Who counts as an esotericist?
An esotericist is someone who teaches or practices a tradition of inner or hidden knowledge, such as Hermeticism, alchemy, astrology, Kabbalah or later occult movements. Scholars disagree about where to draw the boundary, and some people on the list below are better known as philosophers, physicians or artists. The figures below are widely discussed in histories of Western esotericism, listed roughly in order of date.
Renaissance and early modern
- Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499). Italian philosopher who translated the Hermetic texts and Plato into Latin and helped spark Renaissance interest in them.
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535). German author of Three Books of Occult Philosophy, a major sourcebook of Renaissance magic.
- Paracelsus (c. 1493-1541). Swiss physician and alchemist who mixed medicine, chemistry and spiritual ideas.
- John Dee (1527-1608/09). English mathematician, advisor to Elizabeth I and practitioner of angelic communication with the medium Edward Kelley.
- Giordano Bruno (1548-1600). Italian philosopher and former friar executed for heresy, often associated with Hermetic and magical ideas.
Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
- Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). Swedish scientist turned visionary whose writings on heaven and hell influenced later movements, including Spiritualism and New Thought.
- Éliphas Lévi (1810-1875). French author who popularized the term “occult” in its modern sense and shaped later ritual magic.
- Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891). Founder of Theosophy.
- Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875). American physician, medium and writer, discussed in Esoteric America.
Twentieth century
- Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918). A founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
- Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Founder of Anthroposophy.
- Aleister Crowley (1875-1947). British occultist who founded Thelema, a controversial and influential figure.
- Dion Fortune (1890-1946). British occultist and author who founded the Society of the Inner Light.
- G. I. Gurdjieff (died 1949). Teacher of a spiritual system called “the Work,” with a significant following.
- Edgar Cayce (1877-1945). American trance medium. See Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet.
- Manly P. Hall (1901-1990). American author of The Secret Teachings of All Ages, who founded the Philosophical Research Society.
Caveats
Some of these people made claims that are not supported by historical or scientific evidence, and some, such as Blavatsky and Crowley, remain controversial. Legendary figures like Hermes Trismegistus are usually excluded as non-historical, although the texts attributed to him were very influential. For how later movements built on these figures, see New Age Spirituality and the Occult Revival.