What is the Symposium?
The symposium is a 3 day online event consisting of both live-streamed and pre-recorded content.
We’re reaching out widely to the alchemical community for contributing speakers on the following 3 major themes:
Building bridges between alchemy & natural science
Alchemy: healing the land, healing the body
Alchemy, archetypes & the soul
Presentation themes & length
We’re deliberately keeping the theme quite broad at the moment while we liaise with possible speakers and we’re open to things evolving organically in new directions as we receive feedback from the alchemical community
We see each speaking session running for around 45 minutes maximum.
We’d like every presentation to follow a similar flow so what we’re suggesting is a three-part structure for each speaker centered around these questions:
1. Your encounter with alchemy
How did you discover alchemy?
2. Your work with alchemy
How have you engaged with the alchemical work in your life?
What have the successes, discoveries and challenges been for you in your field?
3. Your vision for the future of alchemy
What is the potential you see for the future of alchemy both in your own work and for the earth?
Live vs pre-recorded presentations
There will be the opportunity for both pre-recorded video presentations and live presentations given on the day.
Live sessions
We would like some sessions to be streamed live in front of an online audience with a live chat feed and with the opportunity for some of the speakers to return later in the day for a live Q&A session addressing some of the questions from the audience that come-up during their live presentation
Pre-recorded sessions
We recognise that most of the sessions will need to be recorded in advance and aired on the symposium weekend. We would approach this by scheduling a time for you to meet online with one of our presenters and we would conduct a short intro/welcome section (much like a podcast) and then turn it over to you for your presentation before ending with an outro section.
How the symposium will be structured
The basic outline for each day will run something like this:
- Opening keynote from Dennis (Friday)
- 2 morning speaking sessions (45 mins)
- Break for lunch
- 2 afternoon speaking sessions (45 mins each)
- A live Q&A with either a group panel or with an individual speaker (45 mins)
Marketing and remuneration
We’re doing everything in our power to make speaking at the symposium as attractive a proposition as possible and are not just resting on our laurels and expecting the goodwill of the community
The benefits to you as a speaker are as a follows:
- A speaking reward of $200 regardless of numbers of attendees to the event
- Opportunity for self-promotion of your projects/organization to a large aligned audience (we have an existing list of 2700 and with the combined strength of all speakers marketing to their lists this could easily be many times greater)
- A speaker bio, CTA (call-to-action) and link to your website from the symposium landing page
- A speaker bio, CTA and link to your website to the symposium email list (2700+) as part of the pre-session reminder email automation
- A speaker bio, CTA and link to your website to the symposium email list (2700+) as part of the post-symposium email automation
We feel this makes the symposium an attractive proposition despite our modest means and is respectful of our speakers' time and contributions.
Next steps: moving forward
If you would like to participate in the symposium please provide the required information and answer the following questions:
1. Please provide a short written paragraph outlining your proposed presentation and answering the above 3 questions. This will allow us to assess whether you are a fit for this symposium, if we should modify the theme of the symposium or it would be better to collaborate with you in some other form…
2. Are you open to giving your presentation live on either the 26th, 27th or 28th of January in front of a live online audience or would you prefer to record the presentation in advance (a scheduling calendar will be shared with you later)?
3. Are you open to speaking in a live Q&A session either a) individually, or b) as part of a Q&A panel of other speakers? Please let us know which.
4. Feel free to recommend any speakers you feel would be appropriate for the symposium so we can research them and reach-out to them. We desire to have a mixture of well-known speakers and lesser known, underground voices
5. Please feel free to ask any question or provide any feedback on any of the matters discussed here. We would love to hear from you
Speaker theme suggestions
This is a list of potential topics for the symposium we brainstormed here at Soil, Soul and Spirit. Take a look to get an idea of what our vision is for the event. Note: this is not an exhaustive list, feel free to suggest alternative topics.
Day 1 - Building bridges between alchemy & natural science
Keynote suggestions:
- Building bridges between alchemical understanding and mainstream science (Dennis)
Suggested main sessions:
- Geology
- Mineralogy
- Metallurgy
- Chemistry
- Botany
- Medicine
- Zoology
- Astrology/astronomy
- Light & colour
- Sound & vibration
- Metals & planets
- Transmutation of substance
Other:
- Vedic science & alchemical understanding
- Alchemical understanding & holistic science
- The coming scientific renaissance
Day 2 - Alchemy: Healing the Land, Healing the Body
Keynote suggestions:
- The alchemical roots of the biodynamic method (Dennis)
Suggested main sessions:
- Herbalism
- Agriculture
- Horticulture
- Spagyricism
- Ormus
- Cannabis growing & alchemical preparations
- Aromatherapy, essential oils
- Medicine making & alchemy (hauschka, wala, weleda)
- Plants and metals
- Astrological planting calendar
- Ayurvedic alchemy
- Ayurvedic medicine making & gem ash
- Traditional Chinese Medicine & alchemy
- Energetic herbalism & alchemy
- Animal assisted therapies
Day 3 - Alchemy, Archetypes & the Soul
Keynote suggestions:
- Seeing like an alchemist: The alchemical principles & imaginative perception (Dennis)
- Transcending the prison of mental abstraction: pure thinking & spiritual perception (Dennis)
Suggested main sessions:
- Alchemy & psychology
- Alchemy & anthroposophy
- Inner work: alchemy of the soul
- Rosicrucianism and alchemy
- Meditation & alchemy
- Four elements & alchemy
- Tria Principia & alchemy
- Spiritual science & alchemy
- Jungian psychology & alchemy
- Four temperaments & alchemy
- Expansion & contraction / Yin and Yang
- The stages of alchemy and the inner work
- The Holy Grail & alchemy
- Secret of the golden flower - Chinese inner alchemy
- Taoist inner alchemy
Other topics
- Arabian alchemy
- Western esotericism & alchemy
- Hermeticism & alchemy
- Kabbalah & alchemy
Promotional Materials
Email text (feel free to copy and edit)
Short 30 sec intro that can be shared
Praise for Soil, Soul and Spirit
Thank you so much for making this presentation available. All I can say is WOW. I’m so inspired and I must admit, a little intimidated by the volume of information. With much gratitude
It was such an amazing and deeply moving experience for me. First…the scholarly content and professional attention to detail and multiple points of view are enlightening, and to be trusted. Secondly, I love the way you weave metaphysical into the scientific.
Holy moly, The question and answer session blew me away. Dennis is so far ahead of the game. He has the knack of putting Rudolf Steiner’s work and ideas in a language I can understand. I am forever grateful.
Thanks
Dennis Klocek, MFA, is Co-founder of the Coros Institute and founder of Consciousness Studies at Rudolf Steiner College. A lifelong gardener, he has spent the last 40 years researching the biodynamic method and taking it further. His Youtube videos and lectures on biodynamics have been seen by thousands of people all over the world, and his groundbreaking plant spray research has lead to championship awards.
He is the author of many books including the newly released, Esoteric Physiology and also Sacred Agriculture: The Alchemy of Biodynamics. Dennis is known as an international lecturer.