Rune Soup

This week, we welcome to the show astrologer, philosopher and shamanic practitioner, Michael Ofek. Michael and I have a great chat about topics very near and dear to our hearts: star lore, star magic, and the true antiquity of what we can broadly call astrology, or perhaps coming into relation with Sky Country. Along the way, we also talk about the metaphysics of light, the shamanic origins of Greek and European civilisation, hag attacks and spontaneous OBEs. Good times! (Note: This is a repost as there was an error with the file. This is another live video episode so if you would prefer to watch it rather than listen, jump over to YouTube or Odysee.) Show Notes Michael's website and upcoming course. Book a reading with Michael. Michael's Facebook page.

This week we complete our revisitation of classic blog post series from back in the day. And we have saved my favourite for last: Apocalypse Pharmaka. It’s my favourite for a bunch of reasons that I explain in the episode. But, basically, the contested landscape of medicine and power and the body is where the witch and the cunning person has always lived. (Not that you’d know it from looking around in the past couple of years, although the shrillness is mercifully receding.) So if you want to say you are a participant in the ‘western’ understanding of magic or witchcraft in any capacity and have the people around you keep a straight face, one way or the other you need to ‘come to terms’ -in the animist sense- with this contested landscape that is our homeland. It really is as simple as that. Of course -and this is pretty much the whole point- we have all been pushed off these homelands over the past two years and into both literal and metaphoric quarantine camps. Which is to say these discussions are even mor

Researcher, energy healer and fellow Scarlet Imprint author, Peter Mark Adams, returns to the show this week. We discuss his book, The Power of the Healing Field. We also have a fantastic chat about what the field even am, and why it is an idea and framework whose time has come. We explore various energy-based healing modalities and pause to consider that we should not even be using the word 'alternative' for such disciplines, as the majority of the population of the planet incorporates them into standard medical practice. It is us in the west who are the 'alternative'. Excellent stuff, and a great discussion to for the first month of the year! (Note: This episode was first livestreamed on YouTube, should you wish to watch it instead.) Show Notes Get The Power of the Healing Field. Peter's website. Mind Connection Healing.

We begin the new year with the traditional podcast catch-up with Conner Habib. This time around we explore the full cosmic significance of the heart, the metaphysics of blood and blood sacrifice and then spend a lot of time with the notion of prophecy: What it is, what it isn’t, which medicines it holds, what it says about time and what it can say about our moment. Then we turn to 2022 and thrash out some frameworks for sin, trauma and forgiveness. A splendid start to the year! Show Notes Conner on Patreon. Conner on Twitter.

Austinmas comes but twice a year! Yes, it’s the traditional half-yearly forecast with the one and only Austin Coppock. Join us as we explore the space weather for the next six months, as well as a discussion on how to be with said space weather. (And stick around for the amusing tech fails on both sides of the call.) Enjoy!

This week, we are joined by essayist and filmmaker, Niles Heckman. Among other things, Niles is the co-creator of the Shamans of the Global Village series. So we talk about that, obviously. And we also talk about creativity, filmmaking, the power of the essay format, as well as how -or if it's possible- to participate in cross-cultural learning in non-extractive ways. Great chat.  Enjoy! Show Notes Niles's website, podcast and blog. Watch Shamans of the Global Village. Trailer for Episode 1. Trailer for Episode 2.

Continuing our revisitations this week, we turn to the archonology series -a long running exploration of power and conspiracy. And you know what? A lot of these have held up pretty well. I especially like how so many of the videos shared in the posts are now gone from YouTube, and how many links have died. It’s like burning the edges of a pirate map. Adds character. Enjoy! The Archonology Series Things That Persist: Archonology (Part 1). While We Pray For A Long Summer: Archonology (Part 2). Spook Tech: Archonology (Part 3). The Money: Archonology (Part 4). Collaborators: Archonology (Part 5). The Weapon of the Enemy: Archonology (Part 6). Knives in the Dark: Archonology (Part 7). Fate of Empires: Archonology (Part 8). Dispatches From The Front: Archonology (Part 9). Force Majeure: Archonology (Part 10). Listening to Demons: Archonology Redux. Pointing Out Devils: Archonology Redux. Section 31: Archonology Redux. The Syndicate: Archonology Redux. Offers Unrefused: Archonology Redux.

A bumper episode this week and a veritable romp through the Fortune's Fools project as the finish line appears over the horizon. I was told going into a project like this that it would show up in your life in strange ways: seeing a cardiologist the week of the Heart card, having a friend lose is eyebrow ring at your house the week of the Ring card, taking ayahuasca the week of the Tree card. None of these things were planned out beforehand but if you read cards, you know these things tend to happen. They just seem a little extra when you're creating a deck. So artist extraordinaire Colin Alexander returns to the show in order to reminisce and commiserate on this wacky journey so far. This episode will probably work better as a video, but it still works audio only, especially if you want to download this large image of all the cards we discuss in the episode. Otherwise you can jump over to YouTube and watch it there. Enjoy! Show Notes Watch the episode on YouTube. Pre-order the cards and the book. Join the Fo

Continuing our whistle-stop tour of classic blog series, this time we revisit a term I lifted from the (pre-cancelled) Joss Whedon film, Serenity. It’s the term I use to better frame the totality of digital systems and social media in the context of how they see the world and what it is they seek to do to ours. For people who may be unaware, I had a career in digital media and publisher strategy before doing whatever it is you call what I’m doing now. And I’ve long been interested in that overlap between communication and magic. These posts weave all of that together. And it’s necessary to continue the revisitations with this series next, because it gives us the context for why probably the rest of the revisitations won’t be found on YouTube. "I'm Going To Show You A World Without Sin." The First World Without Sin. Worlds Jurassic and Without Sin. World Without Sin: Farming Spies. Blowing Filter Bubbles: World Without Sin. NOTE: Last week's revisitation didn't push out an MP3 file, so this week you are ge

Based on some suggestions that came out of the recent solo show on the story of Rune Soup, I'm going to be revisiting the classic blog post series from back in the old timey bloggy days of yore. The first such series is The Whisky Rant: where the name came from, the benefits and shortcomings of alternate history, which UFOs are actual aliens and which of the various rants stood the test of time. For new people, this was a series that covered off all the exciting hits like ruins on Mars and the Moon, the location of Atlantis and my own version of the stoned ape hypothesis.

It's that time of year again! And for the traditional Halloween special, we are joined by astrologer, witch and counsellor, Sasha Ravitch. Sasha joins us to talk about star spirits, astrology and the dead, and what sort of ancestral curses and blessings can show up in your natal chart. Awesome stuff.  Show Notes Sasha's website. Sasha's Linktree. Sasha's Instagram. Sasha's Twitter. Sasha's Patreon. AstroMagia conference website.

This week, we welcome to the show author, teacher and herbalist, Seán Pádraig O'Donoghue. Seán joins us today to talk about his journey to animist herbalism, how he defines it, and what constitutes health in a living framework. Really good, timely stuff. Enjoy! Show Notes Seán's website, Otherworld Well. Seán's course, Holistic Pharmacology for Herbalists.

A long-overdue solo show this week, telling the story of Rune Soup from its beginnings as a blog in Bristol, through the books, through the development of the podcast, and the membership and the events and so on. At the end, there is also some discussion of where to next. Subscribe to Rune Soup on Rumble. Subscribe to Rune Soup on Odysee. Check out Fortune's Fools.

Author, magician, returning guest and friend, Ivy Bromius, joins us again this week on the occasion of the publication of her completely free book, The Cancer Grimoire. We talk about her experiences treating and overcoming cancer, blending allopathic and holistic methods, and finding meaning in our own health crises. An important discussion at the best of times. Probably more so now. Download the episode directly here or watch along on YouTube below. Show Notes Find everything Ivy has going on at Circle Thrice.

This week, we are joined by the hosts of one of my very favourite podcasts, Fucking Cancelled. Clementine and Jay talk to us about their own journey to activism, through what they call the nexus -that toxic combination of social media bullying and neoliberal group thing- and out the other side to a genuine left they call 'socialism with freaky options'. Along the way we discuss what cancellation is, how old it is, why it works and whether or not its efficacy is fading. Super fun show with some super fun people!       Show Notes Fucking Cancelled on Patreon. Fucking Cancelled on Libsyn. Fucking Cancelled on Instagram. Clementine's website. Clementine on Instagram. Jay on Instagram.

This week, we welcome back to the show Dr Matthew Segall. Matt joins us to talk about his recently released book, Physics of the World Soul: Whitehead's Adventure in Cosmology. So we chat about the shortcomings of materialism, what science could be like and how it could be done. We also discuss the concept of the Anima Mundi -or World Soul- and what the point of the universe might be.   Show Notes Get Matt's book, Physics of the World Soul. Matt's blog. Matt's YouTube channel.

This week we welcome to the show Karen Johnson. Karen is a shaman, healer, and former judge. She was catapulted into the life of a healer when her son died suddenly of a heroin overdose at the age of twenty seven. Leaving her old life behind, Karen embarked on a multi-year spiritual quest around the world, ultimately discovering -among many modalities and sources of spiritual nourishment- shamanic energy medicine. (Karen is actually my teacher at the Four Winds Academy, which comes up a couple of times in the show.) She joins us today to talk about her brand new book, Living Grieving: Using Energy Medicine to Alchemize Grief and Loss. A really great chat about a really powerful topic. Enjoy. Show Notes Living Grieving: Using Energy Medicine to Alchemize Grief and Loss. Karen’s energy medicine website and blog. Karen's Instagram.

Christmas only comes but once a year, which makes the half-yearly astrological forecasts twice as good as it! Big thanks to the one and only Austin Coppock -as well as the premium members and patrons who join the call. As is now tradition, we look at the previous six months, the upcoming six months and situate our discussion in the context of longer cycles. I always look forward to these chats!

Something a bit different and exciting this week in lieu of a normal show. One of the things the premium members will be doing over the coming month is participating in calls and Q&As with thinkers who have something to share or contribute to this notion of operating at the level of the living field. First cab off the rank is none other than Rhyd Wildermuth. Finding The Ekumen gets its name from Ursula K. Le Guin's space utopia, effectively an anarchist version of Star Trek's far more militant United Federation of Planets. So if we are going to have a series of discussions beyond traditional politics, we should begin with a discussion of what politics is, what it isn't and where it might be that you come in. I can think of no one better than Rhyd for that chat, so here it is!   Big thanks to Rhyd and the members for participating! This is obviously a video discussion if you would prefer to watch on YouTube or Odysee.   Further Reading Rhyd's Substack. Rhyd's essay, Here Be Monsters. Saul Newman's A

Comedian, author, ceremonialist and healer, Nick Sun, joins us this week. Back in January, Nick wrote a piece on Medium called Watch Your Dreams Die And Be Happy Now. It's about how childhood dreams in general and the insistence we all follow them is not always a good thing. In fact, it can even be pathological. Obviously that sort of piece has Big New Year Energy given the world is awash with resolutions at the time. But it is also good and insistent medicine for now -particularly for younger readers. There is a lot about this in the wealth magic course in the members area, but desire is very poorly understood and even more poorly experienced in the modern world. Given the dramatic changes to how society functions we have all been through these past sixteen months have barely begun to be felt, the work of sitting with, parsing and simply showing up to your dreams, desires, goals -as well as how they all differ- takes on a different form of urgency. So that's what Nick came on to discuss ostensibly. We also