Wednesdays, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. CT - 8:00 – 9:30 p.m. ET
October 16 – December 18 (10 classes)
TS members: $135 Nonmembers: $165
$130 for 20 early bird spots
For the first time, historian and popular voice of esoteric ideas Mitch Horowitz — author of the classic Occult America — offers a weekly digital class on the esoteric history of the United States, ranging from the impact of Freemasonry and Spiritualism to the advent of Theosophy and the revolutions in alternative spirituality felt around the world.
Join Mitch for a deep dive into historical episodes including seances in the Lincoln White House, the influence of occult scholar Manly P. Hall on Ronald Reagan, the impact of hoodoo on the life of abolitionist hero Frederick Douglass, the marriage between Spiritualism and suffragism, the arrival of Madame H.P. Blavatsky and how it changed the world, the birth of parapsychology as an academic science, how today’s consideration of UFOs is converging with metaphysics, and much more.
As always, Mitch leaves ample time for exchange and provides key terms and readings for each weekly session. Can’t make a class? You’re covered: all registrants receive makeup links to view missed sessions or rewatch favorites.
Each live session includes key words and concepts; bonus readings; and time for Q&A and exchange. See below for the course syllabus.
Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for two weeks following the conclusion of the program. Late registrants will receive recording links to all missed sessions.
Course syllabus:
- Colonial Gothic. Migration of religious outliers, including Hermetic monk Johannes Kelpius and Shaker founder Mother Ann Lee, to the New World, which becomes both a magnet and springboard for post-Renaissance esotericism.
- Masonic Nation. The influence of Masonic and Rosicrucian ideals on American founders including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, John Hancock, and others. The heterodoxy of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. Early abolitionism and Prince Hall Masonry, the Black Masonic tradition.
- Hoodoo Rising. The development of the distinct occult spirituality of hoodoo among embondaged people. The endurance of retentive religious beliefs among Native Americans. Occultism in the life of Frederick Douglass.
- The Age of Spiritualism. From the Fox sisters to the Lincolns, we survey our fitful and meaningful Spiritualist heritage. The impact of medium Andrew Jackson Davis. Symbiosis of Spiritualism and suffragism.
- The Theosophical Dawn. Arrival of Madame Blavatsky in New York City and her upheaval of Western culture. Popularization of occult and Vedic ideas. The Miracle Club and the principle of “TRY.” Founding of the Theosophical Society and Blavatsky and Henry Olcott’s journey to India.
- Mind Metaphysics. The impact of Transcendentalism, Christian Science, Mind Cure, New Thought, etc. — all shaping America’s porous mystical and religious culture, and seeding future movements of self-help, recovery, and practical spirituality.
- American Arcana. The vast branches that spring off from Theosophy and proto-New Age thought from Vice President Henry Wallace and early hate-leader William Dudley Pelley to esotericists Alice Bailey and Paul Foster Case, and many more. Popularization of Tarot, astrology, numerology, etc.
- The Parapsychology Revolution. J.B. Rhine and the founding of the Parapsychology Lab at Duke University in the early 1930s — the effort to codify ESP, reincarnation, after-death survival, and the supernatural. How the supernatural fell under the examination of science and what it means today.
- Aquarius Rising. The Woodstock Generation and the new spiritual movements, from yoga and Transcendental Meditation to Zen and psychedelia, along with the rise of unclassifiable intellects, e.g., Alan Watts, Carlos Castaneda, Krishnamurti. The work of Jacob Needleman on New Religious Movements.
- The Search Today. The era of “great teachers” seems past. What remains? We face exciting questions around metaphysics and quantum mechanics, psi, neuroplasticity, etc. How does occultism inform the UFO thesis? We’re experiencing a mini-renaissance of new translations (e.g., Hermeticism, Gnosticism, astrology). Are we entering a third-wave occult revival?
“Mitch Horowitz achieves the impossible. He provides a crystal-clear look at topics that are drenched in the murkiest of ambiguities yet continue to fascinate every living soul.”
—Dean Radin Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences
“I admire Mitch Horowitz enormously. He has struggled virtually single-handedly to get the American intelligentsia to give occult and esoteric currents the serious attention they deserve.”
—Richard Smoley
“He throws new light on the hidden subtext of accepted dogma.”—Jacques Vallée
Mitch Horowitz is the host of Discovery/HBO’s “Alien Encounters,” a PEN Award-winning historian, a former vice president at Penguin Random House, and one of today’s most literate voices of occultism, mysticism, and the unexplained, with bylines in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, and appearances in Sundance-premiering movies, popular TV docuseries, and award-winning documentaries, as well as on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, NPR’s All Things Considered, and other major media. Mitch’s books include Occult America, The Miracle Club, Daydream Believer, Uncertain Places, and Modern Occultism. He is hosting a historical podcast, Extraordinary Evidence: ESP Is Real. Mitch’s work is censored in China. Visit him at MitchHorowitz.com
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 two 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.
Photo by David Heath