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. 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.

William Butler Yeats and Aleister Crowley created literary works intending them to comprise religious systems, thus negotiating the often-conflicting roles of religion and modern art and literature. Both men credited Percy Bysshe Shelley as a major influence, and Shelley's ideas of art as religion may have shaped their pursuit to create working religions from their art. This study analyzes the beliefs, prophetic practices, myths, rituals, and invocations found in their literature, focusing particularly on Yeats's Supernatural Songs, Celtic Mysteries, and Island of Statues, and Crowley's "Philosopher's Progress," "Garden of Janus," Rites of Eleusis, and "Hymn to Pan." While anthropological definitions generally distinguish art from religion, Crowley's religion, Thelema, satisfies requirements for both categories, as Yeats's Celtic Mysteries may have done had he completed the project.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Political Science, 2003. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: This dissertation focuses on the study of Western esotericism in European culture and forms a method of discovering esoteric topics in cultural artifacts. Using the definition as a corpus of knowledge historically divided between esoteric, reserved for the intellectual and power elite, and exoteric, available for everybody, I argue that esotericism represents the knowledge that always accompanied the cultural production of the Mediterranean zone, adding a spiritual meaning to any visual or written work of art. The contemporary novels of the past decade by the Spanish author Javier Sierra are fully based on a historical investigation, in which esotericism appears as a nuclear topic, revealing the great interest of the public in the mysteries of the past. Through the postmodern cultural theories, together with sociological and historical methods, the dissertation explores the cultural processes that lead to the shift of esoteric knowledge in the 20th century from secretive to publically available. The study defines the purpose of recreating the European past and investigates the secrets of European cultural formation. Through an insider-outsider perspective, it analyzes the cultural artifacts, that appear in the novels in the form of reference or as a nuclear part of the plot. It presents the scope of esoteric currents, that are divided between the discipline of religion, science, and philosophy, which form the tetrahedron of knowledge as a theoretic model for this study. The constructed model reveals the interaction of the three disciplines throughout the history and examines the reasons for the religious disenchantment of the 20th century, proven through Digital Humanities’ research as the predominance of science over the Catholic Church, which allowed the esoteric knowledge to reappear. The study explores the affiliation of esotericism with science through the scientific-cultural inquiries between the ancient myths and reality, by showing that man’s consciousness had always been dependent on the scientific perception of the world. It explores the pagan symbolism that is mixed with Christian traditions and reveals the stories, hidden behind the representation of the greatest works of art, by combining and analyzing the wisdom of the past and the contemporary spiritual inquiries in their philosophical meaning. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2017

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2017-01-18T14:28:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 5375250 bytes, checksum: d10017173e98e4382e54b9c7b5c32085 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-18T14:28:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 5375250 bytes, checksum: d10017173e98e4382e54b9c7b5c32085 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation has as object to show the Hermeticism not only as an ancient philosophical movement, but as a current of thought that breaks with the classical Greek rationality, directing him to a religious philosophical view, or a philosophical religiosity through a unification of the philosophical doctrines and Greco-Egyptian religious. The philosophical problems of theoretical are opposed to the problems about the divine and an experience with divinity, in short a “theologi”. The Hermeticism has as its patron and founder the mythical figure of Hermes Trismegistus, who together survived with Platonism, Middle-Platonism, Middle Stoa and Aristotelianism to the average age because some transmission channels. The Hermeticism rises again with greater force and fury in the Renaissance, shaping or presenting a pre-Christian primordial revelation called prisca theologia or ancient theology. Hermeticism became the Renaissance center of a revival or reediting the theological-metaphysical ancient thought that it intended to seek a new way of interpreting Christianity then. Thus was the basis of a generating hermeneutics of meaning and unification, as well as a sponsor of affirmative relations between philosophies and religions, diversity and religious tolerance. It will also be the source of a form of thought called Western Esotericism, working with one of the cultural and present engines in the history of called esoteric current subsequent to the fifteenth century, presenting itself as the most current research in the area as a rejected knowledge in the history of the West. It will be understood as a key element in the sense that it collaborated heavily for the establishment of an imaginary and an episteme in the Renaissance period, while its epistemological structure survived as a form of thought, while it was rejected by the academy. Thus, Hermeticism has, as a form of thought, an extremely complex logic and epistemological constituent and dynamic which can serve us today as an epistemological and hermeneutic relief as occurred in front antiquity to the decline of Greek rationalism and Renaissance front need for reform in Christianity. / Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de apresentar o Hermetismo não somente como uma corrente filosófica antiga, mas como uma corrente de pensamento que rompe com a racionalidade clássica grega, direcionando-o a uma visão filosófico-religiosa, ou a uma religiosidade filosófica, através de uma unificação entre as doutrinas filosóficas e religiosas greco-egípcia. Os problemas filosóficos de ordem teórica são contrapostos aos problemas acerca do divino e de uma experiência com a divindade, em suma a uma “teologia”. O Hermetismo possui o patrono e fundador a figura mítica de Hermes Trismegistos, que sobreviveu conjuntamente com o Platonismo, o Médio-platonismo, o médio Estoicismo e o Aristotelismo até a idade média graças alguns canais de transmissão. O Hermetismo ressurgirá com maior força e furor no Renascimento, conformando ou apresentando uma revelação primordial pré-cristã chamada de prisca theologia ou primeira teologia. O Hermetismo se tornou no Renascimento o centro de um reavivamento ou reatualização do pensamento teológico-metafísico antigo que pretendia buscar uma nova maneira de interpretar o Cristianismo de então. Desta forma foi a base de uma hermenêutica geradora de sentido e unificação, além de promovedora de afirmativas relações entre as filosofias e religiões, de diversidade e tolerância religiosa. Será também a fonte de uma forma de pensamento chamada de esoterismo ocidental, funcionando com um dos motores culturais e presente na história das ditas correntes esotéricas posteriores ao séc. XV, apresentando-se conforme as mais atuais pesquisas da área como um conhecimento rejeitado na história do ocidente. Será entendido como elemento fundamental no sentido em que ele colaborou fortemente para o estabelecimento de um imaginário e de uma episteme no período do Renascimento, enquanto que sua estrutura epistemológica sobreviveu enquanto uma forma de pensamento, ao mesmo tempo em que foi rejeitado pela academia. Sendo assim, o Hermetismo possui, enquanto uma forma de pensamento, uma constituinte lógica e epistemológica extremamente complexa e dinâmica a qual pode nos servir hoje enquanto socorro epistemológico e hermenêutico assim como ocorreu na Antiguidade frente à decadência do racionalismo grego, e no Renascimento frente à necessidade de reforma na cristandade.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-09-19T17:19:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 marcelhenriquerodrigues.pdf: 12697503 bytes, checksum: 04ce4723cfc9d5771ced03f1196dc481 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-09-22T15:05:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 marcelhenriquerodrigues.pdf: 12697503 bytes, checksum: 04ce4723cfc9d5771ced03f1196dc481 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-22T15:05:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 marcelhenriquerodrigues.pdf: 12697503 bytes, checksum: 04ce4723cfc9d5771ced03f1196dc481 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-23 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A temática dos símbolos e do esoterismo levou ao encontro com a enigmática gravura “Melencolia I”, de Albrecht Dürer. Por trás desta obra desvela-se uma surpreendente atmosfera renascentista em torno do tema da melancolia que, segundo pesquisas, fez com que médicos, filósofos e teólogos se detivessem por séculos no estudo deste humor. Historicamente estabelecida, a melancolia tornou-se um sintoma dos grandes intelectuais, aqueles eruditos que, na eterna busca pelo conhecimento e enfrentando as limitações da cognição humana em conhecer, caíram em estado de melancolia, ou na acídia, assim denominada a melancolia medieval. A grande importância dada ao melancólico levou Dürer a produzir “Melencolia I” como um tributo ao estado de ânimo que atingiu os grandes sábios. Mas, sua obra não é simples. A quantidade de símbolos expostos na gravura reflete uma outra realidade, a realidade esotérica. Partindo dessa compreensão e munido de uma compilação científico-bibliográfica, nossa pesquisa deseja abordar o caráter esotérico em “Melencolia I”. Assim, exploramos o contexto filosófico e religioso do Renascimento para compreender o ambiente intelectual que impulsionou a confecção da obra. O Neoplatonismo florentino, a grande confluência dos estudos humanísticos e o desabrochar do esoterismo, como a Alquimia e a Magia, foram elementos chave no contexto renascentista que, chegando à Alemanha, influenciaram Dürer a executar uma de suas mais famosas obras, a “Melencolia I”. Como resultado a pesquisa encontrou uma hermenêutica para a gravura a partir do contexto cultural em que a mesma foi produzida. Levamos em consideração os aspectos do esoterismo, tão enaltecidos e promulgados no período, sobretudo pelo Neoplatonismo de Florença. Também encontramos indícios de que alguns aspectos da vida e Dürer influenciaram a temática de “Melencolia I”. / The matter of symbols and esoterism led to the encounter with the enigmatic Albretch Dürer’s engraving “Melencolia I”. Behind this work, a surprising atmosphere from Renaissance is revealed surrounding melancholy which has been the subject of studies by physicians, philosophers and theologians for many years according to previous studies. Historically registered, melancholy became the symptom of the greatest erudite intellectuals who in search of science and defying the human limitations in learning often felt in the state of melancholy, or acedia, as it was denominated during the Middle Ages. On the one hand, given the importance paid to the “melancholic people” Albretch Dürer decided to work on “Melencolia I” as a tribute to the mood of the greatest savants. On the other hand, his piece of art is not unchallenging, for the amount of exposed symbols on the engraving reflects one another reality: the esotericism. Starting from this comprehension along with a scientificbibliographic compilation this research aims at approaching the esoteric side on “Melencolia I”. Thus, exploring the philosophic and religious context during the Renaissance in order to understand the intellectual environment which influenced Dürer’s engraving. In regards to that, Neoplatonic Florentine Academy was the most important confluence of humanistic studies during the rise of esotericism expressed in practices such as the Alchemy and Witchcraft that were key elements on the context of Renaissance which in Germany culminated in the influence on Dürer’s “Melencolia I”, one his most well-known and celebrated works. As a result, this research finally unveiled a hermeneutic related to the engraving from a cultural context in which it was conceived. Thus, it was taken in consideration the aspects of esotericism – highly praised and diffused during that period chiefly by the Neoplatonic Florentine Academy. There also evidence that some aspects of Dürer’s life might have been influenced by the theme of “Melencolia I”.

This essay will attempt to explore esoteric elements and connections in Hermann Hesses' final novel Das Glasperlenspiel and whether the narratives and beliefs held by the fictional realm of Castalia and the protagonist Josef Knecht fit into the tradition of western esotericism as defined by Kocku von Stuckrad and Antoine Faivre respectively. An attempt will also be made to explore why the novel has come to influence modern esoteric movements in what Wouter Hanegraaff defines as "New Age religion".

Nul n’est sans savoir l’influence de l’ésotérisme sur la formation de la« littérature nouvelle » et pourtant, des questions essentielles demeurent toujours sansréponse : quelle place prend véritablement le fait ésotérique dans l’esthétiquesymboliste ? Jusqu’où peut-on parler d’ésotérisme, où celui-ci s’arrête-t-il, et quel estréellement son rôle dans l’avènement du sacerdoce poétique de la fin du XIXe siècle ?Notre réflexion se réfère à une méthode académique nouvelle qui a su proposerune définition de l’objet ésotérisme. Les différentes publications des historiens ontfavorisé une démarche historico-critique permettant l’isolement de critères identifiantaujourd’hui cette forme de pensée. À partir d’un des critères, l’analogie et lescorrespondances, nous aborderons l’ensemble des autres composantes, en explorant lesliens cosmologiques, anthropologiques et esthétiques qui se sont progressivement tissésavec les « sciences maudites ». Cette grille de lecture nous permettra de retracerl’avènement d’une véritable religion esthétique, d’approfondir la représentation de laNature considérée par les poètes comme le Liber Mundi, et de délimiter l’influence del’ésotérisme qui a concouru à l’originalité de l’esthétique symboliste dans l’histoire dela littérature française / No one ignores the influence of esoterism on the making of the "littératurenouvelle". Yet essential questions remain still unanswered: what is the real place heldby esoterism in the aesthetics of the Symbolist movement? How far reaches themeaning of the word, where are the borders of esoterism, and what was its contributionto the concept of the poet's priesthood at the end of the XIXth century?Our reflection refers to a new academic method which provided us with a definitionof the esoterism object. By their textual criticism, historians have isolated a number ofcriteria which allow us to identify this kind of thought. Starting from one of thosecriteria, i. e. analogy and correspondences, we will deal with all the others components,and explore the cosmologic, anthropologic and aesthetic links which were progressivelywoven with the "cursed knowledge". This process will enable us to observe the arisingof a true religion of aesthetic, to examine thoroughly the representation of Nature asLiber Mundi for the poets'eye, and to delimit the influence of esoterism,which contributed to the originality of the Symbolist aesthetics in the history of Frenchliterature

Eric Hermelin, the translator and mystic who, while being incarcerated at a mental institution outside Lund in Sweden, managed to write himself into the history of literature by translating the Great Persian sufi poets of the Middle Ages, Rumi, Attar and Sadi, to name a few. Amongst his other translations we find the native Emanuel Swedenborg who will be the focus of this study.The purpose for this study is to look upon how the teachings of Swedenborg affected Hermelin through a comparative analysis where the translations of Hermelin will play a key role. By comparing them to the original texts of both Swedenborg and the Persian poets and by putting Hermelin in context with his times we hope to find out in what way Hermelin related to Swedenborg.Analysis is centered around three concepts; the Personality, the Correspondence and Influxus, which mirrors the Hermelin focus regarding Swedenborg. The study shows that Swedenborg is central to Hermelin in helping him finding strength for his massive work. Hermelin knows Influxus by experience and he seems well aware of the mystic and esoteric context in which Swedenborg belongs where the Persian poets also plays an important part. In a way Hermelin relate Swedenborg to the Persian poets using the teachings of Swedenborg as an instrument to point out the similarities of content.

This M.A. thesis deals with the topic of magical thinking in the adult population. The theoretical section of the thesis summarizes the existing findings in regard to the theory and research of magical thinking. The empirical section is dedicated to the development and subsequent validation of the new testing method devised to measure inclinations to magical thinking. Proving the method's validity is firstly aimed at gathering convergent proofs based on the relations towards methods measuring similar constructs, the external criterion being the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) and the subscale of Esoteric and Personal Superstitious Thinking of the Contrastive Thinking Inventory (CTI). The second part of the research focuses on the validity proofs gathered in relation to the categorical variable - group affiliation - where we test a selective collection of the general public against a selection of technical and natural scientists and a selection of people attending courses with esoteric content. The research results confirm the method's reliability based on the split-half method and they also confirm a high coefficient of inner consistence of Cronbach's alpha. The results of the validation study show a strong correlation between the research inventory and selected scales of the CTI method as...