Geschichte des neueren Occultismus - Geheimwissenschaftliche Systeme von Agrippa von Nettesheym bis zu Carl du Prel (German, Paperback)

A leading German theosophical writer, Karl Kiesewetter (1854 95) produced a number of works on esotericism and occult beliefs and practices. This book, first published in 1891, remains one of the most extensive histories of modern esotericism. In his account of its development, Kiesewetter focuses on a number of historical figures who were, in his opinion, highly influential in the field. He discusses the Renaissance esotericism of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486 1535) and devotes much consideration to Paracelsus (1493 1541), whom he considers to be 'the Luther of medicine'. He also engages with the system of pneumatology developed by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 1772) and quotes extensively from the works of Jacob Bohme (1575 1624) and other German writers on pneumatology. Also included in this historical overview of modern occultism is the work of Andrew Jackson Davis (1826 1910), who was a leading figure within nineteenth-century American spiritualism.