Western Esotericism: A Cosmopolitan History and Historiography
Migrating Minds March 25, 2025 Schiavetta, Bernardo
Western esotericism has been inherently cosmopolitan since its historical origins with Pythagoras, integrating foreign spiritual beliefs and practices. This article distinguishes three levels of cosmopolitanism: restricted (between two religions, e.g., Jewish and Christian Kabbalah), extended (pagan Neoplatonic universalism excluding Christianity and Judaism), and global (without exclusions, proposed by Numenius of Apamea in the 2nd century CE). After Late Antiquity suppressed Kabbalah and pagan Neoplatonic theurgy, Renaissance humanists reintroduced them in Christianized forms. The Theosophical Society later extended cosmopolitanism to Eastern religions, and New Age movements globalized it further. The overview suggests that minority epistemes deferring to an alien "other" are often suppressed, while cultural globalization can transform them into syncretic universals.