Western esotericism

A guide to researching Western Esotericism

1. Western Esotericism A methodology for studies in mysticism, esotericism, and occultism

2. What is esotericism? Often synonymous with the “occult” – LOC heading “Occultism” Rejected, hidden, or forbidden knowledge Gnosticism, Theosophy, occultism Gnosis and new age “truth-seeking” Perennialism and the Western Mystery Tradition The Magician tarot card from the Rider-Waite Tarot by A.E. Waite; art by Patricia Colman-Smith

3. What is Western Esotericism? A methodological approach to studies in esotericism and mysticism Places esoteric philosophy and religion in context Considered part of religious studies Lays a foundation for ways of theoretical understanding of esotericism Constructing knowledge rather than revealing truth The Hand of the Philosopher by Johannus Isaac Hollandus

4. Interdisciplinary approaches Western esotericism is interdisciplinary Example: A study of religious symbolism in the works of William Blake Esoteri c influences are prevalent in all aspects of the humanities – art, music, literature, philosophy. Surrealism in art Popular literature (Dan Brown, Umberto Eco) Music (John Zorn, Schoenberg) The First Book of Urizen by William Blake

5. “Access to Western Esotericism” – the pioneering work of Western esotericism by Antoine Faivre Wouter Hanegraaff , full professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam

6. Western Esotericism in the academy There is only one graduate program – the University of Amsterdam Often considered a side interest of religious studies professors Is an attempt to fill a gap in historical research Some consider Western esotericism to be an illegitimate or eccentric course of study Includes subjects such as occultism, kabalah , magick , tarot, Theosophy, Rosicrucianism , ritual and symbolism, gnosticism , new age movement, mysticism.

7. Issues in Western esotericism Legitimacy of subject Constructing knowledge vs. revealed truth Scholar/Practitioner Consider these websites of researchers engaged in Western esotericism Is there anything on this websites that causes you to question the legitimacy of their research? Why, or why not? Kennet Granholm Egil Asprem Stephen Flowers

8. Research – Where to begin? LOC subject heading - ”Occultism” - BL 1404 – 2055 Dewey Decimal – 129 – 200 (Religion, parapsychology - 130 – 133 specifically occultism ) There is ( as of 2017) no subject heading for esotericism Related subject headings By religion or philosophy : eg . “ Theosophy “, “ Rosicrucianism “

9. Research Strategies Start with a general overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_study_of_Western_esotericism Verify! Keyword and subject searches in Advanced Google and Google Scholar Try keyword searches in academic databases; which journals show up regularly? Identify scholars and scholarly communities; blogs and associations link to great resources Use advanced search – try searching by author or subject

10. Databases Databases specializing in humanities and religion Journals Academic Search Premier ATLA Religion Database Cambridge Companions Online Expanded Academic ASAP Project MUSE University of Chicago Press Journals   (Journal of Religion) Wiley Online Books Medieval and renaissance source material Early European Books Europa Sacra Iter

11. Journals of note Arcanum: Journal of Esoteric Currents during the High Middle Ages Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism   Correspondences   Esoterica Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft   The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies   Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis

12. Organizations and Resources ESSWE: European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism Association for the Study of Esotericism (North America) Contemporary Esotericism Research Network Societas Magica University of Amsterdam Western Esotericism Studies and Ritman Library Rice University: Gnosticism, Esotericism, Mysticism Certificate The Merten J. Mandeville Collection in the Occult Sciences at University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana

13. Who to follow Because Western esotericism is a new and developing discipline with a handful of practitioners in an academic setting, a good way to stay up to date is to know who to follow: Members of the academies Dan Attrell’s Modern Hermeticist series Egil Asprem’s Heterodoxology blog Wouter Hanegraaff’s blog The Ritman Library Youtube channel