Esoteria: Bazaar of the Mystics I // Curiosity by stn.eleven

Esoteria: Bazaar of the Mystics by Farah Ali

A thesis book for the Final Architectural Project submitted to the Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, Art, and Design, American University in Dubai In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Architecture Fall 2021

Approval of the Thesis Book for Final Architectural Project Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, Art, and Design, American University in Dubai

Farah Ali Esoteria: Bazaar of the Mystics

Student Signature: Date: Professor Name: Dr. Georges Kachaamy Professor Signature: Date:

I shall not linger here too long for I can be an emotional mishmash at times, but to those of you reading this, you know who you are. To Taimaa, Elham, Dheyaa, Shane, my mother, my father, my precious teta and sister, to my partner and all the friends I’ve made along the way,

you are the real magic.

Acknowledgements

I cannot go any further without dutifully acknowledging the ones who have made this possible; the ones who have made this journey more magical than I could have ever thought it to be. To Doctor Nabyl Chenaf who has been by my side since the very beginning, going above and beyond to ensure my success, To Professor Jose Carrillo, for your young heart which let me be silly and true to myself in all my work, even if It were a finger-drawn stick animation, To Professor Alex Albani for always caring, And to Doctor Georges Kachaamy who inspired this thesis by never ceasing to re-enchant the field of architecture, and whose passion is truly infectious,

I am forever grateful.

Thank you.

The Fool’s Guide to Best Experience this Journey: Slide the sides of the case out in opposite directions, rotate them about the hinge, and rest the main chest upon the two legs which you have just slid out. This is your Reader’s table. Spread across it are the three Cards for you to Read. As the Major Arcana foretells of the Fool’s Journey, these are subdivided into Preliminal, Liminal, and Postliminal, each paired with a mystical noun to represent it. To help you See is your ticket out of Mundania and into Esoteria, which may or may not hold a riddle that shall tell of your next step.

Remember: Use two eyes to look and One to See. Once you have passed the test and solved the riddle, you may go forth and discover the rich world of the Esoterics. Best of Luck, and May it be a fruitful journey.

reliminal.

(1) adj. prior to the beginning of a process (2) adj. rite of separation from Mundania

Curiosity. Preliminal.

Contents

N. The Point Where the Sky and the Earth Touch Part I – The Quest for Enchantment

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I.I To Blur the Boundaries of Mundania I.II The Fools Who Rejected Disenchantment I.III The Fools Who Rejected the Fools I.IV The Bazaar of the Mystics

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Part II – The Fool’s Journey Begins

II.I Sapere Aude, Dare to Think! : Etymology 41 II.II The Fool’s Journey – Chronology 50 II.IIa Gnōsis 51 II.IIb Gnōsticism 55 II.IIc Neoplatonism & Theurgy 61 II.IId Hermeticism 67 II.IIe Occult Sciences/Secrets of Nature 77 e.I Astrology 79 e.II Alchemy 89 e.III The Arcane 97 e.IV Magia Naturalis / Natural Magic 98 II.IIf Initiate Societies 99 f.I Rosicrucianism 101 f.II Freemasonry 105 II.IIg Modernist Occult – Justice 111 g.I Animal Magnetism / Mesmerism 113 g.II Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 115 II.IIh The Esoterics of Influential Religions 117 h.I Kabbalah – Judaism 119 h.II Naturphilosophie and Theosophy – Christianity 125 h.III Sufiism – Islam 129 h.IV Tantra –Hinduism & Buddhism 141 II.IIi Contemporary Esotericism & Revival 153

II.III The Mysterium Around You– The World 175 II.IIIa Esotericia of the Unconscious Mind 177 II.IIIb Behind the Veil: Movie Magic 185 II.IIIc Art for the Third Eye 199 II.IIId An Enchanted Pen 213 II.IIIe We Cast Our Circles Here 223

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Fellow journeyman on this quest , see without your eyes.

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Flammarion engraving. c. 1888

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N. This is a book of true stories, but it is also a book about stories. What you read here will challenge what you already know and what you thought you didn’t wish to know when you stifled that little voice that sounds so much like you which asked, ‘what if?’ What if there were a reason this knowledge is so forbidden and rejected? What if you were meant to seek after this knowledge as your ancestors have for thousands of years before? What if, on some sort of sub-atomic particle level, the pursuit of such mysticism and spirituality is innate; encoded into the very intricate sequence of your chemical composition? Or perhaps, not within your vessel via biology, but by an intangible sense of curiosity that once consumed you, insatiable and ever-seeking, slowly torn away by the severity of ‘pragmaticism’ fueled by political agendas – mundane, empirical, scientific, factual, proven, stringent, rigorous, strict, authoritarian… This is a book to awaken what was once lost, and to revive what was sentenced to death.

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But don’t be fooled: this is not a book of magick,

but if the knowledge in this book appears so foreign and esoteric to your eye as to be shunned for ‘magick’*, then your hands are the exact beholders this book sought to land in.

*Let it be known to you, fellow reader, that our references to ‘magic’ are not those of mischievous endeavours nor sinister impulse, rather they are in reference to that moment of awe, splendour, out-of-the-ordinary charm and delight – that enchantment. That is the magic we speak of.

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For, you see, although you may be hesitant,

you are still pulled into this fantastical world.

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Welcome, and brace yourself, for this is when your Fool’s Journey begins.

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✧ Esoteria: Bazaar of the Mystics

Part I The Quest for Enchantment

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The Evening Star c. 1888

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“Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company always with those who say, “Look!” and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.” — Mary Oliver, from ‘Mysteries,Yes’

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Blur Blur I.I To Blur Blur Blur Blur Blur

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the Boundaries of Mundania

“Children know something we don’t; this I am sure of. They know something about how to properly live.” (Reiff, 2021)

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Curiosity. That which once widened your pupils. That which once granted you the power to see beyond what could be seen. That which once painted those widened eyes with stars, which once instilled a glimmer of awe, which once overwhelmed, inspired, and proved any deed conceivable. That which once was, to be no longer... The world we exist in today has lost its whimsy. Science and technology have stifled the mysteriousness of the world, and bureaucratic rules felled life into a habitual routine. (Jussim, 2018) As life became more and more predictable and ‘defensible’ by science and fact, it shed its cloak of enchantment.

This, is our Disenchanted World. I ask you, then, for your wisdom, fellow on this journey: can we supplant imagination? Can we, through process of rigorous discipline and aging, learn to ignore the demands of curiosity? Can we unwrite the sequences in our makeup that tell us to wonder, to ask, to search?

Let me provide you with a satisfactory answer: we will never abandon magic*.

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It seems to me, as it should to you and to those around us, that the quest for enchantment is innate. We have historically gravitated towards the unanswerable and the mysterious. For as long as we can stand to remember, ‘we are drawn to what we don’t understand.’ (Dr Kuhn, 2019) The very reason why we evolve and develop lies in trying to make sense of what we cannot explain. (Coughlan, 2019) ‘Believing in magic is good for us,’ says psychologist Matthew Hutson. (Wolchover, 2012) And so, in a world tethered between the uncertainty of instability, risk, vulnerability, violence, limited energy sources, (Oliver, 2009) and the antagonistic certainty of bureaucracy, traditional institution, and adulthood, where must we turn?

I present you with this Categorical Imperative: We must pursue enchantment.

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I.II The Fools Who Rejected Disenchantment

The contemporary Disenchanted World has left us with some gifts and so I give it some credit. As technology advanced and the transmission of knowledge and ideas was facilitated by the internet, those who latched onto curiosity with their hands and teeth instigated a resuscitation of the magical and whimsical. (Oliver, 2009) The result was a flurry of new religious movements rooted in counterculture, whose adherents aimed to revive the mysteries of ancient knowledge. They lead a spiritual movement which alludes to pre-Christian pagan beliefs. By borrowing various mystical practices from an eclectic mix of ancient cultures, they concoct a rounded esoteric worldview which draws upon the diverse enchantments we have historically used to navigate this uncertain world.

They call themselves Neopagans; I call them The Fools.

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card 0: The Fool: “Beginnings, Newborn, Fresh, Imbued with desire to go forth and learn” -Joan Bunning, Social Psychologist

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I.III The Fools Who Rejected the Fools Mysticism, which we are so afraid of discussing, predates religion, and is found in ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, Jewish mystical tradition, ancient Greece and Rome, and manifests itself in the Abrahamic religions as well, as Kabbalah in Judaism, where magical cures were sanctioned by rabbis, as Theosophy and Martinism amongst others in Christianity, and Sufiism in Islam, whose roots in the UAE go back to more than 300 years. (Mouzahem, 2018) The ancient Mesopotamians had their āšipus who performed rituals and were physicians, priests, scribes, and scholars. The ancient Egyptians had their heka underlying ritual activity. The Jewish Kabbalists had their white magicians, and the Graeco-Romans had their magus, and this is when magic became evil, used as a derogatory term by the military against the Persian Empire. The Medieval Europeans continued this legacy, and their magia was a term of condemnation. The Renaissance’s European colonialists used the term to paint a savage image of the peoples they were colonizing. (Jolly, 1999) So, you see, the magical and esoteric did not hold negative connotations until they were later used for political agendas and to legitimize European and Euro-American imperialism and colonialism. Religious groups of power denounced the beliefs of the people they were colonizing or in conflict with as magic, giving it the negative connotation it has today. (Jolly, 1999)

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Eye of Horus Amuket c. 664 - 525 BCE Ancient Egypt

Heka c. 664 - 525 BCE Ancient Egypt

Lamashtu Plaque c. 10th - 7th century BCE Neo-Assyrian

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Heka c. 664 - 525 BCE Ancient Egypt

Standing Male Worshipper c. 2750 - 2600 BCE Mesopotamia

On the other hand, the US national library of medicine says that there is ample evidence that the foundations of modern science and medicine were established first in the magical philosophies of the Renaissance, like the experimental method. In the middle ages, magnetism was considered an occult quality, and Newton’s contemporaries severely criticized his theory of gravity as occult. Many techniques and theories still in use today were developed by Islamic and European alchemists. What was Natural magic like astrology and alchemy, has influences in disciplines we would today consider fields of natural science, such as astronomy and chemistry, and so the concept of magic largely depends on the context, and is not such a foreign notion as we think it to be.

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Votive Statues c. 2900 - 2600 BCE Sumer

Scientist and scholar Dean Radin, for instance, in his scientific exploration of ‘Real Magic,’ ventures into the unknown only to emerge with a plethora of rational explanations behind these seemingly otherworldly phenomena. (Radin, 1992)

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In the more recent wave of religious revival of ancient knowledge, the goal of magic is simply personal spiritual development. This is the case of modern occultism and modern paganism. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

Isis Musei Capitolini c. 138 - 117 BCE Tivoli Ba Amulet c. 3rd century BCE Ancient Egypt

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‘It has eventually become clear that the presence of esotericism and the occult in contemporary culture is not some strange anomaly but a permanent feature of the religious landscape,’ confirms Wouter J. Hanegraaff, prominent religion historian. Despite that, the study of esotericism is believed to be the ‘single most neglected and misunderstood’ field of research, which has led to an air of ignorance around all that it entails. The result is what we see today: a chin-up attitude of looking down upon it, neglecting the potential contribution it can offer towards

Re-Enchanting our disenchanted world.

“One could say that in their explorations of the garden of history, [religion historians] have been thinking like gardeners, intent on cultivating their own flowers and plants while silently removing the weeds as much as possible.” (Hanegraaff, 2013)

The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat c. 1886 CE

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I.IV The ✧

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Bazaar of the ✧ Mystics ✧

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Fellow journeyman, you may now ponder: yes, it is too good to be true – the world of the esoterics is beyond doubt enthralling, but how shall this fit into the complex urban fabric of Dubai?

This city is constantly aiming to bring the extraordinary into reality and to forever be on exclaimed lips around the globe. Year after year, the visionary leaders introduce bewildering schemes and eclectic attractions to diversify the city. You may even say there is an intent towards enchanting the mundane, towards elevating Dubai beyond the shackles of an ordinary city and into the realm of the extraordinary. Therefore, it would not be unwise to propose such a new typology to the region, rather, dare I say, it is necessary and right.

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Hussein Al Hammadi, Minister for Education, says that the UAE is constantly making moves to uphold the intrinsic values of tolerance and coexistence among all religions. The leaders’ agenda for the future of the country is to become a bridge of communication between peoples of different cultures, and this is where this thesis deems an Esoteria – a Bazaar of the Mystics – regionally fit.

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Through the close examination of the mystic and esoteric, the theme will be translated into an architectural proposal aiming to destigmatize these highly stigmatized ideologies and replace this stigma with the long forgotten childish awe and wonder, educate about the rich history of the esoterics rather than the widespread mistruths, and seek spirituality and higher knowledge. The social aspect of esotericism, in the form of a Bazaar of the Mystics, will Wonder. A repository of esoteric teachings will educate, and a contemplation retreat will seek.

The goal is to create a fantastical, otherworldly experience: a feast for the senses and the spirit.

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“It is those curious souls willing to accept the divine mystery of a world that is never fully knowable, meanwhile remaining committed to not shrinking from this implicit challenge and inquiring regardless — day in and day out — that are really onto something.” (Reiff,2021)

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Ecstasy Maxfield Parrish c. 1930 CE

Come with me, as I am tasked with Re-Enchanting the ✧ Disenchanted. ✧

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Part II The Fool’s Journey Begins

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“[A] secretum [is] something that is hidden from common view. [A] mysterium [is] something that is intrinsically secret. A secretum, such as a secret recipe or a confidential letter, is no longer secret if it is published, whereas a mysterium retains its aura of secrecy even if exposed. A mysterium can only be known by those with the requisite faculty or status. The kind of secret possessed by esoteric groups is the mysterium.”

— Jan Assmann, Egyptologist (Bull, 2015)

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II.I Sapere Aude, Dare to Think! — Etymology

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card XVIII: The Moon: “Hidden enemies, darkness, deception, error” -Dr. Arthur Edward Waite, scholar of occultism

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Antoine Faivre, a prominent scholar of esotericism, denoted six criteria for a belief to be classified as esoteric: correspondence, living nature, imagination and mediations, transmutation, concordance, and transmission. The existence of first four is necessary, meanwhile the latter two are common among esoteric teachings but not essential.

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Correspondence is the belief that everything is interconnected, such as with the Hermetist’s belief in the macrocosm-microcosm entanglement. Living nature is the belief that the world is a living organism, not clockwork. Mediation suggests a Platonic cosmology where the cosmos are multi-leveled and that the esoteric may access them through imagination. Transmutation is the belief that a human can be changed into a higher spiritual state likened to the Divine in a process of rebirth. (Hanegraaff, 2013) Concordance is the belief that all religions contain similar knowledge passed between them and they possess a common core derived from perennial philosophy. Finally, Faivre defines transmission as the movement of esoteric knowledge down a chain from master to disciple which can be traced back to an authoritative source. (Bull, 2015)

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It must be noted, dear reader, that esotericism is an artificial classification, and so much of what may be viewed as ‘normal’ spiritual practice may be lumped into this category of ‘the other’ depending on who is doing the classification. Upon the upcoming inspection of esotericism across the West and the East, although they result in seemingly different teachings which are scattered every which way across the globe, the criteria which determines them worthy of being deemed esoteric and beyond the ordinary remains constant despite the varying cultures of the West and the East that may have had influential power on their establishment. (Bull, 2015)

For the sake of ensuring the following history of esotericism remains as much an enchanted worldview and a whimsical, fantastical universe – untainted by potential preconceived notions of darkness and of impermissible discourse – we must first dissect the word itself before we ever attempt to traverse into its world, lest we overlook all it has to offer us. Although the adjective dates to the 2nd century CE as the Ancient Greek adjective ‘Esôterikós’ – belonging to an inner circle – the field of research and categorization of certain religious practices under its wings is more recent: coined in Germany in 1792 as ‘Esoterik’, voyaging to France in 1828 as ‘L’ésotérisme,’ and finally arriving at the English language in 1883.

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It is important to note that the word ‘esoteric’ with its modern negative connotation of being unusual was not a word through which the people who practiced esoteric knowledge and rituals used to describe themselves. It is, as Wouter J Hanegraaf, a prominent religion historian, says: ‘not a natural term, but an artificial category.’ Popularized by entities that consider themselves to be the beholders of the One and Only Truth, namely some big world religions, the term became riddled with political and biased agendas to create a distinction of the ‘Other.’ Thus, this categorization of esoterics as dabbling with ‘rejected knowledge’ which we have since inherited, dates back only to the Enlightenment, and is “the final outcome of complicated apologetic and polemical debates dominated by Christian intellectuals from antiquity to the eighteenth century.” (Hanegraaff, 2013) Time and time again, history has proven to us that those in power have had the luxury of altering history to their benefit, painting themselves in good light and their enemies in bad. Then, as all things do, this history is passed down years, decades, and eventually centuries, until their original authors and contemporaries are a mere shadow of the past and the layperson does not question the potential biases of this so-called ‘history.’ Let us begin, upon our embarkment of a journey down the rabbit hole of the mystical, by defining Esotericism in our context of religious practices. The term denotes three conceptions: first, an enchanted pre-Enlightenment view of the world rooted in ancient ideologies, second, postEnlightenment occult organizations which are regarded as alternatives to traditional religion and rational science, and third, an inner spiritual dimension of religion. But perhaps the most widely accepted belief among esoterics is that the root of their knowledge lies in secrets of nature and ancient wisdom that have made their way through the centuries by the wise. Antoine Faivre, a prominent scholar of esotericism, denoted six criteria for a belief to be classified

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Time and time again, history has proven to us that those in power have had the luxury of altering history to their benefit, painting themselves in good light and their enemies in bad. Then, as all things do, this history is passed down years, decades, and eventually centuries, until their original authors and contemporaries are a mere shadow of the past and the layperson does not question the potential biases of this so-called ‘history.’ Let us begin, upon our embarkment of a journey down the rabbit hole of the mystical, by defining Esotericism in our context of religious practices. The term denotes three conceptions: first, an enchanted pre-Enlightenment view of the world rooted in ancient ideologies, second, postEnlightenment occult organizations which are regarded as alternatives to traditional religion and Time and time again, history has proven to us that those in power have had the luxury of altering history to their benefit, painting themselves in good light and their enemies in bad. Then, as all things do, this history is passed down years, decades, and eventually centuries, until their original authors and contemporaries are a mere shadow of the past and the layperson does not question the potential biases of this so-called ‘history.’ Let us begin, upon our embarkment of a journey down the rabbit hole of the mystical, by defining Esotericism in our context of religious practices. The term denotes three conceptions: first, an enchanted pre-Enlightenment view of the world rooted in ancient ideologies, second, postEnlightenment occult organizations which are regarded as alternatives to traditional religion and rational science, and third, an inner spiritual dimension of religion. But perhaps the most widely accepted belief among esoterics is that the root of their knowledge lies in secrets of nature and ancient wisdom that have made their way through the centuries by the wise. Antoine Faivre, a prominent scholar of esotericism, denoted six criteria for a belief to be classified Time and time again, history has proven to us that those in power have had the luxury of altering history to their benefit, painting themselves in good light and their enemies in bad. Then, as all things do, this history is passed down years, decades, and eventually centuries, until their original authors and contemporaries are a mere shadow of the past and the layperson does not question the potential biases of this so-called ‘history.’ Let us begin, upon our embarkment of a journey down the rabbit hole of the mystical, by defining Esotericism in our context of religious practices. The term denotes three conceptions: first, an enchanted pre-Enlightenment view of the world rooted in ancient ideologies, second, post-

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II.II The

Fool’s Journey — Chronology

Four Dancing Muses Gian Marco Cavalli c. 1497 CE

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Gnosis

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Our arduous journey into the timeline of esotericism begins with one simple notion on which every esoteric group has placed great emphasis:

Gnōsis. The origins of esotericism can be traced back to Hellenistic culture of the late antiquity, where aspects of Greek philosophy and Ancient Egyptian, Persian, and Hebrew religious practices were borrowed to create a wholistic religious worldview. The notable thinkers of this worldview widely believed that Plato’s philosophy was rooted in the same eclectic mixture of ideologies, and so, during the late Hellenistic period, this unique religious worldview emerged based on Platonism, full with its own internal mythologies and rituals. The goal of its adherents and believers is to attain salvational gnōsis: knowledge of spiritual truth which shall liberate the human soul from the shackles of the material realm and reunite with the divine mind. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

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Nag Hammadi Codices c. 2nd - 4 th century BCE Ancient Egypt

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It is the year 1945, near the town of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. An ancient earthenware jar is unearthed by a pair of Egyptian shepherds. Inside this jar lies a secret collection of ancient texts written by a mysterious religious group derivative of early Christianity. The texts told foreign stories of God and Jesus that were wildly different to those of the New Testament. These, are the Gnōstics. (Isbouts, 2017)

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Gnosticism

Let us open the gates into the whimsical world of the esoterics by jumping head-first into the rabbit-hole that is the timeline of esotericism, and here with the Gnostics, it begins. The belief in gnōsis also pervaded Christian theology in the 2nd century CE and was viewed positively by some Church fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, under the name Gnōsticism. This emerging religious belief was believed to borrow ideologies from Zoroastrianism, various Near Eastern sects, and more largely, Neoplatonism.

Gnōsticism’s central tenet was that humans contain a piece of the Divine spark, God, who has fallen into their mortal bodies. Gnōstics were heavily influenced by Plato’s theories of the universe, adopting the belief that God, the highest Good, existed in the immaterial world and is Perfect, therefore this imperfect world we live in as mortals could not have possibly been created by God. Instead, an inferior and evil power, the Demi-Urge, created our flawed material world as a prison for the soul to thwart humans’ attempts to realize their divine identity. (Isbouts, 2017)

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card I: The Magician: “The Magician is the force that allows us to impact the world through a concentration of individual will and power. Tap into your full potential rather than holding back” -Bunning

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Gnōstic mythology details the story of how sparks of the divine light became imprisoned in our world, and only through the pursuit of gnōsis, specifically secret, intuitive knowledge of our divine origin, can we escape and return to our divine home of Light, and surpass the Demi-Urge’s helpers’, the archons, attempts at preventing us from rising through the heavenly spheres after we perish. However, this secret gnōsis was regarded as potentially dangerous and so could only be revealed to those who are worthy. Since everything in the material world will inevitably decay, it is therefore evil. This gnōsis must then come from outside the evil material world through a saviour: Christ.

The Poem of the Soul Louis Janmot c. 1835 - 1881 CE

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Pythagoreans Celebrate Sunrise Fyodor Bronikov c. 1869 CE

Although, yes, this esoteric view of religion is what gives Gnōsticism its mystical flair that intrigues us, it was precisely the same esoteric view that caused its adherents to be later prosecuted as heretics by the Church. (Isbouts, 2017)

The concepts found in Gnōsticism are similar to the modern philosophical concepts of Existentialism; to attain gnōsis, Gnōstics constantly engaged in the search for answers to questions such as ‘Who am I?’ ‘Where did I come from?’ ‘What is the meaning of life?’ ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What is my true self?’ (Denova, 2021)

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He is neither perfection, nor blessedness, nor divinity, but he is something far superior to that. He also neither infinite nor limited, but he is something superior to that. He is neither corporeal nor incorporeal, he is neither large nor small, he has neither quantity nor quality, nor is anybody able to know him. He is in no way anything that exists but he is superior to that, not simply superior but wholly being on his own. He does not share in eternity, time does not belong to him ................................ The immeasurable Greatness, the Eternal One, the giver of eternity, the Light, the giver of light, Life, the giver of life, the Blessed One, the giver of blessedness, Knowledge, the giver of knowledge, the One who is always Good, the giver of goodness . . . Mercy which gives mercy, Grace which gives grace, the immeasurable Light.

—Apocryphon of John, Gnostic Texts

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NeoPlatonism

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& Theurgy

In the third century CE, a modern form of Platonism was developed by Plotinus, a major Hellenistic Greek philosopher, called Neoplatonism, and it was the final form of pagan Greek philosophy. (Armstrong, 2000) Neoplatonists believed that the world operates in a hierarchical descending order, the last of which is the physical universe. Its earliest testimonies are the Chaldaean Oracles, a collection of obscure oracular declarations in Homeric hexameters by Julian the Theurgist. Theurgy, which was a practice similar to magic, is closely associated with the birth of Neoplatonism. It involved ritual uses of material items and verbal expressions. Perhaps the most important distinction between theurgy and magic, is that theurgy was used for a religious aim – a union with the Divine.

Iamblichus

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card II: The High Priestess: “The mysterious unconscious, creativity, secrets, mystery, the future as yet unrevealed” -Bunning & Waite

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Not many surviving sources about theurgy describe its specifics, but it is believed to have involved rituals in which the Divine would connect with the practitioners and manifest themselves to the Neoplatonists. One of the most central theurgist authorities, Iamblichus, explained that the theurgist uses ‘ineffable symbols’ to communicate with the Divine as these symbols could only be understood by the Gods, and in this communication with symbols, the Gods would ‘lift the theurgist’s mind up to the reality of the Divine.’ It is through these practices that theurgists and Neoplatonists sought to attain gnōsis. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

School of Athens Raphael c. 1509 - 1511 CE

Plotinus

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“And you, Tat, Asclepius, and Ammon, cover the divine mysteries with silence in the secrets of the heart, and conceal them with stillnes.” — Hermes Trismegistus, Asclepius

Asclepius

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Emerald Tablet

“That which is below is as that which is above, and that which is above is as that which is below, to perform the miracles of the one thing.” — Hermes Trismegistus, Emerald Tablet

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Hermeticism

We attempt to traverse, in this book of stories, into the origins and history of esotericism, yes, for the selfish sake of indulging the imagination in a modern disenchanted world, but we must also not commit the crime of forgetting to give these histories their due importance in the influence of many modern mystical practices, for many of the things we are intrigued and bewitched by today, have their very origins in our current esoteric religion of interest: Hermeticism. The muse behind astrology, Qabalah, Tarot, Alchemy, and Sympathetic Magick, as well as modern religious revivals such as Wicca, is Hermeticism, and so we place great emphasis on it in this exploration of the lineage of esotericism. (Michelle, 2020) It is 1463, Macedonia. A monk rediscovers a mystical collection of writings: Corpus Hermeticum. Conceived in the second or third century CE and even as early as the first century BCE in ancient Hellenistic Egypt, the texts were entirely lost during the Middle Ages, until their rediscovery during the Renaissance. The monk brought the texts to the court of Cosmo de Medici in Florence, and soon after it was translated to Latin by Florentine philosopher Marsilio Ficino. The author of these mystical texts is Hermes Trismegistus, who was believed to have been a contemporary of Moses, as depicted on the floor mosaics of the Siena Cathedral as the tutor of Moses. These texts, then, revealed not only an esoteric view of the world, but were now verified to be extremely ancient, and therefore beheld precious ancient knowledge worthy of being learnt, and so Hermeticism flourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Some even go as far as to deduce that philosophers such as Plato and Pythagoras derived their teachings from Hermeticism, as they studied in Egyptian Temples.

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card IX: The Hermit: “The search for answers, the need to find deeper truth, looking inward” -Bunning

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The Corpus Hermeticum is the most important of the surviving texts attributed to Hermes, consisting of 17 treatises that detail revelations about astrology, the creation of the world, and the connection between man and spirits, but the teachings of Hermeticism also rely on a larger text in Latin, Asclepius, a list of recipes for astrological medicine, and an initiatic text, the Treatise of the Eighth and Ninth, rediscovered in 1945. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

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Not short of reverence, Hermes Trismegistus and his pupils, Tat, Asclepius, Ammon, Isis, and Horus, the authors of the main texts of Hermeticism, are Greek designations for Egyptian gods, like Thoth and the deified architect Imhotep. The religious texts showed strong philosophical influence from Platonic, Stoic, and Pythagorean tenets. Hermes Trismegistus, in Egyptian belief, was the inventor of writing and the patron of all the arts dependent on it. Nicknamed ‘Hermes the Thrice Greatest,’ he possessed high knowledge of three reigns of nature: mineral, vegetable, and animal. (Bull, 2015) Hermeticism, also referred to as Hermetism, is a worldview riddled with magic, personal experience, and potentials of the imagination. Contrary to the negativity of the universe in Gnosticism, Hermeticism looked at the world with an enchanted eye and reflected a more optimistic perspective of humanity’s potential.

I did promise you that this is a book about stories, so let us take a look into the whimsical creation of the divine cosmos in the ink of Hermes Trismegistus, with the Genesis story that inaugurates the Corpus Hermeticum: The Pymander. Central to the setting of the story is the thought that the primal human was emanated as a Nous, Greek for mind, from the Divine Nous down to the material envelope of the physical realm. Amidst the chaos of creation, the polarity of the cosmos is narrated by The Pymander. Light, elemental fire and air, given masculine attributes, ascended, while darkness, elemental water and earth, given feminine attributes, descended. The Divine source, the great puppeteer behind this, is described as hermaphroditic or androgynous, therefore containing both poles. The source creates the supreme mind, the Nous, which then creates the world and ‘the seven celestial spheres which govern destiny, and [set] into motion the never-ending cycles of nature.’ (Michelle, 2020)

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The central force of the seven spheres is the material earth, and each layer past it is governed by the other planets, the sun, and the moon – the seven wandering gods or stars, which also correspond to the days of the week. This fantastical depiction of the cosmos, which is seen today as foreign and esoteric, still latches on in more ‘accepted’ aspects of modern culture, such as the naming of the weekdays, where, for example, Monday is ‘moon day.’ Although it was the Sumerians who first introduced the 12 month calendar based on their observations of the moon’s movements – the Waxing, Waning, and New Moons, (Davis, 2019) ancient esoterics followed this method and divided the seven spheres into twelve equal sections; the zodiac – and here is the origin of astrology in Hermeticism. (Bull, 2015)

Siena Cathedral Mosaics

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Ascent of the Soul Through the Spheres

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The Hermetic adherent’s goal is to ascend to the divine realm from where it has come down, in order to ‘see’ God, and become absorbed in God. This is achieved through transcending beyond the materiality of worldly attachments, and being reborn as immaterial Light, wherein the soul ascends past the seven spheres into the Eighth and Ninth spheres and then unites with the divine. ‘Once the Hermetist has been reborn and his ‘spiritual eyes are opened,’ he discovers that the divine is invisibly present throughout the whole of creation.’ (Bull, 2015)

“This is the final good for those who have received knowledge [gnosis]: to be made god.” - Pymander To reach this spiritual culmination, the Hermetist must explore the power of his imagination to the fullest, until he finally imagines himself as comprising the entire cosmos, one with eternity, and therefore the Nous that upholds the order of the cosmos. After all, Hermes orated that if one does not make themselves equal to God, they cannot apprehend God; ‘ for like is known by like.’ (Trismegistus, trans. 1471)

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“Now that I have been made unwavering by god,O father, I am visible not to the vision of eyes but to the noetic efficacy of the powers. I am in heaven, in earth, in water, in air; I am in animals, in plants; in the womb, before the womb, after the womb, everywhere!” – Hermes Trismegistus, Corpus Hermeticum

As the story nears its end, Hermes is tasked with spreading the lessons from his vision of the creation of the cosmos, but, as with Gnosticism, only to those who are worthy and equipped to handle this divine knowledge. (Michelle, 2020) And so, naturally, the Hermetists are believed to have defined themselves as superior to the ignorant crowd: ‘the Hermetists follow the way of life and immortality, whereas the many follow the way of death.’ (Bull, 2015) This is where the ‘tradition of the occult mystery school’ is born (Michelle, 2020), and so their occultist sciences will now be our field of focus. ✧

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Occult Sciences / Secrets of Nature

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Astrology

As we’ve established Hermeticism as the basis of astrology and alchemy, it is only natural to give them the privilege of being the first discussed of the occult sciences. In the Hermetic vision of the cosmos, each of the seven sphere and consequent twelve zodiacs, is seen to regulate consciousness, life, aspects of divinity, the body and health, destiny, days of the week, and so forth, and therefore second century BCE ancient Egypt is the birthplace of astrology.

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During that time, it transformed to a causal model of cosmology built on immutable laws of nature which could give deep insight into all the changes and effects in the ‘sublunar world’ in correspondence to the motion of the stars in the seven spheres us ing mathematical models, gaining notoriety as ‘the most comprehensive scientific theory of antiquity.’ (Hanegraaff, 2013) Essentially, the sublunar world – earth, water, air, fire – is unmoving except by the primae causae¬ of the rotation of the stars. You might probably feel this to be a familiar notion, and it is, for if you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘as above, so below,’ then you have learnt of the harmony of the correspondence and mirroring between the sublunar and superlunar worlds.

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Another esoteric take on astrology departs from the stars up above as its pivotal point is the story of shengxiao: the Chinese zodiac. The myth begins when the Jade Emperor – the supreme immortal – endeavoured to create a calendar. To help with this hefty task, he summoned all of Earth’s creatures and challenged them to a race. The first 12 to cross the line in their order were to become the Chinese Zodiac. And thus, the zodiacs the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig were created.

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Chinese Zodiacs

Rather than cycling on a 4 week basis, the 12 chinese zodiacs rotate on a yearly basis starting and ending at Chinese New Year in January/ February. Other scholars believe that this myth was created afterwards and the original reason for the selection of the Zodiac Animals is ‘derived from the ancients’ musings about archetypal animals, people’s personalities and fortunes, and their relationships with one another and years of birth.’ (Jiang, 2021)

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Astrology’s popularity declined until it was later revived in the eleventh century by a rediscovery of Islamic literature on the subject. We can see then that astrology was not only a Western esoteric notion, and it heavily etched itself in Medieval Islamic history, rooted in Arabian, Persian, Babylonian, and Indian traditions, aside from the Hellenistic influences of Hermeticism. One of the most influential Islamic astrologers, Abu Ma’shar, was a prolific writer of astrological treatises which spoke of observing the planetary motions to comprehend the changes in our world – essentially, the same notion of ‘as above, so below’ and the inseparable sublunar and superlunar.

His major treatise Kitab al-Mudkhal al-Kabir is one of the aforementioned rediscovered Islamic literature attributed to reviving astrology in the Renaissance. This revival introduced astral magic: the belief that energy from the stars can be channelled for medical or psychological healing.

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If you look at a Persian calendar today you will see the remnants of the classical zodiac calendar introduced by Omar Khayyam Neyshabouri.

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Zodiac Depictions in Islam

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Horoscope from the book of the birth of Iskandar c.1411

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“Thus you may multiply each stone 4 times and no more for they will then become oyles shining in the dark and fit for magicall uses. You may ferment them with [gold] and [silver], by keeping the stone and metal in fusion together for a day, & then project upon metalls. This is the multiplication of ye stone in vertue. To multiply it in weight ad to it ye first Gold whether Philosophical or vulgar.” — Sir Isaac Newton, c. 1693 ✧

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Alchemy

Here, we briefly leave the sphere of esoteric ideology, and enter the more entrancing sphere of esoteric practice: alchemy and the arcane.

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Images of potions, herbal recipes, and elemental symbols permeate the mind at the mentioning of alchemy. This is no coincidence, for this ancient branch of natural philosophy emerged as predominantly a laboratory practice dealing with the transmutation of substances. Alchemists employed experimental methods in attempt to perfect certain materials, and their absolute purpose was to purify ‘base metals’ into ‘noble metals,’ more specifically gold. Alchemists were therefore consumed by the task of producing a Philosopher’s Stone, an alchemical substance capable of such a transmutation, but it remains myth until this day. This, chrysopoeia, along with creating an elixir of immortality, and a panaceas-remedy of all diseases, were among the most common aims of Alchemists.

What makes alchemy, then, more esoteric, and less scientific or medical, lies in the tendency of alchemists, both Islamic and European, to use cryptic symbolism and cyphers to keep their work in secrecy. Much of the alchemical techniques, theories, and terms are still in use today.

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Much like astrology, alchemy was lost in the early medieval period, only to resurface through Islamic sources in the Middle Ages. (Hanegraaff, 2013) Alchemy in the arab and Islamic realms held capital in the city of Harran, Syria, and was influenced by the Hermetic text The Emerald Tablet. Al Razi, a Persian physician in Baghdad, classified alchemical materials into ‘bodies’ – the metals – stones, vitriols, boraxes, salts, and ‘spirits’ – mercury, sulfur, orpiment, realgar, and sal ammoniac. Jabir ibn Hayyan wrote similar alchemical texts. (Gilbert, 2000)

chrysopoeia

Sufis often used alchemical language ‘to describe the process of spiritual transformation.’ Renowned Sufis utilize alchemical terms in their masterworks, such as Rumi and Al Ghazali, for instance, who produced treatises titled The Alchemy of Happiness. The Sufi master Jabir, the father of Arabic alchemy, learnt the esoteric teachings from his Sheikh Jafaq Sadiq, and his writings went on to influence the advancement of experimental chemistry in 17th century Europe. (Scott, 1983)

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The central belief in transmutation of material substances in alchemy paralleled with religious notions of a spiritual transmutation and rebirth, and so in some regards during the Renaissance, Christ was seen as a metaphorical Philosopher’s Stone ‘through whose action human beings were transmuted from gross materiality into spiritual gold.’ (Hanegraaff, 2013) Many scholars believe that it is impossible to separate alchemy during that period from modern chemistry, which led to the creation of the term ‘chymistry.’

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Jabir Ibn Hayyan

Philosopher’s Stone

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Wherefore, as many of you as come to behold Magick, must be persuaded that the works of Magick are nothing else but the works of Nature, whose dutiful hand-maid Magick is. — Giambattista della Porta, 1658

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De humana physiognomonia Giambattista della Porta

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e.III The Arcane

The Arcane, as it once stood a symbol of all things otherworldly and enchanted, transformed into a symbol of sinister intentions and hellish witchcraft largely due to Jewish and Christian polemics who preached against pagans and their practice of idolatry. (Hanegraaff, 2013) To prove the superiority of their beliefs, these influential religions described magick as a form of contact with pagan deities, who are evil demons trying to deceive humans. This new biased and less whimsical understanding of the Arcane later led to the infamous Witch-hunts and persecutions.

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e.IV Magia Naturalis

/ Natural

Magic

Following this demonization of magick, practitioners in the Middle Ages attempted to shift the narrative to a more wondrous and miraculous phenomenon, not attributed to demons, but to nature, hence the rebranding as magia naturalis: natural magic. Now, the concept of magick hovered between demonism and natural science, rather than just demonism. Once again, like the other occult sciences of astrology and alchemy, this re-emergence of magick and positive interest in it can be traced to the eleventh century where Islamic literature on the subject was rediscovered.

Natural magic, which encompassed astrology, alchemy, astronomy, and chemistry, concerned itself with the study of occult – hidden – qualities of forces of nature that were perceived as mysterious and unexplained at the time, such as magnetism or the moon and the tides, as well as other invisible forces such as the evil eye and the human imagination. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

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Rosicrucianism

As secret societies were flourishing during the Renaissance, Rosicrucianism surfaced into the public eye after the publication of three Rosicrucian manifestoes in 1614. Titled Fama Fraternitatis, the first of the manifestoes contained the work of fifteenth century mystic philosopher Christian Rosenkruz – literally translated from German as ‘cross of roses.’ After journeying through the Middle East and studying occult sciences of Arab, Jewish, and Near Eastern source, Rosenkruz founded a fraternity of the rose cross, and its members believed they held occultic hidden knowledge containing esoteric truths of ancient societies so that it would not get lost. This secret wisdom was thought to reveal the true workings of the universe and the human body. This fascination with ancient wisdom about the human body in turn sent the members of the brotherhood off into the world outside their secret society in attempt to cure and heal the sick. The manifesto detailed an esoteric procedure of secret medical knowledge which the Rosicrucians believed could help unify mankind. (Isbouts, 2017)

Here, history shows us that it works in mysterious ways, for perhaps the only reason we are able to even know of this secret society is the discovery of a secret crypt in Rosenkruz’s house by a member of the brotherhood, which contained, alongside his preserved body, esoteric texts of secret information. This is when the Rosicrucians announced their existence to society, and their ambitions to bring on a reformation based on ancient hermetic and related knowledge. (Hanegraaff, 2013) ✧

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Although aside from the texts there lies no evidence of the fraternity’s existence, their example influenced the formation of other secret societies, such as ‘the mystical order rosae cruis, founded in 1915 [that is] still active today.’ (Isbouts, 2017)

First Master’s Cross brought to America by the first group of Rosicrucians to settle there in 1694.

Christian Rosenkruz

The Temple of the Rose Cross Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens c. 1618 CE

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“Masonic labor is purely a labor of love. He who seeks to draw Masonic wages in gold and silver will be disappointed. The wages of a Mason are in the dealings with one another; Sympathy begets sympathy, kindness begets kindness helpfulness begets helpfulness, and these are the wages of a Mason. — Benjamin Franklin

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Freemasonry

A favorite target of conspiracy theorists who blamed them for the disbanding of traditional religious and political authority (Hanegraaff, 2013), the secret society of Freemasonry is our next point of interest, but please, fellow reader, do not fall into the trap of the aforementioned conspiracies, lest you let your partialities murk the stories in this book. In the wake of the Enlightenment, some began to view the Church as a hurdle to the free pursuit of science and progress and that this was unhealthy to mankind. After all, the bloodshed of the Thirty Years’ War, the Inquisition, and the suppression of the Protestants to solidify the power of the Church was more than enough reason for people to start to rationalize that those who thirst for power in the Church’s name were moving us backward. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

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And so, as the antithesis to the Church, a nonreligious and nonpolitical society emerged in the seventeenth century as Freemasonry, in hopes to form new moral and spiritual values in mankind through a series of ceremonies and rituals which held a strong relationship with architectural symbolism, the perfect building being Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Through these rituals, the members could advance through the ranks, starting at Apprentice, to Journeyman, and working their way to Master Mason. (Isbouts, 2017) This initiate society was instigated by medieval guilds of stonemasons who have traveled and therefore gained a liberal understanding of the world different to that of their own local culture. Freemasons became a sort of society within a society, its secrecy harboring a sense of brotherhood and protection from outside scrutiny of traditional organizations. This secrecy also donned upon the society an air of mysticism and mystery, and up until the eighteenth century, they were thought to be practitioners of alchemy and beholders of secrets of antiquity, including the Philosopher’s Stone. (Hanegraaff, 2013) Today, some two million members of Freemasons exist. ✧ 106 ✧

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King Edward VII

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King Edward VIII

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First Masonic Lodge in Damascus, Syria c. 1920

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Modernist Occult

We ask ourselves, now, how did these esoteric groups multiply exponentially all of a sudden starting at the eighteenth century? The answer is the media revolution: couple the church’s deteriorating ability to control and censor these voices with bodies of esoteric texts becoming available to much larger audiences, and we understand how this phenomenon of fascination with the esoteric exploded.

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card XI: Justice: “This is a time of decision for the Fool. He is making important choices. Will he remain true to his insights, or will he slip back into an easier, more unaware existence that closes off further growth?” -Bunning

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g.I Animal Magnetism / Mesmerism Perhaps the early esoteric mother of psychology, the theory and practice of animal magnetism spread rapidly throughout the eighteenth century. Invented by Franz Anton Mesmer, this theory of healing was later renamed Mesmerism after him. Mesmerism claimed that all organic bodies contained invisible fluids that kept us balanced, and that any illnesses were due to blockages or disturbances in its flow. The healer would then make passes over the body of the sick to restore the normal circulation of universal energy.

Marquis de Puysegur, a follower of Mesmer’s, found that this mesmeric healing could lead to a sleeplike trance through which patients gained paranormal abilities and claimed to communicate with spiritual beings on different levels of reality. This is the phenomenon of artificial somnambulism, which as we traverse the interdisciplinary study of esotericism and psychology, we will revisit. (Hanegraaff, 2013) ✧

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Franz Anton Mesmer

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g.II Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Around the same time, an initiatic secret society devoted to pursuing occult, metaphysical, and paranormal knowledge and practice based on the kabbalistic Sephirot came to fruition, known as the magical order. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which housed the most notorious occultist magician of the twentieth century Aleister Crowley, concerned itself with theurgy, and the focus was on the inner development of the magician rather than on influencing the outside world with their magic. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

Similar to Masonic lodges, the Hermetic Order was based on hierarchy and a system of ranks. The First Order focused on the four classical elements, astrology, tarot divination, and geomancy. The Second or Inner Order, Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, focused on magic, scrying, astral travel, and alchemy. Finally, the Third Order, the Secret Chiefs, were highly skilled and directed the activities of the lower orders.

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Complete Symbol of the Rose and Cross

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II.IIh The Esoterics of Influential Religions

Beware, fellow on this journey, from the imprudence of shunning esotericism as a practice of the heretics, for I am here to show you that esotericism is not of a sinister breed, but it is a natural – and arguably beautiful in this utterly human and unifying regard – result of human curiosity which also entangles itself in the world’s biggest institutionalized religions. For if you thought you could ‘escape’ the esoterics by turning to these more influential religions, here is where you are very wrong. Behold

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the esoterics of the institution.

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card V: The Hierophant: “seeking a deeper meaning, having a belief system, learning a religious tradition, following a discipline, identifying with a group, joining an organization, feeling loyal to others” -Bunning

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Kabbalah — Judaism

The Kabbalah encompasses the large body of esoteric knowledge described as Jewish mysticism. The term Kabbalah stands for ‘receiving;’ as in receiving the mystical, esoteric knowledge of God. The Kabbalah is quite convoluted for an orthodox practitioner to decipher, and the knowledge it holds is typically secretive and guarded only for those who have been initiated, and then passed down in a lineage. A Kabbalist esoteric differs from the previous esoterics we have studied as the Jewish mystic here is not the ‘individual seeker’ figure who follows a solitary path towards mystical knowledge, rather, the Kabbalist is a meticulous student who uses traditional scripture to decode mystical and esoteric interpretations from the scripture revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. In this careful study, the Kabbalist may turn to metaphysics, astrology, and magic to produce unorthodox interpretations of the world. (Oliver, 2009)

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The main Kabbalist belief lies in the Sephirot. Although yes, like other monotheistic religions, Kabbalists believe that everything in the universe can be attributed to one single God; however, this God has two facets further divided into ten aspects of the sephirot. Kabbalistic Prayer Book Italy c. 1803 CE

The Sephirot

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The first facet of God is his power, which lies beyond the perception of human beings, and the second is a more imminent facet which interacts with man and the world. The sephirot denotes the ten aspects of God used in the creation process which us mere human beings can perceive. If we behave in an ethical manner, God uses these aspects of Himself to improve our condition, but if we behave unethically, God can withdraw aspects of the sephirot. (Oliver, 2009)

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When it comes to the esoteric books of the Kabbalists, the Torah is always the starting point. Its analysis became Oral Law passed from generation to generation, and was eventually scribed in the Mishnah, which was later analyzed to create the Talmud. The Zohar, the most important Kabbalistic body of work, is a commentary on the Torah.

Shekinah, the image of the Divine Feminine

Jewish Kabbalists c. 1641 CE

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A collection of works in Aramaic and Hebrew, the Zohar shows a concept of God which can be perceived as two opposing facets of male and female. The Zohar also conceptualizes the world as composed of two opposing elements, the exoteric and the esoteric. This esoteric aspect of the empirical world is what allows Jewish esoterics of Kabbalah to inherit a mystical understanding of a hidden world within Judaism which can gain them a closer and more personal relationship with God. (Oliver, 2009)

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Cosmic Rose engraving from Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae Heinrich Khunrath c. 1595 CE

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Naturphilosophie & Theosophy — Christianity

Paracelsus

Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, dubbed Paracelsus, was a fifteenth and sixteenth century physician and Seer who revived perennial tradition. He proposed that physicians must learn from nature, combining alchemical literature with ancient esoteric healing methods. Paracelsus redefined medical terminology and added mercury, sulfur, and salt to complement the four elements of nature. This developed to a form of natural religion with adherents of the so-called Paracelsian Tradition rising in numbers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

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Madame Helena Blavatsky

During that period, cobbler Jacob Bohme conceptualized a dramatic cosmology which brought together ideas from Paracelsianism and alchemy to explain how a good God could create a world teeming with evil. Bohme’s opus work soon became the foundation of Christian theosophy.

Jacob Bohme

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Theosophy is an esoteric form of Christian mystic understanding which believes in hidden and secret wisdom of ancient knowledge to attain salvation. The term itself is derived from the Greek theosophia; theos meaning God or Divine and Sophia meaning wisdom – Divine Wisdom. In 1875, Madame Helena Blavatsky, renowned religious philosopher and occultist, co-founded the Theosophical Society. The Theosophical Society strived to form a universal brotherhood of humanity without division based on race, creed, sex, caste, or colour, to study comparative religion, philosophy, and science, and to investigate esoteric and inexplicable universal phenomena.

Following these principles and teachings, the society’s seal consisted of a swastika, an ancient religious symbol of divinity in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, a Star of David, an Ankh, an Om, and an Ouroboros, which stood for wholeness and infinity. ✧

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The Works of Jacob Bohme Dionysius Andreas Freher c. 18th century CE

The central philosophical tenet of theosophy is the intelligent evolution of all existence, wherein humanity’s evolution on earth and beyond is occurring on a cosmic scale and overseen by ‘the masters of the ancient wisdom,’ a hidden spiritual hierarchy of advanced spiritual beings. These masters played a hand in forming the Theosophical Society in attempt to guide humanity towards attaining perfection and willful participation in the cosmic evolutionary process. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

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— Islam An esoteric Muslim is first and foremost a Muslim, and thereafter a Sufi. The term originates from the clothing this esoteric group would wear: wool cloaks; the Arabic word for wool being Suf. Sufiism is different from the Kabbalist and Theosophist in that they are not lone seekers, but they rely upon personal tuition from a sheikh – a spiritual leader of sorts. The knowledge Sufis study can be traced back in a clear line of procession to the prophet Muhammad PBUH and is transmitted forward in this lineage from master to student on a personal, one-toone level.

Sufis not only wish to behold esoteric knowledge of scripture, but they also endeavor to achieve a close and personal relationship with God through long and arduous tuition with the sheikh. This scholar and apprentice relationship is not simply a transmission of knowledge, it is a much more personal relationship which joins these two esoterics, as the apprentice of Sufiism will likely remain with the same sheikh till their demise.

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Portrait of a Sufi Sheikh c. 1670 CE

Sufis do more than just study scripture meticulously, and the sheikh often makes the student perform rigorous routine physical and community work to eliminate a sense of ego and humble the seeker, forgetting feelings of self-importance.

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Of the many practices of Sufis, dhikr, concentrating the mind on God through repetition of His names silently or accompanied by dance and music as a ceremony, is the most widely known. The sheikh may guide the Sufi scholar into forms of breath control and breathing meditation to concentrate the mind. The ultimate goal of dhikr is fana, destroying the obsession with the material world and the self and attaining a spiritual purification with an absolute concentration on God.

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The Dhikr Eugene Baugnies c. 1842 - 1891 CE “a group of men, seated in a semi-circle on straw mats in a mosque courtyard, practice dhikr, entranced by a Sufi mystic and the mesmerizing sound of flute and tambourine.”

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Jalal-e-Din Rumi, one of the most important Sufi esoterics, developed a train of thought that aimed for union with God: tawhid. He was a highly influential Sufi figure as he advocated for poetry and dance to accompany spiritual life and developed the ‘whirling dance’ which is so we immediately think of when we hear the term Sufi nowadays. The whirling is a metaphor for the gradual ascension towards tawhid.

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Another important Sufi who contributed to the esoteric movement is Rabia Al-Basri, who developed the idea of ‘love for God’ rather than ‘fear of God.’ (Oliver, 2009)

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“As for the center, that is the essence. As for the circumference, that is grasping, thus grasping the essence. — Wayman, Introduction to the Buddhist Tantric Systems

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Vision of Serene Deities c. 19th century CE

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— Hinduism & Buddhism

Esoteric Buddhism manifests predominantly as Tantric Buddhism and Vajrayana, which emerged later than the Mahayana. Vajrayana is common in the Himalaya region, like Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. The goal of the Vajrayana mystic is to achieve enlightenment faster than the conventional Buddhist, perhaps in a single lifetime, and this is done in two ways: practicing esoteric techniques which aren’t available outside the Vajrayana groups, and the guidance of an experienced guru. The heart of esoteric Vajrayana is Tantra. Tantric methods, found in Hinduism as well as Buddhism, entails harnessing the spiritual energy of the universe and utilizing it for the disciple’s spiritual benefit. The philosophy of Tantra states that all humans possess a degree of this energy within them but do not know how to use it, and so this tantric approach exists to enable the disciple to take advantage of this energy through rites and practices. (Oliver, 2009)

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Tantrism originated in India and is often associated with Shaivism. Although Vajrayana, nicknamed Tantrayana due to its heavy influence from Tantrism, deals with esoteric practices which ‘appear to depart sharply from central Buddhist precepts,’ it is an alternative route towards salvational enlightenment with special rites of initiation a nonesoteric Buddhist wouldn’t have access to. Matric formulas, incantations, and rituals are performed to unify with the deity and transcend beyond this sphere of being.

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Mural of Avolokitesevara, Worshipping Bodhisattvas and Mendicant. c. 618-907 CE

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Mahayana Buddhists believe that each of us possesses the ‘Buddha-nature,’ and through certain teachings we can learn to uncover it. Esoterics of the Tantrayana retain this belief, however at even further levels of conviction and practices to unveil it. (Lieberman, 2003)

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One such practice potentially familiar to you, fellow journeyman, is the Tantric Mandala, which holds the key to understanding Tantric esotericism. A mandala is ‘the energy grid that represents the constant flow of divine and demonic, human and animal impulses in the universe as they interact in both constructive and destructive patterns.’ The Tantric Mandala, or dkyil khor, is a mesocosm, somewhere between the universal macrocosm and individual microcosm.

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Dkyil khor is loosely translated to ‘center-circumference,’ a title which depicts both the geometric structure and spiritual significance of the Mandala, where the supreme deity, celestial Buddha who is no longer in this world, is placed at the center as the source of the energy in the grid, where, in the absence of his physical body from this realm, his enlightened body manifests in the Mandala. (George, n.d.)

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These Mandalas are then used in the rituals of tantric initiation, where they are constructed from coloured sand and carefully placed on a platform. The significance of the sand is that the Tantric Mandala is a temporary transient structure which is destroyed after the initiation ritual and poured into a nearby stream or river, so it is only logical to construct it with impermanent materials such as the grains of sand. (George, n.d.)

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The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes another tantric practice which requires a process of dying as a vehicle for enlightenment using meditative techniques as the mind is believed to be sensitive to meditation at the time of death. The tantric tradition in the Book of the Dead details different conscious and semiconscious states between death and rebirth. Once you are reborn, you attain Buddhahood, or enlightenment, and become the Bodhisattva, which is either a person who has attained enlightenment or is so close to it and can use their knowledge to aid others in escaping the endless cycle of rebirth.

Bardo Thodol Tibetaln Book of the Dead c. 8th century CE

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Something we have not seen as often in our journey down the esoteric path is the idea that esoteric teachings are only transmitted to those who are ready and worthy, and Vajrayana measures this through a process of initiation, where potential seekers are warned from studying Vajrayana until they are properly initiated. (Oliver, 2009)

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The Wiccan Wheel of Days The sacred Wiccan Wheel of Days is magickal with ancient ways. Throughout the solar year it turns; we celebrate, we grow, we learn. With every moon and every morn the Pagan magick is reborn, and like a Witches’ circle cast the power of the Wheel is vast. With every fleeting minute and hour the Goddess weaves Her web of power, guiding us into Her light where love is the law and sacred is life. Magickal with ancient ways is the Wiccan Wheel of Days, and as the fires of time do burn forever shall the Great Wheel turn. (Dunwich 1997)

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II.IIi Contemporary Esotericism & Revival We finally disembark at the pinnacle of our journey into the mysteries of esotericism and find ourselves traversing into Neopaganism: the esoterics of today and tomorrow. We have ventured thus far to learn about the history of esotericism and enchanted worldviews and can finally focus our devotion to understanding and appreciating the workings of today’s revival of this history.

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card X: Wheel of Fortune : “a symbol of the mysterious universe whose parts work together in harmony, turning point, The Fool’s perspective is wider, and he sees himself within the grander scheme of a universal plan. His sense of purpose is restored.” -Bunning

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Any of the current religious movements that aim to revive ancient knowledge and beliefs of pre-Christian polytheistic religions of Europe and the Middle East fall under Neopaganism. The revival is of an eclectic mix of religious practices from American Indians, African based Santeria, Tibetan Buddhism, ancient Egyptians, Greco-Romans and more, with many Neopagans believing in Greek deities or one great Goddess. The interest in other religious idioms allows them to create this personalized religious identity they are seeking, while still being rooted in ancient traditions. (Pike, 2001)

Mostly a revival of nature religions, Neopaganism harbors an extreme reverence towards nature and its adherents emphasize on ecological awareness and ideals, having been instigators of many a sustainability movement. Neopagans also strive for harmony and unity between humans and nature and creating healthier communities without intolerance, which explains their contribution to progressive social, political, and feminist activism.

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The Works of Jacob Bohme Dionysius Andreas Freher c. 18th century CE

According to religion scholars, the revival began around the 1960s, when spirituality was heading towards a more personalized experience ‘in which moral and religious authority increasingly became located in the self rather than in external sources.’ The latter began facing rejection and was favoured by a right to finding a religion that meet’s one’s specific spiritual needs on a more personal and less collective manner, a sort of ‘progressive democratization of personhood’ in a religious context.

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Since this relatively new religious revival puts the self and its spiritual needs at its center, the self has been reexamined and its description in a Neopagan frame is very distinct. You see, some aspects of the self are viewed as universal. Take the astrological self, which as it is tied to the cosmos, is predestined to have certain characteristics, while other aspects of the self are more influenced by nurture and culturally constructed through interactions with others. This diverse self also encompasses who a person is and wants to be, the boundless astral-self encountered through guided meditation, which ‘moves through spirit worlds and interacts with deities and spirits,’ and the soul which has lingered from many past lives before, touching on Hindu and Buddhist notions of reincarnation and karma. (Pike, 2001)

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The three aspects of the Neopagan Triple Goddess: Maiden, Mother, & Crone

Wiccan Pentacle depicting the five elements: Spirit, Earth, FIre, Water, Air In a sociological study titled ‘Social Dimensions of Occult Participation,’ respondents who identified as part of the neopagan revival were asked about their interests pertaining to their spiritual beliefs. The most common interest, at 35% and 18% respectively, were astrology and parapsychology, followed by reincarnation, spiritualism, eastern religions, witchcraft, sorcery, and palmistry, with no participants showing interest in Satanism, and over 80% believe in God or a Higher Power. The sociologist conducting the study concluded that younger demographics were shifting into this new territory of religious expression with interests in the occult, esoteric, secret, and ancient knowledge. (Hartman, 1976) ✧ 160 ✧

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Pentacle Protector in Gesture of Blessing and Union with Divine & Human Natures

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Although ‘pagan’ was a term used in a derogatory manner by monotheistic religions to discredit their beliefs and paint them as an ‘other,’ it finds itself amidst a wake of reappropriation by Neopagans as a source of pride against traditional religious and political authority. Much misrepresentation exists about Neopagans as a result of the stigmatized terms used to describe themselves and their rituals, like adherents referring to themselves as ‘witches’ performing ‘spells’ or ‘magick.’ In reality, the former title is used to reclaim what has accumulated centuries of fear and demonization, but because the images this title conjures up are powerful, ‘they are [also] powerfully contested.’ (Pike, 2001) However, this again is just a matter of reclamation, as Neopagans practice the latter as a form of prayer and personal spiritual development, not for harm on others. In response to this mass-media misrepresentation and accusations of worshipping Satan, some Neopagans have gone as far as organizing anti-defamation leagues, such as the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League. (Hartman, 1976)

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As it is based on great reverence to nature, Neopagan festivals and rituals mimic the turning pattern of the seasons, a mystery of the Divine, in the wheel of the year.

“Just as Nature is both male and female, so the seasonal celebrations describe the dance between Goddess and God throughout the Wheel of the Year.” (Pike, 2001)

The biggest Neopagan groups existing today are the Church of All Worlds, worshipping the earth-mother Goddess Feraferia, Pagan Way, the Reformed Druids of North America, the Church of the Eternal Source – reviving ancient Egyptian religion – and the Viking Brotherhood, however, Neopagan beliefs and practices are also common amongst those who practice other religions, as aspects of Neopaganism seem appealing to environmental activists and feminists. (Brittanica, 1998)

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Fellow journeyman on this quest , always look for the Mysterium around you.

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card XXII: The World: “The Fool becomes actively involved in the world, sharing his unique gifts and talents” -Bunning

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II.IIIa Esoteria of the Unconscious Mind We can now surely agree, me and you fellow on this journey, that esotericism has historically paved many a way for modern science and medicine to progress. Psychology is one such scientific field that can give much credit to esoteric and occultic practices for its development. Recalling esoteric practices of the modernist occult, artificial somnambulism, which belonged to mesmerism, has had direct impact on many major new developments in the field of psychology. Firstly, the Spiritualist religious movement was made possible by the introduction of the technique of somnambulic trance induction as it allowed regular people to ‘satisfy their curiosity about the ‘invisible world’ and survival after death without any need for mediation by the church.’ (Hanegraaff, 2013)

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Spiritualism Still from Dr Mabuse c. 1922 CE

Later scientific curiosity about the claims of the Spiritualism religious movement became the fields that we now know of as psychical research and parapsychology as physicians were intrigued by using the technique to study the human soul and its powers empirically.

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The Fox Sisters Spiritualism Movement

Secondly, the historical chronology of esotericism we have studied thus far can be traced in a single straight line towards the development of experimental psychology and psychiatry in the 1900s.

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Secondly, the historical chronology of esotericism we have studied thus far can be traced in a single straight line towards the development of experimental psychology and psychiatry in the 1900s. Starting with Gnosis and Neoplatonism in late antiquity, we can trace a spiritual tradition towards medieval alchemy, to Renaissance Paracelsianism, to Romantic mesmerism, to experimental psychology of Charcot, Flournoy, and others, finally towards modern Jungian psychology. The concept of the unconscious, which Jungian psychology placed emphasis on, first reared its head in German Romantic mesmerist literature in the nineteenth century.

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Une Leçon Clinique à la Salpêtrière depicting Charcot demonstrating hypnosis to cure mental illnesses Pierre Aristide Andre Brouillet c. 1887 CE

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Carl Gustav Jung, founder of analytical psychology, studied Gnosticism and subsequently combined psychology with myth and symbolism, producing an enchanted psychology in a growing disenchanted world. He detailed a mysterious energy which we all possess, psychic energy, as the motivational source for one’s spiritual, intellectual, and creative endeavors. (Mcleod, 2018) In his theories, he created a bridge between modern psychology and esotericism. (Allen, 2018) Thirdly, mesmerism’s artificial somnambulism led to the religious movement of ‘mind over matter’ of New Thought. Also called Mind Cure, New Thought’s origins lay in Phineas P. Quimby’s mesmerist research who moved away from the fluidic theory of Mesmer to explain artificial somnambulism, and instead emphasized the omnipotent power of belief.

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Emma Curtis Hopkins who, after Quimby’s death, organized New Thought & turned it into a national movement c. 1849 – 1925 CE

In our contemporary world, these ideas which were instigated by mesmerists and developed into Mind Cure resulted in a milieu of selfhelp books and the psychological notion that ‘we create our own reality’ with our beliefs. (Hanegraaff, 2013) Today, perhaps due to the rise of psychoanalysis and behaviourism, academic psychology disassociated itself from the occult, leaving its entanglement with the esoteric in the past.

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Fellow reader, allow me to present to you the case of how the esoteric manifests in the film industry. Let’s begin with the industry giant Hollywood. One of the most iconic symbols of the entertainment industry, Hollywood has become a whole encompassing term that denotes most of Western cinema. Originally a tool for esoterics to practice magic, Hollywood was used by the Druids as material for magical wands. (Rozier, 2019)

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If you reminisce upon your Disney watching days, you will remember the iconic scene of Mickey Mouse motioning with a wand and spraying magical stars to christen any movie.

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Riddled with themes of magic and the whimsical, Disney rose to become the movie mogul it is now by tapping into this innate desire for enchantment I emphasize so wholly throughout this journey. It is safe to say that it would not have become the empire it is today had it not created a fantastical, otherworldly universe full of magic and mystique. Perhaps the reason it is so successful is because it appealed to this insatiable curiosity specifically in children, that which grows fainter and fainter as we enter adulthood, and planted a magical seed in each and every one of us; it is left to us, then, whether we nurture this seed and let it thrive or leave it to rot.

Two Druids Walk in the English Countryside Engraving c. 18th century CE

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Still from Bewitched c. 1964 - 1972 CE

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Classic Egyptian Cinema Film Al-Ins Wal-Jin which tells the story of a genie falling in love with a human c. 1985 CE

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Classic Egyptian Cinema FilmThe Secret of the Vanishing Cap which tells the story of a cap with magical powers c. 1959 CE

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Classic Egyptian Cinema Film Afrita Hanem which tells the story of a woman who turns to a goblin for help with marrying her lover, but the goblin seduces the lover instead c. 1947 CE

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In shorter media of film, such as those which are the concerns of marketeers, there exist a rule which alludes to esoteric teachings: the Rule of 7’s. The Rule of 7’s states that a viewer must see a message seven times to cement their acceptance of it enough to be provoked to take action. (Kruse, 2021) As you shall soon come to learn in the next chapters, the number seven holds many powerful esoteric connotations, and so this link may prove the gift the esoterics have provided towards the field of film.

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The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the 17th Century Stanislas Klossowski de Rola c. 1988 CE

Grillot de Givry’s 1973 Illustrated Anthology of Sorcery, Magic, and Alchemy, Stanislas Klossowski de Rola’s 1988 The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century, Alexander Roob’s 1997 Alchemy and Mysticism: The Hermetic Museum…The contributions of the esoterics towards the discipline of visual arts are plenty, and there can be no denial that esoteric art pervades literary illustrations.

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Illustrated Anthology of Sorcery, Magic, and Alchemy Grillot de Givry c. 1973 CE

But aside from the fascinating imagery about esotericism that we can find in the realm of visual arts, there exist also many an art movement that was influenced by the occult and its adherents.

Alchemy and Mysticism: The Hermetic Museum Alexander Roob c. 1997 CE

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Witches’ Flight Goya c. 1798 CE

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The Cyclops Odilon Redon c. 1914 CE

Marsilio Ficino’s writings – recall him from the very influential esoteric movement of Hermeticism – for instance, have been said by scholars to have inspired Botticelli’s Primavera, Raphael’s School of Athens, and the works of Michelangelo. (Hanegraaff, 2013) Christian Theosophist Emanuel Swedenborg’s esoteric work influenced nineteenth and twentieth century art, including Idealistic Romanticism and Gothic Romanticism.

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In the twentieth century Surrealist movement, we see a dramatic increase in the appearance of the occult in art, especially that focusing on Mesmer’s somnambulism and alchemical allusions, like the surrealist art of Ithel Colquhon, who was a practicing magician.

Malevich, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Arp, Klee, and Duchamp, the pioneers of the Abstraction art movement, connected their work to spiritual and esoteric themes, and Hilma af Klint, artist of some of the earliest abstract paintings, was a self-proclaimed esotericist and a spiritualist medium who was shunned as a ‘crazy witch’ during her time. (Jeffries, 2020)

In Contemporary Art, there are many nods to the esoteric and the occult. For instance, the Avant Gard artist Joseph Beuys places hidden references to alchemy and shamanism in his work.

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Altarpiece No.1 Hilma af Klint c. 1907 CE

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The Swan Hilma af Klint c. 1915 CE

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Dance of the Nine Opals Ithel Colquhon c. 1942 CE

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A Visitation Ithel Colquhon c. 1944 CE

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Cascade Joseph Beuys c. 1954 CE

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Viewing architecture as an extension of art, Rudolf Steiner, esotericist, occultist, mystic, and clairvoyant, developed his spiritual views into a field he called anthroposophy, and he later used these esoteric principles to design a school for spiritual science, the Geotheanum. (Hanegraaff, 2013) In short, the symbolism and imagery of the esoteric has permeated art and inspired artistic movements, and its influence is heavily intertwined with the progression of art.

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Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Francesco Colonna c. 1499 CE The fascination with the esoteric and occult has given us some of the best and most notable literature to this day. The theme of the occult in literature can be traced back as far as antiquity, as with Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. Believed to have been written around 150-180s CE, the novel displayed themes of the magical and of mystery cults.

In the Renaissance, Francesco Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, celebrated as “one of the most beautiful books to have ever been printed,” follows Poliphilus’ dream-quest for his beloved while simultaneously alluding to many pagan myths and symbolism, reminding us of the prevalence of the movement to revive ancient pagan knowledge of that era. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

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The Evening Before Easter from The Chymical Wedding Johfra Bosschart c. 1919 CE

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Tempest Witch Frank Frazetta c. 1967 CE

Scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Perhaps one of the most recognized authors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Shakespeare bathed his works in themes of the mystical, occult, and esoteric. Some even went as far as to believe he was part of some of these secret societies which he borrowed storylines from for his plays and poetry, such as the Rosicrucians – whose key texts include alchemical novel The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkruz – and Freemasons. He makes hundreds of references to astrology and much of the events his characters face are narrated as either ‘favoured or hindered by the stars.’ (Schumann & Gordon, n.d.) Playwright Sherman Yellen says, ‘in Shakespeare, England may be said to locate its first psychic researcher,’ and that he ‘believed in prophecy, witchcraft, astrology, magic, and ghosts,’ as shown from the themes he chooses for his work. For example, in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he utilized magic to create a mystical atmosphere, and each character experiences magic at some point or another. In The Tempest, the main characters include Prospero, a sorcerer, Ceres, Iris, and Juno, mythological goddesses, Ariel, a spirit of the Air, Sycorax, a witch, and the list of occult and esoteric characters goes on. In Macbeth, we see a flurry of witches, visions, dreams, ghosts, and images of the supernatural. (Schumann & Gordon, n.d.)

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Through the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, we see literature, art, theatre, and opera influenced by Henri de Montfaucon de Villars’ 1670 occultic text Comte de Gabalis. His text also influenced poet Alexander Pope and occult writers such as Helena Blavatsky, who co-founded the esoteric Theosophical society. (Hanegraaff, 2013) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, prominent writer and philosopher, wrote works which referenced alchemy and occult philosophy, such as his twopart tragedy Faust. 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature winner William Butler Yeats was a theosophist turned Hermetic, as he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rainer Maria Rilke, one of the most influential modernist poets of the twentieth century was inspired by contemporary esoteric and occultist ideas. Fernando Pessoa, dubbed the greatest Portuguese writer and poet, wrote with esoteric themes. (Hanegraaff, 2013)

And the list just keeps going, with wellknown literature such as Umberto Eco’s 1988 Foucault’s Pendulum, J.K Rowling’s 1997 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Dan Brown’s 2003 Da Vinci Code…

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Macbeth with the Witches Henri Fuseli c. 1793 CE Professor Brian Levack, early modern American historian and prolific writer on witchcraft, says, ‘ever since classical antiquity, dramatists have used the theme of witchcraft in their literary works… the human exercise of [the] mysterious… has always appealed to audiences.’ (Schumann & Gordon, n.d.)

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Harry Potter J.K Rowling c. 1997 CE

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Faust Goethe c. 1790 CE

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The festival space both expresses and shapes the religious yearnings of participants who are searching for spiritual intensity and utopian community… Neopagans make meaning out of their lives at festival sites by working on a series of boundaries. It is on the boundaries between festival communities and their neighbours, between Neopaganism and Christianity, between sacred and profane spaces, and between self and other that Neopagans create new religious identities through conflict and improvisation. -Sarah Pike, Earthly Bodies and Magical Selves, 2001

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Tarot, Major Arcana, Card XVII: The Star: “ serene calm, tranquillity, hope and inspiration, soul no longer hidden behind any disguise, The Fool is filled with joy and his one wish is to share it generously with the rest of the world, His heart is open, and his love pours out freely, This peace after the storm is a magical moment for the Fool” -Bunning

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Through our journey thus far, if the complex history of esotericism and spirituality has taught us anything, it is beyond doubt that spirituality and culture are often so intertwined with each other that the lines between one and another often get blurred, and each influence the other. Every esoteric movement we’ve examined has had some sort of social impact or been caused by some sort of cultural reverence – or revolution, as many scholars view Neopaganism as rooted in 1960s counterculture against dominant social institutions. So, where do the esoterics of today, namely the Neopagans and those interested in the revival of ancient knowledge, stand in this web of spirituality and culture? Although with the world’s influential religions we can assume their respective sacred places of worship, like churches, temples, and mosques, are their holy sites, when it comes to the new wave of spiritual revival, this shifts to a wildly more social setting: the festival space. A Neopagan festival serves as a safe space for participants to explore aspects of their spirituality and of the self that they cannot otherwise experience in ordinary life. They are fueled by a utopian desire for selfrealization and are able to get closer to that goal as festivals provide a venue where personal problems related to spirituality, culture, and place in the world are ‘expressed, analyzed and played with.’ (Pike, 2001) Precisely because it symbolizes a migration of spiritual activities out of traditional spaces like churches, the festival becomes an essential and valuable site where religion and culture intermingle. Since they offer an atypical and extraordinary experience in contrast with traditional religious institutions, they have become the top religious destination for neopagans seeking a more intense form of spirituality.

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“Welcome home” reads the sign on the registration booth for Wild Magick 1992.

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However, due to their extremely social and open nature, these events are frequented by a large variety of people, not just Neopagans, such as abolitionists, women’s rights activists, Witches, Druids, Taoists, Zen Buddhists, and practitioners of other religions, to feel a sense of community with others who share their vision. (Pike, 2001) These festivals then become hotspots of cross-fertilization and hybridization. Touching once again on the concept of Magick, which we’ve established is a central notion in Neopaganism, we find that festival spaces are closely linked with Magick and being Magickal. As festival goers tend to transport the self to a different reality and consciously remove themselves from mundania – the everyday world – they find themselves in a realm where self-transformation, whether physically or psychologically, is possible. This mundania is the antithesis of the festival. Kenneth Deigh, a Neopagan festival organizer, says ‘there is something magickal about simply going to a Festival, especially if the journey is a long and rigorous one, to some “uncharted shore.’’

According to Sarah Pike’s research spanning over twenty years into this religious festival phenomenon, these festival goers ‘report intense emotional and physical experiences… [returning] home somehow transformed – their bodies marked with new tattoos, their minds with new ideas and memories,’ the festivals being ‘rehearsals for a hopedfor real future.’ As festival goers express their feminist, inclusive, environmentalist, and social reform ideals, they are transforming themselves. Unlike traditional religions, a sacred space for Neopagans is meant to be active, which explains why a festival is more appropriate than a temple.

“Sacred space provides the setting and contributes to enhancing the mental set necessary for connection with the deeper spiritual aspects of the human psyche. By deepening these connections, we become able to channel the Spiritual Energy of the Inner Self for healing ourselves, for healing others, and for healing the planet.” -Moonstar, Circle Network News, a Neopagan quarterly newsletter, excerpt on ‘Sacred Space’

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Different from traditional religious sanctuaries, festival spaces are constantly being defined as they are being experienced. At a Neopagan festival, you might find participants attending workshops, participating in rituals, drumming and chanting around a bonfire, practicing alternative healing methods, getting their bodies painted, web weaving, purchasing ritual wear and tools, feasting at the communal meal, or simply just socializing with friends and merchants, amongst other activities. Aspects of who they are which are otherwise shut down are encouraged, and we often see festival goers expressing themselves to the extreme through costumes, body art, masks, etc… Ritual theorists and scholars have dissected the festival into three liminal – transitional or threshold – phases: first, the preliminal phase, which involves rites of separation from the previous world of mundania, second, the liminal phase, which involve rites of a transitional stage, and finally, the postliminal phase, which involves ceremonies of incorporation into a new realm.

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The place where these festivals occur is extremely important to their sacredness. Scott Pollack, an architect writing for EarthSpirit Community’s journal Fireheart, says ‘magic is fundamentally neutral,’ and ‘it is the intentions and results that determine what its flavor is,’ adding that ‘when we build, we wilfully change the landscape…forever [changing] the understanding of that place.’ (Pike, 2001) Therefore, it is safe to assume that these festivals are not just randomly placed where a large flat portion of land is available, rather their placement is carefully studied so as to offer the most enchanted experience.

Since the central tenet of festival spaces is to be as far removed from mundania as possible, the festival place is viewed as a pilgrimage – a rite of passage holding a promise of transformation of the self. Aside from the site being far enough as to qualify festival attendance as a pilgrimage of sorts, the geological features and history of the land play an important role in site selection, mostly because Neopagans are practitioners of earth or nature religions. The designations inside, then, hold references to natural myth, fantasy, and ancient culture. Gateways between one space and another separate major ritual spaces, provoking a sense of passing from one space to another, and passers-by are smudged with sage and sprinkled with water for purification as they pass through. ✧ 228 ✧

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A common motif in the organization of festival sites is the Circle. This is no coincidence, as circles are important in defining sacred ritual space for Neopagans and are central to their beliefs. Circular spaces give a nod to the cycles of the moon, seasonal festivals, the sacred Wheel of the Year, and reincarnation.

Announcement from Pagan Spirit Gathering: This year’s Gathering focuses on Sacred Circles—with special emphasis on honouring circles as symbols of sacred time and sacred space, wholeness and balance, Nature’s rhythms and life cycles, community, and the interconnectedness of all life. Festival site planning usually designates a large portion as a contemplation space, where multiple shrines and altars are placed to mark off this sacred space from the rest of the festival. The contemplation spaces are what anthropologist James Fernandez calls ‘architectonic spaces’ where the human and divine worlds meet. These are numinous spaces, mysterious and awe-inspiring places where an air of higher divine presence is felt.

a plaster circle affixed to the wall is painted with “You and I are earth.”

We Cast Our Circles Where the Earth Mother Meets the Sky Father

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Neopagans circle the fire at the opening of Pagan Spirit Gathering c. 1995 CE

Another part of festivals which is a breeding ground for social interaction is the Merchant’s Row, where ‘much of the healing, networking, socializing, and educational interaction that takes place formally at workshops and during rituals also occurs more informally.’

This is a place where participants can find most of their mystical needs, mostly handmade, such as books on tarot, myth, magic, world religions, fantasy, sci-fi, percussion instruments, bells, flutes, rattles, paintings and sculptures of deities, alternative clothing, crystals, stones, beads, jewelry, pentacles, candle holders, wands, herbs for medicinal, ritual, culinary, and cosmetic use, cassettes of Celtic, native American, African, and neopagan chants, natural soaps, incense…

Since Merchant’s Row is more casual and laid back, much conversation happens between them and festival goers, making this space an essential one for community spirit. (Pike, 2001)

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Neopagan Festival Site Planning

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Wiccan Handfasting / Wedding Pagan Spirit Gathering c. 1997 CE

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Weaving the Web of Life

The activities that take place at festivals usually follow this particular order: an opening ceremony, morning and afternoon workshops, evening rituals and performances, late-night drumming, dancing, and fire circles, a communal feast, and a closing ritual. The opening ceremony involves invocations of ancient powers to protect the festival and call-in blessings. In most festivals, now is when the participants would each hold a strand of yarn attached to a maypole in the central field and weave together ‘the web of life.’

“The Official Program Oracle of Rites of Spring XIX” described the ritual: We will listen to the rhythm of the earth and affirm these changes and the awareness that they bring of our deep connection to the land. We will fill the web with our passion to nourish and sustain these bonds. Come with your own strands of yarn to weave into the web and with any objects you have brought to add to it.” The workshops are next, and they center around healing and selfimprovement, as well as education on myths and beliefs of other cultures. These include workshops on astrology, tarot, mythology, magic, alternative medicine, African drumming, ritual skills, craft and tool making, education about diverse cultural traditions, and alternative lifestyles. (Pike, 2001)

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The rituals follow, where participants pursue self-knowledge and healing. These are comprised of two phases: a performance by ritualists followed by a group participatory activity. As the day turns to night, the tone shifts from educational and spiritual to more social with the bonfire and feast. At the bonfire, alongside drumming and dancing, you can hear festival goers chanting in unison, phrases like

‘Air I am, Fire I Am, Water, Earth and Spirit I am,’ or ‘Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, and fire my spirit.’ The communal feast expresses a ‘distinctively Neopagan ritual,’ and is, like the merchant’s Row, an informal socialization hotspot. At Pagan Spirit Gathering festival, for example, the communal feast has an astrological theme, where people sit with others who share their sign, rather than with friends and family. (Pike, 2001)

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Finally, as the festival nears its end, we arrive at the closing rituals. In most festivals, this is essentially a reversal of weaving the web of life, where everyone forms a circle around the maypole and collapses the web, each person cutting off a piece to take home with them as a tiny emblem of this spiritual pilgrimage into an enchanted world. Other festivals encourage people to take home ashes from the ritual fire, or small stones from the sacred circle.

And now, it is time to depart from the festival grounds, and the festival goers dance hand in hand and attempt to bridge the festival events with the outside world by chanting

‘Carry it on to the children, carry it out on the street, carry it to the ones you know and to the ones you meet. Carry it light on your shoulders, carry it deep in your soul, for we have been blessed with magic, and the magic will make us whole.’ (Pike, 2001)

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Now, fellow journeyman, let us explore more closely the characters that are present at the cross between esotericism and culture.

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It is unfortunate, yes, but we must part ways, only for a moment, as we leave our preliminal phase

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For now, that your curiosity is sated, fellow journeyman, prepare to journey.

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Note: This is Book I of a Wondrous Trilogy. You may now proceed to Book II.

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