The Hermetic Hour

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday May 31st, 2012 will feature a discussion by host Poke Runyon on the current mystery behind the U.S. failure of the major film "John Carter." This film was a resounding success in Russia, Europe and Latin America. Why did it flop in the U.S.A.? To understand this we must also ask why the U.S. space program has been virtually shut down, and why the rest of the world knows more about the planet Mars than Americans do. We will review the work of Richard Hoagland, and Andrew Basiago, and the current article on "True Mars" in the latest Atlantis Rising. Mars has water, vegetation, atmosphere, life, and ancient ruins. Concepts of time travel and teleportation will be explored in relation to the John Carter screenplay. The John Carter DVD will be released June 5th. Keeping our speculations in mind, you can have another look and wonder why this excellent and provocative motion picture was poorly edited, ineffectively advertised, and badly reviewed. So, tune in and we'll voyage to the real Barsoom.

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday, May 24th, 2012 will feature a discussion by host Poke Runyon on the life and works of Israel Regardie. We will focus on Regardie's contributions to the modern occult revival starting with his early book "The Tree of Life," his experiences acting as personal secretary to Aleister Crowley, his membership in the Stella Matutina (Golden Dawn) his subsequent publication of their material, his support for the revival of the O.T.O. in the 1970s, and the G.D. in the 1980s. Having known Regardie personally, and having a long association with Regardie's chosen successors, host Poke Runyon is able to resolve the question uppermost in minds of many who seek to fathom the enigma of Regardie's personal philosophy: was he a Thelemite, or was he a Rosicrucian? The answer is he was one or the other, depending on what he thought you needed -- but he never recommended mixing the two systems. So, if you want to meet the real Israel Regardie, tune in be enlightened.

This Thursday, May 17th, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. The Hermetic Hour will present a book review by host Poke Runyon of the newly released "Inside the Solar Lodge, Behind the Veil" by Frater Shiva. The Solar Lodge was the legendary psychedelic era magical group in the Los Angeles area that flourished from the mid-1960s until it was driven underground by a anti-occult witch hunt following a tragic fire at its desert commune near Blythe in 1969. Regardless of whatever criticisms could be made about The Solar Lodge -- and most were grossly exaggerated -- it was the most magically powerful, focused and cohesive magical organization since the early days of The Golden Dawn. The true story of its fascinating origin, development and eventual decline is finally told by the man who was the Solar Lodge's chief executive officer under the command of Thelemic Avatrix Jean Brayton. And who better to tell the story. Frater Shiva and his lady will call in during the second half of the show, and give us their personal views on the subject. -- So, if you really want to know about the magical revival in California, tune in and we'll lift the veil.

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday May 10th, 2012 will feature a discussion, moderated by host Poke Runyon, on the origins and the establishment of the "1734" Witchcraft tradition in the United States. This was an American version of Roy Bowers' (Robert Cochrane's) "Clan of Tubal Cain" that surfaced in England in the 1960s as a rival to the Gardnerian Craft. Bowers' claimed to belong to a hereditary tradition more indigenous and authentic than Gardner's popular version of "The Craft." While Gardner drew from Margeret Murray's "Witch Cult in Western Europe", Bowers drew from Robert Graves "The White Goddess." Bowers' American correspondent Joseph Wilson received numerous letters from Roy, forming an enigmatic, mystical corpus of material from which the talented Joe Wilson fashioned the American version called "1734" from a cypher included in the manuscripts. Like Johnny Appleseed, Joe Wilson seeded 1734 covens across the nation. Some of these groups still don't know where their Book of Shadows came from. As featured guests we will have Ann and Dave Finnin of the Roebuck, a "Clan of Tubal Cain," who are perhaps the most knowledgeable elders of the tradition. Ann is the author of "The Forge of Tubal Cain." We will cover the strange life and stranger death of Roy Bowers, the mysterious symbolism of the St. Uzec Menhir (1734's Stele of Revealing), the meaning(s) of "1734," the shamanic talents and prankster antics of Joe Wilson, and other tales of high adventure on the inner and outer planes -- so, if you want to know which witch is which, tune in and we'll lift the veil.

On Thursday, May 3rd, 2012, The Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on one of the books most influential on the revival of Paganism, Witchcraft, and Magick in the post World War Two era: "1948's "The White Goddess" by poet laureate Robert Graves. The book is difficult read even for those well versed in myth-lore, and classical literature. Graves takes a poet's magical, and even whimsical, approach to what at first appears to be anthropology -- even though he warns the reader that he is not dealing with history as it was, but rather as the ancient and medieval bards imagined it to have been -- which is just as important as how it really was. His argument is that behind all true poetry lies the inspiration of a haunting, primordial muse: the prehistoric Moon Goddess of birth, youth, death and the phases of nature. He is a cultural diffusionist, spinning off from Frazer on a wild ride from ancient Greece to the Druids, tying together the whole warp and woof of Western esoteric lore from the Bible to the troubadours. The White Goddess had a major influence on Fred Adams and Svetlana's Feraferia, with the Tree Alphabet being a central element in Feraferian structure. The book was also a very strong influence on Roy Bowers Order of 1734, and the Roebuck of the Finnins. It has also had some influence on the O.T.A., and many other Pagan and Magical groups. So, tune in and plumb the mysteries of the Druid's Handbook, and the thinking Witch's Bible.

On Thursday April 26th, 2012, The Hermetic Hour, host Poke Runyon, will review his 1980 master's thesis in cultural anthropology at Cal State, Northridge, titled: "A History of Magical Cults and the Rise of NeoPaganism in Southern California." This work has never been published and contains what some might consider "sensitive" material. It briefly reviews the history of the Western Esoteric Tradition starting in first century Alexandria, up through the 19th and 20th century magical groups, concentrating on the modern rise of Magick and "Wicca" in England -- and immigrating to America. Magick first in the 1920s, followed by witchcraft in the 1960s. The rise of nature oriented NeoPaganism in Southern California, through the turbulent psychedelic era, and the new "Coven model" organizations. I saw this phenomenon as a cultural revitalization movement I referred to as "NeoRomanticism." It is a sad fact that most contemporary witches and magicians know very little about the actual history of their "traditions," especially in relation to other earlier traditions, and groups they may not be aware they are related to. We will open a time capsule and go back 35-40 years to the thrilling days of yesteryear. Tune in and we'll ripe the veil of mystery from our history.

On Thursday, April 19th, 2012 the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on Magick and Politics. This is a controversial, difficult and delicate subject, but one of crucial importance that needs to explored and understood by everyone who belongs to a magical group, lodge, coven or order -- or is considering joining such an organization. We will cover the influence of Theosophy, and its distortions that influenced Nazism. The anti-occult, anti-Neo-Pagan bias that followed WW II, the danger of being tagged as a "racist" group, the problem with illegal drugs, and under-age sex in connection with occult-pagan activities. The problem with "Satanism" and the great 1990s Satanic Witch Hunt. The problem with raising children in Pagan homes. The problem of diminishing privacy and personal freedoms, especially the freedom of association. We will look beyond "Right Wing-Left Wing," "Democratic" buzz words into the reality of our diminishing freedoms under both liberal and conservative administrations -- and how we, as magicians can preserve our traditions and our practices in a "politically correct" world. Tune in and find out how to avoid what no one expects.....The Spanish Inquisition!

On the Hermetic Hour Thursday, April 12, 2012, host Poke Runyon will introduce Professor Curtis Shumaker who teaches English literature at Cal State and specializes in the study of science fiction. Curtis is also an occultist and a Masonic scholar. He will discuss the recent book on occult writers in literature "The Dark Muse" (recently reviewed in The Seventh Ray) and the concept of the "Weird" as a manifestation of an incomprehensible, irrational universe, as opposed to a "supernatural" universe where everything follows the rules of magick -- which seem reasonable in their own context. We will touch on Lovecraft's scientific/magical mythology, moving on to the later writers in the Lovecraft cycle: Fritz Leiber ("Our Lady of Darkness"), Matheson, Charles Beaumont, Jack Williamson ("Darker Than You Think") and even a Jungian perspective on GD/Crowley type magick. -- So, get your note books ready to write down some books you'll want to read.

On Thursday, April 5th, 2012 Hermetic Hour host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the ancient divinatory art of Geomancy, which is a little known but very important part of the Hermetic magician's tool kit. We will review the history of the process, comparing it to it's ancient Chinese counterpart the I-Ching, and the Tarot. Geomancy is divination by the figures of Earth, but very much related to astrology. Most of our practical knowledge of the process comes from Agrippa's 16th century treatise, but it is far more ancient, probably dating back to the paleolithic. We will discuss our own unique reconstruction of the most ancient method, involving huckle bones (the earliest dice) and flourite crystals (the Biblical Urim and Thummim). We were recently surprised when one of our members on duty in Iraq informed us that the Yezidis were using something similar. Geomancy also figures in the medieval Grail epic Parsifal. Tune in and find out about Western magick's own very ancient version of "casting the runes."

Because our stellar producer and engineer, Soror Zandria, is recovering from the flu, we are going to treat you (and spare her) with another of our selected re-broadcasts: This time it will be "The Hermetic Qabalah" from July 1st, 2010, which was introduced thus: -- Hermetic Hour host Poke Runyon will present a lecture on "The Hermetic Qabalah." First we will define what Qabalah, or Kabbalah, or Cabala, or "Q.B.L.," is, and then we will present a very simplified version of the basic principles -- sort of a "Qabalah for Dummies." Then we will move on into what we can do with it (that's the fun part). I once said that "hypnosis is the tactic of the magician, and qabalah is his strategy." We can define it as a software program, an operating system, or a schematic for the mind which enables the left brain (the rational part) to access and control the right brain (the intuitive part). We will get down to the magical nuts-and-bolts. We'll define the four dimensions, the Tree of Life, the Cube of Space, what the astrological connection is, where the angels and demons live, and how we use the qabalah to communicate with them. Tune in and let us gently bend your mind.

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 will feature a discussion led by host Poke Runyon, with Ed Fitch, and Rustee Wizzerd, calling in, on the marriage of Paganism, Witchcraft and Ceremonial Magick seen in the revival of the 1970s Order of the Temple of Astarte in the 21st century. We will talk about how this all got started, what our original goals were, and what influenced the O.T.A. to attempt a modern synthesis of Victorian era Gnostic and Rosicrucian magical systems with the more shamanic and earth-oriented Neo-Pagan Movement. This will be an eye-opener to newbies who often have no idea what the real differences between Wicca and Magick are, or how much one owes to the other -- so, tune in and find out what's going on in strange, dark blue rooms in California, Texas, and Georgia. It's Magick!

This Thursday, March 15th, 2012, The Hermetic Hour will re-visit "Hermetic Yoga while we are still on location wrapping up our newest DVD. Host Poke Runyon will discuss the chakras in the etheric-plane Hindu tantric system, and the variations in Tibetan tantra. The kundalini in Hindu, Tibetan and Taoist procedures will be discussed. We will then differentiate between the etheric Hindu system, and our astral arrangement that follows the "lightning Flash" on the Western Tree of Life. The philosophical importance of the Western arrangement will be compared to the Eastern system's alchemical correspondences. We will discuss the origin of our system, from the Golden Dawn's Middle Pillar exercise, to its full development now used by the O.T.A. in its magical operations. The mantras and affirmations will be demonstrated and explained. These lessons, with their essential icons and mandalas, will soon be available to Associate Members on our website, so --- tune in and we'll meditate our way from Omega up to Tau, and beyond.  

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday March 8th, 2012 will re-broadcast our August 5th, 2010 discussion by Poke Runyon on "Magical Pathworkings." Meanwhile Thabion (Poke) himself is on location in Pasadena filming and recording our forthcoming DVD which will be titled: "Magical Pathworkings." This is going to be a unique interactive presentation which will enable Associate Members to enter the temple with us -- on screen, at home on their computer, or home theater screen -- go into trance and actually go on an inner-plane journey guided by Frater Thabion. As far as we know nothing like this has been attempted before --- So, bear with us while we bring it to life. Tune in and learn what we have in store for you.

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday, March 1st, 2012 will highlight our C.H.S. Associate Member's program. It will also be call-in night, so let's hear from you. Our call-in number is: 374-857-1830. We will be previewing our forthcoming video, now in production, "The Pathworkings of Magick." This is going to be the first time that anyone has attempted to actually do traditional inner plane projection operations over a computer or on DVD home theater. We've already shot the live temple footage and we will post stills on our website. These Pathworking DVDs will go out to our Associate Members as part of their instructional program. Tune in an learn how you can take magical journeys at home. 

The Hermetic Hour for Thursday the 23rd of February, 2012 will present a report by host Poke Runyon on the recent PantheaCon convention in San Jose, California (from the17th through the 20th of this month). This gathering of NeoPagan tribes, magical lodges and Wiccan covens was attended by 2000 colorful characters with nearly a hundred events, lectures, ritual presentations, and handcrafted treasures for collectors of the exotic. We attended as part of the Feraferian entourage and helped Feraferia's leader Jo Carson to present an enchanted Oimelc rite that featured talented dancers, musicians and an experienced cast of ritualists.  Lady Jo will be calling in discuss this event with us and her upcoming book on Feraferia. We also attended lectures and classes given by our friends Chic and Tabatha Cicero, and Lon Milo DuQuette. We touched base with Ed Fitch who was promoting his forthcoming book Pirate Magic -- or is Pyrate Magick? (Arrgh!) A great time was had by all -- so tune in and we'll share the magick with you.