Rune Soup
Hello from Cusco, where the streets are laid out like a puma and hawkers offer massages on every corner. I've been thinking about Huáscar, the last true Sapa Inca, who willingly took sacred knowledge into the underworld until the time was right for its return. What if the strange convergence we're witnessing - the grimoire revival, the sudden value of grandmother's recipes, and yes, even the rise of what I'm calling "orthodank" online - are all manifestations of the same archetypal energy? Things coming up from below, returning from the shadows at this precise moment in time. The question is:...
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This week, I'm welcoming fellow substacker and Tolkien nerd, Charles McBride, whose essay 'Shire Anarchy' caught my eye in the cultural curiosity that is the substack notes app. We're diving into the political imagination behind Middle-Earth – a world where having a king is perfectly fine, as long as he's quite far away or, better yet, long dead. From childhood obsessions with Tolkien to the strange bedfellows his work creates in modern fandom, Charles and I explore what it means when the villain of the story isn't a particular people, but the very desire for total control. How did this...
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Everyone’s favourite gnostic raconteur, Miguel Conner, returns to the show this week to discuss his latest book, The Occult Elvis. The book becomes an entryway into a wide-ranging discussion on the role of shamans, cultural transformation, fate and the destiny of America. (Mere trifles!) Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the Occult Elvis 04:03 The Spirituality of Rock Music 07:54 Elvis as a Magician and Shaman 11:52 The Blue Light Phenomenon 15:54 Elvis's Influence on American Identity 19:53 Elvis's Mystical Interests and Books 23:47 The Legacy of Elvis in Modern Culture 34:37 Exploring Fate...
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In this episode, I explore the shifting landscape of conspiracy culture and what I've been noticing about an emerging "conspiracy canon." Recording from my new apartment in Paraguay, I dive into observations from my recent event with Greg Carlwood in Florida, examining how conspiracy thinking has evolved from political analysis to metaphysical questioning. Using Charles Fort's framework of "dominants," I discuss how we're witnessing a paradigm shift toward a more meaning-centered worldview as a response to scientific materialism. Whether you consider yourself a conspiracy person or not, this...
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Hi from the Amazon jungle. Honestly, if I’d known that AI would do such a good job of describing this podcast, I would have left it in charge and stayed longer. Although I will say, I asked it to write it in the style of the speaker, and it made me sound way more polite than I usually am to you scrubs. Enjoy! (PS - you will find the same show in your podcatcher, as normal.) In the heart of the Amazon, under a tin roof pummeled by tropical rain, I offer you a cosmic upgrade to Nietzsche's Amor Fati. While the German philosopher tells us to love our fate unconditionally, I'm proposing...
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A solo show from Asunción, Paraguay. I wanted to share some thoughts that I have been sitting with while remastering all the premium member courses, beginning with Grimoires. These thoughts turned into a full-length solo show. Hope you like it! AI certainly seems to have had an absolute blast listening to it: In this thought-provoking episode, Gordon White explores the concept of magical readiness and authenticity in practice. Recording from Paraguay, he delves into what it truly means to be "ready" for magic, challenging common assumptions about magical practice and discussing the difference...
info_outlineRune Soup
A solo show from Asunción, Paraguay. I wanted to share some thoughts that I have been sitting with while remastering all the premium member courses, beginning with Grimoires. These thoughts turned into a full-length solo show. Hope you like it! AI certainly seems to have had an absolute blast listening to it: In this thought-provoking episode, Gordon White explores the concept of magical readiness and authenticity in practice. Recording from Paraguay, he delves into what it truly means to be "ready" for magic, challenging common assumptions about magical practice and discussing the difference...
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Ringing in the new year with a banger! John Michael Greer returns to the show to explore Whether we can say if 'western' magic has a discernable metaphysics. What those might be. Seeing as AI did such a good job of giving us a definition of metaphysics (which you will get in the show), here's what she thinks the episode is about: "The dialogue emphasizes the importance of directionality, the existence of intelligent non-human beings, and the overarching themes that unify magical practices across cultures. In this conversation, Gordon White delves into the complexities of historical...
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Austin Coppock returns to the show for our traditional six-monthly astrological forecast, this time for the first half of 2025. We are calling this one Just The Tip (Of The Chainsword)! 00:00 Introduction to 2025 Astrology Predictions 02:56 The Significance of Warhammer 40K in 2025 05:45 Astrological Context: The Transition from 2024 to 2025 09:00 Civil Unrest and Mars Retrograde 11:53 Neptune and Saturn's Influence in 2025 15:00 The Impact of Neptune's Ingress into Aries 18:00 The Role of Heroism and Leadership in 2025 20:50 The Collapse of Narratives and Storytelling in Society 39:31 The...
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In this episode, Gordon discusses the evolution of his podcast, the connections between magical individuals, and the themes presented in Grant Morrison's comic series, The Invisibles. He explores The loneliness epidemic in modern society. The role of digital connectivity. The concept of the invisible college as a metaphor for shared vision and belonging among like-minded individuals. We also look at the intersections of various spiritual practices, the disintegration of civilisational fields, and the importance of finding resonance within an invisible college of shared beliefs and values. He...
info_outlineIn this episode, I explore the shifting landscape of conspiracy culture and what I've been noticing about an emerging "conspiracy canon."
Recording from my new apartment in Paraguay, I dive into observations from my recent event with Greg Carlwood in Florida, examining how conspiracy thinking has evolved from political analysis to metaphysical questioning.
Using Charles Fort's framework of "dominants," I discuss how we're witnessing a paradigm shift toward a more meaning-centered worldview as a response to scientific materialism.
Whether you consider yourself a conspiracy person or not, this episode offers insights into epistemology, metaphysics, and our relationship to meaning in the cosmos.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction and setting the scene from Paraguay
02:15 - Recent event with Greg Carlwood in Florida
04:30 - The concept of a "Conspiracy Canon"
07:10 - Observing alignment among respected thinkers
09:05 - When brilliant people question fundamental assumptions
12:30 - Robert Anton Wilson on conspiracy culture shifting from left to right
15:45 - The "Alex Jones era" and libertarian influence
18:20 - The 80s-90s "Lone Gunman Era" conspiracy canon
21:40 - Today's conspiracy canon: no virus, flat Earth, aliens as demons, Tartaria
24:15 - The internet's "hold my beer" effect on conspiracy thinking
27:50 - Shift from "how things are" to "who we are in the cosmos"
31:10 - Natural drift toward meaning-seeking
34:30 - Pushback against scientific materialism
37:50 - Charles Fort and reality paradigm shifts
40:15 - Fort's "dominants" and "damned data"
43:40 - Accumulated "damned facts" challenging mainstream narratives
46:20 - The "religious dominant" as initial framework
49:30 - The "scientific dominant" and its exclusionist tendency
52:45 - Fort recognizing scientism's limitations ahead of his time
56:10 - The emergent "dominant of wider inclusions"
59:25 - Visit to Cassadega and Greg's psychic reading experience
01:02:40 - Kelly Brogan and Mark Gober's alternative cosmology
01:05:15 - Being "80% flat earther" on meaningful universe principles
01:09:30 - Flat Earth as Biblical literalism seeking meaning
01:12:45 - Critique of Tartaria theories
01:15:20 - Meme culture and uncritical sharing of conspiracy content
01:18:40 - "Realm theory" as a container for anomalous data
01:21:25 - Being "Gandalf among the hobbits" during paradigm shifts
01:24:50 - Fortean flow model for approaching change
01:27:30 - Closing thoughts on being a container for transformation