Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. CT
November 17 – December 8 (4 classes)
Theosophy and other occult sciences teach us that humans and humanity as a whole are on a natural growth trajectory, but that there are ways to accelerate growth. Accelerated development can alter the immortal trajectories of individuals, but it also has impacts on the group soul of humanity.
Initiation can be seen as technology for this type of spiritual evolution, but the initiatory path also includes peril. This course explores different types of initiation and considers them all within the framework of spiritual service and spiritual development.
See below for the full course syllabus.
Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for four weeks following the conclusion of the program. Late registrants will receive recording links to all missed sessions.
TS members: $60 • Nonmembers: $75
Gwendolyn Reece, Ph.D., joined the Theosophical Society in America in 1999. She has been teaching online classes for the TSA for the past four years and has taught for the National Capital Lodge since 2000. Gwendolyn is a Witch and a Wiccan High Priestess in the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, running Theophania coven in Washington, D.C. She is the President of the Sacred Space Foundation, which runs the largest annual esoteric conference on the East Coast for intermediate to advanced practitioners. She is particularly close to the ancient Hellenic Theoi, especially Apollon and Athena, whom she serves as priestess. Gwendolyn has been a member of the faculty at American University for more than 25 years.
Course Syllabus
Class 1: Introduction
- Initiation: Definitions, types, characteristics
- Foundational concepts one must master to understand what is happening in initiation
- Characteristics of the initiatory path
- Difference between an initiatory ritual and a ceremonial initiation
Class 2: Rites of Passage and Membership Initiations
- Rite of passage initiations and initiations into groups
- Ceremonial marking of a change in status vs. transformation catalyst
- Characteristics of catalysts of transformation
- Design of effective rites of passage and membership initiations
Class 3: Mystery Initiations
- Mystery initiatory traditions are a specific class of ancient cults that originated in Greece. They are at least inspirational or transitional to the notion of occult initiations in later traditions.
- This class shares information about the Hellenic and Hellenistic mystery cults with an eye to how they can inform current practice and thinking about occult initiations.
Class 4: Occult Initiations
- Ultimately occult initiations happen in the level of self that is not bound to the body, but many occult traditions have created rites to serve as potential catalysts to this inner transmutation.
- Teachings about initiation and the initiatory path from various wisdom traditions
- The risks of this “path of peril” and risk mitigations
Program Format
This is a live, interactive online program that will also be recorded. Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for four weeks following the conclusion of the program.
Join online via a Zoom link that will be emailed upon your registration. Please download Zoom for free at zoom.us/download and test your connection at zoom.us/test. For further information, check out www.theosophical.org/FAQ or email webinars@theosophical.org.