Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T18:35:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcelo Leandro de Campos.pdf: 1504216 bytes, checksum: 8672406ea0a9bc1b66c43757181b3bc6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-02 / This study aims to analyze the work of the Colombian esoteric Samael Aun Weor based on the concept of "secularization of esotericism" proposed by the historian Wouter Hanegraaff. Contributing to the interdisciplinary debate that articulates the field of Cultural History, History of Religions and the recent History of Western Esotericism, it is intended to analyze the reversing relations and mutual influences that guide the construction of the modern Western culture, its rationality paradigms and empirical science; and on the other hand, the establishment of an esoteric tradition that seeks to harmonize these paradigms with a design strongly "enchanted" of the universe, and the mutual process of appropriation/ reinterpretation involved.This debate also dialogues to a more specific discussion in the field of Science of Religions, which seeks to understand the changes occurring in Western religious field opposite the new secularized society. Specifically, this paper seeks to contribute to the debate by offering a perspective of these processes from its Latin American component in order to identify how these dynamics are reproduced on the continent and its specificities. With this purpose, taking the work of Samael Aun Weor as a case study, it was conducted a long-term historical context by inserting the author in a more general constitution process of modern Western esotericism, and specifically, in the constitution process of an esoteric spiritualities field in Colombia, birth cradle of the Gnostic Movement. From a historical-comparative analysis of his work evolution, its institutionalization and practices - which takes into account conceptual and methodological contributions of Italian History of Religions School, historiography on Western esotericism and theoretical proposition Bourdieu from the concept of "field" - the work highlights the doctrinal transition that the Colombian esoteric Aun Weor operates in his work, moving from Rosicrucianism towards the conceptions of a psychological esotericism, proposed by the Russian esoteric Gurdjieff. Such a transition is analyzed by the dominant imagery in the esoteric milieu of his time, a perspective that offers an important analytical material for understanding the structural dynamics that guide the institutionalization of Gnosticism in Latin America and the specifics that guide their reversing relations with the social universe in which they are inserted. / O presente trabalho tem o prop?sito de analisar a obra do esoterista colombiano Samael Aun Weor ? luz do conceito de seculariza??o do esoterismo do historiador Wouter Hanegraaff, que integra um importante debate, no campo da Hist?ria Cultural, que analisa as rela??es reversivas e as influ?ncias m?tuas que pautam, de um lado, a constru??o da moderna cultura ocidental e seus paradigmas de racionalidade e ci?ncia emp?rica, e do outro a constitui??o de uma tradi??o esot?rica que busca harmonizar estes paradigmas com uma concep??o fortemente encantada do universo, e dos m?tuos processos de apropria??o/reinterpreta??o envolvidos. Esse debate tamb?m dialoga com uma discuss?o mais espec?fica ao campo da Ci?ncia das Religi?es, que busca compreender as transforma??es que ocorrem no campo religioso ocidental frente ? nova sociedade secularizada. Nesse sentido, nosso trabalho busca contribuir com o debate oferecendo uma perspectiva destes processos a partir da periferia do ocidente , a Am?rica Latina, buscando identificar em que medida essas din?micas s?o reproduzidas no Novo Continente, e o que elas possuem de espec?fico. Com esse prop?sito, tomando-se a obra de Samael Aun Weor como estudo de caso, conduziu-se uma contextualiza??o hist?rica de longa dura??o, inserindo o autor no processo mais geral de constitui??o do moderno esoterismo ocidental, e de maneira mais espec?fica no processo de constitui??o de um campo de espiritualidades esot?ricas na Col?mbia. A partir de uma an?lise hist?rico-comparativa da evolu??o de sua obra, de sua institucionaliza??o e de suas pr?ticas, que leva em conta contribui??es conceituais e metodol?gicas da Escola Italiana de Hist?ria das Religi?es, nosso trabalho destaca a transi??o doutrin?ria que o autor opera em sua obra, deslocando-se do Rosacrucianismo em dire??o ?s concep??es de um Esoterismo Psicol?gico do esoterista russo Gurdjieff. Essa transi??o ? analisada ? luz do imagin?rio dominante no milieu esot?rico de sua ?poca, perspectiva que oferece um importante material anal?tico para a compreens?o das din?micas estruturais que norteiam a institucionaliza??o do gnosticismo na Am?rica Latina e das especificidades que definem suas rela??es reversivas com o universo social em que est?o inseridas.

Thesis advisor: Stephen Pfohl / This work inquires about the subjectivity construction individuals perform in our contemporary media culture. It examines the structure of believing that can be inferred from the narrative elaboration of beliefs exerted in social conversations when pop-media related to spirituality or transcendency are used as inputs for conversation. For this purpose, I investigate the consumption of three films that triggered for their audiences intense controversies that included topics belonging to the blurry crossroad where spirituality, science, and religion intersect: What The Bleep do We (k)now!? (USA 2004), The Da Vinci Code (USA 2006), and The Passion of the Christ (USA 2004). My approach departs from the sociology of spirituality perspective, and draws on some insights developed by ritual studies, sociology of religion, social psychoanalysis, consumer studies, and visual studies. Based on a multi-method strategy of inquiry, formal film analysis, focus and discussion groups, and interview data collected from the audience, this dissertation finds that the burgeoning of a media driven popular culture spirituality in Mexico is creating a wave of Pop-Esotericism. As a rational narrative with consumption and conversational drives, Pop-Esotericism is not only a resonant media-reference, but also constitutes a pre-text in the construction of ephemeral and collective conversational spaces wherein the belief system is engaged and refurnished. To give a full account on the pop-esoteric phenomenon and on overall contemporary belief systems, I propose a theoretical model aimed to uncover the dynamics and strategies we engage to articulate spirituality, identity, and reality in our current global media context. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

L’originalité de la pensée de Rudolf Steiner, née dans la mouvance de la société théosophique est d’aller vers l'universalité, en dépit de critiques pas toujours fondées. En effet, la pensée de Steiner est au confluent de l’Europe, de l’Egypte, de la Perse et de l’Inde. A la fois pensée ésotérique, occulte et mystique, elle est intrinsèquement gnostique. Enseignement de sagesse, la gnose désigne un concept tout à la fois philosophique et religieux qui permet le salut de l’âme par une connaissance directe de la divinité. Dans son effort de connaissance à vocation universelle, le gnostique inclut les particularités historiques inclues tant dans le brahmanisme, que dans la chrétienté, l’islam et le judaïsme. A l’instar des Hindous, Steiner concevait l'Histoire comme le résultat des expériences de l’évolution individuelle, qui se déroulent au travers de nombreuses existences ou incarnations successives. Le monde spirituel lui apparaissait relié au monde physique par l'intermédiaire de la pensée humaine et il a décrit le système anthroposophique, la « sagesse de l’homme », tel un chemin de connaissance, allant de l'être humain, vers l’aspect spirituel de l'univers. Le cheminement de la gnose hindoue jusqu’aux idées de Steiner est développé dans cette thèse. Les rapports entre gnose, ésotérisme, mystique, religion, et occultisme, L’expérience mystique relatant un rapport avec le divin, de par sa nature difficilement communicable, par lequel l'âme humaine accèderait à une rencontre directe avec la source primordiale fut également un des thèmes étudiés par l’anthroposophe / The originality of Rudolf Steiner's thought, influenced by Theosophical Society, is to go to the universality of mankind, in spite of open criticisms that do not always correspond to reality. In fact, Steiner's Gnostic thought has been deeply influenced by European and Eastern Philosophical currents of Esotericism, Occultism and Mysticism. Gnosis is a reference to Philosophical and Religious concepts that allow soul salvation through a direct link to God. Ithas a universal vocation, and Gnosticism includes historical aspects included in Brahmanism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. As Hindus believed so, Steiner conceived Human History as the result of the experiences of individual evolution, which took place after many human incarnations. The spiritual world was according to Rudolf Steiner connected to the physical world with human thought and the history of the anthroposophic systems, that he called "Human Wisdom", as a path of knowledge, going from human beings, towards universal spiritual aspects. The path of Hindu gnosis to the ideas of Steiner and the relationship between Gnosis, Esotericism, Mysticism, Religion and Occultism are developed in this study. The theme of the encounter with a primordial source was dear to the philosopher

A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo, no contexto de modernização de São Paulo e laicização republicana, analisar os espaços de sociabilidade constituídos por associações espiritualistas (centros espíritas e círculos esotéricos) durante a chamada Primeira República (1889-1930). Essas associações foram construídas a partir do modelo de sociedades de ideias, locais nos quais se estabeleciam convivialidades ligadas aos ideários modernos, como liberdade, democracia e livre-pensamento. Foram utilizados os conceitos de sociedade de ideias, sociabilidade e intelectuais, a partir das formulações de autores como François Furet, Jean-Pierre Bastian, Maurice Agulhon e Jean-François Sirinelli. Para essa análise foram utilizadas uma diversidade de fontes, especialmente a imprensa especializada editada por essas associações. / The purpose of this research is to analyze, in the context of the modernizing São Paulo and the republican secularization, the sociability spaces made up of spiritualist associations (spiritist centers and esoteric circles) during the so-called First Brazilian Republic (1889-1930). These associations were built over a model of societies of ideas. These were places where convivialidades [co-livingness], connected with the modern ideas, like freedom, democracy and free thinking, were established. There have been used the concepts of societies of ideas, sociability and intellectuals, based on the formulations of authors such as François Furet, Jean-Pierre Bastian, Maurice Agulhon e Jean-François Sirinelli. A diversity of sources has been used for this analysis, particularly specialized press edited by these associations.

Si, dès le XVIIIe siècle le vocabulaire de la chimie s’est unifié et s’est vu apposé une certaine nomenclature destinée à faciliter sa compréhension, il n’en a jamais été de même pour le vocabulaire alchimique. Un vocabulaire est généralement un ensemble cohérent dont les significations sont établies uniformément et non pas individuellement. La particularité du vocabulaire alchimique est de ne pas refléter cet idéal d’uniformisation et de faire primer les interprétations individuelles.Jamais les adeptes de l'art d'hermès n'ont voulu apporter une codification dans l'usage de leurs termes (que ce soit pour les ustensiles ou pour les composants). Ce refus de s'aligner sur une langue technique commune a ostracisé les alchimistes du monde des sciences souvent dites « raisonnées ». Ce fait peut donc amener à appréhender l'alchimie d'une mauvaise manière. En effet, les alchimistes ne sont pas tous des travailleurs isolés, coupés du monde, reclus dans leurs propres acceptions théoriques, leur science participe aussi de cette idée de ''cosmopolis'' très prisée au XVIIIe siècle.Le problème de la compréhension de ce vocabulaire exceptionnel se pose donc de manière récurrente lorsque l’on tented’appréhender l’histoire de l’alchimie et de la replacer dans les contextes socio-culturels auxquels elle ne pouvait éviter d’appartenir.Cette thèse a donc pour but de mieux définircertains termes du vocabulaire alchimique del’époque moderne, de leur donner un sens ausein de leurs environnements littéraires etculturels. / During the XVIIIe century, chemistry has started its journey on the path of the unification, codification and normalization ofits vocabulary. The same process doesn’t apply to alchemy. The vocabulary of the hermetical arts has never managed toestablish a normalized lexical field. Considering that any vocabulary being essentially an attempt to unify ideas around asame concept, the alchemical one shows a particularity by being divided, fragmented and highly individualistic. This fact is most likely not a coincidence, it comes more from a secrecy measure wanted by the alchemists to prevent any greedy use of the powerful alchemical secrets. However, this way of secrecy and complexity has slowly but surely took alchemy away from the established sciences. This state of fact can easily bring one to mistake alchemy for a science of men disconnected from their social and cultural backgrounds, working only for themselves, which is not the case. The matter of the alchemical vocabulary understanding is therefore a reoccurring and prominent issue for whom wants to understand the implications of alchemy in the modern thinking and society. This thesis aims at giving a better understanding of several alchemical terms, concerning Modern era, both on a literary and cultural levels.

A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo, no contexto de modernização de São Paulo e laicização republicana, analisar os espaços de sociabilidade constituídos por associações espiritualistas (centros espíritas e círculos esotéricos) durante a chamada Primeira República (1889-1930). Essas associações foram construídas a partir do modelo de sociedades de ideias, locais nos quais se estabeleciam convivialidades ligadas aos ideários modernos, como liberdade, democracia e livre-pensamento. Foram utilizados os conceitos de sociedade de ideias, sociabilidade e intelectuais, a partir das formulações de autores como François Furet, Jean-Pierre Bastian, Maurice Agulhon e Jean-François Sirinelli. Para essa análise foram utilizadas uma diversidade de fontes, especialmente a imprensa especializada editada por essas associações. / The purpose of this research is to analyze, in the context of the modernizing São Paulo and the republican secularization, the sociability spaces made up of spiritualist associations (spiritist centers and esoteric circles) during the so-called First Brazilian Republic (1889-1930). These associations were built over a model of societies of ideas. These were places where convivialidades [co-livingness], connected with the modern ideas, like freedom, democracy and free thinking, were established. There have been used the concepts of societies of ideas, sociability and intellectuals, based on the formulations of authors such as François Furet, Jean-Pierre Bastian, Maurice Agulhon e Jean-François Sirinelli. A diversity of sources has been used for this analysis, particularly specialized press edited by these associations.

<p>The nineteenth century witnessed a great deal interest in Esotericism, which resulted in the creation of a significant number of Occult organizations. Many of them were influenced by the Theosophical Society, arguably the most important of the groups that came into existence before the Great War, a further example being the Rosicrucian Fellowship. The writings of these two organizations’ primary founders contain teachings about race that were influenced by beliefs concerning the inferiority of certain peoples that were prevalent at the time. While this is often acknowledged in academic studies, the matter is largely marginalized.</p><p>The aim of this paper is to investigate how these teachings reinforce preexisting ideas about race. The findings indicate that this is partially achieved through the use of language and partially by presenting the notions within the context of a cosmology which casts inequalities found in society as part of an evolutionary process in which any atrocities committed by a dominant group are seen as merely hastening a divinely instituted chain of events that is already in motion. This matter is relevant to the present time because these beliefs are part of living traditions and because it is arguable that the racist discourse which shaped them in the first place is still just as influential today.</p>

Gothicism in general, and the Swedish Gothicism in particular, had a close connection to the esoteric currents that were flourishing all over Europe in the Early Modern Period. Apocalyptic predictions and prophecies useful to Gothic propaganda were derived from contemporary esoteric streams, but alongside these came Hermetic and Neo-Platonic speculations of a more individual character that emphasized man’s gradual ascension toward a higher state. The foremost representative for this union of Gothicism and Esotericism was Johannes Bureus (1568-1652). Although a pioneer of runology and Swedish grammatical studies, Bureus felt he made his greatest contributions in the sphere of mysticism. Influenced by the concept of a Philosophia Perennis, Bureus believed this eternal philosophy was not only expressed by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Hebrews, but also by the ancient Norse. Bureus represents what could be termed an Esoteric Gothicism. In his work, the ideal of Gothicism melds with Esotericism in the form of Alchemy, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, Astrology, and Magic. Bureus himself called his esoteric system a Nordic Kabbalah, a “Notaricon Suethica,” or a “Kabala Upsalica.” Bureus’s Esotericism is explicated primarily in his manuscripts such as the Cabbalistica, Antiquitates Scanziana, and especially Adulruna Rediviva (the latter produced in seven versions over a forty-year period), but also in his major opus, dedicated to his pupil Queen Christina, the printed apocalyptic book Nordlanda Lejonsens Rytande. In examining Esoteric Gothicism we can discern a further tendency within Gothicism beyond the national chauvinism typically seen as exemplifying the movement. In Bureus’s work, Gothic motifs are combined with runes and Old Norse themes in an imaginative manner, but most characteristic of Bureus is how he uses the results to describe a highly individual path of initiation which leads to unity with God. Bureus’s ideas may seem eccentric to a modern reader, but properly situating them in their historical context reveals the role he played in an influential current in European intellectual and spiritual history, a current often referred to by scholars as Western Esotericism.

This essay examines how the Baphomet symbol is understood in three different contexts. Firstly, the understanding of the Baphomet is analysed in the book Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, written by the French 19th century occultist Éliphas Lévi. Secondly, I analyse the symbol in The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor LaVey, the person responsible for having introduced Satanism to modernity. Thirdly, the Baphomet as understood in contemporary metal music culture is analysed. Ultimately, I find the Baphomet to be viewed as a symbol associated with Satan, but in very different ways. The reason to why these differences exist I find to be partially explained by the initial mystery surrounding the Baphomet. The understanding of the Baphomet depends also on the role of Satan in each context. Due to Satan representing different things in the three different contexts, so does the Baphomet. / <p>All images removed.</p>

The concept of magic is most often considered as a foil by scholars in the fields of philosophy and religious studies, or it is discussed as part of the investigation of “primitive” systems of belief and ritual. In this essay, magic is investigated as a system of inquiry and explanation unto itself, connected to but distinct from both philosophy and religious studies, and an argument is presented for understanding systems of magic as both natural and rational outgrowths of a particular perspective on reality.