One Hand Clapping. [8] The French occultist and ceremonial magician Eliphas Lévi (1810–1875) popularized the term in the 1850s, and Theosophist Alfred Percy Sinnett (1840–1921) introduced it into the English language in his book Esoteric Buddhism (1883). Many influential and wealthy Germans were drawn to secret societies such as the Thule Society. [91], The Age of Enlightenment witnessed a process of increasing secularisation of European governments and an embrace of modern science and rationality within intellectual circles. In addition, the Virgin Islands Creole spoken on St. Croix is often described as being more raw, or distant from standard English, than those of the other Virgin Islands. The etic approach is that of the scholar as an historian, a researcher, with a critical view. [12] In the late seventeenth century, several European Christian thinkers presented the argument that one could categorise certain traditions of Western philosophy and thought together, thus establishing the category now labelled "Western esotericism". Colin Duggan. ; i.e., "The Scripture being translated before in the languages of many nations, doth show that those things that were added (by Lucian and Hesychius) are false". Not all words ending in "er" however, are pronounced in this way. Canon of the Holy Scriptures.. —The word canon as applied to the Scriptures has long had a special and consecrated meaning. [112], In the 1960s and 1970s, esotericism came to be increasingly associated with the growing counter-culture in the West, whose adherents understood themselves in participating in a spiritual revolution that would mark the Age of Aquarius. Today the creole is native to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and the nearby "SSS islands" of Saba, Saint Martin (both French and Dutch sides) and Sint Eustatius. [72], A third form of esotericism in Late Antiquity was Neoplatonism, a school of thought influenced by the ideas of the philosopher Plato. Another commonly cited example of linguistic differences between the islands is the usage of the term deh, the Virgin Islands Creole form of the standard English adverb "there". As the English creole is spoken in Dutch St. Martin, and Spanish is the second most dominant language there next to English and creole, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics also speak Spanglish-like code switching of Puerto Rican and other Spanish dialects and local dialect of the island along w/ Dutch and standard English. [114] In response to Wicca there has also appeared literature and groups who label themselves followers of traditional witchcraft in opposition to the growing visibility of Wicca and these claim older roots than the system proposed by Gerald Gardner. However, Pope Innocent VIII condemned these ideas, criticising him for attempting to mix pagan and Jewish ideas with Christianity. [114] Wicca was adopted by members of the second-wave feminist movement, most notably Starhawk, and developing into the Goddess movement. However, due to immigration from the rest of the Caribbean and the United States, some Virgin Islands residents do not speak it. In addition, due to long-standing historical and family ties between St. Croix and the nearby Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra, many Vieques and Culebra locals of Crucian descent also speak Crucian dialect. Incarnation, the mystery and the dogma of the Word made Flesh.In this technical sense the word incarnation was adopted, during the twelfth century, from the Norman-French, which in turn had taken the word over from the Latin incarnatio (see Oxford Dictionary, s.v.). [59], — Historian of religion Henrik Bogdan, 2007. [132], In 1980, the U.S.-based Hermetic Academy was founded by Robert A. McDermott as an outlet for American scholars interested in Western esotericism. [138] Soon spreading into other parts of Europe, in England it largely rejected its esoteric character and embraced humanism and rationalism, while in France it embraced new esoteric concepts, particularly those from Christian theosophy. Notable writers such as Guido von List spread neo-pagan, nationalist ideas, based on Wotanism and the Kabbalah. His work was built on by the German Johannes Reuchlin (1455–1522) who authored a prominent text on the subject, De Arte Cabbalistica. Chaos magick and the legitimacy of innovation". Prominent groups in this century included the Theosophical Society and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Albert J. Edmunds, D. T. Suzuki, and Translocative History", Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, The Western Esoteric Tradition Research Site, Association for the Study of Esotericism (ASE), European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE), University of Exeter Centre for the Study of Esotericism (EXESESO), The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP), Relationship between religion and science, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_esotericism&oldid=1006320684, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing examples from November 2018, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from November 2018, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from June 2020, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles needing additional references from November 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Another common pattern found in Virgin Islands Creole is the absence of the letter "s" in the plural, possessive and third person present tense. [20] The emphasis on Western esotericism was nevertheless primarily devised[by whom?] [67], The origins of Western esotericism are in the Hellenistic Eastern Mediterranean, then part of the Roman Empire, during Late Antiquity, a period encompassing the first centuries of the Common Era. Although many scholars of esotericism have sought to emphasise that "esotericism" is not a single object, practitioners who are reading this scholarship have begun to regard it and think of it as a singular object, with which they affiliate themselves. Some of the population continued to use Negerhollands well into the 20th century. Help with Abbreviations. Occult lodges and secret societies flowered among European intellectuals of this era who had largely abandoned traditional forms of Christianity. [106], Emergent occult and esoteric systems found increasing popularity in the early 20th century, especially in Western Europe. [8], The majority of Virgin Islanders speak Virgin Islands Creole. [88] Although condemned by Germany's Lutheran authorities, Böhme's ideas spread and formed the basis for a number of small religious communities, such as Johann Georg Gichtel's Angelic Brethren in Amsterdam, and John Pordage and Jane Leade's Philadelphian Society in England. On St. Croix, an additional deh is often added, forming the phrase deh-deh. Following his death, followers would found the Swedenborgian New Church, although his writings would influence a far wider array of esoteric philosophies. On the neighboring island of Saint Martin, it is pronounced come hyuh. Like most Caribbean creoles, the use of Virgin Islands Creole can vary depending on socioeconomic class. Waite, who sought to combine their own mystical beliefs with a historical interpretation of esotericism. His work would gain significant support in both areas over the following centuries. [125] In 1979 Faivre assumed Secret's chair at the Sorbonne, which was renamed the "History of Esoteric and Mystical Currents in Modern and Contemporary Europe". Like most Anglophone Caribbean islands, a post-creole speech continuum exists, in which there are two extremes — standard English (known as the acrolect) and the creole in its most distinct, or raw, form (known as the basilect). [2], The term "Virgin Islands Creole" is formal terminology used by scholars and academics, and is rarely used in everyday speech. The prevailing sentiment is that Virgin Islands Creole cannot be learned like a standard language, but acquired only through having spent one's formative years in the Virgin Islands. [57] The scholar of esotericism Kocku von Stuckrad (born 1966) noted that Faivre's taxonomy was based on his own areas of specialism – Renaissance Hermeticism, Christian Kabbalah, and Protestant Theosophy – and that it was thus not based on a wider understanding of esotericism as it has existed throughout history, from the ancient world to the contemporary period. The creole had also been developing in the present-day British Virgin Islands. Scholars may introduce their own terminology and make theoretical distinctions which are different from those of the believers themselves.[143]. [70] In the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, a number of texts appeared which were attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, including the Corpus Hermeticum, Asclepius, and The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth. The middle and upper classes tend to speak it informally among friends and at home, but code switch to Standard English in the professional sphere. Due to the constant contact between standard English and Virgin Islands Creole in local society, there are many in-between speech varieties as well (known as mesolects). A notable exception applies to immigrants who cannot speak English upon arrival. In addition, the Virgin Islands Creole form of the word "car" is cyar on St. Croix and cah on St. Thomas, St. John and the British Virgin Islands. Biblioteca personale [133] From 1986 to 1990 members of the Hermetic Academy participated in panels at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion under the rubric of the "Esotericism and Perennialism Group". Like many other Caribbean islands, the "oi" sound in Standard English is replaced with long I (/aɪ/). [37] Hanegraaff also highlighted that an attitude which seeks to uncover an inner hidden core of all esoteric currents masks the fact that such groups often contain significant differences from one another, being rooted in their own historical and social contexts, and expressing ideas and agendas which are mutually exclusive. Virgin Islands Creole does not have the status of an official language. In nearby French St. Martin, there are persons from France and the French West Indies who, lacking fluency in English upon arrival in St. Martin, learn the local variety of Saint Martin English spoken by the native population. [133] By 1994, Faivre could comment that the academic study of Western esotericism had taken off in France, Italy, England, and the United States, but he lamented the fact that it had not done so in Germany. [31] The existence of this universal inner tradition has not been discovered through scientific or scholarly enquiry; this had led some[who?] [113] Conversely, other forms of esoteric thought retained the anti-commercial and counter-cultural sentiment of the 1960s and 1970s, namely the techno-shamanic movement promoted by figures such as Terence McKenna and Daniel Pinchbeck which built on the work of anthropologist Carlos Castaneda. Standard American English is associated with social mobility, as it is widely used in business and professional circles. There are slight variations from island to island. [104] One of the most prominent members of that order was Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), who went on to proclaim the religion of Thelema and become a prominent member of the Ordo Templi Orientis. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, there has been an underlying negative pressure on Virgin Islanders to eliminate their dialect due to Americanization since the 1960s. As with other Caribbean creoles, Virgin Islands Creole is generally unwritten. Modern Paganism developed within occultism, and includes religious movements such as Wicca. [35] He added that these Western esoteric currents all shared a core characteristic, "a claim to gnosis, or direct spiritual insight into cosmology or spiritual insight",[35] and accordingly he suggested that these currents could be referred to as "Western gnostic" just as much as "Western esoteric". The 12th century saw the development of the Kabbalah in southern Italy and medieval Spain.[77]. [31] This usage of the term "esotericism" is closest to the original meaning of the word as it was used in late antiquity, where it was applied to secret spiritual teachings which were reserved for a specific elite and hidden from the masses. Within a few years, Michael Bergunder expressed the view that it had become an established field within religious studies,[139] with Asprem and Granholm observing that scholars within other sub-disciplines of religious studies had begun to take an interest in the work of scholars of esotericism. By the end of the 19th century, English creole completely replaced Negerhollands as the native dialect of St. Thomas and St. John. The language of government, education and the media is American English in the U.S. Virgin Islands, British English in the British Virgin Islands, both Dutch and English on Saba, Sint Eustatius and the Dutch side of Saint Martin, and French on the French side of Saint Martin. For example, persons from the Dominican Republic and Haiti, lacking fluency in English upon arrival, often learn Virgin Islands Creole before they are able to master standard English. [6][7] [94] One of Mesmer's followers, the Marquis de Puységur, discovered that mesmeric treatment could induce a state of somnumbulic trance in which they claimed to enter visionary states and communicate with spirit beings. [98], In Europe, a movement usually termed "occultism" emerged as various figures attempted to find a "third way" between Christianity and positivist science while building on the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance traditions of esoteric thought. [56] Hanegraaff claimed that Faivre's approach entailed "reasoning by prototype" in that it relied upon already having a "best example" of what Western esotericism should look like, against which other phenomena then had to be compared. [22] Historian of religion Henrik Bogdan asserted that Western esotericism constituted "a third pillar of Western culture" alongside "doctrinal faith and rationality", being deemed heretical by the former and irrational by the latter. The idea of grouping a wide range of Western traditions and philosophies together under the category that is now termed esotericism developed in Europe during the late seventeenth century. For other uses, see. Most native Virgin Islanders can easily maneuver this continuum depending on their mood, subject matter, or addressee. "[18], Various academics have emphasised the idea that esotericism is a phenomenon unique to the Western world; as Faivre stated, an "empirical perspective" would hold that "esotericism is a Western notion". [66] Bogdan similarly expressed concern regarding Hanegraaff's definition, believing that it made the category of Western esotericism "all inclusive" and thus analytically useless. [99] Also significant was René Guénon (1886–1951), whose concern with tradition led him to develop an occult viewpoint termed Traditionalism; it espoused the idea of an original, universal tradition, and thus a rejection of modernity. [93] Another major figure within the esoteric movement of this period was the German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1814), who developed the theory of Animal Magnetism, which later came to be known more commonly as "Mesmerism". [102] In England,[103] the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an initiatory order devoted to magic which based itself on an understanding of kabbalah, was founded in the latter years of the century. "Island" is usually pronounced islahn' on St. Croix and isluhn' on St. Thomas, St. John, the British Virgin Islands, and St. Martin. For example, in Virgin Islands Creole (as well as most other Anglophone Caribbean creoles), the suffix "er" in English, /ər/ in Standard English, is pronounced /æ/ (for example: computer is pronounced [kompuːtæ] ("computah"), and never is pronounced [nevæ] ("nevah")). For example, the pronunciation of the standard English phrase "come here" would be come ya on St. Croix and come heh on St. Thomas, St. John and the British Virgin Islands. ", "My People … Reflections of the Hispanic Contribution to the Virgin Islands", "University of the Virgin Islands Magazine", "Culture of the United States Virgin Islands", English Creole – The Spoken Word on St. John, Domino 60 Traditional Children's Songs, Games, Proverbs, and Culture From the United States Virgin Islands by Karen Ellis, Linguistics, American Virgin Islands Creole, The Indigenous Folksong Reading Curriculum, Zoop Zoop Zoop: Traditional Music and Folklore of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virgin_Islands_Creole&oldid=1001541488, Languages of the United States Virgin Islands, Language articles with old Ethnologue 18 speaker data, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "What yoh do in de dark does come to light. The prevalence of Europeans from the British Isles on these islands, as well as the SSS islands' proximity and trade with nearby English-speaking islands, resulted in an English creole being spoken in the SSS islands. As with other Caribbean creoles, Virgin Islands Creole has a smaller set of pronouns than English, and conjugations occur less often. [81], Another core figure in this intellectual milieu was Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494), who achieved notability in 1486 by inviting scholars from across Europe to come and debate with him 900 theses that he had written. Authoring the influential Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. In recent decades, the basilect form of the creole is typically only spoken among older islanders. [113], This trend was accompanied by the increased growth of modern Paganism, a movement initially dominated by Wicca, the religion propagated by Gerald Gardner. [11] According to the scholar of esotericism Wouter J. Hanegraaff, the term provided a "useful generic label" for "a large and complicated group of historical phenomena that had long been perceived as sharing an air de famille. [60], As an alternative to Faivre's framework, Kocku von Stuckrad developed his own variant, although argued that this did not represent a "definition" but rather "a framework of analysis" for scholarly usage. as synonyms until later scholars distinguished the concepts. "Perennialism and iconoclasm. The variety spoken by middle-aged and younger Virgin Islanders today is of a mesolectal form[5] that still retains numerous creole features, yet is slightly closer to standard English than the basilect spoken by older islanders. Because no standard spelling system exists in Virgin Islands Creole, those who attempt to write it use English orthography. The term "esotericism" thus came into use in the wake of the Age of Enlightenment and of its critique of institutionalised religion, during which time alternative religious groups[example needed] began to disassociate themselves from the dominant Christianity in Western Europe. For example, the word "special" is usually pronounced speshahl on St. Croix and speshuhl on St. Thomas, St. John, the British Virgin Islands, and St. Martin. Stream Babert - Boogie Oogie (Original Mix) by L.O.Dee from desktop or your mobile device. Spiritualism was based on the concept that individuals could communicate with spirits of the deceased during séances. [145] The speech of the SSS islands is slightly closer to that of the British Virgin Islands than the speech of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Latin (latīnum, [laˈt̪iːnʊ̃] or lingua latīna, [ˈlɪŋɡʷa laˈt̪iːna]) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages.Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. [7] Many Virgin Islanders who migrate to the United States often return with American-influenced speech patterns (colloquially known as yankin') that influence local speech of their peer groups. Virgin Islands Creole has different forms that vary by the age of the speaker, as many words and expressions are known only by older islanders, while there are also relatively newer words and expressions known only to younger islanders. Scholarly discourse about religion, on the other hand, is not emic but etic. [135] Thus, by 2008 there were three dedicated university chairs in the subject, with Amsterdam and Exeter also offering master's degree programs in it. Most non-native longtime residents can understand spoken Virgin Islands Creole, even if not fluent in speaking themselves. From the New Testament he wrote on the Gospels, the Acts, and the first letter of John. The pronunciation differs from Standard English in various ways. However, in 2004, a linguistic study group in cooperation with the University of Puerto Rico’s Rio Piedras campus found that many old proverbs in the Crucian dialect, common among older generations, have faded away and are not generally known among many young Crucians. Like those in the Virgin Islands, African slaves were brought to the SSS islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin. [109] While many Nazi Party leaders like Hitler and Joseph Goebbels were hostile to occultism, Heinrich Himmler used Karl Maria Wiligut as a clairvoyant "and was regularly consulting for help in setting up the symbolic and ceremonial aspects of the SS" but not for important political decisions. We reference documents using the standard scholarly abbreviations. So St… [44] He listed these characteristics as follows: Faivre's form of categorisation has been endorsed by scholars like Goodrick-Clarke,[52] and by 2007 Bogdan could note that Faivre's had become "the standard definition" of Western esotericism in use among scholars. [36], There are various problems with this model for understanding Western esotericism. [28] 2006. p. 379. Robert Cochrane and the Gardnerian Craft: Feuds, Secrets, and Mysteries in Contemporary British Witchcraft Ethan Doyle White. [129] The second was that esotericism is a trans-disciplinary field, the study of which did not fit clearly within any particular discipline. The lower socioeconomic classes tend to use the dialect in almost every aspect of daily life. Such usage is found in many Caribbean islands outside the Virgin Islands, as well. ), who argued that the Chaldean Oracles represented an example of a superior religion of ancient humanity which had been passed down by the Platonists. The leaders of the lodge emigrated in order to avoid imprisonment, but in the course of the war Eugen Grosche, one of their main leaders, was arrested for a year by the Nazi government. "Crucian: Dialect or a language? The nineteenth century saw the emergence of new trends of esoteric thought that have come to be known as occultism. The British took over the islands from the Dutch in 1672. [21] Hanegraaff has characterised these as "recognisable world views and approaches to knowledge that have played an important although always controversial role in the history of Western culture". [130] As Hanegraaff noted, Western esotericism had to be studied as a separate field to religion, philosophy, science, and the arts, because while it "participates in all these fields" it does not squarely fit into any of them.