Plutonica.net - An esoteric blog exploring the occult and occulture, philosophy, spirituality, and magick.

Course on Nietzsche and Paganism…and housekeeping

By Psyche | April 22, 2010

You can subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, and find us on Facebook.
We're so Web 2.0.

Cherry Hill Seminary LogoDr Brendan Cathbad Myers, professional philosopher, lecturer, author, podcaster and all ’round swell guy, is offering a course on Nietzsche and Paganism through Cherry Hill Seminary.

From the course description:

Perhaps the most misunderstood, difficult, and notorious philosopher of the modern age is Friedrich Nietzsche, creator of such powerful ideas as the Will to Power. Accused of promoting a kind of paganism, even within his own lifetime, he certainly mounted the most powerful critique of all religious thinking ever written in the Western philosophical tradition. In this course we will examine three of his most important books very closely, and we will learn why his work remains important for the study of ethics, religion, and culture and also why it remains dangerous.

It’s a 12 week Masters’ level course taught online, and as per Brendan’s note, “although it is a graduate level course, it may be audited by anyone (with [his] approval)”. It’s only $375, and it is bound to be excellent.

Unfortunately, I’ll be in Paris when it begins, and won’t be able to take it, but please do check it out and consider signing up. Continue reading »

Popularity: unranked

We now return to your regularly scheduled program

By Psyche | October 8, 2009

Psyche in front of the Houses of ParlimentHello again, my dears!

Big thanks to Cole Tucker for manning the fort while I was away. In Locusts and Wild Honey he shared a bit of his background,  in Meet the Baptists he introduced two British chaotes and their website, and interviewed them in Words of the Magi, also contributing a guest Saturday Signal. Thanks again for your help!

Additional thanks to Anton Channing for his piece, Psyche Magic Revisited, an expanded excerpt from his book Kaos Hieroglyphica.

I’m back, and I’d like to say I’m well rested, but honestly I’ve been quite busy since I’ve returned from my vacation in England. Busy catching up with work, our Autumnal Equinox Feast, and CIBC’s Run for the Cure to raise money for breast cancer research. But now that’s more or less over, and I’m back!

Upcoming: Pics from my visit to Treadwell’s (I adore this bookshop and Christina’s lovely), my review of Andrieh Vitimus’s Hands-On Chaos Magic (finally), a look at what’s coming in occult publishing (some exciting stuff), and some strange news items that occurred while I’ve been away (humans are weird).

A bientot, kids!

Popularity: unranked

Leary and McKenna Rush to the Age of Spiritual Machines

By Cole Tucker | September 19, 2009

Saturday Signal on Plutonica.netSaturday Signal: sifting the signal from the noise of the Internet’s occultural cacophony.

Science and Spirituality collide this week in multi-media extravaganza, brought to you by guest poster Cole Tucker.

  • H+, a commercial Transhumanist magazine, edited by R.U. Sirius, has its Fall issue out.  Essays include Erik Davis on SF show Dollhouse, investigating the transhumanist aspects of psychedelic pioneers like Timothy Leary and Terrence McKenna, possibilities of eliminating pain through genetic manipulation and the neuroscience of spirituality.
  • Royal Art News reports that two weeks ago, the U.S. Army deployed its first Buddhist chaplain.  Novelty must be accelerating, just last month the U.S. was a Hindu nation.
  • Ego Death and Self-Control Cybernetics has months worth.  Learn about the entheogen theory of religion, how the Dark Ages never happened, and why prog rock could be the West’s last great Wisdom Tradition.

If you feel like digging signal from the noise

Nothing but noise…

Finally, Psyche made the return trip safely!  ahrfoundation.org should be operating normally as soon as she has rested up.

Popularity: 14%

Words of the Magi

By Cole Tucker | September 18, 2009

Last week, Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford of The Baptist’s Head and Open Enlightenment were kind enough to answer several questions I put to them.  I have edited the questions for the sake of brevity and to make myself look less a twit.  Initially only Duncan was had agreed to participate in the interview, leading to a change in tone of my questions.

Duncan and Alan both demonstrate a lot of growth in their thought, and I believe many points I touch on rely on legacy material. I hope you enjoy.


Did you formulate the Core Practice techniques immediately after attaining the Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel [K&C], or did it follow your successful crossing of the Abyss? Continue reading »

Popularity: 9%

Meet the Baptists

By Cole Tucker | September 17, 2009

Following the crisis, I had to rein in the slack other parts of my life had taken.  I stepped away from the occult bookshelf and focused on integrating what I could back into a life I wanted to live.  At some point I found a website called The Baptist’s Head.

Two chaos magicians from Great Britain run the site.  Alan and Duncan are both members of a prestigious order, have loads of experience and very complementary backgrounds.  The site contains their magical records beginning slightly before contacting their Holy Guardian Angels, to Crossing the Abyss, attaining the grade of Magus and experiencing final Enlightenment.  They also provide a grimoire of their own workings, a series of essays covering a variety of topics, and a forum for those seeking to engage in magic as a wisdom tradition.

Following their claiming the experience of final enlightenment, Duncan and Alan created a second site, Open Enlightenment.  Where The Baptist’s Head addresses magic as a path to Enlightenment, Open Enlightenment seeks to provide a non-sectarian forum for critically discussing the experience of enlightenment and its implications. Continue reading »

Popularity: 2%

Stay Connected