Welcome to the Psychedelic Conversations Podcast!

Episode 168:
In this episode, we discuss Julian Vayne’s decades-long journey through occultism, chaos magic, esoteric culture, ritual practice, and psychedelics. Julian shares how his early fascination with magic, meditation, astrology, and group ceremony shaped his path, and explains occultism as a practical, experimental approach to exploring consciousness. We also explore the role of psychedelics in spiritual traditions, the current psychedelic renaissance, and the importance of culture, creativity, community, and diverse voices within this space. Julian reflects on Breaking Convention, the relationship between science and the sacred, and why psychedelics can act as powerful allies for transformation, connection, and self-understanding. We also discuss his book Tripsitting and his current work supporting psychedelic practice and education.

About Julian:
Julian Vayne is a British independent scholar and author with over four decades of experience in esoteric culture, spanning Druidry, Chaos Magic, indigenous Shamanism, Freemasonry, Witchcraft, Wicca, Tantra, and psychedelic practice. Growing up in Britain’s punk and rave culture, Julian became immersed in the philosophy and techniques of magic, beginning group ritual practice at age 16 within the Western Esoteric Tradition. He has since worked in ceremony with practitioners from many lands and lineages and is widely recognised as one of Britain’s leading occultists. In the 1990s, Julian edited Britain’s best-selling pagan newspaper, Pagan Voice, and in 2001 published Pharmakon: Drugs and the Imagination, one of the early books of the modern psychedelic renaissance. His work explores sacred medicines, entheogenic ritual, and open-source spirituality rooted in curiosity, collaboration, creativity, and deep ecology. Julian is co-organizer of Breaking Convention, Trustee of The Psychedelic Museum Project, a founding member of Transform, and sits on the academic board of The Journal of Psychedelic Studies. He facilitates psychedelic ceremony, offers integration support, and is the author of Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony. Since 2011, he has shared his work through The Blog of Baphomet.

Connect with Julian:
Website: https://julianvayne.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-vayne-6198ab1b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julian.vayne/

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This show is for information purposes only,
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About Susan Guner:
Susan Guner is a holistic psychotherapist with a mindfulness-based approach grounded in Transpersonal Psychology, focusing on trauma-informed, community-centric processes that offer a broader understanding of human potential and well-being.

Connect with Susan:
Website: https://www.psychedelicconversations.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susan.guner
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-guner/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/susanguner
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanguner
Blog: https://susanguner.medium.com/
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/susan-guner

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