Heretics by Woven Energy: Recent Episodes
Woven Energy
Heretics is a podcast about heresy and the unrecognised foundational assumptions upon which societies, cultures and religions have been based throughout history. Heretics is a sister channel to the Woven Energy podcast on Shamanism, covering a broader scope of topics.
This time Heretics examines the pros and cons of using recorded music for spirit dance, as well as making some recommendations for artists and tracks to try out. We also talk a bit about the upcoming Woven Energy Gathering of the Tribe in May.
In this episode we continue our exploration of the second day of the great Rosicrucian allegory, The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, examining the meanings of the two portals, the tokens and the torch bearers, among other topics.
Who were the Illuminati in real life? How do they relate to other secret societies? How successful were they? How were they influenced by the Freemasons and the Jesuits? What relationship did they have with Mozart? Do they exist today? These questions and more examined in this episode.
Where did the idea of Santa and the elves come from, and how was it used by the church? What did Terence McKenna mean when he talked about Machine Elves? These questions and more examined in our special Christmas episode.
This is our special 100th episode which covers both part 16 of our narrative on the origins of Xing Yi plus an extra hour of Q&A about Xing Yi and some of the controversies that surround it.
In this one we pick up our story of Xing Yi, examining the influence of Yue Fei and the great Song generals on the people who were inspired to challenge the increasingly degenerate late Yuan Dynasty. We also look at the influence of the "mythology of the West" in China and of Central Asian religious and spiritual traditions on the White Lotus Society, of which the leaders of the rebellions were members.
Our special guest this time is Dr. Marc Reid who heads up a world-leading academic research team in the field of Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde, as well as being an in-demand public speaker in several other areas, including safety and the theme of this episode, the so-called Imposter Syndrome. Marc has written a book on the subject of what he prefers to call the Imposter Phenomenon, "You are Not a Fraud: A Scientist's Guide to the Imposter Phenomenon". You can find out more about Dr Reid's work at https://www.dr-marc-reid.com/
This episode follows on from Episode 26 of Graham's Tai Chi Notebook Podcast in which he interviews Woven Energy patrons Rikard Elofsson and Miika Wikberg about the little-known martial art of Baji. We discuss the possibility that the Baji Xiaojia is the most perfectly balanced form from any martial art - "Xiaojia is more Tai Chi than Tai Chi", and look in a bit more detail at the history, technique, strategy and background to this subtle and robust martial arts style.
Graham, Miika and Rikard's original episode can be found here: https://thetaichinotebook.com/2023/07/15/new-podcast-rikard-elofsson-and-miika-wikberg-a-deep-dive-into-nordic-bajiquan/
Where do hierarchies come from and why can they be so destructive? This is part one of a special 2 part episode to mark the re-launch of the Pigs and Chickens Podcast. Part 2 is immediately available over on Pigs and Chickens at the following link:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/5-hierarchy-pigs-and-chickens-re-launch
Did Western movies and TV lead to the creation of the Shaolin Warrior monks? Did the modern Shaolin fake something that had already been reinvented anyway? Did the Qing Dynasty really destroy the Shaolin temple, or did they instead create it? What influence did three subsequent phases of communism have on Shaolin? Was there a Southern Shaolin Temple, and what about the modern stuff at Wudang Mountain? These questions and more answered in our new episode on the infamous temple and its monks.
Is there any evidence that King Arthur was a real person? Why was Tintagel so important in the Dark Ages? Why does Tintagel Castle look so organic? What have Arthur and Tintagel got to do with the Crusades? These questions and more examined in our new episode.
At long last, and now armed with our recent episodes on alchemy, we again pick up the story of Christian Rosenkreutz and the Chymical Wedding. What is Day 2 all about? How does the "Language of the Birds" appear in Day 2? How does it relate to Amsghar? What does Christian make of his newfound escape from the Miasma, and what are the four paths that a shaman can follow? All these and more examined in this new episode.
This time we move into the second part of the nigredo or black phase of alchemy, dissolution, looking at the world of elixirs as well as spiritual dissolution technique. We discuss the alchemical symbolism of dissolution and some of the context of the famous Voynich Manuscript.
According to the 2021 census, the number of people who identify with Shamanism has grown ten-fold since 2011. We talk about whether or not this is true, and its implications, as well as reviewing the state of Shamanism in the UK today.
Was Jesus a shaman? What is and isn't shamanic about the New Testament? In this episode we review "Jesus the Ultimate Shaman", a new book by Stephen Bull and Sally Denny.
We continue our Heretics Alchemy Tutorial by taking a look at the first phase of the Great Work, Calcination. What is Calcination? What is its practical application in chemistry, martial arts and business? These topics and more in this episode.
We begin our new Heretics Alchemy Tutorial in earnest with an exploration of the Emerald Tablet, the foundational document of Alchemy. We cover concepts such as The Language of the Birds, the Seven Metals, the triumvirate of Sulphur, Mercury and Salt, the alchemical origins of the term gibberish, as well as many others. Use this unit of the tutorial to get a good understanding of basic alchemical terminology and concepts.
In this episode we give a bit of background on our forthcoming "Heretics Alchemy Tutorial". We explore the origins of Alchemy in Egypt and its progression through to modern Europe, as well as giving hints at the kind of things that will be covered in the tutorial.
Utnapishtam was the ancient version of Noah in the Mesopotamian flood myth that was incorporated into Genesis about 2000 years after it was first written. In this episode we compare and contrast the older Mesopotamian and newer Genesis versions of Noah, and look at some of the social reasons for the (slight) differences between them.
We finally discuss the figure from the Heretics logo, Girolamo Savonarola, and look at why he was burned as a heretic despite being just the opposite in many ways. We also look at his role in setting the scene for Martin Luther.
This time the Heretics have a go at a bit of a music and video review of the track Anoana by the band Heilung.
In this episode we begin an extended look at what Yoga was like before westerners got their hands on it.
Where did Stoicism start, and how was its founder different from later Stoics? What were the shamanistic aspects of early Stoicism? What is Tyrian Purple? How did Alexander the Great influence the development of Stoicism? How does the life of Zeno of Kition parallel the life of Yang Luchan?
What ways are there to be religious, and what constitutes a religion in the first place? Is Tai Chi a better religion than Christianity? Is there any difference between the New and Old Testaments? Why do so few people understand esotericism and its purpose, and why are organised religions afraid of it? These questions and more are examined in our latest episode.
Following on from the recent episode on Atlantis we pick up where we left off back in episode 35 with Thales and do a rapid survey of the development of the Ancient and Classical Greek miasma through to the time of Zeno.
Was Atlantis an ancient utopia or an evil empire? Why is the Atlantean Myth close to the heart of Western Civilisation? Could it really have existed? In this episode we head beneath the waves to discover the birth of the western experience with Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
In the middle to late part of the Yuan Dynasty the former Confucian ruling class came back with a vengence and started a downward spiral that would ultimately lead to the fall of the dynasty. In this episode we examine how and why this happened, which will set the context for the important events at the end of the dynasty in the next episode.
Following on from last year's Merry Mithrasmas episode, this year we turn our attention to the early origins of word "Christmas" itself: in ancient Greek philosophy, Roman mystery religions and cannibalistic rites. Merry Yule!
Are the hill figures of Britain really ancient? What do they mean? In this episode we look at the symbolism of these enigmatic figures that have been preserved for centuries, and, in one exceptional case, for millennia by countless generations of people.
Was Aleister Crowley really the most wicked man in the world? What was the relationship between Aleister Crowley and Wicca? How did the events of his life shape the religious and spiritual traditions that he gave rise to?
What has Norse Mythology got to do with Shamanism? Were Odin and Thor usurpers of a more ancient tradition? Did the Vikings know they had Norse Mythology? Who were the Norns? These questions and more examined in this episode.
Shuai Jiao is a popular modern Chinese martial art, but is it related to other arts and if so, which ones? In this episode we also look at the Chinese cosmological concept of Qinglong, or the Azure Dragon.
Is Capitalism a religion? How did Christianity create it? Are there non-subjects that relate to how societies are run? Who stands to benefit? In this episode we look at the effects of the Reformation on belief systems and economic systems, and how they ultimately resulted in Capitalism as we know it today.
This episode explores the connection between the martial arts of the great Song generals' tradition and Chinese theatre, which was emerged during the height of the Yuan Dynasty.
We pick up our series on Xing Yi with a new dynasty, the Yuan, examining the social changes that Mongol rule brought to China and their implications for the martial arts through the lens of the artwork of the period.
How does Shamanism descend into belief-based religion over time? Why are many people uncomfortable drawing a link between Shamanism with the martial arts? Who was Mircea Eliade? These and many other questions are explored in our latest episode.
What does Shamanism have to do with the martial arts? What does Shamanism have to do with business? How is the Miasma involved? All this and more in our latest episode.
What are the internal martial arts? Does the term "Internal Martial Arts" have any legitimacy? What is a "fake" martial art? All this and more is explored in our new episode.
This time we look at Yiquan, a derivative of Xing Yi, putting it in the context of the Miasma of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries.
Why is Baguazhang so strange? What does it have to do with Mongolia? In this episode we have a chat about this very unusual martial art, often considered a sister art to Xing Yi and Tai Chi.
In this episode we un-pause our series on Genesis, looking specifically at the figure of Enoch and the associated Enochian Literature. We examine the reasons why this literature has been suppressed by Christians since the time of Emperor Constantine.
Merry Mithrasmas! This is our episode for the 25th December, investigating the origins of Christianity in Mithraism and the pivotal role played by Constantine the Great.
In this episode we come to the end of Poemandres, the foundational text of the Corpus Hermeticum. Among other topics we discuss the various aspects of the miasma that a human being has to strip away in order to become a shaman.
We make further progress with Poemandres this time, looking at the Corpus Hermeticum's dual-perspective treatment of Shamanism and Esotericism, with a vivid description of the relationship between human beings and Nature.
In this episode we expore the meaning of the Hermetic Elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire as a foundation for further exploration of Poemandres.
In part 2 of our series on Hermeticism we start exploring Poemandres, the foundational text of the Corpus Hermeticum. A certain amount of technical terminology is used, so listening to episode 5 of the Woven Energy Podcast first would be a useful prerequisite before listening to this episode.
In the first of our new multi-part series on Hermeticism we explore the early origins of this esoteric tradition in the empire of Alexander the Great and the subsequent rule of his general Ptolmey's rule over Egypt. This episode sets the scene for our upcoming examination of the Corpus Hermeticum starting from the next episode.
Moving on to the subject of Karate this episode, we review the TV series Cobra Kai (2018-2020) and compare it to the original classic Karate Kid movie.
In our last look at Tai Chi for a while, we examine the context of the times in which Chen Zhaopei and Chen Fake became prominent for their martial arts in Beijing, and then at a national level, joining the wave of commerciality that had been originally instigated by the legacy of Yang Luchan and the Wu brothers. In addition we explain why the forms are similar in general order between the Yang/Wu and Chen lineages.
In this episode we examine the Chen family's relationship with General Yuan Shikai, the friction between modernising and conservative factions within China and the events of the Boxer Rebellion.
In this episode we look at the events surrounding Yang Luchan's expulsion from the imperial service in 1861 in the context of the rise to power of Empress Dowager Cixi. We also examine how the involvement of the western powers in Chinese affairs directly led to the Self Strenghtening Movement and the establishment of the first public martial arts schools in North China.
In this episode we look at how the effects of the Taiping Northern Expedition and the Nian Rebellion of the mid Nineteenth Century drew the confucian Wu brothers and the fighters of Chen Village towards each other for the first time.
In this episode we examine the context in which the relationship between Yang Luchan, Wu Chengqing and Wu Yuxiang developed during the years of the Taiping Rebellion and the new regime of Emperor Xianfeng.
Did Tai Chi exist before 1850? In this episode we begin a new series of episodes on this subject by setting the scene and historical background to the mythmaking around the origins of Tai Chi that occurred starting from the middle of the Nineteenth Century in response to social turmoil and unrest exemplified by the Taiping Rebellion and Opium Wars.
Our review of the John-Claude Van Damme and John Woo movie Hard Target. We talk about the role of hunting in human society, and the influence of the Miasma on human collaboration and mutual support (or lack thereof).
Returning to our series on Genesis, we examine the supposed events surrounding Cain and Abel, and their social context in the civilisations of ancient Mesopotamia.
We turn our attention to the Fall of the Song, and examine the posthumous influence of the military legacy of the three great generals, Yue, Han and Zhang, on drawing out the final demise of the Dynasty.
In this episode we discuss the article "Make Xing Yi Wild Again" from Graham Barlow's Tai Chi Notebook, touching on subjects like rewilding, degrowth and shamanic practice.
This episode we head to the movies with the Heretics' review of The Art of Self-Defense, a 2019 film starring Jesse Eisenberg.
Finishing off Day One of the Chymical Wedding, we examine the significance of energy to the esoteric traditions, linking the allegorical representations and numerology in the Chymical Wedding to other traditions that we have discussed.
Today we look at the Chymical Wedding's allegorical depiction of the Miasma, and how and why Christian Rosenkreutz escapes from the pit.
We continue our journey into the Chymical Wedding, discussing why shamanic experience can come as a surprise even to people who are well prepared for it. We also look at the influence of Erasmus, and consider his outlook on the esotericism vs exotericism issue.
The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz is the primary allegory of the Rosicrucian Tradition. The work is divided into 7 days, and in this episode we start out on day 1.
The Rosicrucianism that developed at the beginning of the Fifteenth Century did not spring into existence from nowhere. In this episode we jump far back in time to the origins of the Vedic traditions and explore the early origins of the shamanic fire magic movement that eventually gave birth to Rosicrucianism, as well as setting the scene for future episodes on Alexandrian Syncretism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Yoga.
We turn our attention to the founder of Rosicrucianism, Christian Rosenkreutz, his times, and his relationship to Martin Luther and the Reformation. This will be the first part in a long running series on Rosicrucianism.
In this episode we delve into the convoluted and unusual world of the Shinshukyo, which are often mistranslated as "Japanese New Religions". Pana-Wave is one of the Shinshukyo that illustrates very well both the instinctive feeling that people have for loss-of-Nature and also what the Miasma can do to the responses they come up with.
In this first episode of our new series on Wicca, we look at the historical origins of Wicca in the New Forest Coven in Dorset, England, as well as the background of some of the coven members in the Rosicrucian tradition.
In this episode we discuss the role of General Zhang Jun in the survival of Yue Fei's tradition, as well as in the survival of members of Yue Fei's extended family. We also discuss how Zhang Jun managed to protect himself from the purges carried out by Qin Hui.
In this episode we explore Heraclitus, an ancient Greek who was more Chinese than the Chinese. There are not just parallels between this remarkable man's essential worldview and ancient Daoism - more than that, he was more fundamentally Daoist in outlook than are many contemporary Daoists today.
We head at last to Ancient Greece, and look at the attempts of Thales to challenge the miasma of his time. We also discuss how he agreed with (or perhaps even originated the ideas of) Genesis in a way that modern Christians generally don't.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed that Jesus and Christianity were much less unique developments than previously thought. In this episode we start to explore these ancient documents and what they can tell us about the origins of both Christianity and Judaism.
A discussion of how ancient elites used the figure of Adam's first wife Lilith as the ancient "Bogey Man" to preserve their position in society, and examples of the same strategy employed by modern media and politicians to the same ends.
We continue our investigation of the Book of Genesis, looking at the ways in which Genesis 2 contradicts Genesis 1 and both modern Christianity and Judaism. We also start talking about the figure of Lilith, in legend Adam's first wife before Eve was created.
This episode is about Song Dynasty arms and armour. This is a slightly shortened version of the episode from which a few of the more controversial topics have been omitted. The full uncensored version can be found inside Patreon.
As a background to our upcoming discussion of late Song Dynasty armour and weapons, in this episode we give a brief overview of a few animal strategies applied on the battlefield at strategic and tactical levels, as well as in individual combat.
In this episode we examine how Kublai and his older brother Mongke built the Mongol Empire to the point where it was ready to do what the Jin Empire hadn't been able to - overthrow the Song Dynasty.
The Book of Genesis disagrees in many ways with both modern Christianity and modern Judaism. It also incorporates many earlier traditions, including those of Mesopotamia, and even China. This is the originally intended first episode of the Heretics Podcast (before we got sidetracked).
Two powerful women, one a christian of the Nestorian Heresy, ran the Mongol Empire in the years before Kublai and his elder brother Mongke became Great Khans.
Ogedei was the least well-known of the three Mongol "superkhans", but actually the one who drove the empire to its greatest scope and extent, the largest land area conquered by anyone, ever. He ushered in a new era of prosperity to the Silk Road and laid the foundation from which Kubilai Khan would later found the Yuan Dynasty in China.
This week we take a short break to talk about Brexit, the meaning of sovereignty, the Miasma, and the state of British and European politics and political systems. The Mongol Empire also gets a mention or two.
From illiterate slave to empire builder on the grandest scale, no one came closer than Genghis Khan to achieving the title given him by the famous islamic historian Ata Malik Juvaini - "World Conqueror".
The Mongols, builders of the largest empire the world has ever seen, came from relatively obscure origins. In this episode we delve into what we know about the people of Genghis Khan prior to his rise to power and world domination.
We examine the life of Yue Fei's best friend, General Han Shizhong, and the circumstances immediately following the death of Yue Fei. We also take a look at the the life of Han's heroic wife, Liang Hongyu, and internal politics of the Jin Empire at that time.
In this episode we examine the work of the Confucian Scholar Zhu Xi, who lived during the time period we have reached in the narrative (during the Song Dynasty). His philosophy did not impact Xing Yi until centuries later, but when it did, the effect was a large one, so this episode sets the scene for other episodes to come.
We return to China in the Song Dynasty, looking through the eyes of artist Zhang Zeduan at the vibrant economy that developed among the common people while their confucian rulers were distracted by external events, and the nascent Industrial Revolution that it gave rise to, which lasted until the early part of the Ming Dynasty.
We continue our brief foray into Mithraism by looking at the role of the Roman emperors, the stars and the tauroctony in the spiritual life of mithraic practitioners. We also address the "Seven Levels" of Mithraism in relation to Shamanism. The episode is introduced with a comparison of passages from the Gospel of Luke with the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
We take a short break from China to explore Mithraism, a secret society within the Roman Empire, and its close relationship with Christianity.
We come at last to the great general Yue Fei's greatest victories, and ultimate betrayal and death - at the hands of corrupt officials on his own side.
In part 3 of our series on Xing Yi, we look at how the Li movement influenced Yue Fei and other Song generals in formulating effective strategies for use against the Jin, and how they managed to challenge the previously unbeatable dominance of the Jin cavalry. We also discuss the rise to power of chancellor Chin Hui in the regime of Emperor Gaozong.
In this episode the look at the early life of Yue Fei, some of the factors that link him to the Li Movement, the meaning of some of the symbolism surrounding him, and the reasons for the transition between the Northern Song and Southern Song Dynasties.
In this episode we discuss significant events that occur between the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, in particular highlighting issues that form the background to the life of the famous Song Dynasty general, Yue Fei, who has traditionally been attributed as a progenitor of Xing Yi and other martial arts.
In our final look at the Han Dynasty we see the arrival of Buddhism in China, the opening up of the Silk Road, the rise to power of the eunuchs, the invention of paper, and the reasons for the eventual decline of the dynasty.
Mongolian Wrestling is one of the three warrior arts of the Naadam that originated from Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. In this episode we explore the history, techniques and links with Shamanism of this surprisingly extensive and complex art which has produced both Sumo grand champions and Judo gold medalists.
Was the Han Empire bigger than the Roman Empire? Did Roman legionaries reach China before 0AD? Was the Xin Dynasty of Emperor Wang Mang "more Han than the Han"? Does Confucianism always lead to corruption? What effect did Daoism and Confucianism have on the world's largest empire? These questions and others are examined in this episode.
The Han Dynasty was the making of China, and was contemporary with the Roman Empire, which it equalled in size and power. In this episode we look at the life of its founder, Liu Bang and his vicious wife Empress Lu, as well as the dynasty's most influential emperor, the famous Wu Di.
Qin Shi Huangdi's name, Qin (Chin), is the origin of the word China, and with good reason - he was the man who unified the states that collectively formed China. A vicious madman, his dynasty lasted for only about 15 years, but set the tone and structure of China's civilisation for more than two thousand years.
Sumo is by far the oldest martial art from Japan. In this episode we explore how it changed over time and examine its intimate links with Shinto and Shamanism.
Is Aikido a cult? In this episode we divert our attention briefly to the difficult subjects of Aikido and Omotokyo, examining in particular the darker side of Aikido's origins.
In the final part of the origins of Jiu Jitsu and Kempo we look at the role of the Yakuza in the 80s and 90s, as well as the background to Yukio Mishima's protest ritual suicide (seppuku).
In part 4 we examine the time period between 1960 and 1980 in Japan, and discuss topics such as martial arts marketing and the different ways in which the Japanese created and promoted a wide range of new martial arts.
Continuing our examination of the origins of Jiu Jitsu and Kempo, covering the years 1850 to 1963. We also branch out into lots of other areas, including the arrival of Boxing, Xing Yi, Karate and Professional Wrestling in Japan, as well as the modern phenomenon of the Ninjas.
We continue to explore the origins of Jiu Jitsu and Kempo, covering the role of Kano Jigoro and others at the end of the Nineteenth Century.
In the first episode we explore the development of the concept of heresy by two early christian teachers, Valentinus and Irenaeus. We then begin a multi-part series on the origins of Jiu Jitsu and Kempo, addressing some of the myths surrounding the samurai class in the process, as well as talking about some of the other, less famous, inhabitants of feudal Japan.