Finally, here is part four of our deep dive into Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy! If you feel lost and would like to catch up with the first two episodes, you can find them on the page for this series.

In this episode, we will be taking a look at some pretty big topics: divine light and the senses. These form a pretty important core for the vision of magic outlined in this book, and I did as best I could trying to cover these topics and make sense of them. However, they are tricky, so I encourage feedback and questions if you feel like the topic hasn't been covered in enough depth.

To understand how Agrippa believed that the senses work, we have to begin by examining his ideas on light. For this, we take a trip through the Ptolemaic worldview, explore the imagination, and look at some really bizarre and outdated scientific concepts. But all is not lost! Come with me on a strange trip—no need to bring your own flashlight!

If you want to get a jump start on these topics, I would advise reading book one, chapters 49, 60, and 61.

Links

Credits

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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 part three of our deep dive into Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy. If you feel lost and would like to catch up with the first two episodes, you can find them on the page for this series.

In this episode, we will explore Agrippa's definition of magic, both through his words and by examining it through a modern lens. Beginning with this episode, I will make a point to let you know precise chapters we will be discussing. This should give you the opportunity to read specific chapters in Occult Philosophy so you can be more informed of the topics we discuss in this episode.

Agrippa's definition of magic can be found in book 1, chapter 2. In the 2021 Inner Traditions edition of Occult Philosophy, translated by Eric Purdue, this chapter begins on page 18. I would like to point out that we will almost never spend an entire episode discussing just one chapter, but since magic is at the core of our exploration of this book, we need to spend some time understanding exactly what we are talking about!

This series of episodes about Occult Philosophy will most likely last until Summer. My Patreon supporters will be receiving each episode a week before the rest of the world, along with bonus materials such as full interviews, a glimpse at works in progress, and the opportunity to suggest further topics for this Agrippa deep dive.

If you enjoy these episodes and want to help support their development, you can help out by sharing this podcast with a friend! Let your weird wizard buddies and witch pals know that we have embarked on this journey. And if you want to contribute monetarily, you can go to the Support page on this website and find a number of options.

Links

Credits

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

Listen on Podcrypt

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

Welcome to the second part of our deep-dive into Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's hugely influential giant book, Three Books of Occult Philosophy. In this episode, we will be searching for the answer to a pressing question: how did Agrippa manage to write such an enormous book before he even turned 25?

Thanks to Eric Purdue's long work on his translation of this book, we have a pretty good answer: plagiarism! Agrippa used material from over 200 sources to compile and assemble Occult Philosophy. In many cases, he simply lifted complete passages from some of these sources. However, in spite of the rampant plagiarism in the text, Agrippa was able to assemble quotes and passages from these sources—some of them quite mundane—to put forth an argument for his own definition of an occult philosophy that proved to be both remarkable and influential.

We will look at three of Agrippa's sources:

This series of episodes about Occult Philosophy will most likely last until Summer. My Patreon supporters will be receiving each episode a week before the rest of the world, along with bonus materials such as full interviews, a glimpse at works in progress, and the opportunity to suggest further topics for this Agrippa deep dive.

If you enjoy these episodes and want to help support their development, you can help out by sharing this podcast with a friend! Let your weird wizard buddies and witch pals know that we have embarked on this journey. And if you want to contribute monetarily, you can go to the Support page on this website and find a number of options.

Links

Credits

Pliny the Elder was played by Andrew B. Watt. The lyre music was performed by me, Reverend Erik! Pretty good stuff, huh? I used an Aklot 7-stringed lyre that I attempted to tune to something representing a Pythagorean scheme.

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

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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

Welcome to the first episode in a series that will be exploring the content, message, and ongoing influence of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's magnum opus, De occulta philosophia libri tres, better known in the modern world as Three Books of Occult Philosophy. In this series of episodes, I will talk to experts, translators, historians, and magicians to unravel the secret of this book of secrets, as we figure out not only where this important book came from, but why it has had such a lasting impact on the world.

If we want to understand Occult Philosophy, we first need to take a look at the world in which Agrippa lived. This episode will begin by looking at the Holy Roman Empire, where Agrippa was born and spent most of his life, and then examine a few key historical topics that are relevant to Agrippa and Occult Philosophy, including:

Finally, this episode will give a general overview of Three Books of Occult Philosophy and outline a general plan for this series of podcast episodes.

This series of episodes about Occult Philosophy will most likely last until Summer. My Patreon supporters will be receiving each episode a week before the rest of the world, along with bonus materials such as full interviews, a glimpse at works in progress, and the opportunity to suggest further topics for this Agrippa deep dive.

If you enjoy these episodes and want to help support their development, you can help out by sharing this podcast with a friend! Let your weird wizard buddies and witch pals know that we have embarked on this journey. And if you want to contribute monetarily, you can go to the Support page on this website and find a number of options.

Links

Credits

This episode includes quotes from Douglas Batchelor, host of the What Magic Is This? Podcast, and Eric Purdue, whose translation of De occulta philosophia libri tres was published by Inner Traditions in 2021.

This episode included music by JuliusH from Pixabay, along with Celebration by Alexander Nakarada. All music was licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

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

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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

On the very eve of the New Year, I am joined by my two amazing friends, astrologer Andrew B. Watt and cartomancer T. Susan Chang, for part two of our 2022 Forecast! Join us as we put our divinatory skills to the test. As Andrew interprets astrological charts for each month, Susie draws Tarot cards, and I am there to moderate!

Part two of the 2022 Forecast covers the months of July through December.

Two special notes for this episode:

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• All of us are offering 20% off divination services through January 5th. To take advantage of this, use code BIGASTRO22 on our respective websites, which you can find in the list of links below.
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• There is a PDF that goes along with this episode! You can get a copy by signing up for the Arnemancy Newsletter!
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Oh yeah, and Happy New Year!!!!

Links

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• Get a Tarot reading from Reverend Erik!
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• Book an astrological consultation with Andrew B. Watt!
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• Get a Tarot reading from T. Susan Chang!
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T. Susan Chang

T. Susan Chang bought her first tarot deck at a Barnes & Noble in New York, where she moonlighted as a reader while working in academic publishing. After leaving the city, she took her practice underground for many years, re-surfacing in 2015 and taking up the systematic study of esoteric correspondences in tarot.

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• Along with deck creator Mel Meleen, Susie hosts the Fortune's Wheelhouse esoteric tarot podcast, which explores imagery and symbolism in the Rider-Waite-Smith and Thoth decks.
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• She is the creator of the Arcana Case® for tarot decks, which can be found on her Etsy page, along with her line of esoteric perfumes.
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• She reads tarot in person at the Inspirit Crystal shop in Northampton, Massachusetts
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• Her online Tarot course, "The Living Tarot," course can be found on her website.
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• She is the author of A Spoonful of Promises (2011), Tarot Correspondences: Ancient Secrets for Everyday Readers (2018), 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot (2021), and co-author of Tarot Deciphered: Decoding Esoteric Symbolism in Modern Tarot (2021).
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• She collaborates with Jack Grayle on the online course Godsong: 365 Days of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
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Her interest in tarot is wide-ranging and passionate, and has included:

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• Setting up 78 Spotify playlists for those interested in card-appropriate music
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• memorizing astrological correspondences for the minor arcana while swimming laps
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• writing tarot haiku and spells
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• maintaining a sprawling Card-of-the-Day-tracking database (complete with elemental, astrological, and kabbalistical frequency and percentage pie charts).
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When not engaged in tarot-adjacent activity, she teaches writing at Smith College, and writes occasionally about food and cookbooks. She lives in western New England with her husband, two children, and a variable number of chickens.

Andrew B. Watt

Andrew Watt is an astrologer, poet and artist living in western Massachusetts. He works in textiles, wood and words to produce objects for practical magic and mysterious practicality, and seeks the honest wisdom found in the life of an artisan.

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• Main website
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• Patreon account
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• Amazon author page
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• Etsy website
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• Twitter handle
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Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancyListen on Podcrypt

The new year is nigh! Once again, I am joined by my two amazing friends, astrologer Andrew B. Watt and cartomancer T. Susan Chang, to attempt to forecast the future. Together, we put our divinatory skills to the test. As Andrew interprets astrological charts for each month, Susie draws Tarot cards, and I am there to moderate!

Part one of the 2022 Forecast covers the months of January through June.

Two special notes for this episode:

Links

Andrew B. Watt

Andrew Watt is an astrologer, poet and artist living in western Massachusetts. He works in textiles, wood and words to produce objects for practical magic and mysterious practicality, and seeks the honest wisdom found in the life of an artisan.

T. Susan Chang

T. Susan Chang bought her first tarot deck at a Barnes & Noble in New York, where she moonlighted as a reader while working in academic publishing. After leaving the city, she took her practice underground for many years, re-surfacing in 2015 and taking up the systematic study of esoteric correspondences in tarot.

Her interest in tarot is wide-ranging and passionate, and has included:

When not engaged in tarot-adjacent activity, she teaches writing at Smith College, and writes occasionally about food and cookbooks. She lives in western New England with her husband, two children, and a variable number of chickens.

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

Listen on Podcrypt

Happy holidays, everybody! What is more packed with holiday cheer than Enochian magic? In this episode, I am joined by Cliff from Enochian Today to discuss his extensive and in-depth exploration of Enochian magic. Our conversation briefly covers the history of Enochian magic and the partnership between John Dee and Edward Kelley, and then we dive deep into the evolution of the system and Cliff's work with gebofal.

Gebofal is a 49-day ritual that works with complex tables found in the Liber Logaeth. Cliff explains how he worked with these tables, the mathematic structure of these tables, and the hierarchy of spirits that seem to be laid out in the Enochian heptarchy. This is complicated magic, and if this episode interests you at all, please be sure to check out Cliff's blog for an in-depth look at his process.

Cliff has practiced ceremonial magic for about twenty years, and has been deeply involved in Enochian magic for about two years or so.

Links

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

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If you are saying right now, "Reverend Erik, this should have been your Hallowe'en episode," know that I agree. And here is why: joining me for this episode is Denny Sargent, author of the recently released book Werewolf Magic: Authentic Practical Lycanthropy. He is, of course, here to talk about werewolves.

Our conversation covers Denny's background as an occultist and magician, and then we explore how the concept of werewolf magic came about, and how it was developed. We discuss the history of shapeshifting as well as the nature of its practice, including topics such as spirit vision, the "Double", and other related concepts. Most importantly, Denny is a lively and engaging speaker, so we talk for a long time and only sometimes get off topic. I think you'll be proud of us!

Denny, also known as Aion 131 and Hermeticusnath, is a Seattle writer, artist and university instructor whose extensive global travels and esoteric studies informed the backbone to numerous published books. Involved for decades with many esoteric traditions, the author has published works on alternative religions, Hermetic magic, Taoism, animism, Shinto, and Tantra. His published books include Global Ritualism, The Tao of Birth Days, Your Guardian Angel and You, Clean Sweep, The Book of the Horned One, Naga Magick, Dancing With Spirits, and Werewolf Magick.

If you are interested in helping protect wildlife, especially with gray wolf restoration, please consider a donation to Defenders of Wildlife.

Links

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• Denny Sargent's home page
• Werewolf art gallery
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• Denny Sargent on Instagram
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• Denny Sargent on Facebook
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• Denny's YouTube channel
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• Werewolf Magic: Authentic Practical Lycanthropy
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• Denny's author page on Amazon
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Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arnemancyListen on Podcrypt

In this extra special episode, I will be interviewing two Tarot decks. I know what you are thinking: Tarot decks don't talk. But what if they could? Well, let's find out. My first guest this episode is an old and slightly crazy friend, my first edition copy of Robert M. Place's Alchemical Tarot. And after that, I'll be working with my second guest: the brand new Moonlit Hermit Tarot from J Swofford.

I will be using a Tarot spread made specifically for interviewing Tarot decks. When some Tarot people get a new deck, one of the first things they do is an interview spread. This spread can supposedly help a reader forge a deeper connection with their divination tools. However, this might not be a very old tradition. The earliest example of one of these spreads that I was able to find on the Internet is from the Æclectic Tarot forum, in a 2010 post from a user called FireRaven.

I have found a number of other spreads in various Tarot blogs and on other websites, but all of them seem to be derivative of the spread originally created by FireRaven.

Here are the six basic questions from this spread:

Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic?

What are your strengths as a deck?

What are your limits as a deck?

What do you bring to the table? What are you here to teach me?

How can I best learn from and collaborate with you?

What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?

The Alchemical Tarot

I have a long history with this deck. I won it in a raffle back in 2003 or 2004. I knew I would win it before my name was drawn, which felt weird at the time. For many years it was my primary deck. I used it as a focus for Tarot meditation. When I started reading for others, I used this deck frequently. But very often, the readings were weird, uncanny, or strange. Sometimes strange things would happen while I was reading with this deck, so eventually, I stopped reading with it for others.

If you want to hear one spooky story surrounding this deck, listen to the episode! And, spoiler alert, below is a photo of my reading.

The Moonlit Hermit Tarot

This brand new deck was just published earlier this year by J Swofford. It is based on the Tarot de Marseilles, which is a different system than I am used to. It has 78 cards like a standard Tarot deck, plus 4 cards that were originally meant to represent the Goetic kings: Oriens, Paymon, Amaymon, and Egyn. This deck is available in the Arnemancy Shop!

I have only used it for a few test readings, so it is still very new to me. Will I need to turn to the Little White Book to interpret my interview reading? Listen to the episode and find out! Again, here is a photo of my reading.

Links

FireRaven's original forum post

Join the Hermetic House of Life Discord!

Get the Moonlit Hermit Tarot by J Swofford

Get the Alchemical Tarot, 5th Edition!

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

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In this very special episode, C.R. "Chuck" Dunning, Jr., joins me to discuss meditation and mysticism in group practices. Chuck recently published a new book, The Contemplative Lodge: A Manual for Masons Doing Inner Work Together, which is a companion to his earlier book, Contemplative Masonry: Basic Applications of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Imagery for the Craft. While these books speak about Freemasonry, the techniques and insights come from Chuck's decades of experience as a counselor, meditator, mystic, and magician.

Our discussion covers a lot of ground, but we focus on how group work can help enhance mystical and magical progress. We look at techniques ranging from Rosicrucianism to mystical Christianity to Freemasonry, including a few stopovers with old favorites like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Kabbalah. Chuck has a lot of wisdom to share, and I believe that his words and wisdom can offer a great deal of guidance to everybody, not just Freemasons.

As a disclaimer, I am the editor of The Contemplative Lodge. I have also known Chuck for over 20 years, and consider him an important teacher in my esoteric and occult work. My ongoing friendship with Chuck has only heightened my respect for his work. It is my belief that you, dear listener, can also learn a great deal from what he has to say.

Links

Chuck's lecture at Research Lodge of Oregon

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

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