Rejected Religion Podcast

My guest this month is Bob Cluness, whom I am thrilled to welcome back to the platform. Bob recently published a new article in the journal Correspondences, “The Working-Class Magus: Class, Politics, and Occult Power in John Constantine: Hellblazer” and he was so kind to talk with me about it. In this episode, we explore the cultural ecosystem that gave birth to John Constantine—from punk, Thatcher-era Britain, and the Stoke Newington Sorcerers to chaos magic, and how those anti-establishment ideas were later appropriated and transformed within modern occulture, plus much more!

Bob Cluness is a PhD candidate and researcher in the cultural studies program at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. His current PhD project deals with the relationship between esotericism and accelerationism expressed within UK subcultures in the late 20th century, the core research being a comparative and historical discursive analysis of the UK chaos magic(k) scene and the CCRU. This PhD project, including Bob’s research vectors, published articles, conference papers and teaching programs, incorporates the myriad intersections between esotericism and contemporary subcultures, such as cyberpunk, cyberspace and technology, the counterculture and the New Age, conspiracy culture, modern art, comics, zine culture, and music.

What made John Constantine the ultimate occult antihero, and whom would he confront today? Bob traces Hellblazer through the overlapping worlds of punk, British counterculture, chaos magic, and the emerging occulture of the late twentieth century. From the Stoke Newington Sorcerers and Thatcher-era politics to the commercialization of rebellion, and the contemporary struggle over occult ideas, this conversation explores how Constantine’s world was created, and why its tensions remain strikingly relevant.
An overview of the topics we cover in this episode:
The cultural and political conditions that produced John Constantine
Hellblazer, punk, class, and anti-establishment politics
The Stoke Newington Sorcerers and Britain’s occult underground
Chaos magic and the development of modern occulture
Constantine as magician, trickster, outsider, and working-class “cunning man”
The relationship between comics, popular culture, and occult innovation
What happens when counterculture becomes commercially successful
The mainstreaming, and political appropriation, of occult ideas
Who, or what, John Constantine might be fighting today?

PROGRAM NOTES

Volume 13, no. 1 (2025)

The Working-Class Magus:

Post-punk, Industrial Culture Zines, and the Information Dark Age - University of Birmingham

Search Results | History Workshop Journal | Oxford Academic

(PDF) Punk, Politics and British (fan)zines, 1976-84: 'While the world was dying, did you wonder why?'

Bob's Hot Tip: The Absolute Martian Manhunter: Absolute Martian Manhunter (2025-) — Read Comics Online

Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea
Link to Patreon: https://patreon.com/RejectedReligion?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Link to YouTube Channel: Rejected Religion - YouTube

This is Part One/ Free Content of Episode 46. The full version of this interview is available for YouTube members and Patreon members; alternately, it can be purchased for a one-time fee at my Patreon page (see Shop link). 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7BQC-iCBzMaFN0i6a-lgag/join

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My guest this month is Gregg Harmston. Gregg is an independent researcher, writer and music producer from the UK who focuses on esotericism and occultism alongside media and literature theory, cyberculture, fictioning, and non-standard philosophy. He graduated an MA in Spirituality and Religion from University of Amsterdam in 2025 and is currently working on expanding his thesis research into a PhD project. In this episode, Gregg peels back the layers of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit, or CCRU, a group that stands as one of the most unique and enigmatic forms of modern occultism. 

Using a "matryoshka doll" methodology, we look briefly at the core members of the group, and then explore the CCRU as a collective myth and an independent entity. We’ll trace their origins from the intellectual split between Sadie Plant’s cyberfeminism and Nick Land’s "dark" inhumanism, fueled by the rhythmic, non-linear influences of the 1990s jungle dance scene. We discuss "Time Sorcery," the Numogram, and the mechanics of hyperstition—the process by which fictions "make themselves real" through cybernetic feedback loops to reshape our present reality. 

To explain this concept a bit further, the core of Gregg’s thesis focuses on "Hyperstition as the idea of fictions that make themselves real by functioning as "time-circuits" or self-fulfilling prophecies. Gregg illustrates how the CCRU’s use of "theory-fiction" was not merely a literary style, but a deliberate "writing magic" designed to bypass rational thought and manifest "inhuman" entities or future outcomes into the present. Ultimately, the work positions the CCRU as a unique bridge between 20th-century esoteric practices (like Chaos Magic) and the digital-age occultism of the 21st century, suggesting that the group’s influence persists today as a collective entity or "egregore" that continues to shape contemporary culture and philosophy. 

For Patreon and YouTube members, we dive even deeper into the controversial legacy of Nick Land in Part 2, re-evaluating him not just as a philosopher, but as an experimental occultist who used extreme methods to achieve ego-dissolution. We also tackle the complex evolution of accelerationism, tracing the pipeline from CCRU-era theories to the intellectual foundations of the Alt-Right and the modern phenomenon of "Meme Magic." However, we also explore the alternative, hopeful sides of these "weird" tools—examining Left-Accelerationism, and Mark Fisher’s "Acid Communism" to see how these theories can be used to reclaim lost futures and foster collective hope. 

PROGRAM NOTES

Gregg Harmston - University of Amsterdam

Instagram

Ccru: Writings 1997-2003

Cybernetic Culture Research Unit - Monoskop

Rowan Elizabeth Cabrales - University of Amsterdam

RR Podcast E4 P1 Rowan E. Cabrales: Hyperstition - Fictions Becoming Real?
RR Podcast E4 P2 Rowan E. Cabrales: Hyperstition - Fictions Becoming Real?

Aesthetaphysicks and the Anti-Dialectical Hyperoccultation of Disenchanted Representation: Hyperstitional Esoterrorism as Occultural Accelerationism 

The Hyperstitional Philosophy of Time-Travel Cybernetics: Theosophy, the CCRU, and Black-Box Poiesis

RR Pod E28 P1 Bob Cluness - An Esoteric Menagerie...
RR Pod E28 P2 Bob Cluness - An Esoteric Menagerie...

Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea

Research and End Production: Stephanie Shea

This is the Free Content version of my interview with Drs. Sarah & Bastiaan van Rijn. To listen to the full interview, you can either purchase it for a one-time fee, or become a Patreon member.

Sarah van Rijn (née Perez) is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern. She currently works on a project that analyses similarities and differences in ethical motivation, knowledge production, and activist practice of animal rights activists and persons identifying with the eco-spiritual milieu. She previously worked on early modern pamphlets as well as youth- and online spirituality. The latter topic was also the reason why Sarah and her husband Bastiaan have published on the phenomenon of Reality Shifting.

Bastiaan van Rijn is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. His current project focuses on the connections between spiritual tourism and alternative history. Before that, he wrote on the various ways in which Western individuals have tried to scientifically prove life after death since the late eighteenth century. His book, Afterlife Research, appears later this year.

Sarah and Bas have both been previous guests on the platform, Sarah in a roundtable discussion with Dr. Cavan McLaughin on her research into Reality Shifting, and Bas in E 43 about Mesmerism and Afterlife Research. They’ve joined me this time together to discuss their joint article, “Understanding Reality Shifting as a New Online-based Spiritual Practice.”

In Part One of this episode, we’re exploring the fascinating world of Reality Shifting—a practice where individuals use ‘scripting’ and intention to move their consciousness to a Desired Reality. But this isn't just about internet subcultures; it’s also an examination and critique of our current reality and how we view what is Real vs what is Fiction. We discuss how Shifting acts, not as escapism, but as a form of serious play, where personal narratives create new facts in an era of 'fake news' and 'deep fakes'.

PROGRAM NOTES:

Understanding Reality Shifting as a New Online-based Spiritual Practice
Intentional Transformative Experiences...

IDENTITY AND BELIEF An Analysis of the Otherkin Subculture

Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea

End Production: Stephanie Shea

* This is an audio-only version of my interview with Rufus Harrington, trustee of The Doreen Valiente Foundation. 

I am so excited to share this special conversation with Rufus Harrington about the legendary Doreen Valiente!
As a thank you for your incredible support, this interview is being released as a free bonus episode for both my dedicated Patreon members as well as my YouTube community. Happy Yule!

In this insightful conversation, I sat down with Rufus Harrington, a psychologist and long-standing practitioner of the craft, who currently serves as a trustee for the Doreen Valiente Foundation.
This interview traces the life and spiritual impact of the woman widely known as the "Mother of Modern Witchcraft." We begin by exploring Rufus’s own journey into Wicca and how his professional background in psychology provides a unique lens through which he views the evolution of the pagan community.
The Heart of the Conversation: Who was Doreen Valiente? We dive into a biography of this pivotal figure, moving beyond her titles to understand her as a poet, a researcher, and a spiritual revolutionary.
The Gardnerian Connection: Rufus distinguishes Valiente’s contributions from those of her contemporary, Gerald Gardner, highlighting how her poetic voice and ethical framework shaped the Craft as we know it today.
The Foundation’s Mission: Rufus discusses the vital work of preserving sacred artifacts, rare writings, and the personal legacy of a woman who sought to bring the magic of the old world into the modern era.
Spirituality in Practice: From the "Charge of the Goddess" to her scholarly research, we discuss the enduring resonance of Valiente's work and why it remains "alive" for practitioners in the 21st century.
Whether you are a long-time practitioner or simply curious about the history of modern spirituality, this interview offers a deep dive into the stewardship of a legacy. Rufus shares personal reflections on his role as a trustee and offers guidance on where seekers can find authentic resources to further their own studies.

PROGRAM NOTES
Home | Doreen Valiente
Books by Doreen Valiente (Author of Natural Magic)
Natural Magic: Valiente, Doreen: 8601404398032: Amazon.com: Books
THE ATLANTIS BOOKSHOP | The living history of magic
Home - Museum of Witchcraft and Magic
Lifting the Veil: A Witches' Guide to Trance-Prophesy, Drawing Down the Moon and Ecstatic Ritual: Farrar, Janet, Bone, Gavin: 9780719831621: Amazon.com: Books
What Witches Do: A Modern Coven Revealed: Farrar, Stewart: 9780719831539: Amazon.com: Books
Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches: The Founding Book of Modern Witchcraft, Containing History, Traditions, Dianic Goddesses and Folklore of Wicca: Leland, Charles Godfrey: 9781985818026: Amazon.com: Books
High Magic's Aid - Kindle edition by Gardner, Gerald . Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Books by Vivianne Crowley (Author of Wicca)
Books by Patricia Crowther (Author of Lid Off the Cauldron)
John Belham-Payne Founder of the Centre For Pagan Studies – Centre For Pagan Studies
John Belham-Payne – Gardnerian Wicca

Music & End Production: Stephanie Shea

This is the Free Content version of my interview with author Graham St. John. To access the full interview, please consider joining Patreon as a paid member, or you can purchase the episode for a one-time fee. www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion. 
This month’s guest is author Graham St. John, who joined me to discuss his new book, Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna.
Terence McKenna remains one of the most enigmatic voices of the psychedelic counterculture—equal parts philosopher, performer, and visionary. In this episode, we explore McKenna’s mythopoetic “stoned ape” theory, his radical take on shamanism, the ‘teacher’ Mushroom that leads one to the ‘indwelling of the Goddess’, the mysteries of DMT and the “machine elves,” and his controversial Timewave Zero vision of history and hyperspace that embraced the I Ching and the Mayan calendar ‘2012 phenomenon.’
Beyond psychedelics, McKenna was also fascinated with alchemy and Gnosticism, and while figures like Crowley, John Dee, and Gurdjieff were not embraced by McKenna, Graham nevertheless calls him a “psychedelic occultist”—a thinker whose visions of transformation resonate with centuries of esoteric tradition, even if McKenna probably would have resisted the label. Along the way, we unpack the tension between his cult of personality and his desire for academic legitimacy, and consider the legacy he left for today’s psychedelic and occult communities.
Unfortunately, I experienced some technical difficulties with my podcasting equipment, and the sound quality is not up to the normal standard. Luckily, my brother Daniel, who does the editing for the podcasts, was able to work his engineering magic and was able to salvage the file and clean up the audio the best he could. I hope this isn’t too distracting and that you’ll enjoy this discussion!
PROGRAM NOTES:
Find Graham St. John:
Graham St John, anthropologist, cultural historian and author. Researcher of EDM cultures, Burning Man, psychedelics, biographer of Terence McKenna. Founder of Dancecult journal. Edgecentral

Publications | Edgecentral
Strange Attractor
Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea