Can Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy offer a new way of understanding how magic works?

Join me live on Saturday, 1 August 2026, at 12 pm EST for a fascinating conversation with Dr Darren Iammarino of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego.

We will explore the philosophy of magic between 1875 and 1975, beginning with Spiritualism, Theosophy, William James, and the emergence of spirit and energy models. Our central focus will be Whitehead’s process philosophy and its potential to explain magic through an informational and relational model of reality, in which events, consciousness, agency, and influence are interconnected processes rather than isolated substances.

We will also consider how yoga, Tantra, and the Yoga Sūtras conceptualise siddhis, or supernormal powers, alongside the influence of perennialism on modern Western interpretations of magic.

Can process thought help us move beyond the familiar opposition between supernatural and psychological explanations? Could magic be understood as participation in a dynamic and interconnected cosmos? Join us live and bring your questions for the discussion.

Discover more from Dr Darren Iammarino:

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00:00:00 Introduction to Process Philosophy & Magic

00:02:50 Meet Dr. Darren Iammarino: Background & Research

00:12:45 Actual Entities, Prehension, & Subconscious Experience

00:14:17 What is Process Philosophy? (Alfred North Whitehead Explained)

00:14:43 Meaningful Coincidence vs. Causal Magical Influence

00:17:38 How Magic Operates in a Whiteheadian Universe

00:24:17 The Information Model of Magic vs. Magical Energy

00:29:52 Action at a Distance & Non-Locality in Magic

00:33:33 Naturalizing Magic: Do Stones & Objects Have Consciousness?

00:38:25 Atheistic Magic, Panentheism, & Process Theology

00:42:58 Sigil Magic, Chaos Magic, & Altered States of Consciousness

00:51:43 Perennial Philosophy vs. Religious Pluralism

01:01:19 Why Esoteric Practitioners Should Study Process Philosophy

00:05:04 Technomancy, Prediction Markets, & AI Digital Magic

01:07:27 Defining Magic from an Academic Perspective

01:12:29 Join Dr Puca’s growing team of scholars and practitioners

⚠️ Copyright of Dr Angela Puca, in all of its parts ⚠️

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Can Process Philosophy Explain How Magic Works? With Dr Darren Iammarino

ANGELA'S SYMPOSIUM 📖 Academic Study on Witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, magick and the Occult

Can Process Philosophy Explain How Magic Works? With Dr Darren Iammarino