PH2T3R The Journal of Solar Culture

What is the Übermensch? Superman, Overman, Beyond-man, Beyond-human... It seems to be a mirror in which people see what they want to see, regardless of what Nietzsche actually meant or wrote. One could easily imagine it as being a cyborg or AI. Many want the Übermensch to be the "blonde beast" -- some kind of Dolph Lundgren character. What is the Übermensch, is it a goal worth overcoming man for,...

What does it mean to hate? Some would insist that you should be "above" hate -- but are they truly "above" it, or do they just hate different things or different people? Is the idea that you should love everyone in some great "brotherhood of man" simply a secularized echo of Christianity? Solar Idealism was conceived as a response to ideologies which seems to offer nothing but anger and hatred --...

Jonathan Smith is a former CIA agent with a special operations background who relocated his family to Russia to immerse himself in the ancient roots of shamanic traditions. In this interview, Jack Donovan delves into Jonathan's unique journey, unveiling the profound insights he gained from authentic shamans in the birthplace of shamanic culture. Discover the essence of shamanism as Jonathan shares...

What happened to the Men's Movement? A few years ago, there seemed to be a "big tent" men's movement that advanced a wide range of ideologies, all in the interest of helping men and dealing with the crisis of masculinity. The crisis certainly hasn't disappeared, but the "men's movement" and "manosphere" seem to have broken into competing factions largely driven by commercial interests and petty go...

Last month, The Order of Fire read the Oresteia , a series of three plays by Aeschylus. On this week's live show, C.B. Robertson and Jack Donovan go over the plays and talk about why we think they are so important. Many of our members were surprised at how engaging the plays were -- especially in some of the BBC audio performances available on Audible and even on YouTube for free.    &nb...

Why bother writing? Is it worth doing if you have no aspirations as a (public) writer? Authors Jack Donovan and C.B. Robertson talk about the meaning and process and possibly some of the business of writing. In the second hour, they take questions from live viewers and answer questions submitted by newsletter and Instagram. C. B. Robertson is the author of The Hero and the Man, Holy Nihilism, Lett...

Join us for a thought-provoking live podcast featuring Jack Donovan and C.B. Robertson as they delve into the origins of the philosophy of humanism and inspect its ideological baggage. Then we'll throw all of that out with the "blank slate" it was scribbled on and talk about the need for an approach to living that acknowledges human nature as a product of our physiology and evolutionary history. W...

In the absence of meaning, we must create it. In our last live broadcast, we discussed "The Meaning Crisis" -- what is perceived by many as an absence or loss of meaning. People say they want to "find meaning," but rarely seem to consider the possibility that they are capable of creating it. In this show, we'll discuss strategies for creating meaning and designing a more meaningful world. Specific...

This year PH2T3R will produce a LIVE show on Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM PST. In our first episode, Jack Donovan and C.B. Robertson will discuss the first few episodes (1-3) of John Vervaeke's series "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis" from a Solar Idealist perspective. You can find the full playlist here:  • Awakening from the Meaning Crisis  --- C. B. Robertso...

It's not that what they've told you is wrong, it's that they haven't told you the WHOLE story... That was C.B. Robertson's summary of the gnostic sales pitch during our recent PH2T3R podcast, and it's becoming an inside joke in our circle.  One of our best podcasts yet, we discuss Gnosticism and the "occult" as they relate to Solar Idealism. A note from CB Robertson: Gnosticism is not somethi...

Jack Donovan discusses Beowulf with Paul Begadon, Order of Fire member and author of The Layman's Havamal, who has spent the last year narrating and using AI to illustrate this classic heroic tale. Paul provides a thorough and engaging summary of the story of Beowulf and explains why he believes it is relevant today and how we can engage with it in such a way that it enriches and informs our own l...

Jack Donovan and C.B. Robertson discuss Plato's dialogs concerning the Trial of Socrates and parallels to current events. We also attempt to place Socrates and some of the issues within the context of Solar Idealism. Mentioned: Plato's Dialogs - Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito C. B. Robertson is the author of The Hero and the Man, Holy Nihilism, Letter to Anwei and more. He writes for PH2T3R and his...

​What is goodness? Is a universal definition of good even possible? If not, what of badness and evil? What would good and evil mean to Solar Idealists? @JackDonovan and @ChristopherRobertson sat down with fellow Order of Fire member Dustin to talk about the nature of goodness (and perhaps the nature of badness or evil) in this special face-to-face podcast at the Order of Fire's 2023 Autumn Equinox...

Jack Donovan is joined by Order of Fire members Coach Josh Wood (Tasmania) and Kyle Brickell (British Columbia) to discuss hiking and mountain climbing. Josh and Kyle met in Canada years ago and later planned a trip to Nepal where they spent 16 days hiking above 5000m on the Three Passes Trek and over to Everest Base Camp. You can find a video of some of their journey on Coach Josh Wood's YouTube...

Jack Donovan and C.B. Robertson discuss Donovan's latest project, a powerful 5-minute speech set to original music titled "Invocation of the Storm." Invocation of the Storm has been released on X and YouTube, as well as Spotify, iMusic and various sound-streaming platforms. You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/CD3btj2nyUw?si=MAzzdwgC1vv2Mv_Y Or listen to it on Spotify: https://open....

Jack Donovan and Christopher Robertson continue a discussion about the pros and cons of anthropomorphizing or personifying gods, and they are joined by Order of Fire member Ed Hamann -- who studied Vedic and Hindu material for many years in India -- to add some eastern perspectives to the discussion. Christopher Robertson is the author of The Hero and the Man, Holy Nihilism, Letter to Anwei and mo...

Jack Donovan and Christopher Robertson begin a discussion about the pros and cons of anthropomorphizing or personifying gods. Some of the most beautiful figurative art in the word depicts gods or religious themes. Other religions forbid the depiction of gods. Is it better to imagine a humanoid figure or to speak of gods and ideals in terms of broad concepts and natural phenomena? Topics, books, an...

Vic Verdier has been living an adventurous, nomadic life for decades. He's been to 76 countries and 46 of the United States. After years in the French navy, he became a scuba diving instructor in Tahiti, and has traveled the world teaching diving. He has done some of the world's deepest cave dives -- descending up to 700 ft. Today he teaches kettlebell, movement, and combatives courses, and coache...

Jack Donovan and C.B. Robertson continue their philosophical discussion about magic, exploring a rough taxonomy of magic, the power of symbols, and more. Topics, books, and links discussed include: Runes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Futhark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rune_poem https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Rune_poems The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors https://www.cosm.org/ L'Acephale https://...

Bronson Lee Norton is one of the original members of The Order of Fire, and he joined J ack Donovan to talk about living abroad in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand for the past year. Bronson's stories and insights from the trip are fascinating, from dealing with rabid monkeys and earthquakes to attending ancient rituals and meeting strange gurus. Bronson and Donovan discussed spirituality, rituals a...

Jack Donovan and C.B. Robertson discuss what Robertson calls "the myth of modernism" and the way in which it relies on "magic" or "sorcery." Sources Mentioned: - How to Do Things with Words by J.L. Austen - The Oresteia ("Eumenides" especially) by Aeschylus - Malleus Maleficarum ("The Hammer of the Witches") by Heinreich Kramer - The Alchemy of Finance by George Soros - Thus Spake Zarathustra by F...

A discussion about running as a spiritual pursuit. Jack Donovan is joined by C.B. Robertson and Bronson Lee Norton to talk about why more men should run, why they avoid distance running, and why running isn't about "running away" or "being chased." C.B. Robertson is the author of T he Hero and the Man , Holy Nihilism , Letter to Anwei and more. He writes for PH2T3R and his own blog, Caffeine and P...

Jack Donovan sits down with three members of The Order of Fire who have children to discuss fatherhood from a solar perspective.  Austin Kimball wrote a children's book titled Solar Son, which you can purchase through Amazon.com.  https://a.co/d/gzY6alU You can listen to the audio version on Instagram here. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjV11s3ARoZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Coach Jos...

Jack Donovan explores the concept of the serpent (or sorcerer?)Vṛtra from the Rig Veda with Order of Fire member, Ed, who has spent many years studying Sanskrit and Vedic texts in India and America. The Rig Veda is a collection of hymns from pre-Hindu India, but as we read through it, you'll see that it contains some of the most high-test language you'll find in ancient literature and what seems l...

An Essay from Jack Donovan on the conflict between the dragon of chaos, symbolizing non-differentiation and the void, and the solar, ordering forces of life and virility. Read the essay here: https://ph2t3r.com/2021/08/23/the-name-of-the-dragon-is-negation/