Understanding Dante’s Inferno with Mark Booth

Summary

Author Mark Booth, who writes as Jonathan Black, argues that Dante Alighieri was an initiate of a secret esoteric tradition and that the Divine Comedy describes a real underground initiation ritual, probably beneath the streets of Florence. He traces this tradition from the ancient mystery schools of Greece and Rome through the Knights Templar, whose persecution Dante reportedly witnessed and condemned. Along the way he touches on Dante's occultist mentor Brunetto Latini, Sufi influences on the poem, and a claim that Pope John Paul II embraced occult teachings.

Key takeaways

• 1Booth claims great geniuses such as Dante, Shakespeare, Leonardo, Mozart and Goethe were all initiates of secret societies, and that this enabled them to reshape their ages.
• 2He says ancient mystery schools such as Eleusis, whose initiates included Plato, Aristotle, Pindar, Sophocles and Cicero, gave rise to Greek drama, sculpture, mathematics and philosophy, and that their fleeing priests later founded the secret societies.
• 3Florentine occultist Brunetto Latini, said to be initiated into a lay Templar order, became Dante's mentor after Dante's father died, yet Dante later placed him in Hell.
• 4Booth claims Dante was in Paris to witness the execution of Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay and viewed the Templars' destruction as a cosmic crime equal to the crucifixion.
• 5Booth suggests the Inferno describes a physical initiation in tunnels beneath Florence, and he links the city's occult reputation to the unsolved Monster of Florence murders, which prosecutors suggested were tied to a black-magic society of aristocrats.
• 6He claims Pope John Paul II had a mystical experience through Rudolf Steiner's practices and was photographed with 'Meditations on the Tarot' by Valentin Tomberg.

Glossary terms

Source

Transcript excerpt

The poet Pindar said that if you've been initiated, you have no doubt about life after death. Clearly, initiates felt that they'd experienced this very real vision of what the afterlife was like, and they were totally convinced by it. And the mystery schools were eventually closed down by the Caesars, and the priests fled and set up what we now call the secret societies. And the Knights Templar are part of that tradition. I think that the Church, with the capital C, has always had an outward-facing path, which is the Church of St. Peter. But then there is said to be this inner church, the mystical church, the Church of St. John. Keep watching to learn more. The New Thinking Allowed magazine, Issue 10, on UFOs and UAP, is now ready for free download. And you can also order beautiful printed copies. Go to newthinkingallowed.org. New Thinking Allowed is presented by the California Institute for Human Science, a fully accredited university offering distant learning graduate degrees that focus on mind, body, and spirit. The topics that we cover here. We are particularly excited to announce new degrees emphasizing parapsychology and the paranormal. Visit their website at C-I-H-S dot E-D-U. Book 4 in the new Thinking Allowed Dialogue Series is Charles T. Tartt, Seventy Years of Exploring, Consciousness and Parapsychology. Now available on Amazon. Thinking Allowed Conversations on the Leading Edge of Knowledge and Discovery with Psychologist Jeffrey Mishlove Hello and welcome. I'm Jeffrey Mishlove. Our topic today is Understanding Dante's Inferno. My guest is Mark Booth, also known under the pen name of Jonathan Black. He is the author of several comprehensive books, including The Sacred History, How Angels, Mystics, and Higher Intelligence Made Our World. The Secret History of the World. ...

Excerpt from New Thinking Allowed, Sep 21, 2026. Rights remain with the original creators. Hear the full episode at the source.