The King in Orange Audiobook By John Michael Greer cover art

The King in Orange

The Magical and Occult Roots of Political Power

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The King in Orange

By: John Michael Greer
Narrated by: Miguel Conner
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About this listen

  • Details the magical war that took place behind the scenes of the 2016 election
  • Examines in detail the failed magical actions of Trump’s opponents, with insights on political magic from Dion Fortune’s war letters
  • Reveals the influence of a number of occult forces from Julius Evola to chaos magick to show how the political and magical landscape of American society has permanently changed since the 2016 election

Magic and politics seem like unlikely bedfellows, but in The King in Orange, author John Michael Greer goes beyond superficial memes and extreme partisanship to reveal the unmentionable realities that spawned the unexpected presidential victory of an elderly real-estate mogul turned reality-TV star and which continue to drive the deepening divide that is now the defining characteristic of American society.

Greer convincingly shows how two competing schools of magic were led to contend for the presidency in 2016 and details the magical war that took place behind the scenes of the campaign. Through the influence of a number of occult forces, from Julius Evola to chaos magicians as well as the cult of positive thinking, Greer shows that the main contenders in this magical war were the status quo magical state - as defined by the late scholar Ioan Couliano - which has repurposed the “manipulative magic” techniques of the Renaissance magi into the subliminal techniques of modern advertising, and an older, deeper, and less reasonable form of magic - the “magic of the excluded” - which was employed by chaos magicians and alt-right internet wizards, whose desires coalesced in the form of a frog avatar that led the assault against the world we knew.

Examining in detail the magical actions of Trump’s opponents, with insights on political magic from occultist Dion Fortune’s war letters, the author discusses how the magic of the privileged has functioned to keep the comfortable classes from being able to respond effectively to the populist challenge and how and why the “Magic Resistance”, which tried to turn magic against Trump, has failed.

Showing how the political and magical landscape of American society has permanently changed since the 2016 election cycle, Greer reveals that understanding the coming of the King in Orange will be a crucial step in making sense of the world for a long time to come.

©2021 John Michael Greer. All Rights Reserved. (P)2021 Inner Traditions Audio. All Rights Reserved.
Occult Politics & Government Magic Users Wizardry War

Critic reviews

“Against a humorous and informed survey of the American political landscape, Greer analyzes the 2016 U.S. presidential election through the lens of magic. Taking his cue from Ioan P. Couliano’s masterpiece Eros and Magic in the Renaissance, Greer shows the power of symbols in forming popular opinion and political action and with it the competing and combating views of magic of the two principal parties: the magic of the privileged versus pragmatic positivism and where they meet in the Faustian dream of perpetual progress. An essential book for anyone seeking to understand the direction in which ‘cancel culture,’ the industrial world, and its formerly liberal democracies are heading.” (Mark Stavish, author of Egregores)

“John Michael Greer is one of the true original minds on the scene in these rather dire days of the wobbling American experiment. His books hack through the precooked ideology of our so-called thinking classes to present always-fresh connections between events on the ground and the deep mysteries of our being here in the first place, especially the issues of good and evil, which so befog us today.” (James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency)

“Greer does an excellent job explaining the primary division amongst Americans as being investment class, salary class, wage class, and welfare class. Things get more interesting when Greer starts tracking the chaos magic of the 4Chans, and the reactionary workings of the magical resistance. The King in Orange does an excellent job comparing and contrasting not only the philosophies of these groups, but also their operational practices. There is much to be learned about magic, just from the author’s observations and explanations. The King in Orange is a thought provoking look at the 2016 election through the prism of Greer’s political opinions and magical experience. Whether you agree 100% with his findings, you will still find yourself with much to consider." (The Magical Buffet)

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More Magic than politics

Big fan of JMG but stayed away from this one because I thought it was more political opinion. This is much more about magical thinking and causality. If you like those topics, then I highly suggest this title.

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Insightful.

As a scientist, reductionist atheist, I’ve always cringed at the word “magic.” Yet JMG defines it specifically and then uses the word appropriately by that definition throughout this book. Well written and delivered in this audiobook format, my appreciation for his coherent conversation is immense.

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A bit messy

If you can make it to the end you will be rewarded. It’s a tough go

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Best when not going all Spenglerian

As a general rule, I really enjoy the works of JMG, and there was much about this particular piece to enjoy. Perhaps not surprising for a Druid, Greer is at his best when humanely sacrificing the sacred cows of the respectable classes, and his examination of the trends within American society that led to the first election of the “Orange Julius”, and the subaltern sorcery that (for those who admit its existence) aided his rise, is persuasive and compellingly presented. It’s really fun.

However, I feel he loses momentum when attempting to situate these events in the context of a broader Spenglerian reading of history, allowing himself to rush off into speculations about post-Faustian cultures destined to rise in today’s Russia and US. I can understand the appeal, but it reminds me of similar sentiments devolving from the notions of Halford Mackinder and his thalassocracies and heartland pivots. As a European and Irish Druid, I can’t help but feel JMG’s observations on “Faustian Europe” resemble those moments of disbelief and, yes, schadenfreude we Irish feel when we glance at the current fallen state of the UK, our former colonial masters.

A much more straightforward and convincing explanation for the historical trends Greer points to, to my mind at least, is the existence of originally Viking cartels with no affection or allegiance to their subjects dominating both Muscovy and England and their far-flung empires; if there even were such a thing as a Faustian culture, its paragons would have to be the US and Russia. (It would certainly explain better the slightly unnerving coincidence of Trump and Brexit that JMG mentions...)

But this would also mean that, contrary to Greer, Wotan of the Blood Eagle rite is most certainly presiding in America; indeed if one accepts Spengler’s claim that the end has come for this civilisation, then for the two titanic siblings in either hemisphere there can be no reliance on notions like psuedomorphosis to escape their fate…in other words, their gotterdammerung.

As for the other peoples of Europe who have so often struggled in their relations with the Viking cartels to their east and west, well, I suppose we’ll have to wait for a different book from someone with a clearer appreciation for the depths and nuances of their history and histories.

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Don't waste your time or money on this reading

The performance is truly abysmal and very nearly forced me to give up on the book. This is a fun story and well written. I really wish I had just bought the hard copy and read it myself. The reader struggles to pronounce common words, reads at a bizarre pace and seems completely unsure of where to emphasize syllables. It truly grates the ear.

Buy the book. Don't buy this reading.

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