The main SHWEP podcast is a roughly-chronological historical narrative: it starts way-back-when and moves forward from there. However, Episodes 0-4 are introductory materials. If you are a newcomer to the podcast, Episode Zero introduces the concept behind it. If you are a newcomer to the history of western esotericism, check out Episodes One, Two and Three, which provide a lot of useful background. If you want to skip the intro and start exploring the nitty-gritty of the history of western esotericism, start with Episode Four and go from there.
If you want to explore further, be sure to check out the SHWEP Oddcast, which features interviews with specialists that have not yet been integrated into the main SHWEP chronology.
Free and members-only | Members-only | Title list
We discuss the life, times, and reign of Justinian, ‘probably the most consequential Roman emperor, at least since Constantine, and maybe since Augustus.’ He transformed the empire; nothing would be the same after his reign. Said reign also saw the closure of the Athenian academy and a number of crucial crises within Christianity, all of which are essential for the history of western esotericism.
We are delighted to discuss what you might call Proclean spirituality with Danielle Layne. Platonic prayer as a way of living, the erotic quest for the Good, and the ever-elusive Platonic Dyad feature in a wide-ranging conversation combining proper philosophical-historical rigour with the true love of wisdom.
We discuss Proclus' titanic labours in the field of commentary – on many Platonic dialogues, but also on the Chaldæan Oracles, the Homeric poems, and a number of other texts – with Graeme Miles, an acute reader of Platonist philosophy and part of the team translating Proclus' Republic commentary into English. Come for Platonic commentary as spiritual practice, stay for the kosmic-astrological reading of the Myth of Er.
We enter the interconnected webwork of a reality where signs are things, things are signs, and everything means everything, but appropriately. Come for the visionary semiotics, stay for the occult sigils.
We enter into the dynamic architecture of Proclus' noētos kosmos, a non-spatial place where all of reality unfolds triadically through gods and goddesses, metaphysics and myth working in exquisite harmony.
We begin to explore the radiant, interconnected world of divine triads that is Proclus' noētos 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.
We discuss further with Dr Butler, looking at polytheism, monotheism, and some of the metaphysics underlying both options.
We discuss the One and the Henads in Proclus with Edward Butler. Henology meets henadology on a metaphysical terrain where gods are the primary unities.
We look further into Proclus' esoteric doings, as a sage whose privileged status is marked by inspirations and epiphanies, omens and miracles. We then attempt a (shamefully oversimplified) summary of some important aspects of his (meta)physics.
We let the tape run and explore some further aspects of the life and work of the great Proclus with Dylan Burns, looking in particular at his relationship to Christianity. Come for the scholarly debate, stay for the sacrificed piglet.
We welcome Dylan Burns back to the podcast to discuss the life, works, and philosophy of Proclus the Successor. ‘All in all, but appropriately to each’
We continue our read-through of Hierocles' Commentary, focusing in detail on the treasure-trove that is Chapter XXVI. The telestic was never so initiatory (or is it civic?)!
In part I of our Hierocles Storytime, we delve into the text of Hierocles' Commentary, discussing the question of Christianity, the noetic tetrad, and possible avenues of the esoteric in Hierocles' work.
We discuss Hierocles of Alexandria, student of Plutarch of Athens made good. He wrote an esoteric commentary on the poem known as the Golden Verses of the Pythagoreans. The poem is full of good advice and the Commentary tells us a lot about the nature and purification of the luminous subtle body.
We turn to the final flowering of polytheist Platonist philosophy, centred on Athens (and Alexandria). We review some useful historical data, discuss the history of ‘the Academy’ as a notional ‘school’ in antiquity, and introduce Plutarch of Athens and Syrianus, teachers of the great Proclus.
We let the tape roll, and engage Ↄ. Martiana in further reflections on Capella, along with guest-appearances from some other (even crazier) late-antique Latin writers. Also, we deconstruct the whole idea of late antiquity.
We discuss Martianus Capella and his extraordinary and vexing philological ascent-account, the Marriage of Philology and Mercury. Ↄ. Martiana guides us through a geocentric kosmos where liberal arts are planetary spheres, gods are physical elements, the planets are daimones, but absolutely nothing is as it seems.
We continue our read-through of Macrobius through a major section on arithmology, a palate-cleansing taxonomy of the virtues, and a detail-rich discussion of the descent of the soul, her acquisition of planetary subtle bodies, and a host of astrological lore both eschatological and indeed psychological.
We begin to read through Macrobius' Commentary with an eye for the esoteric. A whole world of literary/discursive theory opens before our eyes, wherein fictions hide the truth, the truth may be ineffable, and dreams are a weird kind of esoteric text. So what does that make a fictional dream which tells the genuine truth?
We explore the rich seam of late-antique esoteric lore that is Macrobius' Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. We discuss who Macrobius was, what he wrote, what he wrote about, and introduce who read him later on. He emerges as a crucial transmitter of astrologised, arithmologically-informed Platonism to the Latin west in the middle ages.
All text and podcast content is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
