Ep265: Occult Experiments - Duncan Barford
Duncan Barford is an occult practitioner, counsellor, and author of ‘Occult Experiments in the Home’.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Duncan discusses his own journey into the occult including reality-bending experiments with Chaos Magick, invocation of his holy guardian angel, identifying and relating to entities, and meeting his long-time collaborator, the magician and spiritual teacher Alan Chapman.
Duncan recalls his first encounter with Daniel Ingram’s “Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha”. He explains how he combined Daniel’s approach with Western occult methods and rituals to attain arhatship for himself.
Duncan declared his enlightenment on the internet and began teaching awakening in a short-lived venture called “Open Enlightenment”. Duncan reflects on the strongly negative reactions that both his declaration and teaching project received.
Duncan also comments on demonic affliction, both his own experiences as well as those of recent podcast guest Mattias Daly, the influence of social class and geographic location, navigating kundalini crisis, the intersection of mysticism and magick.
00:00 - Intro
01:19 - Occult experiments in the home
02:38 - Duncan comments on Mattias Daly’s demonic affliction
04:34 - Demonic or kundalini awakening?
06:27 - - Duncan’s own kundalini crisis
08:44 - Seeking guidance from Tara Springett
11:39 - Identifying entities
14:19 - Duncan’s specialism in counselling those having unusual occult experiences
17:05 - Finding the best paradigm
19:38 - Does Duncan prescribe magickal practice?
21:50 - Spirituality vs everyday life
24:42 - Meeting Alan Chapman and sustained interest in the occult
26:59 - Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel
27:57 - Encountering Daniel Ingram and bringing awakening back to magick
30:31 - Duncan’s childhood interest in the supernatural and strange
33:13 - Gothic horror and psychoanalysis
33:52 - Beginning to explore magickal practice
35:03 - Moving from intellect to feeling and emotion
36:32 - Abandoning a PhD, meditation frustration, and life crisis
44:12 - Encountering Chaos Magick and leaning to bend reality
46:26 - Envy of Daniel Ingram and reception in the Chaos Magick community
49:40 - Are mysticism and spirituality compatible with magick?
51:09 - Using magick to induce mystical experiences
52:44 - Declaring arhatship and attaining the four paths
57:45 - Powerful experience with Andrew Cohen
01:01:43 - Advice from Christopher Titmuss
01:03:50 - Dreaming of Gary Numan
01:05:25 - Is arhatship the end of enlightenment?
01:07:09 - Duncan asks Steve’s opinion
01:09:07 - Did Duncan and Alan keep pace in their awakening path?
01:10:03 - The 3 doors and awakening with visions
01:13:39 - Fire kasina retreat with Daniel Ingram
01:16:26 - Why did Duncan declare arhatship?
01:17:59 - Ego inflation through magickal practice
01:19:08 - Negative responses to declaration of enlightenment
01:19:54 - Failure of Open Enlightenment and the compulsion to share one’s awakening
01:24:49 - Is UK conducive to spiritual and magickal work?
01:27:27 - Reflections on being working class
01:28:33 - Travellers vs locals
01:29:15 - Comments on the spectrum of entities
01:31:09 - Discount code for the Baptist Head Compendium
To find our more about Duncan Barford, visit:
View Mattias' Daly interview about demonic affliction here:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James