Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation

List of Tables Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Western Esotericism Introduction The Delimitation of a Field of Research The Research Paradigms of Western Esotericism Western Esotericism in Theory and Practice Western Esoteric Currents Western Esoteric Rituals of Initiation Concluding Remarks 2. Rituals of Initiation, Secret Societies, and Masonic Initiatory Societies Ritual as a Field of Research Rites de Passage Rites of Initiation Secret Societies Secrecy and Masonic Initiatory Societies Masonic Initiatory Societies Masonic Rituals of Initiation Eighteenth-Century Masonic Terminology Concluding Remarks 3. Historical Background Ancient and Medieval Sources The "New Platonic Academy" of Florence The Spread of Western Esotericism Across Europe The Esoteric Missions of Giordano Bruno and John Dee Christian Rosencreutz and the Rosicrucian Manifestos Concluding Remarks 4. The Craft Degrees of Freemasonry The Emergence of Freemasonry Early Freemasonry and Western Esotericism The Pre-1730 Ritual Evidence The Master Mason Degree and the Ritual Enactment of the Hiramic Legend Concluding Remarks 5. High or Additional Degrees of Freemasonry Introduction Templar and Ecossais Rites Egyptian Rites "Esoteric" Freemasonry True Mason, or Academie des Vrais Macons Concluding Remarks 6. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Introduction History A Note on Sources Description of the Neophyte Ritual Analysis of the Neophyte Ritual Concluding Remarks 7. Modern Pagan Witchcraft or Wicca Gerald Gardner and the Birth of Wicca The Crowley Connection Gardner and the Witchcraft Rituals of Initiation First Degree: Witch and Priest/Priestess The First Degree Initiation Second Degree: High Priest/Priestess Third Degree: High Priest/Priestess Concluding Remarks 8. Conclusions Appendix Notes References Index