AMERICAN MAGICK Four Part Documentary Mini-Series Now Streaming
4 min read
Director Johnny Royal: “American Magick is a journey into the hidden architecture of belief…”
Los Angeles, CA (November 1, 2025) – American Magick, is a four-part documentary television miniseries directed by Johnny Royal (Illuminated). American Magick lifts the veil on the creation, journey, and rituals of renowned occultist, ceremonial magician, and author Poke Runyon’s Ordo Templi Astarte (O.T.A.) and Church of the Hermetic Sciences (established 1970.) The doc is now streaming worldwide through Prime Video and all major streamers in the U.S.
The mini-series follows modern members through a powerful journey toward enlightenment and dives into their practices based around a centuries old system called the Crata Repoa, which goes back to Ancient Egypt.
“American Magick is an artform. Combining poetry, drama, and mythology; empowering our most creative resource – the human imagination,” said Runyon.
Unveils the living legacy of Western esotericism.
Filmed in a cinematic hybrid style blending documentary realism and narrative reconstruction, American Magick unveils the living legacy of Western esotericism — from ancient Egyptian mystery schools to modern initiatory movements. Royal’s direction emphasizes ritual atmosphere, symbolic storytelling, and emotional authenticity, transforming the screen into a temple of visual initiation.
“American Magick is a journey into the hidden architecture of belief — a cinematic exploration of how myth, ritual, and revelation shape the American soul. It’s not just a series about magick; it’s about the eternal search for meaning beneath the noise of modern life,” said Johnny Royal, director.
Credits: Produced by Praetorian Motion Pictures. Showrunners Angel Royal and Maximillian Paul, Head Writer Poke Runyon, Director Johnny Royal, Writers Maximillian Paul (written by) and Poke Runyon (created & written by), Composer Greg Dombrowski, Director of Photography Charlie Grey, Editors Charlie Grey (offline editor), Maximillian Paul (online editor), River Royal (assistant editor), and Johnny Royal (postproduction supervisor, supervising editor.)
Official Trailer
About Johnny Royal:
Johnny Royal is an award-winning filmmaker, director, and composer whose body of work bridges cinema, television, and music through explorations of symbolism, consciousness, and transformation. His films reveal the intersection between art, philosophy, and the unseen forces that shape the human experience.
Best known for directing 33 & Beyond: The Royal Art of Freemasonry and Illuminated: The True Story of the Illuminati, Royal returns to the screen as Director of the forthcoming limited television event American Magick (2025) — a cinematic exploration of Western esoteric traditions and their enduring impact on modern consciousness.
About Carroll Poke Runyon
Carroll “Poke” Runyon describes himself as “A Gentleman of The Old School” which he defines as, “One who recites classical poetry to heartless beauties while wrestling alligators.” He has lived out his Neo-Romantic philosophy as a Captain in the Green Berets, a student of Ninjutsu, a blue water sailor, a scuba diver, an internationally published novelist, and author of adventure stories in the legendary Argosy magazine. For more than thirty years he has been a leading figure in the revival of ceremonial magick as Western civilization’s spiritual counterpart to Eastern mysticism and native American shamanism.
Runyon’s background in occult study and practice is extensive: in 1970 he became the Founder-Magister of the Ordo Templi Astartes, which is now America’s oldest continually operating ritual magick lodge. In 1980 Runyon received his Master’s Degree in cultural anthropology from California State University at Northridge, specializing in magick. After graduate school he took all the degrees of Freemasonry in both the Scottish and York Rites.
He then undertook an intense series of Tibetan tantric initiations and training sessions under the direction of H.E. Luding Khen Rinpoche of the Sakya Order, mastering the Vajra Yogini (Goddess of the Sorcerers) system. Runyon later received the Kalachakra initiation from H.H. The Dalai Lama. He is author of Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscript and has served as an officer in three active Golden Dawn temples.
His articles on Magick and the Western Tradition have appeared in Gnostica magazine, Atlantis Rising, and his Church’s journal, The Seventh Ray. Runyon’s most noted contribution to the post W.W.II occult revival has been his rediscovery and subsequent development of the facial reflection/distortion dark mirror scrying method for magical evocation. Runyon has written, produced, and narrated a video entitled The Magick of Solomon that dramatically demonstrates the unique and powerful spiritual development system described in The Book of Solomon’s Magick. He has also written and produced the occult documentaries Dark Mirror of Magick, The Rites of Magick, and the 2007 dramatic feature length motion picture Beyond Lemuria.
Social Media Channels:
The Agrippa Lodge of the Ordo Templi Astartes
Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Montsalvat Lodge of the OTA
Carroll Poke Runyon
*Special thanks to Roberson Public Relations for information and images.
