Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
October 17, 2026
Henrik Bogdan
preprint
The esoteric new religious movement Thelema (Greek "Will") founded in 1904 by the British magus Aleister Crowley (1875-1947). This entry focuses on the development of Thelema during Crowley's life, from its foundation in 1904 in Cairo, to Crowley's death in Hastings, December 1947. Thelema has as its foundational premise the notion of the True Will (a form of Self-Spirituality), popularized...
The Magical Diaries of Leah Hirsig, 1923-1925
September 9, 2025
Manon Hedenborg White, Henrik Bogdan
Abstract This editorial introduction provides a biographical overview of the life of Leah Hirsig, a Swiss-American schoolteacher, occultist and, during the 1920s, lover and follower of the prominent British occultist Aleister Crowley. Hirsig’s involvement in Crowley’s religion, Thelema, is traced, from her initial meeting with Crowley in 1918–1919 until her departure from the movement in...
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis
January 16, 2019
Henrik Bogdan, Olav Hammer
The title of this paper can be understood in two senses. In the sense of ‘research on esotericism carried out by Scandinavian scholars’, the field is blossoming. Several dozen individuals, at various points in their academic careers, are pursuing research on some aspect of Western esotericism however the concept is defined. In the other conceivable sense, ‘research on Scandinavian esotericism’,...
The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements
June 1, 2016
Henrik Bogdan
The study of Western esotericism is a comparatively new field of research that covers a wide range of currents, notions and practices from late antiquity to the present. Esotericism is often understood as the “rejected knowledge” of Western culture, which often centers on claims of absolute knowledge or gnosis. This chapter discusses four discourses that can be found in many esoteric NRMs,...
Numen
January 13, 2016
Henrik Bogdan
In the spring of 1946 L. Ron Hubbard and John W. Parsons performed a series of magical rituals with the aim of incarnating the Thelemic goddess Babalon in a human being. Hubbard’s cooperation with Parsons, known as the Babalon Working, remains one of the most controversial events in Hubbard’s pre-Scientology days. This article sets out to describe the content of the magical rituals, as well as...
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
January 8, 2010
Henrik Bogdan
3 citations
Research Article| February 01 2010 New Perspectives on Western Esotericism Henrik Bogdan Henrik Bogdan Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nova Religio (2010) 13 (3): 97–105. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2010.13.3.97 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email...