The Hermetic Hour

Frater Thabian leads the Festival of Seven Gates, a ceremonial drama staged around a henge and an alchemical altar. The episode follows the goddess Astarte as she descends through seven planetary gates, leaving a colored veil at each, to confront the Dark Lord Mot and reclaim the grail that will revive Baal. The ritual interweaves Orphic hymns, pentagram and alchemical operations, processions, and a sacramental sharing of the grail. Mot is overcome, Baal is resurrected, and the celebrants close the ceremony with chants and a vanishing pentagram, marking the seasonal rebirth and the coming rains. 

Much gratitude to Lucy Von (Soror Cleopatra) for recording the audio of this year's "Festival of Seven Gates" at Montsalvat Temple in Pasadena, CA.

The Hermetic Hour's host Poke Runyon will lead a discussion on Hermetic Philosophy, from ancient Alexandria through the Renaissance, and into the modern era. We will look at the early work of Empedocles and Pythagoras, the Pomander and the Asclepius, the Emerald Tablet, and the Chaldean Oracles. We will consider the Gnostic connection, and how the kabbalah arose from Greek, Assyrian, and Gnostic roots, and how it joined with Hermeticism in the Renaissance. We will establish why astrology is so important in the magical art. Most importantly we will look for The Great Secret of Hermetic-kabbalistic philosophy. This is the "Why" of Magick. This is the Holy Grail that we search for. This is the reason we dedicate our lives to an art that destroys the fools, and makes the wise immortal. I doubt that you have ever heard anything like this before. Tune in and we will open the pathway to enlightenment. Nosce te Ipsum -- Tu es Deus.

The Hermetic Hour will feature a discussion by host Poke Runyon on the 1st century " Alexandria Connection" where the elements that make up the Western Esoteric Tradition (Hermetic Tradition) came together and began the synthesis that was finally codified by Abbott Trithemius and Cornelius Agrippa in the 16th century. We will trace the Pythagorean, Ancient Egyptian, Gnostic, NeoPlatonic, Biblical (kabbalistic), Alchemical, Astrological, and even Christian influences that were shuffled together in a spiritual-intellectual ferment in what was perhaps the greatest university our Western world could boast of until the modern "Age of Enlightenment." We have dealt with this subject before, but this time we will focus on the particular people and their traditions: Alexander (Himself), Ptolemy the astrologer king, Hypatia the Pagan martyr, Hermes Trismegistus, and Marcus and Simon Magus. We will touch on the Greek Qabalah, the Osiris myth, and the influence of Zoroaster. So, if you have a burning desire to visit the Library of Alexandria, join us -- but no smoking inside, please...

The Hermetic Hour will continue with Poke Runyon's informal history of C.H.S./O.T.A., introducing Louis T. Culling, Israel Regardie, Grady McMurtry, and our intrigues with the nascent O.T.O. that was reforming after Jack Parsons blew himself up. We will also discuss our secret war on terrorists in Los Angeles, the Themis War, and the development of our Seasonals, and our yoga system. So tune in, turn on, and get ready to return to the thrilling days of yester-year. (like the Lone Ranger....)

The Hermetic Hour host Poke Runyon will feature an informal history of the Order of the Temple of Astarte (O.T.A.) and The Church of the Hermetic Sciences. We'll cover the whole story, from the psychedelic era of the late 1960s through the early 70s, and on into 80s and 90s. We'll try to be honest without getting too gossipy---but we can't avoid some controversial events and personalities. You'll meet Israel Regardie and Grady McMurtry, along with Louis T. Culling, Fred Adams, and Joe Wilson. We'll cover the birth of The Seventh Ray, and the Themis War. This will be a mixture of nostalgia and tradition. Most 21st century NeoPagans and magicians have no idea who started---and in some case revived---all this activity back in the late 60s. This will be a revelation for some, and nostalgia for others. Don't miss it.