Greek Philosophy, Eliphas Levi, A. E. Waite & the Qabala
The intellectual centre of the curriculum, and the course where you start building an actual symbolic vocabulary rather than a practice. Greek philosophy supplies the root — the examined life, the allegory of ascent from illusion to truth — and the Qabala, read through Levi and Waite, supplies the architecture: a single diagram claiming to map the human being and the cosmos in the same structure.
Plato's allegory of the cave and his account of the soul's ascent; the Hermetic strand of Greek thought (“as above, so below”); Levi's synthesis of ceremonial magic as a coherent philosophy; Waite's more scholarly, historically grounded treatment of the same material; and the Qabalistic Tree of Life as the organising structure underneath all of it.
Mapping your own current life and character onto the Tree of Life as a diagnostic exercise, then a written account of where the mapping felt accurate and where it didn't.
This course builds the symbolic vocabulary the remaining courses assume.
The reading list leans on original philosophical and occult sources rather than summaries.
The Tree of Life exercise is applied directly to your own life and character.
Work through the short, curated reading list above at your own pace.
Follow the specific topics of investigation raised by each text.
Complete the course's practical activity and exercise.
Your exercise becomes the basis of a personal 1-to-1 tutorial with Benjamin.
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