Controversies about Freemasonry often ignore the context and circumstances of its origins. At a time of deep social transformation, the legend of the Rosy Cross was born.
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Two Gifts from Ivan Aguéli: Sufi, Anarchist, Theosophist, Painter
A museum in Sala and a book on his magazine “Il Convito” help understanding the different aspects of the extraordinary career of the Swedish artist.
Paintings from Another World: Spirit Painting and “Precipitated” Art
Spiritualist mediums claimed that in their presence works of art appeared on previously blank canvas or paper without the intervention of human hands.
Liudas Truikys: A Clandestine Theosophical Artist in Soviet Lithuania
An exhibition in Kaunas lifts the veil on an important painter and opera set designer, who managed to hide in his works symbols the censors did not understand.
Nicholas Roerich, Shambhala, and Agartha. 3. New York and Connecticut
Disillusioned with Stalin, the painter believed for a while that his messianic utopia would be supported by Roosevelt’s United States.
Nicholas Roerich, Shambhala, and Agartha. 2. Moscow
That Shambhala can be established on earth was an idea Roerich was able to sell to Stalin. But the dictator and the artist had in mind different kinds of kingdoms.
Nicholas Roerich, Shambhala, and Agartha. 1. Tibet and Paris
The notions of mythical and mystical kingdoms Shambhala and Agartha, as we know them today, are largely influenced by the views of the Russian painter.
The Theological and Esoteric Debate on the Existence of Vampires (17th–19th centuries). 5. Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Echoes of an Old Discussion.
The great academic debate on vampires of the eighteenth century was restarted by some nineteenth-century demonologists—but it was soon marginalized.
The Theological and Esoteric Debate on the Existence of Vampires (17th–19th centuries). 4. How Calmet’s Position Was Misunderstood
Voltaire presented the Benedictine scholar, who wrote about vampires, as gullible. In reality over the years his positions went from dubious to skeptical.
The Theological and Esoteric Debate on the Existence of Vampires (17th–19th centuries). 3. Rationalist, Theological, and Esoteric Interpretations
Antoine Faivre, the father of “vampire studies,” distinguished between Enlightenment-inspired, demonological, and “Paracelsian” positions.