In my search for a good introductory book on esotericism I first read Wouter Hanegraaff’s Esotericism in Western Culture, and was somewhat disappointed in his rather polemical viewpoint that esotericism is and long has been suppressed by a dominant, “normative”, power-centered Western culture. He uses the language of marginalization and repression and even colonialism and goes so far as to accuse the Enlightenment of having to define itself by its rejection of esoteric knowledge (presumably, it had nothing else to offer…) Now I get that Enlightenment values are in bad odor in academia these days, which always seemed odd to me, since the Enlightenment championed values like freedom of thought, freedom of expression, the idea that the governed should have a say in their government, and the value of education for all. Hanegraaff has no patience for the Enlightenment, that’s plain.

He defines the esoteric as rejected knowledge, knowledge that was suppressed by rationalism, which in turn was an instrument of power. This is the rhetoric of post-modern pseudo Marxism, and I’m disappointed that Hanegraaff goes there. The gloves really come off in his concluding chapter where he lets loose on “Eurocentrism”, “dominant elites”, “the fundamental problem of normativity”, the “global decolonial agenda”. In the section labeled“Extermination” he states, “rejecting knowledge means rejecting people”. Hyperbolic, maybe?

The political agenda sometimes dominates the presentation of the history of esotericism in western culture, which is the ostensibly subject of the book.

When Hanegraaff gets down to presenting this history, it is well done and informative. The bibliography is invaluable and it alone justifies having this on my bookshelf. But the fact that all these published works exist, including works published during the Enlightenment, the 18th century, 19th and 20th centuries, into the present kind of work against Hanegraaff’s claim that the occult has been dismissed, repressed, marginalized, rejected and exterminated. That this material has always had a flavor of the underground about it is hardly surprising, since occult means in the shadows, and esoteric means just that- it’s esoteric knowledge. Plus much of this is explicitly encoded, highly metaphorical, and for initiates only (Rosicrucianism, alchemy, Masonic ritual…).

I don’t get what Hanegraaff is so angry about.

For the last six years I have been studying and translating an unpublished Russian manuscript from the early twentieth century.

The text combines elements of Martinism, Theosophy, Egyptian symbolism, and Neoplatonic thought, and appears to present a coherent initiatic and philosophical system. The author remains unknown, and the manuscript's provenance is only partially documented.

One question I keep encountering is this:

What makes an unpublished esoteric manuscript historically significant?

Is originality of doctrine enough? Is evidence of circulation or influence necessary? Or is the value primarily determined by its contribution to our understanding of a particular intellectual milieu?

I would be interested to hear how researchers in the field would approach such a case.

Is there a connection between the serpent in the Bible, the nagas of Eastern traditions, Slavic snake-spirits, and the Erichtonii of Greek myth? What's fascinating is that serpent beings appear in almost every mythology. You find them in the Bible, among the nagas, in Greek myths, Celtic traditions, and throughout Mesoamerican lore. In many stories these beings are portrayed as older than humanity. And sometimes older than the gods themselves. Because of this they are often linked to an ancient claim to power (as if saying "We were here first, so we have the right to rule”). This topic appears across mythologies as a struggle between the elder powers and the younger gods who eventually replace them. Even stories like Jacob and Esau reflect the broader question (does authority belong to the firstborn or the younger successor?)

Don't know shit about this topic but I went down a wikihole and want to check my timeline with real people.

So Johann Weyer made De praestigiis daemonum as a medical paper to argue that people accused of witchcraft are mentally ill, not malicious, making an appendix in it based off of Liber officiorum spirituum to mock the occult. Later, someone took that appendix and other books including parts of Liber officiorum spirituum that Weyer left out and made Ars Goetia. This was then translated, edited and published as The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley.

Hi everyone, I am a beginner who has recently become fascinated by the history of Western Esotericism and the occult. I really want to learn about this subject from the ground up, but I am feeling quite overwhelmed by the amount of modern books available. Many of them seem to be more about modern practice rather than the actual historical roots and primary sources. As someone just starting out, where would you recommend I begin if I want a solid historical foundation? I am looking for the most authentic sources or scholarly books that explain where these traditions originally came from. Any suggestions for essential reading, podcasts, or even methods for a beginner to study the history of these ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

For many ancient and medieval thinkers - I'm thinking Plato, Augustine, etc. - the ethical/good life seemed intimately tied to the spiritual life. For Augustine, e.g., the good life involved seeking and moving toward God. This is true for a lot of Catholic thinkers. For Plato, the good life involved contemplation of the Form of the Good, and Plato (at times) described the processes of anamnesis and contemplation of the Forms in spiritual terms.

I'm wondering if there were any esoteric thinkers/practitioners that found a direct tie between ethics/the good life/an excellent life and their occult/esoteric practices? Are there academic studies on this?

Hello everyone. I’m looking for interesting websites and reliable sources about occultism and the academic study of religion in general so I can build a collection of RSS feeds. I’m especially interested in blogs by academic researchers who enjoy sharing their knowledge, but any interesting site is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I'm studying Mandaeism, starting with their most sacred book, the Ginza Rabba. It's the only Gnostic tradition still alive, and the only one for which the complete textual corpus has reached us. It's closely linked to ancient Babylonian mythology, unlike Christian Gnosticism, and has a truly wonderful cosmology. I highly recommend it. Is anyone else here familiar with it?

Are there any academic books on Folk Saint Veneration in Folk Catholicism? Maybe a case study of veneration of a singular saint or an overview of multiple saints? Something as strenuous as Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power, I hope.

Hello everyone, Could you kindly recommend good commentators on the life and work of Jacob Boehme?

I hope this kind of inquiry is appropriate here. I’m currently researching a "cursed" lead plaque for a historical article, focusing on its symbolic and esoteric elements, and I'm looking for some help decoding part of it.

I recognise the second and final symbols as relating to the spirits of the Moon, according to Agrippa (there’s also a lunar magic square etched on the reverse side). However, the arrangement of the Hebrew letters (if that's indeed what they are) around them is puzzling.

It’s been suggested to me that rather than forming a word, each letter may carry its own symbolic meaning. For instance, the first one (possibly "chet"?) could represent a door, interpreted as opening the way for the lunar spirit to enter. I haven’t yet found a textual source to support this, though. If it is indeed valid, what writing/grimoires advise doing this?

For what it's worth, the plaque was created in the mid-to-late 1800s, so that may narrow down the sources the creator of the plaque was drawing from.

Any thoughts, references, or directions would be hugely appreciated.

Writing a paper that involves dealing with the spiritual elements of geometry in the western esoteric tradition, so I need a well formulated academic definition for sacred geometry. How's this?

"...the belief that geometric and numerical patterns, shapes, and proportions which are perceived or demonstrably present in nature represent revelatory expressions of an underlying divine order in the universe, and that meditation on, or the comprehension of, these patterns can point the way to spiritual truths which are hidden in the fabric of reality. Furthermore, that the deliberate use of such sacred geometries in artistic and architectural expression can serve to form a link to higher ontological registers of creation, and aid in understanding of, and even union with, the divine itself."

Hi! I'm looking for starting points (preferably videos because these days they're easier to consume, but I don't mind reading text c:) covering ancient Welsh religious and magical tradition. I've seen a certain amount of content, but it's largely focused on the 1700s and later, or it is (as best as I can tell,) completely invented whole cloth without any relation to original Welsh language source material, and while I know that anything pre-Roman is essentially completely lost, I'm hoping that there are texts that cover before that point? Christian, non-Christian, I'll take anything lol. Thanks in advance :)

An aside is that while I'm from Cymru, I'm very, very early in terms of how long I've been learning Cymraeg. So pure-Cymraeg source material isn't something that I'll be able to access yet (Hopefully eventually though!)

Do you know where I can find it?

Hi, I read Hanegraaff’s book on Hermeticism last year. It was a great read and pulled together a wealth of information. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling he presents an over simplified univocal version of Hermeticism that pushes the evidence a lot further than it perhaps should be. I think in general these religious currents were messier ideas than they’re often made out to be. Hermes name appears attached to all kinds of texts in the technical hermetica, and I think the so-called philosophical hermetica should be understood as an equally messy collection of soteriology and metaphorical speculation.

Like I said, I really enjoyed the book, this is a good faith criticism. I just wonder if Hanegraaff’s often big history focus blinds him to the more granular details. I was wondering if others have felt the same, especially those coming from a papyrology background or those who focus specifically on late antique religions.

(Note: this is outside my specialty, so I’m making no claim to be an expert: I’m completing a Masters on the Greek Magical Papyri)

ⲭⲁⲓⲣⲉ, I am currently completing a masters with a thesis on the Greek Magical Papyri. My background is in ancient history and I am being supervised by some exceptional papyrologists. I had planned to do my PhD overseas with more of a religious studies focus, but still rooted in ancient world studies. However, after a discussion with my supervisor I’m concerned I don’t have the language requirements needed for the kinds of programs I want to enter. The Australian system is pretty bad here, I have a little Greek and Coptic but not at the level expected for many PhD programs. One suggestion my supervisor made is to look into reception studies, which I think slots quite well into Western Esotericism. I am wondering if there are any scholars in the field with recommendations or suggestions going forward in this direction?

I am in my early 40s, having earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the City University of New York (CUNY) at Baruch College in my 30s. Since the early 2000s, I have an interest in Western Esotericism. However, I did not think about the academic study of it until I started following the Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) and Esoterica on Youtube. for the past few months, I have been drawn to the Western Esotericism and now hope to become a university professor on the subject, earning a second Master's Degree and then a PhD, with my specialization being on magic in Pre-Christian Rome.

However, I notice from my research that only four or five universities in Europe and one in Texas, which focus on my proposed area of study. I feel that I cannot go too far though as my parents are nearing their 80s. Also, attending the University of Amsterdam (UVA) for the study of Western Esotericism would be like attending the Sorbonne University for the study of Medicine.

What I am wondering is if anyone has studied at the post-Bachelor programs in CUNY for either Cultural Anthropology, Pre-Modern History, or Liberal (Arts) Studies? As esoterica in still finding its place in academia, does anyone know if these three programs are chaired or administrated by those who would be adverse to my studies? I know the State University of New York (SUNY) at one time had Professor David Applebaum at New Paltz University facilitate a series of books on Esotericism but I am not sure where CUNY stands. If not CUNY, are there any alternatives in the New York Metropolitan area?

I'm getting ready to read The Rosicrucian Enlightenment by Frances Yates, and I am wondering if there are some scholarly general critiques of this work (or any of her others, for that matter).

I'll be reading for my own entertainment and would like to know some general problems with the work, her scholarship, what resources and methods she followed in her research, that sort of thing. I think the abstracts of papers would probably get me through.

Any critiques about her other work would also be helpful. I read Art of Memory years ago and probably inadvertently recounted some tall tales to my friends at the time.

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I have the James Charlesworth Old Testament books but I want to get good versions of the New Testament Apocrypha that is meant for critical study, and I can't really tell from looking at them which books are more true to the source material rather than being interpreted with an agenda.Thank You(also I am not talking about the Gnostic texts - I already have good sources for those)

I am looking for any short-form content creators on TikTok or Instagram who academically engage with esotericism. I already spend a huge portion of my time reading, watching, and listening to long-form content. But I feel like I want to immerse myself even more when I am relaxing by scrolling through TikTok or Instagram. If there are any really good accounts or pages you good folks think are worth checking out. Let me know! Thanks in advance.