What Magic Is This?

You enter a darkened room. There's beautiful artwork on the walls, many books, and the place is absolutely filled with decks of cards of all kinds. A single figure sits there, shuffling a small deck of cards as you yourself sit down facing them. You have a question and are looking for answers- The question is " What is the Tarot? " And you will be given the answer by one who knows more than most a...

The image of a witch or a warlock creeping through a dark forest collecting herbs, leaves and branches and stuffing them in a pouch is one that we are all familiar with. And with good reason! Materia Magica from Plants, Trees and Herbs strike to the core of magical practice. For some, it is the very path to how they navigate the world of magic as it involves knowledge, practicality, and lore in ne...

There is no other author whose works have been brought up both on the show, and in the show notes more than Gary Lachman. Gary has stated that his work is about the Evolution of Consciousness and many of the concepts and figures which he writes about should be familiar to every ardent listener of What Magic is This? In this episode, I would love to introduce to you, the person whose books are some...

The concept of "Magic" within the Jewish world is a complex and fascinating one. Many people when they look at the Western Esoteric and Magical tradition will say that many of the elements of it take much from the Hebrew alphabet and Jewish Mysticism like Kabbalah. But what of the Jewish people themselves, how did magic and mysticism play a role in their lives throughout time? Joining me on this e...

Monoliths exist. The Occult and Esotericism in the West has many, but there are only a handful that almost everyone who calls themselves a seeker knows and will cite by name. One of them was written by a quiet but imposing figure, who seemingly out of nowhere at the age of twenty-seven wrote a book that cut to the very heart of philosophical esotericism. His name was Manly Palmer Hall and his book...

Through the ages, many branches of esoteric thought have spoken of a Perennial Philosophy; an original wisdom from which all wisdom comes. For many, Ancient Egypt was seen as the place where a certain current and way of being with the world manifested itself to accomplish great things. One early 20th century Alchemist, René Schwaller de Lubicz thought that he knew what this was. After having spent...

The movement of people from the German speaking areas of Europe to the Americas brought many things. In Pennsylvania, many new customs and traditions formed, including a sort of Folk Magic. Taking its name from a specific American Grimoire, Powwow also known as Braucherei became hugely popular amongst the Pennsylvania Dutch. Taking us through all of the aspects of Powwow are two Powwowers, Jason D...

Over the last 2 years, the one question I get asked more than any other single question from listeners is " How do I get started doing Magic ?" To start the year off right, I would like to provide a few insights and perhaps some inspiration which hopefully should help one enter the temple of Magic with ease. Pull up a chair and lend an ear, I'm about to share a few things.

In the last 30 years, a shining example of the delicious mix of Magic and Creativity within comic books has been exemplified by the creature that is Grant Morrison. It seems like every superhero that you can bring to mind has been touched in some way by Morrison. And yet, besides bringing forward the modern mythology of the caped warriors that set off so many cash registers across the globe, Morri...

For many, the most influential and austere Grimoire of Magic from the Islamicate world is the Shams al-Ma'arif or the Sun of Knowledge. Inside this notorious book are many Magic Squares which combine words and numbers which are believed to be the only true way to communicate with Angels and spiritual entities called Jinn. A book that has been held in high regard by many, up to this point it has no...

Something which is often talked of in magical circles, but not greatly understood- is Gnosticism and those who were called Gnostics. These Gnostics were those that valued personal experience of God; a knowledge called "gnosis," over more orthodox traditions and institutions. For the last 2000 years, we knew very little about these Gnostics, but all of that changed with an amazing archeological fin...

Something which touches every person on this planet is illness; at some point each and every one of us will get sick. How we heal and what medicines we use has changed drastically throughout the ages. Things which would have meant certain death a hundred years ago, are dealt with somewhat simply now. So what is one to do if they get sick and they also do not buy into a fully materialist paradigm?...

It's hard not to bump up against the Great Beast at some point when doing magic in the 21st Century. So many aspects of Western Occultism owe Crowley a debt in some way or another. Yet as time goes on, many people are speaking out against Crowley or at least highlighting that perhaps he was not all he's cracked up to be. For about seven years, I called myself a Thelemite and would engage in whatev...

The statement "Aleister Crowley was a complicated figure" is a vast understatement. Depending on who is delivering the message, he can be either a wise teacher pointing to enlightenment and truth, or a monster and a con-artist who thought only of himself always. Our second episode of The Month of the Beast has us talking with the author of several books about Crowley, Richard T. Cole. We dive into...

Without a doubt the one figure that comes to mind for many when the word Occult and/or Magic is mentioned- is Aleister Crowley. He is a monumental figure and the modern occult still resides in his shadow to this day. Much of what passes for Magic these days owes some sort of debt to Crowley as he was both prolific and influential in many ways. The Great Beast lived an extraordinary life and each b...

Happy Crowleymas! A short episode detailing what's going to be happening over the Next month on What Magic is This?   Grab your robes and Books of Law, we're going over the one Magician that everyone knows- Aleister Crowley!  IAO, 93 and all of that! 

If Western Magic is to have one document that many consider to be foundational and essential- that would be the Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. The Three Books are Agrippa's attempt to synthesize magic with religion, going from the natural world to the celestial world and beyond. Joining the discussion on this extremely important text is someone who has understood t...

Say the word Goetia and what comes to mind for many a magician is the summoning of Demons from the pits of hell. Yet many magicians are unaware from where the word Goetia came from but also what Goetia actually was. In this Episode of WMiT? , we go through the origins of Goetia as an ancient Greek tributary funeral practice, how the meaning of Goetia changed in the Renaissance and to the document...

Hoodoo is a name given (somewhat unwillingly) to a culture, tradition and inheritance that arose due to a very special circumstance. This was the intersection of Indigenous, African and European culture and beliefs that occurred in South Eastern America. There are many things which arose out of this circumstance such as a Botanical knowledge of the areas in which these peoples found themselves, a...

One of the most popular and purchased Occult Books of the last 100 years, perhaps the most purchased Occult book ever- is The Kybalion. Purported to be the work of the Three Initiates and the transcendent knowledge of the sage of Hermeticism Hermes Trismegistus, the Kybalion is a text that for many has been their introduction into the world of the unknown and Occult. But is the Kybalion all that i...

What does it take to call oneself a "Witch" these days? Are there certain things one must do, things that need to be believed, practices that need to be practiced? Or has Witchcraft really become so egalitarian that pretty much anything goes? Most people's conceptions of witchcraft are fairly modern conceptions, and many of the stories about the History of the Witch are myths. Is this a good thing...

One of the most controversial and downright confounding figures of 20th Century Science and Psychotherapy, was Wilhelm Reich. It was Reich's conjecture that he had discovered a powerful force that pervades not only all life here on earth, but also the cosmos as well. Reich called it Orgone , and it was the primary, sexual force of life. His views and research however has been met with obloquy and...

Without a doubt, one moment that pretty much everyone is in agreement is absolutely seminal to the Occult, is when in 1471 Marcilio Ficino published the Corpus Hermeticum which he had recently translated. This triggered an explosion within Esoteric thought at the time, but also still right up to today. Finally, Hermeticism was something we could point a finger at and say that it was important. Sin...

One word which gets used everywhere and almost as a substitute for Esoteric Thought and Philosophy- is Hermeticism. But what exactly is it and how did it come about? Is it a religion? A Philosophy? What was it all about? Our understanding of Hermeticism through time has changed vastly, much of the obscurity has been cleared up only within the last 100 years. In this, the first of a Two-Part series...

Two words that are never far away in the english-speaking word are both "Satan" and "Satanism." While many have ideas as to what both represent, much of the obscurity has been lifted from the philosophical beliefs that make up Satanism. Although there were a few groups and people that we could say were Satanic before the 20th century, Satanism as we all know it now is less than 60 years old. Based...