In this interview for Reality Sandwich Prof. McDonald reflects on the differences between the concepts of daimons and.demons, including how and why demons replaced daimons in the popular imagination, the importance of Jung to historians of alchemy, prehistoric stone circles, Hegel as a Hermeticist, Stephanos of Alexandria, and much more.
The Art of Divine Inebriation: An Interview with Gwyllm Llwydd
From living next door to the Grateful Dead to a 80s new wave band with iconic guitarist Nels Cline to the psychedelic music, and spoken word stream Radio EarthRites to famed acid blotter art, Gwyllm Lwydd exemplifies a certain kind of renaissance man receiving too little attention in the media, and perhaps in history as well.
Alexander Wilder, Blavatsky, and the Sunset of American Platonism
The world of Eclectic Medicine and of Emerson reinventing Thomas Taylor to inspire Americans had come to an end, although it would see rebirths in places like the Philosophical Research Society and movements like the New Age of the 1980s.
The Lost Heritage of the Psychedelic West: Interview with Tom Hatsis
Psychedelic subculture was not the invention of the 1960s. Author Tom Hatsis brings light to the Telestai of Eleusis, the Mysteries of Isis, the Dionysian cult, and the magical rituals of Thessalian witches, finding evidence in the Jewish, Roman, and Gnostic traditions that despite centuries old official prohibitions, knowledge of the lost tribal heritage persisted in secretive ways.
The American Renaissance Tarot: Interview with Thea Wirsching
For the first time, the design of a new deck is inspired by America’s occult literary heritage. Thea Wirsching Ph.D, co-developer of the American Renaissance Tarot deck, is a wounded healer, astrology, priestess of SekhMet. Her life and work deserve an interview, but this one is dedicated to our discussion of this unique new tarot deck.
The Philosopher’s Stoned: An Interview with Liber 420 Author Chris Bennett
Bringing a new meaning to the term High Priest, Chris Bennett’s Liber 420: Cannabis, Magical Herbs and the Occult reveals a world of lost knowledge about the origins and practices of mainstream religions and underground spirituality.
Cassini Interrupted: How a Hippie in a Lawn Chair Delayed the Launch
After a journey of 4.9 billion miles the Cassini Orbiter has disappeared into the object of its obsession, the planet Saturn. The story of how the first launch got scrubbed begins with a thunderstorm shaking a tin shack on a Sioux reservation in early October 1997.
The Unobstructed Secret of the Golden Flower
This expose dives into the Chinese classic 太乙金華宗旨, The Secret of the Golden Flower, or as Cleary translates it “turning around the light.”
Consciousness / Misc / Psyche / Science
Cosmos, Science, Surrealism and the Hermetic Imaginary: An Interview with Leon Marvell
The official history of science says that with the birth of modern science astronomy and chemistry soared into the heavens while astrology and alchemy were condemned to lurk in the shadows. That’s not how Professor Leon Marvell sees it.
The Brothers Guthrie: Pagan Christianity of the Early 20th Century
Christianity remains the most acceptable religion in America, but American Metaphysical Religion has
intersected and in many ways transformed Christian belief and practice.
The brothers Guthrie are an excellent example of this.
