Podcast episode
We dive further (or is that climb higher?) into the divine darkness and what can(not) be said about it. Much of what can be said comes from Proclus, it turns out, but then the Pseudo-Dionysios takes it to the next level. Or does he?
Podcast episode
We let the tape run and turn from what our evidence for early Islām is to the scholarship which got us to where we can assess this evidence at all. Fred Donner gives us a window into the academic study of Islamic origins over the last hundred years or so.
Podcast episode
We discuss what little we know and how much we don't know about the nature of the early ‘Believers' movement’, the nature and origins of the Qur'ān, the curious case of the so-called Constitution of Medinah, and what went on during the earliest decades of the Arab conquests. Fred Donner is our guide into unknown territory.
Blog post
We discuss the dangerous, liminal space of childbirth and childhood in ancient Egypt. How might the gods, magic, and medicine interact to help make this a less perilous realm? Charlotte Rose has some ideas.
Podcast episode
We let the tape run, discussing languages, and what ‘the classics’ is supposed to mean, the contrafactual proposition that the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after the first world war was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century, the question of the ‘wastebasket of history model’ of western esotericism and how relevant it is to the Greater West model, and the magical war being fought for the future, and the need for warriors to get the language right.
Podcast episode
We welcome Matthew Melvin-Koushki back to the show to discuss how we might improve our historical picture of western esotericism by including the vast majority of the surviving historical dossier of western esotericism. There's only one problem: in order to do this, we need to embrace the Islamicate world as a major part of the west.
An introduction to the podcast, discussing briefly what we mean by ‘western esotericism’. This episode also answers the burning question, ‘What’s so “secret” about The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast?’ and features a short quiz to test your knowledge of western esoteric history.
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