Listen in on our conversation with writer, film maker, musician, and podcaster Carl Abrahamsson about esoteric, society, and occulture. We discuss his new book “Source Magic: The Origin of Art, Science, and Culture” and its connection to the origins of human experience and culture. We explore the influence of figures like Genesis P-Orridge, Derek Jarman, and Ezra Pound on the themes of magic and creativity. Abrahamson shares his journey as a writer, filmmaker, and musician, and his passion for exploring and sharing unique cultural experiences. https://www.carlabrahamsson.com/  [https://ia600507.us.archive.org/18/items/Occulture/Occulture.mp3]  —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​ 

Settle in, folks, get comfy. This is a long chat with Earl, the driving force behind the Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast, or SHWEP. Hosted by Jason Mehmel, with guest Shaun McCann of the Apostolic Johannite Church. We cover a lot of territory in this wide-ranging discussion. As fans of the SHWEP, Jason and Shaun had lots to ask about and Earl’s wonderful responses kept the conversation going! We also asked listener questions which led to further fascinating places! Earl was a fabulous guest, engaging with us as practicing Gnostics as much as we were asking him about his fabulous work! If you’re not familiar with SHEWP, then get on board! Here’s some information about the show itself. The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast is a chronological history-of-ideas narrative documenting the development of a central, but often-overlooked, collection of intellectual currents in the western world. The exact parameters of what constitutes western esotericism are an ongoing debate in academe, but they certainly include esoteric Platonism through history, alchemy, astrology, traditions of learned magic, occultism, and many types of thought usually considered under the imprecise term ‘mysticism’. Found at http://shwep.net or wherever you get your podcasts! (Note: We recorded this episode in March 2023, but technical difficulties delayed the release until now!)     [https://ia800509.us.archive.org/32/items/shwep-trim-echofix-5/SHWEP-trim-echofix-5.mp3]     —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​

The director and writer West Craven is best remembered as a horror genius for “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Scream,” and many others. But his career was more expansive than the horror genre including everything from an experimental novel to a heart warming Meryl Streep pic. What unites his work is a focus on meta, societal, and theological narratives. That’s right, theological! Raised as an evangelical Christian, a movement he rejected, his films say profound things about religion in America, religious mythos, and maybe even the nature of God. Dr. David Goodin returns to the show to discuss “Theology & Wes Craven” a book of essays he edited and contributed to on the topic. Don’t be scared, tune in now! Get the book at: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781978714700/Theology-and-Wes-Craven  [https://ia600500.us.archive.org/15/items/wes-craven-theology/Wes%20Craven%20Theology.mp3]  —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​ 

Delve into our illuminating conversation with Dr. Kyle Smith, the author of the fascinating social history “Cult of the Dead:A Brief History of Christianity.” Dr. Smith discusses his research into how Christianity was profoundly shaped by the cult of martyrdom in its early centuries. He explains how the often gruesome stories of saints’ tortures and deaths reinforced Christian faith and bound believers together, and how martyrs’ relics and shrines continue to be venerated today. Kyle also unpacks how commemorating martyrdom through calendar feasts dedicated to saints’ deaths structured the passage of time itself for Christians. Get the book at: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520345164/cult-of-the-dead  [https://ia601805.us.archive.org/32/items/cultofthe-dead/CultoftheDead.mp3]  —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​ 

Join us as Dr. Shirley Paulson returns to dive deep into the riveting “Letter from Peter to Phillip,” shedding light on the resilience and strategies of early Christ followers in the face of violence and imperial oppression. This gem of a text, though brief and nestled in the treasures of the Nag Hammadi Library, stands outside the traditional Christian canon, yet it packs a punch with profound insights and transformative advice on healing from the shackles of empire. Explore the astonishing influence that narratives and mythos, often categorized as Gnostic, can have on our lives, offering insightful perspectives and paving the way toward personal strength in the face of suffering.Don’t miss out on exploring how the timeless wisdom enclosed in just a page or two resonates with our contemporary challenges, making the “Letter from Peter to Phillip” startlingly relevant to our current moment. Dr. Paulson, along with another renown scholar, Dr. Hal Taussig have an online course all bout “The Letter from Phillip to Peter” and we found it to be incredible, check it out at Healing Violence in the World: Letter of Peter to Philip Read “The Letter from Peter to Phillip” at http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/letpet-meyer.html  [https://ia601807.us.archive.org/16/items/letter-peter-phillip/Letter%20Peter%20Phillip.mp3]  —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​ 

It’s said “philosophy started with Plato” and while Platonism is everywhere it has a special, intense, and weird relationship with Gnosticism. For more than three hours we examined it with Joanne Leone and now we’re wrapping it up with a discussion on the demiurge! Well not just the demiurge but so much on how the Gnostics engaged and transformed but ultimately embraced the Platonic thought of their time. If you listen to all three hours you’ll be the new philosopher king (or queen or ruler or whatever title you choose). The funny thing is, in some ways we only scratched the surface, it took us 9 months to get this out (we have A LOT of banked shows for y’all) but we’re hoping Joanne will come back on for a few hours/days/weeks more to keep it going sometime… Part 1: https://pod.link/845230843/episode/2cc8abb999fdbf699563bd9c8f5dcd16 Part 2: https://pod.link/845230843/episode/061ab85d39490ffe29116fe4f480bdc7  [https://ia600503.us.archive.org/11/items/platonism-ancient-gnosticism-part-3/Platonism%20Ancient%20Gnosticism%20Part%203.mp3]  —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​ 

We’re back with Joanne Leone for Part 2 of our epic three part investigation of the links, influence, and relationships between Platonism and Gnosticism. In this ep we get into evil gods ruling us, divine goddesses of saving wisdom, the Sethians jamming with the Platonic philosophers, and continue to dive deeply into how Gnosticism adopts, embraces, subverts, and transforms the backdrop philosophic tradition of Western civilization. This ep and all our content is also out as a podcast, subscribe where ever you usually listen or go to https://pod.link/845230843 And if you’ve landed here without checking out Part 1 first be sure to check it out on YouTube at https://youtu.be/RZA_Mt6dcIA and as a podcast at: https://pod.link/845230843/episode/2cc8abb999fdbf699563bd9c8f5dcd16     [https://ia600504.us.archive.org/6/items/platonism-gnosticism-pt-2/Platonism%20%26%20Gnosticism%20Pt2.mp3]     —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​

[Pop Gnosis] Introducing Barbie with extra Gnostic AccessoriesorHow many Sophias can you fit into one movie? Jason Mehmel and Bee Scolnick talk about that provocative movie phenomenon, Barbie. Already a hilarious and biting satire around gender expectations, the movie unquestionably walks right into the forest of symbols and starts building a cabin. Greta Gerwig was known to have a kind of ‘Apostles Creed’ styled poem they read together during filming, and has associated parts of the film with the story of the Garden of Eden! We both heartily enjoyed the movie, and also couldn’t help but find numerous gnostic, esoteric, and mystical associations the whole way through! This episode was so much fun to record; we hope you enjoy it too! See if we caught all the Gnostic Gnuggets available! Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments!   Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostichttp://gnosticwisdom.net/talkgnosisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkgnosisTwitter: https://twitter.com/TalkGnosisEmail our producer! jonathan@gnosticwisdom.net——–The opinions expressed in this show do not necessarily reflect those of the Gnostic Wisdom Network, the Apostolic Johannite Church, or any other organization. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The Apostolic Johannite Church is an esoteric, Gnostic, Christian community. Many of us seek a real spiritual community which is loving, inclusive, spiritually lively and empowering of people of all genders, races and sexualities, both rich and poor. The Johannite tradition represents just such a community: founded by Saint John the beloved disciple of Jesus, rooted in the tradition of John the Baptist and guided by direct, experiential contact with the Divine, this tradition encourages personal responsibility and freedom of thought and practice. Learn more at http://johannite.org     [https://ia601407.us.archive.org/27/items/y-2mate.is-pop-gnosis-introducing-barbie-with-extra-gnostic-accessories-hiq-80af/y2mate.is%20-%20Pop%20Gnosis%20Introducing%20Barbie%20with%20extra%20Gnostic%20Accessories-HIq80afK7Qw-192k-1694927594.mp3]     —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​

The relationship between Platonism and ancient Gnosticism is a fascinating, complicated, and strange tangle of joint influences, transformation, complimentary and clashing philosophies. That’s why we’re doing this special 3 part series on the topic with Joanne Leone. Here in part 1 we lay out some Plato basics and then dive into the later currents of Middle Platonism and start to connect some themes to the ancient Gnostics. Make sure to come back for part 2 and 3!  [https://ia600504.us.archive.org/0/items/gnosticism-and-platonism/Gnosticism%20and%20Platonism.mp3]  —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​ 

In Ronnie Pontiac’s comprehensive exploration of four centuries of American occult and spiritual history, “American Metaphysical Religion” he unveils that America, from its inception, was inspired by a dynamic mix of esoteric beliefs. His research covers a wide range of subjects from colonial-era alchemists to the mystical currents of the present day in a highly readable and fascinating fashion. Discover the secret history of America and American religion! Get your copy at https://www.innertraditions.com/books/american-metaphysical-religion  [https://ia600505.us.archive.org/33/items/alk-gnosis-american-metaphysical-religion-w-ronnie-pontiac/alk%20Gnosis%20American%20Metaphysical%20Religion%20w%20Ronnie%20Pontiac.mp3]  —————– Become a patron: http://patreon.com/gnostic​​