The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism
Title | The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism PDF eBook |
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.
The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism
Title | The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism PDF eBook |
Author | Glenn Alexander Magee |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 2019-08-29 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 9780521734912 |
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.
The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism
Title | The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism PDF eBook |
Author | Glenn Alexander Magee |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 2016-04-18 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 9780521509831 |
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.
Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed
Title | Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed PDF eBook |
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.
The Western Esoteric Traditions
Title | The Western Esoteric Traditions PDF eBook |
Author | Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Total Pages | 296 |
Release | 2008-10-14 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 9780199717569 |
Western esotericism has now emerged as an academic study in its own right, combining spirituality with an empirical observation of the natural world while also relating the humanity to the universe through a harmonious celestial order. This introduction to the Western esoteric traditions offers a concise overview of their historical development. Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke explores these traditions, from their roots in Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, and Gnosticism in the early Christian era up to their reverberations in today's scientific paradigms. While the study of Western esotericism is usually confined to the history of ideas, Goodrick-Clarke examines the phenomenon much more broadly. He demonstrates that, far from being a strictly intellectual movement, the spread of esotericism owes a great deal to geopolitics and globalization. In Hellenistic culture, for example, the empire of Alexander the Great, which stretched across Egypt and Western Asia to provinces in India, facilitated a mixing of Eastern and Western cultures. As the Greeks absorbed ideas from Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, they gave rise to the first esoteric movements. From the late sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, post-Reformation spirituality found expression in theosophy, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry. Similarly, in the modern era, dissatisfaction with the hegemony of science in Western culture and a lack of faith in traditional Christianity led thinkers like Madame Blavatsky to look East for spiritual inspiration. Goodrick-Clarke further examines Modern esoteric thought in the light of new scientific and medical paradigms along with the analytical psychology of Carl Gustav Jung. This book traces the complete history of these movements and is the definitive account of Western esotericism.
Magic and Mysticism
Title | Magic and Mysticism PDF eBook |
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.
Gnostic Religion in Antiquity
Title | Gnostic Religion in Antiquity PDF eBook |
Author | R. van den Broek |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | 267 |
Release | 2013-01-24 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1107031370 |
An examination of Gnostic religion in Late Antiquity within its historical and religious context, using Greek, Latin and Coptic sources.