S03E03 – Dr. Thomas Karlsson

Nightside of the Runes

Holy hell, are you ready for a next-level deep dive into the world of the occult, mysticism, rune stones, uthark divination, futhark divination, and all the things? On this week’s episode of Lost Origins, that’s exactly what goes down. Andrew and CK are joined by Dr. Thomas Karlsson for a deep dive into the occult and Dr. Karlsson does not disappoint. Dr. Karlsson rips your two favorite nerds through his work, which explores the practice of the Uthark divination system encoded within the traditional exoteric Futhark system of reading the runes, his research that traces the relationship between the rune stones and numerology, the Cabbala, alchemy, Gothicism, and sigil magic, and how his years of experience examines the history of the runes and the ancient spiritual mysticism of Odin.

Thomas Karlsson, Ph.D., is the founder of the esoteric order Dragon Rouge and Head of Ordo Draconias. He is the senior lecturer in history, religion, and philosophy at Stockholm University, fellow researcher at Yale University, and director of the Esoteric Crossroads conferences in Capri, Italy. The author of Cabbala, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic and Amongst Mystics and Magicians in Stockholm, he lives in Tumba, Sweden.

“Thomas Karlsson’s Nightside of the Runes is a curious and fascinating compendium, not just for the largely forgotten theories of the Swedish luminaries from earlier centuries that he resurrects and works with (the Uthark rune-row of the mystical scholar Sigurd Agrell and the Adulruna of the scholarly mystic Johannes Bureus) but also for what it shows of the author’s own personal journey. The first part of the book reveals a youthful and at times naive magician drawing great power from forsaken research, while the second part shows Karlsson himself having blossomed into a fine researcher and seasoned scholar, yet one who is still very much a magician at heart. A careful reader will find numerous insights at both ends of this runic spectrum.” – Michael Moynihan, coauthor of Lords of Chaos
“Although, Nightside of the Runes was written for a very specific audience, this book is definitely worth a look by anyone studying the occult. The lengthy and impressive notes and bibliography sections provide everything needed for further study or inquiry. This is not by any means a light read, but I found it to be engaging and feel it would be of particular interest to any who like to peel back, layer by layer, in deepening their understanding of the motivation and historical relevance of this or any of the esoteric disciplines. Karlsson reminds us that there are many ways of interacting with all of the magical arts and that the organic polarities of light and dark flow through every endeavor. Having the benefit of both perspectives provides a wholeness that is only achieved when we embrace each on equal footing.” – Robin Fennelly, SpiralNature.com

About the Guest

Thomas Karlsson, Ph.D., is founder of the esoteric order Dragon Rouge and Head of Ordo Draconias. He is senior lecturer in history, religion, and philosophy at Stockholm University, fellow researcher at Yale University, and director of the Esoteric Crossroads conferences in Capri, Italy. The author of Cabbala, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic and Amongst Mystics and Magicians in Stockholm, he lives in Tumba, Sweden.

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