RR Patreon Tier 2 Groves of Orpheus Free Content- Dell Rose RMA Ornamental Hermits: A Different Kind of Spirituality

My guest this month is Dell Rose. Dell is working on a project for his PhD dissertation on Charles Augustus Tulk and the role that Swedenborgianism played in the reforming societies of 19th century Britain. Though Tulk is often only known as the artistic patron of William Blake, he was also one of the earliest advocates of "public science" and his quest to show the spiritual nature of the material world based on Swedenborg's revelations would be widely acclaimed during the period. This discussion, however, concerns 'ornamental' hermits. We explore this in the context of cultural history and significance of the garden and the esoteric influences that were built around this idea. The hermit and the hermitage were seen as a 'living experiment" of both esoteric wisdom with regard to the significance of plants and also the atmosphere that they created. As you will hear, this is a complex and nuanced topic, and we consider an array of influences that might have played a part in the obscure phenomenon known as 'eremitism.'