The Obscure Occult Book Report (TOOBR)

The seeds of chaos magic, uncovered in the unlikely context of a 1975 children’s book on chance and probability. We take a nostalgic romp through some of the fascinations and shortcomings of a scientistic take on magic, which seems to have formed a significant current in the 70s zeitgeist.Our text for this episode is Chance, Luck & Destiny, by Peter Dickinson (London: Victor Gollancz, 1975).For more about the book and Dickinson’s account of its origin, see https://tinyurl.com/yhks8vxe (peterdickinson.com). Accessed October, 2024. On the same website are details of all Dickinson’s books, including The Changes trilogy (The Devil’s Children, Heartsease, and The Weathermonger).Support the podcast by joining my Patreon at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1IQ3BVWY3L5L5?ref_=wl_share. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An obscure and possibly much underrated poltergeist case, from 1938, is our springboard into issues concerning how a psychoanalytical approach to paranormal investigation radically recontextualises the notion of “faked” versus “genuine” psychical phenomena.The text under discussion is On the Trail of the Poltergeist, by Nandor Fodor (New York, NY: Citadel, 1958).For more about Fodor’s life and work, see the short biography provided at: survivalafterdeath.info, https://tinyurl.com/mpfrs32k. Accessed September, 2024. For more on the Thornton Heath poltergeist case, see: Kate Summerscale (2020), The housewife, the ghost hunter and the poltergeist, https://tinyurl.com/2pceja3c (theguardian.com). Accessed September, 2024.Support the podcast by joining my Patreon at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1IQ3BVWY3L5L5?ref_=wl_share. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can discarnate entities take possession of human beings? We consider an academic text that attempts to build a serious case by drawing on the work of Frederic Myers and considering evidence offered by the nature of dissociative states and hypnosis.The text under discussion is The Science of Spirit Possession, second edition, by Terence Palmer (Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars). Available at: https://tinyurl.com/4ecs3xen (amazon.com).To find out more about Palmer’s work, see the discussion between him and Jeffrey Mishlove, https://tinyurl.com/bddh7t9m (youtube.com), and Palmer’s website (“Healing the Wounded Spirit”), https://tinyurl.com/4dm8b5kp (terencepalmer.co.uk). Accessed August, 2024.Support the podcast by joining my Patreon at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1IQ3BVWY3L5L5?ref_=wl_share. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a change from the promised episode, a search for an intriguing-sounding text prompted by a half-remembered reference in a letter by Aleister Crowley leads us into an exploration of how language facilitates expression of what lies beyond sensory perception.The main text under discussion is: Anatole France (1908). Aristos and Polyphilos on the Language of Metaphysics. In: The Garden of Epicurus, translated by Alfred Allinson (London: John Lane). Available at: https://tinyurl.com/2xrvjfuv (archive.org). Accessed July, 2024.The other texts mentioned are:Aleister Crowley (1982). Chapter XXVI: Mental Processes — Two Only are Possible. In: Magick Without Tears, edited by Karl J. Germer (New York: Ordo Templi Orientis). Available at: https://tinyurl.com/2ht6n4dp (hermetic.com). Accessed July, 2024.Jacques Derrida (1974). White Mythology: Metaphor in the Text of Philosophy, translated by F.C.T. Moore, New Literary History, 6 (1), pp. 5-74. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/yk5byceh (tfreeman.net). Accessed July, 2024.Support the podcast by joining my Patreon at: https://patreon.com/oeith. Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/oeith or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dbarfordG. Or you could send me a lovely book from https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1IQ3BVWY3L5L5?ref_=wl_share. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.