Is the universe alive? Are there hidden connections within it, revealed in history and in sacred texts? Can we understand or even learn to control these secrets? Have we neglected an entirely separate science that works according to a different set of principles? Certainly by the time of the Renaissance in Europe, there were many thinkers who answered in the affirmative to all of these questions. Despite the growth of modern science and a general disenchantment of the world, the 'occult' or 'esoteric' tradition has evolved in the West, manifesting itself in such diverse groups as the Freemasons, the Mormons, Christian Scientists, the Theosophists, New Ageists and American Fundamentalism. Paradoxically, the turn to science and the triumph of evolution in the nineteenth century produced an explosion of occultism, increasing its power as a kind of super-science. Gothic, fantastic, and supernatural fiction flourished, while Spiritualism emerged as a serious inquiry into the possibility of contacting the dead. After all, if you could communicate with the living at great distances, why should a similar teletechnology not be possible to the other world? Disciplines had not yet hardened, and the borders were as yet undefined between parapsychology and psychology, between mythology and anthropology. Mesmerism became hypnotism, and the subconscious came to be recognized as more than a medium's stomping ground. This book describes the growth and meandering path of the occult tradition over the past five hundred years, and shows how the esoteric world view fits together.
Professor Saurat's book gives us a common background of tradition for the works of such diverse poets as Milton, Blake, Shelley, Emerson & Whitman; Goethe, Heine, Wagner, & Nietzsche; Hugo, Vigny, Lamartine & Leconte de Lisle. A final chapter is devoted to a study of the philosophical ideas of Spenser's poetry.
Occult Traditions is the manifestation of the endeavours of scholars and practitioners alike exploring and challenging both historical and contemporary perspectives on the occult arts and sciences. The title of this book serves as a testimony for the occult acting as a designation of currents and traditions of esoteric philosophy, and magic as a participatory worldview manipulated as an instrument by the active person through the execution of the art and science of ritual, which is an extension grounded in the belief in magical powers within the self and other. Each page bears witness to aspects of occult traditions, which are in essence simultaneously meta-historical and dynamic, serving as an overall ordering force in service of the principles of the arcane correspondences that exist between the microcosm and the macrocosm. This book is an awakening to the occult reality that since the dawn of ages men and women have sought a glimpse of gnôsis within the awesome natural performance of ritual, the slithering flow of the elements, the sensational sounds of the spheres, the iconic form of dreams undreamt and now awoken, the irrational whispering of mystical verses, the silence of contemplation, and the passion-drenched erotic thirst for life, death, and rebirth. Unlike the priesthood of sterile logic and doctrinal faith, these men and women have been a visible representation of spiritual virility, of the human condition, and many times the romantic ethos, which many have convicted as an antinomian ethos, refusing, adapting, and also enchanting the dictates of conventional society, morality, and metaphysical culture. Thus, Occult Traditions invites the reader to journey along with the authors and conjurors, who have been generous enough to share their visions and gestures in this book, through various traditions relating to distinct historical developments, unique occult philosophies, and potent ritual practice. Here the reader shall encounter summoning magical assistants and the presence of the mystery traditions in the Greek Magical Papyri; deification through the arcane process of drowning in the Greek Magical Papyri; an exploration of occult theology as a continuation of Neoplatonism; a historical analysis of the grimoire traditions and a search for the original source of the Key of Solomon; the Icelandic tradition of magic as presented in an eighteenth century grimoire; a comparative analysis of medieval and Renaissance angel magic; Canaanite views of death and necromancy; an exploration of the use and attributes of incenses throughout history; a consideration of the science of divining the will of the gods; Seth as god of chaos and equilibrium; Julius Evola's ideas concerning the formula of sex, magic, and power; Buddhist 'wizards' at war in Thailand; a critical examination of the role of sex, magic, and initiation in the Wiccan Great Rite; the dynamics of altering consciousness within the spiral maze of Wiccan ritual; a restoration of the Rite of the Headless One from the Greek Magical Papyri; the elements of being and becoming in Conversation with one's Holy Guardian Angel; the Eucharistic Feast of Agathodaimon; the Rite of the Solar and Lunar Mysteries of the Altar of Eros for the Consecration of the Talismans of Helios and Selene; the Calling and Adoration of Aion, and the Spell of the Mystic Flame; and finally the Hymnic Adoration and Invocation of Thoth, to whom this book belongs, as He is lord of magic and scribe of the gods.
As the title testifies, students were sworn to secrecy before being given access to this magic text, and only a few manuscripts have survived. Bits of its teachings, such as the use of the magic whistle for summoning spirits, are alluded to in other texts. Another key element of its ritual, the elaborate “Seal of God,” has been found in texts and amulets throughout Europe. Interest in The Sworn Book of Honorius has grown in recent years, yet no modern translations have been attempted—until now. Purporting to preserve the magic of Solomon in the face of intense persecution by religious authorities, this text includes one of the oldest and most detailed magic rituals. It contains a complete system of magic including how to attain the divine vision, communicate with holy angels, and control aerial, earthly, and infernal spirits for practical gain. Largely ignored by historians until recently, this text is an important witness to the transmission of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism to European Hermeticists.
The late Victorian period witnessed the remarkable revival of magical practice and belief. Butler examines the individuals, institutions and literature associated with this revival and demonstrates how Victorian occultism provided an alternative to the tightening camps of science and religion in a social environment that nurtured magical beliefs.
In the nineteenth century anarchists were accused of conspiracy by governments afraid of revolution, but in the current century various “conspiracy theories” suggest that anarchists are controlled by government itself. The Illuminati were a network of intellectuals who argued for self-government and against private property, yet the public is now often told that they were (and are) the very group that controls governments and defends private property around the world. Intervening in such misinformation, Lagalisse works with primary and secondary sources in multiple languages to set straight the history of the Left and illustrate the actual relationship between revolutionism, pantheistic occult philosophy, and the clandestine fraternity. Exploring hidden correspondences between anarchism, Renaissance magic, and New Age movements, Lagalisse also advances critical scholarship regarding leftist attachments to secular politics. Inspired by anthropological fieldwork within today’s anarchist movements, her essay challenges anarchist atheism insofar as it poses practical challenges for coalition politics in today’s world. Studying anarchism as a historical object, Occult Features of Anarchism also shows how the development of leftist theory and practice within clandestine masculine public spheres continues to inform contemporary anarchist understandings of the “political,” in which men’s oppression by the state becomes the prototype for power in general. Readers behold how gender and religion become privatized in radical counterculture, a historical process intimately linked to the privatization of gender and religion by the modern nation-state.
Criticism. This collection of essays is posited on the conviction that mythical, ecstatic and revelatory topoi in the modernist works of Yeats, Eliot, Williams, H.D., Pound, Joyce, et al, are motivated not by a sceptical and positivistic dismissal of the religious past -- as implausibly maintained by the New Criticism -- but rather these features arise out of a radical and reformist attempt to revive ancient pagan religious sensibilities. In essence, the modern occult amounts to a neo-pagan piety that is polytheistic, fleshly, erotic and ecstatic -- opposed to a Christian or Jewish piety that's monotheistic, otherworldly, ascetic and revealed. In short, the occult manifests itself in modernist literature in what Nietzsche would have called a Dionysian guise -- confused because of its rejection of Judeo-Christian sensibilities with a sceptical secularism. Among the dozen contributors here are Peter Liebregts, John Coggrave, Barry Ahearn, Leonora Woodman, M. Anthony Trembly and Archie Henderson.
Widely received in France, this brief, comprehensive introduction to Western esotericism by the founder of the field is at last available in English. A historical and pedagogical guide, the book is written primarily for students and novices. In clear, precise language, author Antoine Faivre provides an overview of Western esoteric currents since late antiquity. The bulk of the book is laid out chronologically, from ancient and medieval sources (Alexandrian hermetism, gnosticism, neoplatonism), through the Renaissance up to the present time. Its coverage includes spiritual alchemy, Jewish and Christian Kabbalah, Christian theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Illuminism, 'mystical' Free-Masonry, the Occultist current, Theosophical and Anthroposophical Societies, the Traditionalist School, and 'esotericism' in contemporary initiatic societies and in New Religious Movements. Faivre explores how these currents are connected, and refers to where they appear in art and literature. The book concludes with an annotated bibliography, which makes it an essential resource for beginners and scholars alike.
• Examines the significant figures and groups of Finland’s occult world, including their esoteric practices and the secret societies to which they were connected • Investigates the relationship of nationalism and esotericism in Finland as well as the history of Finnish parapsychology and the Finnish UFO craze • Looks at the unique evolution of Freemasonry in Finland, showing how, when Finland was still part of Russia and the Masonic order was banned, adherents created a number of other secret societies Finland has long been viewed as the land of sorcerers and shamans. Exploring the rich history of Finnish occultism, Perttu Häkkinen and Vesa Iitti examine the significant figures and groups of Finland’s occult world from the late 19th century to the present day. They begin with Pekka Ervast, known as the Rudolf Steiner of the North, who was a major figure in Theosophy before starting a Rosicrucian group called Ruusu-Risti, and they look at the Finnish disciples of G. I. Gurdjieff and the grim case of the cult of Tattarisuo. Investigating the relationship of nationalism and esotericism in Finland, the authors tell the stories of Sigurd Wettenhovi-Aspa, who thought that Finns were the root of all Western civilization, and of Yrjö von Grönhagen, who became a close friend of Heinrich Himmler and Karl Maria Wiligut. They also explore the history of Finnish parapsychology, the Finnish UFO craze, and the unique evolution of Freemasonry in Finland, showing how, when the Masonic order was banned, adherents created a number of other secret societies, such as the Carpenter’s Order, the Hypotenuse Order, and the Brotherhood of February 17--which later became hubs for the OTO and AMORC. Unveiling both the light and dark sides of modern esotericism in Finland, the authors show how, because of its unique position as partially European and partially Russian, Finland’s occult influence extends into the very heart of left-hand and right-hand occult groups and secret societies around the world.
