# Ep372: Hermitix - James Ellis

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/guru-viking-podcast-1161340/ep372-hermitix-james-ellis
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/guru-viking-podcast-1161340/ep372-hermitix-james-ellis.md
Podcast: [Guru Viking Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/guru-viking-podcast-1161340)
Published: 2026-07-31T13:00:16+00:00
Episode link: https://soundcloud.com/guruviking/ep372-hermitix-james-ellis
Audio file: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/2372588330-guruviking-ep372-hermitix-james-ellis.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/guru-viking-podcast-1161340/episodes/ep372-hermitix-james-ellis
Duration seconds: 9281

## Resource

In this episode I am joined by James Ellis - independent researcher; writer; host of the Hermitix podcast; and founder of the online magick school, the Hermitage. James traces his spiritual journey including new atheism, explorations in the occult, Gurdjieff work, conversion to and deconversion from Catholicism, and the founding of his online magick school, the Hermitage. James offers his critique of magickal protection practices, recounts his experiences of summoning demons of the Goetia, and explains his approach to spiritual teaching. James also describes his years of alcoholism, the complexities of British class culture, the awakening of his intellectual potential, his graduate studies in Continental Philosophy, why he did not enjoy reading Homer’s Odyssey, and the pros and cons of talking in stories. … Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:33 - James on Homer’s Odyssey and favourite fiction 07:02 - Church of England upbringing 09:26 - A class mutt 12:22 - Working class lessons 15:10 - Winnie the Pooh vs the Moomins 16:13 - Chronic underachieving at school 22:36 - Functional alcoholism from 14-22 years old 26:53 - Discovering a passion for reading 30:50 - James’ reading regime 32:36 - Finding time for reading 35:41 - School is an engine of trauma 39:45 - University degrees in Fine Art and Continental Philosophy 40:44 - A profound experience at 22 years old 45:08 - Why Continental Philosophy? 48:19 - Awakening intellectual potential 50:52 - Writing from the age of 16 53:53 - Beginnings of spiritual seeking & Alan Watts 56:04 - New Atheism, Chaos Magick, & the Occult 59:18 - Franz Bardon & Gurdjieff 01:03:34 - Franz Bardon and solo practice 01:07:43 - Discipline and building mind power 01:09:45…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/guru-viking-podcast-1161340/episodes/ep372-hermitix-james-ellis/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/guru-viking-podcast-1161340/ep372-hermitix-james-ellis.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.