Lightning in a bottle
Glitch Bottle review
Rating – 
It’s been a while since I reviewed an occult podcast. This is for a few reasons. First, is that I appreciate such things are extremely niche, and I try to cater to a wide audience. Second, is that while I have studied it enough for it to be ingrained in my psyche, my actual interest will wax and wane. This tends to annoy me, as it shows that I lack the discipline and commitment to really devote time to the matter. I do take some comfort from the thought that for every Mr. Norrell, there is a Learned Society of York Magicians.
However, recent discussions and discovering this show have kickstarted a new need to dive into the hidden arts, discover new shows and revisit old ones.
So what’s it about?
Glitch Bottle is an interview series covering all aspects of the occult experience. The guests cover a wide range of the mystical experience, but most fall into the “Western Esoteric Tradition” (think Mathers, Regardie, Crowley etc.) I am only dropping those names as a reference though. The guests are absolutely modern in their practice. They are also names that more experienced practitioners would know, for they have forged their own illustrious careers on this path.
The host, Alexander Eth, describes the show as “… I’m your fellow traveler on this star-studded caravan plunging headfirst into the occult. My own experience and those of professional magicians, scholars, authors and researchers has allowed me to peek behind the veil, to see ceremonial magic as a technology that has been lost in modern society. And yet, this technology is timeless, from ancient Egypt to China, from the Byzantine Empire to England and the Caribbean.”
I have tried to summarise the podcast, but I couldn’t think of anything nearly so beautiful as this, so I shamelessly stole it from his website!
Is it any good?
The insights offered by the guests are very interesting indeed, and the topics are diverse enough to keep you from switching off, both literally and figuratively. There are many rabbit holes to dive down here, and whilst it may seem better to ignore subjects that don’t directly appeal to you, I do recommend maybe listening to one or two that fall outside your main interest. Who knows what you’ll discover!
Alexander Eth is a great host, you really get the feeling that he is checking off bucket list interviewees. His eagerness to share his guests’ thoughts to the wider world is infectious and the episodes, despite their length, never feel too padded out. The episodes (all 197 of them as I finish this review!) average about 90 minutes. While episodes this long may seem daunting at first, subjects such as this require more long form discussions to really delve down thoroughly into them.
Whilst this show is available as audio only (you know that that’s how I get my fix), it does have downsides. Episodes with people like David Chaim Smith (who I really recommend you check out) really suffer as audio only. His work is very visual, and he creates stunning works of art. Particularly his episode on Esoteric Cartography, rely somewhat on things he’s created. He does describe them, but you really need to see what he’s talking about. For occasions like that, you may need to switch to YouTube so you don’t miss out.
Final thoughts
This podcast started nearly a decade ago, and I really wish I had known about it sooner. Mainly because I wouldn’t have such a massive back catalogue to trawl through. This may be one of those rare shows where just for the sake of time, I will just cherry pick episodes that suit my mood.
If you are on the lookout for a new esoteric discussion show, and you have listened to others I have reviewed in the past, then this really is a worthy addition to your library of the arcane!
You can get Glitch Bottle here:
https://www.greatpods.co/podcasts/glitch-bottle-podcast-203823
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods