Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esoteric Traditions

by Arthur Versluis

Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esoteric Traditions is a concise overview, from antiquity to the present, of all the major Western religious esoteric movements. Topics covered include alchemy, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy and many more. Magic and Mysticism is ideal for students of Mysticism and New Religious Movements, as well as for general readers of Metaphysics and Esoterica.

Genres: Occult, Religion, Esoterica, History, Mysticism, Philosophy

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Arthur Versluis, Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University, holds a doctorate from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has published numerous books and articles.

Among his many books are Platonic Mysticism (SUNY Press 2017), American Gurus (Oxford UP, 2014), Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esotericism (Rowman Littlefield, 2007), The New Inquisitions: Heretic-hunting and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Totalitarianism (Oxford UP, 2006), Restoring Paradise: Esoteric Transmission through Literature and Art (SUNY: 2004); The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance (Oxford UP: 2001); Wisdom’s Book: The Sophia Anthology, (Paragon House, 2000); Island Farm (MSU Press, 2000); Wisdom’s Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition (SUNY: 1999); and American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions (Oxford UP, 1993).

His family has owned a commercial farm in West Michigan for several generations, and so he also published a book called Island Farm about the family farm, and about family farming in the modern era.

Versluis was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to Germany, and is the editor of JSR: Journal for the Study of Radicalism. He is the founding president of Hieros, a 501c3 nonprofit focused on spirituality and cultural renewal.

Reviews

[James Gwinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contained an absolute wealth of information on the history of western esotericism and (what seems to me) a very in-depth catalogue of the key figures in that history. However, because it goes through so much history and approaches to gnosis, it's difficult to really get absorbed in any single philosophy, and I left the book with even more questions than answers. This isn't totally bad though. I definitely got a good sense of what general terms like esotericism, magic, mysticism, gnosis, and hermeticism mean. I was also fascinated by the notion of via positiva and via negativa, and I plan on doing some more research there in addition to the list of figures I am interested in learning more about after reading this book. Overall, it was exactly what it deemed itself - a worthy introduction.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

It covers a lot of ground - all the major occult, esoteric and mystical conditions in European and American history. And it has an interesting thesis - that esotericism and mysticism are simply two related paths towards gnosis; the 'via positivia' and the 'via negativa.'

But what it has in breadth is lacks in depth. It doesn't fully explain any of the movements or thinkers, and often lacks even the most basic description. Many of the chapters are little more than a bibliography and don't actually mention what the movement was or what the thinkers thought. You learn the names and dates of Rosicrucians, but you never find out what a Rosicrucian is.

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is my first proper foray into the field of Western esotericism (other than a few brief online videos) and seems to do a fairly good job. The book is at its best when presenting basic concepts, including schema for understanding and organizing branches of esoteric thought. it traces the connections and concordances of different esoteric traditions and summarizes the ideas and legacies of many major figures.
That said, the book occasionally lapses into little more than a running list of scholars' names and works, especially in its chronicle of the 20th century onward, with snippets that are meant to provide a summary of certain thinkers' ideas but really do no such thing.
Nonetheless, it's a solid introductory work for those willing to do further reading on the subject matter.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broad, concise, and sheds a light on many of the currents and topics which are frequently covered by the section of YouTube focused on western esotericism and mysticism in religion. The book does lose some steam when detailing Christian teosophy in a latter chapter, which reads more like a list of figures rather than an examination of the Christian teosophic tradition compared to the informative outlines of earlier currents in previous chapters. However, this chapter is followed up by a particularly interesting chapter on esotericism in the modern west and how that has been shaped - and in some cases is quite divorced from - the long tradition of western esotericism. An enjoyable introduction to fascinating (and very overlooked) streams of thought throughout western history.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really this book just takes all the fun out of Mysticism. Academia has finally decided to stop snubbing an undercurrent of Western Civilization. At first I was excited about what that would mean, but now I am thinking it could ruin it. Academia, though it has its obvious purposes, still heavily steeped in its delusional objectivism can take any subject and absolutely sterilize it, nuetering it of all the awe and wonder.

That is what this book does, it takes an otherwise fascinating subject and just turns it into a laundry list of whose who of western mystics and their books. It is a lot like reading a long bibliography full of dates and citations with little substance. Frankly I was impressed with how well this author turned an otherwise intriguing subject into something so dull.

[Wolf Ostheeren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might not be the perfect judge, never having approached the subject from a scholarly point of view before, but for me it was a very good introduction. It gave me a survey of the field and a lot to think and to read about.