Gnosis I: The White Serpent
Dr. Hereward Tilton
Spring 2025
“Know thyself!” – down through the millennia, seekers East and West have striven to free themselves from the dominion of the shadow and attain ‘gnosis’, an experiential knowledge of our innermost identity with the primordial mind. As in Eastern tantra, the Western gnostic traditions associate the liberating ascent of the cosmic axis with idiosyncratic serpentine figures. This course will introduce students to these traditions via the ambiguous serpent symbolism which lies at their heart.
Our quest to uncover the origins and significance of this symbolism will take us to the floodplains of ancient Mesopotamia, where the serpent of primeval chaos contends with the storm god and his thunderbolt weapon, and to ancient Egypt, where the encircling Mehen serpent aids Ra in his nocturnal battle with Apep. The archetypal aspects of this Chaoskampf (‘struggle with chaos’) symbolism are the key to understanding its integration with Platonic psychology among the ancient Gnostics, who cultivated a serpent power rising along the human neuraxis between the genitalia and the brain.
After discussing the historical and psychological relationship of this practice to the tantric traditions, we’ll turn to explore the subsequent development of the serpent motif in the Western gnostic traditions. Particular attention will be given to the teli serpent of the Jewish Kabbalists, the white serpent of the Angelic Brethren, the Red Dragon of the Golden Dawn, and the serpentine visions of Carl Gustav Jung’s Red Book. Although these variants have common historical roots, we’ll be focusing on the archetypal and biological factors which underlie the persistence of gnostic serpent symbolism and related practices of shadow integration. Above all, we’ll explore the contemporary relevance of these images as we seek to transform ourselves and the world around us.
THIS COURSE PROVIDES:
—The first installment in a five-part series on the subject of gnosis
—A deep dive into the crucial symbolic dimensions of esoteric history
—Advanced knowledge for researchers and connoisseurs
—An ability to speak to the foundations of spiritual praxis
—Familiarity with the language of esoteric systems
Nine Saturdays Live on Zoom
2 PM — 3:30 PM PST
March 22 - May 24, 2025
“Know thyself!” – down through the millennia, seekers East and West have striven to free themselves from the dominion of the shadow and attain ‘gnosis’, an experiential knowledge of our innermost identity with the primordial mind. As in Eastern tantra, the Western gnostic traditions associate the liberating ascent of the cosmic axis with idiosyncratic serpentine figures. This course will introduce students to these traditions via the ambiguous serpent symbolism which lies at their heart.
Hereward Tilton (BA Hons 1, Ph.D.,FHEAl is a religious studies scholar who has taught on the history of alchemy, magic, and Rosicrucianism at institutes dedicated to the study of Western esotericism within the University of Exeter and the university of Amsterdam. His interest in psychedelia was first kindled in his early teens, and he was inspired by experiments with LSD and lucid dreaming to study the work of Jung and Eliade as an undergraduate. Since receiving his doctorate he has conducted research on alchemical entheogens in early modern Germany under the auspices of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and he has translated and introduced an eighteenth-century Austrian black magical manuscript dealing with traditional psychoactive fumigations called Touch Me Not: A Most Rare Compendium of the Whole Magical Art (Fulgur Press, 2019). In his most recent books, The Path of the Serpent, Vol. 1: Psychedelics and the Neuropsychology of Gnosis Rubedo Press, 2020) and its forthcoming sequel, he applies recent discoveries in psychedelic neuroscience to the symbolism and techniques of a European gnostic tradition with historical and phenomenological ties to Indo-Tibetan tantra.