Ep 10: Magic, the occult, and technology with Chaweon Koo
Magic and the occult are enjoying a renaissance in pop culture, but is the way they’re depicted accurate? As a culture, do we understand what magic is and what it isn’t? And how does something that can seem archaic fit into the world today?
In this conversation with Chaweon Koo, we dive deep into the history of the occult, Western and Eastern alchemy, chaos magic, magic and technology, and the future of magic.
You’ll want to listen to the end to hear Chaweon speak about the intersection of magic and technology and what living a soul-expressed life means to an atheist occultist!
About our salon guest:
Chaweon Koo is a writer of the intersection of pop culture, the occult, and futurism. Her Tik Tok @chaweonkoo is one of the most popular occult accounts on the platform, and she also interviews some of the most distinguished occultists and witches in the English-speaking world on her YouTube, Witches & Wine. In the past year, she has helped co-facilitate “crypto-rituals,” which are public magic rituals done directly on the Ethereum blockchain. Her new book Spell Bound: A New Witch's Guide to Crafting the Future has over 60 beautiful illustrations specifically commissioned for the book, and details her journey from an atheist witch into one of the most visible East Asian practitioners of both Eastern and Western occult traditions.
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In this conversation, we discuss:
03:15 What is the “occult”
09:20 The purpose of magic
11:25 Eastern occultism
15:40 Chaos magic
21:15 Technology and nature
25:40 Magical thinking vs magic
27:40 Western and Chinese alchemy
31:00 Fundamentals of Western alchemy
40:00 Working with the ancestors
46:05 Blockchain and magic
53:20 Embracing our nature
58:45 Living a soul-expressed life
Find Chaweon in these spaces:
Book link: https://amzn.to/3w5a00a
Social media links: https://beacons.ai/chaweonkoo
Resources mentioned:
Spell Bound: A New Witch's Guide to Crafting the Future by Chaweon Koo
Hermetica Triptycha by Gary P. Caton
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