Henrik Bogdan - Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation (2007)

Western Esotericism
Rituals of Initiation
HENRIK BOGDAN
and
Western Esotericism
and Rituals of Initiation
SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions
David Appelbaum, editor
Western Esotericism
and Rituals of Initiation
Henrik Bogdan
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2007 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bogdan, Henrik.
Western esotericism and rituals of initiation / Henrik Bogdan.
p. cm. — (SUNY series in Western esoteric traditions)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-7069-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Occultism. 2. Initiation rites. 3. Freemasonry. I. Title.
BF1411.B64 2007
130—dc22 2006020829
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Maria
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Contents
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1 Western Esotericism 5
Introduction 5
The Delimitation of a Field of Research 6
The Research Paradigms of Western Esotericism 9
Western Esotericism in Theory and Practice 17
Western Esoteric Currents 20
Western Esoteric Rituals of Initiation 23
Concluding Remarks 25
2 Rituals of Initiation, Secret Societies, and Masonic
Initiatory Societies 27
Ritual as a Field of Research 27
Rites de Passage 30
Rites of Initiation 35
Secret Societies 40
Secrecy and Masonic Initiatory Societies 44
Masonic Initiatory Societies 49
Masonic Rituals of Initiation 50
Eighteenth-Century Masonic Terminology 51
Concluding Remarks 52
3 Historical Background 53
Ancient and Medieval Sources 53
The “New Platonic Academy” of Florence 54
The Spread of Western Esotericism across Europe 57
The Esoteric Missions of Giordano Bruno and John Dee 60
Christian Rosenkreutz and the Rosicrucian Manifestos 63
Concluding Remarks 65
viii Contents
4 The Craft Degrees of Freemasonry 67
The Emergence of Freemasonry 67
Early Freemasonry and Western Esotericism 70
The Pre-1730 Ritual Evidence 76
The Master Mason Degree and the Ritual Enactment
of the Hiramic Legend 85
Concluding Remarks 93
5 High or Additional Degrees of Freemasonry 95
Introduction 95
Templar and Ecossais Rites 95
Egyptian Rites 100
“Esoteric” Freemasonry 103
True Mason, or Académie des Vrais Maçons 107
Concluding Remarks 119
6 The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 121
Introduction 121
History 124
A Note on Sources 127
Description of the Neophyte Ritual 128
Analysis of the Neophyte Ritual 137
Concluding Remarks 143
7 Modern Pagan Witchcraft or Wicca 145
Gerald Gardner and the Birth of Wicca 145
The Crowley Connection 148
Gardner and the Witchcraft Rituals of Initiation 153
First Degree: Witch and Priestess/Priest 155
The First Degree Initiation 157
Second Degree: High Priestess/Priest 160
Third Degree: High Priestess/Priest 164
Concluding Remarks 167
8 Conclusions 169
Appendix 173
Notes 175
References 209
Index 225
Tables
1.1 Terminology relating to Western esotericism according
to Faivre 22
2.1 The building blocks of a masonic ritual of initiation 51
5.1 The degree system of the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite 98
5.2 The degree system of the Rectified Scottish Rite 99
5.3 The degree system of the Swedish Rite 100
5.4 The degree system of the Rite Ecossais philosophique 104
5.5 The degree system of Der Orden des Gold- und
Rosenkreuzes 105
6.1 The degree system of The Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn 122
ix
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Acknowledgments
It has become apparent to me, more than once, that the process of
writing a book resembles a ritual of initiation. The years of writing this
book have been characterized by a state of constant liminality, and some-
times it has even felt as if I were undergoing some kind of mystical
ordeal. The officiating officers of this great initiation, however, were not
any mysterious adepts but friends and colleagues. I feel privileged
to express my gratitude to a number of persons who have helped me,
in different ways, in completing this book.
My greatest debt and deepest thanks are owed to J. A. M. Snoek
(University of Heidelberg) without whose encouraging help this
work would have suffered severely. I am deeply grateful to Wouter J.
Hanegraaff (University of Amsterdam) for sharing his unpublished ar-
ticles and for making it possible for me to spend a semester at the
department of the history of hermetic philosophy and related currents,
University of Amsterdam.
I also wish to acknowledge with thanks Mikael ...