“Elias Ashmole, Initiation, and Freemasonry” w/ Bro. Richard Harris Throwback Episode

<p>"Elias Ashmole, Initiation, and Freemasonry" with <strong>Bro. Richard Harris</strong> (Throwback Episode)</p><p>Recorded in support of the <em>Esotericism in Freemasonry Conference 2022</em>, this throwback episode features <strong>Grand Lodge of Washington State</strong> brother <strong>Richard Harris</strong> in conversation with Troy about his conference presentation on Elias Ashmole, initiation, alchemy, and Freemasonry.</p><p>Please forgive the minor audio issues and edits. Enjoy.</p><p><strong>Bro. Richard Harris</strong> is a member of <strong>Esoterica Lodge No. 316</strong> in Seattle, a serious student of alchemical and Hermetic history, a licensed therapist, and an avid collector of ancient coins. He studied at the <strong>Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture</strong> in Wales, focusing on cultural astronomy, archaeoastronomy, and the history of astrology.</p><p>In this episode, Richard and Troy explore:</p><ul><li>Who Elias Ashmole actually was, and why Richard calls him "Superman"</li><li><em>Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum</em> and its place as the most important English-language alchemical anthology</li><li>The relationship between alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and early operative and speculative Masonry</li><li>How Ashmole's royalism, legal career, and obsessive collecting all tied together</li><li>Isaac Newton's debt to Ashmole and the <em>Theatrum</em>, and what Newton was really obsessing over</li><li>The cross-currents between the alchemists, poets, and spy networks of 16th- and 17th-century England</li><li>John Dee, Edward Kelley, and the Enochian system that Ashmole helped preserve</li><li>The checkerboard floor and why Richard believes it is one of the most misunderstood symbols in Masonic and Western history</li><li><strong>Tobias Churton</strong>'s biography <em>Magus of Freemasonry</em> as an entry point to Ashmole</li><li>Richard's personal journey from Roman Catholicism to evangelical theology, Jungian psychology, Chinese medicine, and finally Masonry</li><li>Troy's own path into the Craft, from teenage conspiracy theory rabbit holes and the Satanic Panic through Israel Regardie and Aleister Crowley to <em>Thelema</em></li></ul><p>Books and figures mentioned in this episode:</p><ul><li><em>Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum</em> by Elias Ashmole</li><li><em>The Order of the Garter</em> by Elias Ashmole</li><li><em>Magus of Freemasonry</em> by <strong>Tobias Churton</strong></li><li>Israel Regardie, <em>The Garden of Pomegranates</em> and <em>The Golden Dawn</em></li><li>Aleister Crowley, <em>The Book of Lies</em></li><li>John Dee and Edward Kelley (Enochian system)</li><li>Francis Bacon, <em>The New Atlantis</em></li><li><strong>Philip Sidney</strong>, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, John Milton</li><li><strong>Nick Campion</strong>, <strong>Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture</strong></li><li><strong>John Belanger</strong> (bookseller and Masonic contact)</li><li><strong>Bro. John Gerardi</strong> (Masonic scholar and research partner)</li><li><strong>William Kissel's Esoteric Book Conference</strong></li></ul><p><em>Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again.</em></p><p>‍</p>