Dispatches From Astro Gnosis 2023 (Patreon)

I spent the early hours of June 21 witnessing the solstice at Serpent Mound. From there, I made my way out to Indianapolis, IA, where I had coffee with Anti-Cult Person for a few.  Sufficiently caffeinated, I returned to the car and set off for my final destination of the day: the Theosophical Society's North American headquarters in Wheaton, IL. 

Outside of LA, there's no place in the US more closely associated with Theosophy than Chicago and the surrounding area. Major inroads were made with the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. It was there the group staged the World's Parliament of Religions. For many Americans, this was their first exposure to Eastern spirituality and philosophy. It's a pivotal event in what led to the modern New Age movement during the 1970 and the later "spiritual but religious" mindset. 

The Theosophical Society formally established their national headquarters in Chicago during 1907, after initially locating it in NYC. But within five years, the headquarters moved to Hollywood and, later, nearby Ojai. After less than a decade in Southern California, it returned to Chicago in 1920. During 1925, the Society procured the land on which the current headquarters resides. Construction was completed in 1927. Annie Besant herself laid the cornerstone the prior year in a ceremony attended by Jiiddu Krishnamurti, the group's one-time Lord Maitreya.  

It was here that Astro Gnosis 2023 would unfold. I was quite delighted with this chose. I toured the Society of Cincinnati and Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction) headquarters in DC a few years ago and AMORC's HQ in San Jose with Keith Allen Dennis last fall, so I was curious to see how the Theosophical Society's digs stacked up. 

On the whole, it strikes a respectable figure. A three story building done in neo-Gothic style, it features offices, classrooms, meditation room, auditorium and library in addition to a kitchen, dining room and quarters for the staff. The mural of "evolving life" in the lobby is quite striking. 

The Society graciously opened up it's library to us for the two days of the conference. It possesses 25,000 books, plus an "unlisted section." I wish I would have had more time to tour it, but the Secret Sun Institute mastermind Christopher Knowles and I managed to stop by for a few on the last day of the con. For me, this was easily the most impressive part of the Theosophical Society's headquarters. But as an avid book reader, few things elicit passion in me quite like a good library. 

As you may image, the library's collection of esoteric and metaphysical texts was impeccable. Save for one glaring omission Chris was quick to point out: Alice Bailey. The Besant-wing of the Society's feud with Bailey was evident via the mere handful of texts they had by the Lucius Trust founder. By contrast, the rest of the usual suspects were well represented.

Of course, I would be remiss for not pointing out that Theosophy's supposed divergence from Bailey centers around her adoption of Charles Leadbeater's "pseudo-theosophy." Apparently, that (or a certain other controversy surrounding the OG wandering bishop) didn't preclude the Society from having ample copies of Leadbeater's works on hand. 

Besides the usual suspects, there were a few works that will find their way on to my reading list at some point. 

The conference could not have gone off much better in my estimation. For my part, I managed to make it through my presentation with a minimum of pronunciation butcheries. And I got to witness Chris Knowles and Mitch Horowitz go full fanboy when I put up the cover of BOC's epic Secret Treaties album. Turns out Mitch is a huge BOC fan.

As far as I know, none of us speakers put our heads together and hashed out ways our individual presentations could build upon one another's. But that's very much what happened. Over the course of two days, an elaborate tapestry emerged from over half a dozen separate pairs of hands. If you're able to do so, I'd urge you all to take in the whole conference at Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio. These pictures just don't do it justice:

This was certainly one of the best, joyful, and most insightful weekends I've been blessed to experience. It looks like I'll be back for Astro Gnosis 2024. If you can make it out next year, you won't be disappointed. Besides the mind-blowing presentations and esoteric locations, the real joy is the comradery.