Weekend of February 19-21, 2010

The Occult in America: An Adventure in Arcane History

Despite being a young country, America has a long and venerable tradition of homegrown occult mysteries. From Freemasonic sex magic to Spiritualism, mental healing to hoodoo, and neo-paganism to Rosemary’s Baby, Americans endlessly reinvent arcane lore. This phenomenon not only has inspired the current wave in alternative spirituality, but also dramatically altered Western culture and our most intimate sense of how we understand ourselves.

Now, Erik Davis (author of TechGnosis) and Mitch Horowitz (author of Occult America), two leading writers on the cultural impact of mysticism and the occult, explore the lost, unusual, and hugely engaging story of how the occult became American and then touched the rest of the world.

We first consider the migration of mystical philosophies to the colonial world, then explore the revolutions in Spiritualism, mind-power, Freemasonry, hoodoo (traditional African magic), and other movements. Finally, we focus on the twentieth and twenty-first century explosions in New Age and Aquarian ideas and practices that first blossomed on the West Coast (very much including Esalen) before igniting a spiritual revolution across the globe.

Both entertaining and intellectually rigorous, this class on the history of American occultism helps illuminate the way our own personal spiritual journeys have unfolded against a larger historical backdrop. Through spirited lectures augmented with photographs, film clips, and discussions, we not only come to understand America in a new way, but also meet the spiritual ancestors who made us who we are.

See Seminar Spotlight, page xx.

Reservations Information (Accommodations & Pricing)