| Author | : Wouter J. Hanegraaff |
| Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
| Total Pages | : 479 |
| Release | : 2012-01-19 |
| Genre | : Body, Mind & Spirit |
| ISBN | : 0521196213 |
The neglected history of how intellectuals since the Renaissance have approached ideas of the occult which challenged biblical religion.
| Author | : Wouter J. Hanegraaff |
| Publisher | : Amsterdam University Press |
| Total Pages | : 165 |
| Release | : 2009 |
| Genre | : Philosophy |
| ISBN | : 9056295721 |
"Hermes in the Academy" commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and related Currents (GHF) at the University of Amsterdam. The center devotes itself to the study of Western esotericism, which includes topics such as Hermetic philosophy, Christian kabbalah and occultism. This volume shows how, over the past ten years, the GHF has developed into the leading international center for research and teaching in this domain.
| Author | : Wouter J. Hanegraaff |
| Publisher | : A&C Black |
| Total Pages | : 225 |
| Release | : 2013-02-14 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1441188975 |
Western esotericism has been a pervasive presence in Western culture from late antiquity to the present day, but until recently it was largely ignored by scholars and surrounded by misconceptions and prejudice. This accessible guide provides readers with the basic knowledge and tools that will allow them to find their way in this bewildering but fascinating field. What is it that unites phenomena as diverse as ancient gnosticism and hermetism, the "occult sciences" of astrology, alchemy, and magic, rosicrucianism, as well as Christian theosophy, occultism, spiritualism, and the contemporary New Age spiritualities? What can the study of them teach us about our common cultural and intellectual heritage, and what is it that makes them relevant to contemporary concerns? How do we distinguish reliable historical knowledge from legends and fictions about esoteric traditions? These and many other questions are answered clearly and succinctly, so that the reader can find his way into the labyrinth of Western esotericism and out of it again.
| Author | : John Walbridge |
| Publisher | : SUNY Press |
| Total Pages | : 188 |
| Release | : 2001-08-09 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 9780791450512 |
An expert on the thought of medieval Islamic philosopher Suhrawardi argues that philosophers have romanticized this work as a revival of “oriental” wisdom.
| Author | : Wouter J. Hanegraaff |
| Publisher | : BRILL |
| Total Pages | : 598 |
| Release | : 2018-09-24 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 9004378936 |
Recent years have seen a spectacular rise of the New Age movement and an ever-increasing interest in its beliefs and manifestations. This fascinating work presents the first-ever comprehensive analysis of New Age Religion and its historical backgrounds, thus providing the reader with a means of orientation in the bewildering variety of the movement. Making extensive use of primary sources, the author thematically analyses New Age beliefs from the perspective of the study of religions. While looking at the historical backgrounds of the movement, he convincingly argues that its foundations were laid by so-called western esoteric traditions during the Renaissance. Hanegraaff finally shows how the modern New Age movement emerged from the increasing secularization of those esoteric traditions during the 19th century. This ground-breaking publication is compulsive reading for all those involved or interested in the New Age movement.
| Author | : Wouter J. Hanegraaff |
| Publisher | : BRILL |
| Total Pages | : 566 |
| Release | : 2008-12-31 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 9047443586 |
From rumours about gnostic orgies in antiquity to the explicit erotic symbolism of alchemical texts, from the subtly coded eroticism of medieval kabbalah to the sexual magic practiced by contemporary occultists and countercultural translations of Asian Tantra, the history of Western esotericism is rich in references to the domains of eros and sexuality. This volume, which brings together an impressive array of top-level specialists, is the first to analyze the eroticism of the esoteric without sensationalism or cheap generalizations, but on the basis of expert scholarship and attention to textual and historical detail. While there are few other domains where the imagination may so easily run wild, the various contributions seek to distinguish fact from fiction--only to find that historical realities are sometimes even stranger than the fantasies. In doing so, they reveal the outlines of a largely unknown history spanning more than twenty centuries.
| Author | : Arthur Versluis |
| Publisher | : Rowman & Littlefield |
| Total Pages | : 192 |
| Release | : 2007 |
| Genre | : Body, Mind & Spirit |
| ISBN | : 9780742558366 |
Provides overview, from antiquity onwards, on various Western religious esoteric movements. This book includes topics such as: alchemy, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy and more.
| Author | : Glenn Alexander Magee |
| Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
| Total Pages | : 820 |
| Release | : 2016-04-18 |
| Genre | : Political Science |
| ISBN | : 1316679357 |
Mysticism and esotericism are two intimately related strands of the Western tradition. Despite their close connections, however, scholars tend to treat them separately. Whereas the study of Western mysticism enjoys a long and established history, Western esotericism is a young field. The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism examines both of these traditions together. The volume demonstrates that the roots of esotericism almost always lead back to mystical traditions, while the work of mystics was bound up with esoteric or occult preoccupations. It also shows why mysticism and esotericism must be examined together if either is to be understood fully. Including contributions by leading scholars, this volume features essays on such topics as alchemy, astrology, magic, Neoplatonism, Kabbalism, Renaissance Hermetism, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, numerology, Christian theosophy, spiritualism, and much more. This Handbook serves as both a capstone of contemporary scholarship and a cornerstone of future research.
| Author | : Henrik Bogdan |
| Publisher | : State University of New York Press |
| Total Pages | : 250 |
| Release | : 2012-02-01 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 0791480100 |
For more than three hundred years the practice of Masonic rituals of initiation has been part of Western culture, spreading far beyond the boundaries of traditional Freemasonry. Henrik Bogdan explores the historical development of these rituals and their relationship with Western esotericism. Beginning with the Craft degrees of Freemasonry—the blueprints, as it were, of all later Masonic rituals of initiation—Bogdan examines the development of the Masonic High Degrees, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn—the most influential of all nineteenth-century occultist initiatory societies—and Gerald Gardner's Witchcraft movement of the 1950s, one of the first large-scale Western esoteric New Religions Movements.
