#western esoteric

[magica-pseudoacademica]

Hermetism was a Hellenistic system of occultism that flourished in Egypt in the first centuries C.E. It persisted as a living tradition in the city of Haran in Syria as late as the tenth century, when its leading exponent, Thabit ibn Qurra (836-901), established a pagan Hermetic school in Baghdad. In Haran, Hermetism had been syncretized with late Neoplatonism prior to the rise of Islam. The earliest alchemists in the Islamicate included Hermetic authors who wrote under Arabicized pseudonyms: Balinas (Apollonius of Tyana) and Artefius (Orpheus). Prominent Muslim philosophers - al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), and others were influenced by Hellenistic Hermetic writings.

Dan Merkur, “Stages of Ascension in Hermetic Rebirth” (1999) in Esoterica 1:79-96

[magica-pseudoacademica]

Events in the Soviet Union after 1985 revealed that occultism and general and Theosophy (and Anthroposophy) in particular had not disappeared from the Russian consciousness. These movements survived the years of forced repression in Russia's occult underground, in exile, and in emigration. Significant numbers of Russian occultists went to Germany, Switzerland, the Baltic states, South America, and Yugoslavia in 1918; after Hitler invaded Eastern Europe in 1939, many occultists emigrated again. Theosophy resurfaced in Russia the moment the climate became even moderately hospitable, although it has not achieved its prerevolutionary popularity and scope. Now Russian Theosophists are once again holding meetings and giving lectures, and Theosophical societies have officially opened their doors in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. The cooperatively printed works of Blavatsky, Besant, and Steiner are readily available.

Holly DeNio Stephens, “The Occult in Russia Today” in The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture (1997)

[magica-pseudoacademica]

The connections between the occult and symbolic uses of language were explored rigorously and extensively in the theoretical writings of Andrei Bely. An indefatigable erudite, Bely drew on a broad range of occult systems and mystical teachings ... including various kabbalistic traditions, the arcane hieroglyphic system of ancient Egypt, Pythagorean numerology, and the astrological magic of Marsilio Ficino, along with references to the doctrine of Hermes Trismegistus and to Agrippa's compendium of occult knowledge. There are also brief and baffling excursions into the Vedas, the Vedantas, and the Upanishads, the esoteric teachings of Buddhism recorded in Sanskrit in The Book of Dzyan, along with references to traditional Hindu systems of mystical philosophy ... Principal among these works were the Theosophical treatises of Helena Blavatsky, whose work Bely characterized as "a motley jumble of marvelous generalizations wherein confusion, fantasy, and sometimes careless use of quotations compete with talent and sharp penetrating [insight]."

Irina Gutkin, “The Magic of Words: Symbolism, Futurism, Socialist Realism” in The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture (1997)

[magica-pseudoacademica]

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) occupies a key position in the history of Western esotericism as a major representative of eighteenth-century theosophy ... [W]hile Swedenborg's theosophy involves intermediaries, correspondences, and access to the higher worlds, it lacks the mythical and dramatic elements of earlier and contemporary theosophy, such as the fall, reintegration, transmutation, and rebirth. Instead, Swedenborg offers a relatively sober, matter-of-fact mesocosm full of spirits, which may be the souls of the dead, where knowledge may be gained, scripture expounded, and new theological ideas developed. In this respect, Swedenborg's esotericism was heavily influenced by Enlightenment science, rationalism, and Protestant pietism. His assimilation of these secularizing influences also identifies him as a key figure in the development of modern esotericism.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction (2008)

[magica-pseudoacademica]

The Secret Doctrine is a two-volume work comprising some 1,500 pages and purporting to be the fundamental knowledge from which all religion, philosophy and science have grown. It claims to be based on the "Stanzas of Dzyan," a mysterious ancient religious text written in the unknown "Senzar" language and unknown to scholarship. This doctrinal statement of [Helena] Blavatsky's mature Theosophy was based on three principles: (1) the existence of one absolute reality, the infinite and eternal cause of all; (2) the periodicity of the universe: its appearance, growth, waning, and disappearance in cycles; and (3) the identity of "all Souls with the Universal Over-Soul: the pilgrimage of every Soul or spark through the cycle of incarnation." Inspired by these principles, The Secret Doctrine contains four fundamental sets of ideas: evolution; man's septenary constitution; karma and reincarnation; and after-death states.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction (2008)

[magica-pseudoacademica]

Modern ritual magic anticipated Jungian psychoanalytical concerns with archetypes and the collective unconscious. With their roots in Masonic symbolism and ritual, the magical orders sought to evoke powers on the inner or higher planes of reality. This evocation was practiced on the lines of traditional Renaissance magic by acting out a drama of correspondences linking the microcosm of the individual with the macrocosm of nature and the universe. The Kabbalah (with [Eliphas] Lévi's Tarot links) played an important role in these systems, as did ancient Egyptian, Hermetic, and Rosicrucian references. The resulting syncretism is a typically modern phenomenon, as is the emphasis on the will and power of the individual.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction (2008)

[magica-pseudoacademica]

[T]heurgic texts require that the practitioner perform rituals for the soul's purification, contain rituals involving an interaction with God and with spirits who are neutrally or positively characterized, and are concerned with revelation - that is, experiences in which something, usually knowledge or spiritual status, is transmitted by divine powers ... Generally speaking, these modes can be characterized as efficacious salvific rituals enacted within a monotheistic framework that are surrounded by a worked-out theology intended to argue for their necessity. This theology will differ according to the context, whether Neoplatonic philosophy, Christian theology, or Jewish mysticism.

Sophie Page, Magic in the Cloister: Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe (2013) (pp. 113-114)

[magica-pseudoacademica]

Nothing is naturally esoteric. Esotericism is a designation of the historical role of certain ideas and methods within a culture rather than a description of their intrinsic characteristics. As an adjective, esoterical describes a culture's attitude towards ideas rather than the ideas themselves.

Birgit Menzel, “Introduction” in The New Age of Russia: Occult and Esoteric Dimensions (2012)