specul8
Ad Honorem
- Oct 2016
- 3,477
- Australia
Victorian and post Victorian occultism is a fav subject of mine . Crazily enough, most modern occultism is still based on it, and the outmoded science occultism was based on back then .Spirituality
The Victorian age gave rise to many of the things that have become the basis of modern spirituality. Despite the rise of rationalism and science, the age also saw personalities such as Madame Blavatsky, MacGregor Mathersm Aleister Crowley (just about) work their way into the upper levels of society. The esoteric Theosophical Society and Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn were formed during the Victorian era.
The Society for Psychical Research was also formed during this time, dedicated to "scholarly study of the paranormal".
In an era of gothic fiction and rapid scientific progress, as well as contact with other cultures, it perhaps isn;t surprising that the Victorians sought to make some sense of their world through spirituality.
Ahhh ... McGregor Mathers !

Wait, is that Henry Cyril Padget ... <squints> ... no, its Mathers .
Moving over to USA ... how about some Western Tantric 'sex magic' neo-Platonic cowboys ?
" Four time mayor of a Midwestern town, publisher of the American frontier’s only periodical devoted to Plato, Thomas Moore Johnson was also president of the central council of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, a mystery school that taught sex magic "
Thomas Johnson: Platonism Meets Sex Magic on the Prairie