Artistic influences

The allegorical nature of much of Varo’s work especially recalls the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, and some critics, such as Dean Swinford, have described her art as “postmodern allegory,” much in the tradition of Irrealism.

Varo was also influenced by styles as diverse as those of Francisco Goya, El Greco, Picasso, and Braque. While André Breton was a formative influence in her understanding of Surrealism, some of her paintings bear an uncanny resemblance to the Surrealist creations of the modern Greek-born Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico.

In Mexico, she was influenced by pre-Columbian art.

Varo’s painting ”The Lovers” served as inspiration for some of the images used by Madonna in the music video for her 1995 single “Bedtime Story”.

Philosophical influences

Varo was influenced by a wide range of mystic and hermetic traditions, both Western and non-Western. She turned with equal interest to the ideas of C. G. Jung as to the theories of G. I. Gurdjieff, P. D. Ouspensky, Helena Blavatsky, Meister Eckhart, and the Sufis, and was as fascinated with the legend of the Holy Grail as with sacred geometry, alchemy and the ”I-Ching”. She saw in each of these an avenue to self-knowledge and the transformation of consciousness.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Remedios Varo, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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(For explanations of some of the terms used in this section see Role-playing game – Gameplay section.)

Battle System

The battle system in Atelier Iris is turn-based. Combat is tactical in that the party members can have their positions arranged in their half of the playing field before battle, and can be knocked back by some attacks. Each participant in the battle chooses an action from the ring of commands available. All characters can use actions such as Attack, Skill and Items but Klein, as the only alchemist of the party, can use Mana Items and Mana Synthesis (which duplicates the effects of Mana Items, at the expense of MP.) Once enemies are defeated the party gains experience, gold and possibly items. Every time a character ‘levels up, he gains 3 points to be added to the skills of the player’s choice. Characters equipped with Mana spirits gain bonus skill points.

Synthesis

As an alchemy-based game, ”Atelier Iris” features several forms of item synthesis:

*Mana Items are created by Klein using elements extracted from objects and creatures. The extraction process destroys the target, and can thus be used in combat or to destroy obstacles. To create lasting Items, Klein requires the help of the Manas, whose health is spent in the process.

*Normal Items are synthesized by shop owners if the characters bring them the right items. These includes both healing items (often in the form of food items) and pieces of equipment.

*Weapon Synthesis involves creating “mana crystals” by combining Mana stones found through the game. Each crystal can have up to three abilities, and can be inserted (or removed later) on certain pieces of equipment.

Exploration

”Atelier Iris” is notable for having several in-game actions that help in exploring the game’s world, including unusual ones such as flying, changing into a rabbit, using a Mana as a footstool, or healing the whole party. These actions are gained each time a new Mana joins the party.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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All four books centre on young siblings William, Mary and Alice Constant. They spend their holidays at Golden House, a large, 16th Century house in the British countryside. The house is given no specific location except for Wales, supposedly on ley lines; reference to standing stones is made in the books.

During these holidays, the children’s parents are apparently carrying out humanitarian work in the Third World, so the children stay with their uncle Jack and his partner Phoebe.

The books follow the children as they discover the secrets of Golden House and the Magician who once lived there. It is unclear if the Magician, Stephen Tyler, is actually still in the house, or if he can speak to the children through manipulating and travelling through time.

The events of the four books take place over about ten months; with the events of each book occurring during a traditional British school holiday period. Effectively, each book reflects a season: ”The Steps up The Chimney” takes place during the winter and over the Christmas holiday; ”The Door in the Tree” takes place in spring, during the Easter holiday; ”The Tunnel behind the Waterfall” takes place during the long summer holiday; ”The Bridge in the Clouds” takes place during the shorter autumn half-term.

The storylines of the respective books incorporate various ecological and animal rights issues, such as badger baiting and industrial development. In addition, the children fight against the Magician’s evil assistant, Matthew Morden, whose quest for power le

Stephen Tyler’s precise abilities are unknown and there are many loose ends left at the conclusion of the series. It is known that he can communicate with the children over time, but it is unknown whether he actually travels through time or merely sends messages across it. In addition, most communications occur only in his secret room at the top of the chimney. He can also inhabit the bodies of animals, such as Jasper the owl, Cinnabar the fox and Spot the dog, and teaches the children to do the same. His assistant, Morden, has an accomplice in the form of a rat. Stephen Tyler also appears to have a link with the house across time, as is clear when Phoebe gives birth to a girl, though the magician had expected a boy, and names her Stephanie, as if after Stephen Tyler.

There are many references made to alchemy and the changing of substances, and we are told that Stephen Tyler has the ability to change substances into gold. Some of these references are in metaphorical terms, but all amount to the same thing.

Alchemy is also supposed to be the downfall of Morden; his lust for power and riches leads him to abuse his alchemical abilities. However, later in the stories Morden also appears to be able to influence present-day events to his own and his descendants’ advantage, for example in encouraging industrial developments in the proximity of Golden House.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article The Magician’s House, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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The notion for education based workshops and displays developed out of a philosophical view that the world was heading towards difficult times and that people needed to learn how to become more self-sufficient so that they would be less reliant on a system unable to provide spiritual and survivalist needs. If one was unable to access healthy food then the logical solution was to learn how to grow ones food.

The following extracts are taken from the first 1976 “Nambassa Sun” newsletter proposal, in support of their survivalist workshops on self sufficiency and to heal the body and the mind. Written 30 years ago and published throughout New Zealand in 1976-77, the sentiments expressed by these warnings on impending times have in the view of Nambassa aspirants considerable meaning thirty years later, in a world ravaged by environmental degradation (unprecedented pollution and Global warming) and the systems social collapse. (Unprecedented consumer madness, crime, mental illness, cancer epidemics, substance abuse including pharmaceutical and prescription drug dependence, youth suicide, political and economic corruption and Child sexual abuse).

The Nambassa festivals were not only music and entertainment events but included educational components which sought to instruct people on lifestyle aids it felt important enough to promote, within the then conservative society of New Zealand’s 1970s. Many of those involved in Nambassa aspired to the notion that throughout the evolution of western civilisation, many valuable ancient survival, healing and spiritual techniques,

The idea of integrating education based workshop demonstrations with popular mainstream entertainment, set the Nambassa festivals aside from other festivals coming before it. It was during the social revolution of the early 1960s and 1970s that Nambassa pioneered the concept, and was a world leader, in what was to evolve as a new format of presentation for the all encompassing major cultural, creative arts and music festivals. Most large open-air entertainment gatherings, prior Nambassa, were essentially pop concerts. This new format demonstrated the merits of combining, in a complementary way, multiple and diverse entertainment and cultural modules, within the one grand celebratory event. During the 1970s, the Nambassa Trust developed this concept of large scale multidimensional events, which the rest of the world only began adopting some 20 years later.

While the 1960s and 1970s hippy movements were and continue to be unfairly derided

for their infatuation with rediscovering ancient religion and culture, many of these rebirthing systems are now part of mainstream ideology. Although the subject matter of the workshops at Nambassa was controversial for the time, these once-alternative ideas are now accepted by many as integral components of a freethinking modern society. The biggest complaint against the festival organisers from festival patrons, was that there were never enough hours in the day to attend their desired programme.

At Nambassa, one could attend and participate in free workshop demonstrations, symposium and discussion groups on diverse subjects such as: leatherwork, hand crafted jewelry, spinning, pottery, indigenous Australians didgeridoo, boomerang throwing, creative art, musical instruments, puppeteering, bonsai trees, batiking, screen printing, basket weaving, Māori woodcarving, furniture and woodturning, natural cosmetics, custom made Sandal, clay therapy, aboriginal emu egg carving, silk screening, crochet and embroidery, macramé, ceramics, bone carving, candle making, stained glass, paper making, journalism and printing, glass blowing, enamelling, Māori art and jewelry, wood carving, the art of throwing pottery, weaving on inkle and back strap looms, wood-adzing, moccasin making, airbrushing, organic gardening, tie-dye, Māori kit making, mulching and composting, growing and using soya beans, herb gardening, hydroponics, small orcharding, natural child birth, breast feeding, child care, alternative education, animal husbandry, raku pottery, fencing, small dams and irrigation, solar heating, methane gas plants, wind pumps and generators, solar power, solar cooker, waterwheels, goat farming, sheep milking, rammed earth walls, soil-cement adobe, stone masonry, hydraulic power, wind power, low cost housing and renovation, furniture making, moulds and mud houses, bamboo and its uses, alternative lifestyles and communities, Rudolf Steiner Schools, permaculture, ecology and mining, native forests, saving the whales, food preparation and storage, dried fruit, bread making, self-sufficiency, wine making, beekeeping, butter and cheese making, soap making, food cooperatives, healthy eating, civil liberties, New Zealand’s nuclear-free zone, world peace and disarmament, music, puppetry, origami, theatre, dance and costumes, mask making, conservation and pesticides, clean water, mobile homes construction, bush craft, legal aspects of alternative land development, horse ploughing, family planning, vegetarianism, animal rights, martial arts, Third World poverty, civil and human rights, work cooperatives, craft cooperatives, wood gas producers, solar panels, development of electric cars and bikes, women’s issues, amateur radio, wood stoves and wetbacks, kite making, theenvironment (Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth), alternative education, Pacific cultural exchange (Pacific Islander), Māori land rights, community development, Māori marae, Māori hangi, substance abuse, new age and green politics, alternative media, meditation, yoga, sufi dancing, ”I Ching”, tarot cards, alchemy, massage, sweat lodge, nutrition, alternative medicine, astrology, prayer and chanting, clairvoyance, meditation, spiritual healing, naturopathy, acupuncture, tai chi, herbalism, natural remedies, reflexology, iridology and osteopathy.

At all festivals there was a smorgasbord of spiritual and religious learning. Here the public could venture to various Healing Arts areas and attend either a bible study course, or chant spiritual names with the Buddhists and Hare Krishna’s, or sing and pray with Christians, or attend Sunday mass with the Catholics or learn how to meditate with Ananda Marga or find out the meaning of Karma from the Hindus. The policy of the Nambassa Trust was to attempt to create an ambience which would dispel all religious factionalism, so that philosophical labels could dissipate enabling people of all religious persuasion to share in their most common fundamental of traits, their humanity. In maintaining Nambassa’s nonsectarian and open door policy on religious philosophy, workshops were conducted on: Hinduism, Hare Krishna, Bible scholarship and born again Christianity, Roman Catholic Church, Judaism, Ananda Marga, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Krishna-Haribol, Sufism, Esoteric Christianity, shamanism, Wicca, and Zen.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Nambassa, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Knights Templar and Occultism

The original Knights Templar, founded around 1119, had been a crusading military order, that, at some time, had established financial networks across the whole of Christendom. In 1307, King Philip IV of France mounted a “slanderous campaign” to strip the Order of its economic and political influence. The Templars were accused of satanic practices, perversions and blasphemy and ruthlessly suppressed; Its leaders were burned on March 18, 1314. The circumstances of their suppression gave rise to legends surrounding the Knights Templar. In Germany, “where the growth of deviant masonic rites was greatest,” the Templar heritage was adopted for irregular Freemasonry. (Freemasonry had been officially founded in England in 1717.)

The idea of chivalric Freemasonry first occurred ca. 1737 in France. In 1775 Baron Gotthelf von Hund (1722–76) founded the Order of Strict Observance, claiming the possession of secret Templar documents which allegedly prove that his order represented the legal Templar succession.

Rosicrucianism

In the 17th century and 18th century, Rosicrucian ideas flourished in varying degrees. Rosicrucianism goes back to the beginning of the 17th century, when three works by Johann Valentin Andreae where printed at Kassel. One of these works, the ”Chymische Hochzeit”, appears to be an alchemical tract, while the other two (for which the authorship of Valentin Andreae is not finally proven) announce the existence of a the ”Rosicrucian Order”, which desires an “universal

In either 1747 or 1757 a quasi-masonic Rosicrucian order of the name ”Gold- und Rosenkreuz” was founded in Berlin, having a 9-grade hierarchy based on the cabalistic Tree of Life; This organisation included King Frederick William II of Prussia and Johann Christoph von Wöllner as members.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Esotericism in Germany and Austria, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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The word was revived early in the 17th century, as Latin ”theosophia”, to denote the Renaissance occultism found in Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, Robert Fludd and others.

The name ”theosophy” was applied specifically to Jacob Böhme, who showed at least stylistic influence by the Renaissance “theosophists”:

Böhme’s writing shows the influence of neoplatonist and alchemical writers such as Paracelsus, while remaining firmly within a Christian tradition. Behmenism was also an important source of German Romantic philosophy, influencing Schelling in particular, as well as Enlightenment theologian Emanuel Swedenborg.

In Richard Bucke’s 1901 treatise ”Cosmic Consciousness”, special attention was given to the profundity of Böhme’s spiritual enlightenment, which seemed to reveal to Böhme an ultimate nondifference, or nonduality, between human beings and God.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Theosophy (history of philosophy), under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Sophie and Josh are working at their jobs when a mysterious man named Dee comes for a book called the Codex. Sophie and Josh witness Nick and Perry, the owners of the store, using magic, and discover that Nick is not a bookseller, but is the ancient alchemyst Nicholas Flamel being kept alive by making the elixir of life (a secret from the Codex) for him and his wife Perry (Perenelle). Both he and Perenelle can use magic. Nicholas needs the Codex back to make the elixir of life again, or he and Perenelle will age rapidly and die before the month’s end. Also, if Nicholas does not retrieve the Codex, Dee will summon the Dark Elders to destroy the world and return to an age in which humans are but slaves and food.

Flamel quickly takes them to a secret hideout to enlist the aid of Scathach, an powerful Next Generation Elder. Then they run with cats clinging to them thwarted by Flamel and Scathach. Flamel then leads the twins and Scathach to attempt to secure the aid of Hekate, who can awaken the twins’ magical potential. Dee discovers this, and enlists the aid of Bastet, and the Morrigan. The trio mount a massive assault on Hekate’s shadowrealm, attempting to destroy the Yggdrasill that is the heart of Hekate’s power.

While the Yggdrasill is attacked, Hekate awakens Sophie, and the cats clinging to her but does not have time to awaken Josh, as the Yggdrasill is then lit on fire and she rushes to defend her home. Scathach, Flamel, and the twins make an escape from the Shadowrealm. While escaping, they encounter Dee, and witness the power of the ancient Ice Elemen

The twins, Scathach, and Flamel escape the shadowrealm, shortly before the destruction of Hekate, the Yggdrasill, and the entire shadowrealm. As they escape, Dee uses Excalibur to freeze the Yggdrasill, and Hekate, whose life and power is linked to the tree, transforms to ice as well. As this occurs, Dee is informed that Flamel and Scathach have escaped with the twins. In his rage, he shatters the Yggdrasill, which crushes Hekate into dust, killing her alon with the raing cats then santa claus explodes setting Dee on fire. Flamel, Scathach, and the twins travel to Scathach’s grandmother, the Witch of Endor (also called “The Mistress of Air”), who teaches Sophie and Josh her magical secrets quickly by giving the girl all her memories.

While they are there, Dee has found out that a prophecy in the Codex speaks of Sophie and Josh. He tempts Josh to join him, while using necromancy to raise thousands of corpses to assault the Elders and Sophie with. Josh almost agrees, but at the last moment he realizes he will lose Sophie if he agrees, and attempts to hit Dee with a Hummer distracting the necromancer long enough to escape with Scathach, Sophie and Nicholas using a leygate (where lines of energy, or ley lines on the globe cross) to escape to Paris, where the book ends. The book ends with the conclusion that there is only one cat left, the Witch has survived and Dee is still searching, leaving the book without any information about what happens next.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Carl Gustav Jung (; 26 July 1875& – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung is often considered the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche is “by nature religious” and to explore it in depth. Though not the first to analyze dreams, he has become perhaps one of the most well known pioneers in the field of dream analysis. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life’s work was spent exploring other areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts.

He considered the process of individuation necessary for a person to become whole. This is a psychological process of integrating the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining conscious autonomy. Individuation was the central concept of analytical psychology.

Jungian ideas are routinely discussed in part by curriculum of introductory psychology course offerings with most major universities, and although rarely covered by higher level course work, his ideas are discussed further by the Faculty of Humanities. Many pioneering psychological concepts were originally proposed by Jung, including the Archetype, the Collective Unconscious, the Complex, and synchronicity. A popular psychometric instrument, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), has been principally developed from Jung’s theories.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Carl Jung, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see h

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Syncretism is one of the core principles of Theosophy, a religious philosophy originating with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky from the 1870s, and the seven rays appear repeatedly in the related writings. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the “Spiritual Hierarchy” to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth.

Blavatsky wrote in the first book of ”The Secret Doctrine” of an ” analogy between the Aryan or Brahmanical and the Egyptian esotericism” and that the “seven rays of the Chaldean Heptakis or Iao, on the Gnostic stones” represent the seven large stars of the Egyptian “Great Bear” constellation, the seven elemental powers, and the Hindu “seven Rishis.” She stated that the seven rays of the Vedic sun deity Vishnu represent the same concept as the “astral fluid or ‘Light’ of the Kabalists,” and that the seven emanations of the lower seven sephiroth are the “primeval seven rays,” and “will be found and recognized in every religion.”

In the second volume of the ”Secret Doctrine”, Blavatsky discusses the “seven nervous plexuses of the body” and the seven rays they radiate, stating that this principle is found in the Rig Veda, in the mythology of Ahura Mazda, in the beliefs of the Incas, the Chinese Yao, and the Egyptian Osiris, who “when he enters the ark, or solar boat, takes seven Rays with him.” She describes the “seven wise ones” of the

Blavatsky summarizes the syncretistic principle of her doctrine as it relates to the seven rays:

“…a key which reveals to us on indisputable grounds of comparative analogy… the Indian phœnix, the emblem of cyclic and periodical time, the “man-lion” Singha, of whose representations the so-called “gnostic gems” are so full. Over the seven rays of the lion’s crown, and corresponding to their points, stand, in many cases, the seven vowels of the Greek alphabet AEHIOYW, testifying to the Seven Heavens. This is the Solar lion and the emblem of the Solar cycle, as Garuda is that of the great cycle, the “Maha-Kalpa” co-eternal with Vishnu, and also, of course, the emblem of the Sun, and Solar cycle. … As well remarked by C. W. King: — “Whatever the primary meaning (of the gem with the solar lion and vowels) it was probably imported in its present shape from India, that true fountain head of gnostic iconography.” (Gnostics, p. 218)

In the third volume of the ”Secret Doctrine”, published posthumously, Blavatsky described the “Seven Primeval Rays” as a group of celestial beings also known as “Gods” or “Angels” or “Powers”. She stated that this symbolism was “adopted later on by the Christian Religion as the ‘Seven Angels of the Presence.’”

Metaphysics of the seven rays

In Theosophy, the Seven Rays are said to be seven major types of ”Light-Substance” (spirit/matter) (waves/particles) that compose the created universes. These are also believed to convey “Divine Qualities”.

According to Alice A. Bailey, each person has a ”soul ray” that remains the same through all their incarnations, and a ”personality ray” that is different for each incarnation. Each ray is also correspondent with certain Masters of Wisdom, and with particular planets, cycles, nations, etc. The seven rays are the basis for what Alice A. Bailey called ”New Age Psychology”–she divides everyone in the human race into these seven psychological types.

Bailey stated that the Seven Rays that reach us on Earth locally originate within the “Solar Logos,” i.e., the consciousness of the “Divine Being” of the Sun. According to Alice A. Bailey and Benjamin Creme, the seven rays are focused to the Solar Logos, through Sirius, the seven stars of the Big Dipper in the Great Bear, and the seven major stars of the Pleiades from the “Galactic Logos,” (the consciousness of the “Divine Being” of the Milky Way Galaxy), and have their ultimate origin within the mind of God.

On the local planetary level, it is believed by adherents of the Theosophical tradition that the Seven Rays are transmitted from the Solar Logos through the God of our planet, Sanat Kumara, then through the spiritual hierarchy of our planet which includes the “Masters of Wisdom” (Some writings term them the Ascended Masters or the Great White Brotherhood).

Each of the Seven Rays is believed to be associated with a different kind of occult energy, and a different color.

Qualities of the seven rays

The ”Seven Rays” are listed below:

Alice A. Bailey and the Church Universal and Triumphant assign different colors and in some cases different Masters to each of the seven rays. In ”Letters on Occult Meditation”, Alice Bailey indicates that there is no simple correspondence between the rays and these colors. The colors, Masters, and Retreats indicated here are those indicated by both Alice Bailey and the Church Universal and Triumphant.

According to Alice A. Bailey and C.W. Leadbeater, the Masters live in immortal bodies at a ”residence” on the physical plane at the indicated location (although a given Master may physically travel extensively incognito to various locations, become invisible, teleport to various locations, and walk through walls, as well as influence humans telepathically and travel on the inner planes, as required by the demands of his spiritual work).

According to the Church Universal and Triumphant, and other ”Ascended Master Activities”, each Master is believed to serve at a ”Retreat” on the physical or etheric plane at the geographical location shown after their name.

The “Gifts of the Holy Spirit” of the Church Universal and Triumphant for each ray are shown. For both Alice A. Bailey and the Church Universal and Triumphant, each ray has a jewel which is believed to focus the energy of that ray, which is indicated.

In a section below, the characteristic magic for each ray as listed by C.W. Leadbeater.

Alice A. Bailey

Ascended Master Teachings

C.W. Leadbeater

C.W. Leadbeater gave a list showing the characteristic type of magic for each ray. This list indicates what he regarded as the most compatible type of magic to be performed by persons on each ray (although anyone of any ray can do any of these various types of magic).

* 1. FIRST RAY: Magic of Will of magician

* 2. SECOND RAY: Magic of Raja Yoga (Development of Mind)

* 3. THIRD RAY: Magic of Astrology (Natural Magnetic Forces).

* 4. FOURTH RAY: Magic of Hatha Yoga (physical development).

* 5. FIFTH RAY: Magic of Alchemy (Manipulation of Material Substances).

* 6. SIXTH RAY: Magic of Bhakti Yoga (Selfless Service and Altruistic Love [ agape ]).

* 7. SEVENTH RAY: Ceremonial magic (Invocation of Elementals, and Devas).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Seven rays, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Antiquity

While there is no evidence to show a direct ancient lineage of the Western mystery tradition, its roots are in occultist movements of Late Antiquity, Roman-Hellenistic religions which in turn claimed to originate in ancient Egypt, Chaldea, Persia or other parts of the ancient world.

The Catholic Encyclopedia sums up its origins thus:

:Its beginnings have long been a matter of controversy and are still largely a subject of research. The more these origins are studied, the farther they seem to recede in the past. (”The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IV: Esotericism and Gnosticism”)

To make an accurate assumption of the tradition’s origin and (therefore age) it would be necessary to study the origin of the various systems which have come to make up the tradition. Of these systems the Egyptian and Hellenic Mystery religions, the Hebrew Kabbalah, Gnosticism and Hermeticism are generally considered the oldest, though at no stage prior to the 1880s were these doctrines ever synthesized into one whole.

Due to their relative geographic restrictions they were regarded very much as separate disciplines. It appears that for the most part the specific teachings were preserved via oral tradition (though not in all cases, the Nag Hammadi Library for example) passed from teacher to initiate. However, even in the ancient climates in which they flourished, the Esoteric Philosophies were still highly elusive. Manly P Hall writes:

:In all cities of the ancient world were temples for public worship and offering. In every community also were phi

Middle Ages

After the fall of Rome, alchemy and philosophy and other aspects of the tradition were largely preserved in the Arab and Near Eastern world and introduced into Western Europe by Jews and by the cultural contact between Christians and Muslims that occurred due to the Crusades and the Reconquista. The 12th century saw the development of the Kabbalah in medieval Spain. The medieval period also saw the publication of grimoires which offered often elaborate formulas for theurgy and thaumaturgy. Many of the grimoires seem to have kabbalistic influence. Figures in alchemy from this period seem to also have authored or used grimoires.

Early Modern Europe

The Renaissance saw a revival of classical learning, and a revival of ancient and medieval occult practices in particular. Renaissance magic revived the “occultist boom” of Late Antiquity, recovering texts treating Greco-Roman magic and Hermeticism as well as its continuations beyond antiquity in the form of the Kabbalah, alchemy and the medieval grimoires. Renaissance scholarship gave rise to a Christian Kabbalah and later (in the Baroque period) to the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. The witch trials in Early Modern Europe are at least indirectly related to this revival of scholarly interest in the occult.

1720s to 1850s

The Enlightenment saw another occult revival, perhaps spurred by growing rejection of mainstream religion and increased democracy and freedom of conscience. The period saw the rise of occult fraternities, most notably Speculative Freemasonry and a revived Rosicrucian Brotherhood. Academic interest in ancient mystery cults such as those of Mithras and Dionysus began to develop. Emanuel Swedenborg pulled Christianity in a more mystical or occult direction, and Franz Mesmer provided a quasi-scientific method of thaumaturgy. While both these men had profound contributions to the western mystery tradition, it appears neither was versed in it. The Count of St Germain also taught during this period, whose life and legends influenced Theosophy. Martinism also arose as an esoteric doctrine. So as well with various Rosicrucian orders.

1850s to 1930s

The late 19th century saw a radical split in the western mystery tradition. HP Blavatsky was the main instrument of this, by reinventing the tradition in a system called Theosophy. Theosophy largely ignored the medieval traditions, such as alchemy, thaumaturgy and kabbalah, instead focusing on more ancient mystery teachings and incorporating eastern systems of yoga. The extant tradition prospered alongside Theosophy, especially under the influence of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and such teachers as Eliphas Levi, Papus, Macgregor Mathers, and Aleister Crowley. This tradition began to see itself as a complete alternative to Christianity, and, not surprisingly, began to emphasize theurgy. This occult revival lasted through World War II. Aspects of it were further revived in the 1960s. Theosophy is still available through the Theosophical Society, and western theurgy strongly influenced the development of neo-paganism.

World War II

Emergent occultic and esoteric systems found increasing popularity in the early 20th century, especially in Western Europe. Occult lodges and secret societies flowered among European intellectuals of this era who had largely abandoned traditional forms of Christianity. The spreading of secret teachings and magic practices found enthusiastic adherents in the chaos of Germany during the interwar years.

Many influential and wealthy Germans were drawn to secret societies such as the Ordo Templi Orientis and the Thule Society. Leading figures of these groups included Dietrich Eckart, Karl Haushofer, Karl Maria Wiligut and his protege Heinrich Himmler, all of whom figured prominently in the nascent Nazi Party. In Himmler’s case, his personal occult fascination became a national civil religion when he promoted his racial occultism and symbology using the full authority of the Nazi state, even if Hitler was more than a little suspicious of devotion to anything beyond the Nazi Regime. Eventually, Hitler’s paranoia and fear of competing institutions, coupled with Himmler’s opportunism led to the Gestapo suppressing Himmler’s fellow occultists who were not directly sanctioned by the state. During the World War II, occult luminaries in Britain, most notably Aleister Crowley and the Duke of Hamilton functioned as informal intermediaries between the warring governments of Britain and Hitler’s Germany. Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess eventually made his famous escape to Scotland in 1941, hoping to strike a peace bargain with Britain using the help of the Duke of Hamilton, an old occult lodge associate.

Soviet Union

Little information is known about the status of the Western mystery tradition in the officially atheist Soviet Union and its “satellites” during the ruling of the Communist Party. It is believed by some that the Soviets had a scientific interest in subjects traditionally studied by the Western mystery tradition, such as telepathy and astrology.

A number of people associated with mysticism chose to leave the countries where Communism was installed. For example, G.I. Gurdjieff, an influential individual from Armenia, fled to France after the Bolsheviks overtook the ruling of Russia. The Universal White Brotherhood of Bulgaria, founded by Peter Deunov and extended by Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, also chose to continue its activities in France and other Western countries after the World War II and the introduction of Communism into Bulgaria. These two examples, although not directly associated with the core of the Western mystery tradition, demonstrate a pattern which supports the claim that the Soviet-controlled states were negative not only to mainstream religion but also to mysticism and occultism.

It is known that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, several mystical societies, such as the Rosicrucians, gained profound revival in Eastern Europe and Russia which resulted in the foundation of many new jurisdictions and lodges.

1990s to present

Today, the Tradition is experiencing a revival in North America and Europe, while many Western mystical organizations have presence throughout the world. The tradition is undergoing an import of Eastern ideas, coming mainly from Taoism, Tantra, Buddhism, Hinduism and Yoga, which began mainly by the Theosophical Society in the 19th century, and now is also continued by many people with syncretic or eclectic backgrounds.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Western esotericism, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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