I’m delighted to be returning to Treadwell’s in the New Year (albeit virtually) for a series of live lectures that will span through to the Spring.
First, two standalone lectures based on my recent books: Atalanta Unveiled, and my PhD dissertation on Joséphin Péladan.
Beginning on February 23rd, this much-awaited 12-week course is based on the highly successful “Introduction to Western Esotericism” course that I designed and delivered for Phoenix Rising Academy 2010-2014, revamped and updated to incorporate the newest literature. Academic but accessible, by the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of each topic, including the most important original texts and the formative scholarly research.
All the lectures will be delivered live online through Treadwell’s virtual platform, and additional discussion time is factored into each lecture.
Scroll down for descriptions and booking links. Places are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment!
Tuesday 12th January 2021
Atalanta Unveiled: Decoding the Atalanta Fugiens and its path to self-initiation
Dubbed ‘the most prominent alchemical physician in Germany since Paracelsus,’ Michael Maier was Royal Physician and Count Palatine to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. A doctor, diplomat and alchemist, Maier spent much of his life in a poignant, fruitless quest for the elusive Rosicrucian Brotherhood; visionaries and intellectuals whose Manifestos proclaiming a “universal reformation of mankind” had caused an immense impact on European culture in the wake of decades of religious warfare. Maier produced a variety of works synthesising his interests in healing, alchemy, and esoteric philosophy. His Atalanta fugiens (1617) was designed to simultaneously stimulate the senses, the intellect, and the spirit through engagement with the emblems, music, and text, to lead the reader on a path to self-initiation through the secrets of alchemical knowledge.
In this richly illustrated lecture based on her new book, “Atalanta Unveiled” (2020) Dr Sasha Chaitow traces this path through the structure and content of the Atalanta fugiens together with a number of Maier’s other works. She explores the coded mythical references in the images and provides evidence that the emblems need to be rearranged to decode Maier’s full message.
Tuesday 2 February, 2021
Saving the lives of angels: Joséphin Péladan’s Vision for Redemption Through the Arts
This is a reprise of a sold-out, highly popular lecture delivered by Dr Sasha Chaitow at Treadwell’s in 2016. The foremost expert on the life and work of the mercurial Joséphin Péladan, Dr Chaitow has conducted the first full-scale investigation of Péladan’s life and work, and her eagerly awaited book on the topic is in preparation for publication with Fulgur Press (expected July 2021).
During the artistic explosion marking the Parisian Belle Époque, the Salons de la Rose et Croix (1892-1897), though short-lived, were perhaps one of the most ambitious artistic undertakings seen by 19th century French art world, seeking to unite the arts into a revival of initiatory drama, with philosophical foundations rooted in Western occultism and idealist thought.
The Salons were the brainchild of the enfant terrible of the French Occult Revival; esoteric philosopher and author Joséphin Péladan (Sâr Merodack, 1858-1918), a key figure in the inception and development of fin-de-siècle French Symbolism. His ultimate goal was a revolution against realism and the re-enchantment and spiritual regeneration of what he saw as a disintegrating and decadent society. Influenced by Platonic philosophy and Luciferian theology, his grand vision comprised an imaginal world in which artist-initiates would form the inner circle, designed to ignite a collective awakening in society and replace religion with art. The artist-initiates would raise the souls of the masses to ecstasy through aesthetic bombardment with symbolic images that would simultaneously stimulate the intellect and the soul. The ultimate end of this awakening would be restitution for the Fall of man and angels through human creativity.
After a brief introduction to Péladan’s life and times and a contextualisation of his core message, this lecture focuses on his notion of art and human creativity as the sole path for redemption for humans and angels alike.
Part of the new live lectures series from Treadwell’s.
Part 1: Tuesday 23 February – 30 March, 2021
Introduction to Western Esotericism Part 1: From the Ancients to the Renaissance
Part 2: Tuesday 6 April – 11 May, 2021
Introduction to Western Esotericism Part 2: From the Renaissance to Modernity
Treadwell’s is delighted to offer the most complete academic course on the study of Western Esotericism.
The format is: two pre-recorded introductory lectures, a pre-commencement interactive lecture, and five online lectures with Q&A.
By the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of each topic, including the most important original texts and the formative scholarly research.
Pre-recorded introductory lectures:
- The Academic Study of Western Esotericism: Terminology, Methods, Issues
- Historical review of Western Esoteric Thought from Antiquity to Modern Times
While not mandatory, viewing these is considered essential to following the rest of the course
Part 1 / Block A lectures:
- Pre-commencement lecture (Block A)
- The Hellenistic Period: Hermeticism and Neoplatonism
- Gnosticism in Antiquity and its Absorption into Later Traditions
- The Renaissance and the Birth of the “Western Esoteric Traditions”
- Alchemy: the Art of the Philosophers
- Kabbalah: Healing the World
part 2 / Block B lectures:
- Pre-commencement lecture (Block B)
- Pansophia, Theosophia, and the Philosophia Sacra
- The Scientific Revolution and the Counter-Enlightenment
- Initiation and Esoteric Fraternities
- The Occult Revival and Modernism
- 21st Century Occulture
Dr Chaitow offers a highly interactive, vibrant, and highly illustrated set of classes, with plenty of discussion opportunity.
There are two “blocks” of lectures. Each block is designed to be a complete course within itself and they can be taken separately, while both blocks taken together are designed to give the most comprehensive academic course possible.
About Sasha
Dr Sasha Chaitow earned her PhD in Cultural History at the University of Essex. She holds an MA in the History of Western Esotericism (University of Exeter, 2008), and an MA in Literature (University of Indianapolis, 2004).
She has published two books based on her research, is working on two more, and has also published extensively in peer-reviewed journals as well as magazines and professional journals. She is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and has extensive experience in adult education. She regularly presents her research at conferences and has organised numerous academic conferences and symposia. In her parallel career as a visual artist, she has produced 13 solo art exhibitions in the UK, Greece, and Sweden and frequently participates in curated group exhibitions. More>>
