ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult

As an academic and university lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies, I'll share peer-reviewed research on MAGIC, ESOTERICISM, WITCHCRAFT, PAGANISM, SHAMANISM and related currents.CONNECT & SUPPORT💖https://linktr.ee/angela_symposiumBecome a Paid Subscriber: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/drangelapuca/subscribe

ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult is a religion podcast hosted by Dr Angela Puca, with 320 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Dr Angela Puca hosts ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult, a religion show with 320 episodes published.

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  ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult

  Is Ancient Magic Really More Powerful？The Truth About Old vs New Magic

  Aug 30, 202624 min

  s ancient magic really more powerful, or are we mistaking age for effectiveness?In this episode of Angela’s Symposium, we challenge one of the most persistent assumptions in occult and esoteric communities: that older spells, rituals and magical systems must be more authentic, powerful or effective simply because they are ancient.Drawing on the academic study of magic, ritual and Western esotericism, we explore magic as a form of “ritual technology”, examining how traditions evolve through adaptation, experimentation, transmission and innovation. From the Greek Magical Papyri and Solomonic magic to Wicca and chaos magick, we ask what actually makes a ritual powerful, and whether modern magical practices can sometimes be better suited to contemporary practitioners than ancient ones.If you are interested in witchcraft, ceremonial magic, grimoires, occult history, Paganism or the academic study of esotericism, this episode offers a different way of thinking about the relationship between tradition, authenticity and magical efficacy.CONNECT & SUPPORTMY COURSES ‍ https://drangelapuca.com/coursesWEBSITE https://www.drangelapuca.com/BOOK A TUTORING OR A LECTURE https://drangelapuca.com/servicesSUBSTACK ✉️ https://substack.com/@drangelapucaBECOME MY PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/angelapucaSUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ☕️https://ko-fi.com/drangelapucaONE-OFF DONATIONS https://paypal.me/angelasymposiumJOIN MEMBERSHIPS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPSbip_LX2AxbGeAQfLp-Ig/joinMY PODCAST https://open.spotify.com/show/2TKoWTGe6OKRokHN2zUIxM?si=dd9f50a734b14f86MY MERCH https://drangelapuca.creator-spring.com/FOLLOW ME- YouTube (@drangelapuca)- SUBSTACK https://substack.com/@drangelapuca- Instagram (@drangelapuca) - TikTok (@drangelapuca) - Twitter (@angelapuca11) - Facebook (Dr Angela Puca)

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  ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult

  No Nonsense Spirituality with Britt Hartley

  Aug 24, 20261h 21m

  What happens to spirituality when belief in traditional religion falls away? Can ritual, mysticism, awe, contemplation, divination, sacred stories and experiences of transcendence still have value without requiring supernatural explanations? Britt Hartley is a religious deconstruction educator, author, and atheist spiritual director who helps people rebuild meaning, identity, and family culture after faith. She is the author of No Nonsense Spirituality and a doctoral student whose work explores existential crisis, secular spirituality, and life beyond traditional religion. In this livestream, we will explore Britt’s concept of secular spirituality and her attempt to navigate a fascinating middle ground between organised religion, atheistic scepticism and contemporary alternative spirituality. We will discuss religious deconstruction, nihilism, meaning-making, mysticism, ritual and the psychology of spiritual experience, as well as the question of whether practices traditionally associated with religion and the occult can remain meaningful when their supernatural interpretations are suspended. We will also venture into some particularly interesting territory for Angela’s Symposium: astrology, Tarot, psychedelics, intuition, altered states of consciousness, the Divine Feminine, cognitive bias, the relationship between mystical experience and metaphysical claims, and Britt’s distinction between useful spiritual tools and what she describes as “woo”. GET THE BOOK US https://amzn.to/4c8e3i2 UK https://link.amazon/B02qi3ynV MY COURSES ‍ https://drangelapuca.com/courses WEBSITE https://www.drangelapuca.com/ BOOK A TUTORING OR A LECTURE https://drangelapuca.com/services SUBSTACK ✉️ https://substack.com/@drangelapuca BECOME MY PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/angelapuca SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ☕️https://ko-fi.com/drangelapuca ONE-OFF DONATIONS https://paypal.me/angelasymposium JOIN MEMBERSHIPS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPSbip_LX2AxbGeAQfLp-Ig/join MY PODCAST https://open.spotify.com/show/2TKoWTGe6OKRokHN2zUIxM?si=dd9f50a734b14f86 MY MERCH https://drangelapuca.creator-spring.com/ FOLLOW ME - YouTube (@drangelapuca) - SUBSTACK https://substack.com/@drangelapuca - Instagram (@drangelapuca) - TikTok (@drangelapuca) - Twitter (@angelapuca11) - Facebook (Dr Angela Puca) ⚠️ Copyright of Dr Angela Puca, in all of its parts ⚠️ Music by Erose MusicBand. Check them out! Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5768951004397568 00:00:00 No Nonsense Spirituality Introduction 00:01:23 Meet Britt Hartley 00:05:20 From Mormonism to Atheist Spirituality – Britt Hartley’s Story 00:07:49 Hard vs Soft Polytheism: Can Atheists Be Pagan? 00:09:07 Why Humans Create Gods: Religion as a Human Project 00:12:33 Is Spiritual Atheism Actually a Form of Paganism? 00:13:34 Sufism, Shinto, Christian Mysticism and Spiritual Atheism 00:16:48 Chaos Magic, Fictional Deities and Spiritual Scepticism 00:19:42 Can Ritual Work Without Belief? 00:22:51 The Science of Ritual Without Metaphysical Belief 00:26:16 Why Practise Spirituality If You’re an Atheist? 00:33:40 How to Build a Secular Spiritual Practice 00:37:05 Situational Belief: Can Belief Be Used Temporarily? 00:41:22 Belief as a Spiritual Tool Without Dogma 00:43:59 Belief, Cognitive Bias and the Western Mind 00:49:03 Spiritual Tools Without Metaphysical Truth Claims 00:51:57 Nihilism, Phenomenology and What Is Really Real? 00:55:39 Philosophical Nihilism, Spiritual Experience and the Self 00:57:19 Is Belief Another Tool for Spiritual Practice? 00:59:05 Religious Trauma, Trance and Feeling Safe Without Belief 01:04:36 Does Everyone Need Religion or Spirituality? 01:08:17 The Paradox of Atheist Spirituality and Religious Belief 01:13:29 Clothing, Makeup and Adornment as Spiritual Practice 01:19:15 How you can support this valuable work

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  ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult

  Advanced Rune Magic with David Linder

  Aug 17, 20261h 14m

  What lies beyond using runes as simple symbols for divination or spellcraft? In this livestream, I speak with David Linder, author of Advanced Rune Magic: The Greater Mysteries of Nordic Spirituality, about the Elder Futhark as a path of experiential knowledge and self-transformation. David approaches the twenty-four runes as interfaces with Runa, the greater Mystery. Drawing on the Rune Poems, Eddic mythology, historical context, meditation, galdor, talismans, and lived practice, he explores how runes can shape not only magical workings but the practitioner’s character, relationships, and engagement with the world. We will also examine where historical reconstruction ends and personal gnosis begins, how modern practitioners can create responsibly within a living tradition, and why Odin’s ordeal on Yggdrasil offers a powerful model of sacrifice, initiation, and the reconstruction of the self. Is rune magic ultimately about changing circumstances, or about becoming someone capable of changing the world? Book link: US https://amzn.to/4g1COxx UK https://link.amazon/B06d9fKYG MY COURSES ‍ https://drangelapuca.com/courses WEBSITE https://www.drangelapuca.com/ BOOK A TUTORING OR A LECTURE https://drangelapuca.com/services SUBSTACK ✉️ https://substack.com/@drangelapuca BECOME MY PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/angelapuca SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ☕️https://ko-fi.com/drangelapuca ONE-OFF DONATIONS https://paypal.me/angelasymposium JOIN MEMBERSHIPS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPSbip_LX2AxbGeAQfLp-Ig/join MY PODCAST https://open.spotify.com/show/2TKoWTGe6OKRokHN2zUIxM?si=dd9f50a734b14f86 MY MERCH https://drangelapuca.creator-spring.com/ FOLLOW ME - YouTube (@drangelapuca) - SUBSTACK https://substack.com/@drangelapuca - Instagram (@drangelapuca) - TikTok (@drangelapuca) - Twitter (@angelapuca11) - Facebook (Dr Angela Puca) RECOMMENDED READINGS REFERENCES (Check the related slide on screen) MY SET-UP ️ - Canon 90D camera https://amzn.to/3yQclh0 - Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 https://amzn.to/3JjU1BS - Teleprompter ️ https://amzn.to/3linWCB - Shure SM7B Microphone ️ https://amzn.to/3Jm5IYK - Microphone stand https://amzn.to/3FueJOn - Lights https://amzn.to/3Zdk8k1 - DJI Wireless microphones https://amzn.to/3NWAVVQ ⚠️ Copyright of Dr Angela Puca, in all of its parts ⚠️ Music by Erose MusicBand. Check them out! 00:00:00 Advanced Rune Magic with David Linder 00:02:20 From Vikings to Heathenry and Rune Magic 00:05:29 What Makes Rune Magic ‘Advanced’? 00:07:59 What Are Runes? The Elder Futhark Explained 00:09:43 Elder Futhark, Rune Names and the Rune Poems 00:12:04 Runa: The Great Mystery Behind the Runes 00:16:24 How Do You Really ‘Know’ a Rune? 00:21:40 Experiencing Runes: Galdr, Trance and Runic Practice 00:23:57 Rune Magic, Animism and Signs from Nature 00:27:57 Odin and Rune Magic as Self-Transformation 00:31:08 Historical Sources vs Personal Gnosis in Norse Magic 00:35:09 Can We Reconstruct Ancient Rune Magic? 00:41:01 Mystical Experience vs Rational Decision-Making 00:43:55 Christian Influence on the Rune Poems and Eddas 00:46:10 Creating New Myths in Modern Norse Paganism 00:48:54 Rune Magic, Fate and the Three Norns 00:52:16 Hagalaz: Chaos, Destruction and Transformation 00:56:12 Dagaz and the Dangers of Spiritual Extremes 00:58:56 The Dark Side of Odin: What Should Practitioners Emulate? 01:01:48 Laguz, Jung and the Collective Unconscious 01:04:30 Rune Practice, Compassion and the Greater Good 01:07:59 Odin, Shiva, Ásatrú and Galdr 01:09:03 What Does It Mean to ‘Win the Runes’? 01:11:47 David Linder, Living Runes and Further Resources 01:13:10 How to join Angela’s team of esoteric excellence. Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5768951004397568

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  ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult

  The Grimoire Tradition: A complete guide

  Aug 9, 20261h 4m

  In this episode, I offer a complete guide to the grimoire tradition: what grimoires are, where the term comes from, how these books of magic developed, and why they became so central to the history of Western esotericism. We will explore major texts such as the Key of Solomon, the Lesser Key of Solomon or Lemegeton, the Ars Goetia, the Sworn Book of Honorius, the Picatrix, the Arbatel, the Book of Abramelin, the Heptameron, the Grand Grimoire, the Grimoire of Pope Honorius, and the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. Rather than treating grimoires as mysterious books that simply appeared from nowhere, I look at them as living technologies of magical authority, shaped by clerical manuscript culture, print capitalism, occult revival movements, and contemporary magical practice. We will also look at how grimoires moved from medieval monastic and clerical settings into cheap printed chapbooks, Victorian ceremonial magic, Wicca, chaos magic, and modern occult practice. Along the way, I explain why many grimoires were attributed to figures such as Solomon, Moses, Honorius, Albertus Magnus and Peter of Abano, and what those false attributions tell us about authority, antiquity and magical legitimacy. Finally, I discuss how modern practitioners can approach these texts today: not as timeless manuals dropped from heaven, but as historical artefacts, ritual technologies and sources of magical imagination that have been copied, edited, adapted and reinvented for centuries. This is an academic, historically grounded introduction for anyone interested in grimoires, ceremonial magic, Solomonic magic, the Goetia, occult books, Western esotericism and the history of magical practice. CONNECT & SUPPORT MY COURSES ‍ https://drangelapuca.com/courses WEBSITE https://www.drangelapuca.com/ BOOK A TUTORING OR A LECTURE https://drangelapuca.com/services SUBSTACK ✉️ https://substack.com/@drangelapuca BECOME MY PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/angelapuca SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ☕️https://ko-fi.com/drangelapuca ONE-OFF DONATIONS https://paypal.me/angelasymposium JOIN MEMBERSHIPS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPSbip_LX2AxbGeAQfLp-Ig/join MY PODCAST https://open.spotify.com/show/2TKoWTGe6OKRokHN2zUIxM?si=dd9f50a734b14f86 MY MERCH https://drangelapuca.creator-spring.com/ FOLLOW ME - YouTube (@drangelapuca) - SUBSTACK https://substack.com/@drangelapuca - Instagram (@drangelapuca) - TikTok (@drangelapuca) - Twitter (@angelapuca11) - Facebook (Dr Angela Puca) RECOMMENDED READINGS REFERENCES (Check the related slide on screen) MY SET-UP ️ - Canon 90D camera https://amzn.to/3yQclh0 - Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 https://amzn.to/3JjU1BS - Teleprompter ️ https://amzn.to/3linWCB - Shure SM7B Microphone ️ https://amzn.to/3Jm5IYK - Microphone stand https://amzn.to/3FueJOn - Lights https://amzn.to/3Zdk8k1 - DJI Wireless microphones https://amzn.to/3NWAVVQ ⚠️ Copyright of Dr Angela Puca, in all of its parts ⚠️ Music by Erose MusicBand. Check them out!

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  ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult

  Can Process Philosophy Explain How Magic Works? With Dr Darren Iammarino

  Aug 5, 20261h 14m

  Can Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy offer a new way of understanding how magic works? Join me live on Saturday, 1 August 2026, at 12 pm EST for a fascinating conversation with Dr Darren Iammarino of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. We will explore the philosophy of magic between 1875 and 1975, beginning with Spiritualism, Theosophy, William James, and the emergence of spirit and energy models. Our central focus will be Whitehead’s process philosophy and its potential to explain magic through an informational and relational model of reality, in which events, consciousness, agency, and influence are interconnected processes rather than isolated substances. We will also consider how yoga, Tantra, and the Yoga Sūtras conceptualise siddhis, or supernormal powers, alongside the influence of perennialism on modern Western interpretations of magic. Can process thought help us move beyond the familiar opposition between supernatural and psychological explanations? Could magic be understood as participation in a dynamic and interconnected cosmos? Join us live and bring your questions for the discussion. Discover more from Dr Darren Iammarino: YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ToTwoTruth?si=eUy8QTaRVEadbkTI Books and author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Darren-Iammarino/author/B00GJ9KV1Y/allbooks?ccs_id=19e6820b-d273-45bc-bdbb-87d6d4faeaa3 CONNECT & SUPPORT MY COURSES ‍ https://drangelapuca.com/courses WEBSITE https://www.drangelapuca.com/ BOOK A TUTORING OR A LECTURE https://drangelapuca.com/services SUBSTACK ✉️ https://substack.com/@drangelapuca BECOME MY PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/angelapuca SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ☕️https://ko-fi.com/drangelapuca ONE-OFF DONATIONS https://paypal.me/angelasymposium JOIN MEMBERSHIPS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPSbip_LX2AxbGeAQfLp-Ig/join MY PODCAST https://open.spotify.com/show/2TKoWTGe6OKRokHN2zUIxM?si=dd9f50a734b14f86 MY MERCH https://drangelapuca.creator-spring.com/ FOLLOW ME - YouTube (@drangelapuca) - SUBSTACK https://substack.com/@drangelapuca - Instagram (@drangelapuca) - TikTok (@drangelapuca) - Twitter (@angelapuca11) - Facebook (Dr Angela Puca) RECOMMENDED READINGS REFERENCES (Check the related slide on screen) MY SET-UP ️ - Canon 90D camera https://amzn.to/3yQclh0 - Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 https://amzn.to/3JjU1BS - Teleprompter ️ https://amzn.to/3linWCB - Shure SM7B Microphone ️ https://amzn.to/3Jm5IYK - Microphone stand https://amzn.to/3FueJOn - Lights https://amzn.to/3Zdk8k1 - DJI Wireless microphones https://amzn.to/3NWAVVQ 00:00:00 Introduction to Process Philosophy & Magic 00:02:50 Meet Dr. Darren Iammarino: Background & Research 00:12:45 Actual Entities, Prehension, & Subconscious Experience 00:14:17 What is Process Philosophy? (Alfred North Whitehead Explained) 00:14:43 Meaningful Coincidence vs. Causal Magical Influence 00:17:38 How Magic Operates in a Whiteheadian Universe 00:24:17 The Information Model of Magic vs. Magical Energy 00:29:52 Action at a Distance & Non-Locality in Magic 00:33:33 Naturalizing Magic: Do Stones & Objects Have Consciousness? 00:38:25 Atheistic Magic, Panentheism, & Process Theology 00:42:58 Sigil Magic, Chaos Magic, & Altered States of Consciousness 00:51:43 Perennial Philosophy vs. Religious Pluralism 01:01:19 Why Esoteric Practitioners Should Study Process Philosophy 00:05:04 Technomancy, Prediction Markets, & AI Digital Magic 01:07:27 Defining Magic from an Academic Perspective 01:12:29 Join Dr Puca’s growing team of scholars and practitioners ⚠️ Copyright of Dr Angela Puca, in all of its parts ⚠️ Music by Erose MusicBand. Check them out!

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