The Hermetic Hour

On Thursday January 31st, 2013 the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on the mysterious and fantastic origins of the the popular magical role-plying board game Dungeons & Dragons. We will trace the beginnings of "Oriental Gothic" magical fiction back to William Beckford's early 19th century novel "Vathek", a decadent Arabian Nights fantasy with diabolical themes, through Lord Dunsany's creation of exotic fantasy realms for his magical tales, to the early 20th century master Clark Ashton Smith who created the first "Dying Earth" setting he called "Zothique," the last continent under the dim Sun of a world soon to end. This idea was carried on by sci-fi-fantasy writer Jack Vance in his own cycle of "Dying Earth" stories in which he created the unique system of wizard spell-casting adopted by Dungeons & Dragons game players -- so, if you want to learn about the spell "Of Forlorn Encystment," or "the Excellent Prismatic Spray," tune in and we'll learn how it was done before H

This Thursday on the Hermetic Hour, host Poke Runyon will present a lecture on Hermetic Yoga. Poke will discuss the chakras in the etheric-plane Hindu tantric system, and the variations in Tibetan tantra. The kundalini in Hindu, Tibetan and Taoist procedures will be discussed. We will then differentiate between the etheric Hindu system, and our astral arrangement that follows the "lightning Flash" on the Western Tree of Life. The philosophical importance of the Western arrangement will be compared to the Eastern system's alchemical correspondences. We will discuss the origin of our system, from the Golden Dawn's Middle Pillar exercise, to its full development now used by the O.T.A. in its magical operations. The mantras and affirmations will be demonstrated and explained. Tune in and we'll meditate our way from Omega up to Tau, and beyond.

On Thursday January 17th, 2013 the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will present a report on our New Year's Day field trip to the famous "Integratron" near the Mojave Desert community of Landers, California. This marvelous building, or machine, created by scientist-mystic George Van Tassel in the 1950's, and featured in "Weird California," is a New Age shrine. Originally designed and constructed by aerospace engineer Van Tassel from plans and technology received from space-faring Annunaki, it was intended to be a giant electrostatic generator which could regenerate human tissue, create an inter-dimensional vortex, and even (according to rumors) act as a time machine. Physically it is a huge dome with remarkable acoustics. Although it fell into disrepair after George (Van's) death, it has now been beautifully restored -- even though the giant centrifuge has yet to be engaged (there are plans...) the building iteself is a magical experience. We enjoyed a crystal bowl "Sound Bath" inside the dome and felt w

The Hermetic Hour will present a lecture on the 1770 Crata Repoa system of magical initiation. I will briefly describe this 18th century German (and later French) recreation of an ancient Alexandrian mystery tradition on a Masonic initiatory model. The Crata Repoa was a structural outline for a magical order that precedes both the O.T.O. and the Golden Dawn's Cypher Manuscript by 100 years. We will discuss the original authors, what they were trying to accomplish, and the considerable influence their creation had on subsequent magical traditions. I will recount how I literally stumbled into a French version of the system in 1963, and adapted it to the fledgling O.T.A. in 1969 --- Carrying the story on into the 70s, 80s and 90s as we found out more about the system and expanded our program along the lines laid out in Crata Repoa. Tune in and we'll explore this baroque version of the secrets of the ancients.

On Thursday, January 3rd, 2013 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on Sir Francis Dashwood's 18th century "Hellfire Club." We will recount the outrageous exploits attributed to Dashwood and his cult of "randy rakes' and merry ne'er-do-wells who called themselves "The Medmenham Friars" or "Franciscans" after "St. Francis" Dashwood, their founder and sponsor. Lots of fun, but behind all this naughtiness there was a genuine libertine appreciation for the erotic beauties of Classical Paganism. Dashwood was closer to Thomas Taylor and William Beckford, and the later Norman Lindsay -- and even our own Frederick Adams, than to De Sade and the French satanists. The Medmenham Frairs were certainly libertine, but their devil was Pan, not Satan, and their diety was the Goddess. Dashwood, before Crowley, was influenced to replicate Rabilias' Abbey of Thelema and carved "Do What Thou Wilt" across the door to his chapel. From Dashwood we get "The Frair's Club" and probably "The Bohemians." He

On Thursday evening The Hermetic Hour will present an introductory lecture on Enochian magick. Your host, Poke Runyon, has been practicing this system for forty years and has some personal insights into its effectiveness, how it works, and what one can expect from it. We will begin with a brief history from John Dee and Edward Kelley in Elizabethan times, through the Golden Dawn's amplifications, Crowley's contributions, and the present day developments, including the work of Lon Milo DuQuette. We will discuss Terrestrial Victory, and how it became the modern system of the Thirty Aethyrs. We will recount some Enochian visions, and even deliver an Enochian Call --- You can close your eyes and see what kind of visions arise in your mind's eye. So, tune in on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. and we'll visit the Enochians.

On Thursday December 20th, 2012, the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will review William R. Mistele's latest book "Mermaids, Sylphs, Gnomes, and Salamanders." The author will call in and join us, as he did when we reviewed his first book on the subject "Undines, Lessons from the Realm of the Water Spirits." (see archives). Bill Mistele is a Hermetic magician of the Bardonian school and uses Franz Bardon's catalog of Elemental spirits as his happy hunting ground for channeling Elementals. Whereas Undines concentrated on the female water Elementals, this new book takes us through the whole spectrum. This time he refers to the classic Undines by their more common title "Mermaids," but they are the same Bardonian spirits. Mistele is a poetic, and very romantic writer--and a very talented skryer. He channels the Kings and Queens of the Elements, and presents their view and perspective with a sensitivity and insight that is as convincing as it is inspiring. These nature spirits are as Pagan as they are Hermet

On June 3rd, 2010 The Hermetic Hour will discuss the origin, history, and content of the Golden Dawn's Cypher Manuscript, that mysterious and controversial document that was the foundation of the Victorian era's Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. We will cover this subject in depth, explaining Wynn Westcott's creation of "Fraulein Sprengel," the fictitious Rosicrucian adept who was actually a pseudonym for two real women on the occult scene. We will examine the manuscript itself, and the secret knowledge it reveals about the qabalah, tarot and the Tree of Life. We will recount the notorious "Horos Affair" which nearly destroyed the Golden Dawn, and show how it was related to the Cypher Manuscript. We will briefly discuss Aleister Crowley's connection to the Order, and the difference between his Thelemic philosophy, and the Rosicrucian philosophy of the Golden Dawn. Tune in at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday and return with us to the thrilling days of yesteryear, when out of the inner sanctum comes the cry of the Kerux:

On Thursday December 6th, 2012 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon, will present a discussion on the Masonic scholar and author Albert Pike, his legacy and his unique contributions to American Masonry and the Western Esoteric Tradition. Pike was and still is a very controversial figure. He was also a paradox: opposed to slavery, he still served as a general in the Confederate army. He was an advocate of Native American rights and led a regiment of Confederate Indians against the Yankees whom they hated. He was the father of Scottish Rite Masonry in America, rewriting and organizing a jumble of continental Masonic degrees into a coherent system that has become the largest Masonic jurisdiction in the world. He was an occultist much influenced by Eliphas Levi, and a proponent of the Hermetic Tradition which he showcased in his favorite Scottish Rite degree Knight of the Sun (the former 28th degree), which he devoted more text to than any other degree in his classic "Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accept

This week the Hermetic Hour will deal with the fascinating subject of Masonic-Occult conspiracy connections. We will discuss the actual and fanciful history of Freemasonry in relation to occultism, radical politics, and "The New World Order." We'll go from the Illuminati, the French Revolution, the Morgan Affair, the Palladian hoax, Fabian socialism, to Marxism. We'll reveal just what the "Great Secret" of Freemasonry really is and why the Masons are hated and feared by the fanatics and true-believers of the world's great religions---and the followers of radical political philosophies. We'll briefly review Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol." If you have a friend who believes that Masons are the secret agents of some shadowy world government, or satanic conspiracy, ask them to tune in. We will take calls, but this is a highly charged subject, so make your questions brief and reasonable. Tune in at 8:00 p.m. and, at the sound of the gavel in the East, we will seek the Light.

On Thursday November 15th, 2012 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will discuss the legendary Balkis, Queen of Sheba and her place in the equally legendary tales of King Solomon. We will uncover the amazing historical facts behind her almost forgotten ancient empire, to which Arabia owed whatever traces of civilization it had remaining when Mohammed unified the Arabs under Islam. We will reveal a strange Turkish alternative version of the Masonic Temple legend, the Casting of the Brazen Sea, in which Sheba becomes one of the three Grand Masters. In this rendition of the story Sheba and the Architect are children of the Jinn, whereas Solomon is only human. We will mention Sheba in the medieval alchemical tradition, and her connection with the fifth degree of Crata Repoa. So tune in and we will learn what Solomon, Balkis and Hiram were doing behind the veil.

This Thursday the Hermetic Hour will feature the conclusion of Prince Aqhat and the Magick Bow, preceded by a brief synopsis of the story thus far, and followed by a brief commentary. 

Tune in to hear Poke Runyon read the second of three installments of his historical novelette, "Prince Aqhat and the Magick Bow."

On November 1st, 2012 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the relationship of ancient Canaanite mythology to Solomonic ceremonial magick. We will begin by establishing the legendary Biblical background of Solomon the Wizard King and his mystical powers, his relations with Hiram of Tyre, the Queen of Sheba, and his building of a temple to the Goddess Astarte. We'll mention the Canaanite priest king Melchizedek who anointed Abraham long before Moses. We will mention the Masonic legend in this context, and how Solomon united the Jews and the Canaanites to build his Great Temple. We will cover the Ra- Shamra/Ugarit Canaanite texts, their connection to the Holy Grail legend, and our own reconstruction of ancient Canaanite seasonal ceremonies. Then, the following week we will present the conclusion of our reconstructed Canaanite legend: "Prince Aqhat and the Magick Bow." -- So, tune in and get the inside story on King Solomon's magical religion.

For our next show, Poke Runyon will read the first of three installments of his historical novelette, "Prince Aqhat and the Magick Bow." This is a modern rendition of an ancient Canaanite legend that dates from the time of Melchizedek (1500 B.C.) and is based on the scribe Elimelech's version written down on clay tablets before Moses brought the Hebrews out of Egypt. The O.T.A. performs four seasonal ceremonies each year based on these ancient Canaanite pre-Biblical myths. Prince Aqhat is a great way to become familiar with Canaanite-Phoenician mythology which has so much bearing on the magick of old King Solomon, and his Phoenician ally King Hiram of Tyre. This is an exciting story, full of magick, mystery and wonder---like a tale from the Arabian Nights, and Poke will give it a dramatic reading. Tune in and get Magick!

On October 18th, 2012 the Hermetic Hour, with host Poke Runyon, will present another appreciation of magicians and writers on magick who have influenced modern Hermetic philosophy and practice. In this particular case Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1874) is the man to whom we owe the most and have remembered the least! He was a genius, a scoundrel, a best-selling novelist, an idealist and a marvelous clairvoyant. He was a champion of women's rights but he was also an advocate and a teacher of sex magick. He supplied most of the practical teachings for The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, and also influenced Theosophy, the Golden Dawn, Franz Bardon and Aliester Crowley. He introduced concentration techniques for use with magick mirrors, but he also experimented with and recommended what are now illegal drugs. He was the bastard son of a high ranking White politician and his beautiful African American mistress. Randolph's life would make an exciting epic film. He was a merchant seaman, a world traveler, a spiritu

This Thursday the Hermetic Hour will present a lecture by Poke Runyon on Dark Mirror Evocation and Angelic Invocation that was first delivered at a symposium sponsored by Paul Clark's Fraternity of the Hidden Light in 2002. This talk will reveal the philosophy, the techniques, and the effects related to these "grand operations" of ceremonial magick: how to summon spirits, and call down angels. Poke will discuss this subject in depth, and give the psychological, spiritual and traditional background behind our most dynamic form of modern urban shamanism. This talk will be directed toward those sincerely interested in this subject. It will be dense with facts, techniques and practical instructions. It may be too heavy for parlor room 'fluffy bunnies,' but if you want to outgrow your fluff, tune in and find out how the boys and girls back in the dim-lit, blue-painted garages do it. Good Magick! Thabion  

On Thursday October 4th, 2012 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a discussion on the anthropologist-shaman and allegorical fiction writer Carlos Castaneda (1925-1998) and the teachings of his mysterious mentor the Yaqui sorcerer Don Juan Matus.  This serves to be more of an appreciation of Carlos and Don Juan than a critique. We will focus on what many consider his best work: "Journey to Ixtlan." So tune, turn on, and "stop the world."    

Introduction to Hermetic and Solomonic ceremonial magick, as taught and practiced by The Church of Hermetic Sciences and The Order of the Temple of Astarte (O.T.A.). We will outline Hermetic philosophy and its history, drawing a distinction between Hermetic magick and witchcraft and satanism. We will discuss the principles of invocation (calling down angels) and evocation (calling up spirits), and the aspects of astrology, kabbalah and alchemy that bear upon Hermetic magick. We will describe the inner workings of the magical visionary process, explaining the hypnotic and subjective nature of this phenomenon, while maintaining the inner spiritual reality of the human imagination.  

On Thursday September 20th, 2012, the Hermetic Hour host Poke Runyon and special guest Frater Osiris, Magister of the Atlanta Hermitage of the Church of the Hermetic Sciences, will recap the exciting magical weekend of festivities and initiatory rites held at the secluded estate of Frater Osiris and Soror Isis in the wooded hills north of Atlanta. The Festival of Seven Gates was performed by torchlight  at Morning Glory Henge within a beautiful garden setting on Saturday night. On Sunday Fra. Thabion and Sor. Zandria, assisted by Fra. Osiris and Sor. Isis, initiated the entire cast of Associate Members in attendance into the active fold of the Church in the Pastophoris rite of Crata Repoa, thus fully establishing the Encampment as a Hermitage of the Church. The entire weekend was wonderfully and graciously hosted, and skillfully organized and coordinated by Fra. Osiris and Sor. Isis. Associate Members from other nearby States made the trip to be initiated. The Atlanta Hermitage at Morning Glory Henge is now t