Unfolding Ways of Wisdom  

Thursday 23rd February 2023 

 7-8pm UK time via Zoom

“The philosopher, even in his passions, acts only after reflection;

he walks in the night but he is preceded by a torch.”

Philosopher, The Encyclopedie, 1765

We often think of philosophy as a theoretical concept or something which has just one meaning. But there are different ways or forms of wisdom which unfold rather than offer straight lines of learning. Many works of art from the past reveal little by little their inner meaning, requiring something on the part of the beholder to awaken before imparting their wisdom. They therefore often come to us in images, colours and forms which at first seem ambiguous and enigmatic, holding different meanings simultaneously. In this session, we will participate with one work of art which primarily embodies three distinct forms of knowing, each one a different state or stage of wisdom’s journey.  Interwoven with this are suggestions of alchemical meaning through colour, of transitioning from the dark towards the guidance of light, and of the embrace of the phases of the human encounter with the the movements of the heavens and the earth. The image will not be revealed until the evening, but it is an image whose patron had a particular interest in the occult, alchemy, and in reviving ancient Greek philosophy.