The Mundus Imaginalis

An exploration of the symbolic world of the soul

With David Nieuwejaers Roef

Nearly all wisdom traditions teach that the cosmos fundamentally consists of three worlds. In addition to the earthly world, there is also the world of the soul and the world of the spirit. The world of the soul is an intermediate realm, linking heaven and earth, spirit and body. It is also the space in which divine revelations and mystical inspirations can disclose themselves to human beings in symbolic form. One may think, for example, of Moses’ vision of the burning bush, the encounter of the Virgin Mary with the angel Gabriel, or the mi‘raj, the heavenly ascent of the Prophet Muhammad.

Because this world is the domain in which sacred myths and symbols possess their own reality, the renowned Islamicist Henry Corbin called it the mundus imaginalis, the imaginal world, in order to distinguish it from the imaginary and the collective unconscious. More recently, the philosopher of religion Daniel van Egmond has likewise advocated a rediscovery of the mundus imaginalis, since without this “middle” of the soul, we cannot serve as a bridge between heaven and earth, and religious experiences are often mistakenly reduced to psychological phenomena.

In this course, we will become acquainted with the mundus imaginalis and seek to better understand why, in the West, we have lost contact with its reality. We will explore how the imaginal world is not only a central theme in the thought of certain Islamic thinkers, such as Ibn ‘Arabī and Suhrawardī, but also plays a crucial role in the lives of some Christian mystics, such as Hildegard of Bingen and Jakob Böhme. From them, we may learn why, especially in our own time, the imaginal world is essential for the sacramental character of creation and for the healing of the soul.

This course consists of a series of lectures, also accessible online, combined with several sessions that offer space for study and further reflection. You may register either for the full program or for individual days.

The course is conducted entirely in Dutch.