Hermeticism with Erik & Sam Part I

One must have their peculiar Holiday traditions. For me, being involved in the stranger side of life and culture, I always take note of a particular happenstance that occurs around this time of year. Every December without fail, you will hear the statement that Christmas is in fact Pagan, and that its symbols and customs have an origin that isn't Christian at all. Grab the Yule log, put up some mistletoe, we're going to go through all that such a statement entails!

One of the longest enduring afterlife beliefs that we have is reincarnation. The thought goes that once we pass away, some part of us is reborn into a new person; a new body, and that life continues again and again and again. Many cultures throughout the world and throughout time have held this belief to be fundamentally true. It has only been in the last 70 years, that certain scientists and researchers have been seriously investigating claims from people that say that they have experienced a life before the one that they are currently living. The evidence that something truly profound and perplexing is happening, is irrefutable.

One of the oddest and least talked about aspects of the Paranormal and the Supernatural is something called fictional incursions. Simply put, this is when certain ideas, characters or details of narrative stories seems to in some way come alive, not only to their creators but to those who are familiar with the stories. As crazy as it sounds, in some way stories are alive and show themselves to us in certain situations. There is no other group of people that this occurs to more in Western Culture than Magicians and Occultists. Here to pull apart and examine this extremely odd phenomenon are Magician Wren Collier and the author of a new book which delves into this occurrence, Joshua Cutchin!

The interest in the history of magic, witchcraft and the occult has seen a discernible rise in the last 25 years. In many cases, our picture of its story through the ages has been made much clearer. This is certainly true for Solomonic Magic, a form of magic in which the magician takes their rituals from Grimoires in order to evoke spirits and bind them to do their bidding. However, new research and perspectives have urged us that we might need to revise our understandings of this powerful and alluring variety of magic. It's time for a revisit.

Simply put, Demonology is the study of Demons; what they do and how they interact with humans. While most cultures throughout time here in the west have had their own specific Demonology, from the middle ages onwards a particularly strong sort of European Demonology formed. This Demonology eventually lead to the hunt and persecution of tens of thousands of people for hundreds of years as witches and sorcerers. How this Demonology took shape is both fascinating and very telling of how our society conceives and adopts deleterious paradigms during certain periods of time.

We live in an infinitely complex cosmos, more alive and chaotic than any of us can ever imagine. Throughout human history, the great mystery of our existence has been rendered to us mortals through certain messages. These messages and the ones bearing them have seemingly been contextualized in many ways through many cultures. Here in the western world, we have given them a name- Angels. These figures have not lost any of their influence throughout the centuries; basically everyone knows what an Angel looks like. Yet, most people do not know exactly what they are, or what they supposedly do. If there is one entity which has been sanitized and overly familiarized to us, it is the Angel. We must look closer.

Excellent news, weirdos- The Great What Magic is This? Podcast Hiatus of 2025 is coming to an end! The show will be returning shortly with a newish presentation and new ambitions. It's a little bit of a restoration of the values and ambitions which started the show back in 2019. And why not share the news on the 6th Anniversary of the first episode of What Magic is This? being released. I hope you're excited!   

One of the most asked questions that I get, is about something which has already been covered on the podcast previously but perhaps needs a bit more context. Hermeticism is hard to get one's head around already, but what does somebody who calls themself a "Hermeticist" actually believe and more than that- what do they actually do? Taking us through this form of mysticism, and as a bonus, how Magical Timing can help your magic is my favourite person to talk to about Magic- The one and only Sam Block.

Happy 2025 Humble Listeners! We made it! I thought that this would be an appropriate time to make a small announcement. Please be sure to have a listen to get some news regarding What Magic is This? Podcast, the What Magic is This? Patreon as well as me- Your favourite Podcast host for the last five and a half years. Stay Luminous! 

Not unlike the Celts, if you head to your local New Age Occult store you will notice that there is an overabundance of Runes. From necklace pendants, to books, to divination stones and more- Runes are seemingly overrepresented. But much of what makes Runes so special has been lost in the mix. Here to help us through why Runes are not always what meets the eye in both scholarly and New age circles, is Podcaster and author Siri Vincent Plouff!