Guest Mike Marinacci, author of Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches: LSD, Cannabis, and Spiritual Sacraments in Underground America In this very engaging conversation, Mike starts by talking about what inspired him to write this book, and then we jump into discussing several of the major psychedelic groups he discusses in his book. A few highlights of our interview: The Native American Church and their struggle to receive legal permission from the United States government to use peyote in...

This interview was recorded December 7, 2023. Dr. Randall Hall is professor of music at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, as well as a performing saxophonist and composer. He's also writing a book about 'speculative' and 'weird' music as it relates to the Sacred and ritual experiences. In this special Spotlight interview, Randall shares his process of creating music that attempts to re-create a modern theurgic repertoire. (Theurgy is the practice that refers to the ascent of one's...

This video aired on March 31, 2023 on Rejected Religion's YouTube Channel. New courses are available at Owlhouse Seminars. Sue Terry has an MA from the University of Surrey where her dissertation was _The Magician Goes Further: The Occult Oblique View in the Short Fiction of Mary Butts_. Sue is now a PhD candidate at Surrey researching feminist occult modernist novels of the 20th century, and she is teaching open access courses in "Literature and the Weird" through her new venture Owl House...

In Part 2, we sit with the concept of accelerationism, how it is occultural in its original form in Bob’s opinion, its problems, its appropriation by far-right groups, and the related sticky problems of capitalism and neoliberalism that are currently associated with accelerationist thinking in these circles. The conversation from here continues to expand. Bob also discusses the explosion of digital technologies and how contemporary spiritual currents and esoteric movements are enmeshed with...

In Part 1, Bob begins by explaining the terms “the weird” and “the eerie” and how these literary concepts have helped to fuel the social imagination; as well as the tricky issue of how one discerns between ‘fiction’ and ‘reality’. With the help of philosophical concepts such as ‘the hyperreal’ and simulacra taken from Baudrillard, as well as other concepts from French philosophers such as Deleuze, Guattari, and Lyotard, Bob discusses the effects of signs, symbols, and other images on our...

This month's topic centers around Emanuel Swedenborg, who was, and still is, an extremely influential figure within the currents of esotericism. Dell Rose begins by giving a short introduction about Swedenborg, and then moves to discuss other aspects of Swedenborg's life and beliefs that led to his eventual 'revelations' about the nature of the spiritual world and free will. Dell is particularly concerned with the cultural reception of Swedenborg, and he notes that Swedenborg's influence is...

It was my pleasure to speak with Prof. Dr. Wouter Hanegraaff about his new book, Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Imagination: Altered States of Knowledge in Late Antiquity. As Wouter preferred not to give a general summary, I chose four very important themes of the book to discuss: what the Hermetica is really all about; the notion of embodiment in the Hermetic texts; the difficult but extremely important task of interpreting the ancient texts; and the importance of the faculty of...

In Part 2, Luke and I discuss the esoteric connections and intersections with the figures of Blake and Ginsberg. We talk about in the influence of Emmanuel Swedenborg and Gnosticism on the worldviews of both Blake and Ginsberg, how Ginsberg saw Buddhism and Gnosticism as being connected in a syncretic way, and what contemporary artists could be viewed as ‘carrying on the Blakean torch’ in our own popular culture.

In Part One, Luke discusses the great influence of the poet and artist William Blake on Allen Ginsberg, one of the most influential people from the Beat Generation and the ‘counterculture’ movement of 1960s United States. He also talks in detail about Ginsberg’s “Blake Vision,” the name Ginsberg gave to a series of extraordinary events in his life in 1948. We then discuss Luke’s article “Tangled Up in Blake” that focuses on Ginsberg’s views about Bob Dylan and their complex relationship....

In this interview, Cavan McLaughlin begins by discussing his motivation and inspiration to create the Trans-States platform, that focuses strongly on bridging the gaps between the academic and larger esoteric/occult communities. Cavan is an artist, filmmaker and media producer as well as an academic lecturer, and this multi-disciplinary aspect is extremely important for the Trans-States exhibition and conference series as well. As the third conference has recently taken place, Cavan and I...

In Part 2, Aaron and I look at different related threads that one encounters when delving into this topic; in particular, how Aaron's research ties into a topic that I had talked about last year with regard to the recent documentary-type show called 'Hellier' (specifically with regard to a man named Allen Greenfield). This links to high strangeness such as that seen in the book _The Mothman Prophecies_, but also ritual magick, and occulture at its finest. We try to make some sense out of all...

In Part 1, Aaron and I explore many different rabbit holes regarding esotericism and high strangeness. Aaron begins by expanding on his earlier presentations that he gave this year on this topic; he's looking at the relationship between technology and magic, and is asking, 'how does technology reenchant the world?' One area that we can find a lot of interesting material is the UFO-field. Aaron talks about his research findings regarding the links between Rudolf Steiner and J. Allen Hynek (a...

Richard Mason returns to discuss A.E. Waite's order, The Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, and the special tarot deck developed for private use in rituals. Waite formed the order in 1915 (during WW1) and enlisted the help of artists and a financial backer to create the tarot 'deck,' that is now housed in the British Museum. Notable in the artwork is the shift from 'magic' to 'mysticism', and this artwork reflects Waite's strong views of a 'secret tradition' - a blend of Christianity with various...

In this discussion, Michelle and Christian share their experiences with pilgrimages, and how they came to write their book about the Japanese pilgrimage route known as the Kumano Kodo. As many may not have had their own experiences with pilgrimages, they talk about the reasons that people might choose to go on a pilgrimage, what the purpose is, and how it's not always a 'religious' thing. We also discuss the liminal aspect of the pilgrimage road, the different types of spirits that one can...

In the first part of our interview, Andrea and I discuss the complex issue regarding the definition of 'magic' within the Western historical study of esotericism and/or religion, and how we could perhaps see 'magic' as a meta-category containing 'family resemblances' or 'patterns of magicity' that allow for comparisons of different magical practices or attitudes. We also talk about the differences between the etic and emic perspectives of the term 'magic', as grimoires are concerned with the...

In this interview, Ralph shares his own perspectives on many of the topics that Dr. Christian Greer and I had discussed in Episode 19 ('Etic Examinations'). He shares his own background in occultism, 'the state of things' in Germany in the 1970s and -80s, as well as the change in perspective with the introduction of the 'Anglo' or British perspective about occultism and chaos magic. He also talks about his viewpoints regarding the concepts of 'gnosis' and 'shamanism' as they relate to chaos...

As the Rejected Religion platform is concerned with what is known as 'occulture,' or how the occult is represented and portrayed in popular culture, this video highlights some of the occult references found in two recent Netflix series, Archive 81 and Stranger Things. Please see the 'References' section below for more detailed information concerning these topics. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as...

Ninian Nijhuis holds a Research Master in Religious Studies (University of Amsterdam); a BA in Law and an LL.M. in International Public Law (University of Utrecht). Her main focus is on Western Esotericism and her key fields of interest are Jungian psychology, sidereal astrology, mysticism, spirituality and its connections to science. Additionally, she is Head of Social Media at the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP Centre) and the University of Amsterdam,...

In Part Two, Dylan begins by discussing why the gnostic system of thought was considered heretical by Christians. We then talk about the fascinating gnostic text 'The Secret Book of John', and how this creation story is quite different from the one in the Book of Genesis. Eve is not a villian in this tale, but the representative of consciousness and the reminder to Adam of the real heavenly world. In closing, we discuss how popular culture manifests and represents this topic.

In Part One, Dylan begins by sharing the Gnostic story or revelatory myth that takes place in four acts, so to speak, and the evidence of this story found in texts such as the Nag Hammadi codices. We then move the discussion to the definitions of the terms 'gnostic', 'gnosticism', and 'gnosis' and why these terms are somewhat controversial in the academic realm.

In this interview, Korshi begins by explaining what magical papyri are, where they came from, how they were used, and how people would obtain these texts. He also discusses his views about the concept of magic, and whether ancient people thought differently about 'magic' than contemporary people do. Our conversation then moves to modern occult practices and ritual magic, in particular, the use of a text taken from the Theban Magical Library Codex that is now known as 'The Headless God' or...

This month's episode is the first in a 2-part series about chaos magic. Dr. Christian Greer talks about the history of modern magical groups and how these earlier groups led to the birth of the chaos magic current. Christian begins by talking about why the topic of magic (in all its forms) is relevant as an area of research and study. He then gives a brief history of modern and contemporary ritual magic groups, and how these, along with other influential movements of the time, informed the...

Guests: Dr. Jonathon O'Donnell Brennan Kettelle, MA (res) Tommy Cowan, MA (res) In this special Spotlight episode, my guests and I discuss Netflix's Midnight Mass from various perspectives. We start out with our 'first impressions' of the show, then move to discuss our own talking points based upon each of our own research interests and specialties - religion and demonology in U.S. politics, monster theory, queer-coding of vampires, the nature of angels and demons, vampire history, religion...

This episode is a special 'listener response' to episode 17's 'esoteric in art,' with guest Michael Carter. Michael is an artist and teacher living in Los Angeles, CA. He holds an MFA from Claremont Graduate University in CA, shows his work in live performances, gives lectures, and and exhibited works in both the U.S. and Europe. Michael's personal interest in Theosophy plays a large role in his own research into the spiritual dimensions of abstract art. This discussion includes Michael's...