A conversation with Professor Wouter Hanegraaff, Dr. Aaron Cheak, and Fr. Ike Baker—moderated by Dr. Shannon Grimes.

In what sense can we speak of a Hermetic “tradition”? Is Hermetism a dead lineage at the mercy of scholarly and occultist reconstruction? Or is there a secret lifeblood that continues to animate it through traditions of translation and rebirth? As a source of inspiration, life certainly appears to have been breathed into it time and time again. To adapt T. S. Eliot, do innovations that are “true” to the tradition become part of the tradition over time, giving it renewed life? What might this mean for us today? Join us for a conversation with Wouter Hanegraaf, Aaron Cheak, and Ike Baker as we explore various perspectives on the nature of the Hermetic tradition.

What is the original nature of the academy and how do ancient centres of learning—from the Egyptian House of Life to the Platonic academies of Athens and Florence—illuminate our perception of what higher education is really about? How does the disenchantment and re-enchantment of the academy influence what we accept as real or worthy of study? As increasing specialisation divests us from deep polymathesis, how can we restore a holistic view of reality that retains academic integrity? Speakers to be confirmed.

Late antique Hermetism presents a corpus of philosophical writings with a distinct emphasis on gnosis and spiritual rebirth. Scholars have tended to distinguish and separate these writings from the so-called “technical” Hermetica—the magical, theurgical, astrological, and alchemical texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Scholars are increasingly aware that this is an arbitrary division and that a need exists to reintegrate the “philosophical” and “technical” Hermetica. What, then, does the worldview and purview of the Hermetica start to look like when we bring these pieces back together?