Passport Through Hades Reason is a lie; for there is a factor infinte
They parse a charged passage in The Book of the Law and debate whether erotic language points to samadhi or literal sex. They argue about the proper role of reason in magic and critique academic approaches. They reassess The Amalantrah Working, stripping away UFO myths to reveal its messy practical motives and surprising mystical aftereffects.
01:39:44
Crowley Distinguishes Trance From Sex Magic
- Crowley repeatedly distinguishes trance experiences from ordinary sex magic in his commentaries, suggesting genuine mystical states rather than theatrical scandal.
- Chapman notes Crowley produced other 'holy books' in samadhi and described sexual instructions explicitly when he meant literal sex magic.
Parmenides Got Logic From A Goddess
- Alan Chapman recounts how Parmenides received the law from a goddess and used logic to declare 'no such thing as nothingness', linking prophecy to the birth of Western logic.
- He parallels that to Crowley: prophetic revelation can produce philosophical systems and metaphysical claims.
Aristotle As The End Of Prophetic Metaphysics
- The murder of the divine in Western thought (Plato/Aristotle split) turned metaphysics into abstract theory divorced from prophetic experience.
- Alan argues Aristotle institutionalised a philosophy cut off from divine encounter, producing the modern academic spirit of the times.
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Intro
00:00 • 1min
Discussing Rune Soup and Crowley Anecdotes
01:23 • 4min
Reading the Book of the Law Passage
05:04 • 1min
Interpreting Erotic Imagery as Samadhi
06:05 • 1min
Contextual Evidence for Mystical Death
07:21 • 2min
Crowley's Commentaries and Sex-Magic Distinctions
08:53 • 3min
Recognizing Samadhi from Experience
12:08 • 3min
Crowley's Psychological Dynamics
14:49 • 2min
Followers Who Claim Prophethood
17:18 • 6min
Modern 'Post‑Crowley' Revisions Critiqued
22:55 • 10min
Reason Versus Revelation
33:21 • 2min
Parmenides, Logic and the Divine Gift
35:26 • 3min
Aristotle and the Academic Turn
38:31 • 6min
Academia's Limits and Power Dynamics
45:00 • 6min
From Intellectual Disillusion to Vital Experience
50:40 • 9min
Beginning Meditation and Encountering Presence
59:26 • 4min
Choosing Between Worlds: Appearance or Divine
01:03:31 • 4min
Why Academic Study Can't Be Magic
01:07:32 • 10min
Introducing the Amalantrah Working
01:18:00 • 5min
Decoding the Amalantrah Text
01:22:39 • 2min
Crew, Temple Drama, and Practical Motives
01:25:08 • 2min
Crowley's Testing and Sceptical Method
01:27:14 • 2min
From Oracle Sessions to Island Samadhi
01:28:51 • 6min
Demystifying Lam and Alien Theories
01:34:52 • 2min
Outro
01:36:58 • 1min
#7944
• Mentioned in 7 episodes
The Tao to Ching
Lao Tzu
The Tao Te Ching, attributed to Lao Tzu, is a foundational text of Taoism, emphasizing living in harmony with the Tao, or the natural order of the universe.
The book offers guidance on leadership, self-cultivation, and achieving inner peace through simplicity and non-action.
Its verses explore themes of balance, detachment, and the interconnectedness of all things, advocating for a life of virtue and humility.
The text encourages readers to embrace the paradoxical nature of reality, finding strength in weakness and wisdom in silence.
Through poetic and enigmatic prose, the Tao Te Ching provides timeless insights into living a fulfilling and balanced life.
Its teachings promote a deep understanding of the self and one's place in the cosmos.
#34067
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The voices of silence
André Malraux
#4718
• Mentioned in 11 episodes
Against Method
Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge
Ian Hacking
Paul Feyerabend
In this book, Paul Feyerabend challenges traditional views of scientific methodology by arguing that science should be an anarchic enterprise.
He contends that the imposition of methodological rules can hinder scientific progress and that 'anything goes' is a necessary stance to encourage innovation and pluralism in science.
The book includes detailed case studies, such as Galileo's hypothesis that the Earth rotates on its axis, to illustrate how scientists have profitably violated established rules.
Feyerabend rejects the distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification, arguing that such distinctions are not reflected in scientific practice and could have disastrous consequences if enforced.
#30970
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
777
Aleister Crowley
#93933
The Amalantrah Working
sub figurâ DCCXXIX
Aleister Crowley
The Amalantrah Working is Crowley’s account of a series of magical sessions around 1918 (often associated with New York and later retreats) involving trance, oracular communication, and practical sex-magic operations.
The working has attracted sensational interpretations—ranging from UFO claims to lurid misreadings—but its surviving records mainly document ritual tests, diary excerpts, and the development of Crowley’s later meditative and translation work.
Its culmination (some records missing) reportedly fed into Crowley’s interest in Chinese wisdom and resulted in translations and visionary material connected to Taoist themes.
The text is valuable to scholars and practitioners as evidence of Crowley’s practical methods, the messy interplay of mundane concerns with mystical aspiration, and the way visionary material was integrated into his broader corpus.
#2118
• Mentioned in 22 episodes
The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind
Julian Jaynes
Julian Jaynes's "The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" is a controversial but influential work that proposes a revolutionary theory about the evolution of human consciousness.
Jaynes argues that consciousness as we know it emerged relatively recently in human history, and that earlier humans experienced the world differently, receiving instructions and guidance from internal voices they attributed to gods.
This "bicameral mind," Jaynes suggests, was a state of consciousness where the left and right hemispheres of the brain functioned more independently.
The book draws on evidence from ancient literature and mythology to support its claims, sparking considerable debate among scholars.
While its central thesis remains highly contested, the book's imaginative approach to understanding consciousness continues to inspire discussion and further research.
#31378
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The Black Pilgrimage
The Black Pilgrimage
David Beth
David Beth's The Black Pilgrimage outlines a living initiatic current termed cosmic gnosis, blending philosophical reflections (influenced by thinkers like Ludwig Klages and Heidegger) with practical rites, hymns, and offerings.
The first half offers interlocking essays that present a relational, vitalist grammar—focusing on concepts like pandemonic images, chaos, mater, eros, and the counter-cosmos of Geist.
The second half provides practices intended to enthuse and re-ignite the inner fire (silenlukt), rather than offering graded attainment systems.
Beth frames the 'black pilgrimage' as a point of admission where modern abstractions fail and one returns to communion with daemonic presences, ancestors, and the living world.
The book resists conceptual capture and proposes methods for dissolving the detached, conceptual 'spirit' that fractures body and soul.
Its edition is published by Theion/Thayon and was recommended to the host by a listener who sent a copy.
#1820
• Mentioned in 25 episodes
The Book of the Law
Aleister Crowley
This book, also known as Liber AL vel Legis, was dictated to Aleister Crowley in Cairo between April 8th and 10th, 1904, by an entity named Aiwass.
It forms the core of Crowley's philosophical and spiritual system of Thelema.
The text challenges conventional morality and spirituality, promoting a philosophy of individual freedom and self-realization through the central tenet 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.' The book is known for its cryptic and poetic language, and it has been interpreted and studied by many as a guide to spiritual evolution and personal will.
Samadhi or sex-act? We mull over the meaning of a crucial passage in The Book of the Law. From there, we explore the proper role of reason in magic and mysticism, and the drawbacks of academic thinking. Finally, we turn our attention to The Amalantrah Working and consider what remains after we’ve discarded all the popular nonsense surrounding it.
Gordon White (2026). Rune Soup Podcast: What are we to make of the Book of the Law? (March 30th), https://tinyurl.com/3tt8chp9 (runesoup.com). Accessed May 2026.
In Plato, the words εἶδος (eidos) and ἰδέα (idea) are what is commonly translated as “form” or “idea”. Both are derived from roots meaning “to see” or “to behold”.
David Beth is an occult writer strongly influenced by the work of the philosopher Ludwig Klages (1872-1956). For more about both, see James Ellis (2026), Hermitix Podcast: The Black Pilgrimage by David Beth (Book Review), https://tinyurl.com/4e2rxszh (youtube.com). Accessed May 2026.
Aleister Crowley, et al. (1918). The Amalantrah Working sub figurâ DCCXXIX, https://tinyurl.com/yuvf9snk (hermetic.com). Accessed May 2026.
Music: (Intro) "For Her Demon Lover" by OEITH; "Debstup" by Shedding Feathers; "What It Used to Mean" by OEITH; (Outro) "The Twenty-Tenth of Noctember" by OEITH.
Alan is offering an in-person retreat (the first in seven years), 21-28 September, in Kilfane, County Kilkenny, Ireland. Details: https://barbarouswords.com/retreat
Duncan has made a zine. Minor Arcana #1 is available now. Further titles and issues are planned. For details, see: https://oeith.co.uk/zines/
Curl up with Duncan's novel, The Going Down, published by Sul Books, or peek beneath the veil through Occult Experiments in the Home: The Podcast Transcripts, published by Heptarchia. Available from the usual places.
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