Occult Confessions podcast

57:31

Fleeing persecution from the government of Missouri, Joseph Smith and the Mormons found themselves in Nauvoo, Illinois. There, Smith established a militia, ran for governor, discovered his doctrine of plural marriage, and purchased a mummy. Nauvoo was Smith's last Zion at the scene for the events that would lead to his assassination at the hands of an angry mob. This episode contains a brief reference to suicide.…

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26.2: The Book of Mormon 0:58

hace 16 días0:58

0:58

The Book of Mormon is full of intrigue and adventure. It also repeats the phrase "and it came to pass" over 1400 times. It tells the story of a lost tribe of Israel crossing the ocean to America to establish a new civilization and how that civilization was ultimately destroyed. We take seriously Joseph Smith's claim that his book was a historical document and consider points for and against the Book of Mormon.…

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26.1 Moroni's Golden Plates 1:02:40

hace 4 weeks1:02:40

1:02:40

Joseph Smith's discovery of a set of buried golden plates was the beginning of the Mormons or Church of Latter Day Saints. This was also moment deeply ensconced in folk belief and magic. Treasure-digging, seer stones, and magical parchments were all part of the Smith family tradition and they each played a part in the story of Moroni's Golden Plates.…

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25.10: Saving Krotona (Interview Special) 1:05:38

hace 6 weeks1:05:38

1:05:38

Hollywood makeup artist, Pati Dubroff, became a preservationist after moving into the original dome of the Theosophists' Krotona Institute. In this interview, Pati shares her experiences (positive and negative) with paranormal entities, local government, and landlords in her noble quest to save Krotona. To donate to the Los Angeles Fire Department please use this link: https://supportlafd.org/donate/ways-to-give.html.…

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25.9: Jim Morrison and the Occult (Interview Special) 1:03:34

hace 8 weeks1:03:34

1:03:34

Paul Wyld visits to talk about his book "Jim Morrison: Secret Teacher of the Occult." Wyld discusses Morrison's reading of esoteric texts and how they influenced his lifestyle and art as a "secret teacher" of magical things.

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25.8: Aldous Huxley on Drugs 1:13:15

hace 10 weeks1:13:15

1:13:15

Aldous Huxley's Doors of Perception was a book ahead of its time and related the famous British novelist and intellectual's experimental engagement with mescaline. Huxley became a proponent of mescaline and sometime user of LSD ever afterward and a major influence on the Human Potential Movement of the 1960s.…

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25.9: The Star Wars Holiday Special (Strange Ride Crossover) 1:40:02

hace 11 weeks1:40:02

1:40:02

There is so much Star Wars content out in the wide world. Some of it is loved, some of it hated, but there is one piece of Star Wars media that is so hated by its creator that it was almost lost media. If it wasn’t for fans making bootleg VCR copies during its one and only broadcast it would be lost to time. I’m talking about of course the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. A variety show set in the Star Wars universe that was also meant to sort of celebrate Thanksgiving/Christmas. George Lucas was so mortified by how this special turned out that he has tried to remove any trace of its existence from the earth, and because of that resistance it has since become a cult classic amongst Star Wars fans. But how did the Star Wars Holiday special end up so bad? Today, Savannah will be going over how the special was made and its content, so you can be spared from having to watch it yourself.…

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25.7: Esoterica (Interview Special) 1:09:29

hace 12 weeks1:09:29

1:09:29

We sit down with Dr. Justin Sledge of the Esoterica Youtube channel to talk about his work with medieval and ancient esoteric texts and alchemical practices.

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25.6: Krishnamurti's Teaching 1:20:02

hace 14 weeks1:20:02

1:20:02

Krishnamurti's philosophy was about getting free from thought and time, releasing memory and belief, and becoming fully present. He taught that there was no method or ritual or plan that could achieve this state of perfect presence and no guru who could guide you. Each person had to be their own guru and discover the truth of what is.…

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25.5: The Child Messiah (Part Three) 1:03:47

hace 16 weeks1:03:47

1:03:47

In this final installment of our biography of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the teacher disbands the Order of the Star and is banished from Theosophical Society Headquarters. He becomes an advisor to Indira Ghandi and questions whether his strange path to knowledge can ever be replicated.

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25.4: The Child Messiah (Part Two) 59:26

hace 18 weeks59:26

59:26

The second part of our series on the teacher and philosopher Krishnamurti begins with his spiritual awakening beneath a pepper tree in Ojai, California. Krishnamurti was plagued by terrible episodes of physical suffering accompanied by great spiritual insight. We continue through to George Arundale's bizarre plot to insert himself into the highest ranks of Krishnamurti's organization and theosophy writ large.…

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25.3: The Child Messiah (Part One) 53:59

hace 20 weeks53:59

53:59

As a child, Jiddu Krishnamurti was named the vessel for the World Teacher by leading figures in the Theosophical Society, namely Charles Leadbetter and Annie Besant. He came to regard Besant as a second mother but his relationship with Leadbetter was more complicated. Leadbetter wrote a serialized account of Krishnamurti's previous lives, calling him Alcyone, and helped Krishnamurti make contact with the ascended masters of theosophy. But Krishnamurti and his family were conflicted by the way he had been set up to become the religious leader of thousands and thousands of people worldwide.…

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25.2: Annie Besant (Part Two) 59:20

hace 22 weeks59:20

59:20

In the second part of our conversation about Annie Besant, she leaves the secularists and joins the Theosophical Society. We consider how the Mahatmas continued to produce letters after Blavatsky's death and how closely Besant's theosophy resembled the first generation.

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25.1: Annie Besant (Part One) 54:32

hace 24 weeks54:32

54:32

We open our story on the child messiah, Jiddu Krishnamurti, with a two-part episode on Annie Besant, a woman he came to regard as his adopted mother. Having been an atheist, social reformer, and advocate for birth control, Besant became the president of the Theosophical Society and one of the most influential occultists of the early twentieth century.…

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24.8: My Little Goddess (Strange Ride Crossover) 42:18

hace 26 weeks42:18