Synopses & Reviews
This epic study unveils the esoteric masters who have covertly impacted the intellectual development of the West, from Pythagoras and Zoroaster to the little-known modern icons Jean Gebser and Schwaller de Lubicz.
Running alongside the mainstream of Western intellectual history there is another current which, in a very real sense, should take pride of place, but which for the last few centuries has occupied a shadowy, inferior position, somewhere underground.
This "other" stream forms the subject of Gary Lachmans epic history and analysis, The Secret Teachers of the Western World.
In this clarifying, accessible, and fascinating study, the acclaimed historian explores the Western esoteric tradition a thought movement with ancient roots and modern expressions, which, in a broad sense, regards the cosmos as a living, spiritual, meaningful being and humankind as having a unique obligation and responsibility in it. This is in stark contrast to much of modern science, which sees the universe as a meaningless flow of matter and energy, and human beings as pointless accidents within it.
The historical roots of our counter tradition,” as Lachman explores, have their beginning in Alexandria around the time of Christ. It was then that we find the first written accounts of the ancient tradition, which had earlier been passed on orally. Here, in this remarkable city, filled with teachers, philosophers, and mystics from Egypt, Greece, Asia, and other parts of the world, in a multi-cultural, multi-faith, and pluralistic society much like our own, a synthesis took place, a creative blending of different ideas and visions, which gave the hidden tradition the eclectic character it retains today.
We can see the history of our esoteric tradition as roughly forming three parts:
Part One: After looking back at the earliest roots of the esoteric tradition in the mysteries of ancient Egypt and Greece, the historical narrative opens in Alexandria in the first centuries of the Christian era. Over the following centuries, it traces our other” tradition through such agents as the Hermeticists, Kabbalists; Gnostics; Neoplatonists; and early Church fathers, among many others. Part One examines the reemergence of the lost Hermetic books in the Renaissance and their powerful influence on the emerging modern mind.
Part Two begins with the fall of Hermeticism in the late Renaissance and the beginning of what we can call the esoteric counterculture.” In 1614, the same year that the Hermetic teachings fell from grace, a strange document in Kassel, Germany announced the existence of a mysterious spiritual fraternity: the Rosicrucians. This second part charts the impact of the Rosicrucians and the many esoteric currents that followed, such as the Romance movement and the European occult revival of the late nineteenth century, including Madame Blavatsky and the opening of the western mind to the wisdom of the East, and the fin-de-siècle occultism of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Finally, Part Three chronicles the rise of modern esotericism,” as seen in the work of teachers such as Rudolf Steiner, Gurdjieff, Annie Besant, Krishnamurti, Aleister Crowley, R. A Schwaller de Lubicz, and many others. It traces the influence that they and other modern teachers have had on mainstream western culture. Central in this part is the life and work of C.G. Jung, perhaps the most important figure in the development of modern spirituality. The book looks at the occult revival of the mystic sixties” and our own New Age, and how this itself has given birth to a more critical, rigorous investigation of the ancient wisdom, and to the spread of Gnostic (The Matrix) and Hermetic (Harry Potter) ideas in popular culture.
With many detours and dead ends, we now seem to be slowly moving into a watershed, in which it has become clear that the dominant, left-brain, reductionist view, once so liberating and exciting, has run out of steam, and the promise of that much-sought-after paradigm change” seems possible. We may be on the brink of a revival and culminating moment of the esoteric intellectual tradition of the West.
Review
“Clocking in at 394 pages jam-packed with in-depth information, factoids, anecdotes and insights from the first sentence to the last. A historical biography through and through, Lachmans book is meticulously researched and it is quite easy to believe that the author, like a professor well-versed in their subject, could analyze and extrapolate at much greater lengths. The oft touted declaration of Crowley as the Wickedest Man in the World, may well have been overblown in its own time, but hes certainly not an individual with whom it is easy to empathize. As detestable as he is, there is an undeniable fascination in his exploits, and Lachman seems the perfect man to deliver them.”
—The Examiner
“Gary Lachman has become an increasingly prolific engine of literate, well-written, and clear-headed books about esoteric history and ‘occulture. ”
—Erik Davis, author of TechGnosis
“Thinking outside the box, Lachman challenges many contemporary theories by reinserting a sense of the spiritual back into the discussion.”
—Leonard Shlain, author of Art and Physics and Alphabet versus the Goddess
Review
"Gary Lachman makes ideas thrilling. . . Start reading and feel the world around you start to come to life."
--Ptolemy Tompkins, author of The Modern Book of the Dead and collaborator with Eben Alexander, M.D., on Proof of Heaven
“Gary Lachman spoils his readers -- after encountering his prose you will find no other writing on esoteric and occult subjects that displays such fluidity, vibrancy, and gentle but assertive purpose. . . Gary has become the voice for our generation that Colin Wilson was before him.”
--Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America and One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life
“Gary Lachman has become an increasingly prolific engine of literate, well-written, and clear-headed books about esoteric history and ‘occulture. ”
--Erik Davis, author of TechGnosis
“Thinking outside the box, Lachman challenges many contemporary theories by reinserting a sense of the spiritual back into the discussion.”
--Leonard Shlain, author of Art and Physics and The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
“Gary Lachman presents the Western esoteric tradition as a richly detailed parade of characters, seething with political ambitions, follies, even infamy. He teaches by example that to understand their psychology and historical contexts is far more useful than moralizing or partisan reactions.”
--Joscelyn Godwin, Colgate University, author of The Theosophical Enlightenment
“The invisible Rosicrucian brothers of the seventeenth century, the ‘Unknown Superiors of high-grade Freemasons, French utopian occultists, and Traditionalists of the twentieth century trace a continuous tradition of esoteric idealism applied to political thinking. Gary Lachman offers a panoramic spectacle of occultists and millenarian visionaries who seek to translate an absolute gnosis into a radical program of regeneration.”
--Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, professor of Western Esotericism, University of Exeter
Synopsis
Now in paperback, this bold new biography fills a gap in our understanding of the pioneering psychologist by focusing on the occult and mystical aspects of Jung’s thought and career.
“Outstanding . . . lifts the curtain on one of the most important aspects of his remarkable life . . . fair and objective.” —Alice O. Howell, Quest magazine
“How the Swiss psychologist lived a life rich in the paranormal.” —Los Angeles Times
“A serious but comprehensible new biography of Jung and his interest in the esoteric.” —New Age Retailer
“Fascinating . . . Fully engaging from beginning to end.” —Dell Horoscope
Although he is often called the “founding father of the New Age,” Carl Jung, the legendary Swiss psychiatrist best known for his groundbreaking concepts such as the collective unconscious, archetype theory, and synchronicity, often took pains to avoid any explicit association with mysticism or the occult. Yet Jung lived a life rich in paranormal experiences—arguing for the existence of poltergeists in a debate with Sigmund Freud, participating in séances, incorporating astrology into his therapeutic work, reporting a near-death experience, and analyzing the work of pioneering ESP researcher J. B. Rhine. It is these critical experiences—often fleetingly touched on in other biographies or critical studies, and frequently used to make a case against Jung and his philosophies—that form the core of this significant new biography.
Synopsis
This definitive work on the occults great beast” traces the arc of his controversial life and influence on rock-and-roll giants, from the Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin to Black Sabbath.
When Aleister Crowley died in 1947, he was not an obvious contender for the most enduring pop-culture figure of the next century. But twenty years later, Crowleys name and image were everywhere. The Beatles put him on the cover of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Rolling Stones were briefly serious devotees. Today, his visage hangs in goth clubs, occult temples, and college dorm rooms, and his methods of ceremonial magick animate the passions of myriad occultists and spiritual seekers.
Aleister Crowley is more than just a biography of this compelling, controversial, and divisive figureits also a portrait of his unparalleled influence on modern pop culture.
Synopsis
A clear and concise overview of the life and work of the immensely influential but little understood eighteenth-century mystic-scientist Emanuel Swedenborg.
“Lachman identifies all the roles Swedenborg inhabited (spiritual thinker, psychic, scientist, inventor, statesman, traveler, and possibly even spy) and does an exceptionally good job of suggesting why this little-known polymath deserves more substantial critical attention.” – The Independent on Sunday (UK)
It is difficult to imagine modern Western alternative spirituality without the influence of Swedish scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). Every movement in alternative spirituality – from mental-healing and Spiritualism to New Age mysticism and the twelve-step recovery movement – owes an immeasurable debt to the ideas he exploded upon the Western world.
Yet Swedenborg’s work can be challenging for modern readers. His influence, everywhere at once, is difficult to get a handle on. Now, however, Gary Lachman provides an accessible, lively, and masterful introduction to the life and ideas of this spiritual giant. Lachman takes us to Swedenborg’s roots as brilliant rationalist and scientist who, well into mid-life, began to experience visions of other realms. From this point Swedenborg produced an extraordinary range of writings based on his out-of-body experiences, in which he related encounters with angels, other-planetary beings, and “the world of spirits.”
As Lachman explores, Swedenborg’s work opened up a radically liberal and refreshing ideal of religion. The great mystic saw humanity, and all of nature, as phenomena emerging from the “spiritual world,” and man as a vessel for divine influences. This vision inspired Western seekers to see man as a product of spiritual phenomena, and thus a being intimately connected with the cosmos. From this perspective grew bold new ideas about channeling, spiritual healing, mystical experience, mediumship – a litany of concepts that prefigured the revolutions in alternative and therapeutic spirituality.
About the Author
GARY LACHMAN is one of today’s most widely read and respected writers on esoteric and occult themes. His writing has been published in several national journals on philosophy, esotericism, and modern culture, and his books—including Madame Blavatsky; Rudolf Steiner; Swedenborg; and A Secret History of Consciousness—have been published to acclaim in both America and Europe. In his musical career, Lachman has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of the pioneering rock band Blondie. Lachman was born in New Jersey, and he currently lives in London.