From Source to Practice

Name: From Source to Practice
Start: 2026-11-20
End: 2026-11-20
Location: Embassy of the Free Mind

'Alchemist's laboratory', from Heinrich Khunrath, Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae, 1595.

Black-and-white abstract graphic of the letter "i".

Phenomenology and method in dialogue

Can methodology and phenomenology enter into genuine dialogue, within scholars and individuals, and to what extent? This evening, Professor Wouter Hanegraaff and Ike Baker take up that question in a conversation moderated by Corey Andrews, PhD Candidate.

The conversation will drift toward state-specific knowledge and gnosis, and toward the tension and kinship between scholar and practitioner. The speakers consider strategies for a synthesis of the two approaches, and the care required to keep their distinction intact. Most specifically, it will address the claims that originate in theory or in experience, and the differing aims, limits, and vocabulary of each. Throughout, the evening turns to the ways academic and practitioner based exploration of esotericism might enrich one another.

About the Speakers

Wouter J. Hanegraaff is Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam. Next to countless articles and book chapters, he is the author of seven monographs about esoteric and Hermetic traditions and editor of the 1200-page Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism.

Ike Baker works as a ceremonial magician, author, independent scholar, content creator, and international lecturer. He holds rank as a senior adept in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Regardie Cicero lineage) and the Martinist Order of America, and belongs to Blue Lodge and York Rite Freemasonry alongside several other initiatory and esoteric orders. Ike released A Formless Fire: Rediscovering the Magical Traditions of the West in 2024, followed by Ætheric Magic in 2025, since translated into multiple languages. His next book, Esoteric Mythology: The Generative and Transformative Power of the Imagination, arrives from Inner Traditions in November 2026.

Corey Andrews is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam and a researcher working for the Ritman Research Institute at the Embassy of the Free Mind. His research focuses primarily on 17th and 18th century Rosicrucianism and the life and works of Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670).

Format

Moderated Dialogue | Q&A | Reception Drinks

Date & Time

Friday, November 20 from 17.30 - 19.30

Language

The conversation will be conducted in English.

Price & Admission

€27.5 - In person ticket

€17.5 - In person discount ticket for students & stadspas holders

€16 - Livestream (online ticket)

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Getting There

Address

House with the Heads
Keizersgracht 123, 1015 CJ Amsterdam

Public Transport

A fifteen-minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station. Prefer public transport? Take trams 13 or 17, or bus 170, 172, or 174 to the Westermarkt stop. From there, walk back a short distance, turn left onto Keizersgracht, and you will find us on your right after 300 meters.

Bike

Amsterdam is best explored on two wheels, and the EFM is no exception. Ample bike parking is available along the Keizersgracht.

Car

Parking in the area is paid (~ €8,05 per hour), and spaces can be difficult to find. The nearest parking garages are Q-park Nieuwendijk at Nieuwezijds Kolk 18 (650 meters), Q-park Bijenkorf at Beursstraat 15 (950 meters), and Q-park Europarking at Marnixstraat 250 (1,300 meters). You can also park at a P+R location and travel into the centre by public transport.

Upcoming Events

From immersive cultural experiences to distinguished academic gatherings, the Embassy of the Free Mind offers a diverse agenda open to all curious minds.