78: 21st Century Hermeticism & Manly P. Hall (feat. Ashley Ryan AKA 'Pythian Priestess' of 'The Occult Unveiled')

This week on Black Hoodie Alchemy, I'm joined by the wonderful and well-studied Hermeticist, Ashley Ryan AKA Pythian Priestess of tiktok (witchtok to be specific) and her investigative occult podcast, The Occult Unveiled, which you can find on all platforms. While tiktok is not usually on this podcast's radar, it's worth noting a bit since our guest has nearly half a million followers, and she is a refreshing example of a genuine person, putting out authentic content on tiktok (among other places), and it goes to show that you should never judge a book by its social media platform!⁠

As for more serious matters, Ashley is an intriguing esoteric student, living in Los Angeles, doing consistent volunteer work at Manly P. Halls' Philosophical Research Society and working with a disciplined unnamed Hermetic Order in LA -- all with her tiktok virality and her detailed podcast on top.

Of particular note from her own show -- and a topic I bring up in our discussion here -- she's interviewed Manly P. Hall's last living personal student, Ronnie Pontiac, a name I hope to get in contact with in the future. Coming from the LA punk rock scene as a teenager, Ronnie's story about his time with Hall is touching, informative, and we just barely scratch the surface of the entire story.

So along with the life and times of the esoteric philosopher Manly P. Hall, we discuss some of Ashley's personal esoteric story, hermeticism in the modern day, the dangers of New Age cults, navigating the vapidness of the social media grind for positive reasons, magical philosophy, and of course we get into some Jung and shadow work!

BHA PATREON

BHA DISCORD

BHA LINKTREE WITH MY BOOKS, WEBSITE, ETC

This week's featured music - don't forget to support that black hoodie rap and all your favorite independent artists!

City of Dreams - Babylon Warchild

Divide - Salt

Original Spirit - Negative Blast

Gutted - Sat