Black Hoodie Alchemy

For one of the most esoteric episodes I've done so far, Joe Rupe joins me again and we talk about magick, alchemy, Hermeticism, and the Order of the Golden Dawn. We go through many different areas of discussion here, like: why Hermeticism isn't a religion, where it came from historically, why alchemists were trying to turn lead into gold, what the most recommended reading is, and what exactly the Golden Dawn is all about. Boasting some scholarly esoteric names like Aleister Crowley, Israel Rigarde, and Oscar Wilde, Joe is also a member of the Order and helps shed light on this mysterious secret society, its workings, and its practices. Is it Illuminati-official, are they sacrificing babies in the name of Satan, or is it yet just another human philosophy out there aimed at transcendentalism? And what does all this mean in the modern era?

This week's featured music -- support that underground black hoodie rap and your favorite independent artists!

Intro - Hex One

Autumn State of Mind - Umang

The Gates of Babylon - Babylon Warchild

Bollywood Boulevard - Unknown Mizery & the Arkeologists

This week's episode will be more personal than usual, as I talk about why the culture of the conspiracy theory has been on the strong rise over the last several years. For 3 years, around 2014 to 2017, I was one of the three main writers behind the non-partisan news website The Last American Vagabond, where I immersed myself in so many conspiracy theories in an attempt to find what was real and what wasn't. I haven't kept up with the headlines or the people associated with the Vagabond for quite some time now, but I've got no hard feelings or anything ill to say about them in particular. And let it be known very loudly and clearly that I am not anti-conspiracy theory as a wholesale statement! Many conspiracy theories are conspiracy facts, and the idea of "conspiracy" is just a part of human culture that exists in the bottom of the hierarchy, the top, and everywhere in between. 

But how do we really separate fact from hysteria? As example: the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was very real and full of evidence, yet people still focus on MCU-style conspiracy theory cross-overs that connect everything together and would probably make a fun comic book or movie, but they also make for a very fucking sad and unhealthy real life. Over the last few years we've seen a rise in conspiracy-theory-culture interventions as family try to talk people down from a paranoid proverbial ledge, and we've seen people completely throwing friends and family away because these people "can't see the truth."

Epstein, Q Anon, Pizzagate, 9/11, the Illuminati, Annunaki and various Reptilian or otherwise alien overlords, and a whole lot more in this episode!

Then, to top it all off, I tell the very real story of my Iraqi Refugee friend that I made in Anchorage, Alaska in 2015. Nicknamed "Sam", he was brought to the US by the United Nations Witness Protection Program. Having worked as an interpreter for US forces for years in Iraq as a teenager, the Taliban had finally started targeting him and his family, forcing Sam to flee the country. Find out more of the details of his story on this week's episode! Sam's story was a final straw for me to show that conspiracy theories missed so many details from their far removed arm-chair researcher perspective. 

All this and more on Black Hoodie Alchemy

Support that underground black hoodie rap and your favorite independent artists!

Intro - Hex One

The Injustice - Babylon Warchild

The Gates of Babylon - Babylon Warchild

my website

Interested in the psychology, symbolism, and existential potential of the UFO, but tired of the insane new age space gurus, government insiders, and half-baked philosophies? Then this will be an episode for you. 

UFOs won't be a main focus on this podcast series, and this will likely be one of the few episodes I ever do on the subject. They will surely be mentioned from time to time with varying degrees of focus, but the majority of connotations associated with Ufology and the types of investigations it provokes aren't my main focuses of interest. Some people interested in Ufology say they are interested in the stars and the potential for cosmic life, but what it seems they are most interested in is paranoia, mania, and the rush of uncovering esoteric secrets. Another rendition of the age-old archetypal hero's-journey with a whooole lot of weeds to get lost in on this trek! 

So let's talk about why Ufology is so full of holes in its traditional lore, but why the psychology and existential "image" of the UFO has truly been seen throughout history and has its own presence within the human experience. But how physical are these things? Do they come from other planets? What kind of primal questions about existence in the cosmos does the image of the UFO stir within us all? None of it is exactly straightforward, but I certainly don't agree with the most traditional explanations, nor do I buy the tales of government insiders or story-sellers. 

And to top it all off, I get into the basic nuts and bolts of my UFO sightings outside of Anchorage, Alaska! I lived there for many years and saw more than a couple very clear and confusing UFOs. No aliens, no abductions, not even any real climaxes, but they were ace-in-the-hole sightings that have left me with my own questions and considerations. You don't have to believe me either. I'm not a ufologist, I don't have a stake in any of these claims, I'm just sharing my experiences. Government-based, existentially metaphysical, a psychedelic-esque vision, or extra-terrestrials from another planet, we all know someone that has seen unexplainable phenomena in the sky, and we see it throughout our historical records. So let's not ignore it, and let's not look to "officials" for a narrative. Let's investigate for ourselves.

This week's featured music! Support your favorite independent emcees

Intro - Hex One 

Tumblin - Rothstein 

Extraterrestrials - Hex One

Don't forget to check out my other work as well

Dive Manual

Hunt Manual (this one discusses UFOs a bit)

my website

the trailer to the UFO documentary I'm going to be in (full film unreleased at the moment)

This week's episode is all about the "Ancient Mysteries of Antiquity" as scholars have put it, and what they psychologically represent for us today. Part historical fact and part philosophical supposition, the Mysteries are the loose name for the overarching metaphysical studies found within the cultures of the Egyptian, the Hebrew, the Greeks, Romans, Mesopotamians, Sumerians, Persians, Chinese, Vedic, and other traditions more. Some part of the mystery here is how exactly so many global and ancient cultures communicated their philosophies with one another, and how much of it is archetypal psychology. In other words: how much of this comes from old trading routes, how much of this is purely the collective consciousness, and how much of this is just the confirmation biases of New Agers and staunch esotericists. 

The deeper mystery here is what all the priestly studies of so many cultures were seeking to shed light on. What sciences did they pass down to one another, what secrets did they keep under penalty of death, and how were altered states of consciousness involved? Ancient priests from so many cultures maintained a continuity and fraternity of ancient metaphysical study, something that even inspired the Freemasons among so many other secret societies, and all of them had key-points and takeaways that we can consider today through historical evidence. Were they studying the meaning of life, or is it something more alchemical and to the point? Furthermore, what is the psychology behind this all? Why do humans feel the need to understand the secrets of the cosmos? What is there to gain in the end and what does this archetypal quest truly represent? 

Ultimately, I try to pinpoint what the historical perspective of the Mysteries are, and I aim to drive home just how and why they have shaped general philosophy, occultism, mysticism, and religion as we know it today.

This week's featured music!

Intro - Hex One

Aquarium - Deca

Untitled - Deca & Ichiban

Buyer Beware (feat. Deca) - Rothstein 

This week, I'm not saying that 'evil' as a concept is completely nonexistent, but I'll be taking the time to demonstrate how the arch-devil of Christianity is entirely a "straw-man argument" that not even the source texts backed up until a certain point in history. Like it is with so many other things, this multi-thousand year telephone game brought us all a mix of many different characters like Set, Pan, Lucifer, Lilith, Prometheus and more. And while some of these characters have archetypal similarities to each other, some of these are just entirely different mythological personas that were amalgamated to make a character seemingly worth demonizing. 

I also take the time to talk a bit about the Qabalistic Trees of Life and Death and how they relate to Dante's Divine Comedy and its levels of heaven and hell. This in turn brings us further into a conversation about dynamic forces of nature that we attempt to humanize as gods or devils with our spiritual traditions. 

This isn't moral relativism and this isn't devil worship either, but it would be safe to say that orthodox Christians are going to want to sit this episode out unless they're fairly open-minded about ancient history and their cultures!

I hope you dig it.

This week's featured music!

Better off Dead - Silent of Fifth Street

The Karma - Babylon Warchild

The Towers of Babylon - Babylon Warchild

Additional reading material:

Trees of Life and Death

Lilith, sleep paralysis, and symbolism

Dive Manual

Hunt Manual

Welcome back, folks! This week I start the discussion off with some odds and ends, elaborating on a couple points from prior episodes to segue into this one, the philosophy and psychology of God. I also briefly mention the latest Alexisonfire album-- the first one since 2009. It's fantastic and if heavy stoner rock that bleeds slightly into hardcore and blues sounds up your alley, then I highly recommend it.

As for the main topic, the "image of God" was a phrase that psychoanalyst Carl Jung coined, and it was meant to signify the human psychological components-- the symbols, feelings, and concepts-- that the idea of God gave humanity. Potential metaphysical realities and dogmas set aside, what has the image of God done for humanity throughout history on tangible, scientific levels? We cannot measure the metaphysical qualities of something like the monotheistic All-God of so many religions, but we can certainly measure the human engagement, participation, and consequences of wrestling with this all pervasive and even evasive image. 

Regardless of our beliefs, the compulsion to the consider with the image of God is deep-seated and something that seems to have nestled itself in the recesses of our psyches since the beginning of it all. But what is it? Is it purely psychological or could it be something more? And what about the mythological embodiments of this All-God throughout history? What about Yahweh in particular, the one most of us are so familiar with on one level or another? Is Yahweh really perfect, omnipotent, and all-loving? Or is he flawed and perhaps evil like the Gnostics claim? Perhaps somewhere in between? All this and more on Black Hoodie Alchemy!

My recommended listening for you this week!

Sweet Dreams of Otherness - Alexisonfire

More recommended listening, and the featured music on the show! 

Support that underground black hoodie rap!

The Center - The Liberators

Leave it all Behind - Hex One

additional material:

Jung's Answer to Job

Jungian God-Image

my book Dive Manual

my book Hunt Manual

my website

This episode is a bit of a Heavy Metal Special! And that also makes it an opportunity to play some brutal solos and breakdowns courtesy of the metal band, Silent on Fifth Street, of which my friend Adam Koch is the bassist. You can find their music on Youtube, Spotify, and iTunes the easiest and we'll be playing a few samples of tracks here on this show instead of the usual bumps of black hoodie rap. 

So if you have an aversion to bone-crushing metal with pummeling vocals, then it's okay to sit this one out. We all like what we like and I wouldn't blame you! But maybe you non-metalheads just skip the music breaks and tune in anyway -- you might gain some good food for thought here.

Having been around for a handful of years now, Silent on Fifth Street are a presence in underground metal, receiving positive reception from heavy metal news outlets and even getting themselves some small-time hits. But this is still only the beginning, because they're currently cooking up a new EP -- and just a few months before recording this podcast, they'd actually managed to open up for Suicide Silence, Carnifex, and Lorna Shore. Some notable names for anyone that follows the really heavy side of metal.

Join us as we talk about why metal gets more and more extreme, the differences in old school and new school metal, vocal techniques and instrumentation, the worst mosh stories we've heard, metal gatekeeping, and of course philosophy. Can you summon demons with metal? What about just in the allegorical sense? How healthy can it be dwelling on such dark topics with dark instrumentation? And how does Satanism factor into it all? What about Christian metal bands? All this and more on this week's conversation. 

Silent on Fifth Street's music 

Galaxies 

Better off Dead 

The Sickening Truth

and their newest song: Meaningless Life

This episode of Black Hoodie Alchemy is going to be a little bit different! Suffice it to say that I was contacted by a very curious Florida man that only seems to communicate through old fashioned snail mail, despite still having a website. His name is 'Tippy Patson', and he's a totally real person that has some very fascinating ideas about American trucker culture existing throughout time and space, including the time traveling escapades of Henry Ford and the theory that the Ancient Mystery Rites of Antiquity included Nascar. It's this and a whole hell of a lot more as Tippy tries to make sense out of his own research and validate the current life he's living. You can visit Tippy website at tippypatson.edu.gov/\.com.

After the break, I then discuss a man who claims to own the Moon, Mars, and some more planets, and he's even contacted the United Nations about his ownerships... kind of. This is another weird story, but this one is actually really real, and you can read the Vice article about it here.

Enjoy!

Featured music: 

Old Heroes Grave - The Liberators...

Oracle - D-REV

Stealth Bombers - Epidemic & Dreamtek (produced by Loop Holes)

And don't forget to check out my books:

Dive Manual: Empirical Investigations of Mysticism

Hunt Manual: 21st Century Demonology & Forteana

Here comes the first appearance (of many to come on this show) of my friend Joe Rupe, host of Lighting the Void and the main brain behind the Fringe FM Radio. He is also a former member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and has a great deal of insight into mysticism, transcendental magick and Jungian psychology. 

In this episode, we warm up with some talk about the destruction of the Georgia Guidestones, and we talk about the state of Jungian psychology today and where different people have taken it. But after that, we get into the meat of the conversation, discussing three infamous serial killers, all of which were severely schizophrenic and having darkly mystical hallucinations.  These men are Joseph Kalinger, Herbert Mullin, and Richard Chase. 

Kalinger was a shoemaker in Philadelphia that was chosen by Yahweh to save humankind by creating the perfect shoe, which ultimately led to torture and murder. Mullin was a man that became convinced Yahweh needed him to kill as many people as the Vietnam War had casualties. See, Mullin needed to provide sacrifices to Yahweh to stop an armageddon-type earthquake. But Richard Chase was dubbed the Vampire of Sacramento because he was obsessed with blood -- even going as far as injecting animal blood into his veins. Eventually he started killing for human blood, and was convinced that Nazi UFOs were following him.  

I tell Joe all these stories and then we analyze them through the lens of Hermeticism and Jungian psychology. It takes us to some very creepy places, but we found the conversation to be thought provoking and we hope you do too. 

This week's featured music! Support that underground, black hoodie rap my homies. 

Birds of Prey - Epidemic  

Chances Are - The Liberators 

my website 

Lighting the Void 

Richard Chase 

Joseph Kalinger 

Herbert Mullin

Get ready to get down to the brass tacks of mysticism, magick, and the religious experience. Firstly, what is the difference between these three, and how do things like dreams, psychedelic drugs, and hypnosis fit into it all? Another way to describe this is as an episode about altered states of consciousness and adaptation. With dreams, we use symbols to quantify emotional values with contexts and scenarios not usually found in our everyday lives. We use them to meet needs otherwise unmet. But through hypnosis and uses of these archetypal symbols meant to trigger and quantify states of consciousness, magick and mysticism might not be as far from the scientific spectrum as the skeptic may think. After all, belief and doubt are not ultimatums -- they are tools to use at will. 

Justin and I also talk a fair amount about addiction therapy and recovery, and how truly mystical this experience can be. With neuroscience, Buddhism, Hermeticism, and historical perspective, we hack through New Age bullshit and cult leader propaganda to discuss what ACTUAL mysticism and magick means in the 21st century.  

Are gods just viruses? What is the difference between placebo and will? How would you know how real a god isn't if you can't even prove how real you currently are? No lording here -- just some well research and perspectives as food for thought! We hope you dig it. 

Support that underground black hoodie rap! 

If It Ain't Real (feat DJ Grasshoppa) - Umang 

The System - Babylon Warchild

Dharma Junkie 

divemind.net