In this second episode of the nine-part Arbatel Project series, Erik and Evan explore the First Septenary of this 16th century Swiss grimoire. The episode delves into the Arbatel's emphasis on secrecy in magical practice, summarized by the opening aphorism: "Whoever wants to know secrets, needs to know how to keep secrets."

The First Septenary establishes the foundation for the grimoire's approach to magic, encouraging practitioners to "live for the Muses" by embracing creativity and artistic pursuits. We discuss the importance of memory in magical practice, with the Arbatel instructing practitioners to thoroughly memorize essential knowledge. While the text presents a Christian framework for invoking deity before magical works, the hosts explore how practitioners of various spiritual backgrounds might adapt these principles.

Get the Arbatel so you can follow along: https://amzn.to/40eDW9E

And join our chat on Discord: https://arnemancy.com/discord

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

Finally, it is here, the premier of the Arbatel series! In this episode, we introduce two key parts of the series. First, my co-host Evan. Second, the Arbatel itself! Learn about this 16th century grimoire, its origins in Protestant Switzerland, and the mysteries surrounding its publishing and authorship.

This is the first of a nine-part series about the Arbatel.

Get the Arbatel so you can follow along: https://amzn.to/40eDW9E

And join our chat on Discord: https://arnemancy.com/discord

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

My friends and frequent guests T. Susan Chang and Andrew B. Watt join me for part two of our 2024 retrospective. Susie, as usual, handles the Tarot cards, while Andrew manages the astrology. Pour yourself a beverage and settle in, as we poke at spreadsheets and explore last year's news to peer curiously into the past.

Andrew B. Watt is an astrologer, magician, and cool wizard. T. Susan Chang is a Tarot expert, author, and cool wizard. Please enjoy our look back at the second, tumultuous half of 2024!

• The 2024 Forecast Series (including the look back)
• T. Susan Chang's website and Tarotista Etsy shop
• Andrew B. Watt's website

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

This special bonus episode is from a brand new podcast, The Reflective Soul, hosted by my friend and recurring Arnemancy guest, Dr. Nick Literski.

The Reflective Soul Podcast explores the intersection of psyche and spirit. Through engaging solo episodes and heartfelt interviews, discover how dreams, symbols, archetypes, and sacred stories can inspire transformation and growth.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Reflective Soul Podcast!

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: Support this Podcast

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

For the podcast's fifth anniversary, Eric Purdue joined me at Dark Star Magick in Portland, Oregon, for a live podcast recording. We had a live audience, livestreamed the conversation to YouTube, and overall had a really excellent time. Our conversation focused on his translation of Henry Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy, which was released in 2022. I wanted to find out more about the ongoing influence of his translation, and how it is reshaping the modern occult community.

Eric Purdue is a practitioner of medieval astrology, and a santero (olorisha) in Lucumí/Santeria. He has studied metaphysics for over thirty years, with a particular focus on practical folk and astrological magic. His work on traditional talismanic magic appeared in the inaugural edition of The Ascendant (2014).

Thanks to Dark Star Magick for hosting this event. While it may have been a crazy idea to host it on Halloween, Steve enthusiastically jumped on the idea and then trusted us to pull it off. I am very grateful that he sat in as the intermediary between our Internet audience and the live event. Dark Star Magick is an incredible occult bookstore, carrying new, used, and rare books. They ship all over the world, so be sure to check out their online shop.

Live podcasts are a lot of work, and I couldn't have done this without the help of my brother Nick Arneson, and his audio/visual engineering skills. Make sure to check out his music and video production agency, Sunshine Presents.

• Eric Purdue's website
• Dark Star Magick
• Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (trans. Eric Purdue)
• Dr. Justin Sledge's Agrippa course

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

Part 1 of the 2025 Forecast is here! The Confraternity of Prognosticators has convened once more, and I am joined by my friends Andrew B. Watt and T. Susan Chang to use astrology and Tarot to forecast the coming year. We are delighted to have you on this amusing journey! This episode covers the months January through June, along with a bonus forecast about TikTok.

Andrew B. Watt is an astrologer, magician, and cool wizard. T. Susan Chang is a Tarot expert, author, and cool wizard. You know who we are, now go listen to us prognosticate!

• Andrew B. Watt's website
• T. Susan Chang's website

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancy

Happy holidays! My friend and returning guest Michael Sanborn joins me for this extra-special Christmas episode to drink yerba mate and discuss his latest Remy Boyer translation. The Way Without Masters: A Collection of Nondualist Texts is a collection of manifestos, hymns, verse, and prose that span a selection of collected topics from surrealism to Sebastianism to incoherism.

We recorded this episode in the comfort of Michael's dining room while sipping yerba mate. Our conversation covers a broad array of topics from expressionism to the challenges of translating mystical verse. It was a delight to have Michael as a return guest.

Michael Sanborn is a book designer and translator specializing in contemporary European esoterica. He participates in several esoteric traditions, including Neoplatonism, and Templarism. He is also a gnostic bishop and a member of Azoth Temple in Portland, Oregon.

Rémi Boyer has explored at length the world of the avant-garde, initiatory traditions, and philosophies of enlightenment. He works within the setting of the House of Surrealists in Cordes-sur-Ciel, for a new alliance between traditions, philosophies of awakening, and the artistic avant-garde. He is the author of some twenty specialized works, particularly on Western initiatory movements.

• Get the new book at Ways of Awakening
• Rose Circle Books
• Michael's previous podcast appearances:
• Friends of the Spirit with Michael Sanborn
• Seeking the Imago Templi with Michael Sanborn

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

Sam Block joins me to explain why he possibly thought it was a good idea to start a weekly Kybalion discussion group on the Hermetic House of Life (HHoL). Sam is a moderator of HHoL and runs the Digital Ambler website, a blog about Hermeticism, magic, and the occult.

This episode is based off of my recent YouTube video, The Nightmare of Hermes Trismegistus, but it includes the full interview with Sam instead of just the bits that made it into the video. Listen and enjoy!

By the way, if you are interested in what to read instead of the Kybalion, I have an excellent reading list you should check out.

• The Digital Ambler
• The Hermetic House of Life
• The only good edition of the Kybalion

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

This episode is repurposed from my first YouTube video. It is an exploration of the methods behind why divination works, featuring my friend Tres Henry. Note that this is not an episode that tries to convince skeptics that divination works—we just take that for granted!

Tres Henry is a magician, software engineer, and tinkerer who has worked in the tech industry for over twenty years. He is now bringing all of that nerd power to bear by creating digital tools for magicians. Two that you may have heard of are the astrology software Urania and online geomantic tool Georatio. He is currently working on building the best astrology software in the world.

• Hall of Doors (Tres's website)
• Urania
• Georatio
• Cosmic Plumbing
• This episode, but on YouTube

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe

Sara Mastros is the author of Sorcery of Solomon, Orphic Hymns Grimoire, and The Big Book of Magical Incense. She teaches magic and witchcraft online and is currently working on even more incredible Solomonic pentacle material.

She joins me to discuss many topics, including the Solomonic pentacles and the nature of initiation. Sara helps put the Key of Solomon in its proper historic context, guiding us through the interpretation and explanation of these well-known but poorly-understood classics of the Western magical tradition.

• The Sorcery of Solomon by Sara Mastros
• Witch Lessons
• Changing Times Changing Worlds Conference

Support Arnemancy on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancy

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit Sword + Scythe

Sword + Scythe creates handmade materia magica, amulets, astrological talismans, and provides divinatory services under the auspices of Mars and Saturn. Visit at swordandscythe.com

Sword + Scythe