I’m glad to say that virtually the whole faculty and the impressive multiplicity of themes apparent in last year’s conference brochure will be with us next June in Alexandria. Moreover, we intend to take advantage of the hugely positive political changes since January’s beginning of the amazing Arab Spring. During the conference we plan to meet with some of the activists from the Revolution so we can deepen our understanding of their goals, values and courage. We also hope to spend time with some of the Egyptian Sufis whose presence is actually widespread but had seemed largely invisible to many visitors until the recent dramatic changes.
In other words, I feel that our conference will be even richer and more extraordinary in the post revolutionary era than it would have been last year. As Egypt starts to regain its rightful place as the cultural center of the Arab world, and as a unique doorway to Africa and the spiritual riches of Islam, we can expect to discover many treasures.
Of course, the conference’s focus will be on the Alexandria of antiquity with its unrivaled 700 year history as the world’s first cosmopolis, a city where all known cultures, philosophies and religions flowed together in the crucible formed by the meeting of Greek wisdom and ancient Egyptian knowledge. I am grateful to our spectacular faculty for their unwavering commitment to our gathering, despite the vicissitudes and challenges of the first half of the year, and I fully anticipate that our Quest will be unforgettable. After all it appears to be 1500 years since an international group gathered in Alexandria to honor the full spectrum of the city’s brilliant philosophical, spiritual and esoteric heritage. And we’re not going to let a revolution stop us from pulling it off!
Please feel free to call our devoted registrar, Andrea Lomanto, at 212 219 2527 ext 101 if you have any questions – or you can reach her at quest@opencenter.org. The conference web site is up and running at www.esotericquest.org and you can expect a new brochure to land in your mailboxes this fall.
With great anticipation,
Ralph White, Conference Director
CHECK OUT OUR UPDATED WEBSITE!
We have updated our website to refelct the 2012 schedule and information! Please check it out here: http://www.esotericquest.org/egypt/
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT - SCOTT OLSEN
Scott, you will be speaking on the philosopher mathematicians of Alexandria. What made them so unique?
Lying at the crossroads of Egyptian and Greek civilizations, Alexandria appears to have produced philosopher mathematicians who truly encapsulated the essence of the greatest philosopher of antiquity, Plato himself. They understood Plato’s esoteric doctrine as well as anyone, before or since. Steeped in the Orphic and Pythagorean mysteries, Plato was an initiate of both the Egyptian and Eleusinian mysteries. He was a product of the mystical revelations of these mysteries, which in fact included the revelations of the secrets of the mathematical ratios and proportions of the Cosmos itself. Forbidden by oath to openly expose these mystical and mathematical epiphanies on penalty of death, Plato was forced to carefully secrete the deeper mysteries in his dialogues, understandable only to those few capable of penetrating his puzzles and clues. Of course the dialogues were supplemented by “unwritten lectures” in the Academy, known as the (agrapha dogmata). Some “very telling” comments and titles of these lectures, though mere fragments, were preserved in writing by members of the Academy. The great philosopher mathematicians of Alexandria understood this well. They were not only Neoplatonists following the lead of Ammonius Saccas, the Philalethian (lover of truth) and teacher of Plotinus, but they were Neopythagoreans who understood the deeper, esoteric significance of Plato’s Pythagorean and Mystery teachings. The philosopher mathematicians of Alexandria, including Euclid, Apollonius, Diophantus, Pappus, Theon and his daughter/ successor Hypatia, were unique in the breadth of their knowledge, and were some of the greatest teachers of ancient wisdom, both philosophical and mathematical, that humanity has ever known.
For those not initiated into the joys of sacred geometry, why should non-mathematicians today be interested in this field?
We now know that the ratios and proportional symmetry that are the essence of sacred geometric constructions are not limited, as once thought, to the realm of art and beauty. It is now established beyond any reasonable doubt that these harmonic principles are infused throughout Nature and the Cosmos itself. In fact, they are scale independent and found at every level. The same relationships (ratios, means and proportions) are found in galactic clusters, planetary orbits, a hurricane, the phalanges of your fingers, phyllotaxis or leaf arrangement in plants, and the masses of quarks that make up subatomic particles. The Hermetic Maxim expresses it, “As Above, So Below; and As Below, So Above.” But one must understand the 3rd factor or intermediate “relationship” that “bonds” the Above and the Below. It is this holographic fractal pattern (sometimes revealed in transformative experiences) that infuses all of Nature and the Cosmos from top to bottom. And it is in the proportional symmetry found in sacred geometry (or in mystical experience) that one may discover the key.
For many people the mention of Euclid is enough to bring up disturbing memories of High School math, but clearly he was a remarkable figure whose work has endured for millennia. Can you give us a short sketch of some of Euclid’s achievements?
Here is the central achievement. Euclid succeeded in encapsulating the geometric developments that had been begun by the Pythagoreans, and systematically unfolded in Plato’s Academy. We are aware of other earlier attempts, but it was Euclid who succeeded in putting it all together. He clearly and concisely demonstrated how one can begin with a minimum of principles (5 postulates) and points, and from there construct 1- dimensional lines, 2- dimensional planes, and thence 3- dimensional solids. What is critical to his work is that in the process, Euclid unfolds the underlying ratios and proportions, including the arithmetic, harmonic, and geometric means that are involved. The final Book 13 culminates in the construction of the 5 regular (Platonic) solids, stressing the harmonic interrelationships (ratios) coexisting between them. What unfortunately has been missed in mathematical education (much to the detriment and chagrin of the student) includes the underlying features of a true “mathematics of harmony.” Proclus proposed that this was Euclid’s underlying intention: the building of the 5 regular solids, referred to by Plato in the Timaeus as the structural scaffolding of Nature and the Cosmos, and their component elementary triangles out of the “sacred” ratios. That is, there really is a harmony of mathematics infused into the world. (This has recently been clarified in the 2009 book by Alexey Stakhov (assisted by Scott Olsen), The Mathematics of Harmony: from Euclid to Contemporary Mathematics and Computer Science, World Scientific Publishing Co).
Many of our readers may have seen the film “Agora” about Hypatia, the Neoplatonic philosopher and mathematician. What is it that you find most compelling about her life and work?
Hypatia represents the highest level of wisdom and virtue in humanity, what Plato would call the Philosopher King. Today we might refer to her as representative of the highest stage of humanity, that of illumination, or Homoluminous. She was the daughter of Theon, another brilliant Alexandrian philosopher mathematician, who lectured on the works of Hermes Trismegistus and Orpheus, and wrote commentaries on Euclid’s Elements and Ptolemy’s Almagest. Following in her eminent father’s footsteps, Hypatia is known to have drawn large crowds to her public lectures on Plato and Aristotle. She wrote commentaries on astronomy, geometry (conic sections: the ellipse, parabola and hyperbola), arithmetic number theory, and was skilled in the construction of astrolabes. Very careful to remain religiously neutral, not offending anyone’s religious beliefs, she attracted Christian students to her school, including Synesius of Cyrene, a future Christian bishop, whom she was instrumental in converting to philosophy. In his letters to Hypatia and others, it is clear that Synesius became “a lifelong member of a circle of Alexandrian initiates with whom he shared in the mysteries of philosophy.” And consistent with our picture of Hypatia as a custodian of the ancient esoteric mystery tradition, Synesius uses language from the Mysteries. In Epistle 137, he refers to her as “the Hierophant of Philosophy,” and that “philosophy itself [is] a mystery suited only to initiates,” “being the highest possible way to the Divine.” Ironically, despite her purity, humility, wisdom and avowed religious tolerance, she was viciously murdered by a Christian mob purportedly incited by the envious and hateful Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria. It is believed that she is represented in Raphael’s painting, The School of Athens, as the lovely white-robed female figure standing behind Pythagoras and referred to by some as “the ideal disciple of the philosophers.”
Your book, The Golden Section: Nature’s Greatest Secret, has been widely admired. How do your insights on the significance of this topic inform your appreciation of the great mathematical figures of Alexandria?
We now realize that the golden section, what the ancient Egyptian priests (who initiated Plato) referred to as the Primordial Scission, is discoverable in the mathematical structure of the Great Pyramid of Giza, in the canons of proportion (both 1st and 2nd) of Egypt, of Greece (the canon of Polyclitus), and the Renaissance (see Cesariano, Durer and DaVinci), and is the principle of symmetry at the heart of quantum**.
It is the basis of the fine-structure constant, the subtle mean behind the quark masses that give rise to elementary particles, rules the Chaos Border between order and chaos, drives plant structure (phyllotaxis or leaf-arrangement), drives genetics (DNA structure and nucleotide organization), is found in chemistry (periodic table of elements), astronomy (planetary sizes and their orbits), underlies the optimal functioning of the human (and mammalian) heart, and even consciousness itself (neuronal structures, such as the microtubules and clathrins). The golden section driven “winding number” of a hurricane (137.5 degrees), is identical to that found to be predominant in the phyllotaxis of plants, and the harmonic manifestation of quark and subatomic particle masses.
The basis of these findings that emerge from the golden ratio, and the resulting divine proportion, appears to have been understood by these phenomenal philosopher mathematicians of Alexandria. The perennial philosophy or ancient wisdom seems to have been passed through the ancient sanctuaries of initiation, into the philosophy and mathematical insights of Plato, and his descendents in the Academy, and thence into Alexandria. Once one actually comprehends this, an entirely new light is cast upon the writings of Euclid, and the teachings of the Alexandrian hierophant herself, Hypatia, and the other philosopher mathematicians of Alexandria. The Golden Chain of Eternal Wisdom, though unbroken, shines with striking luminosity in particular phases of humanity. The philosopher mathematicians of Alexandria occupied a very bright phase in humanity’s varied ascent up out of Plato’s Cave. And these very special thinkers were rewarded with an understanding of the mathematical structure that assists in the ascent of the soul into the light, and ultimately illumination in the state of cosmic consciousness.
You have joined us on many Esoteric Quests can you share a personal highlight or two?
This is a very difficult question, as each Esoteric Quest had profound highlights for me. I will refer to the first and one of the last. Perhaps the most memorable experience occurred at the first Quest in 1995, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited, held in Cesky Krumlov, old Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic. We arrived from Prague by bus a bit later in the evening than expected, I believe about 3am in the morning. But it was a ride of great conversation and growing anticipation. To our surprise, they were filming Pinocchio in the middle of the night as we entered this most unusual aesthetic, geometric and alchemical town. It catapulted every single one of us into the Rosicrucian alchemical period. Then when we saw the cobble-stone streets, unique buildings, rose artwork, curved street-ways, river, castle and gardens in the daylight, it was unbelievable. The castle was literally designed and decorated as an alchemical structure, and included an alchemical tower. The brilliant philosopher and mathematician, John Dee, tutor of Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I, had visited this area during the alchemical era. The ambience seemed to propel one back into the akashic field and memories of this Rosicrucian time period.
And then to sit in their “pub” in the evening communing with John Michell, Joscelyn Godwin, Nicholas & Clare Goodrick-Clarke, Paul Bembridge, Christopher Bamford, Christopher McIntosh, Alvin Holm, and Ralph White, and other participants and attendees was wonderful. It was a journey and experience to remember. This was followed in 1997 with an amazing second conference on Alchemy in the most intriguing city of Prague where an alchemical, Masonic, and sacred geometric temple, symbolizing the Masonic degrees in the ascent, had been designed.
Then in 2008, it was the Quest for The Mysteries and Philosophy of Antiquity on the island of Samothrace. I lectured on, The Mystery of the Divine Proportion. It was a wonderful setting with a tremendous group of people, for what turned out to be a beautiful conference, situated next to the ancient initiatory sanctuary of the Great Gods. Afterwards I took the excursion to Epidaurus and Delphi. And at Delphi I was able to enter the Cave of Dionysus, which may well have been the original Cave of Apollo. And then on the same day, shortly afterwards, I was able to climb into the chambers underneath the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. This was especially significant to me as it was the same day that the Large Hadron Collider was turned on. The actual highlights of the various Esoteric Quests are simply too numerous to even begin to describe.
The Wisdom of Ancient Alexandria
This series of talks unfolds the profound wisdom that permeated Ancient Alexandria, cultural capital of antiquity and Greco-Egyptian birthplace of the modern mind. For more information about this brilliant cosmopolis, see the Open Center’s upcoming Esoteric Quest for Ancient Alexandria.
Plotinus: At the Crossroad of Philosophy and Mysticism
Avery Solomon
Plotinus was the mystical philosopher par excellence. Standing at the crossroad of
eastern and western thought, he epitomizes 3rd century Alexandria. In The Enneads, he synthesizes 700 years of neo-platonic thought.
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8–10pm • 11FSW63TA
Pythagoras, Buddha of the West
Robert M. Place
Pythagoras, one of the first philosophers, lived in the same age as Buddha and taught that we pass through endless reincarnations to reach enlightened awareness through virtue and contemplation.
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 8–10pm • 11FSW63TB
Hermes and the Wise Men of Alexandria
Robert M. Place
The Corpus Hermeticum, attributed to the sage Hermes Trismegistus but authored by many, was an enormous influence on Western mysticism including alchemy, Kabbalah, Sufism, and Christian esotericism.
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 8–10pm • 11FSW63TC
Geometry Lessons from the Great Library
Steve Bass, MA
The great Library of Hellenistic Alexandria was the largest repository of intellectual tradition in the ancient world. Its leading thinkers on geometry set patterns followed by philosophers and designers for two millennia.
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 8–10pm • 11FSW63TD
A LECTURE SERIES
(4 sessions) Wednesdays, Nov. 2–30, 8–10pm
No class on November 23.
11FSW63TZ
Members: $80 / Nonmembers: $90 /
Individual Sessions: $25
To register please go to www.OpenCenter.org
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The Esoteric Quest is presented by The New York Open Center a non-profit holistic learning center offering evening events, full-day workshops, ongoing classes, advanced trainings, and graduate degree opportunities.