Podcast Episodes Themed "Astrology"

Poseidonius of Rhodes, Weird Stoicism, and ‘Cosmic Religion’

We discuss Poseidonius of Rhodes, perhaps the most influential Stoic teacher on certain later-esoteric currents of thought. Was the esoteric Poseidonius historically-real, or is he a mirage conjured up by scholarship? We look at the evidence.

Episode 45: Stoic Physics and Esoteric Metaphysics

The Stoics had a naturalistic physical theory which, strangely, had a huge influence both on esoteric spirituality and on occult sciences. In this, our final episode on Stoicism, we discuss three key terms from Stoic physics and their surprising afterlives in western esotericism.

Chris Brennan Gets Fatal(istic)

'Fix'd fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute And found no end, in wand'ring mazes lost.'

Episode 42: Chris Brennan on Hellenistic Astrology

Historical discussions often fail to help us 'get inside' the subject we are looking at. In this episode we talk to Chris Brennan, Hellenistic astrologer and historian, for some theoretical and practical light on the realities of ancient astrology.

Episode 41: Fate and Foreknowledge: Toward Hellenistic Astrology

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.

Episode 40: Wheels Within Wheels: Toward Western Esoteric Cosmology

We are moving with astral ineluctability toward the birth of true astrology in the Hellenistic period. But first we need to get from Mesopotamian astronomy to the Greek world. This episode bridges the gap between middle-eastern astral science and the Hellenistic flourishing of Greek astronomy.

Episode 27: Plato’s Timæus

In this episode we introduce Plato’s Timæus, the father of western esotericism’s single most influential dialogue. With this work Plato set the scene for pretty much all subsequent esoteric thought. Dig infinity!

Episode 10: Prayer to the Gods of Night: The Near-Eastern Roots of Astrology

The earliest known science of astrology developed in Mesopotamia as one and the same science as the first known astronomy. We chart the earliest known texts and their development.

Episode 9: Esoteric Orientalism Part II: The Greeks are Always Children?

The ancient Greeks tell us that they acquired their knowledge of disciplines like philosophy, geometry, and astronomy from their near-eastern neighbours. Were they right? This episode examines the evidence and some of the modern debates about the evidence.

Kocku von Stuckrad on Western Esotericism

Kocku von Stuckrad, Professor of Religious Studies at the Universiteit van Groningen, reflects on the methodological issues involved in the study of (what is called) western esotericism, and on the academic field devoted to it in the larger academic context.

Episode 1: A Secret History of Secret History, Part I

A lightning summary of key major elements of western esotericism from late antiquity up to the middle ages, featuring a foray into the esoteric art of imaginal cocktail-mixing.

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