JMG on Rune Soup

[ecosophia]

Of all the podcasts in the occult scene, the one most readers have hoped aloud I would appear on is Gordon White's Rune Soup.  Well, it's finally happened! Gordon and I spent an hour and a bit talking about the basic skills and mental requirements of magical practice. We disagree about a lot of issues, of course, but we nonetheless had a congenial and pleasant conversation and covered quite a bit of interesting ground. You can check it out here. 

Comments

[gullindagan]

Been waiting for this for many years, so excited!!! You two certainly have areas of disagreement, but for those of us who follow both of you, that's actually a good thing, and allows us to see even more clearly.

[grandswamperman]

When Gordon posted this on his blog, I had to exercise rather a lot of willpower not to “EEEEEEEE” so loud that my wife would give me funny looks. Really enjoyed the listen!

Appreciate

[(Anonymous)]

I appreciate both of you points of view. It was good to hear them play off each other.

[(Anonymous)]

The conversation between you two was the best Xmas gift ever. Thank you, ArchDruid!

-Centauri Joan

[(Anonymous)]

Hey jmg

I listened to the podcast yesterday, and I honestly didn’t notice that much disagreement between you two that wasn’t just a matter of categorical labeling , however I admit that I listened to it while trying to recover from a night-shift induced sleep deprivation.

J.L.Mc12

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly surprised and pleased to have been able to listen to this, as I didn't think it would happen. My only complaint was the mild trashing of neo-platonism, but we can't have everything we want. I absolutely would not mind having your two ships pass in the night again.

[(Anonymous)]

Now that's what I call a great conjunction!

[(Anonymous)]

Incredible discussion, thanks! I had been waiting for this crossover event for several years.

I left the discussion feeling pretty proud of myself, thinking, "Man, I really have a pretty good view of the world."

Of course, JMG and Gordon have been my primary philosophical influences over the past 10+ years. =)

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, that turned out to be such a good interview that I was inspired to go to Rune Soup to listen to some other interviews. Many of the topics looked very promising... well, until I actually started listening to those interviews. I'm left wondering if the video format that most of them use leaves interviewees imagining that they are communicating more than they are? The ones I listened to were as dull and content-sparse as your average documentary film.

Though I usually have no problem watching video images, the disturbingly self-regarding gestures of the interviewees disrupted my ability to listen clearly to what they were trying to say. I felt like I had fallen into the shallow end of the occult, where everything has been meticulously mapped out to be a mirror image of the dominant status quo. The vetted professional-managerial-class Experts of the Occult™ will now titter distractingly on their talk show, smugly convinced that their captive audience will believe itself entertained by their betters' antics. Why not just watch Whoopi? I wonder if some branch of the neo-pagan scene somehow didn't get the memo that it's rapidly coming apart at the seams?

Then there was all the weird buzzwords. It has been quite a long time since I've been subjected to so many words ending in -ality, and gratuitously at that! What on earth could a speaker think they were communicating by using the made-up jargon "relationality" that could not be more clearly expressed using "relating" or "relationships"? (That's a rhetorical question — please, don't anyone try to explain the byzantine intricacies of current trends in academia-speak to me.) My favorite buzzword-salad was "context rich and phenomenological in depth", which actually caused the speaker's programming to crash as he was trying to dredge that memorized sound-byte up from wherever it had gone to hide in embarrassment. I do wish these PMC "experts" the best of luck in carving out their berths in the occult end of academia, as they're certainly going to need it!

Thank you, John Michael, for staying clear of the captivating narcissism of video feeds. Thank you even more for being an Aspie, and thus immune to the enticing goodies dangled distractingly before all those would-be Experts of the Occult™.

— Christophe

[(Anonymous)]

Dismiss Gordon White at your peril. Yes, he comes from a chaos magick background, and yes, he is liable to drop hip, quasi-academic jargon where it isn't quite necessary, but he is far from conventional PMC. He has consistently opposed the COVID narrative, for example, and has had put up with a lot of stick for it. Style isn't everything, you know.

[lincoln_lynx]

I have to agree that Gordon White is fairly far removed from typical PMC-dom.

Sinners4DiseaseControl!!!

[tunesmyth]

Interesting that you mentioned our friendly neighborhood Shinto priestess. Just a small clarification-- you may actually know this, though it didn't come across clearly in the interview-- Patricia is indeed involved with the small Fuji-kyo sect, but her status as a priestess comes via her training and certification at Kotohira-gu, aka "Kompira-San", which is one of the most famous shrines in all of Japan, and head shrine to literally thousands of smaller Kompira shrines throughout the country.

Re: Sinners4DiseaseControl!!!

[ecosophia]

I didn't happen to know that -- to the best of my knowledge she hasn't mentioned it, though she's talked at some length of her activities with the Fuji-kyo. She's one of the best examples I know of of someone who got into a spiritual tradition from another culture the right way, so I cite her from time to time.

Re: Sinners4DiseaseControl!!!

[tunesmyth]

She's certainly not the type to brag! So I guess it's left to me to do it for her :-)

I actually first met her not via your websites but via an interview she did in 2011 for a Shinto-centered blog:

https://www.greenshinto.com/2011/09/26/pat-ormsby-shinto-priest/

Some time after my own first Shinto experiences, I got in touch with her via that website, and she was extremely helpful in helping me figure out the terrain in my new spiritual journey. In fact she was kind enough to give me a personal introduction to Kotohira-gu, and arrange for me to study there as well, and until Covid hit I used to see her there every year. Knowing her has greatly helped me to deepen my experience of Shinto. She may not be attached to a shrine of her own, but she's definitely the real deal.

Great interview

[(Anonymous)]

I was extremely happy to hear that you were going to be on Rune Soup, not only as a longtime follower of the show, but also because you and Gordon are two of the few occult teachers who have resisted the insane medical authoritarianism. I loved your point in the interview about how many of the occult personalities are of the "managerial class" and think the working class should just shut up and do as they're told. Some of Gordon's guests from years ago (not naming names) fall into that category now unfortunately. The list of occult authors I will support now has gotten quite short because of it.

[(Anonymous)]

Hallelujah, it is done! Just saw this, and can't wait to listen. You have been the two most influential teachers along my occult learning paths, and I have no trouble synthesizing the different perspectives you both bring, especially as you both do it with an uncommon transparency and integrity. Keep it up!