Spirit Box

For episode #83 we welcome Gabriel McCaughry to the Spirit Box. Gabriel is an author, a magical practitioner and the founder of Anathema Publishing. In the show we get into Gabriel’s background, and the interesting crooked path that led him to found Anathema Publishing. We discuss Pillars periodical and its recently released volume, A Wayfarer’s Hearth, of which I am a proud contributor. This is a collection of stories of holy pilgrimages, transformative journeys and revelatory voyages. "A Wayfarer’s Hearth’ sets out to share the tales of those who have been deeply affected in esoteric ways by our travels to other lands, who have had our perceptions altered through cultural immersion, through being confronted with our own fears and prejudices. For those who have had our eyes pried open, our inner-selves irreversibly changed." In the Plus show we discuss in further depth how the themes of the Pillars projects often become the theme of Gabriel’s year. We also go into the challenges presented by distracting social media; how we are living in ‘a meaning-saturated field’; how recognising this is important and how that recognition informed the Pillars project. Show notes: https://www.anathemapublishing.com/a-wayfarers-hearth https://www.instagram.com/anathemapublishing/ https://www.anathemapublishing.com/haurorae Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka

For episode #82 we welcome Dr Mark Fitzpatrick. He is a teacher, writer, and independent scholar, specialising in the Weird and the Wonderful. He has a PhD in Literature from the Université de Paris – Sorbonne Nouvelle, and is currently an invited lecturer in several Paris universities. Originally from Cork, he spent twenty years in Paris, living in garrets and trying to get his novels published. When this proved to no avail, he began publishing his work online on his website thehollowbehindthehearthstone.com, under a variety of aliases, and his first novel, Unreal City, is coming out in early 2022. He has recently moved to Aquitaine, where he lives in a little house on the grounds of a Strange Crumbling Manor, with his wife, his two children, a Wicked Uncle, and two and half cats. In the show we discuss the nature of belief and Mark details a remarkable experience he had with other in land around his home. We also discuss dual observance, being in right relation with place, the festival of Imbolc and bringing pagan festivals into ones circle. In  the Plus show we discuss the relationship between pagan festivals and subsistence farming and dependence on being in good relation to the land and the intelligences therein. We also get into how the others may cultivate human beings for whatever their business may be. Towards the end of show we get into the differences between the Gaelic mind and Anglo mind through their respective languages and stories and the influence in how they see the world. Show notes: https://www.instagram.com/the_hedge_school/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA1F9UJHqKcIzNCIFpT071A https://thehollowbehindthehearthstone.com https://www.facebook.com/malachasivernus/ https://www.artstation.com/artwork/JlaRPA Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka

Today we will be exploring the work of explorer Kira Salak and her experiences in Libya regarding the ‘The Fortress of the Jinn' or Kaf Ajnoun. Kaf Ajnoun is a jagged ridge with several peaks, the largest being The Qala'a (castle), along the Libya/Algeria border near the town of Ghat by the Akakus Massif. As it is in the Sahara, the native peoples are the nomads of the Tuareg and Tibu tribes. Looking like a haunted  citadel crowned with a magical fortress-like summit, the mountain was thus assumed the abode of mythical beings. According to Berber Tuareg mythology the ‘The Fortress of the Jinn' was once a "Hall of Council", where genies met to discuss their affairs. According to the explorer Hugh Clapperton, who visited the area in 1822, some of the inhabitants of the mountain, apparently with red hair, were heard to beat their drums at night and fire their muskets. Adventurer and traveller Kira Salak who followed the trail of Hugh Clapperton climbed to the summit with her photographer friend Bobby Model. She reached the top and back safely without any encounters; but according to her around 18 months later, during an Ayahuasca session in Peru she discovered she had been  possessed by evil spirits that "entered her body when, against the warnings of the local tribesmen, she climbed a supposedly haunted mountain in Libya". The possession and subsequent exorcism will be detailed in the Plus show. Show notes: Libya: Land of cruel deaths by Kira Salak http://www.kirasalak.com/Libya.html Peru: Hell and Back by Kira Salak. http://www.kirasalak.com/Peru.html Bobby Model’s photos of the Libya trip http://www.kirasalak.com/PhotosLibya.html Bobby Model’s website  https://m-11.com National Geographic obituary for Bobby Model https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/adventure-friend-photographer-bobby-model-dies Kaf Ajnoun https://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/kaf-ajnoun.htm Hugh Clapperton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Clapperton Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka

For episode 80 it is an honour and privilege to be joined by BAFTA award winning writer, Geoff Thompson. He is a highly regarded martial artist. He has a 7th Degree Black belt in Shotokan Karate along with a 1st Degree Black Belt in Judo. He worked as a night-club doorman for about 10 years in various clubs. He became a doorman to face and overcome his fear of violent confrontation. He has written fifty books, several multi-award-winning films, three stage plays and hundreds of articles, many published in national magazines and broadsheets. His work Romans 12:20, directed by the Shammasian Brothers has been adapted into a feature film, Romans, starring Orlando Bloom. A remarkable resume, and yet Geoff will tell you none of it matters, that it all pales into significance against the goal of winning one's will which he defines in the show and he takes us through his understanding of the power and true nature of forgiveness. In the Plus show we discuss how autonomy of will extends into what we consume in all forms and what we put out in terms of our behaviour. Geoff explains the importance of alignment of self, and the causal body in passionate detail. He asks us to confront the truth of our individual behaviour and take back our autonomy from the parasites that influence us. Show notes: https://www.instagram.com/geoff_thompson_official/ Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka

For episode #79 it is my great pleasure to welcome the author, visionary CEO and shaman (although he denies it) someone I’m very proud to call a friend; the Reverend Danny Nemu.   Danny’s background is in the history and philosophy of medicine from the University of Manchester. He first encountered ayahuasca when living in Japan. After six years drinking there with a Santo Daime group, he followed the trail back to its source in the Brazilian Amazon, where he was bitten by a sandfly, leading to a leishmaniasis infection. This highly aggressive bacterial parasite quickly colonised a few inches of his skin, with designs on much more, and proved to be a great teacher, providing ample opportunity to study firsthand the intricacies and potencies of ayahuasca as used as a medicine within the Daime worldview.  The process took eight months, involving diets and barks, many rituals, and daily consumption of the visionary brew. By the end of it he had lost 10 kilos and gained a deep respect for the complexity and intelligence of the natural world.   He has released two of his three books on the apocalypse and is two drafts into the third... The first book ‘Science Revealed - The apocalypse in science: discovery’, covers the biographies of scientists including Tesla and Einstein, and reveals how our most groundbreaking ideas result not from rational thinking and tapping on calculators, but from visions, dreams, feverish delirium, and other non-rational revelations. The second: ‘Neuro-Apocalypse’ is about veils arising in the course of cognition, and revelations that cut them down. To that end, we discuss the presence of visionary drug use in the bible, most notably Frankincense and Myrrh   He is the founder-CEO of Reforestation and Agroforestry charity RAIN: RAIN focuses the resources and intelligence of a distributed global network via local nodes into vitally important projects to regenerate degraded land.  In the Plus Show there is an extra hour, where we discuss apocalyptic waves, novelty, and what shamanism is and what it isn’t. A riveting and informed conversation thanks to Danny! Show notes: DONATE TO RAIN https://www.rainumbrella.org/support-rain http://nemusend.co.uk Neuro-Apocalypse https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neuro-Apocalypse-Danny-Nemu/dp/0992808820   Science Revealed https://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Revealed-Danny-Nemu/dp/1916266703/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=science+revealed&qid=1591647026&s=books&sr=1-1 Getting High with the most high https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/3/Special-Issue/article-p117.xml https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgn_ddrdHKI   Prejudice and Neo-colonialism in the Academic study of Ayahuasca https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhgdhz4W114   We Three Kings of Orient are https://psypressuk.com/2016/12/22/three-kings-orient-drug-runners-not-kings/   And then came the Virus https://medium.com/@RevNemu/and-then-came-the-virus-1-3-540bd4bc1159    Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka

For episode 78 we are joined once again by the great Aidan Wachter for a Spirit Box exclusive! This is his first interview on his new book, ‘Changeling: A book of Qualities’! "Changeling considers the craft as a vessel, a container for ideas and approaches that help clarify the path to sovereignty and effective practical magic. It looks at the qualities and practices that when integrated into a life can lead to a more beneficial understanding of self and the world. Changeling helps us to deftly navigate the complexities of having a meaningful praxis and seamlessly weave magic into the whole fabric of our life." In the show we go over his experience of writing the book, and how it affected Aidan more deeply than his previous outings. Aidan outlines how his previous books, 'Six Ways' and 'Weaving Fate' covered areas he had mastered, but this book has territories that he still is working on. We discuss how the process of transformation is constant, without end, and is not a linear journey... there are regressions and setbacks along the way. In the Plus show we discuss how power can be gentle but still produce cataclysmic changes, and the elemental qualities Aidan attributes to his collection of work. We also get into being in the moment, being present and having discernment in where you spend your time. Enjoy! Show notes: https://www.aidanwachter.com https://www.instagram.com/aidan.wachter/   Aidan's books on Amazon US Aidan's books on Amazon UK Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka

For episode #77 we are joined by Peter Mark Adams, Peter is a Scarlet Imprint, Inner Traditions & Corbel Stone Press author, poet, and essayist specialising in ethnographies of spirit, sacred landscapes, esotericism, consciousness, and healing.   Peter has a background in Philosophy and has undertaken advanced studies with the Warburg Institute, London. He is an Associate Member of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) and a Member of the British Wittgenstein Society (BWS).   In today's show we discuss his life-changing initiation into Reiki and how this led him to a spirit-informed and scholarly study of the enigmatic Renaissance masterwork known as the Sola-Busca tarot.   In the Plus show, Peter recounts several of the entity and parasite attachment cases that he has dealt with in his career as an energy healer and gives his thoughts on the purpose of this type of event in one's life. Show notes: https://petermarkadams.com https://liverpool.academia.edu/PeterAdams https://www.paralibrum.com/reviews/mystai https://scarletimprint.com/peter-mark-adams https://www.youtube.com/user/thankgodsitsmonday Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka

Verónica Rivas (Melong Yeshe) is an Uruguayan author and researcher based in Brazil. Her cosmological and anthropological studies in magical practices among Eastern cultures led her to become interested in healing techniques.    When she became a Reiki Master, she started to research the possibilities of integrating Reiki techniques with other forms of energy work, using her academic training in Philosophy as an epistemological background. Verónica is also an initiated practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism (Esoteric Buddhism), focusing her practical work in the deity known as Kurukulla. Currently, her research is focused on female deities and spirits of the Vajrayana and Hindu traditions, and Maria de Padilla and her connection with Quimbanda.  In the Plus show we discuss spirit guidance in Veronica’s work and how that spirit communication manifests in her practice. Show notes: https://www.anathemapublishing.com/veronica-rivas https://melongyeshe.academia.edu https://occult-world.com/padilha-maria/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quimbanda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spiritbox TWITTER - https://twitter.com/spiritbox3 SUPPORT - https://www.patreon.com/spiritbox PODCAST - https://anchor.fm/spirit-box Music by Obliqka

What do a Karst landscape, the Kentucky anomaly, a meat shower, and a mysterious cult have in common? They are linked by the strange and unexplained activity originating from the Pennyroyal Plateau, Kentucky and the subject matter of the superb Penny Royal Podcast.  Today we are joined by the creator and host Nathan Isaac as he takes us through the remarkable story he and his colleague uncovered as they created the show.  In the Plus show the Spook element in the area and what's coming up in Season 2.   Show Notes: http://www.pennyroyalpodcast.com https://www.instagram.com/pennyroyalpodcast/ https://www.patreon.com/PennyRoyal Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spiritbox TWITTER - https://twitter.com/spiritbox3 SUPPORT - https://www.patreon.com/spiritbox PODCAST - https://anchor.fm/spirit-box Music by Obliqka

For episode 74 we are joined by Tommie Kelly and Spud Murphy, the hosts of the “Tommie and Spud Talk About” podcast amongst many other things. In a very lighthearted show, we discuss, finding the divine in nature, and realities of foraging or growing your own food. We chat about folklore surrounding bloodletting on St Martin’s day, and the use of blood in magick. In the Plus show we get into personal relationships with deities, concepts of the afterlife and we talk about vegetables a bit more. Show notes: https://www.spudmurphy.net https://www.adventuresinwoowoo.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvhAf27ZdF9mGA1znaTQQEA Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spiritbox TWITTER - https://twitter.com/spiritbox3 SUPPORT - https://www.patreon.com/spiritbox PODCAST - https://anchor.fm/spirit-box Music by Obliqka