Rejected Religion Podcast

• RR Pod E41 Free Content -Tjalling Janssen - Elemental Dialogues: Encounter, Evocation, & the Expanding Landscape

  Note: This is the Free Content version of the interview with Tjalling Janssen. The full interview can be accessed as a Tier 2 Patreon member, or purchased for a one-time fee. More information at www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion. Tjalling is a PhD researcher at the Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP), based at the University of Amsterdam. His research interests include intermediary beings, magic, alchemy and Paracelsianism, and the reception of these subjects in (early to late) modernity. He investigates these topics from an environmental perspective as well as through social categories like class. His doctoral project entails an environmental reception history of the concept of elemental beings from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century, through its manifestations in magic, alchemy, literature, mining and agriculture. In this episode, we explore the shifting terrain of magical contact—where spirits, nature, and power intersect. Drawing from his article “Encounters, Evocations and Elemental Beings”, we’ll trace the philosophical and esoteric implications of two very different modes of engaging with the unseen: Paracelsus’s reverent encounters with elemental beings, and Dr. Rudd’s ritual evocations. Along the way, we’ll unpack the role of monsters, the ethics of spiritual mediation, and the deeper question of whether esotericism must rest on a singular, perennial foundation—or whether it can evolve, diversify, and apply to new contexts like ecology, psychedelics, tulpas, and even extraterrestrial contact. This is a conversation about relational knowing, cultural consciousness, and the future of interdisciplinary esoteric research.I have one correction to mention beforehand; Tjalling made a mistake in his wording when he mentioned the text De Meteoris (which comes up in the discussion), in his haste to explain the temporal trajectory. In all texts before De Meteoris elemental beings have souls. They are soulless from De Meteoris onwards, but that text lacks the possibility for elemental beings to acquire souls through marriage. The Liber de nymphis introduces that, and thus fulfills the implications of reciprocity and immanence (the “seeking out” or initiation of contact) that are absent from De Meteoris. PROGRAM NOTES Correspondences Journal Volume 12, no. 1 (2024)Encounters, Evocations and Elemental Beings Primary Source: A Book On Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and On The Other Spirits (Paracelsus, Henry E. Sigerist) | PDF Secondary Sources: The Monsters of Paracelsus | Beasts, Humans, and Transhumans in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance [Abstract] Cultural History Of The Four Elements Contact Information: Tjalling D. Janssen - University of AmsterdamInstagram Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. SheaEnd Production: Stephanie Shea

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• OPEN ACCESS- Rejected Religion Patreon - Speculative Frequencies: A Mixed Bag Episode

  Note: This episode was originally uploaded to my Patreon Tier 3 in August 2025. It's now available as 'open access' for all followers!Speculative Frequencies: A Mixed Bag of Mysticism, Music & Mystery This ‘mixed bag’ episode dives into four rich and provocative topics:*Occulture & Re-enchantment: A look at the Revenant Journal’s editorial on “The Occult,” exploring how mystical practices challenge dominant paradigms and foster cultural resistance through feminist, queer, and neurodiverse lenses. *Lux Interna’s Sonic Rituals: Reflections on a multimedia salon by the band Lux Interna, whose music and scholarship invoke desert mysticism, spiritual reckoning, and mythic storytelling. Includes themes of embodiment, wildness, and devotional resistance. *Feminist Witchcraft & Counter-Theology: A deep dive into Lolly Willowes and Satanic Feminism, examining how occult symbolism reclaims feminine autonomy and spiritual sovereignty. Plus, how rock music channels occult motifs for identity and transformation. *Forgotten Languages & Anomalous Cognition: A speculative exploration of the enigmatic website Forgotten Languages, its ties to CCRU theory-fiction, and psychological research on UAP witnesses. Themes include encrypted knowledge, post-human communication, and linguistic alienation. This episode has examined the intersections of sonic ritual, feminist resistance, and anomalous cognition through diverse cultural and theoretical lenses. From speculative philosophy to experiential narratives, these perspectives challenge dominant epistemologies and invite reconsideration of the boundaries between the real and the imagined. Future dialogues may benefit from interdisciplinary synthesis and critical engagement with the margins of knowledge. If you enjoyed this mixed bag, and would like to have more episodes like this, please let me know! I can certainly provide more content like this in the future. PROGRAM NOTESRevenantIntroduction : RevenantLux Internanews — Lux Internalux.interna | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree"From My Body Alone Do I Know This": Sacrament & Scripture as Technologies of the Self in the Work of Jacob BöhmeLolly Willowes | Project GutenbergSatanic Feminism: Lucifer as the Liberator of Woman in Nineteenth-Century Culture | Oxford AcademicSeason of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll: Bebergal, Peter: 9780399174964: Amazon.com: BooksForgotten Languages Full: Books 2022-2025The Deepest Internet Mystery You've Never Heard Of (and Why It’s Now in the Congressional Record) - YouTubeCcru- cybernetic culture research unitCcru - CCRU WikiPsychological aspects in unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) witnesses | International Journal of Astrobiology | Cambridge Core  Interviews with Bob Cluness and David Metcalfe can be found in the Rejected Religion Patreon Library. www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion All Music by Daniel P. Shea Production by Stephanie Shea

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• Replay [Edited] - Esoteric Crossroads: Chaos Magick w/ Dr. Isis M. Kalmbacher & Frater Fuchs -June 2025

  Esoteric Crossroads: Scholars Meet Practitioners is a new collaborative video series, launched in 2025, co-produced by Rejected Religion and RENSEP. Hosted by Stephanie Shea, each session brings together scholars and practitioners for thoughtful dialogue on esoteric traditions. This video is an edited version of the live session that took place in June 2025. If you are interested to learn more and join the upcoming discussions, please visit www.rensep.org or my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion. Isis Mrugalla Kalmbacher is a scholar of religion. She studied in Heidelberg, Seville, Basel, and Lucerne, focusing on migration studies, international relations, and cultural anthropology. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Tübingen, where she explores Chaos Magic as her main research topic. In her dissertation, she proposes a new approach to the Study of Religions that centres on group and organisational practices. To support this, she has developed two key theoretical tools: reality techniques and infrastructures.. Nils or Frater Fuchs lächelt viel 12.3 (“Frater Fuchs smiles a lot 12.3”), called “Fuchs” is an Adept and Priest of Chaos in the German section of the Illuminates of Thanateros - I.O.T. In the IOT, his main responsibilities are organising seminars for interested people twice a year, answering applications that people send to the section to become a novice, and supervising the novice trainings. At the moment, he is writing a book, which, among other things, deals with the question of what Chaos Magic actually is. A few questions that were explored: -What is Chaos Magick, and what is the history of CM? -How are sigils created and used in magickal practice? -The uses of CM - what are magicians actually using it for?-How is the CM community organized (or not organized)? The views and opinions expressed in this video are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Stephanie Shea, or the affiliated platforms. All content is presented for educational and discussion purposes in a spirit of respectful exchange. Music and Video Production: Stephanie Shea This video series is presented by Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices - www.rensep.org and Rejected Religion.

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• Replay [Edited] Esoteric Crossroads: Initiatory Wicca w/ Judith Noble & Rufus Harrington

  Esoteric Crossroads: Scholars Meet Practitioners is a new collaborative video series, launched in 2025, co-produced by Rejected Religion and RENSEP. Hosted by Stephanie Shea, each session brings together scholars and practitioners for thoughtful dialogue on esoteric traditions. This audio is an edited version of the live (video) session on Initiatory Wicca that took place in March 2025. If you are interested to learn more and join the upcoming discussions, please visit www.rensep.org or my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion. Judith Noble is Professor of Film and the Occult at Arts University Plymouth (UK). She began her career as an artist filmmaker, exhibiting work internationally and worked for over twenty years as a production executive in the film industry, working with directors including Peter Greenaway and Amma Asante. Her current research centers on artists’ moving image, Surrealism, the occult and work by women artists, and she has published on filmmakers including Maya Deren, Derek Jarman and Kenneth Anger. Her most recent publications include: The Dance of Moon and Sun – Ithell Colquhoun, British Women and Surrealism (editor, 2023, Fulgur) and ‘A Convocation of Theurgists – Kenneth Anger’s Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome and West Coast Occulture’ in Sci-Fi, Magick, Queer LA – Sexual Science and the Imagination (eds Lexi Bard Johnson and Kelly Filreis, One Archive/USC, 2024), and a chapter on the work of Penny Slinger in Animation and International Surrealism (ed Abigail Susik, Bloomsbury, 2925). She is a board member of RENSEP (the Research Network for Esoteric Practices, and a founder member of the Black Mirror Research network and the artists’ collective the Inner Space Exploration Unit. She continues to practice as an artist, making artist’s books and text+image works, and filmmaker; her most recent film is Fire Spells (2022), a collaboration with director Tom Chick. Her recent work can be found at www.iseu.space. Her film work is distributed by Cinenova. Rufus Harrington is an initiate of Both the Alexandrian and Gardnerian traditions of Wiccan practice. He has more than Forty years of experience initiating and training Wiccan initiates in many parts of the world. He is a Trustee of the Doreen Valiente Foundation (DVF), which protects and preserves many of the original Books of Shadows belonging to Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente. Working as a Director of Clinical Studies at the University of Cumbria He trained over 500 cognitive behavioural psychotherapists to work in the NHS. He has worked extensively in the field of mental health, working as a Clinical Director for the Priory Group of Hospitals, For BAE systems and the Police. He has developed specialist resilience training programs that have won national recognition and awards. Rufus is an initiate of the Bricket Wood Coven founded by Gerald Gardner. His initiatory lineage weaves together many of the most influential lines of initiation in British Wiccan tradition. He has lived through and been part of the evolution of Initiatory Wiccan practice in the UK.Music and Audio Production: Stephanie Shea This series is presented by Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices - www.rensep.org and Rejected Religion.

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• Rejected Religion Patreon Tier 2 Free Content- Dr. Matteo Polato: “The Atmospheric Forteanism of Hellier and the Role of Sound…”

  *Note: this is the Free Content version of my interview with Dr. Matteo Polato. To access the full interview, please consider becoming a Patreon member; alternately, this episode is available for a one-time purchase under the "Shop" tab. www.patreon.com/RejectedReligionMy guest this month is Dr. Matteo Polato.Matteo is a researcher, sound artist and videogame developer. He works as Senior Research Assistant at the School of Digital Arts of Manchester Metropolitan University, where he has completed his PhD on the roles of sound, vibration and resonance-based processes in contemporary occulture and paranormal practices. His artistic practice spans from electroacoustic composition to free improvisation and psychedelic rock, in solo and with bands such as Mamuthones and Cacotopos. As Yami Kurae – with Jacopo Bortolussi – he develops experimental games inspired by psychogeography and occultural practices. He is co-founder of D∀RK – Dark Arts Research Kollective at MMU, and co- artistic director of the association for experimental music research Centro d’Arte dell’Università di Padova.Matteo’s recent article in Revenant Journal dives deep into the sonic and atmospheric dimensions of the paranormal documentary series Hellier. From Reddit threads to academic conferences, Matteo’s journey into Fortean soundscapes is as unexpected as it is fascinating.Matteo recounts his initial encounter with Hellier and how its unique approach to paranormal investigation inspired him to analyze it academically. Unlike typical ghost-hunting shows, Hellier emphasizes experiential and atmospheric elements, which resonated with his interests in sound studies and Fortean phenomena.Matteo’s article shifts the lens from why paranormal entities emerge to how sensory experiences (especially sound) create a sense of supernatural agency. He uses Hellier as a case study to explore this dynamic, drawing from sound studies and concepts like: the eerie, affective atmospheres, & agency and attunement.Matteo argues that sonic interactions and “listening ecologies” are central to how Hellier portrays paranormal phenomena. He explains how sound is not just a medium but a method of engaging with unseen forces. Examples from the series include:Ritualistic listening sessionsUse of the Estes Method vs. traditional EVPAmbient silence as a communicative spaceHellier stands out by blending folklore, psychology, ritual, and media theory. Matteo emphasizes the importance of this holistic method, which allows the investigators to explore the paranormal not just as spectacle, but as a lived, felt experience.Whether you're a fan of Hellier, curious about the intersection of sound studies and the supernatural, or just love a good mystery, this episode will tune you into a whole new frequency of thought. PROGRAM NOTES  Revenant JournalRevenantThe Atmospheric Forteanism of Hellier and the Role of Sound in Recent Practices of Paranormal Investigation : Revenant DVRK:https://www.instagram.com/dvrk_mcr/ DVRK Editions Label:https://dvrkmusic.bandcamp.com/ Videogame stuff:https://yamikurae.itch.io/ Mamuthones Band:https://open.spotify.com/intl-it/artist/0JeuJ0H0Q54p6kTuHJSCIA D∀RK: Dark ∀rts Research Kollective (@dvrk_mcr) • Instagram photos and videos Yami Kurae (@yami_kurae) • Instagram photos and videos Instagram Music and Editing: Daniel P. SheaEnd Production: Stephanie Shea 

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