Maximus the Confessor, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής (late sixth century – 13 August 662), was an erudite monk, theologian, and philosopher of the East Roman empire; during his eventful life he travelled the soon-to-be-Arab territories of North Africa and the Near East (as well as visiting Rome, currently under the theoretical control of Constantinople via …

This lecture explores the provocative question: Can magic stop wars? Drawing on historical and cross-cultural sources, we examine how rituals and spells have been used not merely as private acts of devotion but as technologies of politics, resistance, and reconciliation. From the Assyrian Maqlû tablets and Egyptian execration rites, to the Wiccan “…

Jason Josephson-Storm returns to the SHWEP to discuss one of the most influential thinkers on modern western esoteric movements – Sir James George Frazer, author of The Golden Bough – and where, precisely, J.G.F. might fit within western esotericism itself.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

In this episode, Dr Angela Puca unpacks one of the most fascinating questions in the study and practice of magic: how does magic actually work? Drawing on both historical and contemporary scholarship, she explores the six major explanatory models: the spirit, psychological, natural or energetic, information or cybernetic, sociological, and transcen…

For over thirty years, Richard Kaczynski has been a scholar, speaker and writer on Western esotericism, particularly the life and work of British occultist Aleister Crowley. His publications include Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley (2002, 2010), The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley (2009), Forgotten Templars: The Untold Origins of Or…

What happens when a work of fiction becomes a real grimoire? In this episode, we explore The Demons of the Necronomicon, H. P. Lovecraft’s imagined pantheon of cosmic entities and their extraordinary transformation into living figures within modern occultism. Drawing on peer-reviewed research, we trace how Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, and Nyarlathotep esc…

Asmodeus is more than the “demon of lust.” In this episode, I trace his journey from the Avestan aēšma in Zoroastrian texts to Ashmedai in Jewish literature, through the Book of Tobit and the Babylonian Talmud, into Islamic narratives of Solomon’s throne, and on to Christian demonology, Renaissance grimoires, Enlightenment satire, and modern occult…

Christopher Bonura introduces us to the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodios, a seventh-century Syriac prophetic universal history. Come for the Arab conquests reflected in Christian revelation, stay for the apocalyptic Roman emperor.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

Ivy Corvus has been practicing various occult philosophies for 20 years. She is the author of "Chaos Magic: A Complete Beginner's Guide", a contributing author to "This is Chaos: Embracing The Future Of Magic", and has written for Pagan Dawn magazine. Ivy is best known as “Ivy The Occultist” on her YouTube channel, established in 2022. She is a see…

Across three millennia, the goddess Astarte was recast as the demon Astaroth: a transformation that reveals more about humanity’s fear of the sacred feminine than any real change in divinity. This episode traces that metamorphosis from ancient Mesopotamian goddess to grimoire demon and modern occult archetype. Drawing on sources from biblical polem…

Having laid out fairy-magic as a genre, and discussing some of its characteristics, we are delighted to speak with Daniel Harms about the people and social circumstances behind the texts and practices of fairy-magic.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

This video explores the fascinating figure of Paimon, one of the most prominent kings of the Goetia, tracing his journey from early modern demonological catalogues to his reinvention in contemporary occultism and popular culture. We will examine how his image shifts across grimoires, from Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum to the Ars Goetia, a…

Is there such a thing as a universal human experience of the divine, or are all encounters shaped by culture, language, and power? In this video, we explore the classic debate between perennialism and constructivism, from William James and Mircea Eliade to Steven Katz, Talal Asad, and beyond. Drawing on philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and neu…

In this interview we explore a crucial document of seventh-century Judaism: the Sefer Zerubbabel, an apocalyptic ‘future history’ allegedly written in the past. The Temple will descend, the evil Armilus (son of Satan and a statue) will wreak havok, and two messiahs will arise to redeem Israel.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

In this episode, we explore the complex and often uneasy relationship between science and magic. Rather than asking whether magic is "real," we examine why scientific methods struggle to capture the essence of magical practices, and whether such validation is even desirable. From questions of measurement and philosophy to issues of cultural autonom…

What happens when Italian folk traditions cross the Atlantic? This video explores how Italian witchcraft, especially the healing practice of Segnature, has been reimagined, reinvented, and often misrepresented in the United States. From Leland’s Aradia to Wicca-inspired “Stregheria,” we’ll look at how Italian-American communities blended folklore, …

With the Arab conquest of Sasanian Persia, a new religion enters the west. Once the great religious Other to the Græco-Roman world, the Zoroastrians are now part of the story of western esotericism. We explore their extraordinary religion with Touraj Daryaee.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

Explore the teachings of the Temple of Set, one of the most influential yet misunderstood esoteric movements of the modern era. From Michael A. Aquino’s Diabolicon to the mysterious Leviathan Working, this lecture uncovers the philosophy of Xeper (self-becoming), the myth of Lucifer/Set, and the Temple’s quest for self-deification. Drawing on peer-…

In this video, I explore Aleister Crowley’s The Vision and the Voice and why it remains one of the most powerful and unsettling texts in the Western esoteric tradition. I look at how the figure of Babalon emerges as both a theophany and a ritual of unmaking, and how this visionary work challenges our assumptions about magic, subjectivity, and divin…

What do angels, secret languages, and occult orders have in common? Enochian magic. In this episode, we trace its evolution from John Dee’s apocalyptic visions in Elizabethan England to the ritual systems of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley’s initiatory drama, and its surprising reinventions in contemporary occultism—from chaos magic to digital ri…

Who was Saint Cyprian: a holy bishop, a legendary sorcerer, or both? In this video, I explore the enigmatic figure of Saint Cyprian through the lens of history, folk magic, and grimoire traditions. Drawing on academic sources and rare magical texts, we trace the evolution of his legend from early Christian writings to the Black Books of Norway, the…

CONNECT & SUPPORT💖 MY COURSES 👩🏻‍🎓 https://drangelapuca.com/courses WEBSITE & NEWSLETTER 💌 https://www.drangelapuca.com/#newsletter BOOK A TUTORING OR A LECTURE 📖https://drangelapuca.com/services BECOME MY PATRON! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/angelapuca SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ☕️https://ko-fi.com/drangelapuca ONE-OFF DONATIONS 💰 https://paypal.me/angelasy…

Did you know that there is a whole practical and occult-philosophic corpus dealing with the summoning and controlling of faeries? Samuel Gillis Hogan tells us about his research in the archives of early-modern British faerie-magic.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

What do bread blessings, hilltop fairs, and a Celtic god of light have in common? In this video, I explore the real history of Lammas and Lughnasadh, the first harvest festival in the Pagan Wheel of the Year. Drawing on peer-reviewed scholarship and historical sources, I trace the festival’s roots in ancient Celtic rites, its Christian transformati…

What is the Church of the SubGenius? What if parody could be sacred? This video explores the Church of the SubGenius—a surreal blend of satire, esotericism, and counterculture. Discover the origins of “Bob” Dobbs, the mystery of Slack, and how this invented religion both mocks and mirrors spiritual belief. Drawing from academic research on contempo…

What if divination doesn’t just reveal the future, but intervenes in it? In this episode, I explore the philosophical and esoteric dimensions of divination, asking what it really means to predict the future and whether that future can be changed. Drawing on thinkers from Boethius to Bergson, Kant to Crowley, I examine how different conceptions of t…

In Part I we looked at the political events leading up to the formation of the Shi'a. In Part II we see that it did not take long for things to get very esoteric. Come for the programmatic esoteric hermeneutics, stay for the occult sciences.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

In this video, I explore the magical dimension of Bruno’s thought—an aspect often overlooked or dismissed in favour of his more fashionable reputation as a forerunner of modern astronomy. But Bruno was no mere proto-scientist. He was a visionary who believed that the universe was infinite, ensouled, and fundamentally magical—a living network of cor…

We pick up from our last episode, where geopolitics and esotericism met in the crucible of Roman, Sassanian, and Arab political struggles. Ahab Bdaiwi threads the labyrinth of the earliest historical sources for the birth of the movement within Islām which came to be known as the Party of ‘Alī, or the Shi‘ā.…

✨ Italian Folk Magic and Shamanism: A Course in the Tradition of Segnature ✨ I’m Dr Angela Puca, and I’m beyond excited to finally share this with you. This is not just another witchcraft course. It’s the first and only course on Segnature taught live by the only Italian and only academic who has studied this tradition systematically, academically,…

In this special episode—presented for the first time in Italian with (ala, literal and not always accurate) English subtitles—Dr Angela Puca is joined by Emanuele Viotti, founder of Ad Maiora Vertite, for a discussion on the religion of ancient Rome. Emanuele Viotti is a respected educator and independent scholar in the field of Roman traditional r…

Say no more.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

Why does Paganism attract so many LGBTQ+ people—and how are queer practitioners reshaping Pagan traditions from within? In this in-depth episode, Dr Angela Puca draws on extensive academic research and ethnographic evidence to explore the powerful intersection of queerness and contemporary Paganism. We’ll examine why decentralised structures, ritua…

We set the stage for a detailed consideration of the evidence for early Christian reincarnationism. Featuring the Bible.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

In this episode, we delve into one of the most profound and contested questions in both philosophy and esotericism: What is the self in magical practice? Drawing on thinkers such as René Descartes, David Hume, and Carl Jung, we examine how the self has been variously conceived as a rational substance, a bundle of perceptions, or an archetypal total…

We dive deeper into the evidence for Jewish reincarnation around the time of the Temple's destruction with Sami Yli-Karjanmaa, who has done the work. Philo of Alexandria and Josephus come under the metempsychotoscope.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

Moving on from the theories of the Pythagoreans, Platonists, and related folks, we turn ion this episode to the question of Jewish reincarnation in antiquity. There doesn't seem to be any. And yet ....Oleh Earl Fontainelle

Having reviewed the roots of reincarnationism in the west, we move forward in time, looking at the Hellenistic and especially the imperial man eras. We then focus in on the inheritors of the Pythagorean/Platonic legacy, the Platonists.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

In Part II we discuss the reincarnational mythoi and logoi found in Plato's dialogues. These are, in many important ways, the foundational documents of western reincarnationism.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

In this live interview, I am joined by Dr Christina Oakley Harrington—medieval historian, long-standing practitioner of witchcraft, and founder of the renowned Treadwell’s Bookshop in London—for a conversation that traces the intersections of scholarship, community, and contemporary esotericism. We explore the historical development of modern witch…

In Part I of a thematic series, we begin to explore the long secret history of reincarnation in the west. In this episode we consider our earliest evidence, which clusters around two resonant names: Pythagoras and Orpheus.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

What is Freemasonry? This episode presents an in-depth academic overview of Freemasonry, the world’s oldest initiatory society independent of religious institutions. Drawing on peer-reviewed scholarship and primary source analysis, it traces Freemasonry's historical evolution from its medieval operative roots to its speculative transformation in th…

Let's explore the complex tradition of Hermeticism—an esoteric philosophy rooted in Hellenistic Egypt and attributed to the legendary Hermes Trismegistus. Exploring its metaphysical teachings, spiritual practices such as alchemy, astrology, and ritual magic, and its profound influence on Renaissance thinkers, Freemasonry, the Hermetic Order of the …

We return to the history of late antiquity in the eastern Mediterranean and central Asia. Momentous events occur, empires rise and fall, and Jews, Christians, and Muslims all suddenly develop new apocalyptic notions. Come for the dry historical exposition, stay for the esoteric divine kingship.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

In this episode, we dive deep into the esoteric teachings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society and one of the most influential occult thinkers of the nineteenth century. Focusing on her mature doctrine of reincarnation as outlined in The Secret Doctrine (1888), we explore how Blavatsky moved away from earlier notions…

We penetrate further into the dream-labyrinth of the Hypnerotomachia with James Russell, exploring the book's many early readers. These include a pope, a playwright, and an alchemist. Codes, rebuses, polyvalent images, esoteric architecture, and more meet in the melting-pot of Humanism.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

Why does truth no longer seem to matter? In this episode, we explore the philosophical and psychological roots of today's crisis of reality. Drawing on Jean Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality and Carl Gustav Jung’s concept of the Shadow, I unravel how modern society’s obsession with materialism, the proliferation of simulations, and the repressio…

We discuss some of the history of how the Qur'ān came to be ‘the Book’: it started in the oral milieu of the high-octane early Believers' movement, and ended up in written form as something called the ‘Uthmanic recension. Many esoteric things happen along the way.Oleh Earl Fontainelle

This episode explores the role of protection magic as a historically grounded response to war, oppression, and systemic violence across diverse cultural and temporal contexts. Drawing on peer-reviewed academic sources, it examines how magical practices—rituals, talismans, verbal formulae, and spirit invocations—have been used as forms of spiritual …

We introduce one of the strangest and most nigglingly-intriguing esoteric books of the Italian Renaissance, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. James O'Neill is our guide through nested dream-landscapes, erotic initiations, and weirdly-specific garden design.Oleh Earl Fontainelle