Sources

The Theosophical Enlightenment

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The Theosophical Enlightenment." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-theosophical-enlightenment.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Theosophical Enlightenment. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-theosophical-enlightenment

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-theosophical-enlightenment,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The Theosophical Enlightenment},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-theosophical-enlightenment},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Joscelyn Godwin's study traces the specific eighteenth and nineteenth-century intellectual currents, Swedenborgianism, animal magnetism and earlier esoteric revivals, that fed into Theosophy, working from the primary written record of those earlier movements rather than treating Theosophy as having appeared without antecedent. That documented lineage tracing, checkable against the primary sources it cites, is the book's real evidentiary basis. This record has not independently traced a documented history of scholarly disagreement with Godwin's specific attributions of influence. Use it for the documented intellectual background behind the nineteenth-century Theosophical revival; a claim about Theosophy's own later doctrinal development needs a source that picks up after Blavatsky's own founding statements.

Facts

Citation

Author

Joscelyn Godwin

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Publication Year

1994

URL

https://www.sunypress.edu/p-1955-theosophical-enlightenment.aspx

Source Type

academic monograph

Assessment

Reliability Tier

A scholarly study from an academic press tracing the specific eighteenth and nineteenth century intellectual currents, Swedenborgianism, animal magnetism and earlier esoteric revivals, that fed into Theosophy.

Notes

Standard scholarly account of the intellectual currents behind Theosophy and the nineteenth-century revival.

Claims Backed By This Source (353 claims)

This source backs 353 claims across the atlas. As facts: 255 well-attested, 7 scholarly debate, 2 open question. As cited relationships: 29 holds, 7 connected. Plus 53 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Articles, 80 claims: 67 well-attested, 6 connected, 7 general references.
Historical Figures, 64 claims: 43 well-attested, 5 scholarly debate, 1 open question, 8 holds, 7 general references.
Seven Rays, 37 claims: 28 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 7 general references.
Tattvas, 30 claims: 20 well-attested, 5 holds, 5 general references.
Esoteric Texts, 23 claims: 18 well-attested, 3 holds, 2 general references.
Secret Societies, 20 claims: 13 well-attested, 3 holds, 4 general references.
Doctrines, 18 claims: 14 well-attested, 1 holds, 3 general references.
Aura Layers, 15 claims: 8 well-attested, 7 general references.
Religions, 14 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 open question, 5 holds, 1 general references.
Subtle Energies, 14 claims: 8 well-attested, 3 holds, 3 general references.
Categories, 12 claims: 9 well-attested, 3 general references.
Open Questions, 8 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 connected, 1 general references.
Realms, 8 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Subcategories, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.