Plunge Books
INDEPENDENT PRESSEST. 2025 • RADICAL INQUIRY

THE PRESS THAT ASKS THE HARD QUESTIONS

RIGOROUS INVESTIGATIONS INTO ESOTERIC BELIEF SYSTEMS, COGNITIVE BIASES, AUTHORITARIAN CONTROL, AND UNCOMPROMISED INDEPENDENT PHILOSOPHY.

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SIGILLUM HERMETIS — CRITICAL DISSECTION
CURRENT & FORTHCOMING TITLES

Publications

DISPLAYING 2 VOLUMES AVAILABLE IN PRINT & DIGITAL
ISBN-10: 1969429011APRIL 1, 2026
Simple Living, High Thinking
173 PAGES • 5 x 0.44 x 8 inches
BY VON PAUL

Simple Living, High Thinking

Writings and ramblings by self-appointed leader of the Society of Misfit Independents, the artist Von Paul. Written over 4 months, this short text chronicles Von's innermost reflections and day-to-day intrigues, blending the existential mundane with deeper philosophical insights.

AVAILABLE EDITIONS:
Paperback ($16.99)Kindle ($7.99)
★★★★★ PRAISE FROM SOCIETY OF MISFIT INDEPENDENTS:

"A raw, unfiltered, and deeply poetic window into the mind of an independent artist navigating modern alienation and transcendental musings."

ISBN-10: 1969429003SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
The Human Design Cult
250 PAGES • 6 x 0.63 x 9 inches
BY JONAH DEMPCY

The Human Design Cult

When I first found Human Design, I thought I'd found the holy grail of mystic systems. Integrating astrology, chakras, Kabbalah and the I'Ching, Human Design blew me away with its complexity and insight into everything from deeply intimate aspects of my personality all the way to answering big cosmic questions. I began studying it profusely, going on to develop a Human Design practice according to my Type, Strategy, and Authority, for over 10 years. In that time, I went on to give thousands of readings, taught hundreds of hours of classes, and put on the High Desert Human Design Conference, the largest Human Design conference in the world. Yet, something didn't sit right with me. I continued to witness high levels of demand and control being placed on adherents to this system. I saw fanatical beliefs and cult-like devotion to the word of Ra Uru Hu, the founder of the system, despite claims that Human Design is not a belief system. I even had adherents of Human Design tell me they didn't follow any system, and that Human Design was not a system, despite Ra himself calling it The Human Design System. The cognitive dissonance grew and grew until one year, as I was organizing the High Desert Human Design Conference, I'd finally had enough. One of the speakers of the system was telling me how the vast majority of people who get into Human Design aren't able to really understand it deeply, and even fewer are able to live it. There is a term in Human Design for people who cannot "live their Design," as it is called: they are referred to as Not-Self. This would-be speaker was telling me how the attendees of the event are all Not-Self. At that point, I decided to take a stand. I drafted a "Keep Human Design Cult Free" letter. But it wasn't enough. My friends advised me to exclude "culty" Human Design speakers from the event, but then I would be hypocritical, if my complaints are that they control others. Instead, I decided to leave Human Design for good. This book is a work of nonfiction describing the author's 19 years studying The Human Design System and his decision to leave the system for good. He describes Human Design through the lens of cult frameworks such as the Lifton Model and the BITE Model for Authoritarian Control. He also looks at mechanisms for how systems like Human Design and astrology work, through the lens of cognitive science (cognitive biases) as well as through the lens of Jungian synchronicity and Mishlove's Archetypal Synchronistic Resonance.

AVAILABLE EDITIONS:
Paperback ($19.99)Hardcover ($27.99)Kindle ($9.99)
★★★★★ PRAISE FROM DR. KAREN PARKER:

"What an extraordinary and VITAL commentary on Human Design. With great HEART and thoughtfulness, Jonah Dempsey breaks down the conundrums and challenges in traditional Human Design doctrine. A profoundly healing and honest breakdown of Human Design. A MUST read for any Human Design student."

EDITORIAL PILLARS & MANIFESTO

The Plunge Inquest

THREE TENETS OF RADICAL PUBLISHING
SANTA FE • OAKLAND • WORLDWIDE
#1 DECONSTRUCT

SYSTEMS DISMANTLED

Systems Deconstructed

UNFLINCHING EXAMINATIONS OF MODERN ESOTERIC MOVEMENTS, MYSTIC HIERARCHIES, AND DOGMA THROUGH THE LENS OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY, AND SOCIAL CONTROL.

#2 PHILOSOPHY

RADICAL INDEPENDENCE

Alchemical Explorations

WRITINGS, RAMBLINGS, AND RAW PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS FROM OUTSIDER THINKERS, MISFIT ARTISTS, AND INDEPENDENT MINDS NAVIGATING THE EXISTENTIAL MUNDANE.

#3 INTEGRITY

PHYSICAL EDITIONS

Physical Book Production

METICULOUSLY PRODUCED HARDCOVER AND PAPERBACK FORMATS WITH UNCOMPROMISED TYPOGRAPHY, PRINTED ON DEMAND AND DISTRIBUTED GLOBALLY TO THINKERS AND COLLECTORS.

ANNOUNCING 2025–2026 RELEASES
"With great heart and thoughtfulness, breaking down the conundrums and challenges in traditional doctrine."
— CRITICAL COMMENTARY ON THE HUMAN DESIGN CULT