Darbo tikslas: Lietuvių kalba išleistos ezoterinės literatūros apžvalga, išryškinant naudojamos ezoterinės terminologijos netikslumus, atskleidžiant kritišką požiūrį į terminologijos laisvą interpretaciją ir nusakant naudojamos tikslios terminologijos poveikį sėkmingai pastoracijai. Tikslui pasiekti buvo išsikelti tokie uždaviniai: - Apibrėžti religijotyrinius „magijos“, „ezoterikos“ ir „okultizmo“ terminus. - Pristatyti kaip vartojami ezoterikos terminai katalikiškoje pastoracijoje bei paaiškinti daromas klaidas. - Atskleisti terminų apsibrėžimo sau ir pastoracijos subjektui svarbą. - Nurodyti pavojus, kylančius dėl netikslios ezoterikos terminų vartosenos pastoracijoje. - Pateikti patarimus pastoracijos darbuotojams. Uždaviniams įgyvendinti ir tikslui pasiekti naudoti lyginamosios analizės ir sintezės metodai. Darbe apibrėžti „okultizmo“, „ezoterikos“ ir „magijos“ terminai: okultizmas yra sinkretinė XIX a. pr. - XX a. pr. maginės filosofijos kryptis, apjungianti to meto ezoterines praktikas, tokias kaip spiritizmas ir magija; ezoteriką galima apibrėžti kaip religinę filosofinę sistemą, kurios pagrindą sudaro maginiai ar parapsichologiniai ritualai ir metodai, padedantys kontaktuoti su anapusybe. Ezoterikos terminas pakankamai platus, nes savyje talpina visą paranormalybę, pradedant okultizmu ir spiritizmu, ir baigiant ekstrasensorika bei magija. Ezoterikoje ypatingą reikšmę turi iniciacija. Ezoterika tai bendras terminas, naudojamas visai maginei ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The goal of this thesis: in accordance to the review of the esoteric literature in Lithuanian, to highlight the uncertainties of the esoteric terminology, to reveal a critical attitude to the free interpretation of the esoteric terminology and to describe the effects of the precise esoteric terminology to the success of pastoral work. To achieve the goal such tasks were raised: - To define the terms of magic, esoteric and occultism. - To introduce how the esoteric terms are used in the Catholic pastoral work as well as to explain the most common mistakes. - To reveal the importance of the precise terminology for the pastoral subject. - Indicate the risk arising from incorrect usage of esoteric terms in pastoral work. - To provide guidance for pastoral workers. In order to implement tasks and achieve thesis goal were used methods of comparative analysis and synthesis. While working the terms of occultism, esoteric and magic were defined. Occultism is the study of esoteric practices, including (but not limited to) magic and spiritualism; it is the syncretic type of magic philosophy common from the 19th to 20th century. Esotericism can be defined as a religious philosophical system, which is based on magic or parapsychology rituals and methods to come into contact with the Otherworld. The term of esoteric is very wide – a huge range of examples of esoteric movements and philosophies such, as occult, spiritism, extrasensory and magic, etc. are included. Magic can be defined... [to full text]

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2009. / Additional advisors: Sue Kim, Christopher Metress, Kieran Quinlan. Description based on contents viewed June 4, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-91).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Committee on the History of Culture, December 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-175) and index.

M.A. / Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) was a prolific writer in many genres. This dissertation takes the major works of his occult genre and examines them in the backdrop of the scientific and religious paradigms informing the mid-Victorian reading public. In response partly to the increase in materialism, popular Victorian novelists such as Dickens and Thackeray were writing in a realistic style which Bulwer-Lytton found not suited to convey his mystical ideas. Instead, he made use of the metaphysical novel — a sub-genre of the romance novel — well-suited for his purposes but antithetical to critics often not willing to explore new territory. Although always alive to developments in Spiritualism, Bulwer-Lytton's life-long interest lay in the study of the occult and secret societies. The works chosen for this dissertation indicate how the boundaries between science, religion and the occult are permeable. In his works, these three discourses conflate instead of being kept discrete by artificial means. His passion for the mystical aligns Bulwer-Lytton more with the Romantics than the Victorians. Through a close friendship with John Varley (1778-1842), an inner-circle friend of William Blake, Bulwer-Lytton came to learn of aspects of Blake which reflect particularly in A Strange Story. W B Yeates and Rider Haggard, both admirers of Bulwer-Lytton, would incorporate his ideas into their works, and Madame Blavatsky would shamelessly plagiarise him in her Isis Unveiled. Unwittingly, Bulwer-Lytton’s wholly-fictional novel, The coming Race, would serve as “proof” to Hitler that a secret master race actually existed.

Around Africa there seems to be an increasing disillusion with 'development', seen under the rubric of teleological 'progress', which is touted by post-colonial governments as being the cure for Africa's ailments and woes. Numerous authors have pointed out that this local disillusion, and the attempt to manage the inequities that arise through development and modernity, can be seen to be understood and acted upon by local peoples through the idiom of witchcraft beliefs and fears (see Geschiere & Fisiy 2001; Geschiere 1997; Nyamnjoh 2001; Comaroff & Comaroff 1993; Ashforth 2005) and spirit possession nanatives (see Luig 1999; Gezon 1999), or more simply, occult beliefs and praxis (Moore & Sanders 2001). The majority of the Mayeyi of Namibia's Eastern Caprivi perceive that development is the only way their regiOn and people can survive and succeed in a modernising world. At ~he same time there is also a seeming reluctance to move towards perceiving witchcraft as a means of accumulation (contra Geschiere 1997). This notion of the 'witchcraft of wealth' is emerging, but for the most part witches are seen as the enemies of development, while spirit possession narratives speak to the desire for development and of the identity of the group vis-a-vis the rest of the world. The thesis presented argues that, although modernity orientated analyses enable occult belief to be used as a lens through which to 1..mderstand 'modernity's malcontents' (Comaroff & Comaroff 1993), they can only go so far in explaining the intricacies of witchcraft and spirit possession beliefs themselves. The dissertation argues that one should return to the analysis of the cosmological underpinnings of witchcraft belief and spirit possession, taken together as complementary phenomena, in seeking to understand the domain of the occult. By doing so the thesis argues that a more comprehensive anthropological understanding is obtained of occult belief and practice, the ways in which the domain of the occult is constituted and the ways in which it is a reflection or commentary on a changing world.

While it may seem that "The Cap and Bells" finds its primary source in Yeats's love for Maud Gonne, the poem is also symbolic of his search for truth in occultism. In the 1880s and 90s Yeats coupled his reading of Shelley with a formal study of magic in the Golden Dawn, and the poem is a blend of Shelleyan and occult influences. The essay explores the Shelleyan/occult motif of death and rebirth through examining the poem's relation to the rituals, teachings, and symbols of the Golden Dawn. The essay examines the poem's relation to the Cabalistic Tree of Life, the Hanged Man of the Tarot, two Golden Dawn diagrams on the Garden of Eden, and the concept of Kundalini.

No description available.

Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Humayun (1508-1556), simply known as Humayun, was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire in India. He is often known with a discredited image in history even though recent investigations show a new, different, and regenerated perspective about him. This reconsideration is in relation to the philosophical, syncretic, and artistic pursuits and the spiritual heritage that he transmitted, which came to impact and define Mughal tradition and culture overall. Accordingly,  this thesis has on one hand the purpose to analyse and expose the not so much known “occult sciences” of Humayun, known as ‘ulum-i ghariba, which are defined in relation to their appliances and historical contexts, especially in relation to Sufism and Arabic Hermeticism. They are moreover explored in how they were experienced in the imperial administration of the early Mughal court. On the other hand, these “occult sciences” of Humayun are analysed and discussed in relation to the definitions of Western esotericism and practices of Renaissance Hermeticism as taught by Antoine Faivre, whose theory is employed for this thesis. The method used for this investigation combines a qualitative text analysis and a specific empirical approach with diachronic and synchronic applications. The result of this research shows that the “occult sciences” of Humayun help to define and confirm a wider study field of “comparative esotericism”, which goes beyond the borders of the Western culture, and which is found with its unique interpretations as an esoteric expression within Islam, and specifically at the dawn of the Mughal tradition.

No description available.