Podcast episode
In this episode we explore the deeply esoteric thought of Philo of Alexandria. Expect hidden ancient perennial traditions, divine revelation, esoteric philosophic truths hidden in plain sight, arithmological speculations, and much more.
Podcast episode
The first true western esotericist: Philo of Alexandria. In this episode we come to grips with what makes him so western, what makes him so esoteric, and introduce his fascinating life and work.
Podcast episode
We explore the fascinating parallels between Near Eastern visionary materials and the Jewish apocalyptic texts of the Second Temple. Matthew Neujahr is our guide through the shifting sands of some seriously esoteric texts, as we sift what can be proven from the speculative material.
Podcast episode
In this episode Professor John J. Collins introduces a fascinating product of Second Temple Judaism, and a fertile vehicle for esoteric speculation beyond the bounds of Jewry â apocalyptic literature. All will be revealed!
Podcast episode
Whenever anyone does something other than arithmetic with numbers, the name Pythagoras tends to crop up. Exactly how this strange situation came about is a fascinating story, and Dr Kalvesmaki has done groundbreaking work on the subject. This episode is a superb introduction to the origins of âgematriaâ and arithmology.
Podcast episode
In this special episode we discuss the Stoic idea of fate in its several dimensions, and the Stoicism Today project, bringing practical Stoicism back in the twenty-first century.
Podcast episode
'Fix'd fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute And found no end, in wand'ring mazes lost.'
Podcast episode
The synthesis of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek sciences of the stars gave rise to the art of astrology in Hellenistic Egypt. Astrology went on to become a defining aspect of western culture, and the master-discipline of western esotericism. We look at how it happened.
Podcast episode
Aristotle might not spring to mind when contemplating the names of esoteric heroes of the past. But the figure of Plato's greatest student in fact had an esoteric afterlife to rival that of Plato himself!
Oddcast episode
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.
Podcast episode
We discuss what little we know and how much we don't know about the nature of the early âBelievers' movementâ, the nature and origins of the Qur'Än, 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.
Oddcast episode
What if the scientific study of religions, a.k.a. Comparative Religions, History of Religions, and so forth â the academic discipline wherein the academic study of western esotericism largely finds its home â was founded by, well, western esotericists? In this interview we examine the history of the history of religions with two historians of religions and find the Theosophical Society right there at the beginning.
Oddcast episode
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.
Podcast episode
In the first part of a Storytime read-through of Damascius' great, gossipy account of the late-Platonist life, we come to grips with the messy text as it survives, and discuss some main themes of this fascinating, fragmentary work.
Podcast episode
Plato was long considered an esoteric author who hid his true doctrines within his dialogues. We look at some of the reasons for his reputation as the esoteric author par excellence, and discuss modern academic debates around the âesoteric questionâ.
Podcast episode
We are delighted to speak with Anthony Kaldellis about âByzantiumâ, fabled empire full of Greek-speaking Romans which never fell until the fifteenth century, and which plays an outsize role in the history of western esotericism. Come for the historiographical debates about the term âByzantineâ, stay for the âByzantineâ court astrology.
Podcast episode
We begin to explore the radiant, interconnected world of divine triads that is Proclus' noÄtos kosmos with Stephen Rego. Before approaching the metaphysics, we explore what Proclus takes to be the traditional canon of texts and ideas which tell us about the nous, the ways in which this canon is expressed esoterically, and how to read it.
Oddcast episode
We discuss the long, convoluted, and often tendentious reception of Proclus and Proclean ideas in the eastern Roman empire. From late-antique debates about the nature of being and participation, through medieval reappropriations of philosophy, through to the radical debates of Plethon and Scholarios in the final days of the empire, Proclus emerges as a curiously-persistent figure of many guises.
Podcast episode
Empedocles: the last great poetic philosopher of antiquity, and a cosmic thinker of mind-blowing ambition. This episode looks at his influential theory of the four elements â earth, air, fire, and water â but magic, reincarnation, exiled gods, and cosmic catastrophe come into the discussion as well.
Podcast episode
An introduction to the podcast, discussing briefly what we mean by âwestern esotericismâ. This episode also answers the burning question, âWhatâs so âsecretâ about The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast?â and features a short quiz to test your knowledge of western esoteric history.
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