Right Where You Are Sitting Now

Ken sits down with Shira Chess, cultural scholar and author of The Unseen Internet, for a wide-ranging exploration of magic, myth, and belief in digital culture, examining how the internet has become an esoteric system in its own right — a space where technology, occult practice, conspiracy, and spiritual anxiety collapse into one another. Framed from the perspective of chapel perilous, the conversation traces how memes, algorithms, simulation theory, AI discourse, and techno-paganism function not metaphorically, but as active forces shaping belief, agency, and reality itself. This episode moves through the haunted edges of online life, from meme magic and technognosticism to AI demons, digital egregores, and the slow erosion of consensus reality — asking what responsibility, belief, and magic mean when nothing is true, and everything is permitted. This week: The internet as an esoteric and magical system, Chapel perilous as a method for studying belief online, Meme magic, chaos magic, and the Cult of Kek, The destruction of consensus reality and its consequences, Techno-paganism and the occult roots of internet culture, Simulation theory as modern Gnosticism, Algorithms, platforms, and digital spaces as egregores, AI, demons, and the mystification of technology, Belief, practice, and agency in online magical systems, and “Nothing is true, everything is permitted” as an internet condition 🔗 People, books, and concepts mentioned: Shira Chess – Cultural scholar and author https://shirachess.com The Unseen Internet – Technology, magic, and belief online https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=3… High Weirdness – Erik Davis on esotericism and modern culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_We… Technosis – Myth, magic, and mysticism in the age of information https://erikdavis.com/technosis Chaos Magic – Postmodern magical practice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_m… Meme Magic / Cult of Kek – Internet irony and belief systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kek_(my…) Grant Morrison – Hypersigils and pop-culture magic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_M… Simulation Theory – Digital Gnosticism and modern myth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulat… Gnosticism – Secret knowledge and false reality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism AI and Demons – Non-corporeal entities in technological discourse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artific… Egregores – Collective thought-forms and group entities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egregore

Ken sits down with Angel Millar — author, esoteric researcher, and former member of the Illuminates of Thanateros — to discuss his latest book, Supernatural Women and the Male Initiate: Bonded Through Dreams. Drawing on mythology, folklore, mysticism, psychology, and his own personal experiences, Angel explores a fascinating and often overlooked phenomenon: the appearance of mysterious feminine figures throughout history, dreams, literature, religion, and the occult. From the Norse fylgja and Valkyries to muses, nymphs, saints, and Jung's anima, these supernatural women appear as guides, inspirers, initiators, and sometimes harbingers of transformation and death. This week: The inspiration behind Supernatural Women and the Male Initiate The Norse fylgja and the supernatural feminine Muses, nymphs, Valkyries, and dream women Jung, the anima, and the limits of psychology Creativity, genius, and divine inspiration Dreams, hypnosis, and altered states of consciousness Sacred sexuality and erotic mysticism Initiation, transformation, and encounters with the unknown Why modern culture struggles with mystery The relationship between art, magic, and inspiration Ecstasy, transcendence, and spiritual experience Whether the supernatural feminine is psychological or something more Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com   🔗 People, Books & Concepts Mentioned Angel Millar https://angelmillar.com Supernatural Women and the Male Initiate: Bonded Through Dreams https://www.innertraditions.com/super... Carl Jung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung Emma Jung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Jung Anima (Jungian Psychology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anima_a... Fylgja https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fylgja Valkyrie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie Nymph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymph Daemon (Classical Concept) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_...) Hypnosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnosis Sacred Sexuality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_... Tantra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra Aleister Crowley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleiste... Austin Osman Spare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_... Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illumin... Gurdjieff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_... 🔗 Angel Millar Website https://angelmillar.com Books https://www.amazon.com/stores/Angel-M... Supernatural Women and the Male Initiate: Bonded Through Dreams https://www.innertraditions.com/super...

Ken sits down with returning guest Tobias Churton — historian of Western esotericism, Gnostic scholar, and one of the most wide-ranging thinkers in the field — to explore his latest book Celestial Realms, an ambitious attempt to map humanity’s ideas of heaven across cultures, religions, and time. Beginning with Tobias’s own early spiritual experience, the conversation expands outward into a global survey of how different civilisations have imagined the afterlife — from ancient burial rites and Mesopotamian pessimism to Egyptian moral judgment, Eastern philosophies, and the evolution of heaven as both a metaphysical reality and a psychological projection. What emerges is a sweeping and often provocative exploration of heaven not as a fixed destination, but as a mirror of human consciousness, culture, and desire. Along the way, the discussion touches on psychedelic interpretations, near-death experiences, religious power structures, and the uncomfortable possibility that our visions of the afterlife reveal more about us than any ultimate truth. This week: Tobias Churton’s new book Celestial Realms The first global history of heaven across cultures Ancient burial practices and early afterlife beliefs Mesopotamian pessimism vs Egyptian moral judgment Heaven as projection: “as below, so above” Near-death experiences and personal encounters with the divine Psychedelics and the idea of a “backdoor to heaven” Eastern perspectives: Hinduism, Buddhism, and liberation beyond heaven Chinese cosmology and the bureaucratic heavens The role of power, hierarchy, and politics in shaping heaven Why most early cultures believed heaven was not for humans The evolution of moral reward and spiritual aspiration Imagination, culture, and the limits of describing the infinite Heaven as hope, illusion, or something more  People, books, and concepts mentioned: Tobias Churton – Celestial Realms Aleister Crowley – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley Plato – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato Carl Jung – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung Jacob Boehme – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_B%C3%B6hme Nisargadatta Maharaj – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj George Harrison – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Harrison John Lennon – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon Gautama Buddha – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha Vajrayana Buddhism – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana Tantra – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra Nirvana – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana Moksha – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha Near-death experience – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-death_experience DMT – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N,N-Dimethyltryptamine Ancient Egyptian religion – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_religion Mesopotamian religion – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Mesopotamian_religion Chinese mythology – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology Comparative religion – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_religion Afterlife – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife Heaven (concept) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven Hell (concept) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell Collective unconscious – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_unconscious    Tobias Churton Official Website https://tobiaschurton.com Books https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tobias-Churton/author

Ken sits down with Greg Kaminsky — host of the Occult of Personality podcast, author, and long-time explorer of Western esotericism turned Vajrayana practitioner — for a deep and uncompromising conversation on the limits of occultism, the demands of genuine spiritual practice, and the often misunderstood path toward enlightenment. Beginning with Greg’s early immersion in Western magical traditions and podcasting, the discussion traces his journey through alchemy, Kabbalah, and ceremonial magic, before confronting their limitations and turning toward the disciplined, teacher-led path of Vajrayana Buddhism. What emerges is a stark contrast between Western “talking schools” and Eastern traditions rooted in rigorous practice, direct transmission, and the transformation of the practitioner themselves. Along the way, the conversation explores tantra, the left-hand path, taboo as method, the role of the guru, and the uncomfortable reality that the greatest obstacle on the path may be the practitioner themselves. This week: Greg Kaminsky’s background in Western esotericism The transition from occult practice to Vajrayana Buddhism Western “talking schools” vs disciplined spiritual traditions The role of the guru and transmission Tantra and the left-hand path re-examined Taboo, ritual, and transformation The Great Work across East and West The Grail quest and getting lost on the path Ego, identity, and the idea that “you are the problem” Meditation as submission rather than control Nothingness, reality, and the limits of experience  People, books, and concepts mentioned: Greg Kaminsky – Host of Occult of Personality Vajrayana Buddhism – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana Tantra – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra Left-Hand Path – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-hand_path_and_right-hand_path Nisargadatta Maharaj / I Am That – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_That Aleister Crowley – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley Kabbalah – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah Alchemy – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy Gurdjieff – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gurdjieff  Greg Kaminsky Occult of Personality Podcast https://occultofpersonality.net Books and Writing https://www.amazon.com/stores/Greg-Kaminsky/author    

Ken and Ulysses sit down with Duncan Barford — ritual magician, psychodynamic counsellor, and longtime collaborator with Alan Chapman — for a deep exploration of chaos magic, mystical experience, and the strange territory where occult practice, psychology, and awakening intersect. Beginning with the early days of The Baptist’s Head and the revival of mystical aims within chaos magic, the conversation traces Barford’s journey from teenage encounters with spirit phenomena through intensive magical practice, encounters with entities, and the gradual movement from postmodern magic toward a more direct exploration of awakening and consciousness. This week: -Duncan Barford’s background in chaos magic and the IOT -The Baptist’s Head project and mystical approaches within chaos magic -Ritual experimentation and magical practice in the early 2000s -The Holy Guardian Angel as a paradigm for non-dual experience -Mystical awakening and Daniel Ingram’s stages of insight -The overlap between mystical experience and psychosis -Encounters with spirits, entities, and magical phenomena -Abramelin magic and the psychology of ritual practice -The occult realism of A Dark Song and ritual in film -Angels, demons, and the nature of spiritual entities -Chaos magic, postmodernism, and the search for truth beyond belief   🔗 People, books, and concepts mentioned:   Duncan Barford – Occult writer, magician, and psychodynamic counselor Alan Chapman – Magician and co-creator of The Baptist’s Head https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Chapman_(magician) The Baptist’s Head – Early chaos magic blog and body of work exploring awakening The Abramelin Ritual – Traditional operation to attain the Holy Guardian Angel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Abramelin Holy Guardian Angel – Central concept in Western ceremonial magic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Guardian_Angel Peter J. Carroll – Founder of modern chaos magic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_J._Carroll Liber Null & Psychonaut – Foundational chaos magic texts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liber_Null Daniel Ingram – Buddhist teacher and author of Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha https://www.mctb.org Stages of Insight – Theravada Buddhist map of meditative awakening The Red Book – Carl Jung’s visionary exploration of the unconscious https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Book_(Jung) A Dark Song – Occult horror film depicting an Abramelin-inspired ritual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dark_Song Aleister Crowley – Occultist and proponent of the Holy Guardian Angel working https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley Chaos Magic – Postmodern magical practice focused on belief as a tool https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic The Abramelin Operation – Ritual process of devotion and invocation leading to contact with the angel Entities and spirits in magic – Angels, demons, elementals, and spiritual relationships   🔗 Duncan Barford Occult Experiments in the Home https://oeith.co.uk Duncan Barford’s main site featuring essays, podcasts, and writing exploring magic, mysticism, psychology, and spiritual experience. Counselling / Professional Site https://www.duncanbarford.uk Information about Duncan’s work as a psychodynamic psychotherapeutic counsellor.   🔗 Ulysses Black The World of Ulysses Black https://www.ulyssesblack.com Ulysses Black’s main site — an archive of his work as a ritual researcher, writer, artist, and performance practitioner. The Ritualist (Substack) https://theritualist.substack.com Ulysses’ Substack newsletter exploring ritual practice, symbolism, mythology, and esoteric research.