Antoine Faivre – författare

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 Kabbalah, Theosophy, Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and Hermeticism. Common characteristics of these currents are the notion of universal interdependency and the experience of spiritual transformation. The author establishes a rigorous methodology; provides clarifying definitions of such key terms as "gnosis," "theosophy," "occultism," and "Hermeticism;" and offers analysis of contemporary esotericism based on three distinct pathways.The second half of the book presents a series of studies on several important figures, works, and movements in Western esotericism-studies devoted to some of the most characteristic and illuminating aspects that this form of thought has taken, such as theosophical speculations on androgyny, rosicrucian literature, and Masonic symbolism.The book is completed by a rich and selective Bibliography conceived as a means of orientation and a tool for research.

Trots att det råder delade meningar om ordets innebörd talar man alltmer om esoterism, vilket framgår av bokhandelns välförsedda hyllor och det utrymme detta ämne får i media. Innebörden i ordet esoterism, som egentligen aldrig har preciserats, är mer svävande än någonsin. Men esoterismen har redan fått status som eget forskningsfält, såväl i Frankrike som i USA där man inrättat universitetskurser i ämnet. Boken inleds med en teoretisk genomgång av esoterismens grundvalar. Sedan ägnas de 5 kapitlen åt i tur och ordning 1. De nutida esoteriska strömningarnas antika och medeltida källor, 2. Esoterism i renässansens och barockens eldar, 3. Esoterism i upplysningens skugga, 4. Från romantiskt vetande till ockultism och 5. Esoterismen under 1900-talet. Antoine Faivre är rektor vid Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Section des Sciences Religieuses.

This book traces the Golden Fleece myth from late paganism through medieval and Renaissance alchemical and masonic interpretations. We follow the changing fashions in the history of initiation as well as in mythology. Faivre connects politics, chivalry, the age of exploration, Renaissance architecture and iconography, the hermeneutics of eighteenth century Germany and France, and modern practitioners of alchemy.This book will be welcomed by modern practitioners of alchemy and the occult as well as by scholars of esotericism.

A historical and interpretive study of three aspects of Western esotericism from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.Not only does this book present the current state of research in esotericism, but it also explores three main aspects of the field from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Previously published in French and now available in English for the first time, Theosophy, Imagination, Tradition traces the history of the theosophical current, its continuity and shifts, against the background of social and cultural events. The book also covers the Paracelsian course, the romantic Philosophies of Nature and the Occultist movement. The book provides glimpses into the notions and practices of the so-called "active" and "creative" imagination, and questions how they serve as a bridge into certain kinds of mystical experience. It also examines the place that the notion of "tradition" occupies in some major exponents of western esotericism.

A survey of Western esoteric currents since late antiquity, with an emphasis on the last six centuries.Widely received in France, this brief, comprehensive introduction to Western esotericism by the founder of the field is at last available in English. A historical and pedagogical guide, the book is written primarily for students and novices. In clear, precise language, author Antoine Faivre provides an overview of Western esoteric currents since late antiquity. The bulk of the book is laid out chronologically, from ancient and medieval sources (Alexandrian hermetism, gnosticism, neoplatonism), through the Renaissance up to the present time. Its coverage includes spiritual alchemy, Jewish and Christian Kabbalah, Christian theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Illuminism, 'mystical' Free-Masonry, the Occultist current, Theosophical and Anthroposophical Societies, the Traditionalist School, and 'esotericism' in contemporary initiatic societies and in New Religious Movements. Faivre explores how these currents are connected, and refers to where they appear in art and literature. The book concludes with an annotated bibliography, which makes it an essential resource for beginners and scholars alike.