Oddcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

We introduce one of the strangest and most nigglingly-intriguing esoteric books of the Italian Renaissance, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. James O'Neill is our guide through nested dream-landscapes, erotic initiations, and weirdly-specific garden design.

What if the scientific study of religions, a.k.a. Comparative Religions, History of Religions, and so forth – the academic discipline wherein the academic study of western esotericism largely finds its home – was founded by, well, western esotericists? In this interview we examine the history of the history of religions with two historians of religions and find the Theosophical Society right there at the beginning.

Music was seen as a crucial tool for the elevation and transformation of the human soul in ancient esoteric philosophy from Pythagoras to Olympiodorus, and beyond into the western esoteric traditions of later eras. We discuss the theory and practice of anagogic music in the ancient Pythagorean/Platonist tradition with Sebastián Moro Tornese.

In the first of a short series of synoptic episodes looking at the esoteric in ancient Platonism as a whole, we approach the scale of virtues, the ladder by which the Platonist sage, following in the footsteps of Socrates, was to practice ascent to likeness with the gods, while still engaging in daily life.

We explore the intersections of fine art practice and magic with artistic practitioner Judith Noble. Tricksterish subversion as standard.

We discuss the work of Ioane Petritsi (eleventh to twelfth centuries), a Georgian intellectual whose translation of, and commentary on, the Elements of Theology of Proclus is a historical anomaly in a number of ways. It turns out that everything in Proclus' metaphysics – even the henads – could and did make it through into a Christian work in twelfth-century Georgia. Come for the surprising story of a radical Georgian intellectual, stay for the Georgian origins of the medieval Christian saint, the Buddha.

Jonathan Greig, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Leuven and an expert on Proclus in East Rome, dives into the fascinating reception of Proclus' philosophy from the 6th to the 15th centuries. He discusses the dynamic interplay between pagan and Christian thought, focusing on key figures like Maximus the Confessor and Gregory Palamas. The conversation highlights theological controversies, including the hesychastic debates, and how Proclus' ideas were reinterpreted across centuries, leaving a lasting impact on Byzantine intellectual life.

Sørina Higgins, expert in Modernist drama and the Occult, discusses the intersection of modernist drama and ceremonial magic. The podcast explores the influences of secret societies, the mastery of esoteric systems by figures like Crowley and Yeats, and the evolution of spiritual themes in short plays. The fusion of theatre and ritual in Aleister Crowley's work and the blurring of theater and teaching in esotericism by Alex Matthews are also highlighted.

We discuss the translation, adaptation, and evolution of Proclus' Elements of Theology into and through the Arabic and Latin thought-worlds with Peter Adamson. Come for the monotheist Proclus who is Aristotle, stay for the digression on Plethon.

We speak with Alireza Doostdar on his field-research exploring alternative forms of spirituality in Iran. Come for the new-age exorcisms, stay for the the true spiritual significance of The Exorcist.