Working with Abraxas: A New Kind of Inner Report of a Modern Magus

There is something happening in the world of hermetic and magical practice right now. More people than ever are working with sigils, evocation formulas, and inner transformation practices. YouTube channels, online communities, and a growing number of books are bringing these ancient arts into the twenty-first century. At the same time, universities are taking Western … Continue reading Working with Abraxas: A New Kind of Inner Report of a Modern Magus

Podcast Episode: Authentic Spirituality And Inner Worlds

Pip: If you have ever suspected that the wellness industry is selling you the feeling of awakening rather than the thing itself, breath4balance has some thoughts — and some receipts. Mara: Jan has been writing this week about what authentic inner life actually looks like, how mystical traditions encode real experience, and where symbolic systems … Continue reading Podcast Episode: Authentic Spirituality And Inner Worlds

When Spirituality Fills the Mind Instead of Opening It

I have just published a new paper on PhilPapers: Authentic Spirituality and the Colonisation of Inner Space: Closed Symbolic Systems, Dark Magick, and Yoga as Liberation. You can find it here:https://philpapers.org/rec/KEPASA-2 This paper is part of a new series I am developing under the title Authentic Spirituality. The name may sound ambitious, but the basic … Continue reading When Spirituality Fills the Mind Instead of Opening It

The Light That You Are: What the Tibetan Rainbow Body Actually Means

Jan M. Keppel Hesselink, MD, MSc, PhD There is a story told in Tibetan Buddhism that sounds, to the Western ear, like pure mythology. When a great meditation master dies, the body does not decay in the ordinary way. Instead, it dissolves into colored light. Witnesses describe rainbows appearing around the place of death. The … Continue reading The Light That You Are: What the Tibetan Rainbow Body Actually Means

Why We Are Starting Something New: A Manifesto for Authentic Spirituality

Jan M. Keppel Hesselink, MD, MSc, PhD Something has gone wrong with spirituality. Not with the real thing, but with what most people are being sold as the real thing. Walk into any bookshop. Scroll through Instagram for five minutes. Browse the retreat listings online. You will find awakening weekends, chakra activations, kundalini intensives, breathwork … Continue reading Why We Are Starting Something New: A Manifesto for Authentic Spirituality

What does the word Tantra really mean? An instrument to ‘stretch’.

The word Tantra is frequently mistranslated in modern new age spirituality, but its Sanskrit roots reveal a much more technical and expansive meaning. It comes from the verbal root tan (to stretch, extend, or expand) and the suffix tra (an instrument or tool). Literally, Tantra means "an instrument for expansion." Meaning a way to gain … Continue reading What does the word Tantra really mean? An instrument to ‘stretch’.

The Yoga Paths leading to Tantric wisdom

Yoga leads to tantric wisdom: a dialogue between a pupil exploring the trutrh and the master. Historically, yoga and tantra have distinct origins, but they influence each other over time. Classical yoga, as codified by Patanjali, emphasizes ethical discipline, meditation, and the pursuit of liberation through self-control and contemplation. Tantra, which emerged later, is more … Continue reading The Yoga Paths leading to Tantric wisdom

The Inner Meaning of ‘Agnim Iḷe Purohitam’ and the Magick of the First 3 Lines of the Rig Veda and the Shaking Medicine

Agním īḷe purohitaṃ,Yajñásya devám ṛtvijám,Hotāraṃ ratnadhātamam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLCphhm-Q1o How to pronounce? ag-NEEM EE-lay poo-roh-hee-tamyug-NJASJA- day-VUM rit-vee-JUMhoh-TA-A-ram rat-nah-dhaa-TH-mam The opening words of the Rig Veda, agnim īḷe purohitam, are usually understood in their ritual sense, as an invocation to Agni, the sacred fire, the divine priest of the sacrifice. On the outer level, the verse belongs to … Continue reading The Inner Meaning of ‘Agnim Iḷe Purohitam’ and the Magick of the First 3 Lines of the Rig Veda and the Shaking Medicine