Western esotericism in Scandinavia /
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This is the first encyclopaedic work on Western esotericism in Scandinavia. Structured along the lines of the Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericsm (2005), it contains over 80 articles written by 47 specialists. It consists of critical overviews of all the major esoteric currents in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, ranging from Alchemy, Anthroposophy, and Astrology, to Theosophy, Traditionalism, and UFO Movements. This ground-breaking work is of relevance not only for scholars and students of Western esotericism, but for all with an interest in alternative religious traditions and Scandinavian intellectual history.
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1 online resource (xviii, 698 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004325968 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Lux in tenebris : the visual and the symbolic in western esotericism /
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Lux in Tenebris is a collection of eighteen original interdisciplinary essays that address aspects of the verbal and visual symbolism in the works of significant figures in the history of Western Esotericism, covering such themes as alchemy, magic, kabbalah, angels, occult philosophy, Platonism, Rosicrucianism, and Theosophy. Part I: Middle Ages andamp; Early Modernity ranges from Gikatilla, Ficino, Camillo, Agrippa, Weigel, Böhme, Yvon, and Swedenborg, to celestial divination in Russia. Part II: Modernity andamp; Postmodernity moves from occultist thinkers Schwaller de Lubicz and Evola to esotericism in literature, art, and cinema, in the works of Colquhoun, Degouve de Nuncques, Bruskin, Doitschinoff, and Pérez-Reverte, with an essay on esoteric theories of colour. Contributors are: Michael J.B. Allen, Susanna Åkerman, Lina Bolzoni, Aaron Cheak, Robert Collis, Francesca M. Crasta, Per Faxneld, Laura Follesa, Victoria Ferentinou, Joshua Gentzke, Joscelyn Godwin, Hans Thomas Hakl, Theodor Harmsen, Elke Morlok, Noel Putnik, Jonathan Schorsch, György Szönyi, Carsten Wilke, and Thomas Willard.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004334953 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Constructing tradition means and myths of transmission in Western esotericism /
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The question of constructing tradition, concepts of origin, and memory as well as techniques and practices of knowledge transmission, are central for cultures in general. In esotericism, however, such questions and techniques play an outstanding role and are widely reflected upon, in its literature. Esoteric paradigms not only understand themselves in elaborated mytho-poetical narratives as bearers of "older", "hidden", "higher" knowledge. They also claim their knowledge to be of a particular origin. And they claim this knowledge has been transmitted by particular (esoteric) means, media and groups. Consequently, esotericism not only involves the construction of its own tradition; it can even be understood as a specific form of tradition and transmission. The various studies of the present voume, which contains the papers of a conference held in Tübingen in July 2007, provide an overview of the most important concepts and ways of constructing tradition in esotericism.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004216372 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Hidden intercourse : eros and sexuality in the history of Western esotericism /
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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.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047443582 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Polemical encounters : esoteric discourse and its others /
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In its historical development from late antiquity to the present, western esotericism has repeatedly been the issue of polemical discourse. This volume engages the polemical structures that underlie both the identities within and the controversy about esoteric currents in European history. From Jewish and Christian kabbalah through heretical discourse and interconfessional polemics in early modernity to the legitimization of esoteric identity in modern culture, the 12 chapters, accompanied by an editors' introduction, provide a cornucopia of relevant cases that are interpreted in a framework of polemical discourse and 'Othering'. This volume sheds new light on the ultimately polemical structure of western esotericism and thus opens new vistas for further research into esoteric discourse.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047431510 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Handbook of Freemasonry /
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Freemasonry is the largest, oldest, and most influential secret society in the world. The Brill Handbook of Freemasonry is a pioneering work that brings together, for the first time, leading scholars on Freemasonry. The first section covers historical perspectives, such as the origins and early history of Freemasonry. The second deals with the relationship between Freemasonry and specific religious traditions such as the Catholic Church, Judaism, and Islam. In the third section, organisational themes, such as the use of rituals, are explored, while the fourth section deals with issues related to society and politics - women, blacks, colonialism, nationalism, and war. The fifth and final section is devoted to Freemasonry and culture, including music, literature, modern art, architecture and material culture.
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1 online resource (pages) :
9789004273122 :
1874-6691 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Handbook of New Age /
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The Handbook of New Age is a comprehensive survey of alternative spiritualities: their history, their global impact, their cultural influence and how they are understood by scholars. Chapters by many of the leading scholars of the movement give the latest analysis of contemporary spiritual trends, and present up-to-date observations of the interaction between the New Age movement and many different fields of knowledge and research.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047420132 :
1874-6691 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Handbook of Nordic new religions /
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When James R. Lewis, one of the editors of the current collection, first moved to Norway in late 2009, he was unprepared to discover that so many researchers in Nordic countries were producing innovative scholarship on new religions and on the new age subculture. In fact, over the past dozen years or so, an increasingly disproportionate percentage of new religions scholars have arisen in Nordic countries and teach at universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Nordic New Religions, co-edited with Inga B. Tøllefsen, surveys this rich field of study in this area of the world, focusing on the scholarship being produced by scholars in this region of northern Europe.
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1 online resource (xviii, 502 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004292468 :
1874-6691 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Between occultism and Nazism : anthroposophy and the politics of race in the fascist era /
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The relationship between Nazism and occultism has been an object of fascination and speculation for decades. Peter Staudenmaier's Between Occultism and Nazism provides a detailed historical examination centered on the anthroposophist movement founded by Rudolf Steiner. Its surprising findings reveal a remarkable level of Nazi support for Waldorf schools, biodynamic farming, and other anthroposophist initiatives, even as Nazi officials attempted to suppress occult tendencies. The book also includes an analysis of anthroposophist involvement in the racial policies of Fascist Italy. Based on extensive archival research, this study offers rich material on controversial questions about the nature of esoteric spirituality and alternative cultural ideals and their political resonance.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004270152 :
1871-1405 ;
The Petrine instauration : religion, esotericism and science at the court of Peter the Great, 1689-1725 /
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The reign of Peter the Great (1672-1725) was marked by an unprecedented wave of reform in Russia. This book provides an innovative reappraisal of the Petrine Age, in which hitherto neglected aspects of the tsar's transformation of his country are studied. More specifically, the reforms enacted by the tsar are assessed in light of the religious notion of instauration - a belief in the restoration of Adamic knowledge in the last age - and a historical and cultural analysis of the impact of Western esotericism at the Russian court. This book will appeal to scholars of Russian history and religion, as well as being of wider interest to those studying Western esotericism in Early Modern and eighteenth-century Europe.
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1 online resource (xx, 583 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [551]-575) and index. :
9789004224391 :
1871-1405 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Satanism : a social history /
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A 17th-century French haberdasher invented the Black Mass. An 18th-century English Cabinet Minister administered the Eucharist to a baboon. High-ranking Catholic authorities in the 19th century believed that Satan appeared in Masonic lodges in the shape of a crocodile and played the piano there. A well-known scientist from the 20th century established a cult of the Antichrist and exploded in a laboratory experiment. Three Italian girls in 2000 sacrificed a nun to the Devil. A Black Metal band honored Satan in Krakow, Poland, in 2004 by exhibiting on stage 120 decapitated sheep heads. Some of these stories, as absurd as they might sound, were real. Others, which might appear to be equally well reported, are false. But even false stories have generated real societal reactions. For the first time, Massimo Introvigne proposes a general social history of Satanism and anti-Satanism, from the French Court of Louis XIV to the Satanic scares of the late 20th century, satanic themes in Black Metal music, the Church of Satan, and beyond.
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1 online resource (xi, 655 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004244962 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Kabbalistic circles in Jerusalem (1896-1948) /
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This book endeavors to fill a lacuna in the literature on early twentieth-century kabbalah, namely the lack of a comprehensive account of the traditional kabbalah seminaries (Yeshivot) in Jerusalem from 1896 to 1948 as well as the various manifestations of kabbalah within traditional Jewish society. The foundations that were laid in the early twentieth century also paved the way for the contemporary blossoming of kabbalah in many and manifold circles. In this sense, retracing the pertinent developments in Palestine at the outset of the twentieth century is imperative not only for repairing the distorted picture of the past, but for understanding the ongoing surge in kabbalah study.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004321649 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Dark enlightenment : The Historical, sociological, and discursive contexts of contemporary esoteric magic /
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In Dark Enlightenment Kennet Granholm explores the historical, sociological, and discursive contexts of contemporary esoteric magic. The book is focused on the Sweden-originated Left-Hand Path magic order Dragon Rouge in particular, but through a detailed contextualizing examination of this case study it offers a broader visage of contemporary esotericism in general. The author takes cue from both the historiography of Western esotericism and the sociological study of new religions and religious change, aiming to provide a transdisciplinary framework for a comprehensive study of esotericism in late modernity.
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1 online resource (pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004274877 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Esotericism in African American religious experience : "there is a mystery"... /
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In Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: "There is a Mystery" ... , Stephen C. Finley, Margarita Simon Guillory, and Hugh R. Page, Jr. assemble twenty groundbreaking essays that provide a rationale and parameters for Africana Esoteric Studies (AES): a new trans-disciplinary enterprise focused on the investigation of esoteric lore and practices in Africa and the African Diaspora. The goals of this new field - while akin to those of Religious Studies, Africana Studies, and Western Esoteric Studies - are focused on the impulses that give rise to Africana Esoteric Traditions (AETs) and the ways in which they can be understood as loci where issues such as race, ethnicity, and identity are engaged; and in which identity, embodiment, resistance, and meaning are negotiated.
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1 online resource (xxi, 406 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-387) and index. :
9789004283428 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
New Approaches to the Study of Esotericism /
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This volume offers new approaches to some of the biggest persistent challenges in the study of esotericism and beyond. Commonly understood as a particularly "Western" undertaking consisting of religious, philosophical, and ritual traditions that go back to Mediterranean antiquity, this book argues for a global approach that significantly expands the scope of esotericism and highlights its relevance for broader theoretical and methodological debates in the humanities and social sciences. The contributors offer critical interventions on aspects related to colonialism, race, gender and sexuality, economy, and marginality. Equipped with a substantial introduction and conclusion, the book offers textbook-style discussions of the state of research and makes concrete proposals for how esotericism can be rethought through broader engagement with neighboring fields.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004446458
9789004446441
Thomas Vaughan and the Rosicrucian Revival in England : 1648-1666 /
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In the first book-length study of Thomas Vaughan (1621-1666), Thomas Willard builds on recent scholarship in Western esotericism to show that his curious books offer much more than the lively quotations extracted from them. Treating more than alchemy and the Hermetic tradition, they develop themes from the synthesis of alchemy, magic, and Christian cabala, associated associated with the Rosicrucian movement that Vaughan introduced to English readers. His books respond to a moment in history when the breakdown in book censorship during the English Civil War allowed books with radical ideas to circulate, while political upheaval in the universities created audiences for new ideas. This book will be of interest to students of early modern religion, philosophy, science, and culture as seen by an intelligent and eloquent outsider.
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Thomas Vaughan's challenging books on alchemy, magic, and other esoterica make better sense in the context of the Rosicrucian ideas he introduced to English readers in the seventeenth century. This is the first scholarly book on his life, sources, writings, and subsequent influence. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004519732
9789004519725
Aldous Huxley and Alternative Spirituality /
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Aldous Huxley and Alternative Spirituality offers an incisive analysis of the full range of Huxley's spiritual interests, spanning both mysticism (neo-Vedanta, Taoism, Mahayana and Zen Buddhism) and Western esotericism (mesmerism, spiritualism, the paranormal). Jake Poller examines how Huxley's shifting spiritual convictions influenced his fiction, such as his depiction of the body and sex, and reveals how Huxley's use of psychedelic substances affected his spiritual convictions, resulting in a Tantric turn in his work. Poller demonstrates how Huxley's vision of a new alternative spirituality in Island , in which the Palanese select their beliefs from different religious traditions, anticipates the New Age spiritual supermarket and traces the profound influence of Huxley's ideas on the spiritual seekers of the twentieth century and beyond.
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1 online resource :
9789004406902
Religion und arkane Hierarchie : der Orden der Gold- und Rosenkreuzer als geheime Kirche im 18. Jahrhundert /
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This volume examines the history of the 18th-Century secret order of the Golden Rosicrucians (Gold- und Rosenkreuzer), one of the most mysterious, exclusive and successful Masonic societies in the German speaking countries of that time. The order and its esoteric roots have so far never been examined on the basis of original documents. The formation and development, the hierarchical structure, leading figures such as princes and ministers, and the system of degrees and secret teachings are explored in-depth and interpreted applying recent and innovative concepts of the Study of Western Esotericism.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 338-356) and index. :
9789047419518 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The problem of disenchantment : scientific naturalism and esoteric discourse, 1900-1939 /
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The Problem of Disenchantment offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the intellectual history of science, religion, and "the occult" in the early 20th century. By developing a new approach to Max Weber's famous idea of a "disenchantment of the world", and drawing on an impressively diverse set of sources, Egil Asprem opens up a broad field of inquiry that connects the histories of science, religion, philosophy, and Western esotericism. Parapsychology, occultism, and the modern natural sciences are usually viewed as distinct cultural phenomena with highly variable intellectual credentials. In spite of this view, Asprem demonstrates that all three have met with similar intellectual problems related to the intelligibility of nature, the relation of facts to values, and the dynamic of immanence and transcendence, and solved them in comparable terms.
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1 online resource (pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004254947 :
0169-8834 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Shakespeare and religio mentis: A Study of Christian Hermetism in Four Plays /
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Have you ever wondered why Cordelia has to die? Or how Alonso talks and walks about the isle while his body lies 'full fathom five' on the sea floor? Ever wondered why the monument to Shakespeare in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon names three pagans: Nestor, Socrates, and Virgil - king, philosopher, and poet? Or why Shakespeare is on Olympus, home of the Greek gods? This interdisciplinary study, the first to interpret the plays of Shakespeare in the light of the esoteric religious doctrines of the Corpus Hermeticum, holds answers to these and other puzzling questions.
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This landmark interdisciplinary study shines the light of religious Hermetism on Love's Labour's Lost, King Lear, Othello and The Tempest and reveals the 'religion of the mind' found in the Corpus Hermeticum to be a source of Shakespeare's understanding of human psychology. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004520608
9789004516328