and Fortean phenomenon. We will
examine philosophical. scientific, literary and cinematic models of the
Multiverse, sometimes called the "Holographic Universe" or "Parallel
Worlds." We will trace the idea through the "nesting spheres" of the
geocentric age, to the heliocentric Renaissance, the invention of the
telescope and the discovery of other galaxies and anti-matter, both in terms
of science and the pages of science fiction. Our references will be
Mary-Jane Rubenstein's "Worlds Without End," Michio Kaku's "Parallel
Worlds," the science fiction of Phillip K. Dick, and Richard S. Shaver, and
films such as "The Matrix," "Dark City," and "Lost Highway." Our challenge
will be to reconcile ancient Hermetic philosophy with the Multiverse
concept --- so, if you want to go through the looking glass or down the
rabbit hole, tune in and we will tour the endless "nows" of the Simultane.  
 

Artificial Intelligence vs. the Human Mind

On Thursday April 18th, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will air a discussion on the future impact of Artificial Intelligence on human creativity and individual expression. Will it serve us or will it dominate us? We will start with a recent article in the L.A. Times April 16th: "That Computer can call my Agent" which deals with A.I.s writing screenplays. We will look back at Asimov's "Foundation." We will visit "Drell Master" (2001) and its World dominating computer "Jaskamoor" and finally the final chapter of "Adamson's Quest" for the Hermetic perspective. So if you wonder whether they will serve us, or we will serve them. Tune in and make up your mind (before they make it up for you!)

Return to Pluto’s Cave, with Frater SithMeth

On Thursday April 11th, 2019, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will invite V.H. Frater SithMeth to discuss his recent expedition to Pluto's Cave north of Mt. Shasta.
This is the same Lava-tube cavern complex that we used as a location in
our 2007 science-fiction film BEYOND LEMURIA. It is considered a
spiritual location and has been used for Shamanic visionary retreats. It
has also been connected with the legend of J.C. Brown's  lost Lemurian
treasure. We discussed the Cave on our broadcast "Mystical Mt. Shasta"
in January, 13th. 2011. Which you can still access. So, join us as we
once more enter the underworld and share mystic experiences.
 

Negative vs. Positive Gnosis - from Gnostica no. 40, 1976 (re-broadcast)

On Thursday, June 6th, 2014 The Hermetic Hour will present a reading by Poke Runyon (Fra. Thabion) of his 1976 essay "Negative vs. Positive Gnosis" from Gnostica magazine, no. 40. This is an important instructive paper dealing with the ancient and modern spiritual differences between Thelemic (libertine) Gnosticism, Hermetic neo-Platonism and ancient and modern Paganism (wiccans, druids, etc.) These differences are so deep and so misunderstood that many New-Agers involved in the Occult do not know what they profess to believe in. They participate in various groups simply because they are attracted to the style and glamor of the organization and because it provides a rebellion against the religion of the parents. The article explains the fundamental differences between  Gnosticism of the negative world view and Hermetic magick of the positive world view, comparing them to the Pagan and neo-Pagan "natural" world view. You will discover how similar Thelemic Gnosticism is to the Fundamental Christianity it rebels against, and how similar Hermetic magick is to Tantric Buddhism. This paper will be reprinted in text form and posted as an instruction on our web site. So tune in and become transcendentally demystified.

The Music of Pythagoras by Musicologist Kitty Ferguson (re-broadcast)

On Thursday May 28th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
review the 2008 book "The Music of Pythagoras" by musicologist Kitty
Ferguson. This is a wonderfully erudite and deeply meaningful book on
the accomplishments, and lasting influence of the most important of the
pre-Socratean philosophers, and perhaps the most important ancient
avatar of the Western Esoteric Tradition. As a musicologist Ferguson is
able to fully expound on the master's development of "The Music of the
Spheres" from mythical Orpheus through Kepler to Close Encounters of the
Third Kind (we can all whistle that one). The Pythagorean harmonious
universe of music, mathematics, and geometry has been re-validated in
modern times with the advent of new theories in quantum physics. It was,
of course, the bed rock of Qabalah, Alchemy and Magick. We will
demonstrate some applications of the Pythagorean magical scale used to
activate psychic centers (chakras) and discuss the employment of these
techniques in magical operations. So tune in, tune up and we'll sing
along with the planets.
 

The Underworld Around the World with Frater Solomon

On Thursday March 21st, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the various traditions of the Underworld from the mythologies, religions and folklore of cultures around the world with our guest Very Honored Frater Solomon. Michael Johnson (Frater Solomon) is a Bible scholar with a background in Social Science. Mike has compiled maps of the underworld which locate the Hells of the major religions. Your host (Frater Thabion) will join in with references to Kenneth Grant’s “Tunnels of Set”, Shaver’s dero caverns, the underground kingdom of Agartha and the Shamanic under and over worlds and the proto-psychological Kabbalistic metaphore of The Nepesh, the Nechamah, and the Ruach. So if you want to take the E-ticket ride through the Great Fun house below the horizon, tune in and we’ll go below.

The Hermetic Link by Jacob Slavenburg (re-broadcast)

On Thursday May 22nd, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present a review on a very important recent book on the Hermetic Tradition
by Dutch author Jacob Slavenburg titled: "The Hermetic Link." Reviewing this
book will be a team effort between the host and our esteemed guest Frater
Ophis (Freeman Presson) who beat us to the punch and reviewed Slavenburg's
book on his website two years ago. How did we miss it? No excuse because it
should not have been missed. Certainly there have been other surveys of the
Hermetic Tradition, usually combined with other related elements such as
Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, magick, etc. but this is the best and most
complete tracing of the great Hermetic Gnosis from ancient Egypt, through
Alexandria, Harran, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the
so-called "Enlightenment" and the present modern age. Slavenburg takes us
from Zosimus to the Kybalion in a sympathetic, very thoughtful and
comfortably philosophical style. He quotes Peter Kingsley ("Reality")
frequently and does as good a job as Kingsley in getting across the deepest
meaning of the Hermetic Mystery (the Great I AM) - perhaps he does it better
in that he uses excerpts from Hermes to reveal the treasure we ardent
Hermetic devotees hold so dear, whereas Kingsley in Reality depended on
pre-Hermetic Parmenides and Empedocles. If all this is Greek to you, it
shouldn't be and Slavenburg goes a long way toward establishing the true and
enduring magnificence of our venerable Tradition. Tune in and get yourself
Hermetically sealed. (Preserved for the next incarnation.) 
 

Prometheus II – Prophecy and Initiation

On Thursday March 7th, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and comment on the 1948 science fiction novel by Stuart J. Byrne “Prometheus ll” recently republished by Armchair Fiction. This remarkable work, like so many early science fiction efforts was set in a future time, in this case 1970, and predicted a Third World War between the United States, its traditional allies and post Soviet Russia. Of course Russia did not become post soviet until the 1990s, but the Russian leader in Byrne’s novel seems and acts a lot like Putin. In this story the Russians are allied with China and they have conquered all of Latin America. They are on the verge of swarming our southern border. But their leader Nicholas (not Valdamir) has literally made a deal with the devil (the deros of the subterranean world) which has escalated World War lll into another dimension and brought in the forces of Agartha, the subterranean good guys and finally the Elder Gods (the original ancient astronauts) who arrive from hyperspace just in time to save the human race. Of course we have a pair of young Army officers and their sexy Army nurse girl friend, who team up with the underground good guys and Space Gods to help save America and humanity. It would have made a great Saturday Morning serial but at least it got its debut in Amazing Stories, March 1948.
 
So tune in and we’ll put it on old time radio for you.

The Eighth Tower by John A. Keel -- A Modern Charles Fort

On Thursday February 28th, 2019, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will review and discuss "The Eighth Tower" by the late UFO investigator
John A. Keel (1930-2009). He was most noted as author of "The Mothman
Prophecies" (1975) and film (2002). Keel was more interested in monster
sightings, like the mothman and big-foot than he was in UFOs but he
believed that the two phenomenon were related and emanated from the same
source. He was an ardent successor to Charles Fort "The Book of the
Dammed" (1919) which was a collection of fantastic anomalies such as UFO
sightings, monster sightings and other fantastic events such as rains of
frogs and ghost ship sightings. Mostly newspaper clippings collected
from the beginning of the industrial age to the First World War. Like
Charles Fort, Keel was a journalist who continued the collection from
the 1920s, through the UFO era. The Eighth Tower is a Fortean book but
with an agenda that Fort was very cryptic about. What do all these
strange things mean mean? Fort concluded that "We" humankind, "Are
property." Keel expands on that. After continuing Fort's bizarre
collection he brings in Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious, the world
soul, universal mind and the Seven Demonic Towers of the Yazidis and
postulates an Eight Tower that is a sort of empyrean Godforce over the
rest. This is not an easy book to get through but it will take you down
the rabbit hole, so join us for some Fortean adventuring.
 

Kabbalah, Cabala, and Modern Hermetic Qabalah (re-broadcast)

On Thursday February 21st, 2019  the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will reprise a discussion on different interpretations and conceptions
of Qabalah. This is a subject we have covered before, however, that was
years ago before we started climbing The Tree in our weekly lectures.
Now that we have arrived at The Abyss and and are venturing onto The
Eleven Sphere "Tree Before the Fall", it is appropriate for us to review
our Hermetic Qabalistic structure and establish the philosophical,
mythological and metaphysical differences between the various Kabbalahs,
and the particular innovations we have made in our modern Hermetic
version of the ancient system. Tune in and we'll play Monopoly on the
greatest board game in the universe.
 

The First Ancient Astronaut Theorists - Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer

On Thursday February 14th, 2019 The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present a discussion on the first Ancient Astronaut Theorists,
before Van Daniken, Sitchen, and the rest there was Richard Shaver and
Ray Palmer and the Shaver Mystery. In recent years more and more of
their fantastic 1940s revelations about Ancient extra-terrestrial Aliens
and their high technology and their continued influence on, and
interfearence in, earthly affairs (mind control and child trafficking
and madness) has been confirmed and exploited by later whistle-blowers
such as Tom Delonge, Corey Good, David Witcock and others. It seems that
Shaver and Palmer wrote their History Channel documentary scripts but
are never credited as the source. Are these Ancient Aliens still with
us? "Our original Ancient Astronaut theorists say yes!" So tune in and
let's return to the thrilling days of yesteryear and revisit The Shaver
Mystery.
 

Gateway to The Abyss - The Eleven Sphere Tree (re-broadcast)

On Thursday April 3rd, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present a special program discussing the O.T.A.'s Pathworkings beyond the
Sphere of Chesed. These Paths lead to the re-manifested Sphere of Da'ath,
which in the Eleven Sphere Tree becomes Saturn, the beginning of the
physical universe and the gateway to the Abyss. This concept and its
practical applications are covered in "New Tarot Trumps for an Eleven Sphere
Tree of Life" in THE SEVENTH RAY, Book III, "The Red Ray." We will also
discuss the Golden Dawn's eleven sphere tree and the idea of the Tree before
and after "The Fall." This is a Key lecture and lesson in our study program.
So tune in and we will journey to Mot's Back-o'-Beyond.
 

William Morris -- Victorian Age Socialist and Romantic

On Thursday January 31st, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will air a discussion on the life and work of Victorian Age British
artist and writer William Morris (1834-1888) on the modern Hermetic
revival. Morris was a Renaissance man of many talents. An Oxford scholar
who idealized and romanticized the medieval period and yearned to
recreate Camelot in the modern era. He was appalled by the pollution,
social misery and esthetic mediocrity caused by the industrial
revolution and he believed that Karl Marx held the key to creating a
utopia (although Morris admitted that he could not understand Marx) But
we need to understand Morris in order to fathom the continuing
fascination our cultural elite have for Marx's continually failing
system. So, come with us back to the Gas-light era and we will see where
a lot of today's progressive ideas got started.
 

The Eleusinian Mysteries with Feraferia’s Jo Carson (re-broadcast)

On Thursday March 27th, 2014 Hermetic Hour host Poke Runyon will talk with Jo Carson, leader of Feraferia, about Eleusis and the Mysteries of Death and Rebirth. What happens to the soul after death? What can be expected in the afterlife? Jo has written a new book, Celebrate Wildness—Magic, Mirth and Love on the Feraferia Path which includes a discussion of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Mysteries of Demeter and her daughter Persephone were held at Eleusis, in Greece, for almost 2,000 years. These Mysteries had the goal of providing a first hand experience of certainty in the continuity of life after death. The Mysteries were established around 1450 BCE, and ended only when the Roman Christian emperor Theodosius I forcibly closed them in 392 CE. They were centered around the myth of Demeter, the earth mother Goddess, and her daughter Persephone. In this story, Persephone was abducted by Pluto and taken to the Underworld, and eventually was able to return. This myth provided a key to giving real revelations to the population of that world. Thousands of people journeyed to Eleusis each Fall to experience the Eleusinian Mysteries, which means hundreds of thousands were initiated. However, so tight was the secrecy, or so inexpressible was the experience, that no one has ever revealed its profound secrets. We will explore what is known, what is conjectured, and how Feraferia honors the Eleusinian experience. So tune in and peek behind the veil of death.
 

The Cygnus Mystery and Key, by Andrew Collins

On Thursday January 17th the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
review and discuss "The Cygnus Mystery" (2006)  and "The Cygnus Key"
(2018) by Andrew Collins. These recent books are in the tradition of
"Hamlet's Mill" (1969), "The Sirius Mystery"(1976) and Gordon White's
"Star Ships" (2016) and they all fall into the category of popular
celestial archaeology. Most importantly for us in the Hermetic community
they all seek to validate our ancient Initiatiatic Code which holds that
we descend from the Heavens and to the Heavens we shall return via the
Milky Way as our "River of Souls." Like so many of his predecessors in this
Collins locates the ancient Shamanic origins of this in old Hyperborea
in North Central Asia. He presents a good case for Cygnus the Swan
bringing down the souls like the stork brings babies. He suggests that
the  Paleolithic genius-giant Denisovian hominids recently discovered in
Siberia were the originators of of our Celestial mythology and that they
carried it all the way down to ancient Egypt. I am not sure I agree with
all his ideas but for the most part he seems on the mark -- so if you
want to follow the Starry Path to immortality, tune in and we'll fly
with the swans.
 

The Hermetic Hour 2018 Year in Review

On Thursday January 10th, 2019 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will review and highlight the twenty-six live shows we presented in
2018. As most of you know these programs are all archived on our
Hermetic Hour website with abstracts describing them. So you can catch
up on what you missed at any convenient time. Be sure to have a note pad
handy as you listen so you can jot down the dates and titles
of the shows you want to find. Such as "Count Cagliostro, the Wizard who
invented himself" aired on February 22nd, 2018 -- or "The real secrets
of the Hypnerotomachia" on May 24th. You can find all these episodes
ready for listening or downloading on our website:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-hermetic-hour
so tune in and catch up on what you've missed.
 

”Parzival” -- Secrets From the Holy Grail

On Thursday December 20th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the Hermetic origins of the Holy Grail as presented in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Medieval romance “Parzival. This is a follow-up on an earlier broadcast from three years ago in which we read Janinne Rene’s Article on Parzival from The Seventh Ray issue number 19, January 1977. In the introduction to her article I stated that: “Much of the symbolism and the allegory of Kellner’s original O.T.O. derived from Parzival.” This and other fascinating secrets embedded in Wolfram's medieval masterpiece will be the subjects of tonight’s broadcast. So, if you want to find the Grail we have the clues for you. Eschenbach’s Parzival is like Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia. Its one of those old books full of secrets and magick. And our job on the Hermetic Hour is to dig them out for you.
 

”The Spiritual Meaning of the Sixties” by Tobias Churton

On Thursday December 6th, 2018, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss “The Spiritual Meaning of the Sixties” (2018) by Tobias Churton. This is a 653 page door-stopper of a book subtitled: “the Magic, Myths & Music of the Decade that Changed the World,” And it certainly lives up to its subtitle. Even though Churton’s previous books have been in the mystical, occult genre, this one should break into the mainstream and be read by every thoughtful reader interested in the present spiritual, philosophical and political divisions in what we call Western Civilization. Using the Music, films, television, and popular fads of the period as his mirror of reflection he leads us through the decade. The cultural impact of the Beatles, and rock music, the sexual revolution, psychedelics, the Bomb, the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, and the rise of feminism are all dealt with in turn. And the inability of established religion to cope with the spiritual challenges of the time is considered. The author was a child in England and Australia during the period and gives us a remarkable picture of the era from a growing child’s perspective. My one criticism of the book stems from Churton’s memory picture. I was a teenager in 1950s America. I recall that repressive era which preceded the social liberation of the sixties. I think Churton should have added “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.” (1956) to his list of media catalysts. So if you want to look back at the days of Flower-Power and Strawberry Fields Forever, turn-on, tune-in and give a listen.

Son of Chicken Qabalah with Lon Milo DuQuette

On Thursday November 15th 2018, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will review "Son of Chicken Qabalah" and interview its distinguished
author Lon Milo DuQuette. This 2018 book is a sequel to Lon's popular
"Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford" (2001). Lamed Ben Clifford
is Lon's fictional creation. Lon thought all of us Hermetic Qabalists
needed our own Rabbi, who would not sneer at our Tarot cards and pagan
corospondences on the Tree of Life. Ben Clifford's Qabalah was for all
of us and it was presented in a humorous style that made the otherwise
dry subject come alive. It became one of the best introductions to the
subject at least from a Hermetic perspective. The fictional Ben Clifford
has passed away but he has left a legacy: a three degree Qabalistic
initiation system based on the Sepher Yetzirah's Cube of Space and the
Golden Dawn's Hermetic Hebrew alphabet corospondences. Starting with the
Three Mother Letters in the first degree (the original tetragrammaton)
the candidate next internalizes the Seven Double Letters attributed to
the planets, and finally, in the Third and last degree, he or she,
installs the Twelve Simple letters internalizing the entire Hermetic
Qabalistic universe. This is all accomplished with mudras, flashing
colors a pitch pipe and geometric mandalas. What we did with a  yoga
system in "Hermetic Yoga, Beyond the Middle Pillar" (2015) Lon has done
in a Temple initiation format. This little book of his is a treasure and
will make Hermetic Magick come alive for everyone who conscientiously
studies it.
 

Cecco d’Ascoli and the Mirror of Floron

On Thursday October 25th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present a discussion on the late Medieval astrologer magician Cecco
d' Ascoli who was burned at the stake by the Inquisition in 1327 a.d.
for publishing books connecting astrology with magick, necromancy and
demonology. In several ways he presaged the sad career of Giordano Bruno
who went to the stake 273 years later in 1600 for a similar offense.
Cecco expounded his magick on a geocentric universe model, whereas Bruno
paganized (or demonized) a later Coperican universe. Cecco d' Ascoli may
be considered the father of Solomonic ceremonial mirror magick. One of
his most heretical revelations was a description of summoning (evoking)
the demon "Floron", in a mirror of polished steel. Floron had fallen
from the Order of Cherebum and served under the Goetic king Amaymon.
Such a mirror was described in Picatrix and later depictions of it
reveal that it was in fact a hand mirror. After Cecco's execution
magicians no longer wrote of magick mirrors but their use continued
until the present day. We will draw primarily from Lynn Thorndike's
"History of Magic and Experimental Science", Volume 2 (1923) with
current material from Christopher Warnock. So if you want to find out
where this dark mirror magick got started, tune in and we'll pull
another Italian magus out of the fire.
 

Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition by Frances Yates

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.
 

Kurt Seligmann’s ”The Mirror of Magic: A History of Magic in the Western World”

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.
 

CHS Active and Associate Members Update

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.
 

Philip K. Dick’s Exegesis

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.
 

Parallel Universes, Magonia in History and Fiction

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.
 

The Mysterious Voynich Manuscript

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.
 

Adventures in Pohnpei and Nan Madol with Lady Jo Carson

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.
 

Fraternitas Saturni with Stephen Flowers

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. .
 

The Arbatel of Magic with V.H. Frater SithMeth

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.
 

The Holy Grail and The Round Table in Magick

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.

The Real Secrets of The Hypnerotomachia

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.

”Original Magic”(2017) by Stephen Flowers and ”Real Magic” (2018) by Dean Radin

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.
 

Recap of Beltane and a New Feraferia Divination System with Jo Carson

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!
 

Feraferian Beltane on April 28, 2018 with Lady Jo Carson

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.

LeMulgeton: Goetia and the Stellar Tradition, by Leo Holmes (2013)

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. 

Neocoris 2nd Degrees at Avalon and Ubar Lodge Charter

On Thursday March 12th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will chair a discussion on the recent Neocoris initiations at Avalon Lodge near Austin, Texas. We will be joined by Very Honored Frater Heracles, Master at Avalon and Hierophant at the initiation and other cast members and candidates. The Neocoris Grade in Crata Repoa is where we introduce the candidate to Solomon's magical art of evocation in the dark mirror. This ceremony is dramatic and challenging with tests and ordeals. It is based on Paul Christian's One degree condensation of Crata Repoa in his "History and Practice of Magic" (1870) and is a rite of passage in every sense of the word. Following the initiation, Soror Zandria and I presented a Charter Warrant for a full-fledged O.T.A. Lodge to V.H. Frater Soun and V.H. Soror Ningal of Ubar Hermitage, now Ubar Lodge, in Dallas, Texas. We followed this by a brief ceremony ordaining both Frater Soun and Soror Ningal as ministers in The Church of the Hermetic Sciences.

Neocoris Legenda, Part 2 - The Goetia

On Thursday March 22nd, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present the second part of the Legenda of the O.T.A.'s Second Crata
Repoa Degree, Neocoris. The Legenda is essentially the same as the
degree script with a few secrets deleted. It is the story of the degree.
This was the first O.T.A. degree back in the early 1970s and was moved
up to second when we began to do all seven of the Crata Repoa system.
Last week we covered the reception, testing, and the ordeals, in Section
One. Tonight we move through the obligation and on to the knowledge
lectures in Section Two. Our instructions in Solomon's magick are
delivered in a biblical style like Mather's used in some of his G.D.
lectures. So if you want to experience a magical initiation, tune in and
we'll give you a word picture of the process.
 

Legenda of the O.T.A.’s Second Degree - Neocoris

On Thursday March 15th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present the first of a two part presentation on the Legenda of the O.T.A.'s Second Degree, Neocoris in the Crata Repoa System. This initiation was originally inspired by the French version of Crata Repoa from Paul Christian's 1870 History and Practice of Magic, called the Mysteries of the Pyramids. It has been performed here in Southern California since 1970 and is a very dramatic and challenging experience. A rite of passage one never forgets. A Legenda is the story of an initiation. It reveals the deeper meaning of the ritual while keeping things such as passwords, symbols and formulas secret. The Legenda gives you the meaning, so if you'd like to know about one of the oldest magical initiatory rituals, tune in and we will share it with you.
 

Count Cagliostro -- The Wizard who Invented Himself

On Thursday February 22nd, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present a discussion on the life and career of the 18th century
magician and alchemical adept who called himself  Count Alessandro
Cagliostro. He was perhaps the most colorful and adventurous character
in our Hermetic tradition. Vilified as a rogue, a scoundrel, and a
charlatan by the academy and the Church in Europe he was loved by the
common people for his healing touch and alchemical medicines which he
administered freely to the poor, and dearly to the rich. He claimed to
be able to create gold to support his charity work and lavish life
style. He and his glamorous wife Lorenza founded an androgynous 
quasi-Masonic Egyptian rite which allegedly involved nudity and sex
magick. Cagliostro was featured as an anti-hero in a series of novels by
Alexander Dumas, and depicted on film by Orson Welles in the (1949 )
movie classic BLACK MAGIC. We will consult Sax Rhomer's ROMANCE of
SORCERY ( 1914 ) for a more accurate version of the Count's adventures
than Dumas' novels and the screenplay offer -- so if you'd like to meet
the real Count Cagliostro, tune in and we'll follow him on his journey
as he invented himself.
 

The Crata Repoa Pastophoris Legenda of the First Degree

On February 8th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present the Legenda of the first Degree of Crata Repoa Reformado. Which we call the Fellowship of the Grail. A Legenda is the scenario of a esoteric degree. It describes the degree delivering most of the essential knowledge and symbolism but leaves out certain "secrets" such as grips, secret words and procedures. Crata Repoa is the oldest system of Magical degrees and is based on first century Alexandrian Hermetic writings and rituals. We will briefly outline the original 18th century system and explain some of our modern additions and inclusions. So if you'd like to find out what really goes on in a Magical Initiation tune in and be illuminated.
 

Golden Dawn Memorial Service for Cris Monnastre

On Thursday February 1st, 2018 The Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon,
and honored guests will reprise a Golden Dawn memorial service for
lately departed Cris Monnastre, Patricia Behman, founder of the Los
Angeles Temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This ceremony
was held at Culver City Foshay Masonic Lodge on January 21st. Patricia
Behman was a close associate of the late Francis Israel Regardie and
received her original dispensation from him to establish a Temple of the
Golden Dawn in Southern California.The memorial and requiem was
performed by officers of the R.R. et A.C. who will repeat the
presentation on this broadcast. Patricia Behman was  loved and honored
for her dedication to preserving the Western Esoteric Tradition. Please
join us as we say farewell to a great lady and a beloved Temple chief.
 

”Wine of the Dreamers” by John D. MacDonald

On Thursday January 25th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will re-visit and review the 1950 science fiction novel “Wine of the Dreamers” by John D. MacDonald (1918-1986) This was his first science fiction novel. MacDonald went on to become one of America’s best Detective Story writers. “Wine of the Dreamers” set twenty-five years in the future (1975) the story interweaves two sets of characters on two different planets. The director of an early United States space program Bard Lane, and his staff psychiatrist Sharan Inly on Earth and Raul Kinson and his sister Leesa on the distant planet of the Dreamers. The Dreamers are the decadent descendants of the original human race. Millions of years ago they colonized Earth and two other planets in other solar systems. They maintain contact with the colony worlds, including Earth, by the use of long-range telepathic dream-machines. They call themselves “The Watchers” and they have a prime directive: To keep the colony worlds from developing space travel. And the dreamers do this by demonic possession sabotaging space programs such as the one Bard Lane and Sharan are managing in New Mexico. But the dreamers have degenerated to the point where they no longer believe that the people on the other worlds whom they possess have any real reality. They think they are creations of their dream machines for their entertainment. Very much like our video games. So the dreamers can create mayhem and chaos for amusment. However Raul Kinson is a throwback to an earlier age. He knows the truth and wants to help Bard and Sharan. The end result of this alliance of the minds between the worlds makes for a fascinating sequence of what-ifs – so if you want to find out who is watching and listening between your ears, from beyond the stars, tune in and we’ll go back to a future that never was but might yet be coming.

The Hermetic Hour 2017 Year in Review and What’s in Store for 2018

On Thursday January 11th, 2018 the Hermetic Hour with Host Poke Runyon will review all of the live broadcasts of the preceding year 2017 so that our listeners can go to our archives with the title, subject and date of a show they missed. So keeping a note book at hand while you listen is recommended. Following this recap of 2017’s broadcasts, we will discuss what we have planned for 2018 and a look at forthcoming publications and productions from The Church of the Hermetic Sciences, So if you want to know where we’ve been and where we are going, tune in and get caught up. 

Dan Brown’s New Novel ”Origin” (2017)

On December 21st, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon, will review Dan Brown's new novel "Origin" (2017). Other reviewers have called Origin either Brown's best or his worst novel. On a scale from one to ten we would give it an eight. As in all his thought provoking thrillers he follows the Dean-Koontz formula plotting for maximum suspense and action while keeping the big secret hidden as long as possible, thus managing to tantalize and entertain his readers as well as educating them into the essential mystery or problem central to the plot. In the Da Vinci code, it was the Holy Grail, in Inferno, it was the population explosion, in Origin it is the origin of life on earth and the destiny of the human race. Once again Brown creates a modern Frankenstein in the person of a billionaire inventor, computer programmer and futurist, Edmund Kirsch. Kirsch and his Android Igor "Winston" have decided to destroy religion by releasing a scientific documentary proving that there is and never was a divine creation and that humankind is rapidly evolving into a new species of cyborgs. (Much of this speculation has already been aired on documentary t.v. channels). Modern Spain is the venue for this drama and Brown treats us to his usual educational travelog. Before the world wide release of his production Kirsch is assassinated on stage (like Howard Beale) and this leaves Brown's hero Robert Langdon aided by the future queen of Spain and Kirsch's trusty A.I. "Winston" to find the secret Password to release the program. He does and they do -- but Langdon debunks Kirsch's premise that DNA evolved like amino acids in the primal soup of the earth's beginnings so God is saved. If you want to unravel the codes and untangle the twisted plot of this contemporary thriller tune in and we'll seek our Origin and our Destiny.

Pearl Harbor - The Great Disillusionment

On Thursday December Seventh, 2017 on the 77th Anniversary of the Pearl
Harbor attack, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a
report on the conditions and events that led up to the "Day of Infamy".
This report will be based largely on information from Nicholson Baker's
2008 book "Human Smoke, The Beginnings of World War Two, the End of
Civilization." We will trace the Pearl Harbor story from 1934 to 1941.
Revealing beyond any doubt that Washington knew the attack was coming,
where and even when. The attack was used to get us into World War Two
and lay the foundation for an American socialist dictatorship, on the
European model, empowered by a military-industrial complex which has
ruled in Washington ever since the end of the war in 1945. Pearl Harbor
was our first great disillusionment, followed by the Kennedy
Assassination, the Viet Nam war and 9 -11. We need to look back at
ourselves and examine the evil that has crept into our Republic under the
mantle of what is called "Democracy."

The American Dream and the Spirit of Howard Beale

This is the Hermetic Hour for November 30th, 2017. I'm your host Poke Runyon and tonight I'm again channeling the spirit of Howard Beale. In March of 2017 we reviewed Paddy Chayefsky’s 1976 film classic NETWORK on the Hermetic Hour. I gave my own dramatic reading of Ned Beatty’s speech in which he converted news caster Howard Beale from a critic of incipient Globalism and its mass media brain-washing propaganda machine into an advocate of The New World Order. Of course Beale’s ratings tanked and the Network had their left-wing terrorist group kill him right on camera. I was certain that even before Howard’s mythical spirit passed the Pearly Gates he would have realized that his original vision was the True perception of International political-economic and social corruption. I imagined him looking down on us from heaven – a sort of Ascended Master if you will, who would watch over us and perhaps communicate with us again. “The Mad Prophet of the Astral Plane.”

The Mystery of Melchizedek

On November 2nd, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present a discussion on the Biblical mystery man Melchizedek who appears
in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and later in the New Testament.
Melchizedek literally means King and Priest or Priest-King. He was said
to have given the first communion to Abraham in the days before Joseph
became a leader in Egypt. Although legendary he was said to have
established an order of priesthood to rival that of Moses
brother Aaron. He represented the original Canaanite god El ("the most
High God") whereas Aaron's priesthood was that of Moses' Jehovah
(Yahweh). After the Babylonian captivity Ezra attempted to overwrite all
references to El in the Bible and make Jehovah the supreme being. The
New testament declares twice that Jesus the Nazareen is a priest after
the Order of Melchizedek -- We will look at this in relation to the
Egyptian and Phoenician situation at the time and later Gnostic
Christian writings. So if you want to do some Biblical detective work
tune in and we'll solve the mystery.
 

Halloween and The Mot Mass

On Thursday October 26th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a preview of our annual Dark Mother of All Halloween Parties and the infamous Mot Mass -- A symbolic journey to the underworld where the Canaanite Dark Lord Mot, the original Grim Reaper, challenges each celebrant with: "What say you to honor the Dead." and then bids them drink from the Cup of Souls. We began holding this
event here at Rivendell in 2004 and finally formalized the ritual in 2010. Incorporating the Orphic hymn to Death and Lord Byron's "Lines Inscribed upon a Cup formed from a Skull." Last year we culminated the rite with the summoning of the spirit of King Solomon. Mot evoked our ancient avatar Solomon and V.H. Frater Solomon received the spirit and channeled a remarkable oracle. This year we will call up the spirit of Melchizedek. Halloween has become one of America's favorite holidays, but like Christmas, we often forget to celebrate its true meaning. At the culmination of the rite Mot pours the dregs of the skull cup into the earth with these parting words: "A libation to those remembered this night. And, as you return to the realm of Light. Pray to be honored by those you knew - when this cup is passed for you!"

The Labours of Hercules in the Hermetic Tradition

On Thursday October 12th the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon and special guest Frater Soun of Ubar will discuss the mythical Labours of Hercules in relation to the Hermetic tradition. We will develop the background of the myth evolving from Babylon's Gilgamesh through Melqart of Phoenician Tyre into the ancient Greek hero myth so often seen in films and television. We will look at works by Manley Hall, Albert Pike, Robert Graves , Alice Bailey and especially the French author Charles Francois Dupuis (1742-1809) who seems to be the only scholar who
has sequenced the twelve labours in proper Zodiacal order. The labours of Hercules are a chart of the souls journey through a cycle of lifetimes. They represent the great wheel of birth and death and are considered one of the Keys to the mysteries. So If you want to follow the big guy with the lion skin and the club tune in and we'll go adventuring.

Gilgamesh, Mythical Hero in an Epic Adventure

On Thursday October 5th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon joined by Frater Soun, Magister of Ubar Lodge in Dallas, will air a discussion on the evolution of the the Solar Hero in mythology from the Sumerian Gilgamesh who was the model for the Phoenician Melqart, who in turn inspired the Greek Heracles. Gilgamesh is a four thousand year old epic adventure story which circulated throughout the whole Middle East with copies found among the Hittites and the Canaanites. Even as Ishtar and Tammuz were translated into Astarte and Ba'al, and subsequently became Aphrodite and Adonis. Gilgamesh like Hercules slays a lion, a bull, a giant and many-headed monster. His victories and Hercules' labours are seen as representing the sun's yearly progress through the signs of the Zodiac. So tune in and we'll go back to the  days of myth and legend and make our way through "The Circle of the Beasts" as the Zodiac was originally called.
 

Sekret Machines - Sources and Follow-up Books

On Thursday September 7th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon
will present a follow-up to our previous review of "Sekret Machines"
(2017) by Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley. In this program we will look at
their major source work: "Insiders Reveal Secret Space Programs &
Extraterrestrial Alliances" (2015) by Michael E. Salla, Ph.D. and his
(2017) sequal "The U.S. Navy Secret Space Program & Nordic
Extraterrestrial Alliance." These books and the plot of Sekret Machines
are primarily based on the revelations of the age regressed whistle
blower Corey Goode and other former U.S. Navy and Air Force operatives
in a parallel secret advanced Space Program with alleged bases on the
Moon and Mars. We will also examine Tom DeLonge and Peter Lavenda's
(2017) book "Gods, Man and War" which establishes the historical and
anthropological validity of the Ancient Alien and UFO connection without
evoking secret space program conspiracies. So if you want to return to
the absolute elsewhere for another hour, tune-in and we will have both a
critical and a sympathetic look at this phenomenon.

Sekret Machines - Chasing Shadows, by Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley

On Thursday August 31st the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a review of the recent best selling novel: "Sekret Machines - Chasing Shadows" by Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley. This book purports to be The Truth about "The Phenomenon" (UFOs, Ancient Aliens, the Nazi Bell et allia) presented as fiction. It is very effective as a Dean Koontz-Dan Brown style multiple-viewpoint thriller. Readers will at first believe that this is a novelized version of the "X-Files" t.v. series but the final chapter proves that the 1940s Shaver Mystery by Raymond A. Palmer and Richard S. Shaver was the real inspiration for this project. We do not say this to discredit Sekret Machines but rather to recommend it. So if you want to spend an hour in the Absolute Elsewhere, tune in and we will take the elevator down to the "deep utilities" and visit with the Deros who run The New World Order.

Stories of Magic and Enchantment with William Mistele

On Thursday August 17th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon is
honored to present a review and discussion on the new book of magical
fiction "Stories of Magic and Enchantment" by William Mistele, with the
author as our guest. This book is handsomely published by Falcon Books,
a new publisher in the field. As regular listeners will recall, we have
supported Bill Mistele from the beginning of his writing and publishing
career, having had him on as a guest with his first book "Undines"
(2010.) This was followed by "Mermaids, Sylphs, Gnomes, and
Salamanders" in 2012. As you might suppose Bill is very much into
Franz Bardon's Hermetic Elemental personifications. He writes from a deep
empathy for sacred nature and its spirits, encountering them in human
form as magicians often do. He favors the feminine spiritual
perspective. His stories are remarkably free from the usual horror and
conflict we associate with supernatural fiction. We might say they are
totally opposite to Lovecraft, while being lovingly crafted. Bill has a
degree in philosophy and has spent years studying and meditating with
Buddhist and Taoist teachers. He finally devoted himself to the
Bardonian system of magic and has more books in the works. So, if you
would like to meet a true magical maestro and learn about his visionary
work, tune in and be enchanted.

Feraferian Lammas Summary Report with Jo Carson

On Thursday August 10th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with co-hosts Poke
Runyon and Lady Jo Carson of Feraferia will recap last week's wonderful
Feraferian power weekend at Rivendell. It began on Thursday evening with our
previous broadcast of the Hermetic Hour then Friday evening we did
advanced Feraferia initiations at Rivendell Henge and Temple for five
candidates, this was followed by the Lammas (lughnasad) ceremony in the
henge in which we invoked the Goddess Aphrodite for over thirty-five
O.T.A. and Feraferian members and their guests. Some came from as far
away as North Carolina to attend along with Feraferian and O.T.A. elders
from the early days in the 1960s and 70s. This was a wonderful reunion
and reconnection with the old and new. Rivendell seemed the perfect
local for such a happy event. And we are already planning a Beltane here
next May. Once again Lady Jo Carson, President of Feraferia will be our
guest host as we recap our adventure and discuss what we have planned in
the future. So, tune in join us ( we have the echo problem corrected so
the sound is fine now) Hear us on Thursday, Evoe Kore! Good Magick!
 

Feraferia’s 50th Anniversary Celebration with Jo Carson

On Thursday August 3rd, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with co-hosts Poke Runyon and Lady Jo Carson of Feraferia will discuss the Fifty year Anniversary celebration of America's premier Goddess worshiping, nature oriented Neopagan religion founded by Artist-Philosopher Frederick Adams in 1967 here in Southern California. Lady Jo will direct a Feraferian Lammas ceremony here at Rivendell this coming Saturday evening. Poke and Jo will discuss the history of Feraferia and reminisce about Fred and his remarkable priestess Lady Svetlana. For those of you who missed the magical 60s and 70s here in So Cal tune in and we'll try to recapture some of the glamor and for those who do remember, we'll probably see you on Saturday evening, Evoe Kore!
 

Shamgar, The Whole Story

On Thursday July 20th,2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present the dramatic conclusion of Shamgar, the Purple Dragon by Poke
Runyon. The first part of this Biblical adventure was aired on September
4th, 2014's Hermetic Hour and has remained unfinished until the original
manuscript was rediscovered. Now we can complete this Cecil B. DeMillish
Biblical epic from the Book of Judges. Shamgar's saga recounts how a
Phoenician Pirate who claimed to be descended from Pagan Gods, becomes a
Judge of Israel and battles the Philistines, slaying them with an ox
goad years before Samson used the jawbone of ass. Shamgar almost becomes
Israel's first King but his magical ox goad is passed down to a future
contender at the beginning of the common era. So if you want to enjoy
the Old Testament from a Canaanite perspective, tune in and join us as
Shamgar rides again.
 

Ceremonial Masks and William Blake’s America: A Prophecy

On Thursday July 6th, 2017 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will
present a discussion on the making and use of Masks, for magicians
taking the roles of Gods and Goddesses in Seasonal Ceremonies. Our guest
for this discussion will be Frater Isa Magister of the Ubar Hermitage in
Dallas, Texas, who has been making and using masks in ceremonies for
some time. Following this discussion we will be joined by our second
guest Bryan Dini, The Purple Man, and head of the iconoclastic Purple
Party (a sort of traveling Burning Man show) who staged a dramatic
street version of Blake's America Prophecy which can be viewed on the
internet. So, if you want to celebrate the 4th two days late, join us and 
we'll do Blake and hang out the Gadston Flag.
 

Symposium - Assuming God and Goddess Forms in Ceremonies

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.
 

Enochian Aethyrs - Facing Choronzon

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!