Many readers of Guénon’s later doctrinal works have longed to hear the tale of his earlier entanglement, and disentanglement, from the luxuriant undergrowth of so-called esoteric societies in late nineteenth-century Paris and elsewhere. The present work documents in excoriating detail Guénon’s findings on what did, and did not, lie behind the Theosophical Society founded by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott in 1875. Much further information has of course come to light since this book was written, but it has never been superseded as a fascinating record of the path of a master metaphysician through this maze. A particularly unusual feature is its extensive treatment of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, which has recently attracted the attention of scholars of the occult.

Table of Contents

Editorial Note
Preface: Theosophy and Theosophism
1 Madame Blavatsky’s Antecedents
2 The Origins of the Theosophical Society
3 The Theosophical Society & Rosicrucianism
4 The Question of the Mahatmas
5 The Society for Psychical Research Affair
6 Madame Blavatsky and Solovioff
7 Madame Blavatsky’s Power of Suggestion
8 Madame Blavatsky’s Last Years
9 The Sources of Madame Blavatsky’s Works
10 Esoteric Buddhism
11 Principal Points of Theosophical Teaching
12 Theosophy and Spiritism
13 Theosophy and the Religions
14 The Oath in Theosophy
15 Mrs Besant’s Antecedents
16 The Beginning of Mrs Besant’s Presidency
17 At the Parliament of Religions
18 Esoteric Christianity
19 The Duchess of Pomar
20 The Future Messiah
21 The Trials of Alcyone
22 The Anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner
23 The Order of the Star of the East and its Annexes
24 The Old Catholic Church
25 Theosophy and Freemasonry
26 Auxiliary Organizations of the Theosophical Society
27 Theosophical Moralism
28 Theosophy and Protestantism
29 The Political Role of the Theosophical Society
30 Conclusion
Reviews of Books and Articles

[Return to Catalog] - [Fons Vitae titles] - [Sufism] - [Order books] - [Fons Vitae Printable Catalog]

[Rene Guenon Sophia Perennis Series] - [Religious Metaphysics. Art and Symbolism]