def. Illuminati Helena P. Blavatsky’s Theosophical Glossary (published in 1892), references the term “Illuminati” and defines it, from Latin, as a reference to the “Enlightened,” or the initiated adepts† (Lat. adeptus. “an expert”). The term is the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The […]
Rachel Weisz’s Hypatia in Agora: “I Believe in Philosophy”
“There have been times when “a considerable portion of enlightened minds” were taught in our schools. Such times there were in India, Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. But, as I remarked (…) the adept is the efflorescence of his age, and comparatively few ever appear in […]
The Nineteenth-Century Popularization of the Desatir | Theosophists, Ishraqis, and Zoroastrianism
The Desatir or Dasātīr (Per. دساتیر lit. “Ordinances”), also known as Dasatir-i-Asmani, is a collection of writings now generally taken to be a literary forgery written in an invented or artificial language, with elements from Indian and Iranian dialects, and Persian grammar. It is recommended in “The […]
The Last Word on Trump, Social Politics, and Republicans | Sentantiq’s “Rant on Classics and Politics”
Sentantiq’s “Rant on Classics and Politics” Important for both Theosophists and Classicists A late reaction to reading A Rant on Classics and Politics related articles on SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE from a classicist, and in reflection of my returned state to Political Apathy, on Losing Friends and Regret. […]
Solace and Inspiration in Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand”
This was originally posted in two parts (I and II) as a source of inspiration. It was actually at first inspired by a dream, and an emotional one years ago I imagined myself playing this knight and cape game with this child, happy, who was […]
When we speak of Republicans and Republicanism, what do we Mean?
You should know by now, whenever MINVRA mentions REPUBLICAN, we are not speaking of the U.S. Republican Party. There are people actually still confused, so let’s be clear, brief, and without any jargon. We take Republicanism to be that underlying, or over-arching Philosophy. The philosophy […]
Russian MS. of H.P.B. criticized V.S. Solovyov’s Review of Theosophy: ‘Theosophists worship the wisdom that is from Above’
‘Theosophists worship the wisdom that is from Above’ In relation to Russian Philosopher Vladimir Solovyov and Charles J. Ryan: ‘H.P.B. did not invent the Tibetan Brotherhood and Chelas’, an insightful Russian MS. (the date reads London, 1890) in H.P. Blavatsky’s handwriting was discovered in the Adyar […]
Adoration of Athena and the Owl and the “Hiraf” Article on Rosicrucians and Illuminati
Blavatsky Hopes Truth will Prevail So do we “They worship Hermes (WISDOM) most of gods. And they swear an oath by Him alone, and say that they were born from Hermes (WISDOM).”—Herodotus, Thrace: The Getai and the Trausians, Bk 5.7; see Robert B. Strassler, The […]
Marcello Veneziani on the Spirit of Giovanni Gentile’s Actualism and Rebuilding Italy
“It would take Gentile to rebuild Italy” outlines Gentile’s thought, and place in Italian intellectual history. Like Mazzini, Gentile understood nationalism in the sense, that it was a faith and a spiritual philosophy for unifying the people of a nation, which has its destiny. So, […]
H.P. Blavatsky involvement in Italian Politics with Garibaldi and Mazzini, and the Carbonari’s Role in the Republican Revolutions
Blavatsky interest in Italian Politics, and the Carbonari It is not enough to study history, but to make history, and the movers of history is a function we take interest in. The subject of the relation between Secret Societies, Politics and Theosophy is a fascinating […]
The Sophistry of the Anti-Nationalist | Progressives and Liberals versus Nationalism?
The attempts to redefine and demonize nationalism is largely an incoherent reaction to the identitarian and “new right” fervor of race realists and self-describing “ethno-nationalists.” As I’ve argued, even the nineteenth-century Theosophists were not anti-nationalist in the sense, when the contemporary offers fallacious arguments on […]
The Evolution of the God-Idea | H.P. Blavatsky on the Limits of the Greeks and Christians
A section from the 1888 work of H.P. Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine (pp. 326-28: Divine Thought, or Cineritious Matter) discusses the evolution of the GOD-IDEA. This is the beginning of some far more dense commentary on occult physics that will be central to the completed […]
Republicanism and Mazzini in the Age of Nationalism
Thoughts on Mazzini, Nationalism, & the Republican Cause Concerning the old Republican Cause as a global idea and over-arching Philosophical and Utopian Vision for the advancement of Civilization and Nationalism—nationalism we are all told in our introductory classes to political science is a modern “idea” […]
Why Trump Is Not a Fascist: A Conversation with Vivek Chibber and Achin Vanaik
A great conversation with reflection Achin Vanaik (“The Rise of Hindu Authoritarianism”) and Vivek Chibber (“Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital”) discuss new forms of authoritarianism and nationalism in the age of Modi, Putin, Erdogan, and Trump. The discussion was moderated by Amber A’Lee […]
