0:00 · Unknown · Ammonius Saccas & Origins of Neoplatonism

So, moving into some neoplatonists. Start off with Ammonius Sakus of Alexandria, I guess. Uh, he's like the precursor of Neoplatanism, if I understand correctly, and the teacher of Platinus. Um, some writers have stated that Ammonia Socakis was a Christian but then possibly conflated that with a different ammonia of Alexandria who wrote biblical texts. I wanted to get your opinion on if you have any opinion on that. Um, well, yeah, Ammonio Sarakus is technically the last of the the middle platonist and he essentially is is

0:48 · Unknown · Plotinus, Eastern Philosophy & Alexandria

heavily involved in the training of the first neoplatonist or late platonist platinus. And we find that Platinus uh saw lots of people speaking and talking and he couldn't find the right teacher. Um and he found his teacher ammonia circus. Now the thing is uh we find in his philosophy um a kind of orientalism. It's it shares a it has a lot in common with uh with with um certain types of of vadic philosophy and transcendental philosophy and believe it or not I I even see a lot of correlations between his doctrine and

1:32 · Unknown · Plotinus, Eastern Philosophy & Alexandria

and Buddhism but uh also after he studies studies with ammonia he is um I believe Pfury tells us that He's uh he he wants to go to parts east. He wants to study the philosophy of India in India. And so he makes arrangements to go over there with this uh battalion, this like military unit. The whole trip falls apart. So he doesn't end up going, but then you still see this kind of um oriental flavor, you know. Um it's I mean because it's not he would have you know everybody knows this

2:13 · Unknown · Platonism, Neoplatonism & New Distinctions

at this point but he would have considered himself just a platonist just a philosopher >> but the thing is that is his transmission or expression or interpretation of the Platonic philosophy up to his time was markedly different enough to merit a completely new distinction. Right? Because it's with him that's okay this is neoplatanism. This is not you know this is something new. So now we have um nobody else was looked at as a founder right Plato was the founder and then you had the academics and then you had the

2:48 · Unknown · Platonism, Neoplatonism & New Distinctions

middle platness and now you've got this new thing that and Platinus is the founder and then you know obviously they say that amicus is like the quoteunquote second founder but um because he brings the to the table in a big way ritual really um but uh The interesting thing, and let's not forget Alexandria was known as the city where east meets west. Interesting thing is inmonia's name. And I bring that up because it's really it's I think it's super important and it we have no other

3:21 · Unknown · Ammonius’ Name & Eastern Influence

[ __ ] details about him. So what am I going to say, you know, but um he uh ammonia Sakus was was most likely not a given or proper name. It was an epitet. um you know uh ammonius meaning teacher or sage and then uh um sakas uh being relating to what back then would have been called skithia which cythia which is um you know on the part of the the the Asian continent uh it's it's it's related directly to India. So it's really interesting because then he becomes the cythian sage you know I and

4:03 · Unknown · Ammonius’ Name & Eastern Influence

I believe something I mean I don't know for a fact but I I hear I hear these things also in in other philosophers names you know I I hear like an oriental flavor and I think to myself that's probably a it's probably an imported word you know it's pro like I don't so I I can I can definitely see that happening but It's really interesting because it again like we're just we're circling back, you know. I do believe that it's at its core, the core, the very very core, like if it were

4:42 · Unknown · Ammonius’ Name & Eastern Influence

a fruit or something, you know, you really got to you got to bite through it and get through it, but the core is the same. And and I think that it just keeps circling back on itself, right? It's it's just this big orus. You know the the they say that they call it Platonic orientalism. you know that the the Platonic philosophies were highly influenced by parts east and then so Plato brings them west and and now he's influenced western culture completely and then somehow it circles back right to the Middle East and then

5:13 · Unknown · Was Ammonius Christian?

that comes back to the west you know and it's just this constant kind of uh circular movement that these teachings are making and and they're expressed very differently but they penetrate everything you know they penetrate everything. >> Yeah. Okay. And then so what about like the thought on kind of the debate about the plausibility or possibility of him uh being a Christian? I said Pfrey I guess said that the parents of Ammonia Sakus were Christians but upon learning Greek philosophy ammonia

5:49 · Unknown · Was Ammonius Christian?

uh rejected his parents' religion for paganism. And then so my thoughts on this at this point in time given the general understanding what was considered paganism maybe let me know your thoughts but would this mean appealing to things like the archons or the nature spirits and is it possible that both could be true at the same time uh that there could be like a Christian reverence uh you religious aspects at play while still maintaining pagan practices like maybe rejecting the religion of his parents was a rejection

6:22 · Unknown · Christianity, Archons & Platonic Influence

of some kind of like rejection of strict particular iterations of Christianity. Um, yeah, I just I really wonder so much about like Pfury's definition of Christian. >> Well, the thing there's a couple of things that you got to remember. The archons are Christian. St. Paul writes about them, >> you know, like it's it's all over Christianity, you know. Uh, so that doesn't make it that's the whole thing. Platonism informs Christian theology and cosmology, right?

7:00 · Unknown · Christianity, Archons & Platonic Influence

Where do we where do we see that three the holy trinity? Three persons, one substance. Well, that predates Christianity, you know, um in in a lot of ways, uh or it predates I I won't say that it predates that particular theological doctrine. Right? Because we don't have that's not in the Bible, you know, the the Holy Trinity. Um it talks about the Holy Spirit, talks about the Father and and the Son, but it doesn't it doesn't, you know, that theological doctrine comes directly from Tertullian who was a

7:37 · Unknown · Christianity, Archons & Platonic Influence

schooled neoplatonist. And a lot of them remained neoplatanists in their philosophy but embraced Christianity and then imported all that that kind of philosophy and said well look Plato knew what was going on and it was just confirmed in the Christ and uh because that's really I mean Platinus comes up with that idea of the the three hypotheses that's I mean that's that's a huge thing and who who really knows right we we have the ads we don't have maybe the stuff he was studying that idea of the

8:11 · Unknown · Christianity, Archons & Platonic Influence

three hypotheses could have existed way earlier. It's just that this is where for us retrospectively it emerges to the it rises to uh you know um from subterranean realms in the historical record. We don't know that he invented that. We just assume that because we haven't found it anywhere else in the same way. But but ultimately platonism and Christianity are are are have been bedfellows from the first you know so I think it's very possible to participate in um in both of them and

8:45 · Unknown · Porphyry’s Criticism of Christianity

but then on the other hand it's like orthodoxy like small o orthodoxy did not exist the same way. So it's like nowadays you get this kid who's just like, you know, you get kids who are like, you know, I don't want to go to church and like my family's oppressing me because they believe in Jesus, you know, and it's like that's not, you know, that's not that's not really the way that Christianity necessarily there were many different kinds of Christianities, >> right?

9:15 · Unknown · Porphyry’s Criticism of Christianity

>> You know, like there was it's not there wasn't one thing to rebel from. I personally I think that the issue is likely way more complex. But the main the most important thing that you have to remember in this entire dis distinction is that Porfree did not like the Christians. He wrote attract against the Christians and he he didn't he didn't reject Christ, >> but he said that Christ would be very [ __ ] disappointed in Christians. So um he he really didn't like them. So

9:46 · Unknown · Porphyry’s Criticism of Christianity

basically what he's doing there, right, is he's saying uh you know because he fought for for pagan philosophy in an age where that was beginning to you're beginning to see the first suppressions or or tension between that. Um and he was basically saying, "Yeah, well this Christian guy, he got real wise and he went pagan." You that that's kind of what's happening there, but there's there's also probably truth somewhere. Will we ever be able to figure it out? I

10:13 · Unknown · Porphyry’s Criticism of Christianity

don't >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I guess then in that case, you know, Pfury would have been aware that Christian conceptions included things like the archon. So would rule out things along those lines. But then I would wonder at this time that he was living what his definition would have been of what he's calling Christian in particular that he's saying ammonious rejected in his parents' form of Christianity. But yeah, maybe he was just saying that to try to lend credence to his own uh

10:47 · Unknown · Rejecting Parental Religion vs Remaining Christian

adversity towards Christianity. >> I mean I mean here's the thing, right? I rejected my parents' form of Christianity. >> Yeah. >> I remain a Christian. I study I study neoplatanism. I I do magic. I study the occult. I serve in a gnostic church. I'm still a Christian, you know. No, it's it's it's one of those things where it's like you can't always boil it down. Like people But here's the thing. Like if I went to if I talked to like a parish priest,

11:18 · Unknown · Rejecting Parental Religion vs Remaining Christian

he'd be like, "No, you're not." >> Yeah. >> You know, so it's like what what [ __ ] metric what perspective are we taking here? So that's that's where it gets hairy. You can't really say what somebody was. And even at certain times, if you would asked me when I was 15, I would have been like, "I'm a Satanist." You know what I'm saying? So it's like [ __ ] changes. Who are we talking about? who's talking about that person. So,

11:40 · Unknown · Rejecting Parental Religion vs Remaining Christian

it's really it becomes very difficult in these instances to say conclusively anything. Um, particularly about somebody like Ammonia Sakus who I mean I we got like one picture of him and we're just assuming it's him. Yeah. >> We have like one like I think it's like a tile mosaic or some something like that. We have one picture of the guy uh rendering artistic rendering of and we don't we're not even sure it's him. >> Yeah, that's a good point. We're not

12:07 · Unknown · Plotinus & The Enneads

even sure if that was his name, Ammonia Sakus, you know, or it was like a a nickname. >> All right. So, then we have Platinus um himself raised in Roman Egypt, wrote the Iniads. Maybe you could touch a little bit on the Iniads and the contents of that and then anything else about Plutinus that you find noteworthy. Oh, well platinus is I mean we could do probably like a series of these podcasts on platinus. Um so the NADS are basically a lifetime of his well he he wrote them. It's it's his personal

12:48 · Unknown · Plotinus & The Enneads

philosophy and not all of it is kind of congruous with itself. And I think that's a testament to the fact that it was written over um it wasn't written in one sitting. It was written over time. But the thing is Platinus dies and Perfery is his student and Perfery uh collects ostumously uh the the the philosophical uh writings of Plutinus and he collects them into uh I believe nine groups of nine texts a piece. And uh obviously for anybody who knows ina means uh nine in Greek. We don't understand why he did

13:33 · Unknown · Plotinus & The Enneads

that. There's it's not like they have any relationship to each other. It's kind of halfhazard, but he just groups them into like nine groups of nine treatises um a piece. So that's why they're called the ina. It's just the way Pfury arranged them. But uh the philosophy obviously I would wager that more people have read the Bible well I mean from cover to cover not not a lot of people write read the Bible cover to cover you know um I would wager that more people have read

14:11 · Unknown · Plotinus & The Enneads

that than than the ina it's and by that I mean to say it's it's just dense it's dense it seems like a lifetime endeavor to really read the ina ads and inevitably some smartass will be like well I read them you know how much of it did you understand you know and I don't mean and tell me wrote you know like what and quote me uh chapter and verse but it's just really it's it changes it's it's you know kind of this uh this document that morphs but there's a lot of stuff in there that is somewhat

14:50 · Unknown · Plotinus’ Philosophy of The One, Nous & Soul

you know mostly consist existent and the big thing being uh the theoria of of Plutinus Plus's philosophy was very very interesting. I find his ideas to be of of of the fall and of of cos cosmology uh and sotiology. I find them to be the most uh intuitive. It's it's like what it seems, you know, like bells go off. I start like my my something in me begins to resonate like a tuning fork. When you bring a tuning fork that's struck and vibrating and sounding next to a tuning fork that that that is, you know, has

15:37 · Unknown · Plotinus’ Philosophy of The One, Nous & Soul

the same um is is is constructed to the same note. You bring them within proximity and the other one will automatically pick up the vibration. Something like that happens to me. Um when I when I you know read and understood his his philosophy on and that which is basically that obviously you have the three hypotheses you have the one uh intellect and psyche and those are all meaning like not my intellect not my see soul um but a a universal one really the world soul and the greater soul of of the oversoul uh

16:17 · Unknown · Plotinus’ Philosophy of The One, Nous & Soul

and the intellect, the news, the mind of God and to and the one the the ineffable you cannot say anything about it other than what it isn't because it's simultaneously everything and nothing. Uh that's the the the tradition of of apoasis you know the apohatic tradition that we see everywhere we see in oriental uh you know east that is eastern religions as well but um how so how does nothing become everything well so the the divine noose the intellect contemplates the latent inexpressed

16:56 · Unknown · Plotinus’ Philosophy of The One, Nous & Soul

uh contents of the the uh uh the one and it starts out in in very very abstract you know something like geometry, mathematics, these very abstract forms um that are that are very uh difficult to understand and then um discursively and then that generates this objectification because if you can think about something then it's not you anymore. um really you're you're at least temporarily objectifying it in order to to examine it. And so therefore that generates since there's this gap between the the observer or or

17:35 · Unknown · Plotinus’ Philosophy of The One, Nous & Soul

or object and subject um uh there becomes this desire towards it and that's representative of the next phase which is key the soul. The soul in its desire for the the objectified contents of the the the one plunges downward towards them uh and into materiality. And the thing is that highly matter there, that's what it was. Uh el um highly it means like matter which it's kind of like this gross sticky substance is in and of itself inert and cloying and heavy tending downward sinking. Um

18:20 · Unknown · Matter, Descent & The Soul’s Trap

it it is not evil in and of itself. It just possesses no life, no light. And uh but but um it is kind of vivified by Numa spirit and um what can happen there in the soul's downward trajectory is that it gets stuck because this this pure you know aspect formerly of this transcendent hypoatic reality is now subjecting itself to the like orastic ic um illusion of multiplicity. Uh and so it becomes it what what what Platinus says is that the soul's main problem is that it could have dove down and then

19:09 · Unknown · Matter, Descent & The Soul’s Trap

come just quickly turned back but it didn't. It went all the way down and now the main issue is to what end does the soul become invested in matter? you know, is it see in matter and then seeking matter for its own ends? Um because that will make the soul stuck. Uh and that's the myth of Pphanie and Hades right there. You know, it's exactly what the [ __ ] it is. Um and and that's his his idea. But his his thing is that the the the truest portion of the constituent of of the being is

19:47 · Unknown · Matter, Descent & The Soul’s Trap

that you know the the soul in its in its diving downward so to speak is more of this kind of fantasmagoric um trans illusion. It's not actually fully down here. There's another part of the soul, right, which is the new the the noose because it's it's one thing, three aspects of one thing. The noose remains elevated and that's evident in the fact that we can go inward and contemplate these abstract things and have these sort of out-of- body experiences and in our minds experience

20:24 · Unknown · Matter, Descent & The Soul’s Trap

what people would call magic, what people would call visions. Our mind can still do that even if our body is in this room. And so we are still connected. We have a divine connection by way of uh sympathia. Our our sympathy our our mind our personal noose is d still directly in some way tied to the the hypoatic news. And so he says if we retreat and kind of that rope that connects us, if we climb that rope and we retreat from the illusions and enticements of matter and and focus on those mental sort of connections with the the divine

21:04 · Unknown · Iamblichus, Matter & Theurgy

noose, then we can experience henosis, union with the divine, then we can become a species of enlightened and then we can kind of evolve beyond this. And he calls that theoria which means divine contemplation. Whereas amlus said I'm no we have to use the matter because there's numa in the matter that there are the the platonic forms the ideals you know perfection is in matter even if matter can only vaguely dimly express it because it's constantly changing and falling apart which means it's not real and it's not

21:40 · Unknown · Iamblichus, Matter & Theurgy

perfect but it's there it still possesses some some influence from perfection and so and and and some species of of numa of spirit And so we have to use matter to climb back up. And that's the urgy. >> Wow. That is amazing. Um it kind of reminds me a lot of like the shattered vessels things or the trap sparks that need to be liberated and like >> Yes. 100 100,000%. And that's exactly why I'm constantly saying Cabala is not inherently Hebrew. Cabala was was a product of helanized Judaism of the

22:17 · Unknown · Kabbalah, Merkavah & Platonic Parallels

first centuries BCE in Alexandria. We have the Septuagen translation from around then we have the Merka which is Jewish the that's exactly what it is right um the the the rabbis the mystics going into vision you know in the chariot and starting here and going up towards the Agdoad right they're passing the seven planetary spheres and at each one is an archon that's trying to stop them and then you have to keep going until you pass beyond the realm of the agdoad into the unknown. It's [ __ ]

22:57 · Unknown · Kabbalah, Merkavah & Platonic Parallels

Platonism. >> Damn. >> Cabala is the same thing. Laurianic Cabala is the Ogdoad. It's the same concepts. That's the whole thing. Like this is why I get ang like frustrated with with this scholastic academic. They can't see the forest for the trees. There's something very very like concretely real here that is being transmitted. It's one [ __ ] thing wearing different clothes >> 100%. Damn. And it and it's also a lot about I mean it reminds me too of like

23:31 · Unknown · David Chaim Smith & Neoplatonic Resonance

the divine contemplation thing in regards to all this kind of reminds me a lot of similar to David Heheim Smith's sort of conception of things and how he talks about a lot of this stuff as well which is very cobbalistic and everything. >> That's what he Well, that's the whole thing. That's what he's doing. >> Yeah. >> Right. his his his esoteric cartgraphy is a method of h him staying in the news and and not only that but my you know my my first conversation with David I

23:59 · Unknown · David Chaim Smith & Neoplatonic Resonance

noticed over his right shoulder I was like is that a bust of Socrates he's like I love that you noticed that so yeah I mean it's that was the bulk of our conversation was talking about how you know the neoplatanists um he thinks they were they were non-theists I don't necessarily agree with that, but or at least he takes the position that he's a non-theist. >> Mhm. >> Uh but anyway, it's it's just really interesting that he he fully of course he does. He's [ __ ] brilliant. If

24:33 · Unknown · David Chaim Smith & Neoplatonic Resonance

anything, it's it's incredible that that my monkey mind has has pulled itself up by the bootstraps. But it was just really really cool to see uh that you know he had a bust of Socrates and we right away we started talking about neoplatanism and it's all it's the same language everything is you can transpose everything. You can transpose everything. >> Damn. All right. So Proalis I don't I don't really have a whole lot on Prois. So maybe you could fill in the gaps with

25:00 · Unknown · Proclus & Platonic Synthesis

him um and his life and what we know about him. >> Brilliant. >> He's brilliant. He was one of I think one of the last scholars of the Platonic Academy. He actually moved back to Athens to run the academy there. But his thing Proglas was the great synthesizer of the entire Platonic tradition from Plato to uh to to Amunius to Plutarch to uh you know the middle platonist to um to the neoplatonist the amus platinus. He synthesized all of it into one hole and it was uh what he did his commentaries

25:42 · Unknown · Proclus & Platonic Synthesis

on the parmenities um his uh uh you know um Platonic theology that he put together. If you want to understand neoplatanism and Plato, you have to read Proclas because he had the he was able to have hindsight. He came after all of them. He came in like the the sixth century. they're all dead, you know, and had contributed their work. Uh, so he was able to look back, synthesize all of it. And I I believe it was him. But when he arrived at the Platonic Academy in Athens, there was no more like

26:17 · Unknown · Proclus & Platonic Synthesis

philosophical discourse. There was no more theoria. Um, it was all the become so popular that he had to like say, "Okay, I have to reintroduce the philosophical stuff to these people." Um, so, um, he was able to really really blend things in an amazing way. If you want, if you really want to have a very firm understand, but it's dense, right? It's crazy. He's he's got these insane commentaries are like this thick, you know? So, um, but yeah, he also taught, uh, I don't know if he taught him

26:54 · Unknown · Proclus & Platonic Synthesis

one-on-one or if it was kind of like that, you know, I consider Dion Fortune a teacher to me and I visited her grave and everything, but I never met her, you know, so I don't know if it was that kind of thing, but apparently uh, Pseudo Dionicius the Aropagite um, the one who introduced all of the hierarchies, you know, um, into Christianity. that we get that we use in magic really um and this this kind of chain of being he uh he really introduced that he was a student of proan neoplatanism he

27:30 · Unknown · Pseudo-Dionysius & Christian Hierarchies

basically took prolis and put it in Christianity which is which is really interesting so you know you get uh the choir of angels and the cherubim and and and saraphim and all that stuff that they go through in the in the liturgy >> um like Catholic liturgy, but uh you know there's a lot that can be said. Um the thing is if you want to start talking about um the Platonic the stuff that's in the the his commentaries, you got to be like a [ __ ] Platonic scholar, you know? Um so you got to know

28:03 · Unknown · Pseudo-Dionysius & Christian Hierarchies

stuff about the diamond, you got to know stuff about the Theodia, Theodoria, you've got to know all this crazy sort of stuff from the Platonic dialogues in order to really start engaging with in a meaningful way Proist. So obviously I'm saying if you want to understand platonism go read proclus but I don't mean that as like a platonism for dummies. You need to really know your [ __ ] and then it'll all kind of he puts a nice ribbon up. >> Yeah. I think I was telling you a little

28:31 · Unknown · Connecting the Western Esoteric Dots

while ago I'm starting to see so much of why you talk about all the things that you talk about because it's like these are where all the dots start connecting everything. It's just [ __ ] blowing my mind. And and here's the thing, dude. It's like I didn't I did not It's not I did not go out there methodically and look for this stuff. It was a series of [ __ ] synchronicities that brought me exactly to where I needed to be. I did not go chasing after this stuff, you know? I met people. I randomly found

29:03 · Unknown · Connecting the Western Esoteric Dots

passages. Books fell into my hands. When I was looking for the next thing, it would just [ __ ] appear, you know? know it's it's not even like I'm I'm like intentionally questing to do this, which which is pretty amazing, you know, because it's it really is all here. It's really it's really all here. And for Western people, you know, um because I I don't I don't give a [ __ ] what's nice to say. I care about the truth. >> Yeah. And the truth is that we have

29:38 · Unknown · Connecting the Western Esoteric Dots

differences, you know, and they're significant, meaningful, and important. Um, and the way that we cognize and interpret and and and synthesize information, um, is you are much more likely to fully understand this one thing, this one trajectory. Right? We're talking about it the core and the naked truth underneath the different clothing. To really understand it in a western paradigm, you have to understand Plato and you have to understand the Platonic tradition. That's how you get there and then

30:15 · Unknown · Porphyry of Tyre & Against the Christians

everything else just [ __ ] clicks. >> Yeah. Damn. All right. So, Pfurery of Tire. Uh, so Perfery, you he like you mentioned, he wrote a piece called Against the Christians. Um, I guess it was banned by Constantine. I wonder what the general consensus and points that he addressed in this work were. Have you read it? Like what what was the beef that he had that with pissed Constantine off so much that he banned this work? >> Um, well, the thing is, well, Constantine is weird. Constantine only knows politics.

31:00 · Unknown · Constantine, Politics & Christianity

Constantine don't know religion. >> Constantine's mother was the religious one. She was the Christian or at least that's that's the official, you know, erline. But Constantine knew politics. He was a deathbed conversion. He never converted to a Christian until he was until he was laying dead. >> Oh, wow. Okay. >> Uh yeah, he never did. But he saw the writing on the wall. Um, and his whole goal was to Christianize the empire, but really what ends up happening is

31:33 · Unknown · Constantine, Politics & Christianity

he ends up preserving Rome. He creates this lifeboat for Roman hegemony. Um, and it becomes, you know, uh, the Vatican. it becomes the papacy, becomes the the next it's like a snake, you know, Constantine was like, "Okay, it's time to shed the skin." Um, and cuz that's when everything starts really getting murky. Uh, because it's, you know, you can't, it's like Christ said, you cannot serve God in mammon. You cannot serve God in money. You cannot have two masters. And

32:16 · Unknown · Constantine, Politics & Christianity

it's like Christianity went [ __ ] CocaCola, you know? They got they got like imperial funding, you know, like and it just everything swiftly went downhill. Um that's the whole thing, you know, the Christian the Christian path is to suffer. You're better off [ __ ] martyring Christianity. It was better when they were getting fed to the lions 100 years before. Um not be I'm not saying that because I I have any animosity to those people. That's a horrible death to die, but I mean it's it's really true. You

32:49 · Unknown · Constantine, Politics & Christianity

either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself be become the enemy, right? That quote from uh the Batman movie. But it it's very true. I see it constantly actually inaction happening and that's exactly what happened with Christianity. Um and I think it's that point. So it would have been a highly political move for for Constantine to just silence his opponents. Look, we're seeing it right now. You see it with [ __ ] Biden. We see it with with everybody. You know, it's like, I'm just g I'm just gonna

33:20 · Unknown · Constantine, Politics & Christianity

shadowban you. I'm you're not allowed to say that. You're getting a fine. We're we're we're putting a mask on you. We're putting a mask on your [ __ ] We're going to seal you up and dump you in the [ __ ] ocean. You know, it's the same just because it's like you're not saying what I what I want people to hear. >> Yeah. >> That's it. That's it. be and the the main thing is that you know poor fur and I don't reduce everybody to those

33:44 · Unknown · Constantine, Politics & Christianity

kinds of politics. I truly don't I truly believe that most people back then believed I think that Game of Thrones was one of the worst [ __ ] things for our mental diet that has ever happened. You know this this retrofitting of our own shitty personalities, our own cynical ethos on on on prior times. We have no [ __ ] clue that that was the case. But the thing is, it's comforting because it makes us feel like, well, we're only human, like the lowest iteration of human. We're almost [ __ ]

34:15 · Unknown · Constantine, Politics & Christianity

monkeys at this point. But um but but the but you know, the thing is in Constantine, I've studied him greatly. He's extremely interesting and I do find him I do find plenty of evidence uh that convinces me that he was one of these personages. Um you know the biggest tip of the hat for me was that he never converted to Christianity. You know he he's had all this [ __ ] and he stayed a [ __ ] pagan. Um that's I mean it's a central doctrine is baptism, you know, and rights of of of those rights of

34:52 · Unknown · Porphyry’s Real Critique of Christians

Christian initiation and stuff like that. So, so it's um you know the man himself was baptized Christ. So it's that to me is is suspicious. So I I think that that would be it. Um but the thing is that Pfury didn't have anything necessarily to say I think too badly about about Christ's teachings as as the gospels would have um I mean the the gospels I'm pretty sure canonical uh scripture had not been solidified at that point. But either way, there were teachings of the Christ. I don't think

35:25 · Unknown · Porphyry’s Real Critique of Christians

Pfury railed against those. Um, if I remember correctly, Porefrey was criticizing Christians, the the burgeoning Christian community, >> um, really. And, and I mean that that's that comes with being a philosopher is just thinking everybody else is dumb, >> you know? I mean, listen to me, you know? Not not a great way to be. not a great way to be but it it is it is kind of endemic to the to the the type of of person that becomes a philosopher. Uh so so I think I think that had a lot to do

35:59 · Unknown · Porphyry’s Real Critique of Christians

with it. Porfury was not somebody that I feel personally I don't feel like he had a very strong I think he was much more of an intellectual than a true philosopher. I think a true philosopher like Platinus and and and and Plato um Pythagoras Socrates they're more concerned with you know I would say their own comportment the way their lifestyle the way they live their life um and and transcendental realities. Now, Porfury was very concerned with, you know, the method, you know, the how, okay, if we're going

36:48 · Unknown · Theory, Ritual & Transcendence

to transcend, how does what does that look like? Um, and I think that in a certain sense, you know, we can pigeon hole these things. I think Yamicus was more on the point uh by saying there is some theory but at a certain point that [ __ ] goes out the window along with everything else you know because you can't in order to trans this realm is is based on like logisticon reason uh or logic law it has its laws. Now you can you can learn everything there is to know about them but you'll still be

37:25 · Unknown · Theory, Ritual & Transcendence

here. So if you want to transcend this thing, you have to let go of those things. That can't be your main concern at a certain point. At a certain point, like you have to have completely transational experiences. Yeah, for sure. Um, yeah. And I would say like I have a lot of issues myself with more mainstream kind of Christian societies and behavior and character and so on, but I still consider myself a Christian. You know, like like you said, many other Christians would argue with me and maybe tell me I'm not Christian

38:03 · Unknown · Iamblichus’ Background & Priest-King Lineage

according to their standards because I'm, you know, interested in studying other books outside of their canon or whatever it is. But so I don't know maybe it's something similar along those lines but >> um so Amblicus uh who has become so so interesting for me. Uh so Ambocus was a Syrian biographer of Pythagoras a theist descendant from the house of Simperis a Roman client dynasty of Arab priest kings. Uh this Roman client dynasty of Syrian priest kings was known to have ruled by 46 BC from Arathusa and later

38:49 · Unknown · Iamblichus’ Background & Priest-King Lineage

from ASA Syria until between 72 and 78 or 79 or at the least or at the latest the reign of Emperor Antonius P pious 138 to 161. Uh so ASA was recorded by Herodian to have been the 3 century center of a worship of the ancient pagan god Alleg allegalis which was a son and mountain god I guess was considered >> like the lord of ball. >> So amlus was a descendant of this dynasty of priest kings. So I guess there was like Ayamblicus I son of uh Samusamis I and brother of Alexander Alexander who

39:46 · Unknown · Iamblichus’ Background & Priest-King Lineage

reigned 48 BC to 31 BC. Then later on there was I the son of Aiamus I who reigned 20 BC to 14. Then later on there was Ayamblicus um the 3rd century novelist or yeah then I amus thenus the 3rd century neoplatonist. Oh, and then at the very earliest part of the whole family tree before Samsa the first, there I guess was like the OG amlacus that goes like up to the very top of the tree. So that was pretty [ __ ] interesting to me just like all of the different ones. Then it, you know, it skips it goes to this um

40:36 · Unknown · Iamblichus’ Background & Priest-King Lineage

what was the name of that guy? Uh Samaramis. But then above him it's I amus again and it doesn't go any farther than that. So I just thought that was like fascinating and I find his name just really interesting too like the beginning being I am. I don't know if there's anything to that but um yeah um maybe what what are your thoughts on I amus and maybe talk a little bit about him as there's a lot to talk about. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, he's basically where we get our modern uh

41:09 · Unknown · Iamblichus, Theurgy & On the Mysteries

theology from this whole idea. Everybody's talking about it and giving me [ __ ] nosebleleeds. It's just like, you know, I myself too, you know. Um >> yeah, >> it's just such a trending thing in our communities, but it's like I don't know. It's, you know, we're I feel like a lot of a lot of us are putting the cart before the horse again with it, but um bound to happen. It's okay. But, uh he really hairy, you know, there's this weird thing and we've spoken about

41:49 · Unknown · Iamblichus, Theurgy & On the Mysteries

before. He writes this document uh that we call on the mysteries or uh deidius in Latin but it's it's on the mysteries of the Egyptians called etc. Um and he's basically uh he writes as um this priest Abon uh this Egyptian priest Abon um in response to Pfery the philosopher writing this kind of um this condescending sort of like he's trying to have like a gotcha moment where he's he's like asking He's trying to make the ritual sort of seem ridiculous in a lot of these way.

42:38 · Unknown · Iamblichus, Theurgy & On the Mysteries

Now I I have heard from several people that um you know this was a way of of sort of teaching the question would the teacher would would ask you questions and then you'd kind of write a formal reputation. It's kind of like defending your thesis. U I've heard that. I'm not convinced. Um, the thing is too, I mean, it's like how do we I'm sure there are ways I'm sure there are several people who could who could um who could who could show me why, but you know, a lot of the times it's like how

43:13 · Unknown · Iamblichus, Theurgy & On the Mysteries

do we even know for like a 100% that amicus was the winner? He didn't put his name on the [ __ ] thing. It's signed Abama, the priest Abama. Um, and so that's really interesting to me. But the, you know, current scholarship suggests that it was Yamlus who uh who wrote who wrote on the mysteries and everybody's basically 110% certain about that. I don't give a [ __ ] who wrote it. Um, it's uh the document itself is fairly remarkable, but very very dense, very tur and very obscure. It's filled with a

43:47 · Unknown · Iamblichus, Theurgy & On the Mysteries

lot of jargon. A lot of that also has to do with Thomas Taylor's translations, the words that he used. He spoke an archaic form of English to us today. And uh he seemed to be the kind of guy who kind of maybe liked the smell of his own gas. I don't know. He just seemed like it was very very pompous, like very, you know, like an intellectual. Uh it's like even look I understand that you translated this like several centuries ago but you definitely could have chosen simpler words you know there's no excuse

44:19 · Unknown · Ritual, Matter & Divine Ascent

here but uh it's it's it's it's a very interesting document it delineates and defends and kind of brings the point home about why the is necessary and the embodiment of the soul and the reintroduction of these ancient Egyptian and Calan rights back into you know western uh spiritual practice basically saying like you know you're you're [ __ ] thinking too much like use use the mind in so far as as it can bring you to to do this work but you know and and but I mean he himself he

44:58 · Unknown · Ritual, Matter & Divine Ascent

had a tremendous sort of hold on these things in a very philosophical systematic way But the ultimate goal here, you know, he was trying to defend ritual. They were trying to, you know, Platinus um Pfury, it's not that they were against all kinds of ritual because ritual permeated society, you know, at that point. You go and you give offerings, you do this, you do that, you do the other thing. But um in terms of like heosis and and ascension, uh I mean, Platinus is reported to have said, "I won't go to the gods. The gods have

45:32 · Unknown · Ritual, Matter & Divine Ascent

to come to me." Um whereas it was the opposite in poor in in in Yamakus' system. You go to the gods or at least you call to them and you kind of meet them halfway. But uh and again we're using that spatial um location and that trajectory. We're using it as an analogy. It doesn't really think he's like hopping in a spaceship and going to Mars. But um >> but it's uh the thing about it is that there is he doesn't really give us much in in terms of actual technique. There's a ton of

46:07 · Unknown · Gregory Shaw & Understanding Theurgy

philosophy. There's a ton of theory, but we don't have a lot of technique. Um but there is some some brilliant uh really brilliant stuff in there. Beautiful, inspiring. Um, the thing is that you're not likely to get it uh on your first couple of reads of the Taylor Translation. What I recommend for anybody who wants to understand the is to read Dr. Gregory Shaw's theology in the soul. >> That will definitely help you um understand he breaks the terms down and relates how they relate to one another

46:41 · Unknown · Gregory Shaw & Understanding Theurgy

and um really synthesizes it in a way that's understandable and and really I mean You could probably use that book to as a as a starting point to make your own theoric practice. >> And do do we know anything about the etm etmology of the name? >> I think so. Yeah. But you also got to understand like you know Germanic and stuff like that from which English is is is called is an evolution um didn't exist. So I am wouldn't would it wouldn't have any bearing on what we believe I I am would baby those

47:23 · Unknown · Gregory Shaw & Understanding Theurgy

words those words didn't exist yet. >> Yeah. So like say biblically like you know Moses in the burning bush the bush replies I am that I am. >> Yeah. But he does it in Hebrew. >> Right. That's what I was going to say. >> He doesn't do it in English. He says uh >> okay that's what I was going to see. A yeah, that would be the name for that. >> Yeah. >> Um, sweet. Okay, then. Um, so all right. After all this being said, what what is your opinion

47:56 · Unknown · What Makes a Philosophical Mind?

about what constitutes a philosophical mind? >> Um, curiosity. Uh, I would say this. I would say the underlying thing is what what we would call in the Platonic tradition aeros. Um aeros not people get the wrong idea. They think they hear aeros and they think like a romantic or a sexual love. >> Um there in a philosophical context aeros is desire. Um you desire God the in a similar way to the way that you desire a lover. And what is the in inevitable consequence of of desiring your lover? Unity with them.

48:43 · Unknown · What Makes a Philosophical Mind?

Um and so that aeros is uh a very intense, unshakable, unstoppable, extremely passionate desire and love, a love-based desire for union with your creator. That's the why. But philosophers choose to act on that impetus uh with their minds. Not everybody has to do that. Some people are just right. There's bakti. There's just pure devotion. That don't work for me. I've done it. Um, and uh, I've had some some species of success, but it's not taken me where where, you know, my trajectory needs to

49:38 · Unknown · Love of Wisdom & Divine Desire

go right now. Um, and I think that that is what a philosopher is that, right? It's it's it's hardwired into the word filia, love, right? Sophia's wisdom obviously, but it's a love of wisdom. It's not a [ __ ] interest in wisdom. It's not a curiosity. It's a love. It's a burning love. You have to love this [ __ ] You have to be obsessed with it the way that you're obsessed with your, you know, your your your romantic part. Um, beyond that, it pales in comparison. That's just that's

50:10 · Unknown · Love of Wisdom & Divine Desire

just the the best analogy we can use. But, uh, it's definitely of a a a quality which is beyond your ability to deny it. You cannot say no. You have no [ __ ] choice. It's just about okay how do I go about doing this and for me uh the most sustainable the most tenable and the most uh impactful not just for myself but for other people. Um right because uh uh Michael Osborne said to me uh recently also it was brilliant. I wanted to get up and just clap for him. Uh quietism does not benefit

50:51 · Unknown · Love of Wisdom & Divine Desire

other people's lives for the good. Um so philosophy uh you will get better and the people that you are having discourse with will get better. So your sphere of influence for the positive for the good is much wider um than just uh doing yoga. >> Yeah. And then so if we look at philosophy and what that love of wisdom births, if we look at like the patterns with a lot of these individuals that we've been discussing, I mean their character, they're in general very humble, um very anti-yrannical, very

51:41 · Unknown · Humility, Socrates & Devotion to Truth

they have a lot of integrity. Um, so yeah, I'm just trying to like kind of pinpoint a lot of the characteristics that come out of these sort of individuals. And then >> you know, I I don't I don't know that I agree with humility. >> No, I don't know that that I agree at all with humility because um again, I'm going to go back to our journal analogy before. How many people of you listening could commit to writing in your journal one page every day? >> I don't think it's a lot of you. And I

52:17 · Unknown · Humility, Socrates & Devotion to Truth

I'm not I'm not trying to be I'm not I'm really not trying to be a dick. There are some months where I can't do it. I don't think it's a lot of you. Now, think about having written like 30 [ __ ] dialogues. Written it not typed. It's not dictated. You wrote that. >> Yeah. and it's filled with your philosophy that you've spent years arguing with people over. You've got to um there there's got to be a level of whatever the opposite of humility is

52:48 · Unknown · Humility, Socrates & Devotion to Truth

there, you know. Um uh >> well, could we say maybe like >> I would sorry I I would say I would say more in like think about it, right? Socrates, he sat in the square and he told everybody they were [ __ ] wrong. And he went and he showed them step by step that they were wrong. And he was, if you read those dialogues, it's [ __ ] great. It's awesome. I forget every time when I go back and I'm in the middle of a dialogue, I'm like, it's like watching reality television. Like, this is

53:16 · Unknown · Humility, Socrates & Devotion to Truth

uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable. He is so [ __ ] rude and snide and he's just ripping into this person and he's moody and he flies off the [ __ ] handle constantly. He says stuff where like everybody in the room is like, "Socrates, relax, relax." Like, "What are you doing?" And he's like, "Fuck you." You know, he's just flying off the handle. It's amazing. It's amazing to read and to to picture in the mind's eye. That's not a humble person. But

53:42 · Unknown · Humility, Socrates & Devotion to Truth

the, you know, in the traditional way that we think about it, ultimately he's doing a kindness. >> Um, but what he is humble to, he subordinates himself to is his diamond, >> right? >> Is his is God. >> Humility to God ultimately, you know, and service to man. >> I'm not gonna I'm not going to bow before you. I'm I'm not a pacifist. No, nobody Jesus wasn't a pacifist. He went to the cross willingly because it was part of the plan. But he also whipped

54:15 · Unknown · Humility, Socrates & Devotion to Truth

the money lenders, the money changers, not a pacifist. You know, he says specifically, I came to bring a sword, not peace. So, um, you know, I'm and I'm not saying that you're wrong, but I'm I'm just trying to reintroduce this perspective to people that like nobody who ever did anything really that great was what really truly embodied what we in a modern sense think of as humility. >> Yeah, that makes total sense. So we could say maybe a dedication and a following of their higher genius. Like a

54:51 · Unknown · What Is Magic?

like an unyielding pursuit and persistence in regard to truth. Maybe like a tough love. Like love in the sense of dedication to the good at at the expense of anybody's feelings regardless of >> and most and most especially at the expense of your own. >> Yeah. you know, it's, you know, you don't want to who who wants to argue with people, you know. >> Yeah. Um, so, okay. So, I don't know. I may have asked you this before, but you you always ask your guests on your

55:29 · Unknown · What Is Magic?

podcast, so I want to ask this for you and the context of this conversation. What is magic or how do you experience it? Um, well, I would say magic is the partially subjective and partially objective result of a specific outcome. that was uh affected by non-physical or at least non non-logical, non material, non empirical. It doesn't follow the the laws of physics. It's not beholdened to I push the domino, the domino falls down, it hits the other do. It's not that. You can't say, "Okay,

56:39 · Unknown · What Is Magic?

here's where it started and here's how how it was affected." You cannot. You can't. We've been trying to do it, but it it doesn't work. You're never going to pigeon hole. It's bigger than you. Um I don't care if you're [ __ ] a grippa. You do your best. It's great. We have systems. You're never going to you're never going to denute it. it's just not going to happen. But it's it's an outcome that that happened almost despite itself

57:08 · Unknown · What Is Magic?

that was uh a set intention. Other words, I wanted this thing to happen. Rather than go and do all the physical things to make that happen, I did a ritual in my room and seemingly a causally the thing that I wanted to happen happened. That's um one form of I would say manifestation magic. The underlying causes or I would say the reason that that can happen is a law that we don't understand. Um it's not forthcoming. It it does not readily reveal itself to us. But whatever it is is the same reason that

57:57 · Unknown · What Is Magic?

alchemical changes can happen, spiritual growth can happen, uh the miraculous can happen. So really it's this I would say hidden quality um to reality of all levels that is inexplicable and exists in everything um and can be utilized for different for different intentions. Right? The goetic magician makes [ __ ] contracts with dark entities to obtain, I don't know, love, a new car, sense of self-respect. Ironically, um, the the just uh attempts a trajectory of spiritual evolution. Um, but they're using the same laws. They're

58:44 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

using the same principles. >> All right. Beautiful. So, we should probably roll the rest into another podcast because we've got a lot to cover still and this was pretty amazing. But before we do, I want to address one of our Patreons questions and then I'll end with like a couple closing questions. But I'll go ahead and I'll ask a question. She asks, "Is there such thing as theurgic astrology? Do we have any historical evidence of rituals or esoteric practices existing

59:23 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

where someone would be able to influence by way of ritual work or pathworking challenging placements or transits? Basically using your birth chart as a working map. Side note, this is where I'm hope this is where I'm hoping what I'm understanding the correctly. The equal god working. Um so theology actually and its beginning stages has to be predicated on astrology absolutely has to be um at the beginning stages right the goal is to transcend causal mechanism and if we're looking at in the

1:00:07 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

traditional neoplatonic sense the structure and position of the universe relative to itself and the bodies which comprise it um as causal um as influential. Then we want to find the best sort of arrangement of those things to kind of have this upward trajectory outward. It's kind of like the stairs in Harry Potter that are always moving. I don't know if you're a fan, but like when they're trying to get to their dorm room or get places, they're always going up these [ __ ] stairs, but the stairs

1:00:44 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

just move. It's like an MC Cher painting. Um, it's astrology is basically waiting till those stairs are aligned so that you can just [ __ ] fly up, you know, like that. I mean, that's a pretty silly analogy, but that's kind of it. Now, the piece about natal astrology and your natal chart. Absolutely. Um, that is that is that's your starting point. Now uh this is attested to intricacus too because he shits on uh in multiple writings he shits all over the astrologers of his day. He says they use

1:01:18 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

it for divination. They use it like drawing lots [ __ ] The high he get actually gets very cranky about it. He he it's one of the it's one of it's it's great. He really gets grumpy about it and basically poratively sort of sort of chides them and [ __ ] and finger wags at them and and says like you know you know it's it's the higher it's the the astrology is important for it. It doesn't give a [ __ ] if if you know how many goats should you buy you know um and it's it's it's really interesting.

1:01:51 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

Dr. Gregory Shaw has a couple of um uh really good essays on that for free on academia. I think it's academia.org. Um so you can read some of those firsthand. He has great commentary on that. But yes, the natal chart is extremely important. Uh Jamie Paul Lamb is the guy uh for this stuff. He's developed a system of what he calls donic astrology. um he actually taught uh a class at the the uh Institute for Hermetic Studies um that I took. It was like a six-part class and it's exactly

1:02:29 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

that using your natal chart to sort of um begin a trajectory of donic uh the this was essential for for for Ian Lucas. Absolutely. Um, Pfurery, interestingly, though he he mentions the urgy and then kind of uh um dismisses it later, he laid out a lot of the mechanism by which donic astrology is possible because he's the one where we really hear talking about how the soul descending back into incarnation with its diamond uh puts on these accretions or astral garments that are influenced by way of the planetary

1:03:10 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

spheres and their arrangement to each other. So you take on essentially what in the pyander they refer to as the vices. So he talks about what happens after death. You go to the first sphere and a certain vice is relinquished. You go to the second sphere, a a second vice is relinquished. It's the same thing. It's the same thing. It's incredible that it's the same thing. And but it is um and and so there uh that's a huge part of it. The amicus did not give us much to go on but we can and and and to

1:03:42 · Unknown · Theurgic Astrology & Natal Charts

a large extent um have uh reconstructed certain very important workings. There's things like the almutis figur al-muten figures from um you know Arabic uh astrology and and things like that. So uh check out his work Jamie Paul Lamb if you want to get a little bit more into uh donic astrology. It's really cool and it's important. >> Awesome. All right. So, I want to talk about the Vatican ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons. I don't know if you've seen this or you're aware of

1:04:17 · Unknown · Vatican Ban on Freemasonry

this. So, Vatican City, November 15th, >> Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, >> a centuries old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to 6 million. Active members membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry. the fat Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. So, I wanted

1:04:54 · Unknown · Vatican Ban on Freemasonry

to get your thoughts on >> Well, here are my thoughts. You know what's a secretive society? >> What? >> [ __ ] church. And you know what? I wish they'd ban touching all them little kids. >> Don't we all? >> Okay. And you know what might be the first step to that? Allowing these priests to [ __ ] marry. >> Yeah. you know. Um, so I don't really care. It doesn't matter to me. Um, again, this it's you don't even want to hear my what I what I it's all tied together. I don't I

1:05:31 · Unknown · Vatican Ban on Freemasonry

don't believe that any I don't believe that any institution particularly nowadays but at least for the last two or 30 hundred years I do not believe that any institution rises to any significant level of power or prominence without first passing through a gate that has been installed in our society for centuries. And you basically once you p once you make that decision to pass through that [ __ ] gate and play and and enter into that that game um you don't get to make the decisions anymore.

1:06:03 · Unknown · Vatican Ban on Freemasonry

Everything becomes political and everything serves one end. But the key to all that working is that you must maintain the illusion of variety when in reality it's one hand in a multi-fingered glove. >> So, um I think it's political. I think it's irrational and I think it's, you know, it's just another thing like, okay guys, what else we got on the docket? It's a [ __ ] distraction. you know, there's the Catholic Church has so much more that it should be dealing with,

1:06:42 · Unknown · Vatican Ban on Freemasonry

you know, than uh Okay, what's next? Freemasons? Nope. You know, like we don't give a [ __ ] you know? None of us care. So, it's uh we're out here doing charity and and and and lectures and feeding each other, you know? We're not I'm not wearing a [ __ ] pointy hat in a room with gilded walls telling people what they can and cannot do, you know? I mean, I I went to the Vatican. Yeah. There's this whole idea of apostolic poverty. If you took your [ __ ] finger and scratched the wall like this, you'd

1:07:17 · Unknown · Vatican Ban on Freemasonry

have enough gold under your nail to feed a family of four for a [ __ ] month. So, I I don't want to hear it. I don't care. No one No, no one should care. >> Yeah. Um it's just yeah so like I see it I mean I feel like it's the way they see it is almost like a competition thing like the irony is like you said like an institution such as Freemasonry of which actually invibes virtuous qualities and character building and maintains an actual uh propagation of integrity within individuals is being banned. And

1:08:00 · Unknown · Freemasonry as a Threat to Control Systems

I think that maybe they see it as something like, whoa, you know, a lot of these people are really value valuing this thing, Freemasonry, and finding value in it be because of its good qualities and it's and it the effect that it's having on people gravitating towards it because of it. I feel like >> I as I said before, Freemasonry is a threat to that [ __ ] glove, >> that hand under the glove. That's why the glove the the hand under the glove is always it's you're always going to be

1:08:35 · Unknown · Freemasonry as a Threat to Control Systems

able to tell where it is. You're never going to be able to point out where exactly, but you'll be able to feel the tide because it's always pointing at something and telling you that it's basically taking everything that it is, all the evil and exclusion and and selfishness and manipulation and clandestine properties and it's always projecting that at whatever it's trying to take down. So, I don't look at the thing that people are saying is bad. I look at the mouthpiece and I say, "Well,

1:09:08 · Unknown · Freemasonry as a Threat to Control Systems

the the bad is in there somewhere. It's animating that because there's a concerted effort." Why now? When's the last time the church discussed [ __ ] Freemasonry? >> You know, the first papal bull was in like the 1700s. Why now? >> Well, you see, it's it's a con, you know, I I see a concerted effort, >> you know. Okay. Over here, you've got the conspiracy thing, you know. Yeah. For years they've been talking about it's really no nobody gave a [ __ ] about

1:09:36 · Unknown · Freemasonry as a Threat to Control Systems

the Freemasons in the 80s. It's like it was like after 9/11 that people started going on the [ __ ] internet and talking about the Freemasons, you know, it's this is a recent thing with w with this particular iteration. Granted, there's been an anti-masonic furer here and there um since since the organization started. That's a consequence of of fearing the unknown, you know, but There is a concerted effort to paint us, me, you know, and the people I hang with, uh, as like these clandestine

1:10:14 · Unknown · Freemasonry as a Threat to Control Systems

movers and shakers trying to like move the world to this, uh, you know, oppressive [ __ ] whites only, uh, society. It couldn't be further from the [ __ ] truth. That's what this thing does. That's what whatever's pointing at us saying, "Oh, you do this thing." No, no, no. You're you're it's like it's not even projecting. It's framing, you know? It's it's an elementary tool. Kids do it, you know? >> Yeah. >> Blame your [ __ ] on someone else. And

1:10:44 · Unknown · Anti-Masculinity, Suicide & Spiritual Warfare

then not only that, but then you've got the whole, you know, anti-masculine solidarity. If you want to be a man in a group with other men, you are all of a sudden [ __ ] far right. You know what I'm saying? It's like you're all of a sudden you're anti- [ __ ] justice. You're anti-, you know, uh the the this this social justice movement, whatever the [ __ ] this, you know, the confused mass of of uh you know, um whailing really at this point is it's you're just against that if you

1:11:17 · Unknown · Anti-Masculinity, Suicide & Spiritual Warfare

you say, you know, yeah, men need a place to come together in solidarity, too. I mean the past like I think three years alone male suicide rates which were already extremely high have doubled. Um so and that's probably also a little bit about of what they want. Um but so there's also this this whole like you know intersectional feminist piece where it's like well why why is why is it just men you know and then there's the whole trans issue that we're going to have to deal with that will likely

1:11:45 · Unknown · Anti-Masculinity, Suicide & Spiritual Warfare

destroy masonry. It's it's multiple points coming in to to take something down because as you say to your point, an organization that takes young men and brings them in and and in bonds of solidarity with their elders and with their their contemporaries and with their peers and then instead of making us [ __ ] brutes and making us weak, sneaky, manipulative men, it it asks us to to to hold ourselves accountable and and be a boon to our society, engage in charity, you know, um, every human being has a claim

1:12:26 · Unknown · Anti-Masculinity, Suicide & Spiritual Warfare

to your kind offices, but first you have to rectify yourself in order to be able to help others. You have to have some kind of moral compass. Of course, that's not allowed anymore. Of course, we're the [ __ ] bad guys, you know? So, it's uh ultimately that's what I think is going on. And I don't want to veer into like conspiracy theory podcasts, although those are fun to listen to, but it's, you know, we we it's a [ __ ] reality of our time. It's a reality of our time.

1:12:56 · Unknown · Anti-Masculinity, Suicide & Spiritual Warfare

And these things transcend. They truly do transcend the purely physical. These are it's as St. Paul said, we fight not with with evil of flesh and blood. We fight against evil in in in high places, spiritual evil. >> Yeah. Yeah. very very stupid move on their part, but I'm not surprised. Uh lending more credence to the corrupt aspects of these institutions for sure acting as basically ideological dictators um evil mass creating as holiness. Um when it's basically in complete opposition um but yeah. Okay.

1:13:31 · Unknown · The Modern Philosopher-Magician

So to summarize, I want to yeah to get you to summarize what with what we've said, what constitutes a modern philosopher magician? How would you sort of sum that up and what it all means to you given kind of what we've gone over about, you know, giving getting kind of a general understanding of these philosophers, the way they think, the the way they live, the way they behave, their character. Um, and then kind of tying that in with um a magician. What would you say constitutes a modern philosopher

1:14:07 · Unknown · The Modern Philosopher-Magician

magician? >> I would I just would never call myself a modern philosopher magician. I feel like that's a very it the title in and of itself to me wouldn't it wouldn't feel right. It would feel like, you know, wearing like a I don't know, like a flavor flave clock necklace or something like that, you know, like look at me, you know, I just wouldn't do it. But if you're asking me what what I think the attributes of a philosopher and a magician should be. Yeah. Um I think that

1:14:43 · Unknown · The Modern Philosopher-Magician

first of all you are you have faith in in a higher power. Um and you know I don't want to I don't want to mince words here. I'm not talking about you believe that uh you know Lucifer or Satan is the guy is the you live in the light where you you try as hard as you can um and you constantly reach out for some form of connection and assistance. understand that, you know, it's it's kind of like it's the whole admonition of Tifereth in the mystical cabala. You know, if you know

1:15:27 · Unknown · Power, Theurgy & Relinquishing Ego

the tree of life, somebody standing in Malc looks up at Tifereth and sees a king. But from Kether looking down, you see a baby reaching up. Um, and that's that's that to me is the philosopher. Um, and the magician is the theist, not goetic magic, um, not money magic, not growing in personal power, because that power is nothing. It's [ __ ] peanuts. Peanuts don't mean [ __ ] you know? Um, the only way to have true power is to completely relinquish the desire for it. And I'm not talking about in some

1:16:09 · Unknown · Power, Theurgy & Relinquishing Ego

Buddhist way where it's like now you don't care about anything. who you know you have the ultimate freedom. No, that's not what I mean. You'll get power. Um but you have to really truly not want it, you know, like that's just what it is. And then it doesn't become your [ __ ] top priority anymore. Your top priority is is the the acting out the expression of your aeros for your creator. You know, you're a meist. It's not about, you know, monetarily helping people or yourself,

1:16:46 · Unknown · Power, Theurgy & Relinquishing Ego

you know, it's it's about embodying the highest possible ideals that you can comprehend abstractly. Ground them, bring them down, act them out. That doesn't mean you can be perfect. You know, good Christians get this rap all the time. good ones, you know, not the ones who are Bible thumping and yelling at you, but just simply because they are [ __ ] human. They always will be and they don't do everything perfect. Um, they're viewed as hypocrites. And I I that's another really important thing. I

1:17:24 · Unknown · Morality, Hypocrisy & Staying on the Path

think that you need to understand that even if tomorrow, you know, you found out I'm like the worst person in the world, it doesn't invalidate anything I'm telling you. You know, because it is about the message and it's not about the [ __ ] messenger. You know, it should nothing that anybody else nowhere where anyone else falters should be your weak excuse to give in and say it's not real. It was [ __ ] No. Take it as a challenge upon yourself to go and say, "Well, I I can do it better.

1:18:02 · Unknown · Morality, Hypocrisy & Staying on the Path

I will do it better. I will manifest these qualities. I will ground them." because that's how they win, right? You're there's always there's always something. We're always human, you know, and and one of the quickest ways I think we see in this world in that we're living in to get people to abandon the path of morality, you know, the path of of of of good. really the middle path really um uh is to kind of show our weaknesses so that we think it's all hypocrisy and

1:18:40 · Unknown · Morality, Hypocrisy & Staying on the Path

it's that [ __ ] it's that it's that teenage angst [ __ ] Santa experience all over again. You lied to me. It's not real. So you go and you run to the opposite and you know just start rebelling again. Don't let that happen. You know, you have to stay grounded in your convictions and understand that these principles transcend people. We're never going to embody them perfectly here, but doesn't mean that we shouldn't try. And and one of the most important things, particularly for a magician, is

1:19:10 · Unknown · Severity, Mercy & Balanced Action

that you embody the tree in a balanced aspect. That means sometimes, Gabbor, that means sometimes, you know, the fire of strength and the the sword of strength and severity and and that fire that fire of when the forest is overgrown and therefore the health of the forest as a whole is in jeopardy. You have to be able to burn some of it. It's just what it is, you know, like that's the way things work. Um, and and but but at the same time, you know, mercy always before you engage in severity when it ends up being

1:19:59 · Unknown · Severity, Mercy & Balanced Action

an ultimate mercy. And that's uh that's really it, you know? I mean, I'm sure I could go on for another [ __ ] hour about all these attributes, but I I think that's those are the most important things that are like I'm feeling like I should say. >> Amen. Thank you, brother. I love you. I appreciate you. To the listeners, I appreciate all of you so much. Sincerely, um this was an awesome one. So excited to put it out there. And uh any closing thoughts to wrap it up? >> Uh that's it, man. I love you, too. I

1:20:34 · Unknown · Closing Reflections

appreciate, you know, it's been a while since we've done this, so this is this was [ __ ] excellent. This was a long one. I'm feeling good. Beat, but good. And I'm going to sleep well. I appreciate you, dude, because I'm I'm being honest with you. None of this is possible without you. >> You just know how to set the stage and the questions to ask and kind of, you know, you make because I got to feel safe like I can say this stuff. And so that's that's super important.

1:21:02 · Unknown · Closing Reflections

>> Oh, yes. All right, brother. Till next time. >> All right.