illuin-cde/chunked-mldr-big-100 · Datasets at Hugging Face

chunk_id stringlengths 5 9	chunk stringlengths 1 100
9858_293	composed of a wrathful core, surrounded by the forces of light and love. Though condemned by
9858_294	Germany's Lutheran authorities, Böhme's ideas spread and formed the basis for a number of small
9858_295	religious communities, such as Johann Georg Gichtel's Angelic Brethren in Amsterdam, and John
9858_296	Pordage and Jane Leade's Philadelphian Society in England.
9858_297	From 1614 to 1616, the three Rosicrucian Manifestos were published in Germany. These texts
9858_298	purported to represent a secret, initiatory brotherhood founded centuries before by a German adept
9858_299	named Christian Rosenkreutz. There is no evidence that Rosenkreutz was a genuine historical figure,
9858_300	nor that a Rosicrucian Order had ever existed before then. Instead, the manifestos are likely
9858_301	literary creations of Lutheran theologian Johann Valentin Andreae (1586–1654). However, they
9858_302	inspired much public interest, with various individuals coming to describe themselves as
9858_303	"Rosicrucian" and claiming that they had access to secret, esoteric knowledge as a result.
9858_304	A real initiatory brotherhood was established in late 16th-century Scotland through the
9858_305	transformation of Medieval stonemason guilds to include non-craftsman: Freemasonry. Soon spreading
9858_306	into other parts of Europe, in England it largely rejected its esoteric character and embraced
9858_307	humanism and rationalism, while in France it embraced new esoteric concepts, particularly those
9858_308	from Christian theosophy.
9858_309	18th, 19th and early 20th centuries
9858_310	The Age of Enlightenment witnessed a process of increasing secularisation of European governments
9858_311	and an embrace of modern science and rationality within intellectual circles. In turn, a "modernist
9858_312	occult" emerged that reflected varied ways esoteric thinkers came to terms with these developments.
9858_313	One of the most prominent esotericists of this period was the Swedish naturalist Emanuel Swedenborg
9858_314	(1688–1772), who attempted to reconcile science and religion after experiencing a vision of Jesus
9858_315	Christ. His writings focused on his visionary travels to heaven and hell and his communications
9858_316	with angels, claiming that the visible, materialist world parallels an invisible spiritual world,
9858_317	with correspondences between the two that do not reflect causal relations. Following his death,
9858_318	followers founded the Swedenborgian New Church—though his writings influenced a wider array of
9858_319	esoteric philosophies. Another major figure within the esoteric movement of this period was the
9858_320	German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1814), who developed the theory of Animal Magnetism,
9858_321	which later became known more commonly as Mesmerism. Mesmer claimed that a universal life force
9858_322	permeated everything, including the human body, and that illnesses were caused by a disturbance or
9858_323	block in this force's flow; he developed techniques he claimed cleansed such blockages and restored
9858_324	the patient to full health. One of Mesmer's followers, the Marquis de Puységur, discovered that
9858_325	mesmeric treatment could induce a state of somnumbulic trance in which they claimed to enter
9858_326	visionary states and communicate with spirit beings.
9858_327	These somnambulic trance-states heavily influenced the esoteric religion of Spiritualism, which
9858_328	emerged in the United States in the 1840s and spread throughout North America and Europe.
9858_329	Spiritualism was based on the concept that individuals could communicate with spirits of the
9858_330	deceased during séances. Most forms of Spiritualism had little theoretical depth, being largely
9858_331	practical affairs—but full theological worldviews based on the movement were articulated by Andrew
9858_332	Jackson Davis (1826–1910) and Allan Kardec (1804–1869). Scientific interest in the claims of
9858_333	Spiritualism resulted in the development of the field of psychical research. Somnambulism also
9858_334	exerted a strong influence on the early disciplines of psychology and psychiatry; esoteric ideas
9858_335	pervade the work of many early figures in this field, most notably Carl Gustav Jung—though with the
9858_336	rise of psychoanalysis and behaviourism in the 20th century, these disciplines distanced themselves
9858_337	from esotericism. Also influenced by artificial somnambulism was the religion of New Thought,
9858_338	founded by the American mesmerist Phineas P. Quimby (1802–1866). It revolved around the concept of
9858_339	"mind over matter"—believing that illness and other negative conditions could be cured through the
9858_340	power of belief.
9858_341	In Europe, a movement usually termed occultism emerged as various figures attempted to find a
9858_342	"third way" between Christianity and positivist science while building on the ancient, medieval,
9858_343	and Renaissance traditions of esoteric thought. In France, following the social upheaval of the
9858_344	1789 Revolution, various figures emerged in this occultist milieu who were heavily influenced by
9858_345	traditional Catholicism, the most notable of whom were Eliphas Lévi (1810–1875) and Papus
9858_346	(1865–1916). Also significant was René Guénon (1886–1951), whose concern with tradition led him to
9858_347	develop an occult viewpoint termed Traditionalism; it espoused the idea of an original, universal
9858_348	tradition, and thus a rejection of modernity. His Traditionalist ideas strongly influenced later
9858_349	esotericists like Julius Evola (1898–1974) and Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998).
9858_350	In the Anglophone world, the burgeoning occult movement owed more to Enlightenment libertines, and
9858_351	thus was more often of an anti-Christian bent that saw wisdom as emanating from the pre-Christian
9858_352	pagan religions of Europe. Various Spiritualist mediums came to be disillusioned with the esoteric
9858_353	thought available, and sought inspiration in pre-Swedenborgian currents; the most prominent of
9858_354	these were Emma Hardinge Britten (1823–1899) and Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891), the latter of whom
9858_355	called for the revival of the "occult science" of the ancients, which could be found in both the
9858_356	East and West. Authoring the influential Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), she
9858_357	co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. Subsequent leaders of the Society, namely Annie Besant
9858_358	(1847–1933) and Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) interpreted modern theosophy as a form of
9858_359	ecumenical esoteric Christianity, resulting in their proclamation of Indian Jiddu Krishnamurti
9858_360	(1895–1986) as world messiah. In rejection of this was the breakaway Anthroposophical Society
9858_361	founded by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). Another form of esoteric Christianity is the spiritual
9858_362	science of the Danish mystic Martinus who is popular in Scandinavia.
9858_363	New esoteric understandings of magic also developed in the latter part of the 19th century. One of
9858_364	the pioneers of this was American Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825–1875), who argued that sexual
9858_365	energy and psychoactive drugs could be used for magical purposes. In England, the Hermetic Order of
9858_366	the Golden Dawn—an initiatory order devoted to magic based on kabbalah—was founded in the latter
9858_367	years of the century. One of the most prominent members of that order was Aleister Crowley
9858_368	(1875–1947), who went on to proclaim the religion of Thelema and become a prominent member of the
9858_369	Ordo Templi Orientis. Some of their contemporaries developed esoteric schools of thought that did
9858_370	not entail magic, namely the Greco-Armenian teacher George Gurdjieff (1866–1949) and his Russian
9858_371	pupil P.D. Ouspensky (1878–1947).
9858_372	Emergent occult and esoteric systems found increasing popularity in the early 20th century,
9858_373	especially in Western Europe. Occult lodges and secret societies flowered among European
9858_374	intellectuals of this era who had largely abandoned traditional forms of Christianity. The
9858_375	spreading of secret teachings and magic practices found enthusiastic adherents in the chaos of
9858_376	Germany during the interwar years. Notable writers such as Guido von List spread neo-pagan,
9858_377	nationalist ideas, based on Wotanism and the Kabbalah. Many influential and wealthy Germans were
9858_378	drawn to secret societies such as the Thule Society. Thule Society activist Karl Harrer was one of
9858_379	the founders of the German Workers' Party, which later became the Nazi Party; some Nazi Party
9858_380	members like Alfred Rosenberg and Rudolf Hess were listed as "guests" of the Thule Society, as was
9858_381	Adolf Hitler's mentor Dietrich Eckart. After their rise to power, the Nazis persecuted occultists.
9858_382	While many Nazi Party leaders like Hitler and Joseph Goebbels were hostile to occultism, Heinrich
9858_383	Himmler used Karl Maria Wiligut as a clairvoyant "and was regularly consulting for help in setting
9858_384	up the symbolic and ceremonial aspects of the SS" but not for important political decisions. By
9858_385	1939, Wiligut was "forcibly retired from the SS" due to being institutionalised for insanity. On
9858_386	the other hand, the German hermetic magic order Fraternitas Saturni was founded on Easter 1928 and
9858_387	it is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany. In 1936, the Fraternitas
9858_388	Saturni was prohibited by the Nazi regime. The leaders of the lodge emigrated to avoid
9858_389	imprisonment, but in the course of the war Eugen Grosche, one of their main leaders, was arrested
9858_390	for a year by the Nazi government. After World War II they reformed the Fraternitas Saturni.
9858_391	Several religious scholars such as Hugh Urban and Donald Westbrook have classified Scientology as
9858_392	being a modern form of Western Esotericism.

9858_293

composed of a wrathful core, surrounded by the forces of light and love. Though condemned by

9858_294

Germany's Lutheran authorities, Böhme's ideas spread and formed the basis for a number of small

9858_295

religious communities, such as Johann Georg Gichtel's Angelic Brethren in Amsterdam, and John

9858_296

Pordage and Jane Leade's Philadelphian Society in England.

9858_297

From 1614 to 1616, the three Rosicrucian Manifestos were published in Germany. These texts

9858_298

purported to represent a secret, initiatory brotherhood founded centuries before by a German adept

9858_299

named Christian Rosenkreutz. There is no evidence that Rosenkreutz was a genuine historical figure,

9858_300

nor that a Rosicrucian Order had ever existed before then. Instead, the manifestos are likely

9858_301

literary creations of Lutheran theologian Johann Valentin Andreae (1586–1654). However, they

9858_302

inspired much public interest, with various individuals coming to describe themselves as

9858_303

"Rosicrucian" and claiming that they had access to secret, esoteric knowledge as a result.

9858_304

A real initiatory brotherhood was established in late 16th-century Scotland through the

9858_305

transformation of Medieval stonemason guilds to include non-craftsman: Freemasonry. Soon spreading

9858_306

into other parts of Europe, in England it largely rejected its esoteric character and embraced

9858_307

humanism and rationalism, while in France it embraced new esoteric concepts, particularly those

9858_308

from Christian theosophy.

9858_309

18th, 19th and early 20th centuries

9858_310

The Age of Enlightenment witnessed a process of increasing secularisation of European governments

9858_311

and an embrace of modern science and rationality within intellectual circles. In turn, a "modernist

9858_312

occult" emerged that reflected varied ways esoteric thinkers came to terms with these developments.

9858_313

One of the most prominent esotericists of this period was the Swedish naturalist Emanuel Swedenborg

9858_314

(1688–1772), who attempted to reconcile science and religion after experiencing a vision of Jesus

9858_315

Christ. His writings focused on his visionary travels to heaven and hell and his communications

9858_316

with angels, claiming that the visible, materialist world parallels an invisible spiritual world,

9858_317

with correspondences between the two that do not reflect causal relations. Following his death,

9858_318

followers founded the Swedenborgian New Church—though his writings influenced a wider array of

9858_319

esoteric philosophies. Another major figure within the esoteric movement of this period was the

9858_320

German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1814), who developed the theory of Animal Magnetism,

9858_321

which later became known more commonly as Mesmerism. Mesmer claimed that a universal life force

9858_322

permeated everything, including the human body, and that illnesses were caused by a disturbance or

9858_323

block in this force's flow; he developed techniques he claimed cleansed such blockages and restored

9858_324

the patient to full health. One of Mesmer's followers, the Marquis de Puységur, discovered that

9858_325

mesmeric treatment could induce a state of somnumbulic trance in which they claimed to enter

9858_326

visionary states and communicate with spirit beings.

9858_327

These somnambulic trance-states heavily influenced the esoteric religion of Spiritualism, which

9858_328

emerged in the United States in the 1840s and spread throughout North America and Europe.

9858_329

Spiritualism was based on the concept that individuals could communicate with spirits of the

9858_330

deceased during séances. Most forms of Spiritualism had little theoretical depth, being largely

9858_331

practical affairs—but full theological worldviews based on the movement were articulated by Andrew

9858_332

Jackson Davis (1826–1910) and Allan Kardec (1804–1869). Scientific interest in the claims of

9858_333

Spiritualism resulted in the development of the field of psychical research. Somnambulism also

9858_334

exerted a strong influence on the early disciplines of psychology and psychiatry; esoteric ideas

9858_335

pervade the work of many early figures in this field, most notably Carl Gustav Jung—though with the

9858_336

rise of psychoanalysis and behaviourism in the 20th century, these disciplines distanced themselves

9858_337

from esotericism. Also influenced by artificial somnambulism was the religion of New Thought,

9858_338

founded by the American mesmerist Phineas P. Quimby (1802–1866). It revolved around the concept of

9858_339

"mind over matter"—believing that illness and other negative conditions could be cured through the

9858_340

power of belief.

9858_341

In Europe, a movement usually termed occultism emerged as various figures attempted to find a

9858_342

"third way" between Christianity and positivist science while building on the ancient, medieval,

9858_343

and Renaissance traditions of esoteric thought. In France, following the social upheaval of the

9858_344

1789 Revolution, various figures emerged in this occultist milieu who were heavily influenced by

9858_345

traditional Catholicism, the most notable of whom were Eliphas Lévi (1810–1875) and Papus

9858_346

(1865–1916). Also significant was René Guénon (1886–1951), whose concern with tradition led him to

9858_347

develop an occult viewpoint termed Traditionalism; it espoused the idea of an original, universal

9858_348

tradition, and thus a rejection of modernity. His Traditionalist ideas strongly influenced later

9858_349

esotericists like Julius Evola (1898–1974) and Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998).

9858_350

In the Anglophone world, the burgeoning occult movement owed more to Enlightenment libertines, and

9858_351

thus was more often of an anti-Christian bent that saw wisdom as emanating from the pre-Christian

9858_352

pagan religions of Europe. Various Spiritualist mediums came to be disillusioned with the esoteric

9858_353

thought available, and sought inspiration in pre-Swedenborgian currents; the most prominent of

9858_354

these were Emma Hardinge Britten (1823–1899) and Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891), the latter of whom

9858_355

called for the revival of the "occult science" of the ancients, which could be found in both the

9858_356

East and West. Authoring the influential Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), she

9858_357

co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. Subsequent leaders of the Society, namely Annie Besant

9858_358

(1847–1933) and Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) interpreted modern theosophy as a form of

9858_359

ecumenical esoteric Christianity, resulting in their proclamation of Indian Jiddu Krishnamurti

9858_360

(1895–1986) as world messiah. In rejection of this was the breakaway Anthroposophical Society

9858_361

founded by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). Another form of esoteric Christianity is the spiritual

9858_362

science of the Danish mystic Martinus who is popular in Scandinavia.

9858_363

New esoteric understandings of magic also developed in the latter part of the 19th century. One of

9858_364

the pioneers of this was American Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825–1875), who argued that sexual

9858_365

energy and psychoactive drugs could be used for magical purposes. In England, the Hermetic Order of

9858_366

the Golden Dawn—an initiatory order devoted to magic based on kabbalah—was founded in the latter

9858_367

years of the century. One of the most prominent members of that order was Aleister Crowley

9858_368

(1875–1947), who went on to proclaim the religion of Thelema and become a prominent member of the

9858_369

Ordo Templi Orientis. Some of their contemporaries developed esoteric schools of thought that did

9858_370

not entail magic, namely the Greco-Armenian teacher George Gurdjieff (1866–1949) and his Russian

9858_371

pupil P.D. Ouspensky (1878–1947).

9858_372

Emergent occult and esoteric systems found increasing popularity in the early 20th century,

9858_373

especially in Western Europe. Occult lodges and secret societies flowered among European

9858_374

intellectuals of this era who had largely abandoned traditional forms of Christianity. The

9858_375

spreading of secret teachings and magic practices found enthusiastic adherents in the chaos of

9858_376

Germany during the interwar years. Notable writers such as Guido von List spread neo-pagan,

9858_377

nationalist ideas, based on Wotanism and the Kabbalah. Many influential and wealthy Germans were

9858_378

drawn to secret societies such as the Thule Society. Thule Society activist Karl Harrer was one of

9858_379

the founders of the German Workers' Party, which later became the Nazi Party; some Nazi Party

9858_380

members like Alfred Rosenberg and Rudolf Hess were listed as "guests" of the Thule Society, as was

9858_381

Adolf Hitler's mentor Dietrich Eckart. After their rise to power, the Nazis persecuted occultists.

9858_382

While many Nazi Party leaders like Hitler and Joseph Goebbels were hostile to occultism, Heinrich

9858_383

Himmler used Karl Maria Wiligut as a clairvoyant "and was regularly consulting for help in setting

9858_384

up the symbolic and ceremonial aspects of the SS" but not for important political decisions. By

9858_385

1939, Wiligut was "forcibly retired from the SS" due to being institutionalised for insanity. On

9858_386

the other hand, the German hermetic magic order Fraternitas Saturni was founded on Easter 1928 and

9858_387

it is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany. In 1936, the Fraternitas

9858_388

Saturni was prohibited by the Nazi regime. The leaders of the lodge emigrated to avoid

9858_389

imprisonment, but in the course of the war Eugen Grosche, one of their main leaders, was arrested

9858_390

for a year by the Nazi government. After World War II they reformed the Fraternitas Saturni.

9858_391

Several religious scholars such as Hugh Urban and Donald Westbrook have classified Scientology as

9858_392

being a modern form of Western Esotericism.