The Hidden Stream Beneath History: Western Esotericism & the Hermetic Tradition

Liminal News Lecture Series

As part of my ongoing exploration into the secret currents beneath mainstream culture, I’ve just released the first full lecture from my video course, Secret Histories and Spiritual Revolutions, as a free offering on YouTube.

This opening session focuses on the Hermetic tradition — a foundational pillar of Western esotericism that most people today have never heard of, even though its influence quietly shaped the Renaissance, modern science, and contemporary spirituality.

📺 Watch it here →

I trace the lineage of ideas from Hermes Trismegistus through Renaissance alchemy and magic, and into our modern search for meaning and consciousness. Along the way, I share reflections on psychedelics, prophecy, quantum physics, and the philosophical shift from materialism to idealism — themes that fascinate me and guide much of my work.

Why It Matters

In our age of AI, ascendant despotism, and ecological unraveling, many of us feel that the traditional modern and postmodern paradigm no longer serves us — that the mechanistic, extractive mindset has run its course. What can emerge in its place?

The Hermetic tradition tells us that consciousness itself is primary — that the universe is, in essence, mind. I realize this idea still seems like metaphysical fluff to many rationalists and hardcore materialists. However today it’s supported by quantum mechanics and contemporary science. We directly encounter the validity of this idea in psychedelic experience, as well as through the mystical techniques of Eastern and Western occult traditions. According to Dzogchen for instance, an offshoot of Tibetan Buddhism, the basis of reality is, ultimately, primordial awareness.

This lecture seeks to reintroduce a forgotten framework, one that can guide us through the spiritual, ethical, and geopolitical chaos of this time. While everyone else is fragmenting around us, we can calmly reintegrate and resonate.

Why YouTube?

I intend to publish more video content on my YouTube channel in the coming months — full-length lectures, course excerpts, and conversations with other thinkers, artists, and mystics.

If you want to follow along and support this project, I ask you to subscribe to the channel. It’s a small, free act, but it really helps the algorithm push these ideas further into the culture.

🎥 Subscribe here →
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@MrDanielPinchbeck

As always, let me know your comments and reflections. I would love to hear what resonates, and where you want me to explore further.