Esoteric is an adjective originating in Hellenic Greece under the domain of the Roman Empire; it comes from the Greek esterikos, from estero, the comparative form of es: "within". You do not have to personally know the individual, however, you must be able to known the persons name, sex, age, and location. Sit down allowing your back to be completely straight. Waite, who sought to combine their own mystical beliefs with a historical interpretation of esotericism. This would be the only explanation as to how this knowledge got handed down through the centuries. His work was built on by the German Johannes Reuchlin (14551522) who authored an influential text on the subject, De Arte Cabbalistica. 0000006461 00000 n [105] Another form of esoteric Christianity is the spiritual science of the Danish mystic Martinus who is popular in Scandinavia. turn instead to finding an esoteric teaching written between the lines. Instead, the manifestos are likely literary creations of Lutheran theologian Johann Valentin Andreae (15861654). [74] The later Neoplatonists performed theurgy, a ritual practice attested in such sources as the Chaldean Oracles. Cults, religious practices, and rituals were characterized by an initiatory path, which gave gradual access to knowledge and to a following personal advancement. [116], Several religious scholars such as Hugh Urban and Donald Westbrook have classified Scientology as being a modern form of Western Esotericism. The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross did not officially come about until 1610 with the publication of the Fama Fraternitatis written by Christian Rosenkreuz. The esoteric universal principles taught a type of unification to a divine source, and how through mastery of oneself could one reach a level of attunement beyond anything previously imaginable. [55] The advantage of Faivre's system is that it facilitates comparing varying esoteric traditions "with one another in a systematic fashion. The Ancient Wisdom An Outline of Theosophical Teachings by Annie Wood Besant Theosophy Simplified by Irving S. Cooper The Deeper Mysteries by Edward Clarence Farnsworth Initiation and Its Results A Sequel to the Way of Initiation by Rudolf Steiner The Secret Doctrine The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky [99] Most forms of Spiritualism had little theoretical depth, being largely practical affairsbut full theological worldviews based on the movement were articulated by Andrew Jackson Davis (18261910) and Allan Kardec (18041869).