e21 // Vaguely Hermetic
I felt it time to share another ‘solo’ podcast episode. I hadn’t done one since The Extravagant Equinox of months past.
Dr. Jason Fox
Since then, we’ve released four episodes of Kindred Spirits. Oddly I decided to do a reflective tour of my recent writings in this episode, too. You can find all of these, of course, at foxwizard.com/musings
This episode also has me talking of The Ritual of Becoming—something that I’ve been attending to for most of the past 15 years. I love the program, and it’s getting a significant upgrade in the new year.
If you’re ready to attend to your unfurling, you can join anytime. All paid members will be looked after when the ritual undergoes its own metamorphosis.
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So! I recently wrote a piece on what I call A Hermetic Disposition. You’ll note I don’t say the hermetic disposition; what I propose is largely syncretic. A personal bricolage-assemblage masquerading as vaguely hermetic.
Dr. Jason Fox
I recorded the latest podcast episode whilst 70% of my way through this piece. Both the recording, and the text itself, were attempts to elucidate, though I fear I may have mostly befuddled. Who’s to say?
Anyhoo, I made mention of a few texts, so here now be the ‘show notes’.
Show notes
I start with reference to my love of The Blindboy Podcast. The way that this show gently and authentically meanders through fields of profundity is heartening to me.
I also recently found great solace in a recent episode of The Emerald by Josh Schrei—Carry That Weight: On Mythic Burdens and Cosmic Supports. This helped me shift my relationship to the metacrisis, and the heavy sense of responsibility I had been carrying. Perhaps it will offer some relief to you, too?
Note that none of us are advocating for spiritual bypassing here. But these times do behoove a shift in how we relate.
I mentioned that my stance regarding social media is changing. But the body can’t lie—as I said this, I could hear in my voice that I was not convinced.
What I am convinced of, though, is my love of the small web, the friendly web, the quiet web, the poetic web.
As mentioned in the episode, I’ve been relishing visiting bear blog’s discover panel, just to get a sample of what feels like a wholesome contemporary nostalgia.
I’ve also recently signed up to Manu Moreal’s “dealgorithmed” newseletter.
Dealgorithmed is a newsletter for the people who still love and care about the web, for those who are tired of doomscrolling the same three sites day after day.
A newsletter about the small web, the poetic web, the quiet web, the web many say we lost years ago, yet it's still here, ready to be rediscovered by those who care.
I’ve also been really, really loving Kening Zhu and her botanical studies of internet magic. Her most recent episode on underworld business practices really spoke to my scorpio stellium and anaretic moon in the 10th house.
Oh, I also talked of a shift in my stance regarding the field of artificial intelligence. Here’s the quote I read with regards to this:
“Not doing any magic at all was the chief task of wizards—not ‘not doing magic’ because they couldn’t do magic, but not doing magic when they could do and didn’t. Any ignorant fool can fail to turn someone else into a frog. You have to be clever to refrain from doing it when you knew how easy it was. There were places in the world commemorating those times when wizards hadn’t been quite as clever as that, and on many of them the grass would never grow again.” — Terry Pratchett, Going Postal
As a wizard I’m done playing the role of Cassandra. Knowledge of the metacrisis and the likely nth-order effects of artificial intelligence are a kind of ‘cursed knowledge’ (which I shall write of someday). Sharing such simply evokes cognitive dissonance; particularly amidst those drunk on euphoria and hope. Better to cultivate a kind of ‘sacred ambivalence,’ so as to better work my magics amidst the warlocks at work.
But speaking of AI, this episode also mentioned Frank Chimero’s wondrous essay Beyond the Machine. I also alluded that the market for ‘thought leadership’ is akin to a lemon market, as Frank Chimero describes in Selling Lemons. Here I also then allude to a motivation behind The Rogue Wizard Academy (or: The School of Fox Wizardry—not sure what I’ll call it yet).
And then finally I stumbled my way through The Kybalion. This was rather haphazard and pell-mell; next time I record a podcast I shall try do so by the river again. Or in a forest, with no deadlines. It was foolish of me to make a recording with a meeting looming, lol. But lo: such is and such was, and here we are.
Thank you, as ever, for reading and listening.
Much warmth,
Jason
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