About Mystai
Mystai is an experimental public outreach platform for philosophy, heritage, archaeology and the academic study of Western Esotericism. Through online multimedia, such as lectures, podcasts, articles and videos we aim to contemporize the Platonic Tradition to challenge the Crisis of Meaning & reinvigorate Philosophy as a Way of Life. This is a platform to share the work of our members & make good quality information in the fields of religious scholarship, ancient history and archaeology more accessible to the public.
Learn More
Get Started
Some of the different ways to engage with us.
Courses
Get access to lectures, both live & pre-recorded on ancient philosophy, Theurgy, Hermetism, and Neoplatonism.
Consulting
Schedule a consultation, 1:1 session or coaching program, tailored specifically to your needs. We work to build systemic thinking & value-driven reflection.
Media
Catch a glimpse of Mystai in the Media, whether it be interviews, Open Access journals, podcasts or television appearances.
About Me
Hi, I'm Chris! I work as an archaeologist commercially in Kent, while I pursue a Masters in Heritage & Egyptology. My research focus is in Proto-Hermetism and Coptic Heritage, especially the reception & relationship with Egyptian culture in the early Arab world.
As part of my current research, I study notions of Heritage, with a focus on developing ethical and value frameworks for conducting community research and engagement with archaeology and ancient history. I'm involved in the development of Digital Humanities projects, including manuscripts studies, site reconstruction and 3D modelling and archival digitisation.
More About MeResources & Links
Here are some great projects and resources for the academic study of esotericism, ancient magic, religion and philosophy.
The Way of Hermes
The Way of Hermes is a lecture series & course in Late Antique Hermetism. Drawing from the body of Philosophical & Technical Hermetica, we combine practical considerations from the Greek, Demotic & Coptic Magical Papyri with current scholarship to reconstruct a contemporary Hermetic Spirituality.
Translations & Research
My Substack site has archives of my work, research & any translations I might have done. Along with my blog, I like to write about religion, anthropology, folklore & magic from a scholarly and historical perspective.
What can you expect from a Class?
Drawing from the tradition laid down by Pierre Hadot, I believe that philosophy is a Way of Life; one that is actively engaged in the practice of spiritual, mental and emotional exercises.
In this light, I believe that the core purpose behind philosophical education is to re-invigorate life with practices that connect us to a sense of meaning & purpose and expand our hermeneutical horizon. It would therefore be incomplete without taking into account:
- Historical Texts on Magic & Religious Practice
- Philosophical Exercises
- Folkloric Accounts
- Living Traditions & Ethnography
By combining each of these aspects in a community setting with other students, I've found it creates a very strong foundation for people to cultivate their own practice; one that is rooted in genuine history & contemporary ancient texts, not simply re-hashes of Theosophy or Victorian speculation.
With every class you'll find:
Weekly Lectures
You'll be able to attend a pre recorded weekly group lecture on the main topic of the week, complete with a reading list & homework.
Variety
I rarely draw from one single tradition, but take a cross-cultural and inter-linear approach to contextualise practices or ideas.
A Cohort
You'll be able to interact with other students through chat groups & feeds to keep track of each other's progress or form work groups to practice or study together.
The Way of Hermes Now Closed.
Thank you to everyone who joined the most recent cohort of the Way of Hermes! Enrolment is now closed until further notice. Sign up to the mailing list on the left to be notified of when the recorded versions go live.
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I'm on all the usual media, so make sure you check it out to stay up to date with any future courses or activity that I'm launching.
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