The term
Neo-Theosophy is a term, originally derogatory, used by the followers of Blavatsky to denominate the system of
TheosophicalTheosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
ideas expounded by
Annie BesantAnnie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
and
Charles Webster LeadbeaterCharles Webster Leadbeater was an influential member of the Theosophical Society, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church...
following the death of
Madame BlavatskyHelena Petrovna Blavatsky , was a theosophist, writer and traveler. Between 1848 and 1875 Blavatsky had gone around the world three times. In 1875, Blavatsky together with Colonel H. S. Olcott established the Theosophical Society...
in 1891. This material differed in some respects from Blavatsky's original presentation, but it is accepted as genuinely Theosophical by the vast majority of Theosophists around the world.
After Blavatsky died in 1891,
William Quan JudgeWilliam Quan Judge was a mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, his family emigrated to the United States...
became involved in a dispute with Henry Steele Olcott and
Annie BesantAnnie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
over Judge allegedly forging letters from the Mahatmas. As a result, he ended his association with Olcott and Besant during 1895 and took most of the Society's American Section with him. He managed his new organization for about a year until his death in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, whereupon
Katherine TingleyKatherine Augusta Westcott Tingley was a social worker and prominent Theosophist. She was the founder of the Theosophical Society Pasadena. She founded and led the Theosophical community Lomaland in San Diego, California.Tingley grew up in Newbury, Massachusetts. She married Philo B. Tingley in...
became manager. The organization originating from the faction of Olcott and Besant is based nowadays in India and known as the
Theosophical Society - AdyarThe Theosophy Society - Adyar is the name of a section of the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. Its headquarters moved with Blavatsky and president Henry Steel Olcott to Adyar, an area of Chennai in 1883...
, while the organization managed by Judge is known nowadays simply as the
Theosophical SocietyThe Theosophical Society is a successor organization to the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875....
, but often with the specification, "international headquarters,
Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
." The
Theosophical Society - Adyar is the original group denounced as
Neo-Theosophy by those in the
Theosophical Society--International Headquarters (Pasadena, California), who are followers of William Q. Judge and the original teachings of Madame Blavatsky; they regard themselves as the
Orthodox Theosophists and do not accept what they regard as the
Neo-Theosophical teachings of Annie Besant, Henry Olcott, and C.W. Leadbeater.
The term
Neo-Theosophy was coined by Ferdinand T. Brooks around 1912 in a book called
Neo Theosophy Exposed, the second part of an earlier book called
The Theosophical Society and its Esoteric Bogeydom. Around 1924, Margaret Thomas published a book called
Theosophy Versus Neo-Theosophy. This book, now available online, presents a detailed critical comparison of Blavatskyian Theosophy and Neo-Theosophy.
G. R. S. MeadGeorge Robert Stowe Mead was an author, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society as well as the founder of the Quest Society.-Birth and family:...
who was also highly critical of the clairvoyant researches of Besant and Leadbeater, remaining loyal to Blavatskyian Theosophy, also used the term Neo-Theosophy to refer to Besant's movement. For him "Theosophy" meant the wisdom element in the great world religions and philosophies.
Later, the term Neo-Theosophical came to be used outside Theosophical circles to refer to groups formed by former Theosophists as well as groups whose central premises borrow heavily from Blavatskyian Theosophy. Robert S. Ellwood, in his 1973 book
Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America referred to organizations that had been formed by former Theosophists as "devolutions of Theosophy" and included in his survey "Neo-Gnostic groups and Neo-Rosicrucian groups [...] the
AnthroposophyAnthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
of
Rudolf SteinerRudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
, [...]
Alice BaileyAlice Ann Bailey , known as Alice A. Bailey or AAB to her followers, was an influential writer and theosophist in what she termed "Ageless Wisdom". This included occult teachings, "esoteric" psychology and healing, astrological and other philosophic and religious themes...
's groups, (
Guy BallardGuy Warren Ballard was an American mining engineer who became, with his wife, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, the founder of the "I AM" Activity....
's) "I AM Activity" and
Max HeindelMax Heindel - born Carl Louis von Grasshoff in Aarhus, Denmark on July 23, 1865 - was a Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic. He died on January 6, 1919 at Oceanside, California, United States.- Early infancy :...
's
RosicrucianismThe Rosicrucian Fellowship – "An International Association of Christian Mystics" – was founded in 1909 by Max Heindel as herald of the Aquarian Age and with the aim of publicly promulgating "the true Philosophy" of the Rosicrucians....
. In a later book,
Alternative Altars (1979) Professor Ellwood added;
Alice Bailey (1880 - 1949), founder of the Arcane School and the Full Moon Meditation Groups, and Guy Ballard (1878 - 1930), of the "I AM" movement, are representative of those who have started activities based on new and special communications from Theosophical Masters.
The author Daryl S. Paulson associates "neo-Theosophy" with Alice Bailey.
Other neo-Theosophists include
SteinerRudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
's contemporary
Peter DeunovPeter Konstantinov Deunov was a spiritual master and founder of a School of Esoteric Christianity. He is called Master Beinsa Douno by his followers.-Biography:Born on 11 July 1864 in Hadarcha , Bulgaria, around 60 km from Varna...
and
Samael Aun WeorSamael Aun Weor , born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, Colombian citizen and later Mexican, was an author, lecturer and founder of the 'Universal Christian Gnostic Movement' with his teaching of 'The Doctrine of Synthesis' of all religions in both their esoteric and exoteric aspects...
, who introduced theosophical teachings to Latin America.
Dion FortuneViolet Mary Firth Evans , better known as Dion Fortune, was a British occultist and author. Her pseudonym was inspired by her family motto "Deo, non fortuna" , originally the ancient motto of the Barons & Earls Digby.-Early life:She was born in Bryn-y-Bia in Llandudno, Wales, and grew up in a...
and
Aleister CrowleyAleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
were also influencers of (and influenced by) the leading edge of the theosophical movement, which in turn influenced
Anton LaVeyAnton Szandor LaVey , born Howard Stanton Levey, was the founder of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, and musician...
's
SatanismLaVeyan Satanism, often referred to simply as Satanism among most adherents, was founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey. Its teachings are based on individualism, self-control and "eye for an eye" morality. Drawing influences from the rituals and ceremonies of occultist Aleister Crowley and the...
,
L. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
's
ScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
, Wiccanism, and the modern
New AgeThe New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
and
New ThoughtNew Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
movements. (Alice Bailey introduced the term
New Age). Some examples of Neo-Theosophists today include
Benjamin CremeBenjamin Creme is a Scottish artist, author, esotericist, and editor of Share International magazine, a monthly non-profit magazine and website....
and
Douglas BakerDr. Douglas Mackley Baker is an author and lecturer, who has written over a hundred books on various esoteric subjects.-Biography:...
.
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