Rune Soup

Can you believe it’s been six months since Austinmas??? Anyway, it has. A very big thank you to those who joined us on the live stream this weekend -and for all the birthday wishes. During the show, Austin and I Looked back over what hit and what didn’t these past six months. Explored some of the wider contexts of Pluto in Aquarius and what it has to do with Uranus. Tabled some scenarios for current events in Eastern Europe. Looked at the forecast for the rest of this year. Unpacked, in particular, the upcoming Venus Retrograde and how we can be with that on an individual and collective level. Answered some fun questions from the live chat at the end. Named several peacocks. You can, of course, listen to this audio version or you can watch along on YouTube below. Because it is a live show I put some slides together but, as always, they are not in the least bit necessary. (This is my long-running performance piece about how that is true of all slides in every professional setting anywhere.) Either way, enjoy!

Vlogger, podcaster and cultural commentator Angie Speaks joins the show this week. We dive deep into: The medicine in Diaspora cultural experiences. Being abandoned by the Left and abandoning the Left. Political shortcomings of materialist thinking. Why the Left hates C. G. Jung. Reality tunnels. A really rich, powerful conversation. Enjoy! Show Notes Angie on YouTube. Angie on Twitter. Angie's podcast, Mystic and the Machine.

The penultimate instalment in our AI series! This time we talk about the impact of algorithms and the mental frames of the builders of Artificial Intelligence and what that means for access to a living cosmos. What happens when AI gets to decide what is real? If you have already used Chat GPT, you may have found that it refuses to answer some questions -about biopolitics or geopolitics or even exopolitics. Or if it does, it simply enforces the party line. Either that or it gives you a Lisa Simpson-style caveat about how 'important it is' to respect diversity or something at the end. We have seen what happens when political information is dropped from Google results. AI will multiply that effect a thousandfold. (As is traditional now, there is a Q&A at the end for those who choose to watch the video version.) Either way, here is the link to the Marc Andressen piece that is referenced. Enjoy!            

The one and only Camelia Elias returns to the show this week to talk about demons and crosses. Specifically, we explore what demons actually are and their relation to human desire. We examine the curious case of Andromalius, the final spirit of the Goetia. We discuss occult style. Then we turn to the role and function of crosses in cartomancy: Why and how is the cross so potent in the tarot? And why does the Celtic Cross suck so much?? Really great stuff. Enjoy! Show Notes Camelia's Website. Eyecorner Press. Aradia Academy.

What is transhumanism? Is it different from technocracy? What about posthumanism? Where do these ideas originate, and how have they become so prominent today? In this week's solo show, we look at the history of some mostly-insane ideas and explore their significance for today's magical folk. Join Gordon as we continue our series looking at the arrival and impact of AI from the perspective of a living cosmos. Enjoy!      

Writer, speaker, filmmaker, podcaster and cultural theorist J. F. Martel joins the show this week to explore art, creativity, UFOs and the Imaginal. We discuss C. G. Jung, David Lynch, Ramsay Dukes, Bergson, and Corbin. We look at what insights might come from having a better definition of 'image' when it comes to UFO phenomena. We talk about creativity as and with magic. And generally try to wrestle down to earth something approaching a Grand Unified Weird Theory. Super fun, super deep discussion. Enjoy!   🔼🔼SHOW NOTES🔼🔼 Weird Studies Podcast The Twin Peaks Mythos - a watch-along experience with J. F. Martel and Phil Ford. Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice.

This week, we welcome to the show artists, musicians, authors and fellow podcasters Risa Dickens and Amy Torok. Amy and Risa from the Missing Witches project join us for a deep dive into the archetype of the witch. What is it? What changes does it portend? What does it mean when it is so close to the surface? What are our obligations to it? We also talk ancestors, reclaiming history, art-as-magic and a whole lot more. Super great chat! Enjoy!     Show Notes   Missing Witches: Podcast and Website. Missing Witches: The Book Missing Witches Fundraiser for the Montreal Native Women's Shelter.        

Continuing our multi-part exploration of AI and its implication for These Capitalised Times we are living through and with, we look at the metaphysics of technology this week. What are the implications of Artificial Intelligence for The performing of magic? Living in a magical universe? What is an animist understanding not just of 'intelligence' but 'artifice'? What -if any- is the difference between a tool and a magical tool? This week we explore: The work of Ivan Illich. A metaphysics of tools. What it means to operate in the ruins. Steiner's description of Ahriman and what it means for our moment. Show Notes Donate to the Missing Witches fundraiser for the Native Women's Shelter. Towards a Definition of Magic. At Work in The Ruins. Unlocking the Secrets of Prophecy - For Sorcerers, Astrologers and Magicians. Are Humans The AI Of The Mineral Realm? w/ Matías De Stefano.

Author and (post)activist Dougald Hine joins us this week for a powerful discussion about our moment and what -if anything- we should 'do' with and about it. The springboard for our chat is Dougald's recently-released book, At Work in the Ruins. We unpack the title -what do we mean by 'work'- as well as what we mean by 'ruins'. Physical? Cultural? Social? We talk about what it means to hospice modernity and we unpack why one of the founders of the Dark Mountain project is no longer talking about climate change. Really good stuff. Good, timely stuff. Enjoy!             Show Notes   At Work in the Ruins. Dougald's Website. A School Called Home.

Legendary ethnobotanist, Mark J. Plotkin, joins the show this week for a fascinating chat about traditional medicine, Indigenous knowledge, plant healing and modern medicine.   Dr Plotkin studied under the great Richard Evans Schultes himself and has been exploring the Amazon as a friend and researcher for five decades. He is the co-founder of the Amazon Conservation Team -a nonprofit that partners with Indigenous communities to conserve biodiversity, protect traditional lifeways and support sustainable Amazonian livelihoods.   During the lockdown era, Mark started an excellent and highly recommended podcast, Plants of the Gods. We discuss   The origination of the podcast project The role of psychedelics in contemporary medicine The safeguarding of Indigenous intellectual property in the 'modern' world 'Active molecules' versus whole plants in contemporary medicine The changes -good and bad- in the field of ethnobotany over the course of his career   A fantastic discussion with a personal hero. Dive in. And if this is the first time you've heard about Plants of the Gods, well, I'm pleased to be able to share it with you!   Show Notes   Mark's website Plants of the Gods podcast Amazon Conservation Team