Skip to content
Libra Esoterica

The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism

by Glenn Alexander Magee, Charles W. Stein, Joscelyn Godwin, Jessica Elbert Decker, Gwenaëlle Aubry, Roelof van den Broek, Daphna Arbel, April D. DeConick, William C. Chittick, Brian Ogren, Bruce Milem, Anne L. Clark, Antoine Faivre, Peter J Forshaw, Bruce T Moran, Hereward Tilton, Jan A.M. Snoek, Jane Williams‐Hogan, Adam Crabtree & Cathy Gutierrez

  • First published:
  • 21st century
  • Language: English

Mysticism and esotericism are two intimately related strands of the Western tradition. Despite their close connections, however, scholars tend to treat them separately. Whereas the study of Western mysticism enjoys a long and established history, Western esotericism is a young field. The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism examines both of these traditions together. The volume demonstrates that the roots of esotericism almost always lead back to mystical traditions, while the work of mystics was bound up with esoteric or occult preoccupations. It also shows why mysticism and esotericism must be examined together if either is to be understood fully. Including contributions by leading scholars, this volume features essays on such topics as alchemy, astrology, magic, Neoplatonism, Kabbalism, Renaissance Hermetism, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, numerology, Christian theosophy, spiritualism, and much more. This handbook serves as both a capstone of contemporary scholarship and a cornerstone of future research.

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Alchemy and Hermeticism, Astrology, Consciousness, mysticism, and metaphysics, Divination and oracles, Initiatory orders and secret societies, Kabbalah and Jewish esotericism, Occultism and esotericism, Ritual magic and grimoires, Spiritualism, mediumship, and channeling, and Theosophy, Anthroposophy, and New Thought.

  • Occultism and esotericism

    Controlled discovery queries from openalex matched “esotericism”. Retained metadata contains “Esotericism” in the title, “esoteric” in the description, “Esotericism” in the description, and 2 additional metadata match(es).

    • esotericism· via OpenAlex
    • Esotericism· in title
    • esoteric· in description
    • Esotericism· in description
    • occult· in description
    • Esotericism· in edition title
  • Retained metadata contains “Magic” in the description and “Magic” in the subject metadata.

    • Magic· in description
    • Magic· in subject
  • Retained metadata contains “Alchemy” in the description, “Hermetism” in the description, and “Alchemy” in the subject metadata.

    • Alchemy· in description
    • Hermetism· in description
    • Alchemy· in subject
  • Astrology

    Retained metadata contains “Astrology” in the description.

    • Astrology· in description
  • Retained metadata contains “Numerology” in the description.

    • Numerology· in description
  • Retained metadata contains “Kabbalah” in the subject metadata.

    • Kabbalah· in subject
  • Retained metadata contains “Theosophy” in the description and “Theosophy” in the subject metadata.

    • Theosophy· in description
    • Theosophy· in subject
  • Retained metadata contains “Freemasonry” in the description.

    • Freemasonry· in description
  • Retained metadata contains “Spiritualism” in the description.

    • Spiritualism· in description
  • Controlled discovery queries from openalex matched “mysticism”. Retained metadata contains “Mysticism” in the title, “Mysticism” in the description, “Mysticism” in the subject metadata, and 1 additional metadata match(es).

    • mysticism· via OpenAlex
    • Mysticism· in title
    • Mysticism· in description
    • Mysticism· in subject
    • Mysticism· in edition title

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

Read & download

Where a scan or ebook exists, it is listed here.

No public full text is known for this record.

None of our sources reported a scan or ebook. It may exist elsewhere — these searches are a good next step.

Buy or borrow

No ISBN on record, so the Amazon link searches by title and author. WorldCat shows libraries near you that hold a copy.

Editions

One edition cataloged here.

OpenAlex scholarly book record

2016-04-18Cambridge University Press; Cambridge University Press eBooksEnglishUnknown

Subjects

16 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Cataloged from

Catalog id
openalex:W2483714788
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
Retrieved