Joscelyn Godwin 
Theosophical Enlightenment 

This is an intellectual history of occult and esoteric currents in the English-speaking world from the early Romantic period to the early twentieth century. The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by Helena P. Blavatsky, holds a crucial position as the place where all these currents temporarily united, before again diverging. The book’s ambiguous title points to the author’s thesis that Theosophy owed as much to the skeptical Enlightenment of the eighteenth century as it did to the concept of spiritual enlightenment with which it is more readily associated.



The author respects his sources sufficiently to allow that their world, so different from that of academic reductionism, has a right to be exhibited on its own terms. At the same time he does not conceal the fact that he considers many of them deluded and deluding.



In the context of theosophical history, this book is neither on the side of the blind votaries of Madame Blavatsky, nor on that of her enemies. It may, therefore, be expected to mildly annoy both sides.

Tabela de Conteúdo

List of Illustrations



Preface



1. The Worship of the Generative Powers



2. The Cult of the Sun



3. The Blasphemers



4. The Shoemaker and the Squire



5. Magicians and Revolutionaries



6. Neophytes and Initiates



7. Artists and Astrologers



8. Animal Magnetism



9. Visions in the Crystal



10. Hydesville and After



11. From the Orphic Circle to the Golden Dawn



12. The Way to Christ



13. Rosicrucian Pretenders



14. Enter Madame Blavatsky



15. Wisdom from the East



16. The Hermetic Reaction



17. The Parting of East and West



Appendix A Letter from Rammohun Roy to Robert Dale Owen



Appendix B Letter from Hargrave Jennings to Bulwer-Lytton



Notes



Bibliography of Works Cited



Index

Sobre o autor

Joscelyn Godwin is a Professor at Colgate University. His previous works include
Arktos; Robert Fludd; Athanasius Kircher; Mystery Religions in the Ancient World; Harmonies of Heaven and Earth; The Mystery of the Seven Vowels; and
L’Ésotérisme musical en France.