About Metaphysics of the Real—Beyond Crowley, Magick and Occultism
Author Oliver St. John provides in-depth knowledge on occultism, magick and the supernatural essential for those wishing to take theory into practice. Topics include hermeticism, gnosticism, ancient Egyptian and Hindu studies. Metaphysics is meant here in the etymological sense of the word, which is to say, ‘beyond the physical’, and so nothing to do with the chemical state of the body or brain, or the psychological domain. It has nothing to do with ‘psychism’, as some like to pretend. Real initiation is guided by the infinite, unlimited universal doctrine. As it depends from a supra-human source this can never be a branch of philosophy or some other science. Real metaphysical knowledge transcends all that was invented by occultists in modern times.
For this episode we return to a new book, as yet unpublished, called Magick Here and Now. We begin with Alchemy—Stone of the Wise. Learned men and women with academic qualifications are no better than the common or garden New Age or online ‘gurus’ when it comes to construing the meaning of the stone of the wise, the secret of alchemy. This does not, it seems, stop anyone from pretending they know what it means all the same. Worse still, these pundits and bloggers probably believe in all sincerity they really know the secret. The second part of this episode is concerned with Cosmic Mind and Group Mind—two things that are frequently confused today. The relatively modern notion of a group mind, a kind of collective mentality that no doubt owes something to popular psychological theories, is very mistaken when applied to initiation—unless the organisations are pseudo-spiritual or even anti-spiritual.
Part One: Secret of Alchemy
Part Two: Cosmic Mind and Group Mind
The music is called Alchemy Zero, and was composed and played by myself, Oliver St. John, on guitar and other instruments especially for this podcast.
28 Dec 2025
Law of Thelema—Hidden Alchemy
Last year, our very first book was rewritten from top to bottom and re-published under the title Law of Thelema—Hidden Alchemy. The new book shows how much our views have changed in the last five years and so the old content is seen in a totally different light. Included here is an abridgement of the Preface and two chapters from that book, of which the second is a much needed clarification on what the ‘Holy Guardian Angel’ really is.
Part One: Law of Thelema—Hidden Alchemy
Part Two: The Star of Revealing
Part Three: The Holy Guardian Angel
The Antichrist, mentioned in Part One, is not an individual or a group but is a completely impersonal, demonic force that is the sum total of the anti-spiritual in all forms. Thus in other works we refer to this as the System of Antichrist, as it is more like a machine than any kind of living being. It is sub-infra, in so far as it is barely in the realms of manifestation—yet it is the dominant influence on all worldly affairs today. The irony of imagining rebellion where only conformity and subjection exists, naturally escapes the followers of Antichrist.
The music I played on the guitar is Prelude 3 from Cinq Preludes, composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
28 Dec 2025
Magick Here and Now
This episode is drawn from a new book, soon to be published and titled Magick Here and Now. In the introduction we make it clear that ‘ordinary life’ is a very serious obstruction to magick and yoga. This will be explained. We then move on to a discussion of the magician, since there can be no magick without a magician and so far as initiation goes everything must start from the human state. The second part concerns the question of what a magician really is? Some of what we will reveal might be quite surprising to some. The third part of this episode moves on to Magick as Science and Art. As well as dispelling some false notions including populist theories about magick as ‘occultism’, we will explain some little known facts about what magick really is.
Part One: Magick and the Real
Part Two: The Magician
Part Three: Magick as Science and Art
The music, Invocation, was composed and played on guitars, five-string electric bass, keyboards, Egyptian and Turkish drums by myself, Oliver St. John.
27 Dec 2025
Nihilism and the Dark Side
The first part of this episode is a reading from my book, Advaita Vedanta—Question of the Real. It may seem strange to begin a book that serves as an introduction to Advaita Vedanta Non-dualism, which is primarily a Hindu darshana, with a critique, albeit a brief one, of the corrosive influence of Western philosophy. So far as nihilism goes, while there might be very few persons that would declare it as a ‘path’, a way that they follow, our purpose is to show that nihilism in a very general sense arises inevitably from the humanism that now dominates the world, in spite of its pretence of being rational and its claim to support individual self expression while crushing all difference—and all opposition to its uniform values. The second part is a reading from my book Dreaming Thelema and Magical Art and focuses on one of HP Lovecraft’s most compelling and prophetic tales, Nyarlathotep.
Part One: Nihilism and the Western Malaise
Part Two: Dreaming Thelema; Nyarlathotep
The music Nightjar (Return) was composed and played on the guitar, five-string electric bass and Egyptian drum by myself, Oliver St. John.
27 Dec 2025
The Soul and Yoga Powers
This fourth episode of Metaphysics of the Real picks up the thread from where we left off with Advaita Vedanta—Question of the Real. The listener that has assimilated the previous episode on Reincarnation, Talismans and Familiar Spirits will be well prepared. The initiatic Journey of the Soul is to get initiated and realise she is infinitely greater than tanything she has previously supposed. The soul fears death greatly because she is identified with body and mind and the body at least will surely die and become nothing but a pile of ashes. The question is, what is it that dies? It is certainly not Atma, which is deathless, immutable. The second part of this episode examines two of the Supernormal Powers of the yogin, from Metamorphosis—Hermetic Science and Yoga Power: How to Read Minds and How to be Invisible.
Part One: What is Death to the Soul?
Part Two: Yoga and Yoga Powers. How to read minds and how to be invisible
The music Gypsy Caravan was composed and played on the guitar and other instruments by Oliver St. John. This recording features local field ambience from the West Penwith Peninsula, including the river Stennack and a couple of blackbirds in the early evening.
27 Dec 2025
Reincarnationism and Talismans
This third episode of the new series returns to some of the subject matter of our book, Metamorphosis—Hermetic Science and Yoga Power. In the first half of the nineteenth century French Socialists, who sought an explanation for social inequality, persuaded Allan Kardac, the founder of the French School of Spiritism, to accept their theory of souls being born into a succession of lives taking place in the same ‘world’ following a time-line through ‘history’. Reincarnationism was thus born into the world—a totally modern invention owing nothing to ancient doctrines.
Part One: Reincarnationism
Part Two: Telesma and Familiar Spirits
Reincarnation has been falsely ascribed to the Hindu doctrines, whereas it simply does not exist there. It has been used to explain metempsychosis and the transmigration of souls as also found in other traditions, for example the Orphic Mysteries and the ancient Egyptian tradition. The notion has become so deeply ingrained one might say that it is by now embedded at a deep stratum of modern thinking. Reincarnation is accepted without question and even if not believed, is falsely ascribed to all ancient civilisations and what are typically and insultingly called ‘ancient beliefs’ by those supposed to be experts in such studies.
The classical guitar was played and recorded by myself and features an extended flamenco improvisation on ‘Waves of Spain’ by Y. Shilin and an original composition of mine called ‘October’.
26 Dec 2025
Question of the Real—Non-dualism
This second episode of Metaphysics of the Real takes us in an entirely new direction. The Advaitan or Non-dual Way of Self-Realisation involves a prolonged and deep enquiry into the nature of the Self. By the Self, we do not mean the ego or the psychic domain of the person, but the true Self called Atma
Part One: How do we Know?
Part Two: Enquiry into the Nature of the Self
‘Self-Realisation’ is a short way of saying ‘direct knowledge of the supreme principial reality, gained not by inference or belief’. To the religious person or the bhakti devotee, this is knowledge of God, in whatever name or form God is worshipped. Advaita actually goes one step even beyond that and claims it is possible to know the Supreme Identity, otherwise called Brahma Nirguna, ‘Brahma with no attributes’, that is to say, beyond name and form. This is no small claim; however, seers and sages for millennia have asserted its truth.
This episode includes readings from my book Advaita Vedanta—Question of the Real. The classical guitar was played and recorded by myself, Oliver St. John, and featured my own composition, ‘Awakening Om’.
26 Dec 2025
Way of Knowledge—Reign of Antichrist
This first episode of Metaphysics of the Real includes readings from my book The Way of Knowledge in the Reign of Antichrist.
Part One: What is Metaphysics?
Part Two: Way of Knowledge (Introduction)
Part Three: Sacred Magic of Abramelin
Part Four: The True Self
Over time the Way of Knowledge has become increasingly divided to the modern mind, so that we now have forms of Westernised ‘yoga’ that are exclusively concerned with physical fitness and so completely divorced from the principle of yoga, which is knowledge through union with first God (or Shakti) and then the Infinite. Owing to this division of the Western mentality, devotional practices, the discipline of pure knowledge and the path of yoga are frequently seen as separate disciplines, each one representing a specialisation—a word that has no real meaning in ancient doctrines. All ways or paths must serve the one purpose of ultimate deliverance (Sanskrit moksha), or at least ‘salvation’ as according to the strict limitations of religious paths, which are necessarily exoteric. Symbolism is the only way to convey metaphysical reality without direct knowledge; language itself comprises a set of symbols. Ancient languages, with all their subtlety of etymology, roots of words and phonetics, are nonetheless well equipped to symbolise metaphysics, which is solely concerned with principles that amount to pure knowledge. Such principial knowledge is most adequately set down in the Hindu Vedas and Vedanta. Such knowledge is not in any way derived from an individual author, as is the case with all Western philosophical theories. With the Vedanta, the goal is always that of pure knowledge: untransmissible, infinite and absolute reality. That is what we mean by ‘metaphysics’. The Spanish classical guitar music was performed by Oliver St. John. This episode features Valso Choro composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
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