A podcast about the Western Esoteric Tradition.Read more »
A podcast about the Western Esoteric Tradition.Read Less
A highly inspiring talk with Madeleine LeDespencer, visual artist, author, identifying herself as Demimondaine, Absintheuse and Adoratrice de Satan... Madeleine LeDespencer is a visual artist and author who resides in London, England. Her research and practice are focused on sodalities of heretical Catholicism, devotional Diabolism, and Gnostic Revival in fin de siècle France. For the past several years she has published articles for Hadean Press, Three Hands Press, and others on topics ranging from Absinthe as entheogen, the erotic mysteries of Vintras’ Catholic heresies, and the work of Maria de Naglowska. She edited the upcoming volume from Three Hands Press WITCH:IKON collecting visual representations of sorcery throughout the ages. Madeleine has given lectures around the world on these topics and facilitates an invitation-only Salon in London dedicated to the exploration of art, literature, and the extremities of aestheticism. Her first full-length book, Le Catholicisme Noir – The Devotional Blasphemies of Abbé Joseph-Antoine Boullan, will be published by Three Hands Press. Links to find Madeleine's work: Her personal website Her Facebook page Links provided by Madeleine (thank you!) leading to further information about some of the topics we discuss in this interview: Abbe Boullan and Julie Thibault eroto-paracletism and sexualised catholicism See Madeleine's essay here Georges Bataille and the Limit Experience - Wikipedia Eliphas Levi and the French Occult Revival on Amazon The initial Baron LeDespencer - Wikipedia Huysmans novel "La Bas" - classic of Parisian occultism About collecting and the Cult of the Object on Amazon About Joel Peter Witkin and the alchemy of the perverse About Charles Baudelaire and Diabolical Catholicism In defense of Catholicism as an aesthetic endeavoursee The Genius of Christianity by François-René de Chateaubriand - In his defense of Christianity on the merits of beauty he inadvertently opened the door to a manner of Satanic Catholicism embodied in Baudelaire and others. Music played in this episode: 1) TEEN RIOT STRUCTURE - by T.Rex (1977) 2) NICOLO PAGANINI - CAPRICE N°24 in a-minor (1807) 3) CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS - DANSE MACABRE (1874) Intro and Outro Music especially written and recorded for the Thoth-Hermes Podcast by Chris Roberts