Right Where You Are Sitting Now

Ken Eakins

Right Where You Are Sitting Now is a podcast that explores the esoteric and offbeat side of the world. From fringe thinkers and The Occult, to UFOs and Cyber mysteries...basically, if it’s coming from a fresh, funny or different perspective, we are interested in it! Check us out on the web at http://sittingnow.co.uk read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

Occult Germany with Christopher McIntosh
Apr 3 2024
Occult Germany with Christopher McIntosh
Ken and Marck scale the Externsteine to discover the secret chapel, wonder at alchemical delights, and search for hidden Rosicrucian adepts of Germany. Our Reiseführer this week is returning guest, author, and adept of the highest standing Christopher McIntosh. This week: Is Germany the true cradle of the Western Esoteric Tradition, Is the Golden Dawn origin story a lie, Just how Rosicrucian is Germany, and much more. Joining me in Exernsteine Chapel this week is Marck Satyr Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Buy Occult Germany (affiliate links) https://amzn.to/3U4Tri5 (UK) https://amzn.to/3U1MFcE (US) Christopher McIntosh Bio: Dr. Christopher McIntosh was born in England in 1943 and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and German at London University, later returning to Oxford to take a doctorate in history with a dissertation on the Rosicrucian revival in the context of the German Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment. After working in London in journalism and publishing he spent four years in New York as an information officer with the United Nations Development Programme, then moved to Germany to work for UNESCO. In parallel he has pursued a career as a writer and researcher specialising in the esoteric traditions as well as nature-oriented belief systems. He has lectured widely and was on the faculty of the distance M.A. programme in Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, England, now sadly discontinued. He is married to the scholar of religion Dr. Donate Pahnke-McIntosh. Their home is in Lower Saxony, North Germany. Contact via Facebook Messenger. Source – https://ozgard.net/
Possession at the Dionysian Cult of Pompeii with Peter Mark Adams
Mar 16 2024
Possession at the Dionysian Cult of Pompeii with Peter Mark Adams
This week we dig through the volcanic ruins of Pompeii and uncover the activities of the Dionysian mystery schools. Our initiatic guide through the villa of mysteries is wonderful Peter Mark Adams author of ‘Mystai: Dancing out the Mysteries of Dionysos’. This week: What does initiation into the mystery schools look like, Just who is Dionysos, The ecstatic rush of possession, where can we get those sweet Dionysian cult rings?, and much more   Get Peter’s book direct from Scarlet Imprint here – https://scarletimprint.com/publicatio… Peter’s author page at Scarlet Imprint – https://scarletimprint.com/peter-mark… Peter’s own site – https://petermarkadams.com/ Peter Mark Adams Bio: Peter Mark Adams is an author, poet, and essayist specialising in the ethnography and visuality of ritual, sacred landscape, esotericism, consciousness and healing. Peter has over twenty years experience with energy-based healing modalities including rebirthing breathwork, meridian therapies, and Reiki. As a professional author, Peter’s non-fiction is published by Scarlet Imprint and Inner Traditions; literary prose and poetry largely in Corbel Stone Press’ literary journal ‘Reliquiae: Journal of Nature, Landscape & Mythology’ and a range of essays examining other than human encounters in the peer-reviewed journals ‘Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal’ and ‘The Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology’. With a background in Philosophy from the University of Liverpool; Peter pursues advanced studies with the Warburg Institute’s School of Advanced Studies in London covering iconology and iconographic theory; Renaissance art and material culture.
The Rise of the Traditionalists with Mark Sedgwick
Jan 23 2024
The Rise of the Traditionalists with Mark Sedgwick
Ken explores the complex topic of Traditionalism, it’s esoteric roots, and why it’s having such an impact on Right-Wing politics. Our Illuminator this week is the excellent Professor Mark Sedgwick, author of ‘Traditionalism: The Radical Project for Restoring Sacred Order’. This week: Rene Guenon despises modernity, Julius Evola and the Nazis, Steve Bannon and Alexander Dugin’s Traditionalist influence, and much more. Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Get Mark’s book in the UK at https://amzn.to/425OoAe Get Mark’s book in the US at https://amzn.to/48ZI9zY Get Mark’s book in the EU at https://amzn.to/490HmiC Mark’s Traditionalists Blog Mark Sedgwick Bio Mark J. Sedgwick is an academic and historian. Dr. Sedgwick is currently an associate professor of Arab history, culture and society in the Department of the Study of Religion, and program manager for Arab and Islamic Studies, at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. He previously worked at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Mark Sedgwick is the author of the controversial book Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century, published by Oxford University Press in 2004. The book purports to be a survey of “traditionalism,” with particular emphasis on the role René Guénon played in this school of thought. A number of careful reviewers, however, have found that Against the Modern World contains serious errors and faults in both premises and facts. Dr. Mark Sedgwick maintains an active presence on the internet, including his blog, some of which strikes various readers as rather biased and self-promotional while other readers perceive his efforts as the result of academic inquisitiveness. It is undeniable that he is a source of information about Tradition and Perennialism. However, the controversial nature of Mark Sedgwick’s work on Traditionalism and Perennialism causes many readers to ask whether his influence is disproportionate to his credentials and possibly even to his motives. Readers must judge for themselves whether Sedgwick is a dispassionate student of Traditionalism or someone with an internet connection and a “personal and undisclosed bias against Traditionalism.” In the interest of a more balanced and well-researched view of Traditionalism, we present on this website three rather detailed and, we hope, incisive reviews of Mark Sedgwick’s Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century.
Penny Royal and Mystical Geography with Nathan Paul Isaac
Dec 6 2023
Penny Royal and Mystical Geography with Nathan Paul Isaac
Journey with us into the dark and mystical caves and landscape of Kentucky to uncover strange phenomena and hidden secrets. Our local trail guide this week is the wonderful Nathan Isaac of the Penny Royal podcast. This week: Feedback loops and the mystery of place, How to contact prater-human intelligences, James Shelby Downard in Kentucky, The Cincinnati Vortex, and much more.   Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com   Check out Nathan’s Penny Royal podcast and Liminal Lodge Patreon at the links below: Penny Royal podcast homepage Liminal Lodge patreon page Penny Royal Twitter page Nathan Paul Isaac bio: Nathan Paul Isaac is a writer, researcher, and producer, best known as the host and creator of the Penny Royal podcast. He has spent over two decades diving deep into the folklore, mystery, and high strangeness that envelops his native Kentucky. Nathan has been a featured speaker at paranormal conventions, including Strange Realities and Phenomenacon, appeared on a wide array of podcasts and radio shows, including Jim Perry’s Nite Drift and Coast to Coast AM, and as a guest on paranormal documentary films and television series. In addition to producing the Penny Royal podcast (and the upcoming podcasts Hidden In the Herd and Valley of the Unreel), he has worked as an associate television producer for History Channel’s Dark Marvels. Alongside his work in the paranormal field, Nathan has worked for more than a decade in the music recording industry and as executive producer for the SomerSessions series, shooting and directing video sessions with Tyler Childers, Morgan Wade, and many other award-winning musicians and artists. source: https://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/nathan-isaac/
The First Alchemists uncovered with Tobias Churton
Nov 22 2023
The First Alchemists uncovered with Tobias Churton
Ken and Mark return to their laboratory to combine base metals to discover the once-murky roots of Alchemy. Keeper of the Sanctum this week is the amazing Tobias Churton author of the new book ‘The First Alchemists: The Spiritual and Practical Origins of the Noble and Holy Art’. Join us as we return to the roots of Alchemy. This week: Zosimos and the early Egyptian Alchemists, the female roots of the art, Was Jung wrong about Alchemy, and much more. Joining me from his misty lab is Frater Marck Satyr Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Check out our previous two interviews with Tobias Churton on Aleister Crowley here and here. Buy Tobias’ book using our affiliate links here –> UK US EU Tobias Churton Bio Tobias Churton is Britain’s leading scholar of Western Esotericism, a world authority on Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and Rosicrucianism. He is a filmmaker and the founding editor of the magazine Freemasonry Today. An Honorary Fellow of Exeter University, where he is faculty lecturer in Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, he holds a master’s degree in Theology from Brasenose College, Oxford, and created the award-winning documentary series and accompanying book The Gnostics, as well as several other films on Christian doctrine, mysticism, and magical folklore. The author of many books, including Gnostic Philosophy, The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians, and Aleister Crowley: The Beast in Berlin, he lives in England.
The Mythos of The Lovecraft Investigations with Julian Simpson
Nov 9 2023
The Mythos of The Lovecraft Investigations with Julian Simpson
This week Ken and Mark receive an Enochian invocation broadcast from an old numbers station, the Old Ones are calling. Our guide into the dream world this week is director and writer of The Lovecraft Investigations, Julian Simpson. This week we discuss: How to modernise the tales of Lovecraft, the genius of Sapphire and Steel, why Numbers Stations are scary, Did Aleister Crowley meet Picasso, and much more.   Joining me, dead but still dreaming is Mar(c)k Satyr Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Show Notes: Check out The Lovecraft Investigation on Apple here, and Spotify here. Check out Julian’s Pleasant Green Universe shows via his site Fragments, Bad Memories, Fugue State, and Mythos 1, 2 and 3 Julian’s other currently active show that features some characters from The Lovecraft Investigations ‘Aldrich Kemp’ can be found via the BBC Limelight Series on Apple here, and Spotify here Julian Simpson Bio:   I was recently emailed by someone complaining about how hard it is to find information about me and my work. I get this. It’s not deliberate, but it’s not deliberate either. There are probably ways to create a more accessible web presence, and to bring the various things I’ve worked on or been associated with into some kind of useful order. But that seems like quite a lot of work and I’m not wildly into doing lots of extra work. I really enjoy being a bit hidden and just getting on with my work. (For reference see Themis House in the upcoming “Who Is Aldrich Kemp?”, coming to your radios on February 18th, 2022.) That people have to do a bit of digging to find me suits me just fine. It’s like a hazing process; the people who get through seem to be more interesting. So now you are here, this is what you might want to know: I am a London-based writer and director working in film, TV, and audio. In the past, I have worked, either as a writer or director or both, on Spooks (MI-5 if you’re in the US), Hustle, Hotel Babylon, New Tricks, and Doctor Who. My TV work in the UK pretty much stopped dead in about 2016. This wasn’t by design, but I wrote a TV pilot script that got a lot of attention in America and that has been where the majority of my work has been coming from since then. That work has been mostly writing and, because nothing has yet been produced (watch this space), the credits do not yet show up on my IMDb page and I am legally not allowed to talk about any of them. My official “work” website is at juliansimpson.uk. Many people have said they find this unhelpful. Those people might be missing the point. In or around 2019 I co-founded a storytelling/world-building company called Storypunk. That does not yet have a website but it will, soon, and in the meantime, we have made a sci-fi podcast series called TEMPORAL which is out to distributors as I type this (Feb 2022). I have also made a number of audio dramas, including the “Lovecraft Investigations” podcast series, details of most of which are on the Radio and Podcasts page and can be investigated in-depth on the Pleasant Green Universe wiki on TV Tropes and on my Wikipedia page. There isn’t a veil of secrecy around what I do, but there is a veil of laziness draped over the promotion of it. If you want to find me, I’m on Twitter (@CartoonGravity), on Instagram (somewhat reluctantly) as @cartoon_gravity, and on e-mail at cartoongravity@hey.com. I also have a portfolio of photographs on Format. I’m repped in the UK by Sean Gascoine at United Agents, and in the US by Jeff Barry at Range Media Partners and Andrew Murphy at Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment. I live in London with my wife and daughter and two quite annoying cats. This site is a kind of public scrapbook of thoughts, ideas, and random nonsense. Now you know as much about me as I do.   Source: http://cartoongravity.com
Lovecraft and the Mystic Polar Tradition with WH Müller and Mario Garza
Nov 2 2023
Lovecraft and the Mystic Polar Tradition with WH Müller and Mario Garza
This week we delve into the Eldritch world of HP Lovecraft and try and decode hidden magickal lessons. Mario Garza from Symbolic Studies from joins me to grill ‘Polaria’ author WH Müller on his book ‘Polaria’. This week we discuss: Did Lovecraft encode a secret magickal lesson into each of his stories, what is ‘The Mystic Polar Tradition’, Why was the Polar tradition hidden, and much more. Check out Mario’s site here, and his YouTube channel here Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Good luck finding this book for less than £1500, check it on Amazon here WH Müller Bio: Born in 1964, I gained access to Kabbalah and various occult doctrines related to it through my interest in the American author HP Lovecraft. My first book was published in 1992 bearing the title “Lovecraft – Treasurer of the Forbidden”. In 1994 I published the first occult exegesis and translation of the Babylonian Epic of Creation in “Primordial Light” which was substantially enlarged in its second edition “Fiat Nox” in 1994. In the 1990s I was also a patron member of the British Museum Society. Besides, I always worked as a translator and was for example responsible for the first Nicholas-Roerich-biography by Jacqueline Decter. Further translations in the 1990s included works by WB Yeats and EA Wallis Budge. In 1996 I authored “Polaria – The Gift of the White Stone” on Lovecraft and Western Occultism which was published in the US. In 2001 I founded my own publishing company with two books on esoteric Traditionalism (Guénon) and related subjects of Alchemy as well as the first German translations of some of Suhrawardi’s most eminent Sufi writings. After having positively identified Einstein’s famous equation of Special Relativity in Kabbalah, I published “NecroYoga” in 2011 containing the Kabbalistic “threshold-equation” later termed “Moshe-Formula”, and partly based on a so-called “Babylon-Workout” on Kabbalah, Special Relativity and Black Hole ‘Physics which had appeared previously in Germany. My most recent translations include Nevill Drury’s biography on the life and work of the Australian artist and occultist Rosaleen Norton and Stephen Flower’s “Lords of the Left-Hand Path”. “Antarktos: Understanding the Age of Rebellion” in which I write comprehensively on the “real” secrets of Antarctica in connection with the ongoing conflict of the Old Ones vs. the Elder Ones, E.A. Poe’s secret messages in “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym” and further revelations from Lovecraft’s occult heritage, is due for publication soon.
Tasty Cults and Holy Food with Christina Ward
Oct 22 2023
Tasty Cults and Holy Food with Christina Ward
This week, Ken and Marck pull up their chairs at the dining table and feast upon the banquet of American cults and their delicious offerings. Our head chef this week is the lovely Christina Ward of the legendary Feral House Publishing. This week: The history of Feral House Publishing and Adam Parfry’s legacy, How foods are influenced by religious movements, UFO cults in America and much more. Joining me at the dinner table is Marck Satyr Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Get Christina’s book in the UK here – https://amzn.to/40714Wz Get Christina’s book in the US here – https://amzn.to/490XAca Christina Ward Bio: Christina Ward is an author, editor, and seeker. She is also the Vice President and Editor of Feral House, a publisher noted for their books on outré topics. She had the distinct pleasure of riding around town in the Wienermobile with Padma Lakshmi on the hottest day in July of 2019 for “Taste the Nation.” Her current book, Holy Food: Recipes and Foodways from Cults, Communes, and New Religious Movements (September 26, 2023). Her previous book, American Advertising Cookbooks-How Corporations Taught Us To Love, Spam, Bananas, and Jell-O, earned positive notice from Florence Fabricant in the New York Times, Christopher Kimball of Milk Street Radio, and numerous other journalists and readers. Her 2017 book, Preservation-The Art and Science of Canning, Fermentation, and Dehydration, explores the history and science of food preservation while sharing 100 fool-proof recipes that make the science real. She is a contributor to Serious Eats, Edible Milwaukee, The Wall Street Journal, The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel, Remedy Quarterly, and Runcible Spoon magazines. Christina makes regular guest expert on Milwaukee television programs and public radio stations across the United States, delighting in ‘working blue’ before 8 am. She contributed to and edited the 2021 book Bawdy Tales & Trifles of Devilries for Ladies and Gentlemen of Experience under her nom d’amour, Lady Fanny Woodcock. She has guided, edited, contributed to, and in a few (unnamed) instances, rewritten, over fifty books. She has an interest in the lives of forgotten “difficult women” and bringing their stories to readers. Christina regularly contributes to academic and educational conferences on the topic of transgressive art. In her spare time, she is the certified Master Food Preserver for Southeast Wisconsin and always picks up the phone to answer pressing questions about jelly that won’t set and soft pickles. Christina can trace her Milwaukee and Wisconsin roots to the early 1800s. Her love of history comes from her father, who instilled the idea that we are all manifestations of our ancestors. Her interest in cooking began out of childhood necessity to feed herself and her siblings while her father worked in a factory. She prides herself on having a hungry mind interested in learning about people, the foods they eat, and the stories that arise from that convergence. If you asked 8-year-old me what I wanted to be when I grew up—my answer was always the same—a writer.
The Real Black Lodge Exposed with Allen Greenfield
Oct 20 2023
The Real Black Lodge Exposed with Allen Greenfield
This week Ken swings the doors of the infamous shadowy Black Lodge wide open. Key to the door, and keeper of the map Allen Greenfield is his guide. UAPs, Men in Black, Aleister Crowley, Twin Peaks and the IllumiNet conspiracy revealed! This week: Aleister Crowley’s Moonchild, David Lynch’s Black Lodge, The Three Black Schools, Who Killed Jim Keith and much more Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Buy Allen’s book here Allen Greenfield Bio T Allen Greenfield (the “T” or “Tau” being a customary title given to an esoteric prelate in the Doinel lineage upon their consecration) is a native of Augusta, Georgia, USA. With relatively brief sojourns in Tampa, Florida, Tucson, Arizona, and Key West, Florida, he has lived much of his life thus far in Atlanta. By the age of sixteen, he had become a world traveler, and has visited many countries all over the globe in the years since, from France to French Polynesia; from Canada to Venezuela; Greece to Grenada, Israel to Indiana. He is a long-time student of esoteric spirituality and Gnosticism, a study he began in 1960. A past (elected) member of the British Society for Psychical Research, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) (from 1960), etc., he has twice been the recipient of the “UFOlogist of the Year Award” of the National UFO Conference (1972 and 1992), which has run continuously on an annual basis for 41 years. He is a Borderland Science Research Associate (BSRA). He has personally conducted on-site UFO abduction investigations in Brooksville, FL; Pascagoula, MS; and Brown Mountain, NC. He considers the UFO phenomenon to be a “signal” from the Collective Unconscious that the neglect of a magical spirituality by society as a whole is a cause of the emotional plague and social disaster.
The Magick of the Fraternitas Saturni with Frater U∴D∴ (PT 2)
Sep 28 2023
The Magick of the Fraternitas Saturni with Frater U∴D∴ (PT 2)
Ken and Mark return to Saturn’s gaze and press further into the German magickal milieu. Once again Frater U∴D∴ lights his lantern of experience and guides us into the temple. This week: Electrical Magick and the Tepaphone, The Saturnian archetype, The Gnosis of Saturn, Yoga and Dark Light, and much more. Jumping into the Saturnian cohost seat this week is Marck Satyr Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Stephen Flowers’ book is the best resource on the order in English. Buy the book in the UK here Buy the book in the US here Frater U∴D∴ Bio Frater U∴D∴ is a writer, poet and magician. A German diplomat’s child, he grew up in Africa and Asia. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Bonn in Comparative Literature, English Literature and Portuguese Studies. Co-founder of the Bonn Workshop for Experimental Magic. As founder of Pragmatic Magic, Cyber Magic, Ice Magic and co-founder of the Magical Pact of the Illuminati of Thanateros (IOT), he is one of Europe’s most renowned practical magicians and contemporary occult authors. He studied with yoga and tantra masters and has been involved with the practical aspects of occultism in general and magic in particular for more than half a century. Many years of experience as a translator and interpreter, author of more than 40 books, many of which have become modern day classics, including High Magic and Practical Sigil Magic. His works have been translated into multiple languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech, Estonian, Japanese etc.). He is known for his undogmatic approach to the black arts. Translated works by Peter Carroll, Ramsey Dukes and Aleister Crowley’s Book of Lies, among others.
The Cult of Conspiracy with Nikolas Schreck
Sep 16 2023
The Cult of Conspiracy with Nikolas Schreck
This week Ken grabs a pizza at Comet Ping Pong with returning guest author and musician Nikolas Schreck to dissect the ever-rising tide of modern conspiracy theory. We look at some of the misconceptions of the more Occult and Left Hand Path theories, as well as discuss Nikolas’ own experiences as a victim of the Satanic Panic. This week: Nikolas’ new conspiracy research group OASIS, Why Nikolas is still the object of conspiracy, the dark side of modern conspiracy culture, and much more. Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Nikolas Schreck’s music on Bandcamp Nikolas Schreck socials https://linktr.ee/nikolasschreck Nikolas Schreck Bio: Nikolas Schreck is an American singer/songwriter, musician, author, and filmmaker. Acclaimed by Austria‘s Evolver magazine as “already a legend in his lifetime‘‘, singer-songwriter, author, and film-maker Nikolas Schreck’s initiatory application of music, ritual, and theater formally began in 1984 when he returned to the West from a life-changing spiritual pilgrimage in Egypt to found the shapeshifting musical ensemble Radio Werewolf, a nine-year sonic magic operation which concluded in 1993. After pioneering early Los Angeles Gothic and deathrock with the band’s first incarnation, Radio Werewolf’s European phase was hailed by Christopher Walton of the band Endura for “simultaneously pre-empting and giving birth to the dark-ambient and ritual-industrial scene of the 1990s.” Before embarking on his current solo career, Schreck has previously collaborated musically with Zeena, John Murphy, Kingdom of Heaven, and Sir Christopher Lee, whose first album he produced. Schreck’s books include The Manson File: Myth & Reality of an Outlaw Shaman, Demons of the Flesh: The Complete Guide to Left-Hand Path Sex Magic (written with Zeena Schreck), The Satanic Screen, and Flowers from Hell. He is the director of the 1989 documentary Charles Manson Superstar and has appeared in several films, including Mortuary Academy and Usher.