Sri Aurobindo as a Case Study in Esoteric Textual Criticism Jan M. Keppel Hesselink, MD, MSc, PhD. Professor em. molecular pharmacology at University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany, Quinta Quixote international yoga and meditation center, Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo, Algarve, Portugal; magickjan7@gmail.com Abstract Esoteric texts can create an overwhelming impression of cognitive depth while yielding … Continue reading The Architecture of Higher-Knowledge Claims
spirituality
The Persistent Promise of Higher Knowledge
Occult Training, Human Development, and the Problem of Definition In the preface to his Geschichte der Magie of 1844, the physician and magnetic practitioner Joseph Ennemoser formulates what may be read as the central premise of his entire work: “Die wahre Magie liegt in den geheimsten innersten Kräften unseres Geistes.” True magic, he argues, lies … Continue reading The Persistent Promise of Higher Knowledge
Jung, the Self, and the Inner Laboratory
Where analytical psychology meets a modern esoteric psychology Carl Gustav Jung’s Aion is one of his most difficult and ambitious works. Its subject is not merely the unconscious, nor even the familiar Jungian themes of shadow, anima, animus, and projection. Its deeper concern is the Self: the elusive psychic totality that includes the conscious personality … Continue reading Jung, the Self, and the Inner Laboratory
The Grammar of the Transpersonal
From observing consciousness contents to awe: a working overview Notes, prepared alongside our book Het Innerlijke Laboratorium/The Inner Laboratory (in preparation) Jan M. Keppel Hesselink https://www.youtube.com/@HetInnerlijkeLaboratorium 1. Starting point: the book's own trajectory The book's method begins from a simple, almost clinical act: learning to observe the contents of consciousness (thoughts, emotions, body signals, imagery) … Continue reading The Grammar of the Transpersonal
Can ancient magic still mean something in the twenty-first century?
In this experimental conversation, we explore whether old magical traditions contain a practical structure that can still be relevant today, once we strip away the archaic language, supernatural claims and historical cosmologies. https://youtu.be/Pwkavv_dYac?si=rRDj1OT_uSATQD5g This is a pilot dialogue for The Inner Laboratory, a project that approaches esoteric traditions as methods of inner investigation. Rather than … Continue reading Can ancient magic still mean something in the twenty-first century?
The Process of Sigilization an Undine Water Sigil of Sachiel, the formule and the evocation
Sigilization as a Process A sigil does not always begin as a finished symbol. More often, it emerges gradually through concentration, research, experimentation and repeated drawing. The final sign is only the visible result of a longer movement in which intention, imagination and gesture are brought together. There are several established ways of creating a … Continue reading The Process of Sigilization an Undine Water Sigil of Sachiel, the formule and the evocation
Reality Shifting Is Real. You Were Taught the Wrong Direction: an Ancient Magick Protocol
https://youtu.be/kQbESu3XLzU?si=HDHPjk33m_voyN0k Reality Shifting, Barefoot: An Ancient Instruction There is a practice sweeping through the younger generation called reality shifting. You write a script of the world you would rather live in, lie down, repeat your method, and try to wake up elsewhere. Whole online communities are devoted to it, and most adults either mock it … Continue reading Reality Shifting Is Real. You Were Taught the Wrong Direction: an Ancient Magick Protocol
Sonic Mandalas
Breath, Vowels, Abraxas, and the Gestural Phonology of Altered States Some esoteric formulas are not meant to be translated. They are meant to be voiced. This is the point modern readers often miss. We approach ancient magical words as if they were damaged sentences. We ask which language they belong to, whether they are Greek, … Continue reading Sonic Mandalas
The Oldest Syllabus: The Mithras Liturgy and the Ancient Object of Esoteric Psychology
What I mean by esoteric psychology Readers of this blog know that I have been circling one idea for years, and lately naming it openly: esoteric psychology. The name needs a word of explanation, because it does not mean what it seems to mean. It is not the psychology of people who believe strange things. … Continue reading The Oldest Syllabus: The Mithras Liturgy and the Ancient Object of Esoteric Psychology
What is Esoterism Really? The Pendulum and the Commuter: Why Nobody Can Define Esotericism, and Why That Is Good News
For forty years, scholars have tried to define esotericism. Faivre proposed a form of thought with six components. Hanegraaff traced a history of rejected knowledge. Bergunder called the word an empty signifier that means whatever a given era needs it to mean. Asprem broke the whole thing down into cognitive building blocks. Each definition corrected … Continue reading What is Esoterism Really? The Pendulum and the Commuter: Why Nobody Can Define Esotericism, and Why That Is Good News