The Theosophical Movement; Innovations in Esotericism and Spirituality
5-7 October 2022 in Naarden, The Netherlands

The founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875 marks a major historical event in the history of esotericism and spirituality. The society and its many diverse members were instrumental in comparing, bridging, reviving, and fusing ideas from a wide variety of traditions, cultures and time periods, including Platonism, Kabbalah, Hermetism, occult sciences, spiritualism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, This has resulted in major innovations in esotericism and spirituality that continue to form and influence contemporary spirituality.

The Theosophical Movement is known for going against the stream, for exploring the unknown, the lost, ‘the other,’ and the unpopular. Additionally, it is well-known for its progressive views, for bridging ancient and newer traditions with modernity, and for inspiring modern literature and art. H. P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical movement are often credited for promoting Asian traditions globally. While much is known about Theosophical innovations, significant new research has been conducted in the last two to three decades that has shed additional insight into this domain. Thus, this conference aims to assess the current status of research in this field and to foster a renewed focus on Theosophical innovations in connection to the history of esotericism and contemporary spirituality.

Themes include:
-Innovations and transformations;
-All connections between Theosophy and esotericism (including Spiritualism, Kabbalah, Hermetism, Mysticism, Gnosticism, Platonism, Occultism, Magic, as well as The Golden Dawn, Freemasonry and others;
– Connections between Theosophy and spirituality (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, New Age, mindfulness, and a wide range of contemporary spiritual practices.
All interested parties are welcome to submit papers on the aforementioned topics.

Key-Note Speaker:
Dr  Marco Pasi – “Theosophy in contemporary art: between innovation and continuity.” University of Amsterdam.

Paper Proposals
Any person may submit a paper to the conference committee on any aspect of the subject. Summaries of no more than 200 words and 50 words biography should be sent to the secretary of the ITHc Erica Georgiades via email (erica.georgiades at gmail.com). All paper proposals will be evaluated by the conference committee prior to acceptance.

Presentations
Suggested presentation time 20 minutes + 10  minutes for questions & answers.

Important Dates
Deadline for submission of a paper: 1 August 2022
Notification of acceptance: 15 August 2022

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