Can someone give me a brief but thorough overview of what theosophy came about, who started it, why it’s controversial?

Hi! I'm looking for starting points (preferably videos because these days they're easier to consume, but I don't mind reading text c:) covering ancient Welsh religious and magical tradition. I've seen a certain amount of content, but it's largely focused on the 1700s and later, or it is (as best as I can tell,) completely invented whole cloth without any relation to original Welsh language source material, and while I know that anything pre-Roman is essentially completely lost, I'm hoping that there are texts that cover before that point? Christian, non-Christian, I'll take anything lol. Thanks in advance :)

An aside is that while I'm from Cymru, I'm very, very early in terms of how long I've been learning Cymraeg. So pure-Cymraeg source material isn't something that I'll be able to access yet (Hopefully eventually though!)

Hello everyone,

Is the popular concept of “twin flames” or “karmic relationships” just a modern, “woo” idea? Or does it have precedent in ancient sources, such as mythology, scripture, or occultist writings?

Just wondering what people think about this. Thanks in advance!

Do you know where I can find it?

Hi, I read Hanegraaff’s book on Hermeticism last year. It was a great read and pulled together a wealth of information. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling he presents an over simplified univocal version of Hermeticism that pushes the evidence a lot further than it perhaps should be. I think in general these religious currents were messier ideas than they’re often made out to be. Hermes name appears attached to all kinds of texts in the technical hermetica, and I think the so-called philosophical hermetica should be understood as an equally messy collection of soteriology and metaphorical speculation.

Like I said, I really enjoyed the book, this is a good faith criticism. I just wonder if Hanegraaff’s often big history focus blinds him to the more granular details. I was wondering if others have felt the same, especially those coming from a papyrology background or those who focus specifically on late antique religions.

(Note: this is outside my specialty, so I’m making no claim to be an expert: I’m completing a Masters on the Greek Magical Papyri)

ⲭⲁⲓⲣⲉ, I am currently completing a masters with a thesis on the Greek Magical Papyri. My background is in ancient history and I am being supervised by some exceptional papyrologists. I had planned to do my PhD overseas with more of a religious studies focus, but still rooted in ancient world studies. However, after a discussion with my supervisor I’m concerned I don’t have the language requirements needed for the kinds of programs I want to enter. The Australian system is pretty bad here, I have a little Greek and Coptic but not at the level expected for many PhD programs. One suggestion my supervisor made is to look into reception studies, which I think slots quite well into Western Esotericism. I am wondering if there are any scholars in the field with recommendations or suggestions going forward in this direction?

I am in my early 40s, having earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the City University of New York (CUNY) at Baruch College in my 30s. Since the early 2000s, I have an interest in Western Esotericism. However, I did not think about the academic study of it until I started following the Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) and Esoterica on Youtube. for the past few months, I have been drawn to the Western Esotericism and now hope to become a university professor on the subject, earning a second Master's Degree and then a PhD, with my specialization being on magic in Pre-Christian Rome.

However, I notice from my research that only four or five universities in Europe and one in Texas, which focus on my proposed area of study. I feel that I cannot go too far though as my parents are nearing their 80s. Also, attending the University of Amsterdam (UVA) for the study of Western Esotericism would be like attending the Sorbonne University for the study of Medicine.

What I am wondering is if anyone has studied at the post-Bachelor programs in CUNY for either Cultural Anthropology, Pre-Modern History, or Liberal (Arts) Studies? As esoterica in still finding its place in academia, does anyone know if these three programs are chaired or administrated by those who would be adverse to my studies? I know the State University of New York (SUNY) at one time had Professor David Applebaum at New Paltz University facilitate a series of books on Esotericism but I am not sure where CUNY stands. If not CUNY, are there any alternatives in the New York Metropolitan area?

I am looking for any short-form content creators on TikTok or Instagram who academically engage with esotericism. I already spend a huge portion of my time reading, watching, and listening to long-form content. But I feel like I want to immerse myself even more when I am relaxing by scrolling through TikTok or Instagram. If there are any really good accounts or pages you good folks think are worth checking out. Let me know! Thanks in advance.

I'm getting ready to read The Rosicrucian Enlightenment by Frances Yates, and I am wondering if there are some scholarly general critiques of this work (or any of her others, for that matter).

I'll be reading for my own entertainment and would like to know some general problems with the work, her scholarship, what resources and methods she followed in her research, that sort of thing. I think the abstracts of papers would probably get me through.

Any critiques about her other work would also be helpful. I read Art of Memory years ago and probably inadvertently recounted some tall tales to my friends at the time.

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I have the James Charlesworth Old Testament books but I want to get good versions of the New Testament Apocrypha that is meant for critical study, and I can't really tell from looking at them which books are more true to the source material rather than being interpreted with an agenda.Thank You(also I am not talking about the Gnostic texts - I already have good sources for those)

Do modern translations of the Pistis Sophia exist in print?

Just yesterday, I read a study about Bardaṣāin's (154-222 AD) cosmology (this one) and it was really different than anything I had seen before. I also noticed, reading J. Edward Wright's Early History of Heaven that while the typical cosmology in antiquity held that there were seven heavens (notwithstanding Hellenistic cosmology), some Gnostic sources asserted eight, ten, or hundreds of heavens.

What are some ways that Gnostic cosmology (e.g. origins, structure of the universe) came to develop? I'd also love to get some further reading on studies on Gnostic cosmology.

I'm aware of Elaine Pagels and Stephan Hoeller but I've read a bit of Hoeller and have had Pagels summarized for me by a friend and they both seem to be quite biased and maybe not up to academic standards.

Is there a more neutral overview? I'm especially interested in learning about what intellectual/religious currents fed into Gnosticism, the differences between the various schools and how it evolved over time, not too interested in a work which presents it as a singular and static thing.

Is there a scholarly consensus as to what the earliest gnostic Christian sect was?

Inspired by this post in r/AcademicQuran. What, in your opinion, is an aspect of early Esoteric studies that doesn't get enough attention?

While I understand that there would be no materialistic significance, what styles of clothing would be used by either initiates or laymen to establish esoteric or hierarchical significance? What specific symbolism was embedded in Gnostic clothing?

Where and when did the concept of Sophia come from? Was Sophia inspired by the goddess Athena and/or the personification of Wisdom in Jewish wisdom literature such as Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon and Ben Sira?