Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica

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Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica

Guide


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Joost R. Ritman () is an Amsterdam

business man with a deep interest inspirituality. He began collecting rarebooks at a young age, after his mother hadpresented him with a copy of a seventeenth-century edition of theAurora, a work byJacob Bhme, one of the authors whoare a lasting source of inspiration to him.When he conceived the plan to turn hisprivate collection of books into a library,his vision was to bring together underone roof manuscripts and printed worksof the Hermetic tradition, and to showthe interrelatedness between the variouscollecting areas and their relevance for thepresent day.

In addition to his passion for books, Ritmanalso feels greatly committed to his nativecity Amsterdam, in particular its culturaltreasures. Museum Het Rembrandthuis, theWesterkerk and the Library of the RoyalConcertgebouworchestra are some of theinstitutions to have benefited from hissponsorship. His merits for the world of thebook were acknowledged with a numberof notable awards, most recently the silver

medal by the Royal Netherlands Academy ofArts and Sciences (KNAW) in ; in thesame year he was also knighted in the Orderof the Dutch Lion.

The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica(BPH) was founded by the Amsterdambusinessman Joost R. Ritman in . Sincethen the collection has grown into a uniqueprivate library in a field where religion andphilosophy intersect:the Christian-Hermetic gnosis.

The library, presently comprising some3,volumes, was opened to public in. To date, the library holds ca. 4,500manuscripts and printed books before1800, ca. 17,000 books (primary andsecondary sources) printed after 1900,unique archival collections and a collectionof prints and engravings. Attached to the

Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica are theRitman Institute, which conducts scholarlyresearch and houses the documentationcentre. The publishing house In de Pelikaanbrings out works on subjects directlyrelevant to the collection.

Further more the library aims to form aplatform of communication in the BPHs

recognized field of specialization and todevelop the public and dialogue functions.

A brief history of the library


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Hermetically open


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Address:

Bloemstraat 3-

KV Amsterdam

The Netherlands

T +3

F +3 3

E [email protected]

I www.ritmanlibrary.com

Opening hours:The library is open from Monday through Friday

:-:3and 3:3-:(closed :3-3:3).

Advance appointments by telephone or e-mail are appreciated.

Interior Photography: Maarten Brinkgreve, Amsterdam

Design: Multimediation, AmsterdamPrint: Spijker Drukkerij, Buren


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AmsterdamIn de Pelikaan , th edition

Hermetically openGuide to the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica


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THE COLLECTION OF THE BIBLIOTHECA PHILOSOPHICA HERMETICA

Christian-Hermetic gnosis

In the middle of the previous century, in December , a poor farmer

called Mohammed Ali Samman found a jar containing old papyri in thevicinity of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. He had no idea of the importance ofhis discovery; part of the material was used to kindle the fire at home.Thirteen manuscripts, however, escaped this fate and eventually ended upin the Coptic Museum in Cairo, where they are still to be found. Todaythey are known as the Nag Hammadi codices.

Why was the discovery of these Nag Hammadi codices so important andwhy have we chosen to begin our guide to the library with this groupof texts? As for the discovery: it concerns texts written mainly in Copticdating to the first centuries CE, which until the time of their discoverywere either unknown, had been transmitted in fragments or were knownthrough secondary sources only. Unique source texts had now emerged

that were far more complete and original. They also mark the startingpoint and the direction of the collecting areas of the BPH.

The Nag Hammadi codices contain texts of considerable variety they are gnostic, early Christian, Hermetic, Platonic, Jewish typical for thearea and the period of origin, the melting-pot of Alexandrian philosophy.The Hermetic and gnostic texts explore the question of God, cosmos and

man and their mutual relationship: he who knows God and the cosmos,knows himself. The reciprocity between God and man but also the ascentto God are likewise characteristic themes, both in gnostic-Hermetic andin mystical literature. What all these currents have in common is that theywish to grant man insight into the coherence of everything, to initiatehim in a reality existing behind the visible world and to lead him to anintuitive knowledge of God and a direct, personal experience of God via

knowledge of the cosmos and self-knowledge.The Way of Gnosis or the Way of Hermes leads to this ultimate goal:

the experience of divine reality, which cannot be learnt, but can only bepersonally experienced (gnosis).


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Therefore, if one has knowledge, he is from above.If he is called, he hears, he answers, and he turns to him who is callinghim, and ascends to him.And he knows, in what manner he is called.Having knowledge, he does the will of the one who called him, hewishes to be pleasing to him, he receives rest.

Each ones name comes to him.He who is to have knowledge in this manner knows where he comesfrom and knows where he is going.

(From: The Gospel of Truthby the gnostic Valentinus, ca. 3-ca. ,one of the texts found at Nag Hammadi)

Christian-Hermetic gnosiscements the collecting areas of the BibliothecaPhilosophica Hermetica, and owing to the unique discovery of anEgyptian farmer in , the true scope of this field can now be explored.


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The principal collecting areas

The collection of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica (BPH) isdivided into the following principal collecting areas:

Hermetica

AlchemyMysticism

Rosicrucians

Gnosis & Western Esotericism

This guide is intended to provide insight into the way the principal

collecting areas have been arranged: which authors / subjects are tobe found in the library and where. The arrangement of the principalcollecting areas Hermetica, Alchemy, Mysticism and Rosicruciansis mainly chronological; the arrangement of the subsections withinthe principal collecting area Gnosis & Western Esotericism is mainlythematical. The markers to be found in the bookcases correspond withthe arrangement of the collecting areas and their subsections in this guide.

Works by authors (primary works) precede works on authors (secondaryworks). For each subsection, the books are arranged alphabetically perauthor or, in the case of anonymous publications, per title.

Modern works (post ) may be taken from the shelves and can beconsulted in the reading room. Do not reshelve the books but leave them

lying on the reading table.

Old printed books and manuscripts (prior to ) can be applied for inthe reading room, where the computer catalogue can also be consulted. Thecatalogue gives a shelfmark for each book, indicating where it can be found(for a survey of the shelfmarks as indicated in the catalogue see p. 3). Theplan of the library indicates the location of the various collecting areas.


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I HERMETICA

This collecting area containsworks attributed to HermesTrismegistus, other neo-Platonicworks, patristic testimonies to theChristian reception of Hermesand works testifying to theinfluence of the Hermetica from

the Early Middle Ages throughto the present day. Placed at thebeginning is a general sectionwith relevant historical studies.

Prisca theologia

The philosophical, theosophical, magical, astrological and alchemicalworks attributed to Hermes Trismegistus form the basis of the Hermeticasection in the library. Well-known Hermetic works are the CorpusHermeticumand theAsclepius, which were composed in the first centuriesof our era. TheAsclepiuswas known in the Middle Ages; the oldest of theca. preserved manuscripts of theAsclepiusdate to the second half ofthe th century and once belonged to Cardinal Nicolaus de Cusa. Likemany other works, the Corpus Hermeticumwas rediscovered in the

Renaissance, and printed for the firsttime in the translation of MarsilioFicino in . The first edition of theGreek original of this collection of

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General

Prisca theologia

General

Hermes Trismegistus

Other authors A-Z

Plato and Platonists

General

Authors A-ZTestimonia

General

Authors A-Z

Early Middle Ages

General

Authors A-Z

Renaissance of the th century

General Authors A-Z

Italian Renaissance

General

Authors A-Z

Hermetica th-th centuries

General

Authors A-Z

Hermetica th century-present

General

Authors A-Z

Literary and philosophical assimilation

Hermes (considered a

contemporary of Moses in the

Renaissance)

Zoroaster (fl. BCE)

Pythagoras (- BCE)

Orpheus (th c. BCE)


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Hermetic texts was not published until .The idea of a prisca theologia originates in the Renaissance: a

tradition of spiritual wisdom running from Hermes Trismegistus viaMoses to Zoroaster, Orpheus, Pythagoras and Plato. The works of theseancient sages were divinely inspired and paved the way for Christ.Amongst these prisci theologi Ficino ranked Zoroaster, Orpheus,Pythagoras and the Pythagorean Philolaus of Croton.

Plato and Platonists

The works of Plato, the divine philosopher,were translated into Latin by Ficino.Ficinos interests also included the neo-Platonic philosophers Jamblichus, Plotinus,Porphyry and Proclus. This subsection alsoincorporates exponents of Alexandrian

philosophy (Philo): in all a historical eracovering the first centuries of our era, which provided the religious andphilosophical environment that helped shape the Hermetica.

Testimonia

Patristic comments on Hermes, whetherpositive (Lactantius) or negative (Augustine)are to be found in this subsection.

Early Middle Ages

The main authors collected in this period are Boethius (-ca. ) andthe neo-Platonist Dionysius (second half of theth century). The works ofDionysius (erroneously attributed to the Dionysius Areopagita occurringin Acts : 3) only became fully accessible to the West in the edition ofJohannes Scotus Eriugena, who translated the entire Corpus Dionysiacumaround .

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Plato (ca. -3BCE)Philo Judaeus (BCE-CE)

Apollonius of Tyana (st c. BCE)Plotinus (-ca. )

Porphyrius (ca. 3-ca. 3)Jamblichus (ca. -ca. 3)Proclus (-)

Clemens Alexandrinus (ca. -)

Lactantius (ca.

-ca.3

)Augustine (3-3)

Boethius ca. -ca.

Dionysius Areopagita (fl.th c.)

Johannes Scotus Eriugena (ca. -)


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3

Renaissance of the th century

The influence of texts attributed to Hermes in the th century has beenestablished in the works of theologians and philosophers such as PeterAbelard, Alain de Lille, William of Auvergne, Albertus Magnus andThomas of York. The main Hermetic source text to be studied in thisseminal period before the Italian Renaissance was theAsclepius(whichhas been preserved in Latin), in addition to (pseudo-) Hermetic texts suchas the Liber XXIV philosophorum,

a collection of definitions andcommentaries on the nature of God,and the cosmological Liber de VIrerum principiis. We also find in thisperiod the first translations (mainlyfrom the Arabic) of astrological andmagical works, such as the Picatrixand the work of Al-Kindi (-).

Italian Renaissance

The works of the prisci theologi were enthusiastically studied in theItalian Renaissance. An important person in this context is GeorgiusGemistus, who called himself Pletho to express his reverence for Plato.Plethos deep admiration for Plato, the Platonists and Zoroaster caused

Cosimo de Medici tofound a Platonic Academyin Florence. The ideaof a prisca theologiaas expressed by Ficinoin the dedication to histranslation of the CorpusHermeticumprobablyderives from Pletho.Ficinos main translatinginterests concerned Plato

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Peter Abelard (-)Herman of Carinthia (ca. -ca. )

Robert of Chester (Ketton, ca. -ca. )

Alain de Lille (-)

William of Auvergne (ca. -)

Albertus Magnus (ca. -)

Thomas of York (d. ca. )

Georgius Gemistus Pletho (3-)

Johannes Bessarion (3-)

Nicolaus de Cusa (-)

Marsilio Ficino (33-)

Lodovico Lazzarelli (-)Johannes Reuchlin (-)

Jacques Lefvre dtaples (ca. -3)

Johannes Trithemius (-)

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (3-)

Henricus Cornelius Agrippa (-3)

Francesco Patrizi (-)

Giordano Bruno ( -)

Tommaso Campanella (-3)


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and the Neoplatonists (a.o. Plotinus). His own works were also greatlyinspired by Neoplatonic thought.

Hermetica th-th centuries

Hermetic thought is one of the factors contributing to the (natural)philosophical and scientific reformation which spread from Italythroughout Europe. The Hermetist and physician Paracelsus is a keyfigure in this context. Paracelsus strongly believed in the power of the

arcana in the healing process. According to him these hidden powers,which drew on the macrocosm, could work their effect on man, themicrocosm, having the power to change, renovate and restore not onlythe body, but also the patients mind. The Englishman Robert Fludd, inwhose work the divine light was a central theme, was a Paracelsist and

a Hermetist he often refersto Hermes, for instance in his

Mosaicall philosophy.In the th century Amsterdam

is a haven for enlightened thinkers;the works of Spinoza a.o. areprinted here. This subsection alsoincludes the works of advocates ofreligious tolerance (e.g. Castellio,

Comenius, Coornhert).

Hermetica th century-present

An impressive culmination of the Hermetic tradition at the end of theth century is to be found in the Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer.

In the

th and

th centuries, too, the Hermetica remained a factorshaping Western thought. New editions of classical Hermetic texts as wellas fresh philosophical, esoteric and literary interpretations and studiesappear to the present day. In the th century new Hermetic societieswere formed claiming a Graeco-Egyptian (Hellenistic) origin, although

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Paracelsus (3-)

John Dee (-)

Robert Fludd (-3)Johannes Baptista van Helmont (-)

Jan Amos Comenius (-)

Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont (-)Christian Knorr von Rosenroth (3-)


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there were also ties with the modern theosophical movement (Blavatsky).The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn () drew its inspiration

from Christian-Hermetic thought as well as Freemasonry and magic.The Englishman A.E. Waite has his own section within the Hermeticabecause he contributed to every conceivable esoteric field during hislong and successful academic career. In the th century the study ofthe Hermetica received a new impetus. th-century editions of sourcetexts are frequently reprinted. Especially the publications of A.E. Waiteand G.R.S. Mead have encouraged new scholarly studies in the broader

field of the Hermetica. In the

nd half ofthe th century, a number of importantHermetic texts were discovered to lie hiddenin European libraries, amongst which theso-called Hermetica of Oxford and theDefinitions of Hermes Trismegistus.

Literary and philosophical assimilation

This subsection contains works which allow a Hermetic interpretation.Dante is well represented; his hierarchies in the Divina Commediaarereminiscent of the heavenly hierarchies of Dionysius Areopagita. There arealso editions and studies of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili().

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Edward Maitland (-)

Anna Bonus Kingsford (-)

William W. Westcott (-)

Arthur Edward Waite (-)

Dante Alighieri (-3)

Francesco Colonna (33-)

Antoine Fabre dOlivet (-)


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II ALCHEMY

The general section at thebeginning contains a greatnumber of art historical worksand plate books on the subject ofalchemy and its symbols. Thereare also specialized periodicalsin the field of alchemy available,

such asAmbixand Chrysopoeia(both complete).

Greek alchemy

A number of source texts (with translations) and secondary works onGreek alchemy has already been published in the series Les alchimistes

grecs. The earliest alchemical manuscripts tohave survived were written in Greek, the oldestalchemist whose work has been preserved isZosimos of Panopolis.

Oriental alchemy

There is a modest offering of works on Chinese alchemy, which wastraditionally divided in waidanor external alchemy and neidanorinternal alchemy.

Arabic and Jewish alchemy

In the middle of the th century the first translations of alchemical worksfrom Arabic appear in the Latin West, such as Secreta Secretorum, TabulaSmaragdinaand Morienus De compositione alchemiae, translated by theEnglishman Robert of Chester (Ketton) in . Arabic alchemy to a large

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Periodicals

General

Greek alchemy

Oriental alchemy

Arabic and Jewish alchemy

Medieval Western alchemy

Western alchemy th-th centuries

General

Authors A-Z

Western alchemy th century

General

Authors A-Z

Western alchemy th-century-present

General

Authors A-Z

Zosimos of Panopolis (fl. 3)


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extent relies on the Greek alchemicalcorpus. Jabir ibn Hayyan has often beenconfused with Geber in the literature; only recently has it been establishedthat Geber was a medieval author writing in Latin.

Medieval Western alchemy

After the introduction in the Latin Westof the royal or Hermetic art, as alchemy

is also known, alchemical treatises werewritten from the th century onwardscontaining allegories based on biblicaltexts. A striking example is Petrus BonusPretiosa margarita novella. At the sametime alchemy is a part of the experimentalscientific context, as appears from Roger

Bacons natural philosophical work.

Western alchemy th-th centuries

There is almost no printed alchemy in the th century. Around compendia are published with Latin translations of by now classical

alchemical texts such as the Rosarium Philosophorumand the TurbaPhilosophorum. Metallurgical textbooks, such as Agricolas De ReMetallica() are also published. The appearance of Paracelsus (seealso Hermetica th-th centuries) determines the future course of thehistory of alchemy in theWest. Paracelsus did not setmuch store by transmutation,

but he did prepare iatro-chemical medicine with theaid of distillation. At thebeginning of the th centuryalchemical emblem books

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Jabir ibn Hayyan (th c.)

Morienus (th c.)

Geber (fl.3

th c.)Albertus Magnus (ca. -ca. )

Roger Bacon (ca. -ca. )

Thomas Aquinas (ca. -)

Arnaldus de Villanova (ca. -3)

Petrus Bonus (fl. th c.)

Nicolas Flamel (fl. th c.)

George Ripley (ca. -)

Solomon Trissmosin (th c.)

Heinrich Khunrath (-)

Basilius Valentinus (fl. )

Michael Sendivogius (-3)

Michael Maier (-)

Elias Ashmole (-)

Thomas Vaughan (-)

Goossen van Vreeswyck (ca. -)

Robert Boyle (-)

George Starkey (-)

Isaac Newton (/3-)


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appear (e.g. Michael MaiersAtalanta fugiens) enriched with allegoriesbased on classical texts open to alchemical interpretation, such as Ovids

Metamorphoses.

Western alchemy th century

In the late th century alchemical insights were incorporated in the newcorpuscular theories which would eventually determine the atomistic-

mechanistic world picture. The new type of alchemy became increasinglyexperimental, and depended on clear vocabulary. Traditional alchemicalterminology largely became the domain of pietists, and was used moreand more symbolically. The distinctionbetween a chemist and an adept whoknows the secret of alchemy became evergreater. Around the middle of the thcentury, Hermann Fictuld attempted todistinguish between true and false adepts inhis Probierstein.

Western alchemy th century-present

With the development of gas chemistry and the dissolution of theelements towards the end of the th century, the universe loses muchof its mystery. The life force pervading the universe, formerly known asthe Philosophers Stone, the Quinta Essentia, or the World Soul, is nowidentified as oxygen. This century marks the rise of spiritual alchemy, ascharacterized by Mary Ann Atwoods anonymously publishedA suggestiveInquiry, in which Hermetic and alchemical principles are rediscovered andcharacterized as a discipline offering profound insights into the mental,physical and spiritual powers of man.

Alchemy remains a discipline attracting adepts: there were practisingalchemists working in laboratories also in the th century. In FranceFranois Jollivet-Castelot carried out transmutational experiments;Fulcanelli (a pseudonym which has not been resolved) was quite a

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Georg von Welling (-)

Adam Birkholz (-)

Friedrich Roth-Scholtz (-3)

Hermann Fictuld (fl. )


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celebrity, as was his pupilCanseliet. The psycho-analyst

Carl Gustav Jung for his partwas highly interested in thesymbolical language of alchemy(his Psychologie und Alchemiewas published in Germany in ).

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Sigismund Bacstrom (fl. )

Mary Ann Atwood (-)Albert Poisson (-3)

Franois Jollivet-Castelot (-3)

Carl Gustav Jung (-)

Eugne Canseliet (-)

Fulcanelli (th c.)


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III MYSTICISM

Mysticism Middle Ages

The BPH particularly collectsmedieval and later Westernmystics having a demonstrableaffinity with Hermetic thought,amongst whom Meister Eckhart,

Suso and Tauler. Some ofEckharts ideas were not onlyirreconcilable with orthodoxChristianity, they were alsopossibly Hermetic in origin,

such as his idea of the divine man. Susofollowed his master Eckhart in this idea

of the homo divinus. Tauler speaks of Godin terms which derive from the theologianegativa formulated by DionysiusAreopagita. Tauler calls God the ineffablemystery and quotes from the pseudo-Hermetic Liber XXIV philosophorum: Godis the darkness in the soul that remains

after all the light.

Modern Devotion

The Modern Devotion movement is an originally Dutch movementaround Geert Groote which sought to achieve an inner Christianity; the

ideals of the movement found expression in Thomas a KempisDe imitatione Christi.

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General

Mysticism Middle Ages

General

Authors A-Z

Modern Devotion

Mysticism and spiritualism th century

General

Authors A-Z

Mysticism and pietism th century

General

Authors A-Z

William Blake


General

Authors A-Z

Mysticism th century-presentGeneral

Authors A-Z

Hildegard of Bingen (-)

Mechtild of Magdeburg (-)Mechtild of Hackeborn (/-)

Meister Eckhart (ca. -3)

Jan van Ruusbroec (3-3)

Heinrich Suso (ca. -3)

Johannes Tauler (ca.3-3)

Birgitta of Sweden (3-33)

Catharina of Siena (3-3)

Geert Groote (3-3)

Thomas Kempis (ca. 3-)


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Mysticism and spiritualism thcentury

In the th century various philo-sophical and religious thinkers,(radical) reformers and spiritualists advocated religious freedom andopposed orthodoxy, whether Catholic or Protestant. An important sourcetext for German mysticism and spiritualism in this period is the TheologiaDeutsch.


After the Reformation Luthers heritagebecame immobilized in the orthodoxchurch and the rules and dogmas oftheology. Pietists advocated a better and

more liberal interpretation of Christianand spiritual ideals in their oftenpolemical works and biblical studies.The works by the German theosopherJacob Bhme and his followers, amongstwhom Johann Georg Gichtel, arestrongly represented in this subsection.

The Dutch Republic, in particularAmsterdam, was in this century a printing haven for works which wereprohibited elsewhere.


Bhmes influence is also felt in the th century: the English mysticWilliam Law publishes his collected work; Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, originating from the circles of mystical freemasonry, is inspiredby Bhme, and in Germany it is Karl von Eckartshausen who absorbs

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Caspar Schwenckfeld (-)

Sebastian Franck (-)

David Joris (-)

Miguel Servet (-3)

Sebastiano Castellio (-3)

Valentin Weigel (33-)

Johann Arndt (-)

Jacob Bhme (-)

Abraham von Franckenberg (3-)

John Pordage (-)

Antoinette Bourignon (-)

Jane Lead (-

)Angelus Silesius (-)

Philipp Jakob Spener (3-)

Johann Georg Gichtel (3-)

Quirinus Kuhlmann (-)

August Hermann Francke (3-)

Gottfried Arnold (-)


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3

elements from the workof Bhme. The pietist

movement, which seeks aninner experience of Christ,remains an important factorinto the middle of the thcentury.

William Blake

The English visionary poet William Blake was also inspired by themystical work of Bhme and has a separate place as a transitory figurebetween the th and th century.

Mysticism th century-present

Classical works on Western mysticismat the turn of the th century wereHuxleys The perennial philosophy, EvelynUnderhillsMysticismand WilliamJamess Varieties of religious experience.From a historical and religious-spiritualpoint of view, this subsection cannot beseparated from most of the other sectionswithin Western esotericism: Rosicrucians, Theosophy, Anthroposophyand th-century Gnosis. The late th-century New Age movement is,however, omitted.

Sufism

There is a selection of source texts and studies on this mystical currentwithin the Islam, with classical authors such as Al-Nuri and Rumi, but

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William Law (-)

Gerhard Tersteegen (-)

Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (-)

Martines de Pasqually (-)

Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin (3-3)

Joanna Southcott (-)

Karl von Eckartshausen (-3)William Blake (-)

Franz von Baader (-)

Jakob Lorber (-)

George I. Gurdjieff (-)

Evelyn Underhill (-)

Piotr D. Ouspensky (-)

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (-)

Ren Gunon (-)

Frithjof Schuon (-)


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also modern ones suchas Idris Shah and Hazrat

Inayat Khan. The sufi mysticbelieves it is possible to be close to God in this life and to experience hisnearness, something he has in common with Western mystics such asRuusbroec and Tauler.

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Abu-l-Hasan al-Nuri (-)Al-Ghazali (-)Ibn Arabi (-)

Jalaluddin Rumi (-3)Hazrat Inayat Khan (-)


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IV ROSICRUCIANS

Rosicrucian Manifestoes

The Rosicrucian Manifestoes(Fama fraternitatis, Confessio

fraternitatisand ChymischeHochzeit) were printed in the

years -. In addition

to the original

th-centuryeditions, the BPH holdsseveral modern editions,ranging from facsimile editions to annotated text editions, and varioustranslations, amongst which Spanish, English and French.

Tbingen circle

The Tbingen circle which producedthe Rosicrucian Manifestoes originallyformed around Tobias Hess, theirgreat inspiring force. Johann ValentinAndreae recalled Hess with affection and respect in his Tobiae Hessi, Viriincomparabilis, Immortalitas. Andreae, known to have written at least oneof the Manifestoes, namely the Chymische Hochzeit, is also represented inthis section with other of his works.

Other authors th century

The Rosicrucian movement is anoriginally German phenomenonbut soon found adherents abroad,amongst whom the EnglishmenRobert Fludd (see also the section onHermetica th-th centuries) and

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Rosicrucians th century

General

Rosicrucian Manifestoes

Tbingen circle

Other authors A-Z


General

Authors A-ZRosicrucians th century-present

S.R.I.A.

Rosicrucian Fellowship

A.M.O.R.C

O.T.O./O.R.A.

Lectorium Rosicrucianum

Periodicals Rosicrucian Fellowship

Periodicals Lectorium Rosicrucianum

Tobias Hess (-)

Christoph Besold (-3)

Johann Valentin Andreae (-)

Aegidius Gutmann (d. )

Julius Sperber (d. )

Adam Haslmayr (-ca. 3)Robert Fludd (-3)

Daniel Mgling (/-)

Thomas Vaughan (-)

John Heydon (-ca. )


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Thomas Vaughan. The Manifestoes drew responses from all over Europe,from Paris to Prague.


In the th century the Rosicrucian legacy lived on in numerousspiritual movements such as the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer and natural-

philosophical groups seeking aprofound spiritual dimension.One of the major works producedin this period was the GeheimeFiguren der Rosenkreuzer aus dem

ten und ten Jahrhundert(firstprinted -).

Rosicrucians th century-present

From the second half of the th century there is a veritable proliferationof movements claiming to go back to the elusive Rosicrucian movementof the early th century, and on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Adistinction has therefore been made between European and AmericanRosicrucian movements, with separate sections for the more pronounced

Rosicrucian groups.

S.R.I.A.

The Freemason R.W. Little founded theSocietas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.)

around . Although the S.R.I.A. is a masonic organisation, it claimsaffiliation with the teachings of the Fratres Rosae Crucis, which inturn were allegedly based on the Hermetic, Platonic and kabbalisticteachings of the ancient sages. Because of the close connection withRosicrucianism, which finds explicit expression in the very name of theorganization, S.R.I.A. has been placed in the Rosicrucian section.

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Robert Wentworth Little (-)

Bernhard J. Schleiss von Lwenfeld (3-)Wilhelm Schrder (33-)

Adam Michael Birkholz (-)

Adam Weishaupt (-3)

Sincerus Renatus (fl. )


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Rosicrucian Fellowship

The theosophist Max Heindel (pseudonymof Carl Louis Frederik von Grasshof, a Danish-born American) foundedthe Rosicrucian Fellowship in the United States in as an internationalmovement for Christian mysticism. The Rosicrucian Fellowship espousesan esoteric sort of Christianity, in which the idea of transfiguration, orrebirth in a state of inner purity, plays an important role. Heindels best-known work is theRosicrucian Cosmo-conception,which is available in

many editions.

A.M.O.R.C

The Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (A.M.O.R.C.) was founded bythe American parapsychologist Spencer Lewis in . A.M.O.R.C. is amovement which claims to offer its members the means to take controlof their own lives, develop inner peace andmake a positive contribution to the worldon the basis of studying and practising theRosicrucian teachings.

O.T.O./O.R.A.

The Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) was founded in Germany at thebeginning of the th century and claims to continue the traditions of theFreemasons, Rosicrucians and Illuminati of the th and th centuries,the Knights Templar of the Middle Ages and the early Christian gnosticsand mystery schools from Antiquity. Issues from the series Pansophia,published by Heinrich Trnker, can be found in this section.The Ordo Roseae Aureae (O.R.A.) was founded in Germany in byMartin Erler, an ex-functionary of A.M.O.R.C.: it is one of the morerecent secessions in the history of the modern Rosicrucian movements.

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Harvey Spencer Lewis (3-3)

Heinrich Trnker (-)

Martin Erler (-after )

Max Heindel (-)


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Lectorium Rosicrucianum

In the brothers Zwier Willem and Jan Leene joined the RosicrucianFellowships Dutch branch, which they were to lead from . In 3the Dutch branch split off to form a new Rosicrucian movement, whicheventually became known under the name Lectorium Rosicrucianum(). The library holds a great deal of material of this Dutch Rosicrucianmovement, amongst which many pamphlets and brochures andperiodicals from the early years. Initially the leadership of the younggnostic brotherhood (also called the International School of the Golden

Rosycross) was in the hands of founder Jan van Rijckenborgh (Jan Leene),later he and Catharose de Petri became the twin leaders of the movement.Like G.R.S. Mead in England (see under Gnosis), van Rijckenborghstudied the sources of the Christian-Hermetic gnosis and published thesein a Dutch translation, with commentaries.

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Jan van Rijckenborgh (-)

Catharose de Petri (-)


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V GNOSIS & WESTERN

ESOTERICISM

This principal collecting areaincludes various currents in addi-tion to Hermetism, Alchemy,Mysticism and Rosicrucians whichexpress a spirituality mainly mani-

festing itself outside the confines of the institutionalized religions. At thesame time they feed and reinforce the core of the collection.

Comparative religion

This collecting area offers a broad historical background tothe study of the Hermetica and of Gnosis and opens witha general section including such classical studies as thoseof J.G.R. Forlong, Rivers of Life, James George Frazer, TheGolden Bough, Godfrey Higgins,Anacalypsis, and MirceaEliade, Geschichte der religisen Ideen.

Egyptology

In addition to general works on Egyptian cultural history, there are anumber of more specific studies which explore the relationship betweenthe Hermetica, ancient Egyptian religion and magic and the Hellenisticculture of Alexandria. Other works consider the connection between theEgyptian god Thoth and Hermes Trismegistus.

Egypt: reception

This section contains works which are illustrative of the appeal whichthe culture of ancient Egypt exerted and still exerts on modern Westernesoteric authors and currents.

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Comparative religion

Gnosis

Manichaeism

Theosophy

Anthroposophy

Non-Western philosophy and religion

Esotericism

GrailCatharism

Kabbalah

Freemasonry

Templars

General

Egyptology

Egypt: reception

Pre-Christian cults

Early Christianity


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Pre-Christian cults

Greek and Roman mystery religions were major components of the late-Hellenistic environment. General studies on myths and mythologies, thepre-Christian wisdom mysteries or cults (Mithras, Eleusis) are placedhere.

Early Christianity

This section has many links with other collecting areas within the library:Hermetic philosophy, Gnosis, pre-Christian cults and mysticism. Anumber of patristic works insofar as they have not been placed withinthe collecting areas Gnosis and Hermetica can be found here.

Gnosis

The Nag Hammadi library

The Nag Hammadi library isthe name given to a spectaculardiscovery of predominantlygnostic texts dating to the first

centuries CE which were foundnear Nag Hammadi in Egypt in . The complete Nag Hammadilibrary consists of 3codices (with texts in all). The text editions arefollowed by studies focussing on the Nag Hammadi discovery or the textsthemselves.

Editions of separate Nag Hammadi texts, such as the Gospel of Truthand the Gospel of Thomasare placed after the complete text editions.

The individual text editions are followed by relevant studies andcommentaries.

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The Nag Hammadi library

Complete editions

Secondary works

Editions of / secondary works on separate texts

Other gnostic source texts

Gnostics and testimonia

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Other gnostic source texts

Prior to the Nag Hammadidiscovery, a small number ofgnostic source texts was alreadyknown. In the th and thcenturies three codices had already

been discovered, the codex Askewianus/Askew codex, the codex Brucianusand the Berlin codex (codex Berolinensis). Texts from these codices

which have been separately published are placed in this section. Othermajor gnostic source texts are:Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, Mandaeanliterature, Hymn (Song) of the Pearl,Pistis Sophiaand the Odes of Solomon.

Gnostics and testimonia

Until the publication of the texts from the Nag Hammadi library in theth century, our main knowledge of gnosticism was based on works ofothers, usually polemical works by Christian authors such as Tertullian.

Gnosis th century-present

This section contains works on the study of gnosis in all its aspects. As aresult of the publication of the Nag Hammadi library, our understandingof gnosis has been substantially enriched and modified. Once the textshad become available, gnosis scholarship began to take off. The studyof gnosis as a scholarly discipline started in the th century and iscarried on by scholars all over the world: Gilles Quispel, Kurt Rudolph,Roelof van den Broek, Elaine Pagels and many others are modern gnosisscholars. The same texts increasingly serve as sources of inspirationfor modern religious feeling. Meads work has been placed separatelyin this section because of his pioneering work in the field of gnosticand Hermetic studies. He published various gnostic source texts inEnglish translation, and also wrote about gnostic texts in The Quest, theperiodical he founded. As for the Hermetica, he was convinced, with

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Simon Magus (st c.)

Basilides (nd c.)

Marcion (nd c.)

Theodotus (nd c.)

Valentinus (fl. -)

Irenaeus (ca. -ca. )

Clemens Alexandrinus (ca. -)Tertullian (fl. )

Epiphanius (ca. 3-3)


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the German scholar RichardReitzenstein, that there wereEgyptian influences in theCorpus Hermeticum; an insightrecently affirmed by modernscholars like J.-P. Mah.

Manichaeism

For a period of ,years, Manichaeism was animportant world religion which, having its rootsin ancient Babylon, spread to the West and, via theSilk Road, also to the East. Amongst the sourcetexts there is first of all the Mani-Codex(ca. ;discovered in ) which narrates the life andspiritual growth of Mani, the founder of this

religion. The Cologne Mani Codex, a Greek textfound in Egypt, and the Tebessa Codex, a Latin textfound in Algeria, are of major importance for thestudy of Mani and Manichaeism.

Testimonia

Included are a number of anti-Manichaean texts from various religioustraditions (Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism).

Manichaeism th century-present

The most important Manichaean source texts were discovered in the earlyth century and subsequently a beginning was made with codicologicaland philological descriptions. The sources have not yet been fullydescribed, but considerable progress is now being made. Manichaeanliterature and art were discovered in Turfan and Dunhuang in China

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Adolph von Harnack (-3)

Richard Reitzenstein (-3)

George Robert Stowe Mead (3-33

)Hans Jonas (3-3)

Gilles Quispel (-)

Mani (-/)

Manichaean source texts

Testimonia

Manichaean source texts


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at the beginning of the th century: texts in Chinese, Middle-Iranianand Turkish. Important Coptic source texts were found in the s in

Medinet Madi in Egypt. Towards the end of the th century Manichaeanmaterial was found in Kellis in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt (Coptic, Greekand Syriac texts). Secondary works, including the work of Alois vanTongerloo and Johannes van Oort, are also placed here. An importantseries in this field is theManichaean Studies, published in Louvain.

Theosophy

Historical periodicals such as Lucifer, later continued as theTheosophicalReviewby G.R.S. Mead (who started his careeras the secretary of H.P. Blavatsky) are placed at the head ofthis collecting area, which in principle focuses on the works of the mostimportant early theosophists. The founders of the Theosophical Society(in ), H.P. Blavatsky (Isis Unveiled, ; The Secret Doctrine, )and Henry Steel Olcott, as well as notable followers and/or successorssuch as Alice Bailey, Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater are representedwith several publications in the original editions. Early translations intoGerman authorized by the Theosophical Society are also to be found here.

Jiddu Krishnamurti was hailed by the English Theosophical Society asa Messiah and brought to England, butin he severed all ties with theosophyand for the rest of his life remainedaloof from any religious, political orphilosophical dogma. The printedrecords of his numerous speeches, talksand discussions are followed by studieson his life and spirituality, including thebiographies of Mary Lutyens. The Dutchedition of the periodical of Krishnamurtis Ster movement is also placedin this section. The periodical was published during KrishnamurtisOmmen years (-33), where he held speeches before disbanding themovement.

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Periodicals

General

Authors A-Z

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (3-)

Annie Besant (-33)

Charles Webster Leadbeater (-3)

Alice Bailey (-)

Jiddu Krishnamurti (-)


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Anthroposophy

Historical anthroposophical periodicals are well represented andinclude Das GoetheanumandAnthroposophy. A notable acquisitionis the complete run of Christus aller Erdeand of theMitteilungen derChristengemeinschaftwhich resumed publication in (the organisationwas banned at the outbreak of the Second World War).

Rudolf Steiner, founder of the anthroposophical movement, wasinitially interested in theosophy but left that movement to found his own

society. Steiners search for a universal science

of the spirit was informed by Christianityand Rosicrucianism. In addition to originalworks (such as Die Philosophie der Freiheit,Theosophie andMein Lebensgang) there aremany of Steiners lecture cycles, which wereposthumously edited and published by his wifeMarie Steiner and also published in the well-

known Gesamtausgabe.The collection contains major studies on Steiners life and work but

also early editions of the first generation of Steiner pupils and of membersof the Christengemeinschaft.

Non-Western philosophy and religion

This area contains a small selection of philosophical,religious and mystical sources and source studies withinOriental traditions, such as the Bhagavad Gita, theUpanishads, works by Lao-Tse.

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Rudolf Steiner (-)

Friedrich Rittelmeyer (-3)Hermann Beckh (-3)

Emil Bock (-)Rudolf Meyer (-)

Rudolf Frieling (-)

Periodicals

General

Authors A-Z

GeneralPersia and India

China

Arabic countries


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Esotericism

Like the collecting areas Hermetica, Alchemy,Mysticism and Rosicrucians, Esotericism ispreceded by a general section, which includeworks such as Ernest Bosc, La doctrine soterique travers les agesor

Modern esoteric spirituality, eds. Antoine Faivre & Jacob Needleman.The (Western) esoteric tradition of the th century elaborates on

the arcane sciences that were rediscovered in the Renaissance, adding

components from the Eastern traditions many authors to be found inthis section were once members of the Theosophical Society founded byH.P. Blavatsky (see also under Theosophy).The Esotericism area is divided intogeographical sections, which allows for acloser understanding of the networks andindividuals operating within each country.For France, for instance, liphas Lvi is a keyfigure. A later occultist, Grard Encausse,derived his own pseudonym Papus fromliphas Lvi, whose work also inspired othermajor French occultists, amongst whomStanislas de Guaita and Josphin Pladan.In the latter two founded the OrdreKabbalistique de la Rosecroix, which alsoincluded Papus as a member. In England theHermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (seealso Hermetica th century-present), whichwas founded by S.L. MacGregor Mathers,W.R. Woodman and W. Wynn Westcottin , was a major movement attractinga great many occultists although themovement also lost members, such as DionFortune (ps. of Violet Mary Firth), who, afterhaving joined the Golden Dawn in , leftas early as to found her own Society ofthe Inner Light.

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General

Germany

France

Slavic countries

England

Italy

Netherlands

United States

Jakob Lorber (-)

Franz Hartmann (3-)

Gustav Meyrink (-3)

Karl Otto Schmidt (-)

liphas Lvi (-)Saint-Yves dAlveydre (-)

Josphin Pladan (-)

Stanislas de Guaita (-)

Papus (-)

Wladimir S. Solovieff (3-)

Nikola A. Berdayev (-)

Peter D. Ouspensky (-)

Isabelle de Steiger (3-)William Wynn Westcott (-)

Mabel Collins (-)

S.L. MacGregor Mathers (-)

Dion Fortune (-)

Julius Evola (-)

Henri Adrien Naber (-)

Jacques Karel Rensburg (-3)

Gerard van Rijnberk (-3)

Manly Palmer Hall (-)


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Grail

Source texts

The Grail section contains editions of medieval chivalric romancessituated around the court of King Arthur, in which the Grail Quest playsan important role, but also modern works in which the Grail (and theQuest) is interpreted in spiritual or esoteric terms. In the medieval worksthe Grail is described as a chalice, a cup or even a stone. At the end of the

th century, Robert de Boron for

the first time links the Grail withthe Bible: he sees the Grail as thecup used at the Last Supper, used byJoseph of Arimathea to collect theblood of Christ at the Crucifixion.The Grail according to legend has

supernatural healing power and is an infinite source of nourishment.

Robert de Boron also recounts how the Grail is eventually brought toEngland, where the Quests take their start.

Esoteric interpretations

The Grail mystery inspired many in the th century, first of all in

the artistic environment (Richard Wagner, Dante Gabriel Rossetti),subsequently in theosophical circles, where the Grail was regarded asa universal symbol having pre-Christian roots. Arthur Edward Waite

tried to harmonize Christian and pre-Christiantraditions by founding the Hidden Church ofthe Holy Grail. In Charles-Claude Fauriel,who saw a direct semantic link between the Grail

Castle Montsalvaesche and the Cathar strongholdMontsgur in southern France, was the first to associate the Grail with thepacifist movement of the medieval Cathars.

One of the largest esoteric movements around the Grail legend is thatof the Gralsbotschaft or Grail Movement, founded by the German Abd-ru-shin (ps. of Oskar Bernhardt) in the s.

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Secondary works

Esoteric interpretations

Chrtien de Troyes (ca. 3-3)

Wolfram von Eschenbach (ca. -ca. )

Robert de Boron (late th- early 3th c.)

Thomas Mallory (ca. -)

Abd-ru-shin (-)


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Catharism

Christian heresies

This section contains general works on heresies in the Middle Ages. Afterthe year more and more heretical and anti-clerical movementssprang up in Europe.

Bogomils-Cathars-Waldensians Source texts

Hardly any original material has survived of these movements, with theexception of a few works (such as the Cathar Liber de duobus principiis)and a fragment of a Cathar ritual. There are, however, records of theInquisition (which Emmanuel le Roy Ladurie for instance used to basehisMontaillou on) and epic works about the persecutions (Chanson de lacroisade albigeois).

Bogomils-Cathars-Waldensians Secondary works

The Cathars (or pure ones), a movement which was mainly concentratedin southern France and nothern Italy (th-3th centuries), derived muchfrom the Bogomils (the Balkans, th century), amongst which the ideaof dualism (creation is the work of an evil god; man carries both goodand evil within himself). The Cathars were harshly persecuted and thelast Cathar strongholds fell in the middle of the 3th century (Montsgurand Quribus). The movement of the Waldensians (after Peter Waldo,the founder) dates to and was strong especially in southern Franceand the Piemonte (northern Italy). The Waldensians looked for a life ofsimplicity in close conformity to the Bible, but they rejected the ideas ofthe Cathars. In the th century the Waldensians became absorbed intothe wider Swiss protestant movement.

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Christian heresies

Bogomils-Cathars-Waldensians Source texts

Bogomils-Cathars-Waldensians Secondary works

Neo-catharism


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Neo-catharism

In France the Grail was seen by some as asymbol of the Cathar alternative for the institutionalized Church. Around3 interest in Catharism revived thanks to the work of Dodat Rochand Antonin Gadal. Gadal tried to reconstruct the original beliefs of theCathars and regarded them as heirs to the early gnostics. Roch was thedriving force behind the periodical Cahiers dtudes cathares, an almostcomplete run of which is present in the BPH. In Antonin Gadal metJan van Rijckenborgh and Catharose de Petri, the leaders of the Dutch

Lectorium Rosicrucianum (see also under Rosicrucians th-century-present). Jan van Rijckenborgh was convinced that the Cathars were thespiritual predecessors of the Rosicrucians and saw his views confirmed inGadals theories.

Kabbalah

Kabbalah was studied in the Renaissance byhumanists such as Giovanni Pico della Mirandolaand Johann Reuchlin. In the th century the

Hebraist Guillaume Postel brought out a Latin translation () of anearly seminal work for the Jewish Kabbalists, Sefer Yetzirah; the firstHebrew edition was printed ten years later. The 3th-century Sefer ha-

Zohar, written by Moshe de Leon and his circle, was also first printed inthe th century, in Italy. The Kabbalah section contains next to moderncritical editions of major Hebrew kabbalistic works also scholarly studieson the (Christian) Kabbalah: in 3-3Franz Joseph Molitor publishedhis Philosophie der Geschichte oder ber die Tradition; Adolphe Franckfollowed in 3 with La kabbale ou la philosophie religieuse des Hbreux.The study of kabbalistic texts received an enormous boost in the first

half of the th century with the scholarly works of Gershom Scholem, anumber of whose works are also present.

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KabbalahJudaica

Qumran (Dead Sea scrolls)

Antonin Gadal (-)Dodat Roch (-)

Otto Rahn (-3)

Ren Nelli (-)


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Judaica

This section includes workson earlier manifestations ofJewish mysticism such as themysticism of the Merkavah and the hekhalot. Anthologies and historicalstudies of Jewish philosophy and mysticism in the Middle Ages and theRenaissance offer a broader context for the individual texts.

Qumran (Dead Sea scrolls)

The scrolls and fragments found in the Qumran caves in date fromthe nd century BCE until the year . Their discovery is the majormanuscript find of the th century next to that of the Nag Hammadicodices. The so-called Dead Sea scrolls offer insight into the life of astrict ascetic community in the Second Temple period. The scrolls andfragments cover a period which is important both for the rise of rabbinicJudaism and early Christianity.

Freemasonry

The works belonging to the th-century Gold- und Rosenkreuzer, amovement with links to Freemasonry and the Illuminati, are placed in thecollecting area of the Rosicrucians. Unlike most masonic organisationsin the era of the Enlightenment, the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer remained adecidedly mystically inclined movement. The actual masonic movementsand their history (the English Grand Lodge, for instance, was founded in) form a small separate section, with standard historiographies such asR.F. Goulds History of Freemasonry.

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Moshe de Leon (-3)

Abraham Abulafia (- after )

Joseph Gikatilla (-3)

Guillaume Postel (-)

Franz Joseph Molitor (-)

Adolphe Franck (-3)

Gershom Scholem (-)


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Templars

In Wolfram von Eschenbachs Parzivalthe legend of the Grail is connectedto that of the Knights Templar, the alleged guardians of the Grail. Thelibrary therefore has a modest section of historical works on the Templars.

Reference works

This section contains general reference

works and studies in the field ofreligion and theology, and a rangeof relevant topics such as Christianiconography, natural sciences, alchemyand magic, secret societies andesotericism and occultism.

Encyclopedias and biographicaldictionaries

Placed here are encyclopedias such asJames Hastings (ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Mircea Eliade(ed.), Encylopedia of Religion, Encyclopedia Judaica, Reallexikon fr Antike

und Christentum, Reallexikon fr protestantische Theologie und Kirche,Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart(3rd ed. and new revised ed.).

Christianity

This section includes a th-century edition of the Tenach, an interlinear

(Hebrew-English) bible edition, various translations in Dutch and inEnglish of canonical and apocryphal biblical texts, and a concordanceto the Vulgate edition. Also present is the Lexikon der christlichenIkonographie, and biographical dictionaries relating to Early Christianity.

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Encyclopedias and biographical dictionariesChristianity

Classical Antiquity

Middle Ages

th century-present

Humanism and Renaissance

Natural sciences

Alchemy

MagicSecret societies

Lexicons on esotericism and occultism

Bibliographies and catalogues


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Classical Antiquity

This section contains works like Smith, Greek and Roman Biography andMythology, also SchwencksMythologie.

Middle Ages

This section includes the Lexikon des Mittelalters, and Curtius, Europische

Literatur und Lateinisches Mittelalter.

th century-present

For the period of Humanism and the Renaissance there are Kristellerscollections of sources (Iter Italicum); also Bietenholz (ed.), Contemporariesof Erasmus, and berweg, Philosophie des . Jahrhunderts.

Various lexicons and series offer a scientific context to alchemical,magical and occult works, such as: Sarton, Introduction to the Historyof Science; Partington,A History of Chemistry; Singer et al.,A History ofTechnologyand Thorndike, History of Magic and Experimental Science.For the later periods (post th century) the reference section also offerslexcions and biographical dictionaries on Symbolism, Secret Societies,heretical movements, esotericism and occultism, amongst which the latestlexicon in this field: The Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism, eds.W.J. Hanegraaff et. al.

Bibliographies and catalogues

Relevant catalogues (of related libraries and collections or collectingareas) and personal bibliographies can be consulted on request: GiordanoBruno, Jacob Bhme, Ramn Llull, Miguel Servet and Paracelsus, to namea few.

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Periodicals

Current issues of periodicals are directly accessible and are placed in aseparate section adjacent to the Rosicrucians collecting area. (Completeruns of certain periodicals have been placed in the relevant collectingareas, such as the periodicalAmbix, which is placed in the collectingarea Alchemy. Most Rosicrucian, theosophical and anthroposophicalperiodicals are also to be found in the relevant collecting areas).

In addition to modern periodicals, the BPH also collects th-centuryand early th-century periodicals, such as the French Voile dIsis,

the German Lotusblten, and the English The Quest. Not all series arecomplete, but they nevertheless offer a varied range of information on thecontemporary esoteric environment.

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Shelf marks

The following shelf marks are used in the computer catalogue.They refer to the collecting areas discussed in this guide:

Alch Alchemy

Ant AnthroposophyE EsotericismGn GnosisGr GrailHerm HermeticaJ Judaica

K KabbalahKath CatharsMa ManichaeismMD Modern DevotionMyst MysticismOr Non-Western philosophyRef Reference worksRoz Rosicrucianism th-th c.RozM Rosicrucianism th c.-presentSu SufismT Knights TemplarTh TheosophyTs Periodicals

V FreemasonryVG Comparative Religion

Documents

Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica