Explore the tech and talk of peering through the world’s magical veil with some of these great explicators of the esoteric.
The YouTube Stars
Alexander Eth
A big player on magical YouTube is Alexander Eth, the dulcet-toned host of Glitch Bottle. I would buy a teddy bear packaged with his voice to lull me to sleep each night, but sadly I have to content myself with just his episodes.
Browsing through his guest list is an education in itself, and although highly ceremonial magic is a big part of his own practice and that of many of his guests, he interviews a wide range of seekers looking in all directions.
Denis Poisson
Book-reviewer-turned-YouTube-star Denis Poisson, going by nom de video Foolish Fish, maybe concentrates a little too much on the quality of the binding (book, not demonic), but his astute critiques are always insightful.
He’s published a book springing from his many YouTube reviews, and the range of his erudition is truly breathtaking. I belong to his Patreon channel, though I mostly just lurk in its Discord aisles, soaking up the wisdom.
The Writers and Teachers
Here I’m concentrating on the mages and sages who pass on their teachings both through classes and books, with a helping hand from videos, either on their own or with interviewers. The first two I’ve taken courses from.
Aidan Wachter
Aidan Wachter is my personal fave. He’s a great podcast interviewee and has written three fascinating books on his animistic/shamanistic take on magic: Six Ways (2018), Weaving Fate (2020), and Changeling (2021).
He also runs a neurodivergent-friendly Discord server for his Patreon supporters. He takes part in discussions on topics that include personal freedom, working with spirit allies, and fighting ever-powerful “empire.”
He plans to put out three more books in the next year or two, and will be easing into more courses and workshops, like his “BAP! Building a Practice” course from earlier this year. And I personally recommend his Patreon.
Jason Miller
An author who verges on the prolific, Jason Miller offers recorded classes, updated by Q&A sessions he records every couple of weeks or so. I took his Black School course, and found his Lucifer dream particularly mesmerizing.
The recordings’ audio can be dodgy, and his “suffer no fools” tone borders on the huffy, but the guy knows his stuff, and under a gruff exterior seems to reside someone who’s done the work and knows of what he speaks.
Damien Echols
Zen didn’t quite work out on death row, but for Damien Echols magic did the trick, helping to keep him sane and even get the justice and freedom he deserved. In prison he was eventually doing magic several hours daily.
After the shock of being released to our crazy civilization, he recorded audio lessons that turned into the successful High Magick (2018), from which I learned the venerable Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.
Despite hard-right Christians having got him jailed, Damien Echols turned to Christian-sounding angel magic. Fascinating stuff, though I did move on, mainly because otherwise I’d be memorizing a lot more angel names.
Mat Auryn
Like some other of the best magical luminaries, Mat Auryn seems achingly conscientious about getting words down on the page in just the right way. The wonderful Psychic Witch (2020) was the first of his three books so far.
As the title suggests, he’s trying to integrate the intuitive powers of psychics with the magical power of witchcraft. Since I’d been doing the LBRP for many months by that point, this next step came along just at the right time.
Guest Panellists
More Glitches in the Matrix
Returning to Alexander Eth’s Glitch Bottle podcast, his episodes are like undergrad lectures in the ghostly sciences. His guests are almost always fascinating, but to name just a few beyond the aforementioned:
- Joseph H. Peterson
- Stephen Skinner
- Josephine McCarthy
- Mademoiselle Vendredi
- David Rankine
- Ed Calderon
- Bryan Garner (aka Frater Ashen Chassan)
And I heartily recommend the latter’s Gateways Through Light and Shadow (2019), which includes his scryer’s accounts of magical encounters with quite-elevated spirits. Too ceremonial for me to try, but fascinating chats.
Beyond the Glitches
There are many fine interviewers, so as much as I adore Alexander Eth’s glitchless tones, you might want to look into some other podcasts and YouTube channels, including Spirit Box, What Magic is This?, and Esoterica.
And on more of a solo front, James Louv’s MagickMe definitely had its moments when I was getting into the study of magic more seriously. Also check out affable Lee W. Johnson, everyone’s favourite uncle demonologist.