x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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

01:07:08

7.4: Demonology

Occult Confessions ·

2019/08/30

From ancient Bablyon to the Occult Revival, occultists have categorized demons and created formulae for their invocation and control. We follow the long thread of this tradition through the Book of Tobit, The Book of Enoch, the Testament of Solomon, and the Lesser Key of Solomon.

en-US

01:12:02

7.3: Jesus of Nazareth, Miracle Healer

Occult Confessions ·

2019/08/16

At the time the gospels were written, enemies of the early Christians circulated anti-gospels arguing that Jesus was a black magician. In fact, Jesus fell into the category of a divine or holy man who healed through an innate ability. Jesus was one of a host of healers circulating around the Roman Empire during this time period. What made him stand out from the crowd and why did he become the founder of the world's largest mainstream religious tradition?

en-US

00:56:55

7.2: DMT, Space Mushrooms, and Machine Elves

Occult Confessions ·

2019/08/02

Terence McKenna was a pioneer of the Psychonaut community--utilizing psychedelic drugs to induce deep explorations on planes of being occupied by mysterious beings. In this episode, we discuss the science and culture of extraterrestrial mushrooms, stoned apes, and Machine Elves.

en-US

00:56:36

7.1: Shamans and the Spirit Cure

Occult Confessions ·

2019/07/19

How does belief shape the power of medicine? Tribal shamans among the Native Americans, Inuit, Hmong, and throughout the world demonstrate effective healing by applying their arts to body, mind, and spirit. We open our series on spiritual healing by considering how and why shamanic spirit healing has worked for thousands of years.

en-US

01:21:37

6.6: Cold War Psychic Spies

Occult Confessions ·

2019/07/05

During the Cold War, the CIA and US military endorsed psychic warfare by employing two physicists from the Stanford Research Institute to train a crew of paranormal spies, also known as remote viewers. In this episode, we consider the history of Project Stargate (also known as Gondola Wish, Grillflame, and Starburst) as it locates crashed planes, enters the enemy's mind, and details secret activities at Arctic military bases.

en-US

01:05:30

6.5: The Magical Battle of Britain

Occult Confessions ·

2019/06/21

How did King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and the Quest for the Holy Grail inspire Dion Fortune's nationwide campaign to protect the British from Nazi psychological, spiritual, and physical conquest during World War Two? In this episode we discuss Fortune, an important inspiration for modern-day Wicca and neo-paganism, and how Arthurian legend informed the magical process she led to repel the Nazis.

en-US

00:55:11

6.4: Aleister Crowley Goes to War

Occult Confessions ·

2019/06/07

Notorious occultist Aleister Crowley engaged in a campaign of anti-British propaganda during World War One, but there is evidence that he may have been doing so in service of the British Government as an undercover agent. This case is bolstered by Crowley's relationship with James Bond author and British Intelligence Officer Ian Fleming during World War Two. In this episode, we ask whether Aleister Crowley was, in fact, a secret agent.

en-US

01:05:19

6.3: Chinese Secret Societies

Occult Confessions ·

2019/05/24

The White Lotus Society, Red Turbans, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and "Boxers" were all inspired by mystical visions or held a series of supernatural beliefs that drove them to rebel against the powers that be inside China. In our nod to "Game of Thrones," we analyze both successes and failures in dynastic overthrow from Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan to Cixi, the Dragon Lady.

en-US

00:50:59

6.2: The Ghost Dance

Occult Confessions ·

2019/05/10

The Lakota chiefs gathered at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and each spoke their piece about whether or not to send a delegation West to Nevada to meet the messiah. They decided a delegation would go out in late summer or fall 1889 under the leadership of Good Thunder. In 1890, the official delegation return with the opinion that the messiah had, in fact, arrived. Short Bull, who had fought with Sitting Bull in the War of 1876, and Kicking Bear were among this delegation and would go on

en-US

00:58:27

6.1: The Livonian Werewolf

Occult Confessions ·

2019/04/26

At a trial in late seventeenth-century Livonia, Thiess of Kaltenbrun claimed to be a hound of God, a werewolf who transformed to do battle with witches in hell. In this episode we try and figure out the origins of Thiess's conception of himself as a holy werewolf. We discuss berserkers, wolf warriors, Hungarian shamans, benandanti, and European werewolf lore.

en-US

01:03:57

5.6: Satan at the United Nations

Occult Confessions ·

2019/04/12

Right wing Christian conspiracy theorists have suggested that Helena Blavatsky's Theosophical Society is secretly controlling the United Nations through an organization called the Lucis Trust and that this is part of a conspiracy to promote Satanic principles around the world. In this episode, we figure out exactly how and why these ideas don't exactly add up and why people choose to believe them.

en-US

00:50:04

5.5: The Secret Doctrine (Lemuria and Atlantis)

Occult Confessions ·

2019/03/29

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's theory of root races really picks up steam with the Lemurians, a spiritual race of giants. Then the continent of Atlantis rises from the ashes of Lemurian civilization followed by our current Aryan race which will eventually be replaced by a sixth race born from racial intermixing in North America. We discuss the rise and fall of these mythical races and analyze the internal logic of The Secret Doctrine.

en-US

01:08:02

5.4: The Secret Doctrine (Genesis)

Occult Confessions ·

2019/03/22

A few years before she died, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky finished her masterwork, The Secret Doctrine. This remarkable book outlined the creation of the universe and of humanity as well as the spiritual evolution of all beings back into unity with the Absolute.

en-US

00:57:13

5.3: The Mahatmas and the Russian Spy

Occult Confessions ·

2019/03/08

Was Helena Blavatsky the agent of a secret group of occult adepts or a pawn in a vast, international chess game? Advocating for Indian religious traditions, she did not endear herself to Christian missionaries and this seemed to serve her Masters' purposes. Until they allowed her to fall victim to a reputation-destroying scandal.

en-US

00:54:50

5.2: Blavatsky vs. the Society for Psychical Research

Occult Confessions ·

2019/02/22

In 1879, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Olcott arrived in India to found the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society. In India, Blavatsky performed amazing paranormal feats which became the center of an intercontinental argument about whether or not her occult masters, hidden somewhere in the Himalayas, were genuine.

en-US

01:37:15

5.1: The Pirate King of the Spirit Realms

Occult Confessions ·

2019/02/08

John King was one of the most powerful spirits to surface in nineteenth-century spiritualist seances. As the father of spirit Katie King, he figured in one of the biggest scandals of the 1870s involving the US Congressman Robert Dale Owen. He was also the familiar spirit of Helena Blavatsky. In this episode, we track the history of spirit materializations and ask whether John King could be the spirit of the privateer Henry Morgan.

en-US

00:51:39

4.9: Reptilian Archon Overlords

Occult Confessions ·

2019/01/25

Olivia leads our discussion about the connection between Christian Gnosticism and the Reptilian Conspiracy by way of David Icke. Why do so many people believe that our reality is a projection coming from a hollow moon orbiting the earth?

en-US

01:23:56

4.8: Satanic Murder Cults

Occult Confessions ·

2019/01/11

The Matamoros Cult was responsible for a series of grisly murders on the Mexican border. Inspired by the Afro-Caribbean tradition of Palo Mayombe, they utilized human body parts as magical talismans to protect themselves from law enforcement. Strangely, their grave sites were mapped out by the serial confessor Henry Lee Lucas, a murderer who claimed to be responsible for killing two hundred people at the order of the secret , possibly imaginary Satanic assassins' guild, the Hand of Death.

en-US

01:13:53

4.7: Satanism and the Satanic Panic

Occult Confessions ·

2018/12/28

Satanism as the source of a popular culture panic includes tales of mass child sacrifice and the cultivation of teenage breeders. The reality has more to do with teenage rebellion and legend trips. The religion comes to us by way of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan and Michael Aquino's Temple of Set, and they define what it means to follow the Left Handed Path which has little if anything to do with the legendary panic.

en-US

01:21:19

4.6: Nazi Occultism

Occult Confessions ·

2018/12/14

The swastika, Heinrich Himmler's personal magician, and Adolf Hitler's favorite occult magazine provide our window into the Nazi Party's occult inspiration. What supernatural beliefs helped to shape one of the most reviled movements in history and how does this reflect on the meaning of the occult beyond Hitler's Germany?

en-US

244 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai