Wouter J. Hanegraaff

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.

Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed

The neglected history of how intellectuals since the Renaissance have approached ideas of the occult which challenged biblical religion.

Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture

Esotericism and the Academy

Joyce Pijnenburg

"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.

Ten Years' Study of Western Esotericism at the University of Amsterdam

Hermes in the Academy

R. van den Broek

This volume introduces what has sometimes been called "the third component of western culture". It traces the historical development of those religious traditions which have rejected a world view based on the primacy of pure rationality or doctrinal faith, emphasizing instead the importance of inner enlightenment or gnosis: a revelatory experience which was typically believed to entail an encounter with one's true self as well as with the ground of being, God. The contributors to this book demonstrate this perspective as fundamental to a variety of interconnected traditions. In Antiquity, one finds the gnostics and hermetics; in the Middle Ages several Christian sects. The medieval Cathars can, to a certain extent, be considered part of the same tradition. Starting with the Italian humanist Renaissance, hermetic philosophy became of central importance to a new religious synthesis that can be referred to as Western Esotericism. The development of this tradition is described from Renaissance hermeticists and practitioners of spiritual alchemy to the emergence of Rosicrucianism and Christian theosophy in the seventeenth century, and from post-enlightenment aspects of Romanticism and occultism to the present-day New Age movement.

Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times

a guide for the perplexed

Western esotericism

Presents the first systematic analysis of the structure and beliefs of the New Age movement, and the historical emergence of "New Age" as a secularized version of Western esoteric traditions.

Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought

New Age Religion and Western Culture

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.

A Guide for the Perplexed

Western Esotericism

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 comprehensive analysis of New Age Religion and its historical backgrounds, thus providing 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 nineteenth century.

This is the first comprehensive reference work to cover the entire domain of “Gnosis and Western Esotericism” from Late Antiquity to the present. It contains critical discussions of all its major authors, currents and manifestations, from Gnosticism to the New Age.This one volume edition is an unabridged version of the two volume edition published in 2005.

Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism

A scholarly study of the structure, development, and themes of Emanuel's Swedenborg's work Secrets of Heaven and its contemporary critical reception.

Three Perspectives on the Secrets of Heaven

Swedenborg, Oetinger, Kant

Ludovico Lazzarelli

Ludovicus Lazarellus

Ruud. M. Bouthoorn

Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447-1500)

Ria Kloppenborg

This volume contains a collection of studies describing and analyzing stereotypes of women in the religions of Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia, and in Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Medieval Christianity, Islam, Indian Sufism, the Vīraśaiva movement in Hinduism, early Buddhism, Tibetan religions, and modern Neopaganism.

Female Stereotypes in Religious Traditions

This is the first comprehensive analysis of the belief structure and historical background of the New Age Movement. "New Age Religion" emerges as a thoroughly secularized form of western-esoteric traditions which can be traced back to the period of the Renaissance.

Hermetic spirituality in late antiquity was an experiential practice and personal transformation grounded in powerful techniques for consciousness alteration.

Altered States of Knowledge in Late Antiquity

Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Imagination

Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thougth

New Age Religión and Western Culture

Antoine Faivre

Jean-Pierre Brach

Now available in one volume, this is the first comprehensive reference work to cover the entire domain of Gnosis and Western Esotericism from the period of Late Antiquity to the present. Containing around 400 articles by over 180 international specialists, it provides critical overviews discussing the nature and historical development of all its important currents and manifestations, from Gnosticism and Hermetism to Astrology, Alchemy and Magic, from the Hermetic Tradition of the Renaissance to Rosicrucianism and Christian Theosophy, and from Freemasonry and Illuminism to 19th-century Occultism and the contemporary New Age movement. Furthermore it contains articles about the life and work of all the major personalities in the history of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, discussing their ideas, significance, and historical influence. This one volume edition is an unabridged version of the two volume edition, published in 2005.

Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism: I

Peter Forshaw

Marco Pasi

Few fields of academic research are surrounded by so many misunderstandings and misconceptions as the study of Western esotericism. For twenty years now, the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (University of Amsterdam) has been at the forefront of international scholarship in this domain. This anniversary volume seeks to make the modern study of Western esotericism more widely known beyond specialist circles, while addressing a range of misconceptions, biases, and prejudices that still tend to surround it. Thirty major scholars in the field respond to questions about a wide range of unfamiliar ideas, traditions, practices, problems, and personalities that are central to the field. By challenging many taken-for-granted assumptions about religion, science, philosophy, and the arts, this volume demonstrates why the modern study of esotericism leads us to reconsider much that we thought we knew about the story of Western culture.

Thirty Questions about Western Esotericism

Hermes Explains

Jeffrey Kripal

The history of Western esotericism is rich in references to the domains of eros and sexuality, but this connection has never been explored in detail from a critical scholarly perspective. Bringing together an impressive array of top-level specialists, this volume reveals the outlines of a largely unknown history spanning more than twenty centuries.

Wouter J. Hanegraaff

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