ESOTERICA
ESOTERICA
0
Dr. Justin Sledge explores the arcane in history, philosophy, and religion, covering topics such as alchemy, magic, Kabbalah, mysticism, hermetic philosophy, theosophy, and the occult using academic scholarship. The podcast also offers a study guide, rare occult books, and merchandise for enthusiasts.
Επεισόδια
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Mysticism vs Satan - Hildegard of Bingen's Sacred Exorcism 23.09.2026 35λCan Mysticism Defeat Satan? In 1196 the mystic Hildegard of Bingen was called to help cure a noble woman of demonic possession. However, it became clear that only a divine revelation could combat these demonic forces. And, in a mystical vision, Hildegard received a powerful ritual of exorcism through which She and God alone could contend with the forces of Satan. This Mystical Exorcism is one of the most fascinating in history and may have, unwittingly, helped to form the foundation of the Clerical Necromantic Underground. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Hildegard of Bingen: Scivias - https://amzn.to/4vEtsyxSelected Writings: Hildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/3OIXxfEHildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/3OViaFBSarah Higley - Hildegard of Bingen’s Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion - ISBN-13: 978-1403976734The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/4cAzEilThe Personal Correspondence of Hildegard of Bingen - https://amzn.to/4sMOdW8The Digital Version of the Reisencodex - https://hlbrm.digitale-sammlungen.hebis.de/handschriften-hlbrm/content/pageview/449620 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 8 of 15 - Who is Able to See it? 23.09.2026 1ώ 9λWelcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Egyptian Alchemy : Decoding the Greek - Egyptian Alchemy - The Formula of the Crab / Scorpion 23.09.2026 22λAlchemy is, perhaps, best known for it's elaborate symbolism but just how far back into history can we trace these allegories, secret codes, and hidden meanings? In this episode of Esoterica we investigate what is likely one of the earliest encoded alchemical texts: "the Formula of the Crab" or "the Formula of the Scorpion." Found in a 10th century Greek manuscript, this formula contain a Greco-Egyptian alchemical process for producing a gold-like alloy of copper, silver, and lead. As we explore the formula we will also discuss how Greco-Egyptian alchemy differed from later theories under the influence of the mercury-sulfur theory of the metals. What will discover is an emphasis on the ability to control the color of metals as opposed to metallic transmutation reflecting the religious vocation of the earliest Egyptian metallurgists.Recommended Reading: M. Berthelot - Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs - https://archive.org/details/collectiondesanc23bert/mode/2upS. Linden - The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton - 978-0521796620S. Grimes - Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt - 978-0473407759#alchemy #egypt #hermeticism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
John Dee - The Monas Hieroglyphica - Part II - Alchemy and Cabala 23.09.2026 36λThis is the second episode exploring Dr. John Dee's famous 1564 Monas Hieroglyphica. In this episode we continue our discussion of Dee's Semiotic-Ontology (his link of Representation with Being) by exploring his early theories of alchemy and Cabala. Dee was a maverick in both fields. In alchemy, Dee sought to pursue the "Mercury Alone" theory while maintaining a relationship with traditional alchemy and introducing novel Paracelsian elements. In the field of Cabala, Dee employs traditional Jewish techniques for the manipulation of the Hebrew language to transform the Monad itself. When Dee combines the talismanic, alchemical, and cabalistic he will seek a "Cabala of Being" which will reform reality itself - the topic of the third episode.These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9iShqG1gJavUXVKVnk2d1UzQVE/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
What is the Dybbuk ? Spirit Possession and Exorcism in the Kabbalah 23.09.2026 1ώ 6λThe Kabbalah changed a great deal in Judaism including the conception of possession and exorcism. This episode of Esoterica explores the development of these concepts in rabbinical Judaism and the rise of Kabbalah, especially Lurianic Kabbalah in the 16th century. Here we discuss the idea of the Dybbuk - the evil dead returned to possess the living - but also the idea of Ibbur or beneficent spiritual pregnancy in which the soul of the righteous dead actually comes to dwell in the body of the kabbalist! Recommended Reading:Ansky - The Dybbuk - 978-1494837532Chajes - Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism - 978-0812221701Goldish - Spirit Possession in Judaism - 978-0814330036Elior - Dybbuks and Jewish Women in Social History, Mysticism and Folklore - 978-9655240078Winkler - Dybbuk - 978-0910818384Der Dybbuk Film - https://www.jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/dybbuk.htmlDimona Dybbuk Exorcism Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSWkfabZApU#kabbalah #dybbuk #exorcism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Medieval Magic - Scholastic Analysis of Magic and Necromancy in the Middle Ages 23.09.2026 35λScholasticism was the greatest intellectual movement of the Middle Ages. In this episode of Esoterica we explore the attitudes of medieval philosophers, theologians and scientists concerning magic. From Augustine where magic is a demonic deception to the rise of natural magic and medieval necromancy we will see that just beneath the surface there is a great deal of subtlety among these thinkers. Further, we will also notice that necromancy and black magic are always at the edges acceptable theory and practice.Recommended Readings:Kieckhefer - Magic in the Middle Ages - 978-1107431829Thorndike - History of Magic and Experimental Science vol. 2Magic in History Series - Penn State#magic #medieval #demons Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Corpus Hermeticum - Introduction to Hermes Trismegistus and Hermetic Philosophy 23.09.2026 24λThe Corpus Hermeticum are the texts and teachings ascribed to the legendary Egyptian sage, priest, and philosopher Hermes Trismegistus. When translated and published by Ficino in 1471 these texts were heralded as the very source of pure, perennial wisdom. In the subsequent years, these ideas went on to have a massive impact upon what is now called western esotericism. Just what are these teaching? What is the history of the text? How did this pagan wisdom survive into modernity? In this episode of Esoterica we introduce the Corpus Hermeticum, Hermes Trismegistus & Hermetic Philosophy.Reccomended Reading:Dillion - The Middle Platonists: 80 B.C. to A.D. 220 - 978-0801483165Copenhaver - Hermetica - 978-0521425438Litwa - Hermetica II - 978-1107182530Salaman, van Oyen, Wharto, Mahe - The Way of Hermes - 978-0892811861van Bladel - The Arabic Hermes - 978-0195376135Fowden - The Egyptian Hermes - 978-0691024981Festugière - La révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste - 978-2251326740 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
John Dee - The Monas Hieroglyphica - Part I - History and Context 23.09.2026 20λThis is part one of a series discussing Dr. John Dee's revolutionary, though obscure, 1564 text the Monas Hieroglyphica (The Hieroglyphic Monad). In part one we will discuss the philosophical and historical context of the text and present the main thesis of our analysis: Dee is seeking to reform human knowledge through using a powerful symbol to purify specifically alchemy and cabala. Part two will explore Dee's theory of alchemy and cabala and part three will show how the Hieroglyphic Monad has its power through combining the semiotic (representational) and the ontological (being itself).These episodes represent a more introductory version of my thesis on the Monas Hieroglyphica prepared at the University of Amsterdam.You can read the entire thesis here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z3_C6qUjjeL58EciAl00iXOUWMoKAQtG/view?usp=sharingStandard text and translation of the Monas Hieroglyphica - C. H. Josten, Ambix, 12:2-3 (1964): 82-221I'll provide more recommended readings on the Monas Hieroglyphica in the third episode.#dee #enochian #monas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Was Lilith a Joke? How Bad Translation and Parody Created a Demon 23.09.2026 29λSince the romantic rehabilitation of Lilith from child-murderer and nocturnal seducer of men to symbol of feminine power and defiance, Lilith has become one of the most recognizable of modern demons. But her origin, first in ancient Mesopotamia and then in the early medieval Jewish literature are marked by curious historical accidents. Curiously enough, Lilith may have emerged as a linguistic mistake and a text meant to parody rabbinic legends. Let’s explore the historical vicissitudes of She of the Night, Lilith.Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Lilith 1 - https://youtu.be/n1EKccz4fS0Lilith 2 - https://youtu.be/U-jIScgb7NcMirror of Lilith - https://youtu.be/uNfcdZ0UCc4Lilith & Incantation Bowls - https://youtu.be/wyI9m50ODB4New Incantation Bowls feat. Lilith - https://youtu.be/0YIZhuIpkPAESOTERICA sales for the holidays!Lilith Incantation Bowls back in limited stock - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/shop/p/handcraft-aramaic-incantation-bowl-limited-edition20% off any purchase at our Rare Book Store - code HOLIDAY at checkout - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/New Necromantic Mirror of Floron shirt and 15% off all merch with code HOLIDAY at checkout - https://my-store-d6a943.creator-spring.com/Looking to buy books on western esotericism check out my study guide - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRecommended Readings:Patai - The Hebrew GoddessBlair - De-demonising the Old TestamentMcDonald - In Possession of the Night: Lilith as Goddess, Demon, VampireChavalas - Women in the Ancient Near EastNaveh, Shaked - Amulets and Magic BowlsMontgomery - Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 11 of 15 - Qualifications and Praxes of the Merkavah 23.09.2026 1ώ 23λWelcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Win a 1300 Year Old Incantation Bowl Fragment - Novel Occult Book Catalog! 23.09.2026 10λWin an authentic piece of magical history: a 1300 year old Incantation Bowl Fragment and learn about our new antiquarian occult book catalog!Check out the catalog here: https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
The Mystical Theology of Affection - Bernard of Clairvaux 23.09.2026 54λIs Love fundamental reality? Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 1153) is among the pillars of western mysticism. In his mystical theology, he takes John's declaration that "God is Love" to it's radical conclusion: Love is both the means and the goal of all existence. Thus, the soul must undergo a series of transformations through love so as to be raptured up into the Divine Love which is God. Let's explore the mystical theology of Love!Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works - https://amzn.to/4qU6oZ1Sermons on the Song of Songs Set - https://litpress.org/Products/CFZ02/Sermons-on-the-Song-of-Songs-Set-Volumes-14The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard - https://amzn.to/4r2iO1hThe Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great Through the 12 Century - https://amzn.to/4caDAYG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Who was Belial, the Demon? 23.09.2026 33λThe demon Belial seems to have emerged from an obscure force of nature to then become the leader of the Apocalyptic forces of Evil in the Dead Sea Scrolls. And, while only mentioned only once in the New Testament, Belial has become an important evil spirit in both contemporary Goetic magic and Popular Culture alike. But, what are the origins of Belial, a demon that once sat at the apex of the diabolical hierarchy?Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Sefer Yetzirah - Book of Formation - Introduction to a Core Early Text of Kabbalah Cabala Qabbalah 23.09.2026 32λThe Sefer Yetzirah is perhaps the oldest text of what would become the Jewish Mysticism known as the Kabbalah. Though, virtually everything about this brief text is a mystery. When was it written, by whom and exactly what it means are all hotly debated topics by academics, kabbalists and occultists. Indeed, the text is so linked with magical power that commentaries on the text describe how one might construct artificial life itself in the form of the famed Golem. This episode explores the origin, development and contents of this elusive but profound mystical textGershom Scholem - Kabbalah - 978-0452010079 (dated but still useful)Tzahi Weiss - Sefer Yesirah and Its Contexts - 978-0812249903Peter Hayman - Sefer Yesira: Edition, Translation and Text-critical Commentary - 978-3161483813 (ILL this one)Don Karr - Notes on Editions of Sefer Yetzirah in English - https://www.academia.edu/22875900/Notes_on_Editions_of_Sefer_Yetzirah_in_EnglishAryeh Kaplan - Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation - 978-0877286905 (Lurianic perspective)Sefer Yetzirah HaShalem - Harav Moshe Tzuriel - (check seforim stores)#kabbalah #yetzirah #golem Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
What is the Hermetic God and Demiurge? 23.09.2026 43λThe concept of the Demiurge is often associated with the demonic cosmos creator of the Gnostics. But, what do we know about the ancient Hermetic Demiurge? Emerging from the world of Greco-Egyptian religion and philosophy, Hermeticism was a powerfully optimistic means of reuniting one's high consciousness (Nous) with the Divine Parental Light after exorcising one's body of fatalistic daimonic infestation. But, the Hermetic Spiritual Philosophy is ambivalent about the place of any Demiurge in it's cosmology and means of salvation. Yet, some texts do speak of a magnificent Solar Demiurge as the conduit and cosmic artisan. Just what is the place of the Demiurge in Hermeticism?Demiurge 1 - https://youtu.be/mTnQ__VSQzcDemiurge 2 - https://youtu.be/GWHLuZgixHIDemiurge 3 - https://youtu.be/xfG0w4k6EA8Demiurge 4 - https://youtu.be/kq-CoIFf8l0Thumbnail art from Zdzisław Beksiński Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Recommended Readings:Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Imagination - https://amzn.to/4r7cRRBHermetica I: The Corpus Hermeticum, Asclepius, and Nag Hammadi Hermetica Ordered as a Path of Initiation - https://amzn.to/47P4kvfDr. David Litwa's YT channel - @m.davidlitwa The Demiurge in Ancient Thought: Secondary Gods and Divine Mediators - https://amzn.to/49tSc3Z Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Gospel of Thomas, Gnostic Egypt and Pistis Sophia w/ Dr. M David Litwa 23.09.2026 1ώ 10λConversation with Dr. M David Litwa on his recent work on the Gospel of Thomas, his upcoming trip to Egypt and why the Pistis Sophia doesn't get studied.Dr. Litwa's Youtube Channel - @m.davidlitwa Introduction to the Gospel of Thomas - https://amzn.to/41wMKZhEgypt Trip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlF3lW3M1fEItinerary - https://travefy.com/trip/6yw9rqqtdjzsqz2afmhbc7ckkb53msqSign-up - https://portal.argosdestinations.com/public/form/view/68839f3cff70b48bc2be2200 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
The Devil Rides Out - The Devil's Bride - Occult Film Review and Analysis 23.09.2026 21λThe Devil Rides Out or the The Devil's Bride as it was known in the US is a seminal occult film. Unlike many other films which feature occult or esoteric themes, there is actually a substantial amount of research reflected in this film base emerging from the 1934 novel of the same name by Dennis Wheatley. In this more light-hearted episode of Esoterica, we explore this classic 1968 Hammer film with an eye to the occult material in the film itself.#occultism #film #hammer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Introduction to Merkavah Mysticism - 7a of 15 - The Map is Not Territory 23.09.2026 1ώ 24λWelcome to our seminar on Merkavah MysticismHundreds of years prior to the rise of the Kabbalah, shaman-like rabbinic mystics were described as having made the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent into the Divine Palaces. There they met with and bypassed fearsome angels with magical codes, gained control over angelic powers, became transformed into beings of fire, gained vast wisdom and mounted the very throne of G!d to carefully measure the vast dimensions of the divine body. These experiences and their praxes are recorded in about 50 manuscripts now known as the Hekhalot (lit. palaces) literature. Outside of specialists this late-classical form of (a)(de)scent mysticism is poorly understood and little appreciated. In this course, we will explore the foundations, social origins, myth-world, praxes and the afterlife of Merkavah Mysticism. Consider Supporting Esoterica!Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelOne Time Donation Support - Paypal Donation - https://www.paypal.me/esotericachannelMerch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/storeNew to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharingRare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Course Syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URUIb_AkZGM3hXzTnPFAwQYkZf_WgL0Q9wWWqSr2ug0/edit?usp=sharingCourse Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-93Z0g92p4xMTFRjk5KznFvh65oRjFAo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Esoterica Channel Promo 23.09.2026 3λI'm Dr. Justin Sledge and welcome to Esoterica where we explore the arcane side of history, philosophy and religion. Support Esoterica: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannelWhat is that arcane side? We focus on concepts in what can broadly be called esotericism including: magic, mysticism, alchemy, hermetic philosophy, theosophy, gnosticism, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Win a 439 year old book of Alchemy by Paracelsus! 23.09.2026 10λWin this wonderful book of alchemy! Learn more in the video.Esoterica Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/esotericaoccultbooks/Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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