Rejected Religion Podcast

In Part 2, we jump back in with a more controversial topic, that of John Lamb Lash, and how his interpretation of the concept of Gnosticism has become intertwined with the Mandela Effect. We explore whether or not conspiracy theories are dangerous to society, but also note their more playful quality as we re-visit the old pranksters, the Discordians. We then move on to the topic of memory, how mem...

In Part 1, Aaron and I bring everyone up to speed on what the Mandela Effect (ME) is, where it comes from, and why it is an important area of research for the study of esotericism. We discuss examples of ME, found with book titles (Berenstein/Berenstain Bears), pop culture references (what did Darth Vader actually say to Luke Skywalker?), and how all of this affects our notions of reality and of o...

In Part 2, Christian discusses the influential Discordian trilogy of books called "Illuminatus!" and we make a little sidestep into discussion about how 'Bill and Ted' may or may not fit into the picture as we move throughout the 80s and 90s. We also talk about Discordianism's links to science fiction and fanzines, and Christian starts interviewing me at a certain point due to the topic of Furries...

In Part 1, Christian will go into the history of the concept of laughter found in American religion/spirituality, as well as talking about the term 'psychedelicism' and the ways that psychedelics were viewed with regard to spiritual growth. We then get into the Discordians, their history, their ideas about chaos and hoaxes, and how Lee Harvey Oswald fits into the picture. PROGRAM NOTES Academia.ed...

In Part 2, we jump right back into the 'dangerous' and terryifying aspects of contemplating 'the Other,' and this leads to discussing gateways that allow entitites to come through (does this account for accounts of high strangeness)? Thomas notes how Crowley's writings seem to contradict the notion that there is an 'Other,' as there is no duality in Crowley's thought. This leads into a brief discu...

Part 1 of our roundtable discussion starts out with trying to tackle some major philosophical questions, such as the nature of "the Other", and how we can view reality. We then delve into the Star Sapphire or Blue Star Ritual that was brought up in the Hellier documentary - what it is, why would it be important for the team, what it's possible purpose may be, etc., and end this first part with a d...

In preparation for next month's mini-roundtable discussion about' Hellier' and everything 'high strangeness', this episode will attempt to lay a foundation about the documentary 'Hellier,' the podcast 'Penny Royal,' and 'everything else' that seems to be connected to these phenomena - Secret Ciphers, magick rituals and gateways, the Mothman incident, Twin Peaks, and more.    RESOURCES 'Hellier' Se...

In this Bonus Episode, Pat and I deep-dive into the workings of the Celtic Wheel, that Pat refers to as "a companion on the pilgrimage of life." This discussion is not so much about rituals, but more about the spiritual concepts that Pat has gleaned from her experiences with Celtic Spirituality. Our informal exchange focuses on each season, and the special gifts that each month brings. EPISODE NOT...

This month's special episode concerning inner, personal experiences in Celtic Spirituality is an interview with my aunt, Dr. Patricia Shea. She is Professor Emeritus of Education, and holds an MA in Religious Studies. Currently, she is a life coach, faciliator, and spiritual director. Patricia was also a Catholic nun in the Order of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for many years. At this stage of...

In Part 2, Marco and I switch gears and talk about why Satan plays such a large role in heavy metal music by using Dr. Kennet Granholm's essay, "Why all that Satanist stuff in heavy metal?" We then shift the discussion to why some people think that occultism leads to fascist and Nazi ideologies with the help of Dr. Julian Strube's essay, "Doesn't occultism lead straight to fascism?" Lastly, we tal...

Dr. Marco Pasi and I discuss the book, Hermes Explains: Thirty Questions About Western Esotericism . This episode is a mini-history lesson that covers several different subjects. Marco begins by giving some background about Hermes, why esotericism is confusing to try to explain to people, and also why it's an important area of study. We then go on to talk about one of the essays by Dr. Henrik Bodg...

We start the episode with a short re-cap of the important concepts from Part 1. In this second part, Robert and I discuss how feedback loops work with the help of the film, The Sixth Sense . We also talk more about the difference between virtual reality and actual reality with the discussion of the concepts of re-enchantment and dis-enchantment. We also discuss how and why the Pepe the Frog meme w...

In Part 1, Robert discusses the origins of Hyperstition, and our old friend William Burroughs from Episode 3 joins us again, as Burroughs's ideas about Time and Control play an important role in this story. And, as with Burroughs, the use of magick to try to change reality is also important here, especially with regard to semiotics. Theosophy's theory about root races, Aleister Crowley, and Lovecr...

Part 2 of Tommy's interview continues with an in-depth look at the cut-up method, and why it's relevant to Burroughs's beliefs about the archons (and what these beings are). We also discuss Gnosticism and the links to Burroughs's ideas, how he viewed magic(k) and why Tommy personally finds Burroughs so interesting. Episode Notes: Tommy P. Cowan's academia.edu page: https://amsterdam.academia.edu/T...

In Part 1, Tommy will be delving into Burroughs's background in order to explain how Burroughs's experiences influenced his worldview and his writing. We also discuss some important research findings of Tommy's concerning the Mayan 2012 prophecy and the link to Burroughs, the importance of the alien insect overlords found in Burroughs's writings, and expand further on Burroughs's interest in the o...

In Part 2, we discuss in depth Thomas's own interesting findings regarding an important concept and stage of development in Crowley's system called 'the crossing of the Abyss.' We also talk about the various misunderstandings about Crowley, how he has influenced popular culture, and also why Thomas finds Crowley so appealing. References: Sources mentioned in the podcast by Aleister Crowley: The Bo...

In Part 1, Thomas and I will be discussing Crowley's background, his start in the magical group known as The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the concept of intiation, and Crowley's own magical system called Thelema.  References: Sources mentioned in the podcast by Aleister Crowley: The Book of the Law - http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html Magick (Book 4) -   https://hermetic.com/crowley...

This episode discusses what I mean by 'rejected', plus some important terms and concepts that will act as a foundation for the interviews to come. Reference material used in this episode: Wouter Hanegraaff, Western Estotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed Olav Hammer's chapter, "Esotericism in New Religious Movements," found in The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements Christopher Partridge's...