At a time of renewed interest in the spiritual, what could challenge the uninspiring notion of ‘cultural Christianity’? One answer is by embracing the esoteric. 

William Blake, the painter and poet, has become a model for a new kind of rebellious spirituality. Though he spent his life in poverty and obscurity, Blake’s radical vision of the divine is now a cornerstone of modern mysticism. 

Psychotherapist and podcaster Mark Vernon, author of ‘Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination’, and religion researcher, Esmé Partridge, talk in a masterclass, hosted by Unherd in London, on the meaning and mythos of Blake.

0:00 What world Blake was responding to
2:15 What did Blake mean by Newton’s sleep?
5:28 How did Blake see the natural world?
8:30 Why did Blake react against the Christianity of his day?
11:50 Understanding “The Garden of Love”
13:50 Understanding “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”
16:50 Blake against the ills of today: sentimentality and unforgivingness
18:40 The road of excess and erotic desire
21:47 Navigating the contrary tensions of life
25:15 Blake’s mythological figures
29:30 What about Los and Jerusalem?
32:30 What about Blake’s view of politics and revolution?
36:50 How do you cleanse the doors of perception?
40:20 So in what way was Blake Christian?
43:46 How did William and Catherine support themselves?
46:52 How do we distinguish between imagination and fantasy?
49:51 How can Blake be helpful to modern psychology?
52:30 How can Blake help us reach for the eternal?
56:10 How can Blake bring meaning to life?
57:30 What would Blake make of Nietzsche?
1:00:00 What would Blake make of Spinoza?
1:01:30 Can we diagnose Blake and his visions?
1:03:20 What about Blake and cultural Christianity today?
1:05:30 What did Blake make about violence?
1:07:43 Can you say more about Catherine Blake?
1:09:30 Blake’s wit about his visions
1:10:54 Can you comment on Blake and Englishness?