THE ESOTERIC QUEST
Join us to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Quest!
An Esoteric Quest for the Mountain of Truth:
Monte Verità and the Birth of the Counterculture (1901-1920)
september 10-14, 2025
In Ascona, Switzerland
Join us in Ascona, Switzerland, this September to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Esoteric Quest exactly three decades after our first conference in Český Krumlov, the Southern Bohemian mecca of alchemists, in 1995.
We will begin our program at Eranos, the renowned lakeside retreat on the shore of Lago Maggiore in Italian-speaking Switzerland, before moving on to nearby Monte Verità, the Mountain of Truth, for our Main Conference. Ascona and the surrounding area was a major focal point for creative individuals seeking alternatives to the repressed world of late 19th century Europe.
It was at Monte Verità in the first two decades of the 20th century that the Western counterculture was born as spiritual rebels were escaping what Max Weber called the ‘Iron Cage’ of materialistic and nationalist thinking that was foreshadowing the First World War. At Monte Verità, figures such as Hermann Hesse, Isadora Duncan and Rudolf Laban gathered to explore a return to nature, vegetarianism, free love, expressive dance, Eastern and Western esoteric traditions, fresh developments in psychology and much more. They embraced the journey to freedom in a place where you could breathe true utopia and begin to create a different world. This laboratory of a new culture offered a path to transcend bourgeois conformism, and drew philosophers, theosophists, writers and artists from many countries who were dedicated to Lebensreform, or life reform.
Monte Verità, situated among the luxuriant woods and gentle hills overlooking Lago Maggiore, prophetically anticipated themes that are vital today, including the ecology of living and the ecology of the soul. And it was at nearby Eranos, starting in the ‘30s, that so many brilliant figures – from C.G. Jung to Mircea Eliade and Henri Corbin – gathered to form a cultural stream that can be said to constitute an alternative intellectual history of the 20th century, an extraordinary challenge given the gathering gloom in Europe at that time.
Please join us for what is sure to be an unforgettable experience as we explore the hidden history of esoteric Switzerland and mark the passage of 30 years since we began our series of Quests for the depth, beauty and wisdom of the best of Western culture.
Join the Quest!
Join us!
Pre- conference experience
at Eranos
The Pre-Conference portion of the Quest will take place at Eranos, where the atmosphere seems to have changed little since the middle of the last century. One can still feel the pioneering work on psychology, spirituality and mythology done here over the decades. The Main Conference itself will be held at nearby Monte Verità, itself in a delightful Bauhaus building overlooking the lake.
September 8 – 10, 2025
Join us!
Post- Conference Journey
Into the Beauty of the Alps, Serene Lake Lucerne & Rudolf Steiner’s Goetheanum near Basel
Our Post-Conference Journey will take us first into the heart of the Alps to the town of Interlaken, the peaks of the Jungfrau, and the evocative beauty of the valley of Lauterbrunnen that inspired both Goethe and Tolkien. From there we travel to the lakeside, medieval, city of Lucerne with its tales of the Swiss hero William Tell. Our final two days will be spent at the Goetheanum, the unique and impressive building in Dornach, near Basel, that marks the international center of Rudolf Steiner’s brilliant work and legacy.
September 14-19, 2025
mission
About The esoteric quest
The Esoteric Quest is our long-running and highly-regarded conference and travel series engaged with the rediscovery of the lost or half-forgotten spiritual history of the West. It brings together scholars, writers, artists, and performers deeply versed in the Western Esoteric Tradition and offers some of the leading events in the world on this profound topic.
The Quest began in 1995 in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, the Southern Bohemian mecca of alchemists, with the conference entitled “The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited” (an “esoteric Woodstock,” as it was described at the time by Gnosis magazine). For nearly three decades we have addressed themes such as The Italian Renaissance and the Esoteric Traditions in Florence, Italy; the Golden Age of Andalusia in Granada, Spain; the Cathars and Troubadours in 12th century Languedoc in France; and the world of Ancient Alexandria in Egypt.
The Esoteric Quest is more than a study of spiritual history. It seeks to find the relevance of these traditions to our circumstances in the present day and to foster deep interest in the wisdom of different cultures and epochs. The speakers and locations are carefully chosen to offer memorable and convivial experiences that enrich our sense of wonder and open us to fresh ways of seeing the world. Its prime ingredients are high-quality learning, an evocative ambiance, an immersion in the arts and cultural traditions of each place, and a strong emphasis on building warm and lasting community.
For more on The Esoteric Quest, and to stay connected to information about upcoming programs, please sign up below for our Quest News.
recent
Our most recent quest
In June of 2023, we continued our long-running and highly-regarded exploration of the Western Tradition with an outstanding program in Portugal and along the Camino of Santiago de Compostela. Our time was spent in lands richly endowed with little-known but compelling spiritual and esoteric history. Portugal is a country of bright sun, lush vineyards, millennia-old towns and cities, with the steady presence of the expansive Atlantic Ocean that has played such a vital part in Portuguese history.
Our Main Conference took place in Tomar, the legendary stronghold of the Knights Templar, with its magnificent castle, sacred convent and magical ambience. We also addressed Portugal’s fascinating Jewish and Sufi histories, introduced participants to the extraordinary modernist philosopher and poet, Fernando Pessoa, and embraced the exquisite music of Fado, ‘longing turned to melody’ as it is described, that is perhaps the most moving expression of the Portuguese soul, known as saudade.
Portugal is filled with beauty, a complex history, and deep spiritual traditions. The Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Jews, and Christians have all left significant legacies, as have the Knights Templar. Suppressed in France and throughout most of Europe, the Templars continued in Portugal under a new guise, the Order of Christ. Their grandmaster, Prince Henry the Navigator, placed his country at the forefront of the Age of Discovery as the search began, not just for trade and empire, but for Prester John, the mythical priest king thought to rule an enlightened kingdom in the heart of Africa or Asia. In modern times, Portugal has continued to express great esoteric vitality through its many gifted painters, poets and dancers. Like other formerly imperial cultures, it is beginning to come to terms with its colonial history and honor its multicultural present.
There were two Pre-Conference options in and around Lisbon involving short journeys to extraordinary sites of mythic and spiritual significance. In addition, we took a Post Conference trip along the Portuguese Way of the Camino, to the Heart of Galicia, Spain. Today, this legendary journey is an inter-spiritual pilgrimage traversed by people of all faiths or none.
As always, since our very first event in 1995, the whole experience was imbued with our special alchemical blend of deep learning, evocative locations, exhilarating music, dance and poetry, and the warm conviviality that is so close to the the heart of the Esoteric Quests.
Past Esoteric Quest Conferences
