Maimonides's own words about the seventh contradiction are the central textual anchor for Leo Strauss's views on
esotericism in philosophy based in political-theological considerations.
In sum, Strauss combines, or alternates between, classical
esotericism and modern daring.
Marked by the work of such as Hanegraaf, Yersluis, Joscelyn Godwin, von Stuckrade, Faive and others over several decades, the study of Western
esotericism is still dynamic and sometimes marked by chaos.
Versluis (American studies, Michigan State U.) brings his considerable expertise of
esotericism and its effect on Western culture to this undergraduate level text that should also appeal to the general readership.
The book is aimed at scholars of music history, pedagogy, composition, Australian music, and Western
esotericism.
Their topics include titles of kings and gods in Iranian Manichean texts, the significance of Manichaeism in the history of
esotericism, what Augustine really knew about Manichean cosmology, and the Buddha's first encounter in a Manichean Old Turkic text.
The 2015 yearbook includes articles on Agahi, the pen name of Muhammad Rida, Erniuaz bek oghli, poet, historian, and translator at the court of the khans of Khiva in Khwarazm; banks and banking in the Muslim world; the adhan call to prayer;
esotericism and exotericism in Islam; Turkish sociologist Ziyaeddin Fahre (Dia'eddin Fakhri) Findikoglu (1901-74), also known as Ahmet Halil (Ahmed Khalil); and the relationship between grammar and law in Islamic thought.
Taking into account the fact that the influence of Western
esotericism on literature is an unexplored field in Latvian literary studies, in her paper The Presence of Western
Esotericism in Latvian Literature Anita Stasulane analyses the creative works by the Latvian writers (Antons Austrins (1884-1934), Viktors Eglitis (18771945), Rihards Rudzitis (1898-1960) and Konstantins Raudive (1909-1974) who since the end of the nineteenth century had been searching for new means of expression and looking for a source of inspiration in
esotericism, thus gaining metaphors and symbols from Spiritualism, Theosophy and Agni Yoga/Living Ethics.
Once again, one notes that while it is not necessary to buy into all this philosophizing, Horowitz is well read in the history of
esotericism, making mention of authors such as Deepak Chopra, Richard Smoley, Aleister Crowley, and Edgar Cayce, among others.
Al-Maghribi al-Qamari might be an allegorical "man of the moon," but, as Braun only mentions in passing, the Muslim West too was widely associated with
esotericism. The popularity of Neoplatonism and Gnosticism among Western mystics, especially the prominence of the Ikhwan al-safa' in those circles, would have been worth a discussion.
According to academic Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, professor of Western
Esotericism at Exeter University, the black sun actually dates back to ornamental discs used by the Merovingians, a dynasty that ruled over what is now France and Germany for 300 years starting in the fifth century.
He counts among his interests Native American spirituality, Western
esotericism, Eastern religions, transpersonal theory, and parapsychological research.
On the one hand, these objects look much like the polished stones sold at New Age conventions, thus bringing into play the lowbrow
esotericism of such events, yet on the other they evoke spiritual transformation and symbolism in a way that is not only camp but suggests that painting, too, should be understood as an alchemical process.
