Western Esoteric Traditions and Theosophy

Abstract

This chapter examines Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's inspiration in the Western esoteric traditions, their major contribution to modern Theosophy, and their resurgence among later Theosophists. Blavatsky's early formation is examined, focusing on her experience in the Russian empire, the Orthodox Church, Georgia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine, before her professed vocation in India and Tibet. Her published work between 1873 and her arrival in India in 1879, notably her writings on spiritualism, periodical articles, and the two-volume work Isis Unveiled (1877), demonstrate that magic, Freemasonry, and the Hermetic tradition are major topoi in her early thought. The chapter provides a summary account of how several second-generation Theosophists embraced this aspect of Theosophy in their own presentations, eschewing the Orientalist trappings of Blavatsky's legacy through adherence to Western traditions and cosmology. It assesses the commonalities and differences between modern Theosophy and Christian theosophy from the seventeenth century. Keywords:Egypt; freemasonry; Georgia; Helena Petrovna Blavatsky; Isis Unveiled ; spiritualism; Theosophy; Western esoteric traditions