Courses

New Thought has been a major esoteric force in America since the second half of the nineteenth century, playing a key role in occult teaching, self-help traditions, and influential religious organizations. Though less well known today than it was before the Second World War, it remains a potent influence on contemporary esoteric and spiritual practice — in part because it presents essential aspects of esoteric work in a direct and accessible form that dovetails with the principles of depth psychology.

This six-week, twelve-hour course is an introduction to the theory and practice of New Thought. Each class pairs conceptual teaching with practical exercises. The course moves from the history and core principles of the tradition through the specific mechanics of working with the subconscious — relaxation, goal formulation, creative imagination, desire, faith, and action — and concludes with the metaphysics and ethics that distinguish New Thought as a serious spiritual discipline rather than mere technique.

Learn the philosophy, history and magical applications of astrology while exploring the art’s theory and practice. Key principles will be explored and situated within the context of Western Esotericism. This course takes a comprehensive look at the doctrines underlying Hellenistic, Medieval, Renaissance and Modern astrology and culminates in the “Big Operation” by which the native’s (the subject of a nativity or birth chart) personal daimon is discovered. This course is appropriate for all levels.

Unique in its design, the course’s primary focus is astrology and its relationship to theurgy of the “god making” practices of the Classical Period. In addition, students are given clear and practical instructions on how to derive the ‘Name of the Angel’ from their nativity as described in the works of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the theories, methods, and practices of traditional Pennsylvania German folk magic known as brauche. But it is more than a survey of one tradition. Brauche sits at a crossroads of preserving medieval European folk healing, Pietist theosophy, Paracelsian medicine, and the grimoire tradition in a living American practice. In addition, it connects directly to the learned magical tradition through Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy and the broader Rosicrucian inheritance.

The course is structured as a three-week program with weekly audio instruction, detailed notes, assignments, and supplementary readings. It moves from the foundations of brauche — the Long Lost Friend, shem and folk healing, protector deities and boundary markers — through the relationship between folk practice and classical occult philosophy, to the incantation traditions of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Connections and comparisons to classical, medieval, and Renaissance magic are made throughout.

This is an ideal course for those seeking a firm foundation in Western esotericism and the practices of alchemy, astrology, energy healing, and ritual symbolism.

The Western esoteric tradition teaches that the physical body is an emanation of the subtle body, not the other way around. This course provides a detailed set of practices for awakening and directing the psychic energies latent within us, with the ultimate aim of constructing the Body of Light: a vehicle of consciousness independent of the physical body, capable of maintaining awareness beyond death.

Drawing on the companion text Child of the Sun, the course works through the foundational theory (energy, consciousness, and their relationship to matter) before turning to practical instruction in the psychic centers, the movement of energy through the subtle body, and the Assumption of the Godform as the central technique of Hermetic identification. Prayer, meditation, and the integration of thought, word, and deed form the daily framework within which these practices are undertaken.

This is not speculative philosophy. The tradition holds that immortality is not a given but something that must be earned, and the course provides the means by which the aspirant can begin that work in earnest.

This course provides a comprehensive view of the nature of Mind — its function and role in esoteric practice. It constitutes, in itself, a standalone and complete system of practice and awakening. These teachings form a bridge between the initiatic and the supreme, the point at which progressive practice gives way to direct knowledge.

The course is drawn from both literary and experiential sources, with particular attention to the various forms of visionary experience and photonic awareness that arise during meditative and ritual work. These phenomena are rarely discussed in print and have traditionally been reserved for students with decades of experience, yet they represent a distinct and critical phase of the Path of Return. The course treats them practically: what they are, how they arise, and how to work with them.

Supplementary materials extend the teaching into the Assumption of the Godform, the relationship between devotion and interior illumination, and Karl von Eckartshausen’s Cloud Upon the Sanctuary — a foundational text on the inner church and the invisible community of initiates.

The various reasons we enter the spiritual path can all be distilled to four aims: Health, Wealth, Wisdom, and Happiness. These are the classical aims of life, and in the Western tradition, they fall under the governance of Jupiter with its energy of expansion, abundance, protection, and benevolent authority.

This course is a practical exploration of how to bring Jupiterian energy into daily life so that the aspirant can accomplish these foundational goals. It maps each aim to the elements (health to Air, wealth to Earth, happiness to Water, and wisdom to Fire) and works through the planetary influences (Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Moon). Together, these support and refine the aspirant’s development across every domain of life: physical health, social and domestic relationships, technical and esoteric knowledge, and the integration of the subconscious.

A central teaching of the course concerns the 32nd Path of the Tree of Life, traditionally attributed to Saturn. As the aspirant’s understanding evolves, this path assumes a distinctly Jupiterian character — the point where consciousness and energy manifest as matter in Malkuth and where the adept learns to work with that relationship deliberately. The interplay of Saturn and Jupiter (limitation and expansion, structure and abundance) becomes a key to understanding how the aims of life are pursued and achieved.

Pennsylvania German folk magic, called brauche and sometimes known as Pow-Wow, is one of the few complete systems of Western magical practice that has survived as an unbroken living tradition in America. Rooted in the prayers, psalms, and grimoires that German-speaking settlers carried into Pennsylvania, it draws on a lineage that runs from medieval European folk healing through Pietist theosophy, Paracelsian medicine, and the Rosicrucian tradition.

This course is a thorough introduction to the theories and practices of brauche: its methods of healing and protection, its use of scripture and spoken word as instruments of power, its sacred geography of boundary markers and protector figures, and its relationship to the broader learned magical tradition of the West from Agrippa through the Pietist communities of colonial Pennsylvania.

The Western esoteric tradition has always had a great aim at its center: the construction of the Body of Light — the vehicle through which individuated consciousness survives the death of the physical body. Drawing on the book Between the Gates, this course guides the student through a progressive series of practices, from lucid dreaming through astral projection and into the direct work of building and stabilizing the Body of Light itself.

The course covers technique and underlying framework together: why these practices exist, how they relate to one another as stages of a single developmental arc, and what the tradition means when it speaks of “conscious dying” and self-determined incarnation. If the practitioner prepares properly, direct knowledge of the continuity of consciousness becomes available — as experience, not as an article of faith.

Esoteric practices are designed to transform the self, but transformation presupposes a stable self to transform. This course is a practical examination of what can go wrong on the spiritual path and what to do about it.

Israel Regardie famously advised aspirants to seek psychotherapy before undertaking initiatic work, but no one was addressing the specific problems that arise during practice. Using the Kabbalistic Tree of Life as a diagnostic framework, this course maps the psychological effects (both beneficial and pathological) that can emerge from pathworking, ritual, and meditation, particularly when practices are undertaken out of sequence or without adequate preparation. The Qliphoth are understood here as imbalanced expressions of the same forces the aspirant is working to awaken, virtues exaggerated until they become vices.

The course also introduces the psychological school of Psychosynthesis as a bridge between modern psychology and esoteric practice, offering a model of the self that accounts for both therapeutic and initiatic development. Supplementary materials address meditation sickness as documented in Buddhist traditions and the broader questions of identity, personal freedom, and the relationship between student and teacher that shape the aspirant’s psychological health throughout the Work.

This is a set of recorded talks with contemporary spiritual teachers that are detailed and in-depth discussions providing critical insights into both the potential and the problems facing students on the spiritual path.

To ensure we remain focused on these four aims, we must become friends with Jupiter,  the god of health, wealth, wisdom, and happiness, and allow him to be our guide.

Purification is not preparation for the Work: it is the Work. The ethical life, as this course teaches, is the seed, the path, and the fruit of illumination. Without it, even carefully performed practices produce poor results. With it, the practitioner becomes a progressively clearer vessel for divine energy.

This course provides six and a half hours of instruction from a class given live only once. It covers the classical and medieval methods of maintaining psychic health and purity as found in several schools of European ceremonial and folk magic: the use of psalms, prayers, and charms in healing and exorcism; the construction of talismans and amulets; and  the rules governing theurgic operations. Supplementary materials extend the teaching into the phenomena of possession, obsession, and poltergeist activity, drawing on both traditional sources and contemporary accounts.

The course is immediately practical. Students receive detailed methods for the purification of persons and places, protection against unwanted psychic influences, and the cultivation of the inner conditions (ethical clarity, devotional discipline, and unwavering confidence) upon which all effective magical work depends.

Since its first complete publication in 1533, Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy has been the foundational text of the Western magical tradition. Drawing on Ficino, Reuchlin, Pico della Mirandola, and the classical sources behind them, Agrippa presents the cosmos as an integrated web of elemental, celestial, and divine correspondences through which the practitioner learns to operate.

This six-week course, taught by three instructors from their respective areas of expertise, follows Agrippa’s own structure. Ike Baker teaches Book One: the elemental world, natural magic, the doctrine of the World Soul, and the alchemical foundations of occult practice. Jaime Paul Lamb teaches Book Two: the celestial world, astrological signification, planetary theurgy, and the role of the stars in magical operations. Mark Stavish teaches Book Three: the supercelestial world, the Great Chain of Being, the training of the will, and the integration of the entire system into a coherent initiatic practice.

The course includes extensive supplementary materials — primary source texts, conference presentations, and readings from Jean Dubuis, Loretta Orion, and other scholars and practitioners. This makes it both a close study of Agrippa’s text and a demonstration of how three working traditions read and apply it today.

This course outlines four actions a practitioner must take daily to build a life of health, happiness, wealth, and wisdom and how to establish a meaningful legacy. It is structured as a six-week program, with each week organized around a set of four: the four actions, the four strengths, the four crises, the four friends, the four phases of life, and the four books every initiate must learn to read.

The approach is concrete and sequential. Rather than treating the spiritual life as separate from daily existence, the course teaches the aspirant to integrate esoteric practice into the rhythm of ordinary life: how to establish meaningful self-discipline without rigidity; how to build relationships and find mentors; how to navigate the inevitable crises of the path; and how to live as an initiate in the fullest sense, with a life of value created from and of oneself.

This course demonstrates a step-by-step process for organizing their study and practice of esotericism. It teaches spiritual practices designed to help us re-engage with nature and its forces, both seen and unseen, yet always experienced. Knowing when practices will bring us the most benefit allows us to progress and have confidence in our work.

This course…

This course is designed to give you a practical understanding of the power of prayer and belief in spiritual practice. Many practical methods are presented so that you can use these practices to improve your life, well-being, and above all, self-knowledge. Prayer, alongside ritual and meditation,  is one of the three critical tools of the Path of Return. By learning prayer, we learn how to commune with the very essence of our being, at any time, any place, and under any circumstance. In short, prayer is the shortest path to spiritual awareness and the foundation of all others.

Welcome to the Table and Enjoy the Feast of the Pilgrim

This course consists of two, regularly scheduled practice sessions, along with a Question and Answer period for those enrolled in IHS Courses. It is a perfect opportunity to meet other IHS students, receive clarification on your course work, and find your pathway into the interior worlds of esotericism.

Since initiating our various online programs over ten years ago, the Institute for Hermetic Studies has received requests from students asking for means of connecting with each other online, receiving feedback on their practices, and developing a larger community and connectedness to others on the Path.

This is a complete course in Western esoteric practices and their importance to your spiritual journey. We will explore the meaning of initiation, tradition, awakening, immortality, and personal mastery within the framework of qabala, alchemy, astrology, and contemplative mysticism. You will discover tested and successful methods that will allow you to experience the Light which can only be found within.

A gateway into the interior worlds.

This course consists of eight sessions previously delivered live during the regularly scheduled IHS Practice Sessions with Questions and Answers. This is the complete course along with additional essays and articles that were mentioned or provided during the original presentation. It is a complete and thorough introduction to the Practice of the Presence of God as understood by generations of accomplished adepts and we welcome and encourage your participation in these heroic teachings suitable for our current age.

This six-week course provides a thorough working knowledge of classical astrology as understood and practiced within the Western esoteric tradition. Taught by Jaime Paul Lamb, the course moves from the philosophical and historical foundations of the art through the technical mechanics of chart interpretation and into the practical applications of astrology across its major branches — culminating in astrological magic and theurgy.

The course is structured progressively: core concepts and the history of astrology in the first two weeks, the elements of astrological signification (planetary, zodiacal, and house) in week three, chart interpretation and synthesis in week four, and the application of astrology across five branches — natal, katarchic, horary, mundane, and medical — in week five. The final week introduces astrological magic and theurgy, including the derivation of the name of the daimon. Supplementary readings situate astrology within the broader context of the Western esoteric tradition.

Each week includes a two-hour recorded class, lecture summary, and supplementary notes and materials. There is an optional exam and certificate in natal astrology from the Institute for Hermetic Studies with a passing grade.