Category: Theosophy
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Introduction to the Pre-Socratic Sages, Part II: All the Wise Sages
INTRODUCTORY NOTE One of the reasons I have written this is to inspire us as world travelers, cosmopolitans, students, academics, teachers and so on. To begin, we must understand that if you sought to write a philosophical treatise or found a school (whether intentionally, directly or indirectly), how much the ideal of modern perfection and…
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Third Republic Civic Republicanism, Esoteric Movements and Protestantism in France Belle Epoque Era
INTRODUCTION Historical figures involved in French Third Republic (1870–1940) politics were generally opposed to the monarchy, aligning with the prevailing republican and anti-clerical sentiments of the era, though there are nuances in this time within esoteric currents. The Theosophical Society in France, officially established as a section in 1899, attracted and propelled several notable figures who were…
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Heraclitus of Ephesus: Philosopher of the Ever-Living Fire in the Ionian Tradition
Imagine stepping into a river, only to find that both you and the water have transformed in the blink of an eye. “No man ever steps in the same river twice,” declared Heraclitus. This simple yet profound observation captures the fundamentals of his philosophy; and one that revolutionized how we understand change, unity, and the…
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Theosophy, Pre-Socratic Monism and Cosmology in relation to Abrahamic Monotheistic Claims
Within the Theosophical framework, as articulated by H.P. Blavatsky and in David Reigle’s analyses of an ancient, pre-Vedic Wisdom Tradition, the Pre-Socratic sages such as Thales, Anaximander, Xenophanes, Parmenides, Heraclitus, and Pythagoras (often included in this group) are regarded as pivotal figures who birthed Western civilization and philosophy by drawing from a primordial, universal esoteric…
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David Reigle’s Analysis on legitimate Buddhist Esoteric Lineage in Theosophy: Great Madhyamaka and Samkhya
INTRODUCTION In David Reigle’s analysis when discussing the relation of Theosophy to Great Madhyamaka and the Samkhya school, he positions Theosophy as the contemporary manifestation of an ancient Wisdom Tradition, emphasizing its doctrinal coherence with esoteric Eastern systems, rather than eclectic borrowings. This distinction in defining Theosophy is key to future research, because standard definitions…
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Theosophy and the Wisdom Tradition according to David Reigle
Theosophy is portrayed as the modern expression of an ancient, non-dual and non-theistic universal Wisdom Tradition, that predated all known religions and serves as their primordial source. This tradition, once universally diffused, fragmented into exoteric religions particularly under priestcraft and conventionalists, but was preserved in esoteric schools through oral and initiatory dissemination of knowledge, particularly…
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Athena, Virgin Guardian of Aries: Courage and Noetic Enlightenment in Hellenic Esotericism
INTRODUCTION TO ZODIACAL SYMBOLISM AND SALVATION IN PRYSE’S INTERPRETATION We adventure once more into The Restored New Testament (1914) of Theosophist James Morgan Pryse to understand the significance of Athena in Hellenic religion. Pryse’s work reinterprets the New Testament as a Hellenic mystery drama infused with esoteric symbolism, blending Greek mythology, zodiacal astrology, and theosophical…
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Jewish Kabbalah and Hindu Account of the Origin of the Universe: Cosmological Notes
INTRODUCTION This article aims to demonstrate a fundamental unity of ancient esoteric wisdom traditions by comparing Hindu cosmogony with Jewish cosmogony in addition to correcting certain ideas about shared geometric symbolism. These systems are not oppositional but “two leaves on the same stem,” sharing an identical esoteric core that originates from a primordial universal secret…
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Chain of Transmission of Ancient Wisdom in the Writings of Helena Blavatsky
It was proposed in her earlier works like Isis Unveiled that the transmission of ancient wisdom or cultural influences originating in India passed through Egypt and/or Chaldea (ancient Babylonia in southern Mesopotamia), and then extending to ancient Greece and Jewish traditions. This was central in early Theosophical frameworks in books such as later in The…
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Nahmanides to Theosophy: Views about the Kabbalah
Traditionally, Kabbalah is the mystical, esoteric tradition within Judaism, and its transmission was restricted to a small few highly learned Jewish sages or advanced scholars under the direct tutelgage of a rabbi or a qualified mekubal (master). Therefore, there are levels as discussed. When you ask about the Kabbalah, you will be given a simple…
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Medieval Kabbalah and the Transmission of Jewish Mysticism
𖣂 Kabbalah is the primary vehicle for the Hebrew sod (or secret wisdom) as written. Representing pre-medieval esoteric traditions, the SeferYetzirah (Book of Formation or Book of Creation) is one of the earliest extant texts in Jewish esotericism and a foundational influence on later Kabbalah. This short, cryptic text describes the universe’s emanative phases through the 32 paths…
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Crusades to Late Renaissance Occultism to Enlightenment Timeline (1075-1680)
HISTORY ABOUT THE TIMELINE This timeline focuses on significant events and personages specifically from the Crusades to the Late Renaissance, which leads into the Enlightenment. It is a record of Europe’s most riveting historical developments in the study of Religion and War in Europe, and the history of the Catholic Church and Occult Philosophy from…
The American Minervan 