Dante's Divine Comedy

Pimps, remorse and blood. Dante's Divine Comedy and the critique of the Papacy

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dante encounters seven popes in the Divine Comedy, five in hell, one in purgatory and one in paradise - that last being Saint Peter. His condemnation ...

The way down is the way up. Dante on how to live in turbulent times. Lessons from The Divine Comedy

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This talk was first given to Idler Drinks.For more on Mark's work on Dante - https://www.markvernon.com/dantes-divine-comedy

Is hell forever? The Inferno. Jason Baxter & Mark Vernon on Dante’s film noir

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Circles of hell" has become commonplace in language. But what was Dante trying to show us when he wrote the inferno? What has been lost in tra...

Is hell really boring? Rowan Williams & Jesse Armstrong, Dante & William Blake

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rowan Williams and Jesse Armstrong talked at The Idler festival, partly around the idea, caught in the expression, “boring as hell”. But is that r...

Dante and civilisational decline. A dispatch on disillusionment in politics

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dante lived through a period of almost total social collapse. Civil war and city-state terror, practiced by the church as much as secular powers, drov...

What is intelligence? Dante in an age of AI

25 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante's imagery, particularly in the Paradiso, offers powerful prompts to developing the sense of what it is to be intelligent. He wrote for mode...

Seeing the Unsayable. Dante’s ineffable images

05 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reason fails before the greatest spiritual truths. That much is not news. But part of the genius of Dante is his conjuring of images that reach beyond...

Dante and the Meaning of Easter

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is the meaning of Easter? How might Holy Week be more than an occasion for its retelling? Can death and resurrection live today, as they once did...

Dante and Eternal Damnation

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante would seem to be a key candidate for infernalism, the doctrine of endless punishment in hell for sinners who failed to turn to Christ.He’s sai...

Angels, Dreams & Myths. Dante on times of transition

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Divine Comedy is all about guides - finding guides, following guides, conversing with guides. Virgil and Beatrice are the best known, but there ar...

How can we transhumanise? And why we need to

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dante coined the word "transhumanise" in the Divine Comedy, 700 years ago. "Trasumanar" is the transformation he will undergo in o...

Understanding Dante. A second Medicine Path podcast with Brian James

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A joy to speak again with Brian, this time on Dante's Divine Comedy.We talked about what happened to Dante, what happened to Mark that opened up ...

Dante, cosmology, and a conversation at Rupert Sheldrake's 80th do

10 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bernard Carr is a leading cosmologist who worked with Stephen Hawking and now investigates time, multidimensionality and consciousness, amongst other ...

Dante’s Paradiso. Awakening to the Light. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues continues Rupert and Mark's exploration of Dante’s Divine Comedy, taking a lead from Mark’s bo...

Dante's transfiguration of time & love, seeking & suffering, telepathy & transhumanising

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Various human experiences are deepened and resolved as Dante travels through hell, purgatory and paradise. The Divine Comedy can be read as an examina...

Dante on Idealism. Or Dante in dialogue with Bernardo Kastrup and others

01 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is a contribution to recent dialogues on idealism between Bernardo Kastrup, John Vervaeke, Matt Segall, Philip Goff and others, including myself....

Why Paradise? Part 3 of 3 talks on Dante's Divine Comedy

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Paradise. Destiny for a chosen few? Dismissed today by many. Or might it be the end for us all?Dante tells us to follow closely in the richest, subtle...

Why Purgatory? Part 2 of 3 talks on Dante's Divine Comedy by Mark Vernon

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The mode of life called purgatorial is a medieval superstition, according to some, and the very purpose of mortal life, according to others. So what d...

Sexual Mores & Divine Eros: Why we need Dante to teach us about love

03 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The liberal world and western churches increasingly seem to suffer from the lack of a sophisticated understanding of erotic love - an approach not mer...

Why Hell? Part 1 of 3 talks on Dante's Divine Comedy by Mark Vernon

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The notion of hell is delighted in by some and causes offence in others. So why did Dante write about this infernal domain on his journey through real...

Dante’s Purgatorio, How to be transformed: a conversation with Rupert Sheldrake

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues continues Rupert and Mark's exploration of Dante’s Divine Comedy, taking a lead from Mark’s bo...

The Way Up and the Way Down. Dante and the One Path from Hell to Paradise

17 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dante’s Divine Comedy famously opens with the poet wakening in a dark wood. His life has seemingly taken a wrong turn. But why must he embark first ...

Light, Love, Logos, Life - How to speak about God

17 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John Vervaeke, Paul VanderKlay and Paul Anleitner asked what "God" means, with John challenging the Pauls to talk about God via Light, Love,...

The Darkness That Is Light. Thoughts from an exhibition

02 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Dante exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, for the 700th anniversary year of 2021, brought together some of the Divine Comedy’s greatest illustra...

Listen to audiobook chapter from Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey!

21 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Audible have released the audiobook of Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey. I hope you enjoy the first chapter, Inferno 1.Fo...

Dante's Inferno, Part 2, dangers in spiritual seeking. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake

17 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues is the second part of a conversation between Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon on the Inferno of Dante’...

Angelology with Lorna Byrne. A conversation and inquiry with thoughts from Dante and Blake

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dante and Otherworld Journeys was an online conference organised with the Scientific and Medical Network - https://scientificandmedical.net/events/dr-...

Dante's Inferno and the meaning of descent. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake

12 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Divine Comedy by Dante is one of the great spiritual works of the Christian tradition. But how can it be read and what does it mean? In this epis...

Dante and Otherworld Journeys - online conference booking now!

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dante was clear: he wrote so that others might follow him on otherworld journeys. So what might this mean?With the Scientific and Medical Network, an ...

Dante and Spiritual Intelligence - a lecture to the Temenos Academy

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This lecture was given to the Temenos Academy on Tuesday 19th October 2021 - a particular delight as it was on its perennial philosophy course that th...

How To Know Paradise and Know It Now - the way of #Dante's #Paradiso #DivineComedy

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today, people feel Dante's Paradiso is irrelevant. It's not. It is the place of true perception and delightful knowledge, and the goal of th...

Book Launch and Celebration of Dante 700, 14 Sept 2021, event recording

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For further details about Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey - https://www.markvernon.com/books/dantes-divine-comedy-bookFo...

Why Dante Matters - a conversation with the Church Times podcast

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Vernon talks about Dante and his new book, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey (Angelico Press) at the Church Times podcas...

Book launch! Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

To preorder Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey see - https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781621387480/dantes-divine-com...

Did Dante really go to paradise?

22 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this 700th anniversary year, the truth of the Divine Comedy is a key issue. Modern critics may explain its spiritual veracity by putting its impac...

Dante and the Divine Masculine

18 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Categories like feminine and masculine can constrain as much as illuminate. But there is no denying that men and male entities play a major, often sur...

Dante and the Divine Feminine

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Categories like feminine and masculine can constrain as much as illuminate. But there is no denying that women and female entities play a major, often...

Seeing In Depth - Dante on the Trinity

30 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Divine Comedy aims to deepen and broaden our perception of reality, often by exploding preconceptions. Nowhere is this more true than in Dante&apo...

How Dante Discovered the Power of Now

03 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For more on Dante do see - https://www.markvernon.com/dantes-divine-comedyDetails of my book, Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Jo...

Descent is Ascent - How the road up is the road down in Dante's Divine Comedy

27 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

[This is an audio version of a talk with images, which is on my YouTube channel.]Making sense of why Dante had to travel through hell, what was going ...

Longing for the Infinite – 7 key features of Dante’s transhumanism

14 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The word transhumanism was coined by Dante to capture his realisation of divine life in paradise.It has been colonised today by technologists dreaming...

Dante, awakening, and erotic love

07 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dante’s journey is all about erotic love, through ugly possessiveness, and powerful passions, to the realisation that love is usually experienced as...

Dante's Divine Comedy and Spiritual Sight

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of a talk I gave online as part of St Albans Cathedral's online adult education programme. The talk with images is online her...

Dante Top 10 Spiritual Insights

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We will learn a lot about Dante’s language, love, politics and humanism in 2021, the 700th anniversary of his death. But perhaps not so much about t...

Paradiso 33

08 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante reaches the end of his journey, which is also the origin and moment of complete reception of divine life and light.

Paradiso 32

07 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bernard takes Dante on a tour of paradise, which is also a gathering together of all he has experienced.

Paradiso 31

07 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante sees paradise as a white rose of beauty and heavenly amphitheatre of life, shining like the sun.

Paradiso 30

25 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante enters the Empyrean conveying, in visions, the direct experience of divine, living light.

Paradiso 29

24 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The unity of the eternal and temporal, as interpenetrating expressions of the divine, is unpacked by Beatrice.

Paradiso 28

18 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante gains inner sight of the still centre of all things, the spark of being and ever present origin.

Paradiso 27

17 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is full of the superabundance of heaven, when the lights around him turn red and Peter condemns the church.

Paradiso 26

11 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A blinded Dante realigns his desire to the heavens, and is confronted by the unexpected light of Adam.

Paradiso 25

10 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The light of hope, James, joins Dante and Beatrice. They shine with this virtue, before the heavens fall silent.

Paradiso 24

04 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante must delight Saint Peter with insights on faith. He finds words to express his awareness and love.

Paradiso 23

03 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In a series of shattering visions, Beatrice helps Dante steady himself and become capable of the light.

Paradiso 22

27 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Beatrice helps Dante tolerate the tremendous vision in Saturn, as Benedict descends the ladder.

Paradiso 21

13 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is in the heaven of Saturn, though its glory must be shown gradually, lest he be blasted by the light.

Paradiso 20

12 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Souls Dante never expected to see are encountered in Jupiter, and Dante learns of new heavenly dynamics.

Paradiso 19

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The heaven of Jupiter shows the divine plenitude. Accepting human finitude readies Dante for more.

Paradiso 18

06 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A deeper symmetry in life appears to Dante as, guided by Beatrice, he moves to the heaven of Jupiter.

Paradiso 17

05 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante learns that he will face exile and, in the heaven of Mars, absorbs the virtues to say yes to it.

Paradiso 16

30 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The tragedy of Florence is rehearsed though, in heaven, a deeper love and life transcends even the worst.

Paradiso 15

29 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In Mars, Dante meets his forebear Cacciaguida, who offers a vision of times more aligned with the divine.

Paradiso 14

23 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Contemplating the divinisation of humanity and creation, Dante finds himself in the sphere of Mars.

Paradiso 13

22 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Imagining the motion of the stars is practice for perceiving the divine splendours Dante enjoys in the sun.

Paradiso 12

15 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante contemplates a double circle of light in the sun, as Dominic adds wisdom to the ascent of love.

Paradiso 11

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Aquinas offers the life of Francis of Assisi to illuminate seeing the light of the Sun in this life.

Paradiso 10

09 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They arrive in the heaven of the sun, the light most manifest to mortals, heralding divine light within.

Paradiso 9

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante meets souls who in life were erotic lovers, to discover more about what carries us heavenward.

Paradiso 8

02 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante, in the reality of Venus, encounters a kingly soul and kindred spirit to explore love, diversity and unity. 

Paradiso 7

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is dissatisfied with the traditional account of the crucifixion. Beatrice leads him to a beautiful new vision.

Paradiso 6

26 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante presents a big history and, in this mercurial sphere, we are invited to peer beneath events.

Paradiso 5

25 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Beatrice shows Dante and us something of the freedom to align our lives with divine life, prompting a dramatic change.

Paradiso 4

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is dazzled, overwhelmed by the seeming paradoxes of paradise. Beatrice shows how they are transcended.

Paradiso 3

18 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is immersed in the state of mind that confuses reflection and reality as a soul appears, Piccarda.

Paradiso 2

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante warns that the journey into paradise is risky. Then, they arrive in the sphere of the Moon.

Paradiso 1

12 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante explains how his intellect and desire, drawn by Beatrice, blessed by gods, enable him to rise into reality.

Purgatorio 33

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Beatrice prophecies about the future for Dante and Christianity, and Dante is ready, renewed for the stars.

Purgatorio 32

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is saved from momentary madness, before Beatrice leads him to a display of spiritual corruption.

Purgatorio 31

28 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Beatrice continues to berate Dante, until he collapses. Then, he's carried through the Lethe and changes.

Purgatorio 30

27 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cries, angels and light shock and bring a chastising Beatrice, Virgil's disappearance, and Dante's bitter tears.

Purgatorio 29

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

He follows the enchanting lady along the stream before, with a flash of light, the most extraordinary vision begins.

Purgatorio 28

21 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They are an enchanting, if mysterious, forest. A solitary lady approaches at Dante's request. They converse.

Purgatorio 27

14 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is before the flames. He hesitates, terrified. But he gathers his will, with the help of Virgil and the angels.

Purgatorio 26

13 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is before the flames that would render him capable of divine love. He pauses. He desires and fears.

Purgatorio 25

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante is bursting with questions. Virgil and Statius to describe the creation of our physical and subtle bodies.

Purgatorio 24

07 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante and Forese continue to talk on the nature of desire and perception. They encounter another tree and angel.

Purgatorio 23

06 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante meets a friend from life, and it becomes clearer how their communing did and didn't truly sustain him.

Purgatorio 22

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Virgil and Statius talk on new insights into the nature of divine reality and the limits Christian understanding.

Purgatorio 21

31 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A transitional canto, Virgil and Dante meet the soul of Statius. The two pilgrims have become three.

Purgatorio 20

30 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante speaks with another mourning soul and is led to lament the history that shaped his own life.

Purgatorio 19

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dante has a second dream. It disturbs him as they make their way to the fourth terrace where souls mourn.

Purgatorio 18

23 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They talk more on love, and it's good and bad forms, before a crowd of rushing souls run up behind them.

Purgatorio 17

23 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The midpoint of the Divine Comedy is filled with thoughts on love, the exact midpoint with the word itself.

Purgatorio 16

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They are the terrace where blind rage becomes righteous anger. A discussion brings revisionary truths about free will and love.

Purgatorio 15

17 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encountering another angel of light, Virgil explains a way of limitless growth in life. Dante is rapt.

Purgatorio 14

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Still with the reforming envious souls, Dante reflects on the degeneracy of a civilisation that's become avaricious.

Purgatorio 13

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The second terrace seems barren, though the generous sun is guide and they meet envious souls with eyes wired shut.

Purgatorio 12

10 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alleviated of the constrained vision that pride brings, an angel sweeps down and shows the way up.

Purgatorio 11

09 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With the souls carrying heavy burdens, Dante speaks with them. He learns about the gordian knot of pride.