Right Where You Are Sitting Now

We're back with a really interesting deep-dive into the fascinating topic of Egregores. Joining us is the wonderful Mark Stavish who's book really grabbed us, and is really the most in-depth study we have ever found on the topic. This week we discuss: Egregores: what are they and how do you identify them, what is the connection between Egregores and Tulpas, the historic appearances of Egregores and much more. Don't forget, we're running a competition still where you can win our previous guest Tobias Churton's amazing new book 'Aleister Crowley in England'. Follow the rules in the post here, and good luck! Joining me in the hot-seat this week is our own great beast Marck Satyr. Check out the free course mentioned by Mark at https://institute-for-hermetic-studies.teachable.com/courses Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Mark Stavish Biography: Mark Stavish, the Director of Studies for the Institute for Hermetic Studies, is a life-long student of esotericism with over 25 years experience in comparative religion, philosophy, psychology, and mysticism with emphasis on Traditional Western Esotericism.  His articles have appeared in academic, specialty, and mass market publications specializing in spiritual studies, making Mark one of the leading authorities in Hermeticism today. In addition to being a member and officer of several prominent Rosicrucian and Martinist societies, Mark served as the Director of Research for the Occult Research and Applications Project, of the Philosophers of Nature (PON). The Philosophers of Nature was founded by Jean Dubuis in France in 1979 and for twenty years was the leading resource for practical information on mineral and plant alchemy, as well as qabala.  ORA, a statistically based research wing of the American branch of PON performed detailed exploration into the validity and practicality of various traditional esoteric methods.  Original research from the ORA Project was published in the organization’s journal, The Stone. A graduate of King’s College, in Theology (B.A.), and Communications (B.A.), and  Rhode Island College (Providence), with a Master’s degree in Counseling emphasizing psycho-spiritual modalities and Psychosynthesis, Mark brings a unique blend of tradition with modern research to the application of esoteric philosophy. Professionally, Mark has over 15 years experience in the social service and non-profit fields, and has trained hundreds of social service workers, law enforcement personnel, and mental healthcare providers in areas related to New and Emerging Religions. Mark’s writings have been translated into Turkish, Dutch, French, Swedish, and Portuguese; he has been a media consultant on for BBC Channel 2, and Cinnabar Productions’ documentary, ‘The Occult Reich’ for A&E/History Channel, along with numerous media interviews and editorials.

This week we get all Crowleytastic again with the wonderful Tobias Churton. Tobias is a writer we hold in high regard here in the SittingNow Abbey, and he delivers in spades in this episode. We discuss: The Great Beast’s place in history, Can Crowley be canceled? Myth-busting, Crowley’s later years, his relationships, and much more. Joining me in the hot-seat this week is our own great beast Marck Satyr. **COMPETITION!** (This must be entered on http://sittingnow.co.uk at the episode page before the end of January 2022) We have one copy of Tobias’ latest book ‘Aleister Crowley in England’ to give away to one lucky listener. To enter, you must follow us on Instagram, and comment in this post below the answer to the famous Thelemic challenge ‘Do What Thou Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law‘….make sure to include your Instagram name in your answer so we can check your undying social-fealty! The winner shall be selected at random, and informed via DM on their Instagram.   Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com   Tobias Churton Bio: Born in Sutton Coldfield to an ancient Cheshire family, in 1960, Tobias Churton spent two years in Australia from 1966 to 1968 and returned to attend his fifth school, Lichfield Cathedral School. Three schools later he won an exhibition to Brasenose College, Oxford, where he studied Theology. Compelled to exchange a vocation to the priesthood for the lowlier prospect of a career in television, he first came to public notice with the 1987 Channel 4 production, GNOSTICS. The 4-part, drama-documentary went out at peak time on Saturday nights. It won the New York TV Festival Gold Award for best religious series. Churton’s Channel 4/Weidenfeld & Nicolson book accompanying the series was a best seller.  Long before Dan Brown scored a hit with The Da Vinci Code, Tobias Churton introduced a popular audience to the authentic world of esoteric mysteries. In the words of Dutch scholar, Gilles Quispel, the TV series would “change the minds of millions”. Churton presented the facts, not the fantasy. Swedish theologian Jan-Arvid Hellström hailed Churton as a “religious genius” while Amsterdam bibliophile and industrialist Joost Ritman enthusiastically greeted the appearance of a new “writing star”.  The success of The Gnostics allowed Tobias to concentrate his energies on his first love: writing. After years of voluminous reading, mystical experience and creative endeavour, Churton had much to express.  Having completed his twenty-fifth book commission, Tobias Churton is today internationally recognized for his insightful books on esoteric, spiritual history, Art and philosophy. Accessible and scholarly, Churton’s works address believers and doubters alike and, remarkably, have stimulated spiritual experiences in some readers. He has successfully widened the appeal of so-called “esoteric” spirituality. Churton’s warm style and depth of knowledge have entertained many thousands of readers in the process. Tobias is also a filmmaker, lecturer, poet and musician. He has recently recorded his orchestrated score for his prospective dramatic project, William Blake: Love is on Fire!, while his musical about Nancy Cunard and Henry Crowder, YOU, ME AND YESTERDAY, co-written with artist and songwriter John Myatt, was performed to great acclaim at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre in 2011. He has composed and recorded eight albums of original music.

After some further technical issues and a death in the family, we return – or ‘spring’ if you will – back to our regularly scheduled podcasting regime. This week Ken and Mark sit down with author John Mathews to discuss the legend of Spring-Heeled Jack. Discussed: Who, or what is Spring-Heeled Jack, The significance of the name ‘Jack’, SHJ throughout history, some prime suspects, and much much more.   Joining me in the hot-seat this week is Mar(c)k Foster Grab a copy of John’s amazing book ‘The Mystery of Spring-Heeled Jack From Victorian Legend to Steampunk Hero Here   Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com John Mathews Bio: John Matthews, once described as ‘Oxford’s answer to all things mythic’, has been a professional independent scholar since 1980. He has made a lifetime study of the legends of King Arthur, and more recently of the history of piracy. His list of publications totals over 100, including Pirates (Athenaeum) which was a number one New York Times best seller for 22 weeks and was translated into 18 languages. He has acted as an advisor on several big budget movies, including King Arthur, Pirates of the Caribbean and Prince of Persia. His work on the education DVD to accompany King Arthur won a BAFTA award in 2003.   His best known and most widely read works are ‘Pirates’ (Carlton/ Athenaeum),  ‘The Grail, Quest for Eternal Life’ (Thames & Hudson, 1981) ‘The Winter Solstice’ (Quest Books, 1999) which won the Benjamin Franklin Award for that year, and ‘The Wildwood Tarot’ which has sold over half a million copies worldwide and is the second best-selling tarot of all time.. His book ‘Celtic Warrior Chiefs’ was a New York Public Library recommended title for young people, and the more recent ‘Arthur of Albion’ won a Gold Medal from NAPPA, a gold Moonbeams award and a BIB Golden Apple Award. His love of Tarot and divination began when he devised the best-selling Arthurian Tarot, with Caitlin Matthews in the 1980s. It has sold in the region of 150,000 copies world-wide and had been though three editions. Since then he has worked on and devised a number of successful decks including, The Wildwood Tarot (with Mark Ryan) The Shaman’s Oracle and The Camelot Oracle, The Lost Tarot of Nostradamus, The Steampunk Tarot: Gods of the Machine  (with Caitlin Matthews and Wil Kinghan), The Sherlock Holmes Tarot and The Oracle of Dr John Dee. His latest adventuress in Tarot include The Cather Tarot (with Wil Kinghan), The Byzantine Tarot with Cilla Conway, and The Tarot of Light and Shadow with Andrea Aste. Oxford, UK. Jan 2021

This week we welcome to wonderful Jessie Desmond onto the show to discuss the mysterious Count of Saint Germain. The Count has baffled historians and paranormal researchers for years now. A master alchemist, a charming royal diplomat, and possibly...immortal? Let's find out. Joining me in the cohost chair this week is my good friend Mar(c)k Foster, and oh boy has it been a long time coming. Give Mr. Foster a warm SittingNow welcome! Below is a photograph of Helena Blavatsky with the Count St Germain (far right) as discussed in the show. Check out Jessie's Saint Germain site here, she is in the process of making a new site as we speak. Check the Saint Germain timeline here

We return to the mic this week to look at all things spooky, kooky and … saucery (shut up, it works!) with ‘crackpot historian’ Adam Gorightly. This week we discuss: The conspiracy roadmap from the early days of Ufology all the way up to the madness of Qanon. We look at the Dulce Base theories, disinformation, Bill Cooper, Alex Jones, The Satanic Panic…and much more. Joining me in the hot-seat this week is Ulysses Black Get Adam's latest book 'Saucers, Spooks and Kooks: Disinformation in the age of Aqaurius' in the UK here, and in the US here Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Adam Gorightly Bio: A self-described “crackpot historian,” Adam Gorightly’s articles have appeared for two decades in nearly every ‘zine, underground magazine, counter-cultural publication, and conspiratorial website imaginable. Bringing a mischievous sense of Prankster-Discordianism to the zany world of fringe culture, once Gorightly connects his dots, readers are plunged into alternative universes that forever alter their view of “reality. http://adamgorightly.com  

As promised, we return with part 2 of one of my favorite guests, the great Allen H Greenfield! Don’t forget to check out Part 1 of this interview, or you might find things a little bit confusing. This week we discuss all sorts of crazy goings-on, including more cipher talk, Hellier, Michael Bertiaux meta-computing, and much more. Joining me in the interviewing chair this week is Ulysses Black. Purchase The Complete Secret Cipher of the Ufonauts in the UK here, and in the US here   Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com T Allen Greenfield (the “T” or “Tau” being a customary title given to an esoteric prelate in the Doinel lineage upon their consecration) is a native of Augusta, Georgia, USA. With relatively brief sojourns in Tampa, Florida, Tucson, Arizona, and Key West, Florida, he has lived much of his life thus far in Atlanta. By the age of sixteen, he had become a world traveler, and has visited many countries all over the globe in the years since, from France to French Polynesia; from Canada to Venezuela; Greece to Grenada, Israel to Indiana. He is a long-time student of esoteric spirituality and Gnosticism, a study he began in 1960. A past (elected) member of the British Society for Psychical Research, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) (from 1960), etc., he has twice been the recipient of the “UFOlogist of the Year Award” of the National UFO Conference (1972 and 1992), which has run continuously on an annual basis for 41 years. He is a Borderland Science Research Associate (BSRA). He has personally conducted on-site UFO abduction investigations in Brooksville, FL; Pascagoula, MS; and Brown Mountain, NC. He considers the UFO phenomenon to be a “signal” from the Collective Unconscious that the neglect of a magical spirituality by society as a whole is a cause of the emotional plague and social disaster.

  ...and the lord spoketh, and more episodes of SittingNow Radio were bestowed upon the people. The people were annoyed though, because they'd asked for Playstation 5's all-round, but hey, they get what they're given amirite This week Ken and Ulysses Black sit down with the amazing Peter Grey Occultist and co-founder of the excellent Scarlet Imprint. We talk to Peter about his new book 'The Two Antichrists', Scientology, The Future of the Occult, Why Magicians should be looking to space, and not to the past, and a whole host of other weird goodness. For more Peter Grey, check out our SittingNow TV episodes Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com   Peter Grey Bio: Peter Grey has spoken at public events and conferences in England, Scotland, Norway and the United States as well as closed gatherings. These have included Occulture, the Occult Conferences in Glastonbury and London, Treadwell’s Bookshop, the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle, the Psychology, Art and the Occult conference in London, Here to Go II in Norway, the Trans-States conference in Northampton University and many Pagan Federation events. A long term supporter of the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in his native Cornwall, his work on the witches’ sabbat was first given at the annual Friends of the Museum gathering.  His work has also appeared in numerous small journals and collections, such as The Fenris Wolf, as well as online. His collected writings, from 2008–2018, are published in The Brazen Vessel (2019) with those of Alkistis Dimech. His Lucifer: Princeps (2015), is a study of the origins of the figure of Lucifer; he is currently writing the second part, Lucifer: Praxis, which addresses working with the fallen angels of the Enochic tradition and their transvection into the grimoires and modern practice.

After a bit of a hiatus, we've returned with a (great) beast of an episode. The legendary Allen Greenfield joins us to discuss all things Occult, O.T.O., and Secret Ciphers. Allen is a revolutionary occultist who famously discusses the links between magical ritual and the UFO phenomenon. He is the author of many books, including most famously 'The Secret Cipher of the Ufonauts'. He recently made a splash on the Para-occult investigation series 'Hellier', and he a whole load of fun to talk to. The interview ran long, so we've split in two, so look out for the next part dropping next week. Joining me in the co-host chair is the mysterious yet approachable Ulysses Black. Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Allen Greenfield Bio (via tallengreenfield.com): T Allen Greenfield (the "T" or "Tau" being a customary title given to an esoteric prelate in the Doinel lineage upon their consecration) is a native of Augusta, Georgia, USA. With relatively brief sojourns in Tampa, Florida, Tucson, Arizona, and Key West, Florida, he has lived much of his life thus far in Atlanta. By the age of sixteen, he had become a world traveler, and has visited many countries all over the globe in the years since, from France to French Polynesia; from Canada to Venezuela; Greece to Grenada, Israel to Indiana. He is a long-time student of esoteric spirituality and Gnosticism, a study he began in 1960. A past (elected) member of the British Society for Psychical Research, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) (from 1960), etc., he has twice been the recipient of the "UFOlogist of the Year Award" of the National UFO Conference (1972 and 1992), which has run continuously on an annual basis for 41 years. He is a Borderland Science Research Associate (BSRA). He has personally conducted on site UFO abduction investigations in Brooksville, FL; Pascagoula, MS; and Brown Mountain, NC. He considers the UFO phenomenon to be a "signal" from the Collective Unconscious that the neglect of a magical spirituality by society as a whole is a cause of emotional plague and social disaster.

This week Josh gets hypnogogic with dream researcher Sarah Janes, whilst Ken rolls around somewhere in purgatory with a messed up back. Sarah is our new go-to dream expert and has been studying the subject for many years. This week we discuss Lucid dreaming, the evolutionary purpose of dreaming, Hypnogogic imagery, and why Josh’s dreams are so boring. Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Sarah Janes Bio My name is Sarah Janes. I’m an independent researcher with a particular interest in dream culture in the ancient world and I have written about dreams and other things for The Idler, The Bohemian, The Journal of Paranthropology and Ancient Origins. SARAH JANES ON ACADEMIA.EDU SARAH JANES ON MEDIUM SARAH JANES ON LINKEDIN PLEASE DO FEEL FREE TO DROP ME AN EMAIL: sarahjanes@hotmail.com I also run the Explorers Club (St. Leonards Chapter), collaborate with Carl H. Smith on a VR project bringing ancient and future technologies together and organise dream retreats with fellow lucid dreamer Daniel Lee.

David Shoemaker, a clinical psychologist and Chancellor of the Temple of the Silver Star, delves into Thelema, Magick, and Carl Jung's insights. He discusses the concept of 'True Will' and how rituals can facilitate personal growth and mental focus. The conversation also explores the transformative role of the Holy Guardian Angel and the significance of dreams in Jungian psychology. Additionally, David shares his journey into Enochian magic and emphasizes overcoming outdated ideas for psychological progress, all while connecting these themes to modern mental health awareness.