Doing Hermeticism & Magical Timing with Sam Block
What Magic Is This?
One of the most asked questions that I get, is about something which has already been covered on the podcast previously but perhaps needs a bit more context. Hermeticism is hard to get one's head around already, but what does somebody who calls themself a "Hermeticist" actually believe and more than that- what do they actually do? Taking us through this form of mysticism, and as a bonus, how Magical Timing can help your magic is my favourite person to talk to about Magic- The one and only Sam Block.
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Dad Jokes
What Magic Is This?
Happy 2025 Humble Listeners! We made it! I thought that this would be an appropriate time to make a small announcement. Please be sure to have a listen to get some news regarding What Magic is This? Podcast, the What Magic is This? Patreon as well as me- Your favourite Podcast host for the last five and a half years. Stay Luminous!
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Runes with Siri Vincent Plouff
What Magic Is This?
Not unlike the Celts, if you head to your local New Age Occult store you will notice that there is an overabundance of Runes. From necklace pendants, to books, to divination stones and more- Runes are seemingly overrepresented. But much of what makes Runes so special has been lost in the mix. Here to help us through why Runes are not always what meets the eye in both scholarly and New age circles, is Podcaster and author Siri Vincent Plouff!
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The Influences & Influence of Robert Anton Wilson with Richard Metzger
What Magic Is This?
It has been quite some time since What Magic is This? has had the chance to talk about one of the most important figures of High Strangeness in the last 100 years. Robert Anton Wilson was a phenomenon unlike any other, but he had a very particular mixture of influences all of which came through in his worldviews and his work. Discussing with Doug why Bob is still a fellow worth knowing and reading, is the one person who started Doug down this very particular path of Magic. We are beyond delighted to finally welcome to the Podcast the counterculture éminence grise- Richard Metzger!
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Ghosts?
What Magic Is This?
As far as we can look back into our past, humanity has both interacted with and been haunted by the spirits of the dead. The tales of apparitions and hauntings pervade not only our most popular art but also our psyche; seemingly everyone has a ghost story to tell. While modern skepticism waves away ghosts as being merely the product of fear and imagination, many these days are saying that it is not so simple. Ghosts still have much to tell us, if we allow ourselves to be willingly haunted by the ideas that they bring forth.
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Magician's Workbooks with Alexander Cummins
What Magic Is This?
Most Grimoires which are housed in the many museums and collections around the world are somewhat well copied documents that seems to have been done by professionals. Yet every once in a while what shows up like a bad penny in these collections are very obviously personal Grimoires that you can tell have been worked on and with by at least one but in some cases a few practicing magicians. What these astounding documents show us within their pages can tell us a lot about not only the times in which they were used, but how magic has evolved through the ages. No one knows Magician's Workbooks...
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Blue Grimoires with Aaman Lamba
What Magic Is This?
For over 200 years, France was inundated with small cheaply produced books, bound with blue covers, filled with some of the most amazing things. These were the Bibliothèque bleue. Lots of these books would be about food, or fairy-tales, or astrology. Yet the most notorious of the Bibliothèque bleue, were the books on Magic, charms and spells. These are called Blue Grimoires today. Helping us get our fingers inky with why these small chapbooks were so important to magic, is author and magician Aaman Lamba.
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The Book of Saint Cyprian with José Leitão
What Magic Is This?
After King Solomon, the legend of Cyprian of Antioch looms quite large in the Western Magical Tradition. A spirit conjurer and occasional summoner of the devil, Cyprian later converted to Christianity and became a Bishop before being martyred. This legend had quite some traction, as many grimoires evoked the name of Cyprian within their pages and in the title of the Grimoire itself particularly in Iberia. Taking the listeners through the Book of Saint Cyprian, is the scholar of Portuguese esotericism and author José Leitão!
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A Rather Bookish Announcement!
What Magic Is This?
Have a listen and be sure to check out my , please! Hopefully all of the show notes book recommendations will be in place and updated by October 2024, but if you have any requests for books that you'd like to purchase that I have recommended through my show notes and I haven't had a chance to change yet, please be sure to and I will send you an affiliate link for that title. Happy Shopping, and thank you for keeping Independant Bookshops thriving!
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Thai Magic with Peter Jenx
What Magic Is This?
Southeast Asia has always been a place with many magical and animistic cultures. Perhaps no other country in the modern age has such a sycretic and extraordinary Magical environment than the land of smiles- Thailand. From spirits and ghosts to tattoos and amulets to monks and ajarns, Thailand is a place which still lives and breathes magic. Helping us get an introduction to the vast Magical world of the Thai, is author and practitioner of Thai Magic, Peter Jenx!
info_outlineFor more than 60 years in the late 19th century and early 20th century, a New Religious Movement known as Spiritualism swept across the Western World. Everyone from famous authors to housewives took part in engaging with spirits and Mediumship via Séances and other means. These days Spiritualism is mostly taken as a period of time in which every participant was either delusional or being conned by frauds. Yet there is much more to Spiritualism and Spirit Mediumship than what most people are familiar with. Going through it with us is the one and only Dr. Jack Hunter.