Dr. Ben Joffe, an anthropologist and expert in Tibetan Buddhism, dives into the fascinating world of spirit conjuration. He explores its rich history, from ancient times to modern practices, revealing diverse magical traditions. Joffe compares cultural perspectives on spirits, including parallels between Buddhism and Jewish mysticism. He shares his personal encounters with the supernatural, emphasizing the importance of ethical invocation practices. With a witty touch, he also discusses how horror films reflect these esoteric themes and the nuances of grimoires in contemporary spirituality.
The podcast explores the historical evolution of spirit conjuration practices, tracing their roots from ancient traditions to contemporary interpretations.
Dr. Joffe emphasizes the significance of the grimoire tradition, highlighting its role in formalizing magical practices through written texts and rituals.
Cultural perspectives on spirits vary significantly, illustrating how belief systems influence the interpretation and interaction with entities like demons and jinn.
Personal anecdotes shared by Dr. Joffe illustrate the unpredictable nature of spiritual encounters, enriching the understanding of individual relationships with magic.
Deep dives
Exploring Western Magical Traditions
The discussion delves into the rich history of Western magical traditions, particularly focusing on spirit conjuration practices. It highlights the diversity of these practices, tracing their evolution from ancient times to modern interpretations. The conversation touches on significant movements such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and influential figures like Aleister Crowley and Madame Blavatsky, who have shaped contemporary understanding of magic. Often, people's awareness of these traditions is based on film portrayals and popular culture, which although entertaining, fail to capture the intricate and nuanced historical contexts from which these magical practices emerged.
The Grimoire Tradition
A key point of interest is the concept of the grimoire tradition, characterized as a collection of texts filled with spells and techniques for summoning spirits. This tradition is associated with powerful spirits that practitioners can invoke, often referred to as demons in popular culture. The podcast compares these entities to characters in horror films, illustrating how such portrayals encapsulate the fear and fascination surrounding spirit interactions. The grimoire tradition emphasizes the importance of ritual settings and meticulous preparations in creating a conducive environment for conjuring these spirits, thus highlighting the gravity of magical practices.
Historical Roots of Magic
The conversation emphasizes the historical connections between modern magical practices and ancient traditions, linking techniques back to ancient Egyptian temple priests. It notes that magical practices have persisted through various cultures, including those influenced by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The importance of written texts and the transmission of knowledge through grimoires, which served as repositories of magical techniques, is highlighted. This historical perspective illustrates that many techniques maintained core elements despite the shifting cultural and religious landscapes over centuries.
Magical Authority and Rituals
The episode elaborates on the concept of magical authority, emphasizing the need for practitioners to establish a commanding presence when summoning spirits. Various rituals and preparations, including maintaining personal purity and creating specific conditions, are discussed as critical for successful conjuration. The podcast reflects on how historical perspectives on authority in magic have been shaped by societal views and institutional regulations, often defining who is deemed worthy to practice summoning. This authority ties closely to successful outcomes in magical operations, underlining the complex dynamics between practitioners and the spiritual entities they seek to engage.
Cultural Perspectives on Spirits
The podcast presents contrasting cultural views on spirits, illustrating how different traditions interpret entities like demons and jinn. For instance, in Islam, Iblis is viewed differently than in Christian contexts, reflecting varied ethical and cosmological frameworks. These perspectives influence how practitioners engage with spirits and the guidelines that govern their interactions. By highlighting these cultural differences, the conversation reveals that understanding a spirit's nature is often intertwined with the underlying belief systems and rituals of the community practicing the magic.
The Role of Written Knowledge
A critical feature of the grimoire tradition is its reliance on written texts and literate practices as a means of accessing magical knowledge. The podcast explores how the act of writing and encoding spells, prayers, and rituals serves to anchor the practitioners' connections with the spirits. Literacy is framed as both a privilege and a requirement for engaging with magical texts, reflecting broader themes of knowledge accessibility throughout history. The argument is made that just as understanding the power of letters and language is essential in Jewish mysticism, so too is the written word pivotal within the operational framework of Western magic.
Magic as a Social Practice
The episode argues that magic is inherently social, shaped by communal knowledge and shared experiences rather than exclusively solitary practices. It posits that traditional training and cultural contexts enrich individual magical experiences, making them communal endeavors. This social dimension challenges modern practices that may isolate practitioners, reinforcing the idea that community supports accountability and authenticity in magical operations. The discussion thus emphasizes the revival of communal practices as essential for the continuing evolution of magical traditions.
Personal Experiences and Encounters
The speakers share their personal experiences of spirit encounters, ranging from dream visitations to spontaneous spirit communications during rituals. These anecdotes contribute to a deeper understanding of how individual experiences shape one's relationship with magical practices. The discussions reflect on the unusual, often serendipitous nature of these encounters, highlighting that spiritual communication can defy conventional expectations. These narratives serve as illustrations of the unpredictability and profound nature of engaging with the mystical, inviting listeners to reflect on their own experiences with the unseen realm.
In this interview I am once again joined by Dr Ben Joffe, anthropologist and scholar practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.
Dr Joffe leads a deep dive into the Western magickal tradition of spirit conjuration, traces their diverse forms through the centuries, and considers the range of beings described, from the land sprites of localised traditions to the high angels of the Enochian system of Renaissance polymath John Dee.
Dr Joffe reflects on the origin and changing usage of terms such as “demon” and “devil”, laments the prevalence of dangerously lax invocation practices, considers the cultural impact of the grimoire tradition, compares the systems of demonology found in world religions, and notes striking similarities between Buddhist tantric mystic Padmasambhava and King Solomon.
Dr Joffe also shares his own occult experiences including tales of spirit contact, servitor creation, dream visitations from the recently deceased, and ritual workings in several magickal systems.
...
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
…
Topics include:
00:00 - Intro
01:12 - Western Esotericism
04:42 - Spirit conjuration and the grimoire tradition
05:49 - Analysing spirit conjuration tropes in horror movies
09:46 - Diverse magical practice
10:51 - Professor Ronald Hutton’s history of Western Esotericism
12:05 - History of spirit conjuration from Ancient Egypt to today
14:49 - Mesopotamian laws against witchcraft
16:08 - The status of magick in the Abrahamic traditions
16:58 - Clerical underground of wizards
18:20 - Literacy and the power of a magickal book
21:03 - Prioritising of the book and of language itself
23:08 - Gathering one’s magickal tools
25:00 - Preparation is key
26:20 - Do spirits find humans repulsive?
30:29 - Self-purification and strategies for self-deification
31:24 - Similarities between Padmasambhava and King Solomon
32:43 - Dzamling Chi Sang and subjugating spirits
33:41 - The Testament of Solomon and subduing spirits
35:34 - Magick and frat-boy fantasy
37:47 - John Dee and the quest for knowledge
39:40 - Christian ceremonial magick and Jesus as a sorcerer
41:55 - Pre-Christian Pagan European spirit traditions
43:09 - Magick vs religion
45:12 - Hamlet and old spirit frameworks
48:03 - Arguments for and against the grimoire tradition
53:56 - Cultural impact of the grimoire tradition
56:05 - Wisdom of the past
58:33 - Different types of spirits and supernatural beings
01:02:33 - Muslim views of Iblīs (the devil) and djinn.
01:04:22 - Evil spirits in Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism
01:06:01 - Different ideas of the Devil
01:07:17 - What is a demon?
01:07:50 - Lazy demonology
01:15:05 - The perspective of nondual Tibetan tantra
01:18:31 - Limitations of dualistic cosmology
01:20:56 - Angels and pre-modern Christian views
01:25:03 - Why demons are useful for practical magick
01:27:47 - Ben’s personal reflections on working with spirits
01:31:17 - Rites of passage and creating servitors
01:33:00 - Ben explains the Goetia
01:34:16 - Ben reflects on his magickal career
01:36:45 - Summoning spirits at 12 years old
01:43:11 - ADHD approach to magick
01:44:09 - Ben recalls powerful, unexpected spirit contacts
02:00:51 Group corroboration
02:02:17 -Dream visitations from the recently deceased
02:04:56 - Are these experiences real?
02:07:30 - The social aspects of magickal practice
02:10:48 - Ben’s relationship with an invented spirit
02:15:42 - Wyatt the servitor
02:21:02 - Models of magick and questions of purity
02:29:09 - The two wolves inside of Ben
02:31:25 - Universal principles or relative frames?
02:34:33 - Artisanal magick and honing attention
02:36:18 - Is magickal training reliable?
…
Previous episodes with Dr Ben Joffe:
- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=joffe
To find out more about Dr Ben Joffe, visit:
- https://perfumedskull.com/
…
For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- https://www.guruviking.com
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
