Wow! eBook
Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed
Author(s): Wouter J. Hanegraaff (Author)
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Publication Date: 17 Jan. 2013
- Language: English
- Print length: 224 pages
- ISBN-10: 1441136460
- ISBN-13: 9781441136466
Book Description
What is it that unites phenomena as diverse as ancient gnosticism and hermetism, the “occult sciences” of astrology, alchemy, and magic, rosicrucianism, as well as Christian theosophy, occultism, spiritualism, and the contemporary New Age spiritualities? What can the study of them teach us about our common cultural and intellectual heritage, and what is it that makes them relevant to contemporary concerns? How do we distinguish reliable historical knowledge from legends and fictions about esoteric traditions? These and many other questions are answered clearly and succinctly, so that the reader can find his way into the labyrinth of Western esotericism and out of it again.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Wouter Hanegraaff offers the reader here a crystallization of his celebrated scholarship on the history of Western esotericism, from the ancient world to the New Age, as the rejected knowledge” of Western religion, culture, and science. Along the way, he strikes all the right notes, introduces key terms and figures, and traces the influence of esotericism on science, art, literature, and music. The result is an impeccable piece of historical analysis that shows why the critical study of Western esotericism should lie at the center of the academy and not in its margins.” –Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of ‘Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred’
About the Author
Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam, the
Netherlands, and President of the European Society for the Study of Western
Esotericism.
