Western mystery tradition

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

TThe term Western mystery tradition (also Western Esoteric tradition) refers to the collection of the mystical esoteric knowledge of the western world.

The tradition has no one source or unifying text, and has throughout history been eclectic. History seems to show cycles of interest in the topic, with alternating periods of obscurity and “occult revivals”.

Contents

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History

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Summary

The Western mystery tradition has roots in the religions of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Israel, particularly the cult of Hermes Trismegistus, Alchemy, Neo-Platonism and other doctrines of emanationism, and the theurgy, thaumaturgy, and philosophy of Ancient Greece.

After the fall of Rome, Alchemy and Philosophy and other aspects of the tradition were largely preserved in the Arab 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.

The Renaissance saw a revival of classical learning, and not surprisingly a revival of ancient and medieval occult practices. The kabbalah exploded in popularity and influence among Jews. Many Christians began to study the kabbalah and invented Christian Kabbalism. There was also renewed interest in magic (theurgy and thaumaturgy), Alchemy, and Hermeticism. The period saw the first emergence of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. It also saw the mass persecution of suspected witches.

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 Freemasons 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.

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 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 two. Aspects of it were further revived in the 1960s. The two forks of the tradition has been handed down in (author’s opinion) bastardized forms. Theosophy is more or less preserved in the new age movement, and western theurgy strongly influenced the development of neo-paganism.

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The Ancient Period

Somebody with classical training should write this.

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The Medieval Period

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The European Enlightenment

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The 19th Century

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The Second World War

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 magick practices found enthusiastic adherents in the chaos of Germany during the interwar years.

FLAG: The following paragraph is a highly biased and probably false account of the subject

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 Second World War, occult luminaries in Britain, most notably Aleister Crowley and the Duke of Hamilton functioned as informal intermediaries between the warring goverments of Britain and Hitler's Germany. Deputy fuhrer Rudolph Hesse eventually made his famous escape to Scotland during the war, hoping to strike a peace bargain with Britain using the help of the Duke of Hamilton, an old occult lodge associate.

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The Collapse of the 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 Second world war 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.

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Today

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

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Philosophy

Today, the Western mystery tradition is a mixture of ancient philosophy, paganistic and Christian thought, medieval ideas, and also contains some imports from Asia and modern Science. However, the true Tradition, seems to focus on individual spiritual progress through initiation into some sort of brotherhood, group rituals, study of philosophy and the cosmic laws and their practical application with the aims of alchemy, meditation, divination and ritual magic.

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Initiation

The concept of Initiation plays a very important role in the Western mystical tradition, and most people who are related with this tradition are initiated in one or more mystical organisations.

Initiatoric societies existed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. They were working as schools or colleges for the spreading of their secret teachings to worthly individuals. The teachings were not accessible to the general public, a tendency symbolised by the Greek phrase "Ουδείς αγεωμέτρητος εισείτω" (which may be translated as "no person without knowledge of Geometry should get in") found in Plato's Academy.

The tradition of initiation and secrecy is well-preserved today, although it is criticised by many people, mainly those related to the New Age phenomenon, which has the view that knowledge should be as open as possible.

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The Main Themes

The main themes of the Western mystery tradition include:

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The Teachings

Teachings and practices relevant to the Western mystery tradition and occultism include:

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Organisations

Organisations which were or are related to the Western mystery tradition include:

  • Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC), Confraternity of the Rose Cross (CR+C) and other Rosicrucian organizations
  • Anthroposophy
  • Argenteum Astrum
  • Builders of the Adytum (BOTA)
  • Dragon Rouge
  • Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn
  • Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the original order founded in 1888 as well as many similarly named orders which claim continuation of the Golden Dawn tradition
  • Ordo Templi Orientis
  • Rosicrucian Fellowship, Christian mystics
  • Servants of the Light (SOL)
  • Theosophy (which imported many Eastern ideas into the Western world) and
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People

Modern people who are related to the Western mystery tradition include:

Historical individuals who are related to the Western mystery tradition include:

  • Hermes Trismegistus, ancient mythical figure
  • Akhenaten, Ancient Egyptian pharaoh who promoted and protected the mystical tradition
  • Plato, Ancient Greek philosopher
  • Pythagoras, Ancient Greek philosopher
  • Plotinus, philosopher important in occultism
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Texts

Historical texts associated with the Western Mystery Tradition include:

  • Hermetica or Corpus Hermeticum, which outlines the Hermetic tradition
  • Fama Fraternitatis, classical text of the 17th century Rosicrucians
  • Confessio Fraternitatis, classical text of the 17th century Rosicrucians
  • Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, classical text of the 17th century Rosicrucians
  • Sefer Yetzirah, important text for Kabbalah
  • Zohar, important text for Kabbalah
  • Naometria
  • Zanoni
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See also

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External links


--Angel 16:32, 23 May 2006 (CDT)

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