Our Goal
The Institute for Hermetic Studies is dedicated to preserving the living Western wisdom traditions of personal spiritual awakening. While many organizations and places of higher learning seek to catalog and preserve the knowledge of the hermeticists and occultists of the Western world, vanishingly few seek to maintain it as a living practice. IHS not only preserves this knowledge, but makes it available to students who wish to take a path of matical and spiritual enlightenment.
Our Mission
IHS seeks to produce and maintain access to high-quality classes, conferences, books, instructional materials, and communities to assist individuals in developing an effective personal spiritual practice. This goes hand-in-glove with our goal. In order for this knowledge to remain a living tradition, there must be a way for new students to be initiated into its study. Through IHS, we not only preserve the material, but repackage it for a more robust learning experience.
Our Vision
IHS strives to foster and support new and existing in-person groups and communities that will sustain the living and varied Western esoteric traditions into the next century. We understand our role as an organization, but we also realize that no single institution can continue to breathe life into a spiritual pursuit on its own. That will require diversity in practitioners and viewpoints; a diversity IHS is proud to support.
Mark Stavish
Mark Stavish, the Director of Studies for the Institute for Hermetic Studies, is a lifelong student of esotericism. Stavish has over 35 years of experience in comparative religion, philosophy, psychology, and mysticism with an emphasis on traditional Western esotericism. His articles have appeared in academic, specialty, and mass-market publications specializing in spiritual studies, making Stavish one of the leading authorities in hermeticism today.
In addition to being a member and officer of several prominent Rosicrucian and Martinist societies, Stavish served as the Director of Research for the Occult Research and Applications Project of the Philosophers of Nature (PON). Stavish has been a return guest on Coast to Coast AM (C2C), Just Energy Radio, and Animal Planet/The History Channel, as well as a consultant for documentaries and print articles dealing with spirituality.
A graduate of King’s College in Theology (B.A., and Communications (B.A.), and the Rhode Island College (Providence) with a master’s degree in Counseling emphasizing psycho-spiritual modalities and psychosynthesis, Stavish brings a unique blend of tradition and modern research to the application of esoteric philosophy.
Ike Baker
Ike Baker is a ceremonialist and occultist working within Western esoteric traditions for nearly 15 years. He is an adept of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and a practicing Martinist with the Martinist Order of America. Baker has also trained in Eastern forms of meditation and energy work, as well as traditional Eastern medicines and modes of healing.
Baker hosts the Arcanvm Podcast and YouTube channel. He lives in rural North Carolina where he works in herbalism and carpentry.
Jaime Paul Lamb
Jaime Paul Lamb is a consulting astrologer and taroist living in Phoenix, AZ. He is a member of the American Federation of Astrologers (AFA) and is certified in Hellenistic Astrology through Chris Brennan’s premier course on the subject. Lamb is the author of Myth, Magick & Masonry: Occult Perspectives in Freemasonry (The Laudable Pursuit, 2018), Approaching the Middle Chamber: The Seven Liberal Arts in Freemasonry and the Western Esoteric Tradition (The Laudable Pursuit, 2020) and The Archetypal Temple (Tria Prima, 2021). For more Lamb, visit www.jaimepaullamb.com.
Lamb is the Instructor for the Institute for Hermetic Studies course, Classical Astrology and the Esoteric Traditions.
John R. White, Ph.D., LPC
Dr. John R. White is a Jungian psychoanalyst and mental health counselor, as well as the Coordinator of the C. G. Jung Institute Analyst Training Program of Pittsburgh. Prior to his work as a psychoanalyst, he taught university-level philosophy for 20 years. His research interests include many aspects of psychoanalytic practice, Christian mysticism, the history and practices of New Thought, alchemy, and various links among psychology, parapsychology, philosophy, and esotericism. He is an initiate into several esoteric traditions.
Adaptation and Psychotherapy: Langs and Analytical Psychology (2023)
White works as a psychoanalyst in a Pittsburgh private practice. He received his Doctorate of Philosophy in 1993 from The International Academy of Philosophy, in the Principality of Liechtenstein, an institute accredited through the Austrian university system. He has published more than 25 articles and book reviews and has a good deal of editing experience in philosophy. As a licensed mental health counselor and Jungian psychoanalyst, White obtained those degrees from the Interregional Society of Jungian Analysts.
SuAnn Hoffman
SuAnn Hoffman has been a seeker of the path for over 20 years and a student of the Institute for Hermetic Studies since 2020. She volunteers her time and talent as Conference Coordinator for the IHS Annual Conference and as part of the first IHS Teacher Training Program. SuAnn has a master’s in Engineering and an MBA, which she uses in her work as a Senior Engineering Manager for a global technology company. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania, where she and her husband run a real estate business that renovates homes and offers long-term rentals.
John Prester
John Prester serves as the IHS Vice President and has been a longtime personal student of Mark Stavish. His study and practice focuses on pre-19th century Hermetism, with a particular emphasis on its roots in the Antique Period. John is the editor of the Black Fez journal, supporting volunteerism and fundraising for the institute. He lives in a remote mountain homestead in the inland northwest US.
Anne Beckley
Anne Beckley serves as a board member and community volunteer for several non-profit organizations in the Mid-Atlantic. She is a former faculty member of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, the Baltimore School of Spiritual Science, and the Maryland Spiritual Science Center. After 35 years working in the non-profit and tech sector, Anne now enjoys relaxing in her organic garden, traveling and guiding the next generation of community leaders.
