Few fields of academic research are surrounded by so many misunderstandings and misconceptions as the study of Western esotericism. For twenty years now, the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (University of Amsterdam) has been at the forefront of international scholarship in this domain. This anniversary volume seeks to make the modern study of Western esotericism known beyond specialist circles, while addressing a range of misconceptions, biases, and prejudices that still tend to surround it. Thirty major scholars in the field respond to questions about a wide range of unfamiliar ideas, traditions, practices, problems, and personalities that are central to this area of research. By challenging many taken-for-granted assumptions about religion, science, philosophy, and the arts, this volume demonstrates why the academic study of esotericism leads us to reconsider much that we thought we knew about the story of Western culture.

[Wouter J. Hanegraaff](https://www.uva.nl/profiel/h/a/w.j.hanegraaff/w.j.hanegraaff.html) is Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam.[Peter J. Forshaw](https://www.uva.nl/profiel/f/o/p.j.forshaw/p.j.forshaw.html) is Associate Professor of History of Western Esotericism in the Early Modern Period at the University of Amsterdam.[Marco Pasi](https://www.uva.nl/profiel/p/a/m.pasi/m.pasi.html) is Associate Professor for History of Western Esotericism in the Modern and Contemporary Period at the University of Amsterdam.

IntroductionThirty red pills from Hermes Trismegistus***Aren't we living in a disenchanted world? (Egil Asprem)Esotericism, that's for white folks, right?(Justine Bakker)Surely modern art is not occult? It's modern!(Tessel M. Bauduin)Is it true that secret societies are trying to control the world?(Henrik Bogdan)Numbers are meant for counting, right?(Jean-Pierre Brach)Wasn't Hermes a prophet of Christianity who lived long before Christ?(Roelof van den Broek)Weren't early Christians up against a gnostic religion?(Dylan M. Burns)There's not much room for women in esotericism, right?(Allison P. Coudert)The imagination= you mean fantasy, right?(Antoine Faivre)Weren't medieval monks afraid of demons?(Claire Fanger)What does popular fiction have to do with the occult?(Christine Ferguson)Isn't alchemy a spiritual tradition?(Peter J. Forshaw)Music? What does that have to do with esotericism?(Joscelyn Godwin)Why all that satanist stuff in Heavy Metal?(Kennet Granholm)Religion can't be a joke, right?(J. Christian Greer)Isn't esotericism irrational?(Olav Hammer)Rejected knowledge= Do you mean esotericists are the losers of history?(Wouter J. Hanegraaff)The kind of stuff Madonna talks about - that's not real kabbalah, is it?(Boaz Huss)Shouldn't evil cults that worship Satan be illegal?(Massimo Introvigne)Is occultism a product of capitalism?(Andreas B. Kilcher)Can superhero comics really transmit esoteric knowledge?(Jeffrey J. Kripal)Are kabbalistic meditations all about ecstasy?(John MacMurphy)Isn't India the home of spiritual wisdom?(Mriganka Mukhopadhyay)If people believe in magic, isn't that just because they aren't educated?(Bernd-Christian Otto)But what does esotericism have to do with sex?(Marco Pasi)Is there such a things as Islamic esotericism?(Mark Sedgwick)Doesn't occultism lead straight to fascism?(Julian Strube)A man who never died, angels falling from the sky= What is that Enoch stuff all about?(György E. Szönyi)Is there any room for women in Jewish kabbalah?(Elliot R. Wolfson)Surely born-again Christianity has nothing to do with occult stuff like alchemy?(Mike A. Zuber)* * *BibliographyContributors to this volumeIndex of personsIndex of subjects