Ascension Connection Thursday, May 7th, 2026 – Ancient Esoteric & Occult Arts

The Ascension Connection Public Zoom Call  

Thursday, May 7th, 2026 10 am California, 12 pm Chicago, 1 pm New York, 6 pm London, 7 pm Paris/Berlin For all other time zones, use this link.

The Ancient Esoteric & Occult Arts: Still Relevant Today?

Hosted by Dave Lemmons All my life I’ve been fascinated with the esoteric and mysterious, and later this evolved into studying magic and the occult. Over the decades I felt drawn to many paths and traditions, and I dabbled in many things, but it’s only been recently that I feel I’m starting to make more connections and go deeper. Being raised in a Fundamentalist Christian family certainly led to some significant issues with guilt and fear when pursuing the occult, so this did hold me back at times. About a year ago I was surprised to discover that there is an actual academic discipline called esotericism, which has recently begun to take seriously the influence of the occult and esoteric on Western culture and spirituality. You can even get a Master’s degree from the University of Amsterdam in Western Esotericism. You can describe the esoteric by making a list of topics like Hermeticism, alchemy, Gnosticism, etc. but another way to look at this is that esotericism looks at practices and beliefs that have been occulted/hidden from the mainstream and also that have been rejected by conventional science/materialism and/or demonized by orthodox religions. My drawing to the occult is much more than an academic interest—I feel more and more that God has given me a deep passion for studying the esoteric and doing practices that bring me closer to Mother-Father-God. When I was praying a few months ago, I suddenly got a strong intuitive sense that “I want to know the Mind of God!” So, I’m still exploring what that means, but I’ve found some excellent books and online sources that I have found quite useful. I have been particularly drawn to learning about Renaissance magic, and I recently connected this to the new spiritual renaissance happening in the world right now. When Marsilio Ficino translated the Corpus Hermeticum from Greek into Latin (commissioned by Cosimo de Medici) in the 1460’s, this had a tremendous impact on Western civilization and spirituality for centuries to follow. How is humanity rediscovering the lost knowledge of Atlantis and Lemuria and the ancient mystery traditions, and also creating new pathways in higher human consciousness? Are we currently entering an era of new advancements in human evolution along with re-membering our Divine nature? Here are some topics and resources to consider:

• The Esoterica YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel  I’ve watched dozens of the 475 videos on this YT channel, and there are also 28 playlists on topics ranging from Kabbalah to Magic to Hermeticism.
• The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP): https://shwep.net/podcast/ on iTunes and RSS.  Episode 0 is a great overview of the diverse topics that fall under the umbrella of esotericism, and then Episodes 1 and 2 give a brief survey of the history of all things esoteric and occult. Note that these first 2 resources are more academic-focused rather than practitioner-oriented.
• The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall (https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teachings-Ages-Complete-Illustrated/dp/8418373024/ref=sr_1_3 ) Make sure and get the full text which has over 700 pages.
• Magic – low magic/goetia performed for the personal benefit of the practitioner, high or ceremonial magic for personal transformation. Invocation of God in traditional worship services.
• Theurgy – use of ritual/magical techniques to connect with God/the Divine.
• Alchemy – not just about turning lead into gold but also laid the groundwork for modern chemistry, developed distillation techniques, isolation of elements like zinc and phosphorous.
• Astrology – ancients in Egypt and Chaldea did not distinguish between astrology and astronomy.
• Kabbalah – originally Jewish but adapted by Christians, Magic practitioners, the Tree of Life.
• Hermeticism – The Emerald Tablet, Corpus Hermeticum, The Kybalion, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition by Frances Yates (https://www.amazon.com/Giordano-Bruno-Hermetic-Tradition-Frances/dp/0226950077/ref=sr_1_1 )
• The Kybalion - Hermetic Philosophy: https://www.amazon.com/Kybalion-Centenary-Three-Initiates/dp/0143131680/ref=sr_1_2
  • The Principle of Mentalism - The ALL is MIND
  • The Principle of Correspondence – As above, so below
  • The Principle of Vibration – Everything is in motion
  • The Principle of Polarity – Everything has its pair of opposites
  • The Principle of Rhythm – Everything has its tides, all things rise and fall
  • The Principle of Cause and Effect – Everything happens according to Law
  • The Principle of Gender – Everything has its Masculine & Feminine Principles
• Wicca experience brought in the Divine Feminine but also was somewhat hostile to the Divine Masculine
• Neoplatonism – use of Theurgy and deep philosophical contemplation to experience deep mystical connection to God (henosis)
• Secret societies – Rosicrucians, Templars, Freemasons, Priory of Sion, etc.
• Ancient mystery schools – Eleusinian, Dionysian, Orphic, Mithraic.