‘Mark Stavish in the Reading Room’

    

Craftsmen Online’s next discussion in the Reading Room will feature Bro. Mark Stavish and the chapter titled “Occult Masonry in the Eighteenth Century” of his book The Path of Freemasonry. Click here for the reading material. Click here to join the discussion on Wednesday, October 30 at 7 p.m.

I have not read this book, but if Mark wrote it, then we’d be wise to invest the time to read it. Publisher Inner Traditions says:

A practical guide to the symbols and rituals of Freemasonry as a path of spiritual development and self-realization.

Explaining how Freemasonry promotes personal growth through the symbolic building of self and an inner Temple of Wisdom, Mark Stavish explores different areas of Masonic experience, including sacred symbols, tools, and rituals. He provides simple exercises and practices to help internalize and personalize the lessons presented, including dreamwork, journaling, meditation, and prayer.

• Shares the history and meaning of Freemasonry and its symbols

• Offers thoughtful explorations of different areas of Masonic experience, drawing on esoteric doctrines and paralleling them with experiences found in daily life

• Provides simple exercises and practices to help internalize and personalize the lessons presented, including dreamwork, journaling, meditation, and prayer

In this practical guide, Mark Stavish details the spiritual lessons and rituals of Freemasonry as a step-by-step path of spiritual development and self-improvement for both Masons and non-Masons—men and women, alike. He explores the history and meaning of Freemasonry and its symbols, from its origins in the Temple of Solomon to the medieval guilds to the Renaissance, and explains how the Craft promotes personal growth through the symbolic building of self and an inner Temple of Wisdom in much the same way that Masonry’s rituals symbolize the building of Solomon’s Temple in accordance with the mystical architectural instructions of Hiram.

Drawing on esoteric doctrines, including the Qabala, alchemy, sacred geometry, John Dee’s angelic magic, and the secrets of the Gothic cathedral builders, each chapter addresses an area of the Masonic experience, paralleling them with experiences each of us finds in our own lives. The author provides simple practices to help internalize and personalize the lessons presented, including dreamwork, journaling, meditation, prayer, and understanding sacred architecture. The author also examines the crafting and use of the spiritual and symbolic tools of Freemasonry, such as the trestle, or tracing, board and the Chamber of Reflection.

Providing the tools to make the Craft an initiatic experience of self-improvement, the author shows that, ultimately, the Masonic experience is the human quest for self-realization and self-expression, so that we each may find our place in the Temple of Wisdom.

Mark Stavish is a respected authority on Western spiritual traditions. The author of 26 books, published in seven languages, including The Path of Alchemy and Kabbalah for Health and Wellness, he is the founder and director of the Institute for Hermetic Studies and the Louis Claude de St. Martin Fund. He has appeared on radio shows, television, and in major print media, including Coast to Coast AM, the History Channel, BBC, and the New York Times. The author of the blog VOXHERMES, he lives in Wyoming, Pennsylvania.

Mark is at labor in Wyoming Lodge 468 in his hometown.

     

‘Unfolding the Rose’

     
Mark Stavish, the founder and the director of studies of the Institute for Hermetic Studies, invites you to partake of the IHS’ introductory course “Unfolding the Rose” at no cost.

From the publicity:

“Unfolding the Rose” is a complete introduction to Western esoteric practices and their importance for your spiritual journey. Come inside and walk with us for a while as we travel the Path of Return. Explore the meaning of initiation, tradition, awakening, immortality, and personal mastery within the framework of qabala, alchemy, astrology, and contemplative mysticism as we seek the Light that can only be found within.

Click here.

This course is the basis for our long-lived audio programs based around our book, Words of My Teachers. The entire course “The Path of Return: Essential Teachings for the Journey” is available with an extensive array of support materials and additional audio programs. We strongly encourage each of you to enroll in “Unfolding the Rose,” as well as “The Path of Return,” as there are a substantial amount of teachings included that cover the entire process of the path, all in a clear and practical manner suitable for any student at any point in his studies.

We look forward to hearing from you regarding this course.
     

‘Exeter nixes EXESESO’

     

The Spring issue of ESSWE Newsletter, the periodical of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism, reports the closure of Exeter University’s Centre for the Study of Esotericism. The text of the article is reproduced below.
(h/t Mark Stavish.)

Exeter MA in Western Esotericism

and EXESESO Close

By Mark Sedgwick

Exeter University has announced the closure of the Exeter M.A. in Western Esotericism and of the Exeter Centre for the Study of Esotericism (EXESESO). Both were started in 2005 by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, whose early death in 2012 triggered the closure of the program and of EXESESO.

The program and EXESESO opened in 2005, with Goodrick-Clarke as professor and a number of part-time lecturers, including Peter Forshaw (who now teaches in the Amsterdam M.A. program), Hereward Tilton, Clare Goodrick-Clarke, and Christopher A. McIntosh. It was the third European program of the kind, joining Paris and Amsterdam, from which it differed in that it was a part-time distance-learning program, taken over two years. It was supported financially by the Blavatsky Trust, a British charity set up in 1974 “to advance education in and promote or further the study of or research into religion, philosophy, and science” in cooperation with the Theosophical Society in England.

The program started with eight students, and within five years had admitted more than ninety M.A. students and several Ph.D. students. By 2012, five Ph.D. dissertations had been completed (one on Theosophy), and eight were in process (two on Theosophy). A small cloud over the program’s success was cast by occasional rumors of lack of rigor and of some students failing to distinguish clearly enough between academic study and their own personal practice, however, and according to a senior researcher who preferred to remain anonymous, Exeter was not entirely happy with the program. It consisted of a number of optional modules and two required modules before the thesis, one on “The Western Esoteric Traditions: Historical Survey and Research Methods” and one on “Theosophy and the Globalization of Esotericism.” This perhaps gave Theosophy a slightly more prominent position than some would see as appropriate, but only slightly, as the role that Theosophy has played in the development of modern Western Esotericism has certainly been major.

Goodrick-Clarke’s early death in 2012 marked the beginning of the end. According to Exeter’s press office, the decision to close the center and program followed “an internal review and discussions with the [Blavatsky] Trust,” and Goodrick-Clarke’s death “sat alongside consideration for the program as a whole.” Exeter’s press office was unable to comment on the conclusions of the internal review, but there were suggestions that it was not entirely positive. Exeter has made arrangements for the centre’s remaining Ph.D. students to complete their projects in the history department, where there are still scholars working on related subjects, such as Richard Noakes, whose research interests include Victorian psychical research, and Catherine Rider, who recently published Magic and Religion in Medieval England. But Europe now once more has only two M.A. programs in Western Esotericism, not three, which is an unfortunate setback for the development of the study of Western Esotericism in Europe.
     

‘Red King and White Queen’

     
This just in from the indefatigable Mark Stavish: A daylong program next month at the Institute for Hermetic Studies in Pennsylvania on the practical side of Alchemy, and other topics.

From the publicity:

The Wedding of the Red King and White Queen:

Psychic and Physical Regeneration

in Alchemy and Magic

and

Planning Your Practice: The One-Year Manual,

The Middle Pillar, and Attaining Illumination

Saturday, May 3

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation

of Wyoming Valley

20 Church Road

(near Francis Slocum State Park)

Wyoming, Pennsylvania

Tuition: $60

The Wedding of the Red King and White Queen:

Psychic and Physical Regeneration

in Alchemy and Magic

This class will examine, in a very concentrated form, the theory and practice of psychic and physical healing, longevity, and rejuvenation in Alchemy, magic, and Rosicrucianism. Practical methods will be given as they have been passed down in both written and oral forms. This class is concerned with operative methods and the theories behind them.

Topics will include:

Spagyrics: Theory of the Ens and Why Even Simple Plant Work Matters

The Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir or Life: Do They Exist?

Psychic Centers: The Physical Body as Alchemical Laboratory

The Red and White Mercuries as They Relate to Energies of the Physical Body

Is 80 the New 40? The Energetic Body and Turning Back the Clock

Angelic Invocations, Ritual Offerings and the Energies of Renewal

The Importance of Retreat: Why Retreat and Renewal Are Important

Planning Your Practice: The One Year Manual,

The Middle Pillar, and Attaining Illumination

This class will examine the importance of The One Year Manual by Israel Regardie and what it means to both beginning and intermediate students of magic. The methods presented in this classic text on spiritual discipline, training, and development can provide a powerful foundation for any practice regardless of tradition. When combined with the methods of meditation and ritual presented in The Middle Pillar, any student can find a complete and self-sufficient system for personal unfoldment for either solitary or group practice.

References to The Tree of Life – A Study in Magic and Ceremonial Magic by Israel Regardie also will be made, with what is commonly referred to as “The Oath of the Neophyte,” and “The Oath of the Adeptus Exemptus,” and their role in the Path of Return.

Topics will include:

Is it Really Meant to be Done in a Year? How to Proceed at Your Own Pace.

Distilling the Essence – The Art of the Magical Diary and Being Your Own Teacher

The Middle Pillar: Psychic Centers and the Universe Within You

The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram: How to Use It, and Not Abuse It

Year Two: Where To From Here? Solitary Practitioner or Group Member?

Why These Few Books Are All You Will Ever Need

To register and payment information contact: esoteric777(at)aol.com

To ensure a successful program preregistration and payment on your part is encouraged as we reserve the right to cancel without notice.


Mark Stavish, M.A., has more than thirty years of experience in traditional spirituality and is an internationally respected authority in the study and practical application of Alchemy, Qabala, and Astrology. Stavish is the author of four best-selling books on traditional Western esotericism: The Path of Alchemy – Energetic Healing and the World of Natural Magic, Kabbalah for Health and Wellness, Freemasonry – Rituals, Symbols, and History of the Secret Society, and Between the Gates – Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection and the Body of Light in Western Esotericism.

Mark Stavish

Stavish has published hundreds of articles, book reviews, and interviews on the various traditions of Western esotericism, and has been translated into nine languages; and has been a consultant to print and broadcast media, including documentaries produced by the BBC, A&E, History, and Animal Planet channels. He is the founder of The Institute for Hermetic Studies and The Louis Claude de St. Martin Fund, a non-sectarian, non-profit fund dedicated to advancing the study and practice of Western esotericism.

Stavish’s education includes BA degrees in Theology, and Mass Communications, with a Master’s in Counseling. He comes from a family tradition of German folk magic, and in addition, has been an officer of several organizations focusing on Rosicrucianism, Martinism, and regular Freemasonry, and studied and collaborated extensively with several leading figures in modern esotericism, including Jean Dubuis, Dr. Joseph Lisiewski, Dr. Peter Roche de Coppens, and others.
     

‘Hermetic Studies program in Pennsylvania’

     
The ubiquitous Mark Stavish of the Institute for Hermetic Studies made the following announcement yesterday:

Mark Stavish

Over the last few months we have had inquiries asking if we would be willing to reinvigorate our bi-weekly classes in western esotericism, with emphasis on Hermeticism and the three principal Hermetic arts and sciences of magic, alchemy, and astrology. Our response has always been a firm ‘Yes, if there is sufficient interest and commitment from the students for something that runs once or twice a month for two or more years.’

As such, we are sending out this notice stating that if you are interested in monthly or bi-weekly programs of an organized and directed nature, for the study and practice of Hermeticism and the disciplines stated above, contact us. Meetings and attendant work would be held in the Wilkes-Barre area of northeastern Pennsylvania.

Dues and attendant obligations will be announced. Please contact us if you are interested, briefly state your background in any of the subjects mentioned, and your general geographic location (i.e., Scranton or Central NJ), and your ability to attend bi-weekly or monthly classes.

Please understand this is a structured program and does not allow for easy entry of new members after the first six months—and certainly not after the first year—so it is important that everyone be on board prior to its initiation.

In addition, Mark stated:

The course is going to be a highly condensed version of our first program that ran twice monthly for four years. This is ideal for those with some modest reading and limited experience in meditation and/or ritual rather than a complete beginner. It is also ideal for those wishing to establish their own local group, as it is aimed at the motivated learner, or the one most likely to establish a group and thereby be its first leader. This would be the essentials to get them started for general alchemical and qabalistic work, not a detailed study - there is not enough time for that. Emphasis will be on reading one’s own chart, and very basic horary astrology for asking questions and finding general elections.

Mark can be reached at:

esoteric777(at)aol.com
     

‘Every problem has a spiritual resolution’

     
The Rosicrucian Order will present Dr. Lonnie C. Edwards, author of Spiritual Laws that Govern Humanity and the Universe, this week at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center in New York City. The program is described below, but here is a video shared on Facebook yesterday by Mark at the Institute for Hermetic Studies. One of those weird “coincidences.”

Lonnie C. Edwards, MD

Rosicrucian Cultural Center

2303 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.

New York City

December 9 through 13

3 to 7:30 p.m.

It is important for students of mysticism to become acquainted with the tremendous resources that are available to make our lives more harmonious. These resources are necessary for us to cope with the many and varied experiences that come to us. Once we learn to tap these inner resources, living will be more of an invigorating affair. We need to keep foremost in our consciousness certain principles, conditions, and laws in order to gain access to spiritual and permanent solutions. We have the ultimate choice to align with and attract the higher Energies or to align with and attract the lower short-lived manifestations. The higher choices, those of the spiritual self, reveal to us that all problems and challenges are illusions and are nothing more than mistakes in our thinking, and like every human error they dissolve when we but seek the higher frequencies–the truth. Evolution demands us to work through these. They are “normal” happenings, whose purpose is to urge us to endure and move toward transformation and on to regeneration and reintegration. Through lectures, meditation, and visualization exercises, we will be given an opportunity to uncover the composite self, and learn how to approach the future.

Participants also will have the opportunity to experience discussions and exercises designed to give a stronger recognition to the inner intelligence and how to utilize it in everyday experiences. These Rosicrucian methods show how every problem has a spiritual resolution.

Considerable attention will be given to how to view the world of appearances, and how you create your world of realities. Cosmic will and its role and influence will be explained.
     

‘HOGD conference next week’

  

Magpie file photo

Charles 'Chic' Cicero

The moment some of you have been waiting for is almost here. The 2013 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Conference, led by Chief Adepts Chic Cicero and Tabatha Cicero, will be held in Ontario Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13. It is open to the public, and tickets are available here.

What is HOGD? This Order is a modern incarnation of the Rosicrucian movement, and has an initiatic lineage, via Israel Regardie, connecting it to the original Golden Dawn founded in Britain in 1888.

The agenda for next week (from the publicity):

Friday July 12

5:30 p.m. - Meet and Greet

6:30 p.m. - Introduction

7 p.m. - The Bornless Ritual: An analysis of the origins, development, and ritual elements of the Golden Dawn's powerful invocation rite.

Socialization

Saturday July 13

10 a.m. - Formal Introduction

Magpie file photo

Tabatha Cicero

Ceremonial Magic of the Golden Dawn: A workshop which will focus on audience participation in learning ceremonial techniques. This is an active workshop which includes practice as well as theory. The rituals taught will include the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, The Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram, and a step-by-step analysis of Israel Regardie's Opening by Watchtower.

Tarot Magic: Different systems of magic and divination provide us with a variety of patterns or blueprints of the universe as well as the pattern of the human soul. The Tarot is a perfect tool for divination, meditation and personal growth because the universe is completely defined or patterned within the context of the cards of the tarot deck. This lecture will emphasize how Tarot Cards can be used as skrying symbols for spirit vision work, focal points for meditation and dream work, and as talismans that are charged to invoke the divine forces that are associated with each card. 

Lunch

Tarot Talismans: Working with the Angels of the Tarot: The cards of the Tarot represent real, living forces and powers that comprise the universe. Because of this the cards of the Tarot provide the perfect medium for the creation of magical talismans. Each tarot card has one or two Hebrew angels associated with it. These angels can be visualized by building a "telesmatic" image from the correspondences and colors attributed to the various Hebrew letters that comprise each tarot angel's name. This lecture also explains how to use Ritual Card Spreads in a magical ceremony to invoke the power behind the Tarot symbols.

Into the Shewstone: Golden Dawn Enochian Magic - 
The Golden Dawn incorporated the Enochian work of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly into its highest teachings, where it became an astonishingly effective and powerful synthesis of both theoretical and practical occult philosophy. This slide lecture will examine the basics of the Enochian system with special emphasize on Enochian color magic utilizing the Enochian Watchtowers, the Four Worlds of the Qabalah, and the four Color Scales of the Golden Dawn. The audience will also learn how to skry into an Enochian Pyramid.

For the record, the Magpie Mason keeps a deck of Tabatha's Babylonian Tarot on his desk at all times. (My thanks to Mark Stavish for the lead.)