The Hermetic Hour

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