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Jonathan Beltz on Sumerian Death-Demons (and How to Deal with them)

In our fourth Roots of Magic interview, we speak with Jonathan Beltz, specialist on the scarier side of ancient Sumerian cultural life, the side occupied by demonic entities bringing disease and death. But one entity stands out from the crowd: Namtar, the divine psychopomp whose arrival means ineluctable mortality. Or does it? We explore the world of magical ways to send death packing in ancient Sumeria.

Podcast episode

Episode 203: Introducing the Qur’ān, Part I: Revelation, Text, and History

We cover some basic territory in introducing the Qur'ān, the holiest text of Islām. We introduce the text, discuss the traditional story of the Qur'ān's revelation, the modern text-critical enterprise of Qur'anic studies, and try to pin down the elusive character of this book-that-is-not-a-book.

Podcast episode

Members only: Fake Apostles and Real Christianity: Exploring the ‘Pseudo-’ in the Pseudo-Dionysios

We return to the many theories – some ancient, some modern – as to the true identity of the writer known as Dionysios the Areopagite. Things get very esoteric.

Podcast episode

Members only: Unsaying the Divine Darkness: Exploring Dionysian Apophasis and Mysticism

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

Members only: Fred Donner on the History of the History of Early Islām

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

Episode 202: Fred Donner on the History of Early Islām

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.

Listen to the Introduction

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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