Episode Details

Originally recorded 9/14/23 for Episode 59 — Kate Kettelcamp: Astrology, Saturn, Integration & Descent into the Underworld

Thank you all for listening, and I hope you enjoyed the episode! In this conversation, Kate and I dove into the sacred science of astrology. We spent much of the conversation going through our respective birth, or natal charts. These charts represent the alignment of the planetary bodies and constellations of the Zodiac at the time and place of our respective births. On Substack, I’ve included a couple of cheat sheets with astrology basics and how to read a natal chart. I’ve also included both Kate’s and my natal charts.

We further discussed Hermes Trismegistus in this episode. The Greek god Hermes represents the archetype of Universal Wisdom and is believed to have repeatedly manifested on Earth as a teacher of knowledge. Esoteric researchers equate Hermes with Thoth the Atlantean in Egyptian cosmology, Mercury in Roman cosmology and Enoch/Metatron in the Abrahamic traditions.

Trismegistus translates to “thrice greatest”. There are many theories as to why exactly Hermes was known as the thrice greatest. One idea is that he was the master of three sacred sciences: astrology, alchemy, and theurgy.

Astrology, as defined by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, refers to the science of transformation and the technology of prediction. Understanding astrology enables us to operationalize the Hermetic principle of “as above, so below”. To leverage the connection between the stars and the human physiology as a practical means of actualizing our highest and best potentials.

Alchemy is the predecessor of our current day, relatively primitive science chemistry. Alchemy refers to much more than the transmutation of lead into gold for monetary purposes. The philosopher’s stone of alchemy is the understanding of spiritual alchemy. The transmutation of our materialistic, “lead” consciousness into the divine, “golden” consciousness of enlightenment.

Theurgy refers to divine magic, or the ability to communicate with the gods. Hermes was known as the messenger of the gods because of his ability to act as intermediary between them and humanity. He personified the planet Mercury because it was the closest to the Sun, again representative of his position as messenger of the gods.

In “DMT & the Potential for Interspecies Communication”, I wrote about how I believe we’re on the precipice of restoring theurgy as a legitimate science. That we have practical technologies to initiate contact with the “gods”, what we may today refer to as extraterrestrials and transdimensional beings. That we can do so directly through higher/altered states of consciousness, including with the support of sound technologies like binaural beats as well as psychedelic plant medicines. And that we can likely establish species-wide communications through the mathematical languages of music and geometry.

As I continue to find the threads of my dharma in this lifetime, they increasingly lead me back to the philosophy of Hermes. So much so that I recently got a tattoo of him. The image portrays a sacred piece of artwork titled Hermes Standing Upon the Back of Typhon and represents the archetypal man I hope to emulate in my life. The hero’s journey of life which I intend to lead. While I do so, I hope to help restore these sacred sciences of astrology, alchemy, and theurgy – communicating to humanity their relevance for our modern day.

One final thought to close out this episode. In this conversation, Kate highlighted how both my Moon and Rising signs are Libra and recommended, “Everyone watch out”. I asked: “What does that mean?”, to which she replied: “I know that you know”.

She was right, of course. I know exactly what that means. So, I’ll sign off with a message to the perp