"Esoteric" is often contrasted with "exoteric". The latter comprises the public rituals and explicit practices or teachings of a particular religion. Esoteric implies the material for initiates. We can see this in the mysteries of Isis in Greece and Rome which existed alongside her public worship, or the early Christian divisions of the "mass of the catechumens" who were ordered to leave before the eucharist in the second half of the "mass of the faithful".
From that perspective, Masonry is esoteric in that its rites and teachings (and discussions thereof) are given only to those who have been accepted into the fraternity. We can extend this to other fraternal orders, or anything involving secrets: like doctors discussing a patient's medical history, or military officers planning using classified information. So esoteric need not imply anything mystical or metaphysical, but social. Masonry itself seems less mystical to me in that its lessons and symbolism are given explicitly, with the individual left to contemplate and find additional meaning in those lessons for himself.
>>>its lessons and symbolism are given explicitly, with the individual left to contemplate and >>>find additional meaning in those lessons for himself.
I've often contemplated this, and presume that it is by design.
To use a Masonic term, the Work could appear 'barren and meaningless,' to the mind (even of an Initiate) that does not ponder it. But for the man who does, it can become a lifetime of study. I have to think that the man who doesn't reflect upon it, and work to see behind the veil will never really find value in Masonry. But for the man who does, it is truly impactful, because he had to work for the knowledge. Nothing was freely given.
Esotericism is the search for inner knowledge and is at the heart of what it means to be a mason. We obligate ourselves to our rules and constitutions. We charge ourselves to walk uprightly before God and fellow human beings. We join the fraternity because we want to become a better man.
None of those pursuits are imposed upon us by external means, including the brotherhood of masonry itself. It is precisely through self-reflection and the search for inner meaning that we improve ourselves in masonry.
>>>None of those pursuits are imposed upon us by external means, including the >>>brotherhood of masonry itself.
This is certainly true, and I think important, especially for newer Masons, to remember.
We have a potential candidate at my Lodge who has talked quite a lot about wanting to find strong bonds of Brotherhood within Masonry. He's retired military, so I presume he's looking for bonds similar to what he had there. And if he does become a Mason, he'll be able to find that strong Brotherhood he seeks. But it won't come automatically, those bonds are built through shared joys, and I think even more through shared struggles.
To me Esoteric is the term to describe how figurative masonry uses the working tools of the operative mason to their betterment. Like the Compass and Square. The Plumb and the Trowel. It is also how we describe the heavens and stars. It is somewhat different that what the mainstream describes.
One thing I really love about Masonic education, including that termed as Esoteric education is that sometimes I can come away from it looking at something from a really new perspective.
I experienced this recently when I heard a completely new (to me anyway) explanation of the globes atop our pillars.
The word esoteric means or refers to specialized knowledge possessed by a few people. So, brain surgery qualifies as does sky diving and stage magic. Obviously, we are talking about a very specific kind of esoterica.
Masonry, is at its core, is a transformative organization; making good men better. In our three blue lodge degrees we are shown a progression, a journey, from being a good man to being better. Those degrees take us from membership in a society, to instruction in the intellectual arena and finally we experience a spiritual transformation. Body, mind, spirit.
Some Masons find themselves focused on the ‘body’ working for the good of society and the Craft thru charity, public service and the wellness of the Lodge. Some men focus on the Enlightenment philosophies that spawned the modern Craft. For centuries a small number of men who have received the sublime degree of a Master Mason are compelled to delve deeply into the spiritual elements of the Craft. These men become specialist in Masonic esoterica.
Specifically, Freemasonry being a product of Western Civilization, has been influenced by the Western Mystical Tradition (WMT). The foundations of the WMT can be found in Hermeticism, Alchemy, Gnosticism, Astrology and Kabbalah. Elements of the systems exist in our degrees and symbols.
It is my opinion the Freemasonry is NOT specifically an esoteric order, but rather is a ‘gateway’ to the esoteric. Further I believe that the method of initiation in the WMT are encoded in our degrees, preserved there for any who look. As a gateway organization Masonry has become the starting point for many of the modern esoteric orders.
So, what does ‘esoteric’ mean in a Masonic context. I would define it as: That specialized spiritual knowledge, encoded in our degrees, that connects the Craft to the Western Mystical Tradition.”
>>>a small number of men who have received the sublime degree of a Master Mason are >>>compelled to delve deeply into the spiritual elements of the Craft.
Perhaps our modern day Esoteric Masonry conferences and the like are less important for their specific content, but more important for introducing Masons who share these interests to each other?
Yes, that is likely. I gave a talk about esotericism in Lodge once, and used the image of a pebble thrown in water. The Esoteric can cause ripples through the Lodge, Jurisdiction, State, World, originating at a single Masonic Altar and a single Adept Mason. The conferences allow the possibility of esoteric community for the lonely esoteric Mason.
Niche Subject Matter: Frequently applies to secret societies, occult spiritual beliefs, or hyper-specific hobbies (like tarot, or HO Gauge model railroad engines and cars)?
As a kid, it was either O Gauge (at home) or S Gauge (at the grandparents) for me. I never got into the smaller, but much more popular HO Gauge for some reason.
As my usual activity, I seek out the definition of a term before I contemplate it and offer an opinion. Merriam-Webster offer up the following:
: designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone
: requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group
broadly : difficult to understand
: limited to a small circle
: private, confidential
: of special, rare, or unusual interest
Would we agree that all these options describe the institution of Freemasonry in some way?
Sure, the internet is full of the symbolism and ritual of our degrees, and some have tried to actually explain what these symbols mean. So technically, none of it is a secret or restricted anymore. At the same time, there is a difference in reading about the ritual and the symbols, and experiencing them in a lodge among Masons.
Certainly, in the early days of Masonry, we can see that the knowledge was understood by the initiated. We were a small group. The meaning of the symbols was likely difficult to understand to the new EA, and it was private and confidential.
Let's consider an example of how we might apply esotericism to an open installation of officers. The general public will hear the installing Master tell the WM elect, "The compasses teach us to limit our desires at every station, that rising to eminence by merit, we may live respected and die regretted."
Will they truly understand what is meant by that statement? Limit our desires? Sure, they can understand that. Rising to eminence by merit? Ok. And more than likely they will understand "live respected and die regretted".
What they will likely not comprehend is how the compasses play a part in that.
I found a statement online, from a reddit forum, that I can actually agree with.
"Most modern scholars and practitioners view esotericism not merely as superstition, but as a discipline. It provides symbolic frameworks to make sense of complex human experiences, offering repeatable practices for psychological integration, resilience, and personal transformation."
Does that not sound like our beliefs in what Masonry is all about? Freemasonry consists of a course of symbolic and moral instruction.
To summarize, esotericism in a Masonic context, is about helping our brothers, and ourselves, to study and comprehend the meaning of our symbols and how we can apply them to ourselves. As I have heard many times before, a symbol can have different meaning to each of us, and it is up to us to interpret it as it applies to our own inner thoughts and feelings. Yes, some symbols are rather blatant in their meanings. A stop sign, for example. The shape and color means the same thing whether the word STOP is in English, Spanish, French, etc.
However, the level, the compasses, the square, the trowel, can be explained in our degrees, as to their meaning for Masons, but we have to internalize them as to how we apply that to our own thoughts, desires, and behaviors. The point and circle are also great examples of a symbol that Masons are told about in the EA lecture. But who sets the boundaries of that circle? Not the lodge. It is the individual brother who applies the understanding of that symbol's relevance, and decides where his limits exist.
>>>So technically, none of it is a secret or restricted anymore. At the same time, there is a >>>difference in reading about the ritual and the symbols, and experiencing them in a lodge >>>among Masons.
This is undoubtedly true. It is how I think about the actual secrets of Masonry.
We have those things that we consider to be secrets. The modes of recognition and such that anyone can find on google in about fifteen seconds. To believe them secrets is a bit absurd.
But there are real, genuine secrets within Masonry.
And those are just what you mention. The experience. That experience of our Degrees is the real secret, for it is unexplainable by language.
To offer a BRIEF sentence, I propose "Categories of metaphysics considered to be appropriate topics of study by regular masonry. " Magic and Theurgy are both esoteric areas of metaphysics, but are not normally considered appropriate areas of ongoing research (except from the viewpoint of the antiquarian).
Astrology is a borderline topic, but I don't perceive any strong interest amongst the fraternity. But there is certainly a fixation on Chemical Alchemy, despite the fact that the modern world now knows that nuclear physics, at great expense, can turn lead into gold (with neutrons being the philosopher's stone).
Areas that seem acceptable are not infinite:
1) Hermeticism
2) Gnosticism
3) Qabbala or Cabbalah
The last one displays the greatest potential for stirring the public imagination.
Though Hermeticism and Gnosticism will always have its share of passionate zealots.
I think that as our collective knowledge increases, things that were thought to be supernatural, or superstitious, depending on one's perspective, might be seen differently.
I did, quite recently, in a Masonic context present on Magick. And the effectiveness of Magickal practices. But, are those practices effective because of some supernatural action or force? Or are they effective because they can bring about a positive psychological change?
Much like a nuclear physicist being able to change lead into gold. The science has caught up with the dream perhaps?
The Institute of Noetic Sciences[a] (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological[2] research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell,[3][4][5] the sixth man to walk on the Moon, along with investor Paul N. Temple[6] and others interested in psychic phenomena,[2] in order to encourage and conduct research on noetics and human potentials.[7][8]
The Institute conducts research on topics such as psychic abilities, channeling, mind matter interaction, energy healing, intention, consciousness, and spontaneous remission.[9] They have a long history of studying[10] meditation,[9] alternative healing practices, consciousness-based healthcare, spirituality, human potential, psychokinesis[10] and survival of consciousness after bodily death.[11][12] The Institute maintains a free database, available on the Internet,[3] with citations to more than 6,500 articles about whether physical and mental health benefits might be connected to meditation and yoga.[9]
[2] Xiong, Jesse Hong (2009-11-09). The Outline of Parapsychology. University Press of America. pp. 56–. ISBN 9780761849469. Retrieved 25 April 2015 – via Google Books.
[3] Pfeffer, Elizabeth (21 February 2010). "Stars aligned: Astronaut's mission seeks to answer life's big questions". Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
[4] Allen, Mike (18 September 2013). "Space explorer touches down this weekend in Southwest Virginia". hispanicbusiness.com. The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
[9] Radin, Dean (2013). Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780307986900 – via Google Books.
I'd like to expand on the idea of Alchemy as historically relevant to Masonry:
Imagine a time traveler presenting a "natural philosophy" whereby a precise geometry of purified metal and stone is organized in such a way that FREE ENERGY is produced to run a city, and medicines (some might even glow) could be produced that cured disease, as well as the power to make military devices that could level the attacking enemy on a wide front.
Would not any Rosicrucian or FreeMason attending such a presentation quickly conclude that the tme traveler had certainly solved the problem of Alchemy?
Indeed! But how disappointed we, as witnesses to this spectacle, would be as we slowly realized that this "new" natural philosophy is the study of nuclear physics, which is certainly more fundamental to human dreams than the FOUR ELEMENTS of "Wet, Dry, Fire, Air" or whatever combination has been proposed by the latest poet of metaphysics? George Brooks 813=215-0670
Esoteric is a set of knowledge given in a certain way. The parables of Jesus are esoteric because the real teachings are hidden in the stories.
Freemasonry is esoteric for the same reasons, teachings are presented in a certain way.
Occultism is about taking that knowledge and put it to practice. Tokens given in a certain way, with a certain strenght. Word spoken at the right volume, with the correct spelling, etc
While I was reading the comments, I just got an email from Academia.edu suggesting an article by Shawn Eyer: A Taxonomic Classification of Esoteric Elements in Freemasonry.
as an occultist, true esoteric is that which can only be known by you through you for you. So, the knowledge of my mother is patently exoteric, but then there is the knowledge of my mother that only her kids know (quasi-esoteric), and then there is the personal & emotional experience of knowing my mother (true esoteric) even though i can try to detail the experiences (thus making them somewhat exoteric) the truth and knowledge will truly be known only to me b/c it is MY experience and I will fail each time to get someone to truly know that experience the way I did
I love to see comment sections like this. I couldn't find anything of value to add other than my appreciation for the opportunity to see so many great perspectives on a really intriguing topic. Great post and conversation MWB Bailey!
I like this question because I don't think there's one simple answer. It reminds me of working with tarot. Two people can look at the same symbol and come away with completely different insights. Maybe that's what esotericism is, looking beyond the surface and asking what a symbol means to us personally, rather than only what it says literally. Perhaps that's why everyone around the table had a different answer. The symbols stay the same, but we all bring our own experiences to them.
"Esoteric" is often contrasted with "exoteric". The latter comprises the public rituals and explicit practices or teachings of a particular religion. Esoteric implies the material for initiates. We can see this in the mysteries of Isis in Greece and Rome which existed alongside her public worship, or the early Christian divisions of the "mass of the catechumens" who were ordered to leave before the eucharist in the second half of the "mass of the faithful".
From that perspective, Masonry is esoteric in that its rites and teachings (and discussions thereof) are given only to those who have been accepted into the fraternity. We can extend this to other fraternal orders, or anything involving secrets: like doctors discussing a patient's medical history, or military officers planning using classified information. So esoteric need not imply anything mystical or metaphysical, but social. Masonry itself seems less mystical to me in that its lessons and symbolism are given explicitly, with the individual left to contemplate and find additional meaning in those lessons for himself.
>>>its lessons and symbolism are given explicitly, with the individual left to contemplate and >>>find additional meaning in those lessons for himself.
I've often contemplated this, and presume that it is by design.
To use a Masonic term, the Work could appear 'barren and meaningless,' to the mind (even of an Initiate) that does not ponder it. But for the man who does, it can become a lifetime of study. I have to think that the man who doesn't reflect upon it, and work to see behind the veil will never really find value in Masonry. But for the man who does, it is truly impactful, because he had to work for the knowledge. Nothing was freely given.
Esotericism is the search for inner knowledge and is at the heart of what it means to be a mason. We obligate ourselves to our rules and constitutions. We charge ourselves to walk uprightly before God and fellow human beings. We join the fraternity because we want to become a better man.
None of those pursuits are imposed upon us by external means, including the brotherhood of masonry itself. It is precisely through self-reflection and the search for inner meaning that we improve ourselves in masonry.
>>>None of those pursuits are imposed upon us by external means, including the >>>brotherhood of masonry itself.
This is certainly true, and I think important, especially for newer Masons, to remember.
We have a potential candidate at my Lodge who has talked quite a lot about wanting to find strong bonds of Brotherhood within Masonry. He's retired military, so I presume he's looking for bonds similar to what he had there. And if he does become a Mason, he'll be able to find that strong Brotherhood he seeks. But it won't come automatically, those bonds are built through shared joys, and I think even more through shared struggles.
To me Esoteric is the term to describe how figurative masonry uses the working tools of the operative mason to their betterment. Like the Compass and Square. The Plumb and the Trowel. It is also how we describe the heavens and stars. It is somewhat different that what the mainstream describes.
Isn't that more "symbolic" than esoteric? Just asking...
Might be, but sometimes I get words messed up. Its my age. Ask Cameron
People shouldn't be listening to me, I drink out of a 'sippy cup' now.
One thing I really love about Masonic education, including that termed as Esoteric education is that sometimes I can come away from it looking at something from a really new perspective.
I experienced this recently when I heard a completely new (to me anyway) explanation of the globes atop our pillars.
The word esoteric means or refers to specialized knowledge possessed by a few people. So, brain surgery qualifies as does sky diving and stage magic. Obviously, we are talking about a very specific kind of esoterica.
Masonry, is at its core, is a transformative organization; making good men better. In our three blue lodge degrees we are shown a progression, a journey, from being a good man to being better. Those degrees take us from membership in a society, to instruction in the intellectual arena and finally we experience a spiritual transformation. Body, mind, spirit.
Some Masons find themselves focused on the ‘body’ working for the good of society and the Craft thru charity, public service and the wellness of the Lodge. Some men focus on the Enlightenment philosophies that spawned the modern Craft. For centuries a small number of men who have received the sublime degree of a Master Mason are compelled to delve deeply into the spiritual elements of the Craft. These men become specialist in Masonic esoterica.
Specifically, Freemasonry being a product of Western Civilization, has been influenced by the Western Mystical Tradition (WMT). The foundations of the WMT can be found in Hermeticism, Alchemy, Gnosticism, Astrology and Kabbalah. Elements of the systems exist in our degrees and symbols.
It is my opinion the Freemasonry is NOT specifically an esoteric order, but rather is a ‘gateway’ to the esoteric. Further I believe that the method of initiation in the WMT are encoded in our degrees, preserved there for any who look. As a gateway organization Masonry has become the starting point for many of the modern esoteric orders.
So, what does ‘esoteric’ mean in a Masonic context. I would define it as: That specialized spiritual knowledge, encoded in our degrees, that connects the Craft to the Western Mystical Tradition.”
>>>a small number of men who have received the sublime degree of a Master Mason are >>>compelled to delve deeply into the spiritual elements of the Craft.
Perhaps our modern day Esoteric Masonry conferences and the like are less important for their specific content, but more important for introducing Masons who share these interests to each other?
Yes, that is likely. I gave a talk about esotericism in Lodge once, and used the image of a pebble thrown in water. The Esoteric can cause ripples through the Lodge, Jurisdiction, State, World, originating at a single Masonic Altar and a single Adept Mason. The conferences allow the possibility of esoteric community for the lonely esoteric Mason.
Keeping that in mind, it would/could change the definition of a successful event.
Niche Subject Matter: Frequently applies to secret societies, occult spiritual beliefs, or hyper-specific hobbies (like tarot, or HO Gauge model railroad engines and cars)?
As a kid, it was either O Gauge (at home) or S Gauge (at the grandparents) for me. I never got into the smaller, but much more popular HO Gauge for some reason.
As my usual activity, I seek out the definition of a term before I contemplate it and offer an opinion. Merriam-Webster offer up the following:
: designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone
: requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group
broadly : difficult to understand
: limited to a small circle
: private, confidential
: of special, rare, or unusual interest
Would we agree that all these options describe the institution of Freemasonry in some way?
Sure, the internet is full of the symbolism and ritual of our degrees, and some have tried to actually explain what these symbols mean. So technically, none of it is a secret or restricted anymore. At the same time, there is a difference in reading about the ritual and the symbols, and experiencing them in a lodge among Masons.
Certainly, in the early days of Masonry, we can see that the knowledge was understood by the initiated. We were a small group. The meaning of the symbols was likely difficult to understand to the new EA, and it was private and confidential.
Let's consider an example of how we might apply esotericism to an open installation of officers. The general public will hear the installing Master tell the WM elect, "The compasses teach us to limit our desires at every station, that rising to eminence by merit, we may live respected and die regretted."
Will they truly understand what is meant by that statement? Limit our desires? Sure, they can understand that. Rising to eminence by merit? Ok. And more than likely they will understand "live respected and die regretted".
What they will likely not comprehend is how the compasses play a part in that.
I found a statement online, from a reddit forum, that I can actually agree with.
"Most modern scholars and practitioners view esotericism not merely as superstition, but as a discipline. It provides symbolic frameworks to make sense of complex human experiences, offering repeatable practices for psychological integration, resilience, and personal transformation."
Does that not sound like our beliefs in what Masonry is all about? Freemasonry consists of a course of symbolic and moral instruction.
To summarize, esotericism in a Masonic context, is about helping our brothers, and ourselves, to study and comprehend the meaning of our symbols and how we can apply them to ourselves. As I have heard many times before, a symbol can have different meaning to each of us, and it is up to us to interpret it as it applies to our own inner thoughts and feelings. Yes, some symbols are rather blatant in their meanings. A stop sign, for example. The shape and color means the same thing whether the word STOP is in English, Spanish, French, etc.
However, the level, the compasses, the square, the trowel, can be explained in our degrees, as to their meaning for Masons, but we have to internalize them as to how we apply that to our own thoughts, desires, and behaviors. The point and circle are also great examples of a symbol that Masons are told about in the EA lecture. But who sets the boundaries of that circle? Not the lodge. It is the individual brother who applies the understanding of that symbol's relevance, and decides where his limits exist.
From reading your last 2 paras, i know you're on point. I know eye c u soon lol
>>>So technically, none of it is a secret or restricted anymore. At the same time, there is a >>>difference in reading about the ritual and the symbols, and experiencing them in a lodge >>>among Masons.
This is undoubtedly true. It is how I think about the actual secrets of Masonry.
We have those things that we consider to be secrets. The modes of recognition and such that anyone can find on google in about fifteen seconds. To believe them secrets is a bit absurd.
But there are real, genuine secrets within Masonry.
And those are just what you mention. The experience. That experience of our Degrees is the real secret, for it is unexplainable by language.
To offer a BRIEF sentence, I propose "Categories of metaphysics considered to be appropriate topics of study by regular masonry. " Magic and Theurgy are both esoteric areas of metaphysics, but are not normally considered appropriate areas of ongoing research (except from the viewpoint of the antiquarian).
Astrology is a borderline topic, but I don't perceive any strong interest amongst the fraternity. But there is certainly a fixation on Chemical Alchemy, despite the fact that the modern world now knows that nuclear physics, at great expense, can turn lead into gold (with neutrons being the philosopher's stone).
Areas that seem acceptable are not infinite:
1) Hermeticism
2) Gnosticism
3) Qabbala or Cabbalah
The last one displays the greatest potential for stirring the public imagination.
Though Hermeticism and Gnosticism will always have its share of passionate zealots.
I think that as our collective knowledge increases, things that were thought to be supernatural, or superstitious, depending on one's perspective, might be seen differently.
I did, quite recently, in a Masonic context present on Magick. And the effectiveness of Magickal practices. But, are those practices effective because of some supernatural action or force? Or are they effective because they can bring about a positive psychological change?
Much like a nuclear physicist being able to change lead into gold. The science has caught up with the dream perhaps?
For you, Brother Bailey, I located this Wiki article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Noetic_Sciences
aka "IoNS"
The Institute of Noetic Sciences[a] (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological[2] research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell,[3][4][5] the sixth man to walk on the Moon, along with investor Paul N. Temple[6] and others interested in psychic phenomena,[2] in order to encourage and conduct research on noetics and human potentials.[7][8]
The Institute conducts research on topics such as psychic abilities, channeling, mind matter interaction, energy healing, intention, consciousness, and spontaneous remission.[9] They have a long history of studying[10] meditation,[9] alternative healing practices, consciousness-based healthcare, spirituality, human potential, psychokinesis[10] and survival of consciousness after bodily death.[11][12] The Institute maintains a free database, available on the Internet,[3] with citations to more than 6,500 articles about whether physical and mental health benefits might be connected to meditation and yoga.[9]
FOOTNOTES [1] to [9]
[1] "noetic". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/noetic
[2] Xiong, Jesse Hong (2009-11-09). The Outline of Parapsychology. University Press of America. pp. 56–. ISBN 9780761849469. Retrieved 25 April 2015 – via Google Books.
https://books.google.com/books?id=ILFPvE352LEC&pg=PA56
[3] Pfeffer, Elizabeth (21 February 2010). "Stars aligned: Astronaut's mission seeks to answer life's big questions". Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200730/http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14444989
[4] Allen, Mike (18 September 2013). "Space explorer touches down this weekend in Southwest Virginia". hispanicbusiness.com. The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
https://web.archive.org/web/20131012050457/http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/9/17/space_explorer_touches_down_this_weekend.htm
[5] Kluger, Jeffrey (July 16, 2009). "40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing; Edgar Mitchell". Time. p. 17. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1910599_1910685_1910665,00.html
[6] "IONS50 Series: From Paul Temple, Chairman of the Board". noetic.org. Institute of Noetic Sciences. January 16, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
https://noetic.org/blog/ions50-series-from-paul-temple/
[7] "Company Information". BioGenesis.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-05.
https://web.archive.org/web/20090605210243/http://www.biogenesis.com/corporate_information.html
[8] "About: History of the Institute of Noetic Sciences". Institute of Noetic Sciences. Archived from the original on 2006-12-03.
https://web.archive.org/web/20061203013528/http://www.noetic.org/about/history.cfm
[9] Radin, Dean (2013). Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780307986900 – via Google Books.
https://books.google.com/books?id=ngETfEp8cSoC&q=noetic+
[END OF EXCERPT]
OK, here's another area of esoterica I studied for 25 years, "Military Intelligence"?
Contradiction in terms?
Yes, like Giant Shrimp?
I'd like to expand on the idea of Alchemy as historically relevant to Masonry:
Imagine a time traveler presenting a "natural philosophy" whereby a precise geometry of purified metal and stone is organized in such a way that FREE ENERGY is produced to run a city, and medicines (some might even glow) could be produced that cured disease, as well as the power to make military devices that could level the attacking enemy on a wide front.
Would not any Rosicrucian or FreeMason attending such a presentation quickly conclude that the tme traveler had certainly solved the problem of Alchemy?
Indeed! But how disappointed we, as witnesses to this spectacle, would be as we slowly realized that this "new" natural philosophy is the study of nuclear physics, which is certainly more fundamental to human dreams than the FOUR ELEMENTS of "Wet, Dry, Fire, Air" or whatever combination has been proposed by the latest poet of metaphysics? George Brooks 813=215-0670
This is much the same as how I see those esoteric areas in which I explore. Science will catch up.
Esoteric is a set of knowledge given in a certain way. The parables of Jesus are esoteric because the real teachings are hidden in the stories.
Freemasonry is esoteric for the same reasons, teachings are presented in a certain way.
Occultism is about taking that knowledge and put it to practice. Tokens given in a certain way, with a certain strenght. Word spoken at the right volume, with the correct spelling, etc
The parables are allegories. As are the fables having animals as main characters.
So "esoteric" can be thought of as the veil?
Yes. Exactly. The Priestess sitting between columns veling whats behind.
While I was reading the comments, I just got an email from Academia.edu suggesting an article by Shawn Eyer: A Taxonomic Classification of Esoteric Elements in Freemasonry.
Go figure... https://www.academia.edu/169488305/A_Taxonomic_Classification_of_Esoteric_Elements_in_Freemasonry?email_work_card=view-paper
Thank you for sharing this! I very much look forward to reading it!
as an occultist, true esoteric is that which can only be known by you through you for you. So, the knowledge of my mother is patently exoteric, but then there is the knowledge of my mother that only her kids know (quasi-esoteric), and then there is the personal & emotional experience of knowing my mother (true esoteric) even though i can try to detail the experiences (thus making them somewhat exoteric) the truth and knowledge will truly be known only to me b/c it is MY experience and I will fail each time to get someone to truly know that experience the way I did
Thank you very much for this, it strikes me as true, simple, and easily understood. I really appreciate you sharing it here.
I love to see comment sections like this. I couldn't find anything of value to add other than my appreciation for the opportunity to see so many great perspectives on a really intriguing topic. Great post and conversation MWB Bailey!
Yeah, I'm pretty darn pleased with this discussion too! We may well have grown to a better understanding.
I like this question because I don't think there's one simple answer. It reminds me of working with tarot. Two people can look at the same symbol and come away with completely different insights. Maybe that's what esotericism is, looking beyond the surface and asking what a symbol means to us personally, rather than only what it says literally. Perhaps that's why everyone around the table had a different answer. The symbols stay the same, but we all bring our own experiences to them.