Pub Date : 2022-05-19DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20221007
Francesco Piraino
{"title":"Keys to the Beyond: Frithjof Schuon’s Cross-Traditional Language of Transcendence, by Patrick Laude","authors":"Francesco Piraino","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20221007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20221007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49143719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-04DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20221004
Michael Stausberg
{"title":"Occult Roots of Religious Studies: On the Influence of Non-Hegemonic Currents on Academia around 1900, by Yves Mühlematter and Helmut Zander (eds.)","authors":"Michael Stausberg","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20221004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20221004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42428951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-04DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20221003
L. Saif
{"title":"Sapientia Astrologica: Astrology, Magic and Natural Knowledge, ca. 1250–1800, I. Medieval Structures (1250–1500): Conceptual, Institutional, Socio-Political, Theologico-Religious and Cultural, by H Darrel Rutkin","authors":"L. Saif","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20221003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20221003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42527433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-04DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20221002
B. Menzel
{"title":"An den Grenzen unseres Wissens. Von der Faszination des Paranormalen, by Dieter Vaitl (ed.)","authors":"B. Menzel","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20221002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20221002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49654180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-01DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20211003
Paul Linjamaa
This article surveys the reception of the Gnostic text Pistis Sophia in esoteric milieus in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. The first part of the article contains an overview of the text and scholarship on it. Then follows a study of the reception of Pistis Sophia in a broader array of esoteric circles. It becomes clear that the text was hailed as an example of ancient and great spiritual wisdom, although seldom discussed in detail theologically. Next, this is compared to the academic reception at the same time where it was, as previous scholars have made clear, discarded due to what was understood as a discrepancy with “Gnostic” characteristics. This article shows that Pistis Sophia was not discarded in esoteric circles but rather read in light of already established esoteric trajectories, for example Blavatsky’s, Krumm-Heller’s, or Papus’ particular spiritual evolutionary perspectives. Lastly, it is argued that the understanding of Gnosticisms that both these receptions reflect is still very much active today: academics and esoteric groups are guided by similar trajectories vis-à-vis Gnosticism, seeing it as a representative of a “universal religious essence” associated with progressive attitudes (for example regarding sex and gender), which allows/forces them to renegotiate the ancient sources themselves.
{"title":"The Reception of Pistis Sophia and Gnosticism","authors":"Paul Linjamaa","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20211003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20211003","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article surveys the reception of the Gnostic text Pistis Sophia in esoteric milieus in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. The first part of the article contains an overview of the text and scholarship on it. Then follows a study of the reception of Pistis Sophia in a broader array of esoteric circles. It becomes clear that the text was hailed as an example of ancient and great spiritual wisdom, although seldom discussed in detail theologically. Next, this is compared to the academic reception at the same time where it was, as previous scholars have made clear, discarded due to what was understood as a discrepancy with “Gnostic” characteristics. This article shows that Pistis Sophia was not discarded in esoteric circles but rather read in light of already established esoteric trajectories, for example Blavatsky’s, Krumm-Heller’s, or Papus’ particular spiritual evolutionary perspectives. Lastly, it is argued that the understanding of Gnosticisms that both these receptions reflect is still very much active today: academics and esoteric groups are guided by similar trajectories vis-à-vis Gnosticism, seeing it as a representative of a “universal religious essence” associated with progressive attitudes (for example regarding sex and gender), which allows/forces them to renegotiate the ancient sources themselves.","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42455986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-01DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20211007
D. Marino
This article analyses the intellectual relationship between the historian of religions Mircea Eliade and the French esotericist René Guénon. Many scholars have argued for the “the myth of affinity”, a theory according to which Eliade would have subscribed to Guénon’s worldview (Traditionalism). The proponents of this thesis believe that Eliade opportunistically masked his Traditionalism for fear of being considered not sufficiently “scientific” for the academic career he aspired to. This article argues against such a theory and intends to demonstrate how the “myth of affinity” arose from a series of misunderstandings that occurred in the circle of Guénon’s closest associates, probably fuelled by Eliade himself. A comparison of Guénon and Eliade’s works on the theme of initiation will be used to dismiss “the myth of affinity” by indicating the irreconcilable theoretical distance between Traditionalism and Eliadian hermeneutics.
{"title":"Mircea Eliade and René Guénon","authors":"D. Marino","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20211007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20211007","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article analyses the intellectual relationship between the historian of religions Mircea Eliade and the French esotericist René Guénon. Many scholars have argued for the “the myth of affinity”, a theory according to which Eliade would have subscribed to Guénon’s worldview (Traditionalism). The proponents of this thesis believe that Eliade opportunistically masked his Traditionalism for fear of being considered not sufficiently “scientific” for the academic career he aspired to. This article argues against such a theory and intends to demonstrate how the “myth of affinity” arose from a series of misunderstandings that occurred in the circle of Guénon’s closest associates, probably fuelled by Eliade himself. A comparison of Guénon and Eliade’s works on the theme of initiation will be used to dismiss “the myth of affinity” by indicating the irreconcilable theoretical distance between Traditionalism and Eliadian hermeneutics.","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48769298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-17DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20211009
Anna M. Vileno
The article demonstrates that the knowledge of the Syriac language in Western Europe first developed amongst Christian scholars with a strong interest in Kabbalah and that they attributed a mystical dimension to the Syriac language that was not associated with it before. After a survey of the first authors that played a significant role in shaping the appropriation of Syriac as a mystical language (Teseo Ambrogio, Postel, Widmanstetter), I show that the newly discovered last work of Christian Knorr von Rosenroth constitutes the climax of that movement. The study of the later reception of Knorr’s work in modern occultism indicates that the Syriac language was eclipsed by the renewed favor of Hebrew language, considered as the magical and mystical language par excellence.
这篇文章表明，西欧的叙利亚语知识最早是在对卡巴拉感兴趣的基督教学者中发展起来的，他们将神秘的维度归因于叙利亚语，而这在以前是没有关联的。在对在将叙利亚语作为一种神秘语言的挪用中发挥了重要作用的第一作者（Teseo Ambrogio、Postel、Widmanstetter）进行调查后，我发现Christian Knorr von Rosenroth最新发现的最后一部作品构成了这场运动的高潮。对克诺尔作品在现代神秘主义中的后期接受情况的研究表明，叙利亚语因希伯来语的重新流行而黯然失色，希伯来语被认为是神奇和神秘的语言。
{"title":"The Western Appropriation of Syriac as a “Kabbalistic Language” by Later Christian Kabbalists","authors":"Anna M. Vileno","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20211009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20211009","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The article demonstrates that the knowledge of the Syriac language in Western Europe first developed amongst Christian scholars with a strong interest in Kabbalah and that they attributed a mystical dimension to the Syriac language that was not associated with it before. After a survey of the first authors that played a significant role in shaping the appropriation of Syriac as a mystical language (Teseo Ambrogio, Postel, Widmanstetter), I show that the newly discovered last work of Christian Knorr von Rosenroth constitutes the climax of that movement. The study of the later reception of Knorr’s work in modern occultism indicates that the Syriac language was eclipsed by the renewed favor of Hebrew language, considered as the magical and mystical language par excellence.","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47905917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-10DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20211006
G. Grant
This study uncovers a link between sound patterns and ritualistic language in Charles Williams’ novels through an analysis of the relationship between type of sound and content. The study focuses on War in Heaven with a view to conducting a preliminary exploration into this link, and establishing possibilities for future research. Like Williams’ other novels, War in Heaven is saturated with the symbolism and ritual practices he learned in The Fellowship of the Rosy Cross and, potentially, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Williams’ experimentation with sound to convey his experience of ritual is explored through the framework of Roman Jakobson’s “Poetic Function”, to establish how Williams may have intended sound to contribute to the experience of the reader. Using a data driven approach, the study explores how sound patterns work with ritualistic content across War in Heaven, discovering a link between fricative sounds and ritualistic events.
{"title":"Sound and Ritualistic Language in Charles Williams’ War in Heaven","authors":"G. Grant","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20211006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20211006","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study uncovers a link between sound patterns and ritualistic language in Charles Williams’ novels through an analysis of the relationship between type of sound and content. The study focuses on War in Heaven with a view to conducting a preliminary exploration into this link, and establishing possibilities for future research. Like Williams’ other novels, War in Heaven is saturated with the symbolism and ritual practices he learned in The Fellowship of the Rosy Cross and, potentially, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Williams’ experimentation with sound to convey his experience of ritual is explored through the framework of Roman Jakobson’s “Poetic Function”, to establish how Williams may have intended sound to contribute to the experience of the reader. Using a data driven approach, the study explores how sound patterns work with ritualistic content across War in Heaven, discovering a link between fricative sounds and ritualistic events.","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48683786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-06DOI: 10.1163/15700593-20211008
Agnieszka Podolecka, Leslie Nthoi
The article argues that “esotericism” can usefully be applied to a number of religious currents in Southern Africa. With a focus on Botswana, we survey a range of practices, from traditional “shamanic” healing to Pentecostal NRM s to New Age spiritualities and neoshamanism, some presented here for the first time. The term esotericism is useful for analysing the religious situation in Southern African contexts for three reasons. First, through a typological understanding of esotericism as initiation-based knowledge systems, we define one part of the landscape (usually termed “shamanism”) as constituting a form of “indigenous esotericism”. Second, through the European colonial expansion, this indigenous esotericism faced a violent rejection campaign that parallels the construction of “rejected knowledge” in Europe. While this forced many practices underground, they have resurfaced within Southern African Christianity. Third, “western” esoteric currents have recently been imported to Southern Africa and enter into dialogues with the “indigenous” forms.
{"title":"Esotericism in Botswana","authors":"Agnieszka Podolecka, Leslie Nthoi","doi":"10.1163/15700593-20211008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-20211008","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The article argues that “esotericism” can usefully be applied to a number of religious currents in Southern Africa. With a focus on Botswana, we survey a range of practices, from traditional “shamanic” healing to Pentecostal NRM s to New Age spiritualities and neoshamanism, some presented here for the first time. The term esotericism is useful for analysing the religious situation in Southern African contexts for three reasons. First, through a typological understanding of esotericism as initiation-based knowledge systems, we define one part of the landscape (usually termed “shamanism”) as constituting a form of “indigenous esotericism”. Second, through the European colonial expansion, this indigenous esotericism faced a violent rejection campaign that parallels the construction of “rejected knowledge” in Europe. While this forced many practices underground, they have resurfaced within Southern African Christianity. Third, “western” esoteric currents have recently been imported to Southern Africa and enter into dialogues with the “indigenous” forms.","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46513735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-22DOI: 10.1163/15700593-02201005
S. McCorristine
William Fletcher Barrett (1844–1925) has long been recognised for his key role in the foundation of the Society for Psychical Research in 1882, but this came after years of working as a physicist and psychical researcher between Ireland and Britain, conducting mesmeric experiments, maintaining correspondence, and sharing research ideas at forums like the British Association for the Advancement of Science. This article re-evaluates Barrett’s career by focusing on his networks, projects, and organisations in Ireland. These acted as bridges connecting his work as a teacher of physics with his work as a psychical researcher and investigator of spiritualism. In doing so, this article also contributes to the history of spiritualism in Ireland by demonstrating the rich connections which existed between scientists, intellectuals, and amateur investigators in the area of spiritualism and psychical research.
{"title":"Science and Spiritualism in an Irish Context","authors":"S. McCorristine","doi":"10.1163/15700593-02201005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-02201005","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 William Fletcher Barrett (1844–1925) has long been recognised for his key role in the foundation of the Society for Psychical Research in 1882, but this came after years of working as a physicist and psychical researcher between Ireland and Britain, conducting mesmeric experiments, maintaining correspondence, and sharing research ideas at forums like the British Association for the Advancement of Science. This article re-evaluates Barrett’s career by focusing on his networks, projects, and organisations in Ireland. These acted as bridges connecting his work as a teacher of physics with his work as a psychical researcher and investigator of spiritualism. In doing so, this article also contributes to the history of spiritualism in Ireland by demonstrating the rich connections which existed between scientists, intellectuals, and amateur investigators in the area of spiritualism and psychical research.","PeriodicalId":41783,"journal":{"name":"Aries-Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46623910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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