Discover the secret history of cults, witches, magicians, conspiracies and the supernatural with occultism scholar Rob C. Thompson. His crew of Alchemical Actors explore life’s mysteries with a blend of research, ritual, and old-fashioned radio drama.
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Luke interviews Rob about his research project focusing on the mythology of the first video game heroes. The conversation ranges far and wide to encompass the nature of performance studies, Rob's early work on ghosts and psychic mediums, and the scholar's professional life and creative process.
Church Secrets interrupted our friends at the Goddess Hour during a live performance at our theater. See if you can help solve the puzzles he created to keep them from performing their Moon Bath ritual. To view the full picture and play along, visit our website. https://www.occultconfessions.com/episodes/2026/8/7/309-the-goddess-hour-vs-church-secrets
In the second part of our discussion about Happy Science, we consider the group's doctrine and lore. How did humanity make its way from Venus to Earth and which spirits have manifested when in our midst to guide us on the spiritual path? What is Happy Science's view of the apocalypse and the triggers that might bring one on?
Kofuku no Kagaku or Happy Science was one of the most popular new religious movements in Japan in 1980s and became a major rival to the deadly Aum Shinrikyo organization. Its founder, Okawa Ryuho, claimed to be an incarnation of the Buddha and published volumes of predictions channeled from various spirits from the higher worlds including Nostradamus. These predictions became best sellers in Japan, leading to the group's more famous venture into full-length animated films.
Over a thousand Japanese legends were collected into thirty-one volumes around the turn of the first millennium. Rob selects three stories to share that shed light on the folklore and values of medieval Japan.
Neon Genesis Evangelion (as it's known in the US) drew on Western religious themes including the story of Adam and Lilith, the imagery of the cross, and the concept of angels in order to tell a story based in psychological exploration and existentialist thought. Rob sits down with Mimms and try and make sense of Hideaki Anno's world famous series.
Pure Land Buddhism made its way from India to China and then Japan where it has become the country's most popular religion, specifically the Shin variant developed by the "shaved fool" Shinran.
Pure Land Buddhism is the most popular religion in Japan and is often regarded as parallel to Christianity in many wyays. In this episode, we uncover the origins of the Pure Land Sutras in India and trace their journey to China where they grew into a set of rituals.
The goal of estoteric Buddhism is to achieve a sudden spiritual awakening through the use of secret rituals which might include mantras, gestures, or the visualization of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities, in the case of Shingon using one or both of a pair of powerful and elaborate mandalas. These techniques are passed down through a guru or teacher which is what gives them their esoteric or secret nature. Vajrayana focuses on transcending dualistic thinking and discovering the point of intersection between the core Buddhist values of wisdom and compassion.
Shinto is the name assigned to Japan's native religion before the arrival of Buddhism. In this episode, Rob explores the legends of the kami including the story of the kamikaze, the origins of sumo wrestling, and the purpose of Japan's many shrines.
William Burke and William Hare murdered sixteen people in the space of about a year in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Burke was thirty-six and Hare twenty-one-years old. Many of their victims were plied with alcohol until they passed out and then Hare lay on the body as Burke closed the mouth and nostrils in a fairly novel method of killing that came to be called “burking.” They then transported the corpses in a tea chest, sometimes in broad daylight, to Dr. Robert Knox.
Heather Lynn joins us to discuss the widely misunderstood ancient Sumerian gods, the Annunaki. The connections made between the Annunaki and aliens have perhaps distracted scholars from a far more plausible and surprising interpretation of their meaning and purpose.
A year after she completed the Secret Doctrine, Helena Blavatsky published the Voice of the Silence, one of the last to be completed in her lifetime. The Voice of the Silence relates portions of her understanding of esoteric Buddhism with a focus on the path of the bodhisattva. Follow us on this journey to discover the voice, encounter the two paths, and explore the seven portals.
Strange Ride is back and it's a Stranger Ride. Savannah reveals the conspiracy theory spawned by people who hated the ending to Stranger Things. Check out the Strange Ride channel for more deep dives on popular culture.
Rob is podcasting alone today in his attempt to tell the twisting and winding story of John King, the pirate spirit who led the materialization seances of the 1870s.
Rob and Savannah go back to the Secret Doctrine.
Gary Lachman, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with Blondie, discusses how he went from rock and roll to Colin Wilson's house on a journey to better understand the nature of consciousness. You can also find out more in Lachman's newest book, Touched by the Presence.
What drew Howard Hughes to surround himself with what our guest Heidi Luv calls “Mormon Mafia,” and how did their influence shape his decision-making? To what extent was Hughes truly in control of his empire in the final years of his life and who was really pulling the strings inside the Summa Corporation? Heidi Luv takes us inside her research and theories regarding a Mormon conspiracy.
While the full series remains exclusive to patrons, we are pulling our episode on musical deaths on stage to the main channel for the holiday. Please and enjoy and consider supporting us on patreon!
Richard Rolle was a hermit and a mystic who was probably more widely read than Chaucer during the medieval period. Rolle sets forth the proper religious path for the contemplative introvert. He teaches a message that is not especially charitable to women but participates in one of the most notable platonic relationships between a man and woman with the anchoress Margaret Kirkby.
Rob and Luke sit down with Sheer Zed to talk about his experience traveling to Thailand to receive sacred tattoos, captured in his book Thai Tattoo Magic.
Margery Kempe cried so much and so loudly that she became one of the most annoying women in her hometown of Lynn as well as neighboring Lincoln and Norwich not to mention Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de compostella where she made pilgrimages. She was regarded as a madwoman, a heretic, a faker, and a lollard. She was also called a deeply pious and religious woman. She was examined by priests, bishops, and archbishops and threatened with burning at the stake. Friars denounced her from the pulpit. Anchorites alternately encouraged and rejected her. She idolized St. Bridget and met St. Julian of
Rob's strange experiment in subconscious exploration and creation comes to an exciting conclusion in this final installment of our Dark Pool project.
The story continues. The actors blend subconscious exploration, devised theater, and occult theory in this experimental storytelling experience.
After four years, we have taken down the website for our experiment in audio storytelling created during the pandemic lockdown and so we're posting it up here on our main channel for your Halloween enjoyment (or whichever season you happen to be listening).
