Showing 5 articles
The Study of (Western) Esotericism
Author: Agostino DominiciMay 16, 2022
We live in the so called Information Age in which any kind of knowledge is at our fingertips. Topics which fall under the categories of ‘esoteric’, ‘metaphysical’ or ‘occult’ have never been easier to reach. Hundreds of research papers on these topics can be freely downloaded on various online platforms (e.g. www.academia.edu), while thousands of [...]
The Magical Function of Rituals and Ceremonies
Author: Julian ScottOctober 1, 2020
From an esoteric point of view, a ritual is dependent on the existence of the invisible dimension. This invisible dimension consists of a spiritual-mental aspect, which is the domain of the archetypes or ‘living idea-beings’ spoken of by the Platonists; and an ‘astral’ aspect, which is an intermediate world between spirit and matter, just as [...]
Plato’s Esoteric Teachings
Author: Julian ScottApril 17, 2020
Plato is typically thought of as a ‘respectable’ Greek philosopher who is widely taught at reputable universities around the world and admired for his original philosophical thinking. However, there is another side to Plato which is only explored by a minority of scholars, starting with Heinrich Gomperz in the 1930s and continuing with the ‘Tübingen [...]
Esoteric Influences in the Work of William Blake
Author: Julian ScottJanuary 15, 2020
Many of the world’s great artists were inspired by the perennial, esoteric or occult philosophy and their works of art express timeless truths that continue to speak to our intuitions. The artist and poet William Blake is no exception, but it is not easy to locate him within the esoteric tradition, because he was subject [...]
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Author: AnonymousAugust 8, 2014
But to the public in general and the readers of the Secret Doctrine I may repeat what I have stated all along, and which I now clothe in the words of Montaigne: Gentlemen: “I have here made only a nosegay of culled flowers, and have brought nothing of my own but the string that ties [...]