ALCHEMY EAST AND WEST
DR. AARON CHEAK
Spring 2024
Alchemy may be defined as the unveiling of the primordial perfection hidden within the heart of appearances. In its most universal sense, alchemy traces the transformations of reality as it unfolds from and returns to this ever-present (yet ever-concealed) origin. In this context, the natural and spiritual aims of alchemy, from gold-making to god-making, reveal themselves as particular applications of a single universal process. In order to explore this, the present course will provide a detailed introduction to the world’s alchemical traditions. Beginning with its dual roots in Pharaonic Egypt and Taoist China, we will examine the flourishing of alchemy in Hellenistic, Byzantine, Islamicate, Indo-Tibetan, and European cultural contexts. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the relationship of alchemy to the esoteric currents of Theurgy, Gnosis, Sufism, Tantra, and Hermeticism. Having laid the concrete historical foundations of alchemy, we will then explore predominant motifs in the theory, mythos, and praxis of alchemy across traditions, including its metallurgical, cosmological, and mystical applications. In doing this, we hope to liberate alchemy from its persistent materialist-reductionist misconceptions within academia, and to show that transcendence and concretion, rather than being at variance, mutually inform a single wisdom.
Nine Saturdays Live on Zoom
March 23 — June 1, 2024 (No Class on March 30, May 25) *Recordings will be made available
2 PM - 3:30 PM PDT
$333
Aaron Cheak, PhD, is a scholar of comparative religion, philosophy, and esotericism. Former president of the International Jean Gebser Society (2013–2015), he received his doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of Queensland in 2011 for his work on French Hermetic philosopher, R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz. Since 2014, he has worked upon several translations of Hermetic texts under the auspices of Rubedo Press and is the author of the recently revised Alchemical Traditions: From Antiquity to the Avant Garde. He presently lives in Auckland, New Zealand, where he maintains an active interest in tea, wine, poetry, typography, and alchemy.