ESOTERICA en I'm Dr. Justin Sledge and welcome to Esoterica: Where we explore the arcane in history, philosophy, and religion. This channel produces content relating to topics such as alchemy, magic, Kabbalah, mysticism, hermetic philosophy, theosophy, the occult and more using the best academic scholarship currently available. Support Esoterica with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel New to Esotericism? Checkout out my Study Guide - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing Interested in Rare, Occult Books? Check out our bookstore - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/ Merch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/store Contact Esoterica - https://www.justinsledge.com/contact About Dr. Justin Sledge: https://www.justinsledge.com/ https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/912ea824-4586-11f1-b8cd-37adc0dc8504/image/0cda5ecc782a2faaa8272379da9a7e0c.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress ESOTERICA no episodic ESOTERICA I'm Dr. Justin Sledge and welcome to Esoterica: Where we explore the arcane in history, philosophy, and religion. This channel produces content relating to topics such as alchemy, magic, Kabbalah, mysticism, hermetic philosophy, theosophy, the occult and more using the best academic scholarship currently available. Support Esoterica with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel New to Esotericism? Checkout out my Study Guide - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing Interested in Rare, Occult Books? Check out our bookstore - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/ Merch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/store Contact Esoterica - https://www.justinsledge.com/contact About Dr. Justin Sledge: https://www.justinsledge.com/ ESOTERICA wauntedlabrador7777@gmail.com Alchemy - Where to Begin - Introduction to the Summa Perfectionis (Sum of Perfection) Pseudo-Geber Alchemy is one of the most difficult fields of study in Western Esotericism for a host of reasons: texts are often in ancient languages, practically encoded, full of arcane symbolism and obscure instructions. One of the most daunting tasks is even where to begin. There are thousands of alchemical texts spread over 1500 years - which is the best starting point if you want to study alchemy? In this episode of Esoterica, we argue that the Summa Perfectionis (c. 1310) is the best answer. We explore the question of the text's authorship, transmission, composition, alchemical theory of substance, change, and, of course, metallic transmutation.Recommended ReadingsNewman - The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Study - 978-9004094642 (ILL this one)Summa Perfectionis (Latin Reprint of 1542 edition) - 978-0282332815 - read online - https://archive.org/details/geberisphilosoph00gebe/mode/2upWorks of Geber (including the Summa Perfectionis) (English translation of 1678 reprinted in 1928) 978-1162568676 - read online - https://archive.org/details/WorksOfGeber/mode/2upOther Readings:Linden, Stanton J. (ed.) The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. 978-0521796620. Nicely edited collection of alchemical primary texts.Principe, Lawrence. The Secrets of Alchemy. 978-0226103792. An up-to-date history of alchemy.Newman, William. Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire" 978-0691174877. Cutting edge research on alchemy in the 17th century. Roob, Alexander(ed.) Alchemy & Mysticism. 978-3836549363. A collection of alchemical imagery and symbolism, also a nice coffee table book!Spiritual / Psychology School of Interpretation Atwood, Mary Anne. A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery….(many re-print editions). The first text to introduce the ‘spiritual interpretation” of alchemy.Eliade, Mircea. The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structure of Alchemy. 978-0226203904. Religious-philosophical interpretation of alchemy.von Franz, Marie-Louise. Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology. 978-0919123045. An introduction to the Jungian psychological interpretation of alchemy.#alchemy #geber #hermeticism #occult #chemistry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:17:30 -0000 full ESOTERICA Alchemy is one of the most difficult fields of study in Western Esotericism for a host of reasons: texts are often in ancient languages, practically encoded, full of arcane symbolism and obscure instructions. One of the most daunting tasks is even where to begin. There are thousands of alchemical texts spread over 1500 years - which is the best starting point if you want to study alchemy? In this episode of Esoterica, we argue that the Summa Perfectionis (c. 1310) is the best answer. We explore the question of the text's authorship, transmission, composition, alchemical theory of substance, change, and, of course, metallic transmutation.Recommended ReadingsNewman - The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Study - 978-9004094642 (ILL this one)Summa Perfectionis (Latin Reprint of 1542 edition) - 978-0282332815 - read online - https://archive.org/details/geberisphilosoph00gebe/mode/2upWorks of Geber (including the Summa Perfectionis) (English translation of 1678 reprinted in 1928) 978-1162568676 - read online - https://archive.org/details/WorksOfGeber/mode/2upOther Readings:Linden, Stanton J. (ed.) The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. 978-0521796620. Nicely edited collection of alchemical primary texts.Principe, Lawrence. The Secrets of Alchemy. 978-0226103792. An up-to-date history of alchemy.Newman, William. Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire" 978-0691174877. Cutting edge research on alchemy in the 17th century. Roob, Alexander(ed.) Alchemy & Mysticism. 978-3836549363. A collection of alchemical imagery and symbolism, also a nice coffee table book!Spiritual / Psychology School of Interpretation Atwood, Mary Anne. A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery….(many re-print editions). The first text to introduce the ‘spiritual interpretation” of alchemy.Eliade, Mircea. The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structure of Alchemy. 978-0226203904. Religious-philosophical interpretation of alchemy.von Franz, Marie-Louise. Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology. 978-0919123045. An introduction to the Jungian psychological interpretation of alchemy.#alchemy #geber #hermeticism #occult #chemistry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Alchemy is one of the most difficult fields of study in Western Esotericism for a host of reasons: texts are often in ancient languages, practically encoded, full of arcane symbolism and obscure instructions. One of the most daunting tasks is even where to begin. There are thousands of alchemical texts spread over 1500 years - which is the best starting point if you want to study alchemy? In this episode of Esoterica, we argue that the Summa Perfectionis (c. 1310) is the best answer. We explore the question of the text's authorship, transmission, composition, alchemical theory of substance, change, and, of course, metallic transmutation.

Recommended Readings

Newman - The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Study - 978-9004094642 (ILL this one)

Summa Perfectionis (Latin Reprint of 1542 edition) - 978-0282332815 - read online - https://archive.org/details/geberisphilosoph00gebe/mode/2up

Works of Geber (including the Summa Perfectionis) (English translation of 1678 reprinted in 1928) 978-1162568676 - read online - https://archive.org/details/WorksOfGeber/mode/2up

Other Readings:

Linden, Stanton J. (ed.) The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. 978-0521796620. Nicely edited collection of alchemical primary texts.
Principe, Lawrence. The Secrets of Alchemy. 978-0226103792. An up-to-date history of alchemy.
Newman, William. Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire" 978-0691174877. Cutting edge research on alchemy in the 17th century.
Roob, Alexander(ed.) Alchemy & Mysticism. 978-3836549363. A collection of alchemical imagery and symbolism, also a nice coffee table book!

Spiritual / Psychology School of Interpretation

Atwood, Mary Anne. A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery….(many re-print editions). The first text to introduce the ‘spiritual interpretation” of alchemy.
Eliade, Mircea. The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structure of Alchemy. 978-0226203904. Religious-philosophical interpretation of alchemy.
von Franz, Marie-Louise. Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology. 978-0919123045. An introduction to the Jungian psychological interpretation of alchemy.

#alchemy #geber #hermeticism #occult #chemistry

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3417 no Who was Asherah - Wife of Yahweh? Did Yahweh have a Wife? Asherah is an goddess and cultic object well, though mysteriously, attested in the Hebrew Bible - but what do we really know about Asherah? Let's explore the the history of this goddess: divine matriarch, consort and power behind the throne. From ancient Babylon, the Hittite Empire, the Canaanites, the Hebrew Bible and South Arabian texts let's see what we can learn about this goddess. Do recently discovered inscriptions even indicate that she was the lost or even suppressed Wife of Yahweh? And, how does the Kabbalah restore Asherah as the Divine Feminine? Let's explore the history and mythology of Asherah.Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Did God Have a Wife? - https://amzn.to/4oweMOeA Reassessment of Asherah - https://amzn.to/3Lpy3CbThe Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah - https://amzn.to/47rcM3G Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 23:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Did Yahweh have a Wife? Asherah is an goddess and cultic object well, though mysteriously, attested in the Hebrew Bible - but what do we really know about Asherah? Let's explore the the history of this goddess: divine matriarch, consort and power behind the throne. From ancient Babylon, the Hittite Empire, the Canaanites, the Hebrew Bible and South Arabian texts let's see what we can learn about this goddess. Do recently discovered inscriptions even indicate that she was the lost or even suppressed Wife of Yahweh? And, how does the Kabbalah restore Asherah as the Divine Feminine? Let's explore the history and mythology of Asherah.Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Did God Have a Wife? - https://amzn.to/4oweMOeA Reassessment of Asherah - https://amzn.to/3Lpy3CbThe Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah - https://amzn.to/47rcM3G Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Did Yahweh have a Wife? Asherah is an goddess and cultic object well, though mysteriously, attested in the Hebrew Bible - but what do we really know about Asherah? Let's explore the the history of this goddess: divine matriarch, consort and power behind the throne. From ancient Babylon, the Hittite Empire, the Canaanites, the Hebrew Bible and South Arabian texts let's see what we can learn about this goddess. Do recently discovered inscriptions even indicate that she was the lost or even suppressed Wife of Yahweh? And, how does the Kabbalah restore Asherah as the Divine Feminine? Let's explore the history and mythology of Asherah.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Recommended Readings:

Did God Have a Wife? - https://amzn.to/4oweMOe
A Reassessment of Asherah - https://amzn.to/3Lpy3Cb
The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah - https://amzn.to/47rcM3G

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3099 no Greek Roman Egyptian Magic - Greek Magical Papyri - Books of Magic We explore the earliest collection of magical texts in the ancient world - The Greek Magical Papyri (PGM) and the Egyptian Demotic spells. The PGM is the greatest collection of ancient magic. Written on papyrus these collections of spells, incantations, evocations, represent the rich cross-pollination between various cultures, religious systems, and forms of magic and divination. From Egyptian, Roman, Jewish, Greek cultures and religions emerges an amazing religious and magical syncretism. This video introduces the PGM and discusses a collection of spells including: an invisibility lotion, the invocation of Helios, a rare example of lesbian love magic, a curse for your boss, magical athletic ability, protection from demons, an anger management spell and more. This video is part of a series on books of magic in history - subscribe for future videos!Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Betz - The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation - 978-0226044477Ankarloo and Clark - Witchcraft and Magic in Europe vol II - Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-0812217056Ogden - Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman World - 978-0195385205Waston - Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-1788312981Harris - Ancient Egyptian Magic - 978-1578635917#magic #egyptan #greek Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 23:20:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA We explore the earliest collection of magical texts in the ancient world - The Greek Magical Papyri (PGM) and the Egyptian Demotic spells. The PGM is the greatest collection of ancient magic. Written on papyrus these collections of spells, incantations, evocations, represent the rich cross-pollination between various cultures, religious systems, and forms of magic and divination. From Egyptian, Roman, Jewish, Greek cultures and religions emerges an amazing religious and magical syncretism. This video introduces the PGM and discusses a collection of spells including: an invisibility lotion, the invocation of Helios, a rare example of lesbian love magic, a curse for your boss, magical athletic ability, protection from demons, an anger management spell and more. This video is part of a series on books of magic in history - subscribe for future videos!Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Betz - The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation - 978-0226044477Ankarloo and Clark - Witchcraft and Magic in Europe vol II - Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-0812217056Ogden - Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman World - 978-0195385205Waston - Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-1788312981Harris - Ancient Egyptian Magic - 978-1578635917#magic #egyptan #greek Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices We explore the earliest collection of magical texts in the ancient world - The Greek Magical Papyri (PGM) and the Egyptian Demotic spells. The PGM is the greatest collection of ancient magic. Written on papyrus these collections of spells, incantations, evocations, represent the rich cross-pollination between various cultures, religious systems, and forms of magic and divination. From Egyptian, Roman, Jewish, Greek cultures and religions emerges an amazing religious and magical syncretism. This video introduces the PGM and discusses a collection of spells including: an invisibility lotion, the invocation of Helios, a rare example of lesbian love magic, a curse for your boss, magical athletic ability, protection from demons, an anger management spell and more. This video is part of a series on books of magic in history - subscribe for future videos!

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

Betz - The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation - 978-0226044477
Ankarloo and Clark - Witchcraft and Magic in Europe vol II - Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-0812217056
Ogden - Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman World - 978-0195385205
Waston - Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome - 978-1788312981
Harris - Ancient Egyptian Magic - 978-1578635917

#magic #egyptan #greek

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3195 no Corpus Hermeticum - Introduction to Hermes Trismegistus and Hermetic Philosophy The Corpus Hermeticum are the texts and teachings ascribed to the legendary Egyptian sage, priest, and philosopher Hermes Trismegistus. When translated and published by Ficino in 1471 these texts were heralded as the very source of pure, perennial wisdom. In the subsequent years, these ideas went on to have a massive impact upon what is now called western esotericism. Just what are these teaching? What is the history of the text? How did this pagan wisdom survive into modernity? In this episode of Esoterica we introduce the Corpus Hermeticum, Hermes Trismegistus & Hermetic Philosophy.Reccomended Reading:Dillion - The Middle Platonists: 80 B.C. to A.D. 220 - 978-0801483165Copenhaver - Hermetica - 978-0521425438Litwa - Hermetica II - 978-1107182530Salaman, van Oyen, Wharto, Mahe - The Way of Hermes - 978-0892811861van Bladel - The Arabic Hermes - 978-0195376135Fowden - The Egyptian Hermes - 978-0691024981Festugière - La révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste - 978-2251326740 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 22:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA The Corpus Hermeticum are the texts and teachings ascribed to the legendary Egyptian sage, priest, and philosopher Hermes Trismegistus. When translated and published by Ficino in 1471 these texts were heralded as the very source of pure, perennial wisdom. In the subsequent years, these ideas went on to have a massive impact upon what is now called western esotericism. Just what are these teaching? What is the history of the text? How did this pagan wisdom survive into modernity? In this episode of Esoterica we introduce the Corpus Hermeticum, Hermes Trismegistus & Hermetic Philosophy.Reccomended Reading:Dillion - The Middle Platonists: 80 B.C. to A.D. 220 - 978-0801483165Copenhaver - Hermetica - 978-0521425438Litwa - Hermetica II - 978-1107182530Salaman, van Oyen, Wharto, Mahe - The Way of Hermes - 978-0892811861van Bladel - The Arabic Hermes - 978-0195376135Fowden - The Egyptian Hermes - 978-0691024981Festugière - La révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste - 978-2251326740 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The Corpus Hermeticum are the texts and teachings ascribed to the legendary Egyptian sage, priest, and philosopher Hermes Trismegistus. When translated and published by Ficino in 1471 these texts were heralded as the very source of pure, perennial wisdom. In the subsequent years, these ideas went on to have a massive impact upon what is now called western esotericism. Just what are these teaching? What is the history of the text? How did this pagan wisdom survive into modernity? In this episode of Esoterica we introduce the Corpus Hermeticum, Hermes Trismegistus & Hermetic Philosophy.

Reccomended Reading:

Dillion - The Middle Platonists: 80 B.C. to A.D. 220 - 978-0801483165
Copenhaver - Hermetica - 978-0521425438
Litwa - Hermetica II - 978-1107182530
Salaman, van Oyen, Wharto, Mahe - The Way of Hermes - 978-0892811861
van Bladel - The Arabic Hermes - 978-0195376135
Fowden - The Egyptian Hermes - 978-0691024981
Festugière - La révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste - 978-2251326740

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1544 no Necromancy and Magic - The Munich Necromancer's Manual - CLM 849 - Actual Historical Grimoire of Sorcery The first in a series here at Esoterica exploring books of magic or grimoires. This episode takes a look at the Munich Necromancer's Manual: the spells inside (summoning a castle, a 'love' spell and a spell to find buried treasure), the author and their historical context, and more books are medieval magic.Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Richard Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - ISBN-13: 978-0271017518Richard Kieckhefer - Magic in the Middle Ages - ISBN-13: 978-1107431829Owen Davies - Grimoires: A History of Magic Books - ISBN-13: 978-0199590049Witchcraft and Magic in Europe - eds, Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark- Six VolumesMagic in History Series - Published by Penn State University Press (various texts and authors)#necromancy #magic #grimoire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 22:22:30 -0000 full ESOTERICA The first in a series here at Esoterica exploring books of magic or grimoires. This episode takes a look at the Munich Necromancer's Manual: the spells inside (summoning a castle, a 'love' spell and a spell to find buried treasure), the author and their historical context, and more books are medieval magic.Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Richard Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - ISBN-13: 978-0271017518Richard Kieckhefer - Magic in the Middle Ages - ISBN-13: 978-1107431829Owen Davies - Grimoires: A History of Magic Books - ISBN-13: 978-0199590049Witchcraft and Magic in Europe - eds, Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark- Six VolumesMagic in History Series - Published by Penn State University Press (various texts and authors)#necromancy #magic #grimoire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The first in a series here at Esoterica exploring books of magic or grimoires. This episode takes a look at the Munich Necromancer's Manual: the spells inside (summoning a castle, a 'love' spell and a spell to find buried treasure), the author and their historical context, and more books are medieval magic.

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

Richard Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - ISBN-13: 978-0271017518
Richard Kieckhefer - Magic in the Middle Ages - ISBN-13: 978-1107431829
Owen Davies - Grimoires: A History of Magic Books - ISBN-13: 978-0199590049
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe - eds, Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark
- Six Volumes
Magic in History Series - Published by Penn State University Press (various texts and authors)

#necromancy #magic #grimoire

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1569 no What is the Ring and Seal of Solomon - The Key to Magic? Solomon became universally recognized as a power sorcerer by the turn of the common era. But, where did he get his power? Many legends have grown up around the Ring and Seal of Solomon but what do our earliest sources reveal about this legendary magical ring? From books of magic, pilgrims' tales, Islamic lore and medieval necromancy let's explore the Ring and Seal of Solomon!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:The Long Life of Magical Objects: A Study in the Solomonic Tradition - https://amzn.to/47JhA4ZSolomonic Magic: Methodology, Texts, and Histories - https://amzn.to/4nEuyppSolomon the Esoteric King: From King to Magus, Development of a Tradition - https://amzn.to/48hGbxWThe Testament of Solomon online - http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/testamen.htmMccown Critical Edition - https://archive.org/details/cu31924028957400/mode/2up15th century Harley MS 5596 - http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_5596 Charlesworth - The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha - 978-1598564891Johnson - The Testament of Solomon: Recension C - 978-1907881947Demonological Spreadsheet of the Testament - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TLrUUNdQPv9ExCDJ6KE_aJVF7R1ErEavZNFHsA9tIrQ/edit#gid=1286187935 - Courtesy of Patrick M. DeyThe Magical Treatise of Solomon, or Hygromanteia - https://amzn.to/4ntcvSW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 21:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Solomon became universally recognized as a power sorcerer by the turn of the common era. But, where did he get his power? Many legends have grown up around the Ring and Seal of Solomon but what do our earliest sources reveal about this legendary magical ring? From books of magic, pilgrims' tales, Islamic lore and medieval necromancy let's explore the Ring and Seal of Solomon!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:The Long Life of Magical Objects: A Study in the Solomonic Tradition - https://amzn.to/47JhA4ZSolomonic Magic: Methodology, Texts, and Histories - https://amzn.to/4nEuyppSolomon the Esoteric King: From King to Magus, Development of a Tradition - https://amzn.to/48hGbxWThe Testament of Solomon online - http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/testamen.htmMccown Critical Edition - https://archive.org/details/cu31924028957400/mode/2up15th century Harley MS 5596 - http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_5596 Charlesworth - The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha - 978-1598564891Johnson - The Testament of Solomon: Recension C - 978-1907881947Demonological Spreadsheet of the Testament - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TLrUUNdQPv9ExCDJ6KE_aJVF7R1ErEavZNFHsA9tIrQ/edit#gid=1286187935 - Courtesy of Patrick M. DeyThe Magical Treatise of Solomon, or Hygromanteia - https://amzn.to/4ntcvSW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Solomon became universally recognized as a power sorcerer by the turn of the common era. But, where did he get his power? Many legends have grown up around the Ring and Seal of Solomon but what do our earliest sources reveal about this legendary magical ring? From books of magic, pilgrims' tales, Islamic lore and medieval necromancy let's explore the Ring and Seal of Solomon!

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Recommended Readings:

The Long Life of Magical Objects: A Study in the Solomonic Tradition - https://amzn.to/47JhA4Z
Solomonic Magic: Methodology, Texts, and Histories - https://amzn.to/4nEuypp
Solomon the Esoteric King: From King to Magus, Development of a Tradition - https://amzn.to/48hGbxW
The Testament of Solomon online - http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/testamen.htm
Mccown Critical Edition - https://archive.org/details/cu31924028957400/mode/2up
15th century Harley MS 5596 - http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_5596
Charlesworth - The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha - 978-1598564891
Johnson - The Testament of Solomon: Recension C - 978-1907881947
Demonological Spreadsheet of the Testament - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TLrUUNdQPv9ExCDJ6KE_aJVF7R1ErEavZNFHsA9tIrQ/edit#gid=1286187935 - Courtesy of Patrick M. Dey
The Magical Treatise of Solomon, or Hygromanteia - https://amzn.to/4ntcvSW

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2128 no Psychedelic Natural Magic - Potions from the 1558 Magiae Naturalis of Giambattista della Porta While psychoactive substances are a core component in many religious traditions, with the exception of alcohol, they are conspicuously missing from much of the western European context. Did and how did such substances play a role in religious, philosophy, mysticism, and magic? This episode explores what appears to be an early selection of mind-altering compounds found in the enormously popular 1558 Magiae Naturalis (On Natural Magic). of Giambattista della Porta. Here della Porta describes four such 'potions,' to use his language, which allegedly cause "pleasant madness for a day" and provide for a range of phenomenological effects from 'being silly' to 'thinking one an animal or fish." What role did "potions" like these play beyond recreation - such as the ubiquitous flying ointments of the middle ages? What does it mean for such "potions" to appear in a book on "natural magic"?Disclaimer and Plea: I've blurred out sections which contain specific ingredients, amounts, and processes for creating the 'potions' described by della Porta for reasons of safety. It is highly unadvised to attempt to recreate or ingest anything described in this text. I also know that early modern translations of this text exist and they are very easy to find. Please respect my wishes to not reproduce the description (in Latin, English, etc.) for how to make these 'potions' in the comments. I want encourage safety, responsible consumption of psychoactive substances, and harm reduction and without specialist vetting I can't reproduce these instructions in good conscious. Comments which violate this request will be deleted. Recommended Readings:Giambattista della Porta - 1558 - Magiae Naturalis (On Natural Magic) - https://books.google.com/books?id=R6vzpy4WQYMC&pg=PR5#v=onepage&q&f=false#magic #psychedelics #occultism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 21:25:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA While psychoactive substances are a core component in many religious traditions, with the exception of alcohol, they are conspicuously missing from much of the western European context. Did and how did such substances play a role in religious, philosophy, mysticism, and magic? This episode explores what appears to be an early selection of mind-altering compounds found in the enormously popular 1558 Magiae Naturalis (On Natural Magic). of Giambattista della Porta. Here della Porta describes four such 'potions,' to use his language, which allegedly cause "pleasant madness for a day" and provide for a range of phenomenological effects from 'being silly' to 'thinking one an animal or fish." What role did "potions" like these play beyond recreation - such as the ubiquitous flying ointments of the middle ages? What does it mean for such "potions" to appear in a book on "natural magic"?Disclaimer and Plea: I've blurred out sections which contain specific ingredients, amounts, and processes for creating the 'potions' described by della Porta for reasons of safety. It is highly unadvised to attempt to recreate or ingest anything described in this text. I also know that early modern translations of this text exist and they are very easy to find. Please respect my wishes to not reproduce the description (in Latin, English, etc.) for how to make these 'potions' in the comments. I want encourage safety, responsible consumption of psychoactive substances, and harm reduction and without specialist vetting I can't reproduce these instructions in good conscious. Comments which violate this request will be deleted. Recommended Readings:Giambattista della Porta - 1558 - Magiae Naturalis (On Natural Magic) - https://books.google.com/books?id=R6vzpy4WQYMC&pg=PR5#v=onepage&q&f=false#magic #psychedelics #occultism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices While psychoactive substances are a core component in many religious traditions, with the exception of alcohol, they are conspicuously missing from much of the western European context. Did and how did such substances play a role in religious, philosophy, mysticism, and magic? This episode explores what appears to be an early selection of mind-altering compounds found in the enormously popular 1558 Magiae Naturalis (On Natural Magic). of Giambattista della Porta. Here della Porta describes four such 'potions,' to use his language, which allegedly cause "pleasant madness for a day" and provide for a range of phenomenological effects from 'being silly' to 'thinking one an animal or fish." What role did "potions" like these play beyond recreation - such as the ubiquitous flying ointments of the middle ages? What does it mean for such "potions" to appear in a book on "natural magic"?

Disclaimer and Plea: I've blurred out sections which contain specific ingredients, amounts, and processes for creating the 'potions' described by della Porta for reasons of safety. It is highly unadvised to attempt to recreate or ingest anything described in this text. I also know that early modern translations of this text exist and they are very easy to find. Please respect my wishes to not reproduce the description (in Latin, English, etc.) for how to make these 'potions' in the comments. I want encourage safety, responsible consumption of psychoactive substances, and harm reduction and without specialist vetting I can't reproduce these instructions in good conscious. Comments which violate this request will be deleted.

Recommended Readings:

Giambattista della Porta - 1558 - Magiae Naturalis (On Natural Magic) - https://books.google.com/books?id=R6vzpy4WQYMC&pg=PR5#v=onepage&q&f=false

#magic #psychedelics #occultism

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 920 no Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 15 of 15 - The Twilight of the Merkavah Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah Mysticism

Hundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharing

Course Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3686 no The Evolution of Ghosts Ghosts have a history. Despite seeming like a timeless aspect of religion, metaphysics and culture, ghosts have evolved through time. From polemics with 'pagan' Romans, encounters with Germanic mythology and combat with Enlightenment Rationalism, Ghosts have greatly transformed through time. Let's explore the evolution of the western Ghost.Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies - https://amzn.to/437On0cGhosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society - https://amzn.to/3IX7pQ3Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middle Ages - https://amzn.to/4344vjh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:27:30 -0000 full ESOTERICA Ghosts have a history. Despite seeming like a timeless aspect of religion, metaphysics and culture, ghosts have evolved through time. From polemics with 'pagan' Romans, encounters with Germanic mythology and combat with Enlightenment Rationalism, Ghosts have greatly transformed through time. Let's explore the evolution of the western Ghost.Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies - https://amzn.to/437On0cGhosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society - https://amzn.to/3IX7pQ3Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middle Ages - https://amzn.to/4344vjh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Ghosts have a history. Despite seeming like a timeless aspect of religion, metaphysics and culture, ghosts have evolved through time. From polemics with 'pagan' Romans, encounters with Germanic mythology and combat with Enlightenment Rationalism, Ghosts have greatly transformed through time. Let's explore the evolution of the western Ghost.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Recommended Readings:

Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies - https://amzn.to/437On0c
Ghosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society - https://amzn.to/3IX7pQ3
Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middle Ages - https://amzn.to/4344vjh

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2991 no What is Theurgy? Proclus and Pagan Liberation Precious little on pagan theories of salvation survive from the ancient world. However, Proclus' On the Hieratic Art According to the Greeks is an amazingly brief and yet profound introduction to salvation through Theurgy or God-Doing. In this text, we learn of the four-stage process by which one achieves magical powers and immortalization through various forms of theurgy. From recognizing the world as part of the divine flowing out, incantations, divine epiphanies, occult passcodes, animating cultic statues, and conjunctions with the Divine. Surviving in just one manuscript exemplar and first printed in 1497 - both in Ficino's hand and translation - Proclus On the Hieratic Art is one of the most important testimonies to the synthesis of Pagan philosophy and religious ritual!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Proclus' On the Hieratic Art according to the Greeks: Critical Edition with Translation and Commentary - https://amzn.to/4tideKm-The Thomas Taylor translation is also perfectly fine - listen to it read by @TheModernHermeticist here - https://youtu.be/LXycfJBopWU?si=VNGAqhYbUOxXojWXThe Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary - https://amzn.to/4rhrt0NAll From One: A Guide to Proclus - https://amzn.to/4cgidF8Proclus: An Introduction - https://amzn.to/3O4JTTu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Precious little on pagan theories of salvation survive from the ancient world. However, Proclus' On the Hieratic Art According to the Greeks is an amazingly brief and yet profound introduction to salvation through Theurgy or God-Doing. In this text, we learn of the four-stage process by which one achieves magical powers and immortalization through various forms of theurgy. From recognizing the world as part of the divine flowing out, incantations, divine epiphanies, occult passcodes, animating cultic statues, and conjunctions with the Divine. Surviving in just one manuscript exemplar and first printed in 1497 - both in Ficino's hand and translation - Proclus On the Hieratic Art is one of the most important testimonies to the synthesis of Pagan philosophy and religious ritual!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Proclus' On the Hieratic Art according to the Greeks: Critical Edition with Translation and Commentary - https://amzn.to/4tideKm-The Thomas Taylor translation is also perfectly fine - listen to it read by @TheModernHermeticist here - https://youtu.be/LXycfJBopWU?si=VNGAqhYbUOxXojWXThe Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary - https://amzn.to/4rhrt0NAll From One: A Guide to Proclus - https://amzn.to/4cgidF8Proclus: An Introduction - https://amzn.to/3O4JTTu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Precious little on pagan theories of salvation survive from the ancient world. However, Proclus' On the Hieratic Art According to the Greeks is an amazingly brief and yet profound introduction to salvation through Theurgy or God-Doing. In this text, we learn of the four-stage process by which one achieves magical powers and immortalization through various forms of theurgy. From recognizing the world as part of the divine flowing out, incantations, divine epiphanies, occult passcodes, animating cultic statues, and conjunctions with the Divine. Surviving in just one manuscript exemplar and first printed in 1497 - both in Ficino's hand and translation - Proclus On the Hieratic Art is one of the most important testimonies to the synthesis of Pagan philosophy and religious ritual!

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Recommended Readings:

Proclus' On the Hieratic Art according to the Greeks: Critical Edition with Translation and Commentary - https://amzn.to/4tideKm
-The Thomas Taylor translation is also perfectly fine - listen to it read by @TheModernHermeticist here - https://youtu.be/LXycfJBopWU?si=VNGAqhYbUOxXojWX

The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary - https://amzn.to/4rhrt0N

All From One: A Guide to Proclus - https://amzn.to/4cgidF8

Proclus: An Introduction - https://amzn.to/3O4JTTu

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3239 no Magical Symbols - History of Sigils Angelic Alphabets and Symbols of Power This video traces the origin and development of magical symbols from late-classical Egypt through their development into Western European Magic. These characters likely began as debased hieroglyphics and would eventually develop into unique symbols of power, the seals and sigils in angelic and demonic mage, and form the basis for angelic script / alphabets. This video is a part of a series on magical and occult symbolism so make to subscribe if that interests you!Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Richard Gordon's article - https://www.academia.edu/13925134/Charakteres_between_Antiquity_and_Renaissance_Transmission_and_Re-inventionDon Skemer - Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages - 978-0271027234#magic #sigil #seal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA This video traces the origin and development of magical symbols from late-classical Egypt through their development into Western European Magic. These characters likely began as debased hieroglyphics and would eventually develop into unique symbols of power, the seals and sigils in angelic and demonic mage, and form the basis for angelic script / alphabets. This video is a part of a series on magical and occult symbolism so make to subscribe if that interests you!Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Richard Gordon's article - https://www.academia.edu/13925134/Charakteres_between_Antiquity_and_Renaissance_Transmission_and_Re-inventionDon Skemer - Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages - 978-0271027234#magic #sigil #seal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This video traces the origin and development of magical symbols from late-classical Egypt through their development into Western European Magic. These characters likely began as debased hieroglyphics and would eventually develop into unique symbols of power, the seals and sigils in angelic and demonic mage, and form the basis for angelic script / alphabets. This video is a part of a series on magical and occult symbolism so make to subscribe if that interests you!

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

Richard Gordon's article - https://www.academia.edu/13925134/Charakteres_between_Antiquity_and_Renaissance_Transmission_and_Re-invention
Don Skemer - Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages - 978-0271027234

#magic #sigil #seal

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1456 no The Mystical Dreams of Descartes - Exploring the Origins of Rationalism and Modernity In this episode we explore the non-rational origins of rationalism by investigating a series of dreams had by Rene Descartes - thought to have founded rationalism and modern philosophy - on the night of November 10/11, 1619. Early in his career Descartes, like many intellectuals of his day, was searching for new intellectual and scientific foundations as the worldview provided by Aristotle had become moribund. In this search, Descartes explores many avenues for the truth from strict logic to mystical Rosicrucianism. In this context, he experiences a profound fit of 'enthusiasm' and has a series of three dreams which ground and propel his own foundationalist project. This episode explores how the origins of rationalism and modernity are simply more esoteric, even mystical, than we typically learn in intellectual history or philosophy classes.Recommended Readings:Adrien Baillet - La vie de Monsieur Descartes - https://archive.org/download/bub_gb_RhNEAAAAcAAJ/bub_gb_RhNEAAAAcAAJ.pdfJohn Cottingham - The Philosophical Writings of Descartes in 3 vols.Alice Browne - Descartes's Dreams - https://www.jstor.org/stable/750999Michael Keevak - Descartes's Dreams and Their Address for Philosophy - https://www.jstor.org/stable/2709883William Shea - Descartes and the Rosicrucian Enlightenment - Metaphysics and Philosophy of Science in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Pages 73-99Frances A. Yates - The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, pgs 113 et passim#descartes #philosophy #rationalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA In this episode we explore the non-rational origins of rationalism by investigating a series of dreams had by Rene Descartes - thought to have founded rationalism and modern philosophy - on the night of November 10/11, 1619. Early in his career Descartes, like many intellectuals of his day, was searching for new intellectual and scientific foundations as the worldview provided by Aristotle had become moribund. In this search, Descartes explores many avenues for the truth from strict logic to mystical Rosicrucianism. In this context, he experiences a profound fit of 'enthusiasm' and has a series of three dreams which ground and propel his own foundationalist project. This episode explores how the origins of rationalism and modernity are simply more esoteric, even mystical, than we typically learn in intellectual history or philosophy classes.Recommended Readings:Adrien Baillet - La vie de Monsieur Descartes - https://archive.org/download/bub_gb_RhNEAAAAcAAJ/bub_gb_RhNEAAAAcAAJ.pdfJohn Cottingham - The Philosophical Writings of Descartes in 3 vols.Alice Browne - Descartes's Dreams - https://www.jstor.org/stable/750999Michael Keevak - Descartes's Dreams and Their Address for Philosophy - https://www.jstor.org/stable/2709883William Shea - Descartes and the Rosicrucian Enlightenment - Metaphysics and Philosophy of Science in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Pages 73-99Frances A. Yates - The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, pgs 113 et passim#descartes #philosophy #rationalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices In this episode we explore the non-rational origins of rationalism by investigating a series of dreams had by Rene Descartes - thought to have founded rationalism and modern philosophy - on the night of November 10/11, 1619. Early in his career Descartes, like many intellectuals of his day, was searching for new intellectual and scientific foundations as the worldview provided by Aristotle had become moribund. In this search, Descartes explores many avenues for the truth from strict logic to mystical Rosicrucianism. In this context, he experiences a profound fit of 'enthusiasm' and has a series of three dreams which ground and propel his own foundationalist project. This episode explores how the origins of rationalism and modernity are simply more esoteric, even mystical, than we typically learn in intellectual history or philosophy classes.

Recommended Readings:

Adrien Baillet - La vie de Monsieur Descartes - https://archive.org/download/bub_gb_RhNEAAAAcAAJ/bub_gb_RhNEAAAAcAAJ.pdf
John Cottingham - The Philosophical Writings of Descartes in 3 vols.
Alice Browne - Descartes's Dreams - https://www.jstor.org/stable/750999
Michael Keevak
- Descartes's Dreams and Their Address for Philosophy - https://www.jstor.org/stable/2709883
William Shea - Descartes and the Rosicrucian Enlightenment - Metaphysics and Philosophy of Science in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Pages 73-99
Frances A. Yates - The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, pgs 113 et passim

#descartes #philosophy #rationalism

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2702 no John Dee - The Monas Heiroglyphica - Part III - Metaphysical Power and Symbolism In our final installment of our series on John Dee's famous 1564 Monas Hieroglyphica or the Hieroglyphic Monad we explore how metaphysical power and symbolism are fused in the glyph itself. By locating Dee's thinking in the realist trajectory of Medieval, Renaissance and Hermetic philosophy, we hope to reveal how Dee fused both semiotics (the study of symbols and representation) with ontology (the study of being itself) in a grand effort to both correct all knowledge but also reform reality itself - what Dee calls "The Cabala of What is" or the "Cabala of Reality." This episode also explore how Dee continued this project even during the famous angelic conversations.Episode I - https://youtu.be/2meS9-YGYhUEpisode II - https://youtu.be/lEwK1dmco3IThese episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9iShqG1gJavUXVKVnk2d1UzQVE/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA In our final installment of our series on John Dee's famous 1564 Monas Hieroglyphica or the Hieroglyphic Monad we explore how metaphysical power and symbolism are fused in the glyph itself. By locating Dee's thinking in the realist trajectory of Medieval, Renaissance and Hermetic philosophy, we hope to reveal how Dee fused both semiotics (the study of symbols and representation) with ontology (the study of being itself) in a grand effort to both correct all knowledge but also reform reality itself - what Dee calls "The Cabala of What is" or the "Cabala of Reality." This episode also explore how Dee continued this project even during the famous angelic conversations.Episode I - https://youtu.be/2meS9-YGYhUEpisode II - https://youtu.be/lEwK1dmco3IThese episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9iShqG1gJavUXVKVnk2d1UzQVE/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices In our final installment of our series on John Dee's famous 1564 Monas Hieroglyphica or the Hieroglyphic Monad we explore how metaphysical power and symbolism are fused in the glyph itself. By locating Dee's thinking in the realist trajectory of Medieval, Renaissance and Hermetic philosophy, we hope to reveal how Dee fused both semiotics (the study of symbols and representation) with ontology (the study of being itself) in a grand effort to both correct all knowledge but also reform reality itself - what Dee calls "The Cabala of What is" or the "Cabala of Reality." This episode also explore how Dee continued this project even during the famous angelic conversations.

Episode I - https://youtu.be/2meS9-YGYhU
Episode II - https://youtu.be/lEwK1dmco3I

These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.

You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9iShqG1gJavUXVKVnk2d1UzQVE/view?usp=sharing

Standard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221

#dee #enochian #monas

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1807 no The Philosophy of Witchcraft The apex of the Witch Trials coincided with the emergence of Modern Philosophy. But, what did these new philosophers think about Witches, Witchcraft, Demonology and the trials raging around them? From Agrippa, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza and beyond, let's explore how the major philosophers of early modernity reasoned about the realm of the supernatural and witchcraft. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Levack - The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europehttps://amzn.to/3xqE1vrLevack - The Witchcraft Sourcebookhttps://amzn.to/3xn6B0MPeters - Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary Historyhttps://amzn.to/4aP0LUCMackay - The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarumhttps://amzn.to/4cRfIHyClark - Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europehttps://amzn.to/4cS3JtkHutton - The Witch https://amzn.to/43TnyML Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA The apex of the Witch Trials coincided with the emergence of Modern Philosophy. But, what did these new philosophers think about Witches, Witchcraft, Demonology and the trials raging around them? From Agrippa, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza and beyond, let's explore how the major philosophers of early modernity reasoned about the realm of the supernatural and witchcraft. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Levack - The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europehttps://amzn.to/3xqE1vrLevack - The Witchcraft Sourcebookhttps://amzn.to/3xn6B0MPeters - Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary Historyhttps://amzn.to/4aP0LUCMackay - The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarumhttps://amzn.to/4cRfIHyClark - Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europehttps://amzn.to/4cS3JtkHutton - The Witch https://amzn.to/43TnyML Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The apex of the Witch Trials coincided with the emergence of Modern Philosophy. But, what did these new philosophers think about Witches, Witchcraft, Demonology and the trials raging around them? From Agrippa, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza and beyond, let's explore how the major philosophers of early modernity reasoned about the realm of the supernatural and witchcraft.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Recommended Readings:

Levack - The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe
https://amzn.to/3xqE1vr

Levack - The Witchcraft Sourcebook
https://amzn.to/3xn6B0M

Peters - Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History
https://amzn.to/4aP0LUC

Mackay - The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarum
https://amzn.to/4cRfIHy

Clark - Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
https://amzn.to/4cS3Jtk

Hutton - The Witch
https://amzn.to/43TnyML

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3720 no Esoterica Channel Promo I'm Dr. Justin Sledge and welcome to Esoterica where we explore the arcane side of history, philosophy and religion. Support Esoterica: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelWhat is that arcane side? We focus on concepts in what can broadly be called esotericism including: magic, mysticism, alchemy, hermetic philosophy, theosophy, gnosticism, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA I'm Dr. Justin Sledge and welcome to Esoterica where we explore the arcane side of history, philosophy and religion. Support Esoterica: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelWhat is that arcane side? We focus on concepts in what can broadly be called esotericism including: magic, mysticism, alchemy, hermetic philosophy, theosophy, gnosticism, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices I'm Dr. Justin Sledge and welcome to Esoterica where we explore the arcane side of history, philosophy and religion.

Support Esoterica: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

What is that arcane side? We focus on concepts in what can broadly be called esotericism including: magic, mysticism, alchemy, hermetic philosophy, theosophy, gnosticism, and more

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 227 no Win a 1300 Year Old Incantation Bowl Fragment - Novel Occult Book Catalog! Win an authentic piece of magical history: a 1300 year old Incantation Bowl Fragment and learn about our new antiquarian occult book catalog!Check out the catalog here: https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Win an authentic piece of magical history: a 1300 year old Incantation Bowl Fragment and learn about our new antiquarian occult book catalog!Check out the catalog here: https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Win an authentic piece of magical history: a 1300 year old Incantation Bowl Fragment and learn about our new antiquarian occult book catalog!

Check out the catalog here: https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 605 no John Dee - The Monas Hieroglyphica - Part II - Alchemy and Cabala This is the second episode exploring Dr. John Dee's famous 1564 Monas Hieroglyphica. In this episode we continue our discussion of Dee's Semiotic-Ontology (his link of Representation with Being) by exploring his early theories of alchemy and Cabala. Dee was a maverick in both fields. In alchemy, Dee sought to pursue the "Mercury Alone" theory while maintaining a relationship with traditional alchemy and introducing novel Paracelsian elements. In the field of Cabala, Dee employs traditional Jewish techniques for the manipulation of the Hebrew language to transform the Monad itself. When Dee combines the talismanic, alchemical, and cabalistic he will seek a "Cabala of Being" which will reform reality itself - the topic of the third episode.These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9iShqG1gJavUXVKVnk2d1UzQVE/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA This is the second episode exploring Dr. John Dee's famous 1564 Monas Hieroglyphica. In this episode we continue our discussion of Dee's Semiotic-Ontology (his link of Representation with Being) by exploring his early theories of alchemy and Cabala. Dee was a maverick in both fields. In alchemy, Dee sought to pursue the "Mercury Alone" theory while maintaining a relationship with traditional alchemy and introducing novel Paracelsian elements. In the field of Cabala, Dee employs traditional Jewish techniques for the manipulation of the Hebrew language to transform the Monad itself. When Dee combines the talismanic, alchemical, and cabalistic he will seek a "Cabala of Being" which will reform reality itself - the topic of the third episode.These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9iShqG1gJavUXVKVnk2d1UzQVE/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This is the second episode exploring Dr. John Dee's famous 1564 Monas Hieroglyphica. In this episode we continue our discussion of Dee's Semiotic-Ontology (his link of Representation with Being) by exploring his early theories of alchemy and Cabala. Dee was a maverick in both fields. In alchemy, Dee sought to pursue the "Mercury Alone" theory while maintaining a relationship with traditional alchemy and introducing novel Paracelsian elements. In the field of Cabala, Dee employs traditional Jewish techniques for the manipulation of the Hebrew language to transform the Monad itself. When Dee combines the talismanic, alchemical, and cabalistic he will seek a "Cabala of Being" which will reform reality itself - the topic of the third episode.

These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.

You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9iShqG1gJavUXVKVnk2d1UzQVE/view?usp=sharing

Standard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221

I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.

#dee #enochian #monas

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2404 no Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 12 of 15 - Goals of the Merkavah Mysticism Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah Mysticism

Hundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharing

Course Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4639 no How Medieval Incantations Worked Magical and medicine have long shared a contested border. However, with the introduction of learned medicine into Europe, magical incantations were increasingly sidelined for Galenic principles and practice. However, Urso of Salerno (d. c. 1220) rejected both Church skepticism and Galenic orthodoxy by incorporating Incantations into his medical practice. In his Aphorisms Urso provides one of the most sophisticated theories for the function and application of magical Incantations. Let's explore how medieval incantations worked!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Reading:Van der Lugt - The Learned Physician as a Charismatic HealerBulletin of the History of MedicineVol. 87, No. 3 (Fall 2013), pp. 307-346 (40 pages)https://www.jstor.org/stable/26305934 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 10:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Magical and medicine have long shared a contested border. However, with the introduction of learned medicine into Europe, magical incantations were increasingly sidelined for Galenic principles and practice. However, Urso of Salerno (d. c. 1220) rejected both Church skepticism and Galenic orthodoxy by incorporating Incantations into his medical practice. In his Aphorisms Urso provides one of the most sophisticated theories for the function and application of magical Incantations. Let's explore how medieval incantations worked!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Reading:Van der Lugt - The Learned Physician as a Charismatic HealerBulletin of the History of MedicineVol. 87, No. 3 (Fall 2013), pp. 307-346 (40 pages)https://www.jstor.org/stable/26305934 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Magical and medicine have long shared a contested border. However, with the introduction of learned medicine into Europe, magical incantations were increasingly sidelined for Galenic principles and practice. However, Urso of Salerno (d. c. 1220) rejected both Church skepticism and Galenic orthodoxy by incorporating Incantations into his medical practice. In his Aphorisms Urso provides one of the most sophisticated theories for the function and application of magical Incantations. Let's explore how medieval incantations worked!

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/


Recommended Reading:
Van der Lugt - The Learned Physician as a Charismatic Healer
Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Vol. 87, No. 3 (Fall 2013), pp. 307-346 (40 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26305934

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2130 no How did Magical Mirrors work? The Necromantic Mirror of Floron Enchanted Mirrors are one of the quintessential objects in the history of magic. But, how were historical mirrors of magic made? What did they do? And, how did they work? Let's explore the history of magical mirrors by turning to perhaps the most famous such mirror of the Middle Ages: The Necromantic Mirror of Floron. Here we find a mirror that will summon a spirit that will answer questions about the past, present and future but only following complex rituals. Recommended Readings:Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - https://amzn.to/3KNmtQOPage - Spellbound: Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft - https://amzn.to/4o0766aForeman - The Cambridge Book of Magic - https://amzn.to/4h9TD9L Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Enchanted Mirrors are one of the quintessential objects in the history of magic. But, how were historical mirrors of magic made? What did they do? And, how did they work? Let's explore the history of magical mirrors by turning to perhaps the most famous such mirror of the Middle Ages: The Necromantic Mirror of Floron. Here we find a mirror that will summon a spirit that will answer questions about the past, present and future but only following complex rituals. Recommended Readings:Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - https://amzn.to/3KNmtQOPage - Spellbound: Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft - https://amzn.to/4o0766aForeman - The Cambridge Book of Magic - https://amzn.to/4h9TD9L Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Enchanted Mirrors are one of the quintessential objects in the history of magic. But, how were historical mirrors of magic made? What did they do? And, how did they work? Let's explore the history of magical mirrors by turning to perhaps the most famous such mirror of the Middle Ages: The Necromantic Mirror of Floron. Here we find a mirror that will summon a spirit that will answer questions about the past, present and future but only following complex rituals.

Recommended Readings:

Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - https://amzn.to/3KNmtQO
Page - Spellbound: Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft - https://amzn.to/4o0766a
Foreman - The Cambridge Book of Magic - https://amzn.to/4h9TD9L

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1893 no Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 13 of 15 - The Sar Torah and Sh’iur Komah Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah Mysticism

Hundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharing

Course Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4796 no The Witch Trials and the Rise of Modernity and Capitalism - Sylvia Federici - Caliban and the Witch In this episode of Esoterica we explore Sylvia Federici's thesis that the witch trials, rather than being a peripheral event in European history, were pivotal in the transition to capitalism and modernity. She argues that the social instability of the middle ages was tipped into social chaos with the advent of the Black Death. In the aftermath, ruling powers sought to suppress workers' uprisings, women's autonomy, and peasant rebellions. The witch hunts served this task and beta-tested, so to speak, the social and legal procedures which would later be unleashed upon the indigenous people of the new world and African slaves.Recommended Readings:Federici - Caliban and the Witch - 978-1570270598Federici - Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women - 978-1629635682Levack - The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe - 978-1138808102Levack, ed. - The Witchcraft Sourcebook - 978-1138774971Levack, ed. - The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America - 978-0198723639Peters and Kors, ed. - Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700 - 978-0812217513#federici #witches #trials Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 07:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA In this episode of Esoterica we explore Sylvia Federici's thesis that the witch trials, rather than being a peripheral event in European history, were pivotal in the transition to capitalism and modernity. She argues that the social instability of the middle ages was tipped into social chaos with the advent of the Black Death. In the aftermath, ruling powers sought to suppress workers' uprisings, women's autonomy, and peasant rebellions. The witch hunts served this task and beta-tested, so to speak, the social and legal procedures which would later be unleashed upon the indigenous people of the new world and African slaves.Recommended Readings:Federici - Caliban and the Witch - 978-1570270598Federici - Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women - 978-1629635682Levack - The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe - 978-1138808102Levack, ed. - The Witchcraft Sourcebook - 978-1138774971Levack, ed. - The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America - 978-0198723639Peters and Kors, ed. - Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700 - 978-0812217513#federici #witches #trials Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices In this episode of Esoterica we explore Sylvia Federici's thesis that the witch trials, rather than being a peripheral event in European history, were pivotal in the transition to capitalism and modernity. She argues that the social instability of the middle ages was tipped into social chaos with the advent of the Black Death. In the aftermath, ruling powers sought to suppress workers' uprisings, women's autonomy, and peasant rebellions. The witch hunts served this task and beta-tested, so to speak, the social and legal procedures which would later be unleashed upon the indigenous people of the new world and African slaves.

Recommended Readings:

Federici - Caliban and the Witch - 978-1570270598
Federici - Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women - 978-1629635682
Levack - The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe - 978-1138808102
Levack, ed. - The Witchcraft Sourcebook - 978-1138774971
Levack, ed. - The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America - 978-0198723639
Peters and Kors, ed. - Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700 - 978-0812217513

#federici #witches #trials

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1224 no Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 14 of 15 - Magical Context and Afterlife Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 06:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah Mysticism

Hundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharing

Course Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4798 no Ancient Angel Magic - Sefer HaRazim - The Book of Secrets - Jewish Magic The Sefer HaRazim ( Book of Secrets / Mysteries) is an ancient Jewish book of angel magic dating to the 3rd or 4th century CE. It was discovered in the Cairo Genizah in the 1960's in fragments and was edited together over the course of three years by Mordecai‏ Margalioth. In the text we find descriptions of the seven heavens, angelic military formations, and magical spells corresponding to the various heavens and angels. Sefer HaRazim is an interesting combination of both Merkabah mysticism (in which mystics 'descend' to the throne of the Divine through the palaces of G-d) and the sophisticated technologies of Greco-Egyptian magic. This episode explores the text in depth, several of the spells, angelic names and the long-standing impact of this kind of angelic magic on later traditions of magical practice.Recommended Reading:Michael Morgan - Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries - 978-0891306153Margalioth, Mordecai - Sepher Ha-Razim - Jerusalem: Yediot Achronot, 1966Medieval Latin Translation: https://histbest.ub.uni-leipzig.de/rsc/viewer/UBLHistBestCBU_derivate_00000077/cod_mag_40_jpg/cod_mag_40_001.jpg#angel #magic #judaism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 05:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA The Sefer HaRazim ( Book of Secrets / Mysteries) is an ancient Jewish book of angel magic dating to the 3rd or 4th century CE. It was discovered in the Cairo Genizah in the 1960's in fragments and was edited together over the course of three years by Mordecai‏ Margalioth. In the text we find descriptions of the seven heavens, angelic military formations, and magical spells corresponding to the various heavens and angels. Sefer HaRazim is an interesting combination of both Merkabah mysticism (in which mystics 'descend' to the throne of the Divine through the palaces of G-d) and the sophisticated technologies of Greco-Egyptian magic. This episode explores the text in depth, several of the spells, angelic names and the long-standing impact of this kind of angelic magic on later traditions of magical practice.Recommended Reading:Michael Morgan - Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries - 978-0891306153Margalioth, Mordecai - Sepher Ha-Razim - Jerusalem: Yediot Achronot, 1966Medieval Latin Translation: https://histbest.ub.uni-leipzig.de/rsc/viewer/UBLHistBestCBU_derivate_00000077/cod_mag_40_jpg/cod_mag_40_001.jpg#angel #magic #judaism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The Sefer HaRazim ( Book of Secrets / Mysteries) is an ancient Jewish book of angel magic dating to the 3rd or 4th century CE. It was discovered in the Cairo Genizah in the 1960's in fragments and was edited together over the course of three years by Mordecai‏ Margalioth. In the text we find descriptions of the seven heavens, angelic military formations, and magical spells corresponding to the various heavens and angels. Sefer HaRazim is an interesting combination of both Merkabah mysticism (in which mystics 'descend' to the throne of the Divine through the palaces of G-d) and the sophisticated technologies of Greco-Egyptian magic. This episode explores the text in depth, several of the spells, angelic names and the long-standing impact of this kind of angelic magic on later traditions of magical practice.

Recommended Reading:

Michael Morgan - Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries - 978-0891306153
Margalioth, Mordecai - Sepher Ha-Razim - Jerusalem: Yediot Achronot, 1966
Medieval Latin Translation: https://histbest.ub.uni-leipzig.de/rsc/viewer/UBLHistBestCBU_derivate_00000077/cod_mag_40_jpg/cod_mag_40_001.jpg

#angel #magic #judaism

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1259 no Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 10 of 15 - Dangers and Ordeals Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Welcome to our seminar on Merkavah Mysticism

Hundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism.

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
One Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharing

Course Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4839 no John Dee - The Monas Hieroglyphica - Part I - History and Context This is part one of a series discussing Dr. John Dee's revolutionary, though obscure, 1564 text the Monas Hieroglyphica (The Hieroglyphic Monad). In part one we will discuss the philosophical and historical context of the text and present the main thesis of our analysis: Dee is seeking to reform human knowledge through using a powerful symbol to purify specifically alchemy and cabala. Part two will explore Dee's theory of alchemy and cabala and part three will show how the Hieroglyphic Monad has its power through combining the semiotic (representational) and the ontological (being itself).These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z3_C6qUjjeL58EciAl00iXOUWMoKAQtG/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 03:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA This is part one of a series discussing Dr. John Dee's revolutionary, though obscure, 1564 text the Monas Hieroglyphica (The Hieroglyphic Monad). In part one we will discuss the philosophical and historical context of the text and present the main thesis of our analysis: Dee is seeking to reform human knowledge through using a powerful symbol to purify specifically alchemy and cabala. Part two will explore Dee's theory of alchemy and cabala and part three will show how the Hieroglyphic Monad has its power through combining the semiotic (representational) and the ontological (being itself).These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z3_C6qUjjeL58EciAl00iXOUWMoKAQtG/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This is part one of a series discussing Dr. John Dee's revolutionary, though obscure, 1564 text the Monas Hieroglyphica (The Hieroglyphic Monad). In part one we will discuss the philosophical and historical context of the text and present the main thesis of our analysis: Dee is seeking to reform human knowledge through using a powerful symbol to purify specifically alchemy and cabala. Part two will explore Dee's theory of alchemy and cabala and part three will show how the Hieroglyphic Monad has its power through combining the semiotic (representational) and the ontological (being itself).

These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.

You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z3_C6qUjjeL58EciAl00iXOUWMoKAQtG/view?usp=sharing

Standard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221

I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.

#dee #enochian #monas

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1283 no Necromancy - How to Read a Historical Book of Magic / Necromancy - Reading a Real Necronomicon This episode celebrates 1000 Subscribers! This time we answers fans of the channel's request for an analysis of a historical book of magic. What if you were to stumble onto an actual copy of the something like the Necronomicon of HP Lovecraft / Evil Dead lore? How would you go about actually reading it? Here, we discuss at length, the various processes scholars perform to understand medieval books - from book binding, to writing media, to medieval Latin and the complex set of abbreviations that often encode the writing of the middle ages - by looking at a page from CLM 849 or the Munich Necromancer's Manual. As you will see, this specific spell is uses demonic magic to produce a magical cloak capable of rendering the magus invisible to all all manner of beings.Recommended Readings:Richard Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - ISBN-13: 978-0271017518 Bernhard Bischoff - Latin Palaeography: Antiquity and the Middle Ages - 978-0521367264You can also enter for the manuscript just contacting me via my website (https://www.justinsledge.com/contact) with favorite reflections on an episode - I don't this to be strictly based on patron support and that helps to meet legal guidelines so you don't need to pay anything at all to enter!#magic #necromancy #manuscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 02:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA This episode celebrates 1000 Subscribers! This time we answers fans of the channel's request for an analysis of a historical book of magic. What if you were to stumble onto an actual copy of the something like the Necronomicon of HP Lovecraft / Evil Dead lore? How would you go about actually reading it? Here, we discuss at length, the various processes scholars perform to understand medieval books - from book binding, to writing media, to medieval Latin and the complex set of abbreviations that often encode the writing of the middle ages - by looking at a page from CLM 849 or the Munich Necromancer's Manual. As you will see, this specific spell is uses demonic magic to produce a magical cloak capable of rendering the magus invisible to all all manner of beings.Recommended Readings:Richard Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - ISBN-13: 978-0271017518 Bernhard Bischoff - Latin Palaeography: Antiquity and the Middle Ages - 978-0521367264You can also enter for the manuscript just contacting me via my website (https://www.justinsledge.com/contact) with favorite reflections on an episode - I don't this to be strictly based on patron support and that helps to meet legal guidelines so you don't need to pay anything at all to enter!#magic #necromancy #manuscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This episode celebrates 1000 Subscribers! This time we answers fans of the channel's request for an analysis of a historical book of magic. What if you were to stumble onto an actual copy of the something like the Necronomicon of HP Lovecraft / Evil Dead lore? How would you go about actually reading it? Here, we discuss at length, the various processes scholars perform to understand medieval books - from book binding, to writing media, to medieval Latin and the complex set of abbreviations that often encode the writing of the middle ages - by looking at a page from CLM 849 or the Munich Necromancer's Manual. As you will see, this specific spell is uses demonic magic to produce a magical cloak capable of rendering the magus invisible to all all manner of beings.

Recommended Readings:

Richard Kieckhefer - Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century - ISBN-13: 978-0271017518
Bernhard Bischoff - Latin Palaeography: Antiquity and the Middle Ages - 978-0521367264

You can also enter for the manuscript just contacting me via my website (https://www.justinsledge.com/contact) with favorite reflections on an episode - I don't this to be strictly based on patron support and that helps to meet legal guidelines so you don't need to pay anything at all to enter!

#magic #necromancy #manuscript

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3858 no Esotericism in Philosophy: Pythagoras and Parmenides Philosophy is taken to be the paragon of rational argumentation and logical analysis but I want to explore the esoteric and mystical aspect of ancient Greek philosophy - a dimension often ignored or unstressed . This is the first in a series that will explore this more arcane side of western philosophy from ancient Greece to contemporary analytic and continental schools.Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Kirk, Raven and Schofield - The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts - 978-0521274555Philosophy Before Socrates - Richard D. McKirahan - 978-1603841825Eric Dodds - The Greeks and the Irrational - 978-0520242302 Walter Burkert - Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism - 978-0674539181Charles Kahn - Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans - 978-0872205758Peter Kingsley - Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition - 978-0198150817Parmenides - Martin Heidegger - 978-0253212146 (caveat lector!)#esotericism #presocratic #philosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 01:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Philosophy is taken to be the paragon of rational argumentation and logical analysis but I want to explore the esoteric and mystical aspect of ancient Greek philosophy - a dimension often ignored or unstressed . This is the first in a series that will explore this more arcane side of western philosophy from ancient Greece to contemporary analytic and continental schools.Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelRecommended Readings:Kirk, Raven and Schofield - The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts - 978-0521274555Philosophy Before Socrates - Richard D. McKirahan - 978-1603841825Eric Dodds - The Greeks and the Irrational - 978-0520242302 Walter Burkert - Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism - 978-0674539181Charles Kahn - Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans - 978-0872205758Peter Kingsley - Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition - 978-0198150817Parmenides - Martin Heidegger - 978-0253212146 (caveat lector!)#esotericism #presocratic #philosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Philosophy is taken to be the paragon of rational argumentation and logical analysis but I want to explore the esoteric and mystical aspect of ancient Greek philosophy - a dimension often ignored or unstressed . This is the first in a series that will explore this more arcane side of western philosophy from ancient Greece to contemporary analytic and continental schools.

Support Esoterica on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel

Recommended Readings:

Kirk, Raven and Schofield - The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts - 978-0521274555
Philosophy Before Socrates - Richard D. McKirahan - 978-1603841825
Eric Dodds - The Greeks and the Irrational - 978-0520242302
Walter Burkert - Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism - 978-0674539181
Charles Kahn - Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans - 978-0872205758
Peter Kingsley - Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition - 978-0198150817
Parmenides - Martin Heidegger - 978-0253212146 (caveat lector!)

#esotericism #presocratic #philosophy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1520 no Medieval Mystical Women - The Beguines - Hadewijch Mechthild of Magdeburg and Marguerite Porete The typical view of the middle ages is one of cultural, intellectual and religious stagnation. This is hardly the truth. The European Middle ages were marked by innovations at almost every cultural register including spirituality. This episode explores the radical and probing mystical spirituality of the Beguines, a lay culture of women who worked in the skilled trades, publicly preached, aided the poor and destitute, all as part of their own autonomous spiritual vocation. These women were also extraordinary mystics and theologians. We briefly explore three of these amazing women here: Hadewijch of Antwerp, Mechthild of Magdeburg & Marguerite Porete to reveal how their mysticism abounds in love, light, madness, and annihilation.This episode is also a collaboration with my colleague Filip Holm over at Let's Talk Religion where he will be exploring the role of women in Sufism / Islamic Mysticism. Check out his video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSZaxcg6RY#mysticism #beguine #womenRecommended Readings:Hadewijch: The Complete Works - 978-0809122974Marguerite Porete: The Mirror of Simple Souls - 978-0809134274Mechthild of Magdeburg: The Flowing Light of the Godhead - 978-0809137763Swan - The Wisdom of the Beguines - 978-1629190082McGinn - The Flowering of Mysticism - 978-0824517434 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA The typical view of the middle ages is one of cultural, intellectual and religious stagnation. This is hardly the truth. The European Middle ages were marked by innovations at almost every cultural register including spirituality. This episode explores the radical and probing mystical spirituality of the Beguines, a lay culture of women who worked in the skilled trades, publicly preached, aided the poor and destitute, all as part of their own autonomous spiritual vocation. These women were also extraordinary mystics and theologians. We briefly explore three of these amazing women here: Hadewijch of Antwerp, Mechthild of Magdeburg & Marguerite Porete to reveal how their mysticism abounds in love, light, madness, and annihilation.This episode is also a collaboration with my colleague Filip Holm over at Let's Talk Religion where he will be exploring the role of women in Sufism / Islamic Mysticism. Check out his video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSZaxcg6RY#mysticism #beguine #womenRecommended Readings:Hadewijch: The Complete Works - 978-0809122974Marguerite Porete: The Mirror of Simple Souls - 978-0809134274Mechthild of Magdeburg: The Flowing Light of the Godhead - 978-0809137763Swan - The Wisdom of the Beguines - 978-1629190082McGinn - The Flowering of Mysticism - 978-0824517434 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The typical view of the middle ages is one of cultural, intellectual and religious stagnation. This is hardly the truth. The European Middle ages were marked by innovations at almost every cultural register including spirituality. This episode explores the radical and probing mystical spirituality of the Beguines, a lay culture of women who worked in the skilled trades, publicly preached, aided the poor and destitute, all as part of their own autonomous spiritual vocation. These women were also extraordinary mystics and theologians. We briefly explore three of these amazing women here: Hadewijch of Antwerp, Mechthild of Magdeburg & Marguerite Porete to reveal how their mysticism abounds in love, light, madness, and annihilation.

This episode is also a collaboration with my colleague Filip Holm over at Let's Talk Religion where he will be exploring the role of women in Sufism / Islamic Mysticism. Check out his video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSZaxcg6RY

#mysticism #beguine #women

Recommended Readings:

Hadewijch: The Complete Works - 978-0809122974
Marguerite Porete: The Mirror of Simple Souls - 978-0809134274
Mechthild of Magdeburg: The Flowing Light of the Godhead - 978-0809137763
Swan - The Wisdom of the Beguines - 978-1629190082
McGinn - The Flowering of Mysticism - 978-0824517434

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 1473 no The Mystical Theology of Affection - Bernard of Clairvaux Is Love fundamental reality? Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 1153) is among the pillars of western mysticism. In his mystical theology, he takes John's declaration that "God is Love" to it's radical conclusion: Love is both the means and the goal of all existence. Thus, the soul must undergo a series of transformations through love so as to be raptured up into the Divine Love which is God. Let's explore the mystical theology of Love!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works - https://amzn.to/4qU6oZ1Sermons on the Song of Songs Set - https://litpress.org/Products/CFZ02/Sermons-on-the-Song-of-Songs-Set-Volumes-14The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard - https://amzn.to/4r2iO1hThe Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great Through the 12 Century - https://amzn.to/4caDAYG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Tue, 11 Aug 2026 23:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Is Love fundamental reality? Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 1153) is among the pillars of western mysticism. In his mystical theology, he takes John's declaration that "God is Love" to it's radical conclusion: Love is both the means and the goal of all existence. Thus, the soul must undergo a series of transformations through love so as to be raptured up into the Divine Love which is God. Let's explore the mystical theology of Love!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works - https://amzn.to/4qU6oZ1Sermons on the Song of Songs Set - https://litpress.org/Products/CFZ02/Sermons-on-the-Song-of-Songs-Set-Volumes-14The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard - https://amzn.to/4r2iO1hThe Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great Through the 12 Century - https://amzn.to/4caDAYG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Is Love fundamental reality? Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 1153) is among the pillars of western mysticism. In his mystical theology, he takes John's declaration that "God is Love" to it's radical conclusion: Love is both the means and the goal of all existence. Thus, the soul must undergo a series of transformations through love so as to be raptured up into the Divine Love which is God. Let's explore the mystical theology of Love!

Consider Supporting Esoterica!
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
Merch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/store
New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/

Recommended Readings:

Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works - https://amzn.to/4qU6oZ1
Sermons on the Song of Songs Set - https://litpress.org/Products/CFZ02/Sermons-on-the-Song-of-Songs-Set-Volumes-14
The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard - https://amzn.to/4r2iO1h
The Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great Through the 12 Century - https://amzn.to/4caDAYG

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3845 no Magic and Disease - Thinking about the history of magic in the time of COVID-19 Human beings have fought disease since the dawn of history employing a wide range of tools especially including magic. This episode of Esoterica is a brief tour of some of the magical tools, spells, charms, and amulets magician-doctors have used in their fight against illness through the ages. We begin at the dawn of civilization in ancient Nippur and travel through the times of the Greco-Egyptians, the black death, medieval Christian England, the Renaissance before ending with a Jewish angelic incantation against illness printed in Amsterdam in 1701. Of course, this is only a glimpse of the enormous anti-disease magic out there but I hope it provide some historical and human insight into this ongoing struggle with COVID-19 we are all enduring. I hope you and your loved ones stay safe out there!#magic #disease #history Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Tue, 11 Aug 2026 22:30:00 -0000 full ESOTERICA Human beings have fought disease since the dawn of history employing a wide range of tools especially including magic. This episode of Esoterica is a brief tour of some of the magical tools, spells, charms, and amulets magician-doctors have used in their fight against illness through the ages. We begin at the dawn of civilization in ancient Nippur and travel through the times of the Greco-Egyptians, the black death, medieval Christian England, the Renaissance before ending with a Jewish angelic incantation against illness printed in Amsterdam in 1701. Of course, this is only a glimpse of the enormous anti-disease magic out there but I hope it provide some historical and human insight into this ongoing struggle with COVID-19 we are all enduring. I hope you and your loved ones stay safe out there!#magic #disease #history Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Human beings have fought disease since the dawn of history employing a wide range of tools especially including magic. This episode of Esoterica is a brief tour of some of the magical tools, spells, charms, and amulets magician-doctors have used in their fight against illness through the ages. We begin at the dawn of civilization in ancient Nippur and travel through the times of the Greco-Egyptians, the black death, medieval Christian England, the Renaissance before ending with a Jewish angelic incantation against illness printed in Amsterdam in 1701. Of course, this is only a glimpse of the enormous anti-disease magic out there but I hope it provide some historical and human insight into this ongoing struggle with COVID-19 we are all enduring. I hope you and your loved ones stay safe out there!

#magic #disease #history

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 942 no