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Isis entschleiert
Es waren die beiden großen Werke von Helena P.Blavatsky, welche die moderne esoterische Bewegung begründeten -Die Geheimlehre und Isis Entschleiert. Ging die Geheimlehre vorrangig auf die verborgene esoterische Lehre des Ostens ein, so setzte sich die grosse Theosophin in Isis Entschleiert mit der abendländischen Wissenschaft und Theologie auseinander. Sie weist die Überheblichkeit einer Wissenschaft, die weitgehend atheistisch ausgerichtet ist und alles mit den fünf Sinnen erklären zu können glaubt, ebenso in die Schranken wie eine begrenzte Theologie, die weder die Erkenntnisse der grossen Mystiker des Abendlandes noch die Einsichten der grossen Weisen des Ostens genügend berücksichtigt. Beide habe den "Schleier der Isis" nicht gehoben! Die neue "Studienausgabe" legt nicht nur eine brillante Neuübersetzung der wichtigsten Abschnitte der umfassend recherchierten amerikanischen Originalausgabe vor, sondern liefert eine Reihe herausragender Studien zu Blavatskys grossem Werk. Dabei zeigt sich, wie weitsichtig die Analysen Helena Blavatskys waren und wie zeitlos ihre Erkenntnisse.Isis Entschleiert schenkt dem Leser einen kostbaren Meisterschlüssel zu den Mysterien der antiken und der modernen Esoterik, der wahrhaft die Türen zum Heiligtum der Isis öffnet!Ein zeitloser Klassiker, dessen ausserordentliche Weisheit sich erst allmählich zu offenbaren beginnt!
718 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1877
743 people are currently reading
3868 people want to read
About the author
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
1,733 books668 followersHelena Petrovna Blavatsky (Russian: Еле́на Петро́вна Блава́тская, Yelena Petrovna Blavatskaya, often known as Madame Blavatsky; 12 August [O.S. 31 July] 1831 – 8 May 1891) was a Russian occultist, philosopher, and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the leading theoretician of Theosophy, the esoteric religion that the society promoted.
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
November 29, 2014
Blavatsky...
dear occultist,
... was a genius and the fact that she wrote so brilliantly in English, which was not even her native language, is amazing. Alas, the thesis in Vol. 1, while still valid and which involves her evidence and arguments that science is lacking when it endeavors to prove that only what is material and can be proven "scientifically" is worth considering in life, is contrasted against the science of the 19th century and would be much better if updated against what we have now come to learn and understand about the nature of the world and the universe. The data and articles she cites are, for the most part, long forgotten.
Vol. 2, however, which deals with religion, essentially sets out and, we think, demonstrates that nearly all religions, Christian, Hebrew/Judaic, Moslem, Egyptian, Caldean, etc. all stem from India and the earliest Hindu and Pre-Buddhic texts there. There is more to the vol. than that, but this is its essence.
We find it difficult to read Blavatsky without being utterly amazed at her erudition and the way she continually expands our knowledge and understanding. This is not a work for the faint of heart. We expect that only a truly devoted occultist would persevere to the end, but it is worth it.
kyela,
the silver elves
Goodreads authors of Through the Mists of Faerie: A Magical Guide to the Wisdom Teaching of the Ancient Elven and 30 other books on magic and enchantment including Liber Aelph: Words of Guidance from the Silver Elves to Our Magical Children
dear occultist,
... was a genius and the fact that she wrote so brilliantly in English, which was not even her native language, is amazing. Alas, the thesis in Vol. 1, while still valid and which involves her evidence and arguments that science is lacking when it endeavors to prove that only what is material and can be proven "scientifically" is worth considering in life, is contrasted against the science of the 19th century and would be much better if updated against what we have now come to learn and understand about the nature of the world and the universe. The data and articles she cites are, for the most part, long forgotten.
Vol. 2, however, which deals with religion, essentially sets out and, we think, demonstrates that nearly all religions, Christian, Hebrew/Judaic, Moslem, Egyptian, Caldean, etc. all stem from India and the earliest Hindu and Pre-Buddhic texts there. There is more to the vol. than that, but this is its essence.
We find it difficult to read Blavatsky without being utterly amazed at her erudition and the way she continually expands our knowledge and understanding. This is not a work for the faint of heart. We expect that only a truly devoted occultist would persevere to the end, but it is worth it.
kyela,
the silver elves
Goodreads authors of Through the Mists of Faerie: A Magical Guide to the Wisdom Teaching of the Ancient Elven and 30 other books on magic and enchantment including Liber Aelph: Words of Guidance from the Silver Elves to Our Magical Children
May 6, 2015
Rambling. Outrageous. Strident. Brilliant. Maybe the book is too long. Maybe not. It took me a while to get the point. Maybe Blavatsky did need close to two thousand pages to make it.
Blavatsky's point is that the Christian clergy has unnecessarily pitted itself against science by adhering to too literal a reading of the Scriptures and demonizing the wisdom of other religions to which it is, nonetheless, in irredeemable debt. She shoots down both science and organized religion to solve the conflict between them. Even if her discourse seems to be all over the place, its ultimate target turns out to be Christianity towards the end of her treatise. I think it is important to understand that right from the beginning.
Blavatsky shows that Christianity should be understood as an expression of mankind's universal spiritual quest. To that end, she demonstrates, for example, that the Sermon on the Mount was invented in India and the Litany of Loretto had a precursor in the Litany to the Egyptian deity Isis. It is impossible for me to verify most of the claims she makes but I was definitely impressed by her expert account of the Biblical passages relating to the Gehenna fire, at a time when it was not popular to deny the existence of a literal hell fire. These days it is.
It is difficult to grow enamoured of the Blavatsky's arrogance and abrasive tone but it is more difficult not to admire her erudition. One cannot help wondering how she could handle so much material before there were computers, let alone search engines. The Litany of Loretto that she cites is unknown to most Roman Catholics. It is all the more astounding that she has found two of its predecessors from more ancient "pagan" cultures. All before the Internet.
No - Helena Blavatsky turned out all right at the end (to paraphrase Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby). I could have dismissed Isis Unveiled but, had I done so, I would have closed my mind to something that seems to have changed the course of intellectual history for good. Having read it, I appreciate that nothing has been quite the same after Blavatsky published Isis Unveiled in 1877. It would take more than one reading to get the hang of the material. Let me think. It might be worth it. Not the whole thing. Just selections.
Blavatsky's point is that the Christian clergy has unnecessarily pitted itself against science by adhering to too literal a reading of the Scriptures and demonizing the wisdom of other religions to which it is, nonetheless, in irredeemable debt. She shoots down both science and organized religion to solve the conflict between them. Even if her discourse seems to be all over the place, its ultimate target turns out to be Christianity towards the end of her treatise. I think it is important to understand that right from the beginning.
Blavatsky shows that Christianity should be understood as an expression of mankind's universal spiritual quest. To that end, she demonstrates, for example, that the Sermon on the Mount was invented in India and the Litany of Loretto had a precursor in the Litany to the Egyptian deity Isis. It is impossible for me to verify most of the claims she makes but I was definitely impressed by her expert account of the Biblical passages relating to the Gehenna fire, at a time when it was not popular to deny the existence of a literal hell fire. These days it is.
It is difficult to grow enamoured of the Blavatsky's arrogance and abrasive tone but it is more difficult not to admire her erudition. One cannot help wondering how she could handle so much material before there were computers, let alone search engines. The Litany of Loretto that she cites is unknown to most Roman Catholics. It is all the more astounding that she has found two of its predecessors from more ancient "pagan" cultures. All before the Internet.
No - Helena Blavatsky turned out all right at the end (to paraphrase Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby). I could have dismissed Isis Unveiled but, had I done so, I would have closed my mind to something that seems to have changed the course of intellectual history for good. Having read it, I appreciate that nothing has been quite the same after Blavatsky published Isis Unveiled in 1877. It would take more than one reading to get the hang of the material. Let me think. It might be worth it. Not the whole thing. Just selections.
April 6, 2014
Search where we may through the archives of history, we find that there is no fragment of modern history – whether Newtonian , Cartesian, Huxleyian or any other – but has been dug from the Oriental mines. Even Positivism and Nihilism find their prototype in the exoteric portion of Kapila’s philosophy, as is well remarked by Max Muller. It was the inspiration of the Hindu sages that penetrated the mysteries of Pragna Paramita (perfect wisdom); their hands that rocked the cradle of the first ancestor of that feeble but noisy child that we have christened MODERN SCIENCE.
On traditional wisdom
The King Solomon so celebrated by posterity, as Josephus the historian says, for his magical skill, got his secrete learning from India through Hiram, the king of Ophir, and perhaps Sheba. His ring, commonly known as “Solomon’s seal”, so celebrated for the potency of its sway over the various kinds of genii and demons, in all the popular legends, is equally of Hindu origin. Writing on the pretentious and abominable skill of the all ‘devil worshipers’ of Travancore, the Rev. Samuel Mateer, of the London Missionary Society, claims at the same time to be in possession of a very old manuscript volume of magical incantations and spell in the Malayalam language, giving directions for effecting a great variety of purposes. Of course he adds, that “many of these are fearful in their malignity and obscenity,” and gives in his work the facsimile of some amulets bearing the magical figures and designs on them.
About treasures in Temple in Trivandrum (includes description by Rev. S. Mateer, London missionary, in quotes)
In the temple of Trivandrum, in the kingdom of Travancore, south India, “there is a deep well inside the temple, into which immense riches are thrown year by year, and in another place, in a hollow covered by a stone, a great golden lamp, which was lit over 120 years ago, still continues burning,” says this missionary in his description of the place.
On traditional wisdom
The King Solomon so celebrated by posterity, as Josephus the historian says, for his magical skill, got his secrete learning from India through Hiram, the king of Ophir, and perhaps Sheba. His ring, commonly known as “Solomon’s seal”, so celebrated for the potency of its sway over the various kinds of genii and demons, in all the popular legends, is equally of Hindu origin. Writing on the pretentious and abominable skill of the all ‘devil worshipers’ of Travancore, the Rev. Samuel Mateer, of the London Missionary Society, claims at the same time to be in possession of a very old manuscript volume of magical incantations and spell in the Malayalam language, giving directions for effecting a great variety of purposes. Of course he adds, that “many of these are fearful in their malignity and obscenity,” and gives in his work the facsimile of some amulets bearing the magical figures and designs on them.
About treasures in Temple in Trivandrum (includes description by Rev. S. Mateer, London missionary, in quotes)
In the temple of Trivandrum, in the kingdom of Travancore, south India, “there is a deep well inside the temple, into which immense riches are thrown year by year, and in another place, in a hollow covered by a stone, a great golden lamp, which was lit over 120 years ago, still continues burning,” says this missionary in his description of the place.
April 26, 2010
Highly overrated, dense, convoluted book by the founder of the Theosophy movement.
March 22, 2010
H.P.B. was a vessel : conch shell of Truth. She uplifts certain passages, words that symbolize the forgotten roots. She was writing in stance of the turning towards Materialism and the cold surface of Science. I personally find her still prominent during these times.
August 31, 2014
One of the most important book I have ever read. It gives perspective on the universe and humanity. It's not a matter of belief but observation and consideration. Open your mind, it's pure Knowledge ~
March 6, 2014
That woman was off her head.
May 6, 2017
These books are phenomenal, insightful, educational. Over the course of reading these, I kept a sticky pad nearby so that I could further educate myself on some of the theories and truths that the author presented.
But beware, this duo is NOT for the faint of heart or the close minded. If you are not open to new concepts and mindsets that veer off from what you've known, prepare yourself to be before reading these books. Otherwise, you will not experience the intrinsic opportunities inside.
But beware, this duo is NOT for the faint of heart or the close minded. If you are not open to new concepts and mindsets that veer off from what you've known, prepare yourself to be before reading these books. Otherwise, you will not experience the intrinsic opportunities inside.
February 4, 2021
The purpose of my reviews is to save the reader from wasting their valuable time. I read this garbage so you don’t have to.
I expect her koolaide drinking minions won’t like what I have to say. I make no claim that she’s wrong or a fraud. My main point is that she’s a bad writer. Other people I mention later say the same thing as her but do a 10000000% better job at it.
To sum up the body of Blavatsky's writings and her life MO, she "baffles 'em with bulls++t."
More than 5 million words, counting all her books. Terrible writing. All of it. Disorganised. Lazy. Joyless. Spends more time deliberately trying to confuse the reader and scolding the reader for said confusion than explaining her ideas.
She claims this is to protect the holy teachings from the unworthy. The reader needs to call BS on that.
Bad people can and do have IQs just as high as worthy people and are willing to spend decades master ing a field. Just look at all the cooked lawyers and greedy physicians out there ffs.
Her Text is a swamp of verbiage reader must slog through . It's clear she has no formal training in writing.
She refuses to explain her ideas. Often she refuses even to tell us what those ideas are. Over and over she refers reader in the vaguest terms to read her "earlier or later writings. " Refuses to get to the point.
Scolds confused reader for being lazy and unworthy of the sacred teachings transmitted to her from the Elders Orient. She says only the élite are worthy. That’s not us, the readers.
In an era in which we're flooded with information, this is inexcusable. Nobody has time for that nonsense.
Good writing is concise and gets to the point ASAP. Say it or shut it.
I recommend those interested in theosophy to skip that old wind bag and read books published by her students. The writing is 100% better .
Read cw leadbetter, annie besant, Dion fortune and others. For a hoot, read Crowley. Read Robert Monroe. They cut through Blavatsky's crap and explain theosophy quickly and in a fun way to read.
I expect her koolaide drinking minions won’t like what I have to say. I make no claim that she’s wrong or a fraud. My main point is that she’s a bad writer. Other people I mention later say the same thing as her but do a 10000000% better job at it.
To sum up the body of Blavatsky's writings and her life MO, she "baffles 'em with bulls++t."
More than 5 million words, counting all her books. Terrible writing. All of it. Disorganised. Lazy. Joyless. Spends more time deliberately trying to confuse the reader and scolding the reader for said confusion than explaining her ideas.
She claims this is to protect the holy teachings from the unworthy. The reader needs to call BS on that.
Bad people can and do have IQs just as high as worthy people and are willing to spend decades master ing a field. Just look at all the cooked lawyers and greedy physicians out there ffs.
Her Text is a swamp of verbiage reader must slog through . It's clear she has no formal training in writing.
She refuses to explain her ideas. Often she refuses even to tell us what those ideas are. Over and over she refers reader in the vaguest terms to read her "earlier or later writings. " Refuses to get to the point.
Scolds confused reader for being lazy and unworthy of the sacred teachings transmitted to her from the Elders Orient. She says only the élite are worthy. That’s not us, the readers.
In an era in which we're flooded with information, this is inexcusable. Nobody has time for that nonsense.
Good writing is concise and gets to the point ASAP. Say it or shut it.
I recommend those interested in theosophy to skip that old wind bag and read books published by her students. The writing is 100% better .
Read cw leadbetter, annie besant, Dion fortune and others. For a hoot, read Crowley. Read Robert Monroe. They cut through Blavatsky's crap and explain theosophy quickly and in a fun way to read.
October 20, 2013
At last I've finished this weighty (in more ways than one) tome - not an easy read for one whose knowledge of world religions and mythology does not match that of the author, yet there were moments of what seemed like enlightenment.
Helena Blavatsky sets out to show that all the world religions originated from one prehistoric religion - an ancient form of Buddhism still practised in India when the book was written, and almost certainly to this day, and that Christianity was formed by plundering the so-called pagan religions and rewriting to suit the purposes of the Church. Beliefs, gods, myths, sacred texts, language, the thoughts of the philosophers and history are compared exhaustively and often confusingly due to the sheer multitude of names given to the deities by different cultures, and many non-English theological terms.
A brave book for its time, although some of the content has been assembled from the works of other authors, who are given credit.
The final chapters describe many of the author's occult experiences in foreign lands - some so extraordinary that I couldn't help wondering if mesmerism was responsible.
What I need now is a book by Professor Ronald Hutton examining the author's sources and research and explaining all in his wonderfully clear and readable way. Dream on...
Helena Blavatsky sets out to show that all the world religions originated from one prehistoric religion - an ancient form of Buddhism still practised in India when the book was written, and almost certainly to this day, and that Christianity was formed by plundering the so-called pagan religions and rewriting to suit the purposes of the Church. Beliefs, gods, myths, sacred texts, language, the thoughts of the philosophers and history are compared exhaustively and often confusingly due to the sheer multitude of names given to the deities by different cultures, and many non-English theological terms.
A brave book for its time, although some of the content has been assembled from the works of other authors, who are given credit.
The final chapters describe many of the author's occult experiences in foreign lands - some so extraordinary that I couldn't help wondering if mesmerism was responsible.
What I need now is a book by Professor Ronald Hutton examining the author's sources and research and explaining all in his wonderfully clear and readable way. Dream on...
December 23, 2016
Un libro extraño, pero interesante, ofrece la visión del hierofante, discute las ideas científicas con ese tinte místico y ofrece otras explicaciones. Tomas las explicaciones científicas y busca conciliarlas con las místicas, critica la visión científica y adelanta faltantes en los descubrimientos científicos conociendo los resultados místicos y ... no se equivoca, lo sé porque este libro tiene casi 100 años! Lo recomiendo.
July 17, 2017
This woman knew her stuff.
A journey through the origins of all major religions. with plenty of references.
The catholics must have wanted this woman crucified.
A journey through the origins of all major religions. with plenty of references.
The catholics must have wanted this woman crucified.
August 14, 2018
Here lies one of the biggest roots of modern syncretism, "new-age" and pseudo-spirituality. A real malignent tumor.
René Guénon swept the floor pretty well with all this business indeed with his Theosophy: History of a Pseudo-Religion and The Spiritist Fallacy. Both books are a must.
Quotes from the Guénon book :
"‘Our goal,’ as Mme Blavatsky used to say, ‘is not to restore Hinduism, but to sweep Christianity from the surface of the earth .’" - Declaration made by Alfred Alexander and published in The Medium and Daybreak, London, January 1893, P23.
"A Theosophist has expressly declared that The Secret Doctrine would not have been published if the theory of evolution had not come to light in the human brain - Les Cycles, by Amaravella, in Lotus Bleu, April 27, 1894, p78); we would say, rather, that without it, it would not have been imagined."
At the seventeenth convention of the Theosophical Society, held at Adyar in December 1891, Colonel Olcott said the following: ‘I helped HPB in the compilation of her Isis Unveiled, while Keightley, with several others, did the same for the Secret Doctrine. Each of us knows full well how far from infallible are parts of these books, owing due to our collaboration, not to mention those parts written by HPB.
René Guénon swept the floor pretty well with all this business indeed with his Theosophy: History of a Pseudo-Religion and The Spiritist Fallacy. Both books are a must.
Quotes from the Guénon book :
"‘Our goal,’ as Mme Blavatsky used to say, ‘is not to restore Hinduism, but to sweep Christianity from the surface of the earth .’" - Declaration made by Alfred Alexander and published in The Medium and Daybreak, London, January 1893, P23.
"A Theosophist has expressly declared that The Secret Doctrine would not have been published if the theory of evolution had not come to light in the human brain - Les Cycles, by Amaravella, in Lotus Bleu, April 27, 1894, p78); we would say, rather, that without it, it would not have been imagined."
At the seventeenth convention of the Theosophical Society, held at Adyar in December 1891, Colonel Olcott said the following: ‘I helped HPB in the compilation of her Isis Unveiled, while Keightley, with several others, did the same for the Secret Doctrine. Each of us knows full well how far from infallible are parts of these books, owing due to our collaboration, not to mention those parts written by HPB.
April 23, 2013
Towering and obtuse to the uninitiated, but for those who have studied the Theosophist's Societies work. Madame Blavatsky's seminal work will teach you what was known to modern man a century ahead of it's time.
June 22, 2012
I really wanted to read this but the writing was too archaic. I attempted Volume 1 and didn't make it through so didn't even try volume 2. Maybe this is ome to come back and try again sometime????
Read
June 10, 2015Not sure which my edition is - it's two separate books bound in blue fabric and very, very old.
October 14, 2018
“I never sleep; were I fall asleep for moment before my time, all the Creation would crumble into dissolution in one instant.”
July 30, 2020
Finished vol I
February 6, 2024
This is only volume 2 (even though book info lists both volumes in page count). I will read volume 1 next.
Wow! Is all I can say after reading this over the last couple of months. It’s dense and all over the place, yes. But there are bits of interesting information and citations to which will not be so easily found (if at all) in the modern day. I was enthralled reading this, laughing at her sly humor at times. It broadened my whole conception of the world and our human history in it. I know, right? Whoa.
Here’s to starting the Secret Doctrine (vol 1) as soon as possible.
Wow! Is all I can say after reading this over the last couple of months. It’s dense and all over the place, yes. But there are bits of interesting information and citations to which will not be so easily found (if at all) in the modern day. I was enthralled reading this, laughing at her sly humor at times. It broadened my whole conception of the world and our human history in it. I know, right? Whoa.
Here’s to starting the Secret Doctrine (vol 1) as soon as possible.
July 10, 2021
This is one of Blavatsky's two monumental, classic books - both Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine are in two huge volumes and packed with information as well as philosophy. Isis is much more readable. SD is a study book for the serious student of cosmology and anthropology. Isis Unveiled is more approachable, filled with amazing stories. Its first volume is also easier to read. HPB took on a huge task writing both books - composing may be more accurate. She had much help from different directions. but the books went out under her name and she shares a number of personal stories from her travels and studies. The process of composing the book is worthy of study in itself. Basically, Isis Unveiled is about Nature or Isis, and Nature as the avenue to the study of Magic. That is Real Magic as practiced for ages by sages and mages. There are treasures in the reading. Even though it is simple stuff compared to The Secret Doctrine, it requires thought and comprehension. This reviewer has read the text several times and finds more of value each read.
December 9, 2020
As a seeker, I had never been intimidated by a text...until I found the Madame and this tomb arrived in the mail. The bread crumbs she leaves are enough to have you full the rest of the way. And she is sheer genius at their placement.
January 26, 2008
Largely concerns unexplained phenomena in 19th century as well as the materialism and absurdity of dogmatic religion and dogmatic science.
January 28, 2008
I'll give her credit for giving it a shot, but this is probably the most confusing book I ever read. Unlike HST she had trouble drinking the Kool Aid and coming back to write about it.
June 11, 2017
This edition that Boris de Zirkoff edited is superior to others, for the extra notes, introduction, bibliography and large index.
Read
November 8, 2024Speaking of the Kabala, the learned Franz Von Baader remarks that " not only our salivation and wisdom , but our science itself came to us from the Jews." But why not complete the sentence and tell the reader from whom the Jews got their wisdom?
Moses was indebted for his knowledge to the mother of the Egyptian princess, Thermuthis, who saved him from the waters of the nile.
Batria was an initiate herself, and Jews owe her the possession of their prophet, " learned in all the wisdom of Egyptian, and mighty words and deeds "
— Picks from " IsIs Unveiled 1st Volume.
Moses was indebted for his knowledge to the mother of the Egyptian princess, Thermuthis, who saved him from the waters of the nile.
Batria was an initiate herself, and Jews owe her the possession of their prophet, " learned in all the wisdom of Egyptian, and mighty words and deeds "
— Picks from " IsIs Unveiled 1st Volume.
January 6, 2020
I dont know how she managed to sesrch and review that many esoteric teachings and compare them from a to z. I appreciate her anyway. However, im stuck in the terms used in the book, especially the eastern terms. There must have been a dictionary for those having no prior knowledge about either western or eastern theology.
July 10, 2025
It's been a long time since its publication and Mrs. Blavatsky's era, but her work still holds up. Heavy heavy recommendation to all readers with even the slightest privy to hermeticism, oriental mysticism, early christianity, and the deeper mysteries gatekept by the great cathedrals for so many years.
December 7, 2024
Blavatsky is controversial for a good reason and her writing is very dry. I gave three stars mainly for historical interest and it’s worth checking out if you are curious about Theosophy but it reaffirmed that I will not be reading the full length version.
May 22, 2017
I couldn't finish this book. I tried. So many times I tried. The writing just didn't keep my eyes on the page.
April 2, 2018
Took most of the book wading thru things I was not so interested in such as mediumship. Second Volume is more about historical religious and spiritual roots which I am interested in.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews