This is a lecture I gave last year at the Flint Institute of Art on the history, theory, and symbolism of alchemy. It's going to serve as an introduction to alchemy until I make a series for the channel.

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Support Adam McLean's art and research: https://www.alchemywebsite.com/bookshop/index.html
Support the Flint Institute of Arts: https://flintarts.org/join-and-give/ways-to-give

Recommended Readings:

Linden, Stanton J. (ed.) The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. 978-0521796620. Nicely edited collection of alchemical primary texts.
Principe, Lawrence. The Secrets of Alchemy. 978-0226103792. An up-to-date history of alchemy.
Newman, William. Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire" 978-0691174877. Cutting edge research on alchemy in the 17th century. An amazing wok of scholarship.
Roob, Alexander(ed.) Alchemy & Mysticism. 978-3836549363. A collection of alchemical imagery and symbolism, also a nice coffee table book!

Spiritual / Psychology School of Interpretation

Atwood, Mary Anne. A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery….(many re-print editions). The first text to introduce the ‘spiritual interpretation” of alchemy.
Eliade, Mircea. The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structure of Alchemy. 978-0226203904. Religious-philosophical interpretation of alchemy.
von Franz, Marie-Louise. Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology. 978-0919123045. An introduction to the Jungian psychological interpretation of alchemy.

#alchemy #transmutation #hermeticism

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Can Mysticism Defeat Satan? In 1196 the mystic Hildegard of Bingen was called to help cure a noble woman of demonic possession. However, it became clear that only a divine revelation could combat these demonic forces. And, in a mystical vision, Hildegard received a powerful ritual of exorcism through which She and God alone could contend with the forces of Satan. This Mystical Exorcism is one of the most fascinating in history and may have, unwittingly, helped to form the foundation of the Clerical Necromantic Underground.

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New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Recommended Readings:

Hildegard of Bingen: Scivias - https://amzn.to/4vEtsyx
Selected Writings: Hildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/3OIXxfE
Hildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/3OViaFB
Sarah Higley - Hildegard of Bingen’s Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion - ISBN-13: 978-1403976734

The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/4cAzEil
The Personal Correspondence of Hildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/4sMOdW8

The Digital Version of the Reisencodex - https://hlbrm.digitale-sammlungen.hebis.de/handschriften-hlbrm/content/pageview/449620

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Philosophy is taken to be the paragon of rational argumentation and logical analysis but I want to explore the esoteric and mystical aspect of ancient Greek philosophy - a dimension often ignored or unstressed . This is the first in a series that will explore this more arcane side of western philosophy from ancient Greece to contemporary analytic and continental schools.

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

Kirk, Raven and Schofield - The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts - 978-0521274555
Philosophy Before Socrates - Richard D. McKirahan - 978-1603841825
Eric Dodds - The Greeks and the Irrational - 978-0520242302
Walter Burkert - Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism - 978-0674539181
Charles Kahn - Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans - 978-0872205758
Peter Kingsley - Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition - 978-0198150817
Parmenides - Martin Heidegger - 978-0253212146 (caveat lector!)

#esotericism #presocratic #philosophy

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A review and analysis of the 2016 film A Dark Song. I'll be discussing the esoteric and occult aspects of the film including the Abramelin operation, Aleister Crowley's infamous invocation at Boleskine, and some thoughts on how the film deals with the Faustian trope in a novel manner.

A whole video on the Abramelin operation will appear in the future as part of Esoterica's series on books of magic - stay tuned!

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

A Dark Song trailer and rent - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-S3JqJZJ3s

Dehn, Guth, Duquette - The Book of Abramelin: A New Translation - 978-0892542147 - The best edition of the text (sadly, no critical edition of the text exists to date)
Mathers - The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage - 978-0486232119 - Classic but defective
Sadly, it appears that Crowley's Confessions are out of print and very exspensive but I am sure they can be found online
The Boleskine House Foundation - https://www.boleskinehouse.org/ - contact them to help restore this important piece of Scottish and Esoteric history!

#occult #abramelin #crowley

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Laying out my position on the use of AI - especially generative AI - here at Esoterica.

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New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

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Studying Western Esotericism can be a daunting task. How to even begin? I prepared a self-study guide for getting access to the most reliable and accessible literature on topics in Esotericism up to around 1650, updated for 2026. In this episode I want to walk you through my methodology, the study guide itself and how you can use it to bring yourself up to date on the scholarship. Let's build a library of the occult and the esoteric together!

You can find the study guide here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

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The first in a series here at Esoterica exploring books of magic or grimoires. This episode takes a look at the Munich Necromancer's Manual: the spells inside (summoning a castle, a 'love' spell and a spell to find buried treasure), the author and their historical context, and more books are medieval magic.

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

Richard Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - ISBN-13: 978-0271017518
Richard Kieckhefer - Magic in the Middle Ages - ISBN-13: 978-1107431829
Owen Davies - Grimoires: A History of Magic Books - ISBN-13: 978-0199590049
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe - eds, Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark
- Six Volumes
Magic in History Series - Published by Penn State University Press (various texts and authors)

#necromancy #magic #grimoire

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Magical and medicine have long shared a contested border. However, with the introduction of learned medicine into Europe, magical incantations were increasingly sidelined for Galenic principles and practice. However, Urso of Salerno (d. c. 1220) rejected both Church skepticism and Galenic orthodoxy by incorporating Incantations into his medical practice. In his Aphorisms Urso provides one of the most sophisticated theories for the function and application of magical Incantations. Let's explore how medieval incantations worked!

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Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/


Recommended Reading:
Van der Lugt - The Learned Physician as a Charismatic Healer
Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Vol. 87, No. 3 (Fall 2013), pp. 307-346 (40 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26305934

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Win an authentic piece of magical history: a 1300 year old Incantation Bowl Fragment and learn about our new antiquarian occult book catalog!

Check out the catalog here: https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

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We explore the earliest collection of magical texts in the ancient world - The Greek Magical Papyri (PGM) and the Egyptian Demotic spells. The PGM is the greatest collection of ancient magic. Written on papyrus these collections of spells, incantations, evocations, represent the rich cross-pollination between various cultures, religious systems, and forms of magic and divination. From Egyptian, Roman, Jewish, Greek cultures and religions emerges an amazing religious and magical syncretism. This video introduces the PGM and discusses a collection of spells including: an invisibility lotion, the invocation of Helios, a rare example of lesbian love magic, a curse for your boss, magical athletic ability, protection from demons, an anger management spell and more. This video is part of a series on books of magic in history - subscribe for future videos!

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

Betz - The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation - 978-0226044477
Ankarloo and Clark - Witchcraft and Magic in Europe vol II - Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-0812217056
Ogden - Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman World - 978-0195385205
Waston - Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-1788312981
Harris - Ancient Egyptian Magic - 978-1578635917

#magic #egyptan #greek

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