Western esotericism is an academic discipline of research, scholarship, and education that focuses on the history of Western esotericism.
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Western esotericism is an academic discipline of research, scholarship, and education that focuses on the history of Western esotericism.
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| Esotericism |
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Prior to the first academic interest in the topic of Western esotericism, Arthur Edward Waite (who was a Freemason and member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia) had written extensively on the topic from a traditionalist, religionist, and generalist perspective. He was often cited as an authority by the early academics in the field who followed him. [1] As his biographer R. A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of Western occultism—viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of protoscience or as the pathology of religion." [2]
The more formal academic study of Western esotericism was pioneered in the early 20th century by historians of the ancient world and the European Renaissance, who came to recognise that—although it had been ignored by previous scholarship—the impact which pre-Christian and non-rational schools of thought had exerted on European society and culture was worthy of academic attention. [3] One of the key centres for this was the Warburg Institute in London, where scholars like Frances Yates, Edgar Wind, Ernst Cassier and D. P. Walker began arguing that esoteric thought had had a greater impact on Renaissance culture than had been previously accepted. [4] In 1965, the world's first academic post in the study of esotericism was established at the École pratique des hautes études in the Sorbonne, Paris; named the chair in the History of Christian Esotericism, its first holder was François Secret, a specialist in the Christian Kabbalah. [5] In 1979 the scholar Antoine Faivre assumed Secret's chair at the Sorbonne, which was renamed the "History of Esoteric and Mystical Currents in Modern and Contemporary Europe". [6] Faivre has since been cited as being responsible for developing the study of Western esotericism into a formalised field. [7]
Faivre noted two significant obstacles to establishing the field. One was an ingrained prejudice toward esotericism within academia, resulting in the widespread perception that its history is unworthy of academic research. [5] The second was its status a trans-disciplinary field, the study of which did not fit clearly within any particular discipline. [5] As noted by Wouter Hanegraaff, Western esotericism had to be studied as a separate field to religion, philosophy, science and art, because while it "participates in all these fields" it does not squarely fit into any of them. [8]
In 1980, the U.S.-based Hermetic Academy was founded by Robert A. McDermott as an outlet for scholars interested in Western esotericism. [9] From 1986 to 1990 members of the Hermetic Academy participated in panels at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion under the rubric of the "Esotericism and Perennialism Group". [9] By 1994, Faivre could comment that the academic study of Western esotericism had taken off in France, Italy, England and the United States, but he lamented that it had not done so in Germany. [5] By 2008, there were three dedicated university chairs in the subject, at the University of Sorbonne, University of Amsterdam and the University of Exeter, with the latter two institutions also offering master's degree programs in it. [10]
Reasoning that "English culture and literature have been traditional strongholds of Western esotericism", [11] Pia Brînzeu and György Szönyi urged in 2011 that English studies also have a role in this interdisciplinary field. [11]
The occult is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysticism. It can also refer to paranormal ideas such as extra-sensory perception and parapsychology.
Christian theosophy, also known as Boehmian theosophy and theosophy, refers to a range of positions within Christianity that focus on the attainment of direct, unmediated knowledge of the nature of divinity and the origin and purpose of the universe. They have been characterized as mystical philosophies. Theosophy is considered part of Western esotericism, which believes that hidden knowledge or wisdom from the ancient past offers a path to illumination and salvation.
Hermes Trismegistus is a legendary Hellenistic period figure that originated as a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. He is the purported author of the Hermetica, a widely diverse series of ancient and medieval pseudepigraphica that laid the basis of various philosophical systems known as Hermeticism.
Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This system encompasses a wide range of esoteric knowledge, including aspects of alchemy, astrology, and theurgy, and has significantly influenced various mystical and occult traditions throughout history. The writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, often referred to as the Hermetica, were produced over a period spanning many centuries and may be very different in content and scope.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was a German Renaissance polymath, physician, legal scholar, soldier, knight, theologian, and occult writer. Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy published in 1533 drew heavily upon Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism. His book was widely influential among esotericists of the early modern period, and was condemned as heretical by the inquisitor of Cologne.
Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to classify a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthodox Judeo-Christian religion and Age of Enlightenment rationalism. It has influenced, or contributed to, various forms of Western philosophy, mysticism, religion, pseudoscience, art, literature, and music.
Dame Frances Amelia Yates was an English historian of the Renaissance, who wrote books on the history of esotericism.
James Charles Napier Webb was a Scottish historian and biographer. He was born in Edinburgh, and was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is remembered primarily for his books The Harmonious Circle, The Occult Underground, and The Occult Establishment.
Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology, published in 1877, is a book of esoteric philosophy and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's first major self-published major work text and a key doctrine in her self-founded Theosophical movement.
Wouter Jacobus Hanegraaff is professor of the History of Hermetic Philosophy and related currents at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. He served as the first president of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) from 2005 to 2013.
Gnosis was an American magazine published from 1985 to 1999 devoted to the study of Western esotericism. It was described by scholar David G. Robertson as "a leading publication in what they termed 'the esoteric spiritual traditions of the West'".
Antoine Faivre was a French scholar of Western esotericism. He played a major role in the founding of the discipline as a scholarly field of study, and he was the first-ever person to be appointed to an academic chair in the discipline. Together with Roland Edighoffer he founded the predecessor to the journal Aries in 1983, which in 2001 was relaunched with Wouter Hanegraaff as its editor.
Prisca theologia is the doctrine that asserts that a single, true theology exists which threads through all religions, and which was anciently given by God to humans.
The European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) is Europe's only scholarly society for the study of Western esotericism. Founded in 2002, the society promotes academic study of Western esotericism in its various manifestations from late antiquity to the present, and works to secure the future development of the field.
Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the academic and historical study of Western esotericism. It is published by Brill Academic Publishers on behalf of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism. From 2001 to 2010, the editor-in-chief was Wouter Hanegraaff. The current editor-in-chief is Egil Asprem. Two issues are published annually; in recent years the first one is a special issue, devoted to a specific theme proposed by a guest editor.
Arthur Versluis is a professor and Department Chair of Religious Studies in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University.
Theosophy is a religious and philosophical system established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by Russian mystic and spiritualist Helena Blavatsky, and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Gnosticism and Neoplatonism and Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Although many adherents maintain that Theosophy is not a religion, it is variably categorized by religious scholars as both a new religious movement and a form of occultism from within Western esotericism.
Hans Thomas Hakl is an Austrian publisher, essayist and translator. He has used the signatures H. T. Hakl, H.T.H., or the pseudonym H. T. Hansen.
Kocku von Stuckrad is a German scholar of religious studies. He specialises in the European history of religion and the academic study of Western esotericism.
Modern paganism and New Age are eclectic new religious movements with similar decentralised structures but differences in their views of history, nature, and goals of the practitioner. Modern pagan movements, which often have roots in 18th- and 19th-century cultural movements, seek to revive or be influenced by historical pagan beliefs. New Age teachings emerged in the second half of the 20th century and are characterised by millenarian ideas about spiritual advancement. Since the counterculture of the 1960s, there has been interaction, mutual influence, and often confusion in the popular mind between the movements.