The Hermetic Hour

Astral Projection, Soul-Travel and Away We Go!

This coming Thursday, October 21st, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. Hermetic Hour host Poke Runyon will launch a discussion on what is commonly called "Astral Projection." We will use what we still consider the best occult manual on the subject: "The Art of Astral Projection," by Ophiel, as our starting point. We'll mention path workings (Inner Plane projection) vs. the OOBE, comparing these methods with Tibetan practice (po-wah yoga and throng-jug yogas). Following on Jack London's "Star Rover", we'll examine self-hypnosis and sensory deprivation. We'll mention Monroe and Hemi-Sync, (binaural beats), discuss "Music of the Spheres," and Remote Viewing. Tune in, turn on, and get out!

The Jesus Myth

On January 23rd the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present an essay "The Jesus Myth" - Christianity's only hope -- which will be a counter argument to the evangelical Christian position that the so-called Jesus Myth based on the Naassene Document, a 1st or 2nd century Gnostic Christian scripture, presenting Jesus as the last of a recurring cycle of dieing Pagan Gods resurrected by Pagan Goddesses such as: Tammuz and Ishtar, Osiris and Isis, Baal and Astarte, Venus and Adonis, ctc., culminating in Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The fundamentalists contend that this idea undermines the historical Jesus (they reinforce this by mixing in other Gnostic Christian views that Jesus did not die on the cross, which was not a part of the original Naassene proposition.)     As Valentinian Gnostic Rosicrucians, we contend that the Jesus Myth as set forth in the Naassene Document is not only valid as scripture, but that it represents Christianity's only hope of survival against its awful record, both Orthodox and Protestant,of exploitation, prejudicial persecution, hypocrisy and patriarchalism. So tune and help us defend our tradition. Music Credits: Opening: Seian by Ali Kesanto Closing: Sneaking Around the Mansion by John Abbot

The Enoch Syndrome

This Thursday, October 14th, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. PST, Hermetic Hour host Poke Runyon will lead a discussion on "The Enoch Syndrome." This is a term we have applied to a type of channeled, visionary (right brain) revelation that is extraordinarily detailed and consistent. The Biblical Enoch and his tour or Heaven is our starting point. We'll proceed through Dee and Kelley, Oasphe, Phylos, Urantia, Richard Shaver, Edgar Cayce, the Seth Material, and finally "The Jet-Propelled Couch" by Robert Lindner, which was the inspiration for the film "K-Pax." Although we are going to examine the psychological factors behind this phenomenon, we are not out to debunk these fascinating revelations, but rather to place them in the perspective of Hermetic philosophy: as a personal reality that extends to encompass the universe, and is therefore "real" in its own context. Join us and expand your consciousness.

Magical Fiction and Films

On Thursday the 7th of October, 2010, the Hermetic Hour, hosted by Poke Runyon, will present a lively review of magical fiction and films. We will go from "The Saragossa Manuscript"(1841) through Dion Fortune's "Moon Magic", Somerset Maugham's "The Magician" (novel and film), Chambers "The King in Yellow", Lovecraft's dream cycle, Merritt's lost worlds (that influenced Shaver), Jack Williamson's "Darker than You Think" (Jack Parson's favorite), Clark Ashton Smith dream-maker extraordinary, his imitator Jack Vance (from which we got Dungeons & Dragons), "Valis" by Philip K. Dick -- just to name a few. Then the films: Orson Welles' "Black Magic" on Cagliostro, Jean Cocteau's "Orpheus", Merrian Cooper's "She", "Simon King of the Witches," "What Dreams May Come," "Crowley," and Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain." A smorgasbord of mind-benders. Tune in and feast on it!

Review of New Shows in 2024 and What Lies Ahead in 2025

On Thursday January 2nd 2025 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review the new shows we presented in 2024 and discuss what is coming up in 2025. Our host for the past 15 years has been Blogtalkradio. They are shutting down on January 31st, 2025 and so we are moving to PodBean in 2025. Blogtalkradio was a pioneer in podcasting and we owe them thanks for giving us a wonderful outreach tool which has not only brought us many new associate members, but also inspired several other Hermetic podcasters. As our regular listeners know we have been re-broadcasting our shows from 2010 this year for new listeners who missed them. Blogtalkradio.com has archived everything, with abstracts, and those archives will no longer be available after January 31st, 2025. If you want to download a particular show, let's say the Enochian Magick lecture, get it before Blogtalkradio shuts down. Also we will discuss new shows we have in the works and upcoming publications and productions. So tune and stay with us. Happy New Year!