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PODCAST

Occult Confessions

The Alchemical Actors

Discover the secret history of cults, witches, magicians, conspiracies and the supernatural with occultism scholar Rob C. Thompson. His crew of Alchemical Actors explore life’s mysteries with a blend of research, ritual, and old-fashioned radio drama.

history spirituality

All Episodes

01:03:34

25.9: Jim Morrison and the Occult (Interview Special)

Occult Confessions ·

2025/01/10

Paul Wyld visits to talk about his book "Jim Morrison: Secret Teacher of the Occult." Wyld discusses Morrison's reading of esoteric texts and how they influenced his lifestyle and art as a "secret teacher" of magical things.

en-US

01:13:15

25.8: Aldous Huxley on Drugs

Occult Confessions ·

2024/12/27

Aldous Huxley's Doors of Perception was a book ahead of its time and related the famous British novelist and intellectual's experimental engagement with mescaline. Huxley became a proponent of mescaline and sometime user of LSD ever afterward and a major influence on the Human Potential Movement of the 1960s.

en-US

01:40:02

25.9: The Star Wars Holiday Special (Strange Ride...

Occult Confessions ·

2024/12/24

There is so much Star Wars content out in the wide world. Some of it is loved, some of it hated, but there is one piece of Star Wars media that is so hated by its creator that it was almost lost media. If it wasn’t for fans making bootleg VCR copies during its one and only broadcast it would be lost to time. I’m talking about of course the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. A variety show set in the Star Wars universe that was also meant to sort of celebrate Thanksgiving/Christmas. George

en-US

01:09:29

25.7: Esoterica (Interview Special)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/12/13

We sit down with Dr. Justin Sledge of the Esoterica Youtube channel to talk about his work with medieval and ancient esoteric texts and alchemical practices.

en-US

01:20:02

25.6: Krishnamurti's Teaching

Occult Confessions ·

2024/11/29

Krishnamurti's philosophy was about getting free from thought and time, releasing memory and belief, and becoming fully present. He taught that there was no method or ritual or plan that could achieve this state of perfect presence and no guru who could guide you. Each person had to be their own guru and discover the truth of what is.

en-US

01:03:47

25.5: The Child Messiah (Part Three)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/11/15

In this final installment of our biography of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the teacher disbands the Order of the Star and is banished from Theosophical Society Headquarters. He becomes an advisor to Indira Ghandi and questions whether his strange path to knowledge can ever be replicated.

en-US

00:59:26

25.4: The Child Messiah (Part Two)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/11/01

The second part of our series on the teacher and philosopher Krishnamurti begins with his spiritual awakening beneath a pepper tree in Ojai, California. Krishnamurti was plagued by terrible episodes of physical suffering accompanied by great spiritual insight. We continue through to George Arundale's bizarre plot to insert himself into the highest ranks of Krishnamurti's organization and theosophy writ large.

en-US

00:53:59

25.3: The Child Messiah, Part One

Occult Confessions ·

2024/10/18

As a child, Jiddu Krishnamurti was named the vessel for the World Teacher by leading figures in the Theosophical Society, namely Charles Leadbetter and Annie Besant. He came to regard Besant as a second mother but his relationship with Leadbetter was more complicated. Leadbetter wrote a serialized account of Krishnamurti's previous lives, calling him Alcyone, and helped Krishnamurti make contact with the ascended masters of theosophy. But Krishnamurti and his family were conflicted by the way he had

en-US

00:59:20

25.2: Annie Besant (Part Two)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/10/04

In the second part of our conversation about Annie Besant, she leaves the secularists and joins the Theosophical Society. We consider how the Mahatmas continued to produce letters after Blavatsky's death and how closely Besant's theosophy resembled the first generation.

en-US

00:54:32

25.1: Annie Besant (Part One)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/09/20

We open our story on the child messiah, Jiddu Krishnamurti, with a two-part episode on Annie Besant, a woman he came to regard as his adopted mother. Having been an atheist, social reformer, and advocate for birth control, Besant became the president of the Theosophical Society and one of the most influential occultists of the early twentieth century.

en-US

00:42:18

24.8: My Little Goddess (Strange Ride Crossover)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/09/06

For parents like me who chose to share 2010’s revival of My Little Pony with my children, the animated series’ emphasis on social-emotional learning is the primary draw; however, these lessons are framed in distinctly occult terms. The series is subtitled “friendship is magic” and while this may suggest that friendship is awesome, in the context of the show it often means that it is literally a matter of spells, potions, and esoteric books. The show’s association with real-world occultism in the

en-US

01:09:58

24.7: Pop Occulture (Witchcraft Edition)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/08/30

We're joined by Alyce Spencer of the Witch Way Youtube channel, an expert on all things witchy in popular media. We talk about how the witch is represented in Western culture across time from Betwitched to Sabrina with plenty of stops along the way. Visit Alyce at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5gfF-v77EiVQqcUZHKx4pA

en-US

01:15:45

24.6: Body and Soul or the Fitness Cults

Occult Confessions ·

2024/08/16

Americans are largely responsible for discovering how to make exercising a cult. The link between exercise and the spiritual life of the exerciser wasn't invented after Y2K nor were intense fitness, demanding fitness routines. But bringing these things together into a practice designed to cultivate commitment to the corporatized and franchised exercise routine as the best possible path to overall well being is a twenty-first century innovation, and one that is probably at this point a thing of the

en-US

01:04:25

24.5: The Black Metal Church Burnings

Occult Confessions ·

2024/08/02

Norwegian black metal in the 1990s served as the soundtrack for murder, suicide, and the burning of churches dating to the medieval period across the country with the musicians themselves at the center of these crimes. Andrew Mimms takes over the microphone to tell the story of the militant Satanist Black Circle who gathered a record store called Hell to create music but also mayhem.

en-US

01:33:23

24.4: Synanon

Occult Confessions ·

2024/07/19

Synanon is really two different organizations separated by time with the same origin and some of the same personnel sort of like 1960’s Jefferson Airplane and 1980’s Starship. One has very little do with the other close-up but from a far enough distance they look kind of similar. The psychologist Steven Simon calls these two groups Synanon I and Synanon II. Synanon I called itself a charitable organization and focused its energies on drug rehabilitation in the inner city. Synanon II called itself a

en-US

01:13:05

24.3: Dungeons, Dragons, and Satan

Occult Confessions ·

2024/07/05

In the 1980s, the game Dungeons and Dragons or, more specifically, its creators and players were accused of operating a Satanic cult. Luke takes the lead microphone to explore the strange events that led to this profound confusion between the fantasy world of the game and the real world of 1980s America. Warning: this episode contains references to suicide.

en-US

01:13:06

24.3: Dungeons, Dragons, and Satan

Occult Confessions ·

2024/07/05

In the 1980s, the game Dungeons and Dragons or, more specifically, its creators and players were accused of operating a Satanic cult. Luke takes the lead microphone to explore the strange events that led to this profound confusion between the fantasy world of the game and the real world of 1980s America. Warning: this episode contains references to suicide.

en-US

00:59:09

24.2: MLMs

Occult Confessions ·

2024/06/21

Multilevel marketing groups or MLMs engage in legal pyramid-style schemes that escape laws against such schemes because of the involvement of products including everything from make-up and detergent to diet pills, shampoos, and nutritional supplements. Nikki Hiller Henderson takes the microphone to lead the second of our actor-hosted episodes in our cults that aren't cults series.

en-US

01:05:11

24.1: The Secret Space Program

Occult Confessions ·

2024/06/07

(Part 2 is now available on the Strange Ride channel). In this Strange Ride/Occult Confessions crossover episode Savannah kicks off OC’s newest season “cults that aren’t cults” by looking at the Secret Space Program conspiracy theory. The human race is under attack, and the earth needs all of our help if we’re going to survive to the end of this war. You’ve already started your journey by listening to this podcast, but stick with us. It’ll be difficult to understand. They don’t want you to

en-US

1:00:33

23.8: Goddess Energy (Interview Special)

Occult Confessions ·

2024/05/31

Rob and Luke talk with author and witch Gabriela Herstik about her new project, "Goddess Energy: Awakening the Divine Feminine through Myth and Magick." Gabriela talks about the intersections of Judaism and neo-paganism in her own practice, the many faces and incarnations of the goddess, and sex magic. For more about Gabriela's work visit linktr.ee/gabyherstik.

en-US

227 results

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