Shows
The Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)NEW PODCAST: Passport Through HadesNew podcast. Available from the usual places. Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford, editors of a forthcoming collection of Aleister Crowley's magical writings, discuss the true meaning of Crowley's legacy and thought. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-04-1200 min
WORP FMNEW PODCAST: Passport Through HadesNew podcast. Available from the usual places. Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford, editors of a forthcoming collection of Aleister Crowley's magical writings, discuss the true meaning of Crowley's legacy and thought. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-04-1200 min
The Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)A longing for transcendence with a certain styleA collection of fictional writings that break the traditional rules of storytelling leads us into a consideration of how writing might be used for magical purposes.The book, this episode, is: John Foxx, The Quiet Man: Short Stories by John Foxx (London: Rocket 88 Books, 2020).See also: Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology and Lost Futures (Winchester, UK: Zero Books, 2014).Listen to John Foxx reading his story “The Marvellous Notebook” (among others) at: https://tinyurl.com/yr46a2y6 (bandcamp.com, accessed January 2025).To supp...
2025-01-1934 min
Guru Viking PodcastEp283: Seance, Summoning, & Goetic Demons - Duncan Barford 2In this episode I am once again joined by Duncan Barford, occult practitioner, counsellor, and author of ‘Occult Experiments in the Home’.
Duncan details the different categories of spirits and entities, ranging from ghosts to demons to angels to elementals and land spirits.
Duncan reveals his own encounters with these entities, recalls paradigm shifting fire kasina retreats with Daniel Ingram, and shares his own ideas about the importance and inevitability of working with the dead while on the spiritual path.
Duncan also explains the Goetia, a controversial system of summoning demons for personal gain; recalls his own and others’ experiences of the...
2024-12-061h 56The Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)Suddenly psychosis isn't so psychoticWe consider in detail some intriguing and sometimes startling true cases, exploring a text that offers frank and practical guidance to psychotherapists on how they should respond when paranormal forms of communication occur within therapy.The book, this episode, is: The Psychic Thread: Paranormal and Transpersonal Aspects of Psychotherapy, by Elizabeth E. Mintz, in consultation with Gertrude Raffel Schmeidler (New York: Human Sciences Press, 1983).To support the podcast, buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https...
2024-11-0539 minThe Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)Glimmers from the matrix of ideasThe seeds of chaos magic, uncovered in the unlikely context of a 1975 children’s book on chance and probability. We take a nostalgic romp through some of the fascinations and shortcomings of a scientistic take on magic, which seems to have formed a significant current in the 70s zeitgeist.Our text for this episode is Chance, Luck & Destiny, by Peter Dickinson (London: Victor Gollancz, 1975).For more about the book and Dickinson’s account of its origin, see https://tinyurl.com/yhks8vxe (peterdickinson.com). Accessed October, 2024. On the same website are details of all...
2024-10-0735 minThe Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)Ghosts haunt places but poltergeists peopleAn obscure and possibly much underrated poltergeist case, from 1938, is our springboard into issues concerning how a psychoanalytical approach to paranormal investigation radically recontextualises the notion of “faked” versus “genuine” psychical phenomena.The text under discussion is On the Trail of the Poltergeist, by Nandor Fodor (New York, NY: Citadel, 1958).For more about Fodor’s life and work, see the short biography provided at: survivalafterdeath.info, https://tinyurl.com/mpfrs32k. Accessed September, 2024. For more on the Thornton Heath poltergeist case, see: Kate Summerscale (2020), The housewife, the ghost hunter and the poltergeist, https://tinyurl.co...
2024-09-0344 minThe Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)Disembodied voices trying to hypnotizeCan discarnate entities take possession of human beings? We consider an academic text that attempts to build a serious case by drawing on the work of Frederic Myers and considering evidence offered by the nature of dissociative states and hypnosis.The text under discussion is The Science of Spirit Possession, second edition, by Terence Palmer (Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars). Available at: https://tinyurl.com/4ecs3xen (amazon.com).To find out more about Palmer’s work, see the discussion between him and Jeffrey Mishlove, https://tinyurl.com/bddh7t9m (youtube.com), and Pa...
2024-08-1232 min
Guru Viking PodcastEp265: Occult Experiments - Duncan BarfordIn this episode I am joined by Duncan Barford, occult practitioner, counsellor, and author of ‘Occult Experiments in the Home’.
Duncan discusses his own journey into the occult including reality-bending experiments with Chaos Magick, invocation of his holy guardian angel, identifying and relating to entities, and meeting his long-time collaborator, the magician and spiritual teacher Alan Chapman.
Duncan recalls his first encounter with Daniel Ingram’s “Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha”. He explains how he combined Daniel’s approach with Western occult methods and rituals to attain arhatship for himself.
Duncan declared his enlightenment on the internet and began teachi...
2024-08-021h 32
Weird StudiesMagick and Enlightenment, with Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford
Phil and JF are joined by Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford – practicing magicians, podcasters, and co-authors of the newly released Baptist's Head Compendium: Magick as a Path to Enlightenment, a collection of essays and reports from their famous occult blog, The Baptist's Head. Duncan and Alan are accomplished practitioners with deep insights into the nature of magic(k). The conversation touches on a number of subjects, including the parallels between magic, mysticism, and religion; form and formlessness; the nature of truth; the primacy of devotion; and the quest to converse with one's Holy Guardian Angel.
To purchase The...
2024-07-241h 29The Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)A microcosm in no sense separated from realityIn a change from the promised episode, a search for an intriguing-sounding text prompted by a half-remembered reference in a letter by Aleister Crowley leads us into an exploration of how language facilitates expression of what lies beyond sensory perception.The main text under discussion is: Anatole France (1908). Aristos and Polyphilos on the Language of Metaphysics. In: The Garden of Epicurus, translated by Alfred Allinson (London: John Lane). Available at: https://tinyurl.com/2xrvjfuv (archive.org). Accessed July, 2024.The other texts mentioned are:Aleister Crowley (1982). Chapter XXVI: Mental Processes — Two On...
2024-07-0933 min
VayseVYS0039 | Try Not To Be A Dick Shall Be The Whole Of The Law - Vayse to Face with Duncan BarfordVYS0039 | Try Not To Be A Dick Shall Be The Whole Of The Law - Vayse to Face with Duncan Barford - Show Notes
After a 3 month break, Vayse returns for an interview with a person who inspired the podcast before it was even a podcast - writer, podcaster and psychodynamic psychotherapeutic counsellor, Duncan Barford. Duncan's book Occult Experiments in the Home was a major influence on Hine and Buckley's views on magick and mysticism but for this interview they zero in on aspects of his career as a therapist, focusing on mental health and how this...
2024-06-192h 01VayseVYS0039 | Try Not To Be A Dick Shall Be The Whole Of The Law - Vayse to Face with Duncan BarfordVYS0039 | Try Not To Be A Dick Shall Be The Whole Of The Law - Vayse to Face with Duncan Barford - Show Notes
After a 3 month break, Vayse returns for an interview with a person who inspired the podcast before it was even a podcast - writer, podcaster and psychodynamic psychotherapeutic counsellor, Duncan Barford. Duncan's book Occult Experiments in the Home was a major influence on Hine and Buckley's views on magick and mysticism but for this interview they zero in on aspects of his career as a therapist, focusing on mental health and how this...
2024-06-192h 01
Juan on Juan#212 | The Synchronicity Symposium, Hypersigil Magick, & The Abramelin Working with Duncan BarfordJoin this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc3XEhKCvdRIOBSDdIQY2qg/joinIn this episode, Duncan and I talk about various synchronicities, the concept of magick and its purposes, the Abramelin Ritual, the movie The Dark Song, and more!Check out Duncan at Occult Experiments in the Home at https://oeith.co.uk/ or his book at https://www.amazon.com/Magick-Dark-Song-Abramelin-Fiction/dp/0956332188/Watch the video https://youtu.be/UJgx-U6pZhEAlso streaming on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/juanonjuanpodcastPatreon exclusive, ad-free content, and early access: https://www.patreon.com/thejuanonjuanpodcastAll my links are available at https://linktr...
2024-06-171h 51The Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)Subjectivity is only a body that hasn't yet formedOur book, this time, is by a meditation master and former NASA engineer, who presents a mental technique for alleviating all forms of physical and emotional pain. We describe and explore his method, its origins, and confront the question of how it could possibly work, if, as its author insists, it's a mental technique that involves neither imagination nor visualisation.The book providing the basis for our discussion is: Robert Harry Hover (2004). Internal Moving Healing Manual of Instruction: Stopping Your Pain & Other Unpleasant Things. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. The ISBN is 9781418438852. The book is available for sale...
2024-06-0840 minThe Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)Salvation is not an evidence-based interventionIn this episode we discuss a memoir of a mental health support worker who works with clients in the most deprived areas of London. We consider the issues arising from its author's deep interest in esotericism and the occult, and his attempts to redress what he perceives as the repressive shortcomings of the UK mental health system by resisting consensus models of mental health intervention and incorporating into his daily duties elements of magick and spirituality.The book providing the basis for discussion is: The Human Experiment by David Stokes. No date, publisher, or location is...
2024-05-1037 minThe Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)The damned tend to stick aroundIn this episode we set some parameters for the podcast as a whole, concerning the kinds of relationships that occultists might have with books and reading. The book under discussion concerns contemporary paranormal investigation: we consider some of the specific characteristics of the author's approach to communicating with the dead within this cultural context, and the light it casts upon possible dynamics in the relationship between the living and the dead, particularly around issues of judgment and identity, and how this might challenge or contradict mainstream assumptions.The book providing the basis for discussion in this...
2024-04-2335 min
The Psychic GuysTPG 01.11 Psychic Terror with Duncan BarfordWe explore the intersection of magick, mental health and spirituality. How can things go wrong? And how can we keep ourselves safe from dark forces and psychological traps? Duncan Barford drops some wisdom bombs as we share our personal experiences and discuss healthy approaches to the anomalous, the paranormal and the terrifying.
UPCOMING Q&A: If you have questions, comment here! https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxkbf31VZcXrG8PxasVQHiX5yOEpitJG7l
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2024-04-052h 28
Adventures In Woo WooWisdom - The Nidana CardsThis is the 26thof 26 Videos about the meaning behind each card of the Nidana Cards with myself and Duncan Barford. This one is about Wisdom.
Find out more about The Nidana Cards here: http://www.TheNidanaCards.com
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2024-01-1209 min
WORP FM010 The CallThe Nineteenth Enochian Call; the relevance of its description of the Earth to current events; suspicion of its description; implications of governance of a whole by its parts; how one part can never be an answer to the condition of the world; the truth of the world reveals itself in times of discord; the possibility of two different worlds; the nature of these different worlds; the rearrangement of the dominant way of understanding the world; the importance of naming things and of the refusal to name them; naming as a conduit into social and cultural drama; disadvantages of not...
2023-11-041h 09
Against Everyone with Conner HabibAEWCH 241: ALAN CHAPMAN & DUNCAN BARFORD on WHAT IS SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT FOR?I talk with Duncan Barford and Alan Chapman - authors of the Baptist's Head trilogy and co-hosts of the WORP FM spirituality/magick/paranormal podcast - bout misunderstanding magick, spiritual development, and practice...and how to re-connect to destiny and peace.
2023-10-241h 42
HIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #21 NavigationOn where success leads.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Aleister Crowley (1976). The Book of the Law. York Beach, ME: Red Wheel / Weiser.Benjamin Thorpe, translator (2005). The Lay of Grimnir, in: The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson, https://tinyurl.com/2pdfbrs2 (gutenberg.org). Accessed October 2023.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or...
2023-10-1430 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #20 LackOn how to come back from the dead.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Ludwig van Beethoven (1825). String Quartet Op. 132 in A Minor III Molto adagio, https://tinyurl.com/mw4c9nk5 (spotify.com). Accessed September 2023.Aldous Huxley (1928). Point Counter Point: A Novel. London: Chatto & Windus.Edna St. Vincent Millay (1921). Spring, https://tinyurl.com/2s3daw6c (poetryfoundation.org). Accessed September 2023.Wachowski, Lana & Lilly Wachowski, directors (1999). The Matrix. Warner Bros.Support the podcast and...
2023-09-2330 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #19 ReposeOn being certain of certainty.Aleister Crowley (2004). The Book of Thoth. York Beach, ME: Weiser.The Arahant Upatissa (1995). Vimuttimagga (“The Path of Freedom”), translated by Rev. N.R.M. Ehara, Soma Thera, Kheminda Thera. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1IQ3BVWY3L5L5?ref_=wl_shar...
2023-09-0230 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #18 RegressionOn how freshness emerges from stagnant waters.Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1802). Dejection: An Ode, https://tinyurl.com/56xrjd7t (poetryfoundation.org). Accessed August 2023.Aleister Crowley (2004). The Book of Thoth. York Beach, ME: Weiser.Sigmund Freud (1905). Fragment of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria. In: The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. 7, London: Hogarth.Carl Gustav Jung (1956) Symbols of Transformation. In: The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 5, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University.Support the podcast and access additional content...
2023-08-1230 minWORP FM009 Demons Are Demonic (Part Two)A tale of receiving cash from a demon; the result of the working having the same character as the working; a tale of summoning Lucifer; the danger of nothing seeming to have happened; the urge to teach Lucifer a lesson; appreciating the multiple facets of manifestation, including the experience of self; the contrast with the manifestation of the divine; the dilemma of leaning into the demonic; total manifestation and the redundancy of magick; warnings against demon magick; breaking free from the loop of repeated mistakes; exiting the occult; demonic bondage; a tale of trying to liberate a demon; the...
2023-07-221h 09HIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #17 IdealityOn how to hope safely and well.Hesiod (1959). Hesiod, translated by Richmond Lattimore. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.Clive James (2013). Dante: The Divine Comedy. London: Picador.Mother Julian of Norwich (1994). The Revelation of Divine Love in Sixteen Showings, translated by M.L. del Mastro. Liguori, MO: Liguori / Triumph.Edgar Allan Poe (1850). “A Dream Within a Dream” in: The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe. New York: J. S. Redfield.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a...
2023-07-1531 minWORP FM008 Demons Are Demonic (Part One)Different types of discarnate entities; the nature of the entity defined by our relationship to it; distinguishing between different types of entities and relationships to them; elementals; the dead; demons; the pros and cons of experimentalism; “helpful elementals” and the problem of psychologization; two types of psychologization; power animals; ancestral spirits; the relationship to higher entities; how the divine demands everything; techniques of connection to higher powers; attention and the lower powers; the reciprocal nature of the relationship; the demonic sustainment of identity; relationship rather than appearance as the nature of the entity; the divine as self-evident; paying attention to i...
2023-07-0853 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #16 EnticementOn attracting lightning.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Herman Melville (1972). Moby-Dick. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Arthur Edward Waite (1971). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Stamford, CT: US Games Systems.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1IQ3BVWY3L5L5?ref_=wl_share.
2023-06-2530 minAdventures In Woo WooLaunching "The Nidana Cards - A Buddhist Oracle" [With Duncan Barford]All details on The Nidana Cards are here: http://www.thenidanacards.com
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2023-06-0750 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #15 CoagulationOn falling into existence by failing temptation.If you are wondering what happened to HIEROPHANY #14 then check out OEITH #204 (https://tinyurl.com/36nvukxy) on the topic of depressive hedonia and its antidote.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Aleister Crowley (1929). Magick in Theory and Practice, https://tinyurl.com/msuku7bw (iarchive.com). Accessed May 2023.Baba Ram Dass (1979). Psychosis: A Framework for an Alternate Possibility. In: James Fadiman & Donald Kewman (eds.), Exploring Madness: Experience, Theory, and Research, second edition. Monterey, CA...
2023-05-2730 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #13 DesistenceOn the dynamics of death and life.Emily Brontë (2022). Wuthering Heights, https://tinyurl.com/4sthks6c (gutenberg.org). Accessed May 2023.Marie-Louise von Franz (1987). On Dreams and Death. Boston & London: Shambhala.Andrew A. Hanham (2023). COLSTON, Edward II (1636-1721), of Mortlake, Surr., https://tinyurl.com/3vcsd3xe (historyofparliamentonline.org). Accessed May 2023.The Human Front (2020). Wittgenstein on Death, https://tinyurl.com/yc4r6xv5 (thehumanfront.com). Accessed May 2023.Jasper King (2020). Banksy unveils idea for the future of toppled Edward Colston statue, https://tinyurl.com/mryp8af4 (bristolpost.c...
2023-05-1330 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #12 SuretyOn finding repose by turning upside-down.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Michael J. Hurst (2013). A Modern Catholic Looks at Tarot, https://tinyurl.com/bdd797a7 (blogspot.com). Accessed April 2023.Carl Jung (2002). Answer to Job. New York: Routledge.Kate McGeown (2005). Life in Ceausescu's Institutions, https://tinyurl.com/35e5ydxa (bbc.co.uk). Accessed April 2023.Arthur Edward Waite (1971). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Stamford, CT: US Games Systems.Wikimedia Commons (2022). Category: Hanged Man (Major...
2023-04-2930 minAgainst Everyone with Conner HabibAEWCH 219: DUNCAN BARFORD on THE USES & MISUSES OF MAGICK IN SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENTI talk with writer, podcaster, and spiritual practitioner Duncan Barford about his path of spiritual development, the Baptist's Head work (with Alan Chapman), and the pitfalls of magick.
2023-04-182h 20HIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #11 BeautyOn opposing adversity beyond counteraction.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Gibbs, Laura (2002). The Oak Tree and the Reed, https://tinyurl.com/2p8pv48f (mythfolklore.net). Accessed April 2023.Jacobs, Joseph (1894). The Wind and the Sun, https://tinyurl.com/3ezr78rv (pitt.edu). Accessed April 2023.Wikimedia Commons (2020). Category:Strength (Major Arcana), https://tinyurl.com/3x3t69ba (wikimedia.org). Accessed April 2023.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee a...
2023-04-1530 minWORP FM007 Disreputable FaeriesOur recent podcast hiatus; the relevance of reputation to magick; the use of reputation by spiritual teachers (Crowley, Gurdjieff, Milarepa); the indispensability of dissuasion; contrasts between this and modern spirituality; warnings against reputational damage; reputational contagion; why and how reputation will not survive the Great Work; the reputational disaster of The Baptist’s Head material; why we might want to stand by this regardless; the antidote to these problems in Magia; following the thread versus reputation and preference; the destruction of the teacher’s reputation; bad reputation differentiated from inappropriate conduct; following the thread regardless of revulsion; the impossibility of g...
2023-04-121h 05HIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #10 ProvidenceOn suffering and carelessness.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Bonifacio Bembo (c. 1450). File:Bembo-Visconti-tarot-arcanum-10-wheel of fortune.jpg, https://tinyurl.com/4zxjhnf8 (wikimedia.org). Accessed February 2023.Aleister Crowley (2004). The Book of Thoth. York Beach, ME: Weiser.Ruth Lawes (2022). This Morning’s ‘tone-deaf’ energy bills game featured as propaganda on Russian state TV, https://tinyurl.com/5n75dmny (metro.co.uk). Accessed February 2023.Isobel Lewis (2022). This Morning drops Spin to Win energy bill prizes following backlash, https://tinyur...
2023-02-1831 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #09 Volte-FaceOn progressing outwardly by engaging inwardly.Wilfred Ruprecht Bion (2004). Attention and Interpretation. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Aleister Crowley (2004). The Book of Thoth. York Beach, ME: Weiser.Marie-Louise von Franz (1978). “The Process of Individuation”, in C.G. Jung, ed., Man and His Symbols. London: Picador.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1...
2023-02-0431 minWORP FM006 Eating Cheese Sandwiches with Orthodox DemonsLeaving the occult; the growing popularity of orthodox Christianity; what orthodoxy offers: not a lecture but participation in a ritual; symbolism and literalism; finding a spiritual orientation without institutional support; overcoming relativism as a first step; the dismissal of truth by postmodernism; a story about someone finding their direction in the Jehovah’s Witnesses; recklessness encouraged by our culture; the allure of occultism described by a convert to orthodox Christianity; strange parallels between occultism and Christianity; genuine initiation versus false initiation; the process of becoming a lost soul; occultists who do not actually believe in what they evoke; entities as...
2023-01-211h 17HIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #08 HumanityOn the joys and limits of judgment.Lon Milo DuQuette (2017). Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Newburyport, MA: Weiser.N.S. Gill (2017). Lady Justice, https://tinyurl.com/2vpsrefs (thoughtco.com). Accessed January 2023.William Shakespeare (1594). Titus Andronicus, https://tinyurl.com/s9dpax76 (gutenberg.org). Accessed January 2023.Kevin Underhill (2013). The Emergency Sasquatch Ordinance. Chicago, IL: ABA Publishing.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you co...
2023-01-2131 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #07 TriumphOn the dangers of ego inflation and the dynamics of success.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Richard Dyer (1998). Stars. London: BFI Publishing.Wikipedia Commons (2020). Category: Chariot (Major Arcana), https://tinyurl.com/yx4xax8z (wikimedia.org). Accessed January 2023.Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk...
2023-01-0730 minWORP FM005 The Warpath ProphecyThe presence of a stalker; previous experiences of stalkers from our Open Enlightenment project; well-intentioned stalkers and stalkers with a malevolent intention; confrontation with the current stalker; this person’s tactics: fake accounts, on-line harassment, smears, and misattribution; the assumption of good faith; the actual indifference of the stalker to the ideas they pretend to care about; the stalker’s participation in a magical working to contact the Third Order / Great White Brotherhood; our experience of these beings from the Tempe workings; the mistakes we made and the necessity of learning from mistakes in magick; the nature of these bein...
2022-12-1154 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #06 DilemmaOn choice, responsibility, and the obligations of being human.If you are wondering what happened to HIEROPHANY #05 then check out OEITH #209 (https://tinyurl.com/3wprvm7k), the inspiration for the entire HIEROPHANY series.J. Laplanche & J.-B. Pontalis (1973). The Language of Psycho-Analysis. New York: W.W. Norton.Angel E. Navidad (2020). Marshmallow Test Experiment and Delayed Gratification, https://tinyurl.com/y2zrvbew (simplypsychology.org). Accessed December 2022.Arthur Edward Waite (2001). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Stamford, CT: US Games Systems.Wikipedia Commons (2018). Category: Lovers (Major...
2022-12-1030 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #04 CompetenceOn righteousness and authority.For a concise account of the complications concerning Crowley, The Emperor, and tzaddi, see: Lon Milo DuQuette (2017). Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Newburyport, MA: Red Wheel (pp. 86-91, 106-7).Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Aleister Crowley (2004). The Book of Thoth. York Beach, ME: Weiser.Aleister Crowley (1983). Liber TZADDI Vel Hamus Hermeticus Sub Figurâ XC. In: The Holy Books of Thelema. York Beach, ME: Weiser.Thomas Forrester, trans. (1853). The Chronicle of Henry of...
2022-11-2631 min
Some Other SphereEpisode 89 - Duncan Barford - Magick, Psychology and the ParanormalJoining me as my guest for this episode is Duncan Barford. Duncan is the creative force behind Occult Experiments in the Home, a project which began as a blog but has expanded beyond that into a number of books and a podcast. These have all explored magick, occulture and the paranormal and focus in particular on how those areas intersect with personal experience, psychology, and spiritual practice.
Duncan is also a qualified counsellor and suspended the blog when beginning the training for this, concerned that a conspicuous interest in the occult might prove professionally unhelpful. Having now...
2022-11-1658 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #03 SurplusOn abundance and squandering.Amoda Maa Jeevan (2016). Duality, nonduality, and the feminine face of awakening, https://tinyurl.com/2p8ax4sz (youtube.com). Accessed November 2022.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Aleister Crowley (2004). The Book of Thoth. York Beach, ME: Weiser.Andrew Marvell (1681). The garden, https://tinyurl.com/bdfnuxxc (poets.org). Accessed November 2022.William Shakespeare (1593). Venus and Adonis, https://tinyurl.com/54w2teea (gutenberg.org). Accessed November 2022.Support the podcast and access additional content...
2022-11-1230 minWORP FM004 Trauma For Your Own GoodWorrying trends in world affairs; how magick and spirituality offers no refuge; the Knights of Chaos versus Vladimir Putin; the likely fate of contemporary occultism in times of crisis; why magick inevitably deserts us; "nothing is asked of you"; the delusion of needing to do something; the nature and drama of sacrifice; fear and loneliness; self-sacrifice as an escape route; the sacrifice of the self to the self; self-sacrifice distinguished from self-sacrifice to the herd; the nature and dynamics of the herd; reaching the point where existing ideology fails; a preponderance of herds and doubling down; following the silent...
2022-11-0648 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #02 DiscriminationOn wisdom and conflict. Aleister Crowley (2004). The Book of Thoth. York Beach, ME: Weiser. Maa-kheru (2017). The forty-eight calls or keys, https://tinyurl.com/35ed6yyr (hermetic.com). Accessed October 2022. Bernadette Roberts (1991). The Path to No-Self: Life at the Center. Albany, NY: State University of New York (p. 91). Bernadette Roberts (2005). What is Self? A Study of the Spiritual Journey in Terms of Consciousness. Boulder, CO: Sentient (p. 181). Details of my other podcasts: https://oeith.co.uk/podcasts/ Supp...
2022-10-2930 min
Occult Experiments in the HomeNew Podcasts: HIEROPHANY & WORP FMHIEROPHANY and WORP FM are available from wherever you usually obtain your podcasts or can be found on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/2yvczz7a and https://tinyurl.com/4mu5cw3x.
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2022-10-2202 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #01 MagickOn the ways in which everyone practises magick.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.Geoffrey Chaucer (2022). The Franklin’s Prologue and Tale, https://tinyurl.com/bdzyw98v (harvard.edu). Accessed October, 2022.Richard Kaczynski (2010). Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, revised and expanded edition. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic. (The letter from Crowley to Parsons is quoted on page 558.)Details of my other podcasts: https://oeith.co.uk/podcasts/Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.co...
2022-10-2231 minHIEROPHANYHIEROPHANY #00 MadnessOn recognising and awakening from the madness in our lives.Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher.John Perceval (1961). Perceval's Narrative: A Patient's Account of his Psychosis 1830-1832, edited by Gregory Bateson. Stanford, CA: Stanford University.Antonia White (2006). Beyond the Glass. London: Virago.Details of my other podcasts: https://oeith.co.uk/podcasts/Support the podcast and access additional content at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee...
2022-10-1031 minWORP FM003 Do What Thou WiltMagick as a spiritual tradition in its own right; all wisdom traditions as inseparable from magick; all that is needed to understand Aleister Crowley is The Book of the Law (TBOTL) and one’s own comprehension; Crowley in the role of a prophet and what this entails; the origin and form of TBOTL; the redundancy of commentaries on TBOTL; TBOTL without commentary or interpretation; the revelations of Nuit, Hadit, and Ra Hoor Khuit; divinity and the relationship of human beings to it; how the prophet reveals the nature of reality and gives a Law that can be followed, with a...
2022-10-0154 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #304 The OtherExploring the shifts in our experience of the other between psychology, the paranormal, magick, and spirituality, encountering along the way: a phobia of spiders; the abject horror of the object of a phobia; the psychological origin of the abhorred other in the self; fascination and fixation in phobia; the example of H.P. Lovecraft; the binding of the other; the other as a false appearance; desire and false appearance; personal experiences of projection; an ironic example from James Joyce; Jung on the animus/anima; how to spot an animus/anima projection; drawbacks and opportunities from projection; the other on...
2022-09-1750 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #303 Conversation on Anomalies in TherapyJoined again by Paul, we probe the weirder sides of therapy and working as a therapist: defining the anomalous in the context of therapy; shifts in awareness and reality; Jeffrey Kripal’s definition of the paranormal and how it applies to therapy; the intensity of the therapeutic encounter; the pertinence of the psychoanalytic understanding of therapy; resistance to anomalous experiences (AEs) among the therapeutic profession; Freud’s ambivalence in this respect; Paul’s research and the responses received; perspectives from integrative therapy; transpersonal trends in EMDR; how what the theory allows influences what clients bring; clinical parapsychology in Germany; profes...
2022-09-0354 minWORP FM002 What Magick Looks LikeA new branch of the Arcanum Arcanorum; two kinds of connection to the lineage: institutional and inner; how the conflict of institutional and inner played out in Crowley’s life; union with the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA) achieved by a vision and by inner means; the necessary uniqueness of the ritual to achieve connection with his HGA; the role of extraordinary loss in awakening; the expression of this connection to the divine through his magical order; the primacy of the inner work; parallels in our own experience; self-determined instructions to engage in the process; the role of institutions in th...
2022-08-291h 12
WORP FM001 Whatever Happened to Us?The first time we met; both of us doing the same thing in a chaos magick guise; a chaos magick mentor who suggested Thelemic magick; from magickal power back to something more traditional; influences from Daniel Ingram and Aleister Crowley; different ways of describing what was unfolding for us; The Viking Youth Power Hour; paranormal experiences as the beginning of the awakening process; suspicion of the self and the spark of the divine; a pretence at a career in music; being groomed by Crowley from the age of nine; a silly fantasy novel comes to life; slumming in London...
2022-08-121h 03Occult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #302 AncestorsExploring the relationship to our ancestors, and how it might affect our lives and spiritual practice, encountering along the way: Carl Jung and his relationship to the dead; ghosts, the dead, and the possibility of further transformations after death; conversation with ancestors; Jung’s Seven Sermons to the Dead; individuation and the dead; a disturbing personal encounter with the ancestors; the similarity to and difference from a demonic encounter; a fallow period in my magick; how magick “fails”; the importance of finding “our” dead; a recourse to art; some help from the Archangel Raziel; how identification with ancestors causes division a...
2022-08-0651 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #301 The Fire Kasina Diaries (Part Two)After a warning concerning the dark content of this episode, we explore (from personal experience) the shadow side of intense meditation practice: panic attacks on my first fire kasina retreat; the importance of reaching out for support from fellow retreatants; the usefulness of maps and models; fear, misery, and disgust; differences in approach between concentration and insight practice; the usefulness of distraction; the importance of sticking to the practice being undertaken; my second kasina retreat and how I made the same mistakes again; self-disgust; depression, unreality, suicidal ideation and intentions; the impact of life problems upon the practice; difficulties...
2022-07-2356 min
Occult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #219 OuijaWe confront this most terrifying item of magical equipment, to explore what makes it so volatile, considering: my first experience of Ouija; the tendency of Ouija to creep into more direct forms of manifestation; the lifelong impact of these experiences; an example of a very physical manifestation; the tendency with Ouija for things to get out of control; obsession and the possibility of harm; comparison of the Ouija with other magical systems; tarot, runes, and the I Ching versus the Ouija; the lack of any system or wisdom in the Ouija; a mixture of divination and evocation; the pendulum...
2022-06-1153 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #218 Conversation on Ethics and MagickJoined by my good friend Paul, we discuss the ethics of magick and the integration of ethics into magical practice, exploring: a somewhat unethical hexing; retaliation, its justifications and alternatives; proportionality; the lack of an ethical framework in chaos magick; the impossibility of an absence of ethics; ethical integrationism versus technical eclecticism; the postmodernist suspicion of morality; accusations of morality; codes of ethics versus ethical frameworks; the discomfort of autonomous ethical reasoning; the problem of post-hoc justifications; the role of interpretation in understanding actions and intentions; abdication of judgement as a strategy for avoiding ethical responsibility; the inescapability of...
2022-05-2850 min
Weird StudiesDark Night Radio of the Soul, with Duncan Barford
For several episodes now, Phil and JF have been circling what St. John of the Cross called the Dark Night of the Soul, that moment in the spiritual journey where all falls a way and an abyss seems to crack open beneath our feet. When it came time to go there in earnest, they could think of no better guide than Duncan Barford, host of the excellent Occult Experiments in the Home podcast. As a master magician, long-time meditator, psychotherapeutic counsellor and writer on spirituality and the occult, Barford is uniquely endowed with the tools, experience, and language to...
2022-05-251h 28Occult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #217 The Fire Kasina Diaries (Part One)Blowing the dust off some old diaries, we reflect on how kasina meditation generates magical powers, exploring: kasina practice and its rejuvenation by Daniel Ingram; the corruption of the original texts; the need for fresh terminology; different types of kasina; how a kasina is used; the importance and use of the retinal after-image; the cultivation of siddhis or “psychic powers”, and what these include; the circumstances of my first fire kasina retreat; the daily schedule; stages of the practice: after-image, red dot, black dot, and the murk; scrying into the murk as a means of realising a magical intention; a vi...
2022-05-1455 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #216 Near Enemies of MagickBorrowing from Buddhism the concept of the “near enemy”, we consider how art, history, and psychology may look like magick but can harm our magical practice, exploring: the danger of the near enemy; pity as the near enemy of compassion; art, history, and psychology as near enemies of magick and their detrimental effects; the difference of this approach from Lionel Snell’s approach in SSOTBME; philosophy as a current near enemy that was once synonymous with magick; art as the most insidious near enemy of magick; the legitimate role of art in magick; beauty versus truth; Keats’s “Ode on a Greci...
2022-04-3052 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #215 Human Nature and the Middle PillarWe approach the Middle Pillar on the Tree of Life as a possible guide to the dilemma of having a human identity, exploring: the contrast between identity and being; the advantages and drawbacks of emphasising one of these above the other; a parallel between the Pillar of Severity and identity, and the Pillar of Mercy and being; how these distinctions transcend politics; neurodiversity as a new and possibly radical category of human difference; neurodiversity as a possible recognition that the human being is not synonymous with the human mind; lack of mental imagery as a marker of neurodiversity; mental...
2022-04-1650 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #214 A Contemporary Form of ChödHow an ancient Tibetan meditation practice helped me through the night in a dark and haunted place, considering: the non-material existence of ghosts; the potential benefits of paranormal encounters; chöd: a meditation practice for dealing with paranormal experiences; Brighton Town Hall: its history and its ghosts; underground water and electromagnetic fields; the Old Police Cells Museum and a plan for spending the night there; paranormal investigation as a contemporary form of chöd; the aims and rationale of chöd; Machig Labdrön on demons, their nature, and how to deal with them; a paranormal investigation at the muse...
2022-04-0254 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #213 Magick and the Estes MethodPresenting a magical working with colleagues Jason Mendel and Paul, we encounter the Estes method of spirit communication, and its potential use in magick, exploring: the background circumstances to this episode; requests for magical interventions and the criteria for deciding whether to get involved; ethical considerations around magical interventions; the ethical mismatch between magick and everyday life; the unusual nature of the entity involved in this case; second order magick; details of our preliminary working, using the Estes method; the Estes protocols; a recording of the session; the question of why spirit communication often is not direct; a couple...
2022-03-1955 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #212 Confronting CronosContaining references to sexual abuse, far-right ideology, and the (literal) eating of babies, we face-off to evil, examining: two depictions of Cronos (Saturn) eating a child by Peter Paul Rubens and Francisco Goya; the contrast between their perspectives with regard to the question of evil; the myth of Cronos and the birth of Zeus (Jupiter); the archetype of Cronos and its contemporary influence; Cronos as autocrat and canceller of the future; Cronos as the shadow side of conservatism; the tyranny of the old over the young; sexual abuse of children as an aspect of the Cronos archetype; the case...
2022-03-0553 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #211 Guides to the UnderworldWe examine how Homer, Virgil, and Dante help us navigate the underworld and our relationship to the dead, exploring: the meaning of the hero's descent into the underworld and its personal significance; Odysseus's method of dealing with the dead; what Homer tells us about the underworld and how to work with it; Virgil's Aeneid and the descent of Aeneas; the difference of status among the dead in Virgil; the different impacts upon us of the dead, as explored in Dante's Divine Comedy; The Divine Comedy as an epic wholly about the underworld; the nature of the dead in Dante...
2022-02-1953 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #210 To Keep SilenceTo know, to dare, to will, and to keep silence. We explore the magical virtues (specifically, “to keep silence”), known also as “The Powers of the Sphinx”, encountering along the way: the gift of dreams; how keeping silence still protects magicians; how silence can also harm magicians; why I am not silent about my experiences; an oddly pertinent dream; musicians playing music in silence as an analogy for how magicians stand in relationship to each other; the silent recognition of a shared link to the ineffable; the audible as different for everyone, but silence as the same to all; Éliphas Lé...
2022-02-0648 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #209 The HierophantWe discuss issues of power and spiritual authority as presented by the tarot card The Hierophant, encountering along the way: Mercury retrograde in the ninth house; a flurry of synchronicities; the question of spiritual authority; the least sexy card in the tarot; common interpretations of the card: dogma and patriarchy; similarities and contrasts between The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, and The Hierophant; Dion Fortune on passivity and activity on the material and the spiritual planes; The Hierophant as the passive masculine spiritual; personal burnout; a reminder of love; patriarchy, authority, and power; Paul Verhaeghe on the difference...
2022-01-2953 min
Tommie and Spud Talk About...TaSTA... Icelandic Woo Woo! [Ep. 90]00:28 The latest NFT idiocy, or maybe a scam?
10:50 A couple of Glitch in the Matrix stories.
14:40 classic ghost story
15:15 Bob Wilson and Cosmic Trigger
16:11 Ram Das and Conversion Therapy
17:55 The sexy Polish underworld
20:05 Catholic Ireland and schools
21:50 Modern Multicultural Ireland
23:40 Being on the dole while selling used underwear
31:40 The Prince Purple OEITH T-Shirt
35:00 Brexit ruined everything AGAIN
37:05 Duncan Barford's sexy book "The Book Of Raziel"
39:20 Why T&S find it hard to work with people...
2022-01-191h 38Occult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #208 Personal Reflections on AwakeningRevisiting my experiences of awakening and reflecting on how things seem now, we ponder along the way: the culture of silence on awakening within Buddhism; the notion that enlightened people never claim enlightenment; my first ever experience of meditation; my failure at regular practice and a farewell to Buddhism; development of an interest in magick; returning to meditation as part of magical training; meeting Alan Chapman; effects of Alan's influence; embarking on the Knowledge and Communication of the Holy Guardian Angel; the 2012 prophecies and the Viking Youth Power Hour; encountering the teachings of Daniel Ingram; how to identify an...
2022-01-1558 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #207 Concentration in Meditation, Magick, and the MainstreamLet's focus in on concentration, exploring: the arms of Baphomet; solve et coagula as "analysis and concentration"; how the mainstream lauds concentration; the prevalence of Attention Deficit Disorder; the union of dissolving and coalescing; Buddhist meditation; vipassana(insight) as solve, versus shamatha (concentration) as coagula; the nature and aims of shamatha practice; coagula and shamathapractice in relation to magick, sorcery, and ritual; belief-shifting and confirmation bias; the cultivation of psychic powers through concentration; solve, insight, and mysticism; undoing the duality between shamatha and vipassana; how insight requires concentration and concentration requires insight; some advice on how to approach shamatha...
2022-01-0854 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #206 Telepathy and Projective IdentificationLet's join our minds to explore together the nature of telepathy, taking in along the way: the usefulness of magick in understanding the paranormal; definitions of telepathy and their problems; crisis apparitions; Nick Totton's definition of telepathy as "the experience of transparency between subjects"; the strengths of this definition; how telepathy tends to creep into both magick and therapy; telepathy in psychotherapy; a personal example of apparent telepathy in therapy; its significance in terms of my relationship to my therapist; reasons why therapy might encourage telepathy; the fear of telepathy within therapeutic organisations; Mikita Brottman's take on this and...
2022-01-0152 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #205 Reincarnation: Locating Past LivesIf reincarnation is real, then how does it impact on our lives here and now? We consider: the question of how reincarnation manifests in everyday experience; comparison of contact with the dead versus reincarnation; reasons for the relevance of reincarnation; spiritual attainment and insight into past lives; the AUTOTAR working; audio scrying with tinfoil; my supposed incarnation as Otto Berg; why the results failed to convince; the rejection of reincarnation in contemporary western Buddhism; Stephen Batchelor's agnostic viewpoint; Leigh Brasington on rebirth as “an immortality project” and on the Buddha's possible lack of belief in rebirth; the secular materialist styl...
2021-12-2049 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #204 Depressive HedoniaWe confront some increasingly common dimensions of depression, how these can affect magical practice, and a magical antidote in the tarot, exploring along the way: the Buddha on distractions and addictions; Gabor Maté on addiction as a relationship; how anything can become addictive; torpor, ennui, apathy: words for an enemy to our practice; Mark Fisher's “depressive hedonia”; some examples; promised rather than actual fulfilment; magick itself as an impediment to practice; profit from distraction; community as a corrective; the example of education; how consumerism thrives on distraction; resistance of control as a refusal to discipline or motivate ourselves; depressive hedon...
2021-12-1153 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #203 TransformationsBorrowing concepts from psychotherapy we explore how magick produces its effects, considering along the way: how nothing in what we are about to discuss should be construed as causal; magick as acausal; the sense in which magick does not work; how magick is not therapy, but how therapy might be magick; how therapy has its effect; a personal example of a therapeutic effect; possible similarities with teaching; Freud's idea of "impossible" professions; the impossibility of predicting effects in certain fields; magick as an impossible profession; why some people might be better at contending with the impossible than others; a...
2021-11-2750 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #202 Touched by a GhostExploring an unsettling personal encounter with a “ghost” during a meditation retreat, we mull anxiously over: what "seeing a ghost" means to me; the ghost as a visitor; the messiness of ghostly experiences; why I have never “seen” a ghost, but have heard and felt one; feeling a ghost as perhaps more intimate that seeing one; tricks of memory when recalling ghostly experiences; going on retreat; re-visiting my original notes taken during the experiences, which suggest an altered state; waking inside a dream of someone trying to suffocate me; a malevolent female presence; banishing by pentagram; classic elements of sleep-pa...
2021-11-2048 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #201 Narcissism, Shame, and Self-LoveBack for a second season, we consider how and why the concept of narcissism has become little more than a term of abuse, considering along the way: what the concept of narcissism originally offered; the assumption that narcissism is necessarily bad and harmful; the usefulness of the concept of narcissism and a questioning the mainstream; Austin Osman Spare and "self-love"; a re-visitation of the myth of Narcissus; the lovers of Narcissus: Echo and Armeinius; the suicide of Armeinius and his avengement by Artemis; the myth of Narcissus as a revenge narrative; how the downfall of Narcissus is not due...
2021-11-1351 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #119 A Once and Future KingIn this, our final episode, we issue a very loud SPOILER ALERT as we unearth an ancient English national treasure, the film Penda's Fen (directed by Alan Clarke, 1974), exploring: the current relevance of Penda's Fen; the film as an initiation; its provenance; the problem of its Englishness; Pinvin and the Malvern Hills; William Langland and Edward Elgar; The Dream of Gerontius; Stephen's ignorance of his own sexuality; his notions of good and bad; the character of Arne and his counter-cultural views; Stephen's dream of demons and angels; the role of Manicheanism in the film; a possibly similar incident in...
2021-08-2857 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #118 Social Class, Identity, and Plato's CaveIn this episode we examine the pride, the pain, and the double-edged nature of identification, exploring along the way: a difference in attitudes towards work; the influence of a working-class upbringing; a working-class perspective on work, and its conflicts with a middle-class perspective; the struggle to identify with professional roles; Aidan Wachter on identification as a magical technique; the liberating potential of identification and identification as a trap; my continuing identification with being working class; the imposition of identification; against the (classist) argument that education changes social class; working-class alienation from power and privilege; professional identity as a means...
2021-08-1550 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #117 Magical Formulations on Gender and SexWe explore how gender identity and sex might free or constrict us, and what magick can bring to this, noting along the way: fire kasina meditation and "travels"; a transsexual travel and the experience of self as a different gender; gender and sex in relation to magick; the reality of dreams and visions; the biological and the cultural in mainstream discourse on sex and gender; biological destiny versus cultural fluidity; the common factor of manifestation; the mainstream discourse in the light of dependent co-arising; the Buddhist concepts of "name and form" and "body"; the apparent correspondence of these with...
2021-08-0857 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #116 Transcendence - The Nidanas, Final PartSeizing the Buddhist teachings on the transcendental nidanas, this time we haul ourselves along the path of awakening, from suffering to liberation, pausing to consider: an outline of the process of manifestation; the human tendency to make something out of nothing; how once something is born or it becomes then it is subject to death; the transcendental nidanas and how these proceed from suffering to liberation; how they present positive qualities that can be cultivated; the vulnerabilities of manifestation in magick; the magick of non-manifestation; the implications of proceeding from cause to effect, rather than vice versa; the nidana...
2021-07-3156 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #115 Manifestation - The Nidanas, Part OneHijacking the Buddha's teachings on dependent co-arising as a detailed model of manifestation, we consider its magical applications: the Maha-nidana Sutta and its relevance to magick; its contrasts with Kabbalah; differences between religion, science, and magick; the centrality of dependent co-arising in Buddhism; religions as models of reality; the nidanas as steps in the process of manifestation; a personal perspective on Buddhism; hacking dependent co-arising; death, birth, and becoming; death and life as interwoven; birth not as creation, but as parts becoming perceivable as wholes; the constant flux of becoming; death and life as different perspectives on becoming; grasping...
2021-07-2455 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #114 Liber Somnia (The Book of Dreams)In this episode we take a wide-angle view on dreams and dreaming, and consider the significance of dreams that just keep coming back: the importance of personal notebooks; Mervyn Peake and the awakening of my imagination; the creation of reality from imagination; sharing the vision; the Gormenghast books: their possible roots in biographical influences, and the paradoxical realism of Peake's fantasy; Peake's impact on my dream-life; spontaneous recall of dreams during meditation; how dreams are experienced largely through memory; not "remembering" but "coming back"; an experience of a recurrence of dreams about demons; the puzzling nature of these experiences...
2021-07-1749 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #113 Group Magick, Perversity, and TransgressionNavigating the twisted path between abuse and self-transformation, we consider: the current tendency to distrust magickal groups; the importance of human connection; the benefits of group magick; power and control in human relationships; the vulnerability of magick to evil; the challenges of transgression; progression versus regression; regressive social structures in magickal groups; transgression of social norms and the dynamics of the perverse; the examples of John Dee and Aleister Crowley and their significance; Edgar Allen Poe on the perverse: the principle of no principle; Freud on the perverse: a "natural" disposition; Lacan on the perverse: a structure of desire...
2021-07-1054 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #112 A Voyage Down the ChakrasWith an odd tingling sensation emanating from somewhere, in this episode we explore: an outline of the traditional concept of the chakras; the chakras, kundalini energy, and blockages; alleged functions of the chakras; why I was at first a chakra skeptic; sensations and white light at the crown of the head; why I disregarded these; random energetic experiences around the body; phenomena on the boundary between mind and body; why what we know the least about is matter; direct and indirect forms of knowing; William Blake's portrait of Newton and the scientist's struggle; why "energy" is a bad word...
2021-07-0355 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #111 Haunters and the HauntedWe drape ourselves in an old, white sheet and consider the nature of ghosts and hauntings: how no one knows what a ghost is; crisis apparitions; poltergeists; the changing criteria for manifestations of ghosts; technological manifestations; the lack of any knowledge about ghosts; Barrie Colvin's poltergeist hypothesis; occultism and the non-existence of ghosts; paranormal investigation as a form of magical ritual rather than science; Hellier as a example; why we should care about ghosts; the persistence of ghosts; Martin Wall and a ghost of his childhood; the intrusiveness of ghosts; a semblance of being; "to haunt" as neither an...
2021-06-2655 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #110 Evil, Be Thou My GoodWe plummet deep into the fundamental nature of reality in this episode, examining the necessary association of magick with evil: the premise of John Milton's Paradise Lost; Satan and the possible origin of evil; Satan as the archetype of the rebel; our relationship as magicians to this archetype; the absence of a moral framework from magick; the suggestion that magick needs to be kept "evil"; understanding evil in contrast to the good; Neoplatonist approaches to the good; the good as the aspiration of all beings; the misidentification of the good; the Platonic ideals as a guide to goodness; beauty...
2021-06-1956 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #109 What Possessed Me?In this episode we open up to theories and techniques of channelling and possession: hearing voices; the experience of a part of awareness not being "ours"; the risk of over-engagement; a devious yellow blob and the danger of psychosis; the importance of holding the experience lightly and maintaining intentionality; Freud on the splitting of the ego; splitting in fetishism, BDSM, irony, the tacky and the camp, and in humour; splitting versus repression; the downside of splitting: that a part might assume dominance over the whole; the function of parts in PTSD and complex trauma; the importance of intentionality in...
2021-06-1252 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #108 The Limits of MagickIn this episode we brace ourselves, take a deep breath, and consider magick and spirituality as an antidote to suffering, but not without their risks and limits; a bullshit exercise from Robert Anton Wilson; the limits of belief-shifting; dubious "exercises" in books on magick; the belief in belief-shifting; reality and belief-shifting; results from a recent sigil; possibilities for their causation; magick as adaptation to reality; the limitation of reality; the inescapability of feelings; the influence of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) on the contemporary understanding of suffering; Aaron Beck on depression as faulty cognition; the locus of responsibility for suffering...
2021-06-0554 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #107 Surrender to the GoddessIn this episode we begin by reading Rumi's poem "Love Dogs", then we discuss how to connect with spiritual entities and the link with desire; the case for mysticism as magick; defining desire as distinct from needs and wants; the characteristics of desire: persistence and authenticity; working with desire as the daily grind of the magician; desire versus will and intention; desire and identity; magickal development as a continual engagement with desire; a dream of a woman who was both mother and lover; dying in dreams; the relationship to the woman in the dream; a ritual to communicate with...
2021-05-2952 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #106 Tales of the GoetiaDigging out some dusty old magickal journals, I relate how I first discovered the Goetia; the appeal of a catalogue of spirits; the Goetic spirits as troublesome demons; why I became interested in magick; my first ever working; my first ever Goetic ritual; the result; the mechanics of the ritual; the real result; a sense of manipulation; a disastrous confrontation with the spirit; the "nuclear option" in Goetia; that peculiar Goetic vibe; an evocation of the spirit Bune; saying "hi" to Bune; a distressing incident; one of our group goes rogue; a failure of protection and ethics; angelic intervention...
2021-05-2255 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #105 The Word of the MagusWe listen to Grant Morrison on individuality and Rob Burbea on divinity before venturing into: "soul-making dharma"; what all magicians share; Aleister Crowley's "Liber B Vel Magi"; definition of a magus; Crowley's notion of the word of the magus; the Gospel of St John and the word made flesh; the meaning of logos; the impossibility of meaninglessness; the dilemma of the magus; the silence of the ipsissimus; the curse of having always to speak falsely; how there is no escape from meaning; enslavement by one's own magick or someone else's; Lacan's symbolic order; everyday and magickal relationships to meaning...
2021-05-1554 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #104 Healing Dreams from the Temple of AsklepiosWe start with an account of a dream that helped to lift a depression, and then go on to consider how dreams might heal; dreaming as a magickal practice; the possible meaning of the dream and the role of interpretation; the dream as a process; the diversity of mental phenomena; intrusive thoughts and the differences between thoughts and feelings; the difference between imagining and thinking; the infallibility of thinking; different schools of dream interpretation as reflective of different mental processes and levels of consciousness; the differences between Jungian and Freudian dreams; a personal example of a Freudian dream; the w...
2021-05-0855 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #103 The Terrors of AwakeningWe venture into the destabilizing aspects of awakening; the notion of "positive" trauma; Jung's encounter with God; the ego as a filter; Russell Razzaque on awakening and psychosis; varieties of ego disintegration: psychosis, psychedelics, and meditation; Whitley Strieber and MK-Ultra; traumatic memories as both symptom and cause of psychosis; Walter Bosley on MK-Ultra; recurring images and narratives in psychosis and trauma; spirituality as an antidote; Hellier as a narrative of initiation; defences against awakening; Alex Tsakiris on science and conspiracy; the parallelism of materialism and non-duality; the underground goddess; Parmenides.
Walter Bosley (2016). Shimmering Light: Lost In An...
2021-05-0157 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #102 Relating with the DeadWe consider Alan Chapman's definition of magick; the ubiquity of truth; everyday awareness as the experience of no-self; the sacred whore and the virgin goddess; ordinary experience as the arena of magick; everyday connections with the dead; the work of bereavement; psychoanalysis as a magickal venture; Freud on grief and depression; the ego as everything we have lost; the dead inside us; theories of bereavement; acceptance of loss versus maintaining contacts the dead; a synchronicity on my father's death; meeting my father after his death in lucid dreams; delineating the boundaries and the relationship between the living and the...
2021-04-2254 minOccult Experiments in the HomeOEITH #101 Meditation and TraumaWe explore the possible negative effects of meditation; awakening versus personal psychological issues; panic attacks; traces of trauma; vipassana meditation; approaches from the western magickal tradition; Jungian analysis; impacts on personal relationships; attachment theory; the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM) and its approach to healing trauma; intergenerational trauma; relationships to the dead; collective and cultural trauma; the work of Thomas Hübl; processing trauma as a form of awakening; trauma and karma; recognising and responding to cultural and collective trauma.
Marie-Louise von Franz (1979). Alchemical Active Imagination. Irving, TX: Spring Publications.
Frater Geur (2020). Liber Pisces. Brighton: Heptarchia. h...
2021-04-171h 08
The InformationGhosts and the PendulumIn this second part of our interview with Duncan Barford, the topic of ghosts is considered. Duncan provides us with his take on the nature of ghosts and goes into detail about his experiences with otherworldly entities. The Pendulum is then discussed.
Relevant Links:
Alone with Ghosts: YouTube Link
Duncan Barford's Personal Blog: http://oeith.co.uk/
Book: Occult Experiments In The Home
2011-02-1247 minThe InformationThe Art of MagickIn this episode of The Information Podcast, Martin Poole is joined by Duncan Barford - a practitioner of Chaos Magick and author of "Occult Experiments in the Home". Topics include the correct application of Sigils and effective techniques for Meditation.
Relevant Links:
Duncan Barford's Personal Blog: http://oeith.co.uk/
Book: Occult Experiments In The Home
2011-01-2944 min