Edinburgh Branch of the Theosophical Society in Scotland
AUTUMN/ WINTER PROGRAMME September - December 2025
VENUE: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 25 Palmerston Place EH12.
Talk: 7.30 - 8.50pm in the Sanctuary Room (Tea/coffee in Cafe from 7.00pm)
Admission: £5 Members / £7 Non-members. ALL WELCOME
https://www.arthurconandoylecentre.com/whats_on/
PLEASE NOTE PAYMENT IS BY CASH
16 OCT Discussion Evening
Our programme so far has included talks on the Rittman Library, kundalini, teaching AI spirituality, Cosmogenesis (the mystery of creation). Our previous discussion covered signs, synchronicities and soul nudges. This evening is a chance to bring your thoughts and questions on any of these topics to share with other people.
23 OCT Discussion Evening: What are the core principles of Theosophy and how do they work in the modern world? Join an exploration led by Natasha Rocha. Natasha is currently studying for a diploma in Theosophy.
Please Note - TALK PREVIOUSLY ADVERTISED FOR 23 OCTOBER (The Science of Imagination Adam Zeeman (hosted Prof. Lance Butler) HAS MOVED TO 13th NOVEMBER
30 OCT BOOK LAUNCH
The Rising Signs: Gateway to the Higher Self by Gary Kidgell
The astrological natal chart provides a means by which we may determine our relationship to the universe and thereby sound our own, existential, resonant note as part of a vast cosmic symphony. The primary function of astrology is to unite the aspirant with the intent of the Soul or Higher Self. The purpose of the Higher Self is related to the Rising Sign or Ascendant found on the eastern horizon at the time of one's birth. This presentation outlines the spiritual purpose related to each of the twelve astrological rising signs and the associated challenges and rewards. No prior knowledge of astrology is required. Gary will be signing copies of his newly published, and related, book: The Rising Signs: Gateway to the Higher Self (cost of £15).
Gary Kidgell is a member of the Dundee Lodge having joined the Theosophical Society in 1994. He is the current Organising Secretary of the Scottish Regional Association and a former member of executive committee of the European Federation of Theosophical Societies. Gary has written three books: The Inner Journey: Pathways to the Higher Self; Greek Hero Myths: Pathways to Higher Consciousness and his newly published work The Rising Signs: Gateway to the Higher Self. Gary is a professional astrologer specialising in esoteric astrology. He has lectured extensively and undertaken numerous astrological consultations throughout the U.K. and Europe.
6 NOV The Fraternal Ark Lucy Crawford-Sandison
This presentation is about the mysterious voyage and important transfer of esoteric knowledge from Europe to the Americas in 1693, by a group of esotericists,i ncluding Boehmists and members of the Fraternity of the Rosy-Cross, on a ship named the Sarah Maria. The English mystic Jane Lead (1624-1704) likely funded the voyage.
Lucy Crawford-Sandison, M.A. is an architect and mystic residing in Australia. Following her graduation from Cambridge and Adelaide universities, she ran an ecologically and spiritually orientated architecture practice, with projects in the UK, Australia and China. Her special interests include mysticism, Western esotericism, sacred architecture, and geocosmology, with a particular focus on Ancient Egypt, where she has travelled extensively. She is President/ Grand Master of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC for the region of Australia, Asia and New Zealand.
Saturday 8 NOV SPECIAL EVENT 10.00 – 17.00 Cost: £12 (TS Members £10)
The Quest for the Mystical Dawn with Lucy Crawford-Sandison & Bill Anderson
Come and be part of a day workshop about Ancient Egypt’s influence upon Western esotericism and mysticism. You are warmly welcome to attend this Quest for the Mystical Dawn, which will include many experiential aspects, including meditations.
Full information / to reserve a place please email Paula: ts.edinburghprogramme@gmail.com
13 NOV The Science of Imagination Adam Zeeman (hosted Prof. Lance Butler)
'This talk will explore 4 key ideas about human imagination – i) we spend much of our lives immersed in imaginative pursuits, ‘in our heads’: arguably this is the most distinctive feature of the human mind; ii) this becomes less puzzling when we reflect that the real world is, in a sense, a product of our heads; iii) in imagination we run off-line the very sensorimotor systems that we employ on-line in perception; iv) a critical element in the emergence of human cognition was the evolution of our ability to share what we imagine.
We harness imagination in creativity – enabling us to make things that are both new and useful in some way. I will use a playful mnemonic, SkiDS, to describe the prerequisites for creative work. Ski stands for hard-won skills, which underlie (almost) all human creativity: they are equally biological and cultural achievements. D refers to detachment, comprising cognitive control and our symbolic faculty. S refers to spontaneity, an accommodating concept under which I will discuss inspiration, the activity of the resting brain, ‘replay’, dreams, insight, flow and shivers down the spine.
I will highlight four conclusions: i) imagination is the hallmark of human cognition, concealing startling invisible differences; ii) imagination is ubiquitous, not the preserve of the creative few; iii) our imaginings seem utterly personal, but they are in fact profoundly social – we are cultural creatures to the core; iv) in the light of advances in neuroscience over the past three decades the brain now appears a much more congenial home for creativity that when I trained in the 1980s.,
Adam Zeeman is a cognitive neurologist based in Edinburgh with a particular interest in the sciences of imagery and imagination, and author of a related book, The Shape of Things Unseen – a new science of imagination, published by Bloomsbury in January 2025. His previous books include Consciousness - a user’s guide, Yale University Press, 2002 and A Portrait of the Brain Yale, 2008. He was Chairman of the British Neuropsychiatry Association from 2007-2011.
Adam's latest book The Shape of Things Unseen (2025) is available at Amazon in hardback and kindle; paperback will be published in 2026.
20 NOV Discussion Evening (to be arranged)
27 NOV Wisdom of the Elders: Restoring Balance Through Indigenous Knowledge
Natasha Rocha will share a report from the Indigenous Elders Gathering held in Colombia in September, offering insights, teachings, and reflections from a sacred circle of wisdom keepers in dialogue on restoring harmony with the Earth and one another. The gathering will explore ancestral teachings, spiritual practices, and living wisdom that guide us toward balance, unity, and conscious leadership in these transformative times. This session is an opportunity to carry the voices of the elders forward, honouring their guidance and sharing their wisdom with the wider community.
4 DEC Music and the Question of Expression. Prof. Edward Campbell
Music is often described, for example in the school curriculum in Scotland, as an expressive art. This seemingly obvious designation in fact begs the questions of whether music actually is above all else an expressive art and what might we mean in making this claim. In his book On the Musically Beautiful (1854) the influential German music critic Eduard Hanslick (1825-1904) rejected expression as an inherent quality within music and composer Igor Stravinsky stated provocatively in his autobiography from 1935 that he considered music ‘by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all, whether a feeling, an attitude of mind, or psychological mood, a phenomenon of nature, etc…. Expression has never been an inherent property of music’. With this in mind, we can ask: If music is an expressive art, what exactly does it express and how does it do so? Who exactly is expressing her/him/themselves in a piece of music? Is it the composer, the performer, the listener… all of them together? In my talk I’ll discuss some of the main aesthetic positions that have been articulated around the question of expression, illustrated with musical examples which I hope you’ll enjoy, whether or not they turn out to be expressive of anything at all.
Edward Campbell is Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Aberdeen. He has published widely on aspects of contemporary music and aesthetics, including historical, analytical and aesthetic approaches to musical modernism, as well as the music and writings of Pierre Boulez. He is the author of Boulez, Music and Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and Music after Deleuze (Bloomsbury, 2013), contributing co-editor and translator of Pierre Boulez Studies (CUP, 2016) and The Cambridge Stravinsky Encyclopedia (CUP, 2021) and the editor of Boulez in Context (CUP, 2025).
11 DEC. CHRISTMAS SOCIAL – ALL WELCOME – FREE ENTRY
PROGRAMME RESTARTS JANUARY 2026
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