The Alternative Press

Interweave Presents: Follow the Golden Thread: An Introduction to Western Esoteric Traditions

Explore the hidden dimensions of Western Civilization’s spiritual traditions! Get behind literal meanings to the symbolic and mystical treasures. “The Golden Thread” of the Esoteric, or hidden Wisdom, weaves its way through a number of ancient, medieval and modern mystical and philosophical traditions. The “esoteric pilgrim” learns to travel through many layered dimensions of Reality, from the world of material objects through the Imaginal (symbolic or intermediate) realm to the ultimate Oneness or non-duality which underlies all things.

In this three-part series you’ll learn the keys to unlocking three Sacred Books: 1) the Revealed scriptures of the Abrahamic Traditions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam; 2) The Book of Nature; 3) The Book of Humanity. You’ll also learn about the symbols and practices which Western Esotericism draws from that stretch from ancient Platonism to Medieval Cabala, to more recent Rosicrucianism.

Reading three texts (one a month) will be the foundation upon which the lectures and discussions will be based. If you are able please read these text in preparation for each class, and your learning will be enriched:

February 26:  The Western Esoteric Tradition, A Historical Introduction by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (Oxford University Press, 2008);

March 25:  The Secret Tradition of the Soul by Patrick Harpur (Evolver Editions, 2011);

April 15: The Mystical State, Politics, Gnosis and Emergent Cultures by Arthur Versluis (New Culture Press, 2011). 

Instructor: Peter Savastano, Assoc. Professor of Anthropology at Seton Hall University

Dates: 3 Sundays; Feb. 26, Mar. 25, Apr. 15

Time: 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Location: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 73 S. Fullerton Avenue, Montclair, NJ

Tuition: $65 ($55 Interweave and St. Luke’s Members)