My name is Jove Spucchi, and I’m thrilled to open this new season of Occulted with Karin Valis—machine-learning engineer, writer, and founder of the esoteric-technology blog Mercurial Minutes.

Join us as we explore the porous boundary between code and consciousness:

how algorithms become mirrors for human desire, how prompting resembles spell-casting, and how every act of computation might be a form of world-making.

Karin and I trace the return of magical thinking in an age of probabilistic reason—where “ghosts in the machine” may be less metaphor than emergent presence.

Karin Valis is a Berlin-based engineer and author whose work bridges occult studies and artificial intelligence. Through Mercurial Minutes, she translates the mathematics of neural networks into the language of spirit, myth, and demonology—an exploration of what it means to think with the machine.

Learn more at mercurialminutes.github.io.

✨ Bonus Content:

For Occulted’s first-ever video episode, paid subscribers can watch an exclusive demo of AIO—an experimental AI project exploring the influence of consciousness on image generation.

In this recording, we quite literally encounter ghosts in the machine: unexpected forms emerging on-screen, a presence that crashes Karin’s computer mid-session.

We also look at Jove’s early AI experiments, where an uncanny apparition—a ghost of their own face—haunts an AI-generated video stream.

Watch it now at spucchi.com/occulted.

This podcast is entirely supported by our listeners.

If you’d like to help sustain Occulted and access future episodes, visit spucchi.com and click subscribe.

Join us as we explore JD's path to "finding the others" and creating AstroMagia-- the first conference dedicated to the flourishing of Astral Magic. We'll also hear some updates and exciting announcements for the future of the conference.

We go on to discuss the power and transmission of astral magic in its myriad forms: the textual, the experiential, and even some seemingly unlikely places not oft considered by extant traditions.

JD shares his approach to talisman-making, and the personal stories of his work with Spica that brought him into this practice and relationship with the sky.

JD KELLEY is an astrologer, anthropologist, and artist known for his astral talisman creation and as founder of AstroMagia -- the first conference dedicated to astral magic. Now in its fourth iteration, it continues to be the nexus for new research and exploration of the tradition of astrological magic.

Links:

• https://www.cunningasfolk.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/cunningasfolk
• https://astromagia.org/

My name is Jove Spucchi and I could not be more honored and thrilled to share this conversation with author, artist, and magical anthropologist Carl Abrahamsson.

Join us-- while Carl shares with us his wisdom on the creative process and the immense power that can be harnessed through individuation and alignment with one's own desire. We'll also get a sneak peek at Carl's new book "Meetings with Remarkable Magicians" which is coming out on Inner Traditions later this year.

CARL ABRAHAMSSON - is a Swedish author who has written extensively about Magic and Occulture. A prolific creator and ardent archivist, Abrahamsson is never far from the forefront of cult ure-making. Chronicling artistic and magical greats like Anton LaVey, Kenneth Anger, and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Abrahamsson's extensive collection of interviews, writings, photographs, music, film, and print media generously share of the personal relationships he had with these figures and the people around them.

More info on Carl: http://www.carlabrahamsson.com/

Carl's Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/vanessa23carl

Pre-order Carl's New Book: Meetings with Remarkable Magicians

Thank you for listening and supporting Occulted-- especially to our paid subscribers.

If you'd like to stay updated with the latest from Jove and Occulted, or support the podcast with a subscription, you can sign up at: https://www.spucchi.com/signup/