A comprehensive, concise, and easy-to-read introduction intended for undergraduates and general readers interested in the study of mysticism.

Offers a new approach to Theosophy that takes into account its global dimensions and its interaction with highly diverse cultural contexts.

Studies the original vocabulary of Frithjof Schuon, its relevance to comparative religion, and the status of metaphysical and theological terms in religion.

A unique historical study of the personal nature of religion, spirituality, and healing in the twentieth century based on the letters of ordinary people from around the world.

Argues that Socrates’ fundamental role in the dialogues is to guide us toward self-inquiry and self-knowledge.

Provides a rhetorical analysis of female spirit medium's autobiographies in the historical and social contexts of Victorian era America.

Restores the Platonic history and context of mysticism and shows how mysticism helps us understand more deeply the humanities as a whole, from philosophy and literature to art.

Challenges the conventional view of a “disenchanted” and secular modernity, and recovers the complex relation that exists between science, religion, and esotericism in the modern world.

Explores occultism in the writings of four authors who were members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

A guide to the phenomenal crop of prophets, cults, and utopian communities that arose in Upstate New York from 1776 to 1914.

Offers a new paradigm of reality, based on the interaction between science, culture, spirituality, religion, and society.

An exploration of John Dee’s Enochian magic of angel contact, its reinterpretation over the years, and its endurance to the present day.

Examines the relationship between diverse iterations of Rosicrucianism and the philosophy of the Enlightenment.

A searching study of Eliphas Lévi and the French occult revival.

A survey of Western esoteric currents since late antiquity, with an emphasis on the last six centuries.

A comprehensive look at the life and work of one of the towering figures of Renaissance mysticism.

A comprehensive introduction to the life and work of the preeminent expositor of perennial philosophy.

Historical exploration of Masonic rituals of initiation.

Explores European and American esoteric traditions as reflected in literature and in art.

Argues that the discourse of Jacob Boehme represents the return of Gnostic thought in modernity after a thousand year hiatus.

Looks at the influence of Gnosticism in modern intellectual history, philosophy, and theology.

Traces the historical development of Western Esotericism--religious traditions which emphasize the importance of inner enlightenment or gnosis.

Traces the reception of Swedenborg's doctrine of "correspondences" in French literature and culture from the late 1700s to 1870.

Examines the careers of the most distinguishes disciples of the Theosophical Masters profiled in The Masters Revealed, including George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, Alexandra David-Neel, Anagarika Dharmapala, and Isabelle Eberhardt.

This is the first systematic treatment of esotericism to appear in English. Here is also a historical survey, beginning with the Alexandrean Period, of the various esoteric currents such as Christian ...