Back to Magic School: Mystery Traditions Pt 2

A six-week course on Mystery Traditions is running in London from February to March. The course is part two of the course on mystery traditions run by pagan tutor Ken Rees in January, but also complements the Magical Consciousness and Magicians of the West courses run by Ken Rees.

Ken said: "For people interested I would recommend early enrolment as part 1 was oversubscribed and a waiting list had to be put in place."

A flyer advertising the course says:

The Mystery Traditions of Europe did not die out consequent on the rise of Christianity from the 4th – 5th centuries onwards. The need of many people to find solace in esoteric rather than exoteric institutions continued, often discretely and covertly. While we only have a broken chain of links from the classical Mediterranean schools to the present day, various orders and societies have carried secret knowledges forward including the Knights Templars, the medieval witch cult and the revived gnosis of the Albigensians.

The 17th and 18th centuries saw a re-invention of tradition. This creative activity expressed itself in a myriad of ways, key representatives including Druidism, the Rosicrucians and Freemasonry. Similarly, the 19th century saw a revival of magic best exemplified by the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

The 20th/21st centuries have seen the rise of eclectic New Age philosophies including the Arcane School of Alice Bailey, Neo-Platonic groups such as the Universal Order and, within the Christian mystery tradition, the Anna Kingsford influenced Order of the Cross. A number of hermetic societies on both sides of the Atlantic now exist, often incorporating the phrase `golden dawn’. While contemporary nature religion such as the Wicca version of witchcraft also embody elements of mystery tradition.

This course will explore some of the examples given above.

Mystery Traditions Pt 2 takes place on Tuesday evenings from 8pm – 10pm from 21 February – 27 March 2012 (6 wks). The venue is The Mary Ward Centre, Queen Square London WC1. Nearest tube stations – Russell Square or Holborn. Fees are: £44 Cons. £15. For more details, call 020 8671 6372. To enrol, call 020 7269 6000 quoting course No: 439

For further information you can also email kenrees@talktalk.net or look at the website www.marywardcentre.ac.uk

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