Western esotericism
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Featured:  Illustration: Portrait fantaisiste du marquis de Sade (1866) by H. Biberstein |
Western esotericism (also Western mysticism, Western occult tradition, and Western mystery tradition) is a broad spectrum of spiritual traditions found in Western society, or refers to the collection of the mystical, esoteric knowledge of the Western world. This includes, but is not limited to, alchemy, theosophy, herbalism, occult tarot, astrology, Rosicrucianism and Western forms of ritual magic. The tradition has no one source or unifying text, nor does it hold any specific dogma, instead placing emphasis on "inner knowledge" or Gnosis. It had a profound influence on Europe and North America, including the development of industrial and scientific knowledge. Various groups including Hermetic organizations, neopagans and Thelema persist in practicing modern variants of traditional Western esoteric philosophies.
See also
- Esotericism in Germany and Austria
- Grimoire
- Hellenistic religion
- Hermeticism
- Magic in the Greco-Roman world
- Renaissance magic
- Western religion
