Contemporary Esotericism

«The academic study of Western esotericism is well into its second decade of professionalization and institutionalization. University departments and study programmes have been established, specialist book series and journals launched, academic societies founded» — con este balance abren Asprem y Granholm: el campo lleva dos décadas de profesionalización, con departamentos, series, revistas y sociedades.

«However, the religious studies scholars who are most likely to take an interest will also notice a striking gap in scholarship on the esoteric» — y de inmediato nombran el hueco que el volumen viene a ocupar, según Asprem y Granholm.

«a fundamental challenge for the study of the esoteric in the present day is that it is not sufficient to simply transpose theories, definitions and methodologies developed for the study of, say, Renaissance magic to analyse contemporary magical practices» — el límite de método que Asprem y Granholm señalan: las herramientas hechas para la magia renacentista no se trasladan sin más a la práctica de hoy.

«The book contains a chapter entitled “Ritual Magic from 1850 to the Present”,5 but curiously “the present” seems to end in the 1950s» — Asprem y Granholm objetan a Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke que su capítulo sobre magia ritual hasta el presente se detenga medio siglo antes.

«The neglect of contemporary phenomena can partly be attributed to the fact that most researchers in the field identify themselves as historians, and often regard the present as outside their area of interest and expertise» — la segunda razón que dan los editores: la autoidentificación de los investigadores como historiadores.

«This, of course, is a limited view of “history”, which, after all, is constantly created. The realm of the historian thus includes the present and the recent past» — y su objeción a esa autoidentificación, según Asprem y Granholm: la historia se hace sin cesar, de modo que el presente le pertenece.

«This historical bias can be exemplified by way of an anecdote from a conference a few years back. A speaker who had presented an overview of Russian esotericism, neopaganism, secret societies, and related publications up to the mid-twentieth century was asked the question: “What about expressions of these trends in contemporary Russia» — la anécdota de congreso con que los editores ilustran el sesgo, sin nombrar al ponente.

«historian, not an anthropologist”, thus positioning the question as irrelevant in the context» — la respuesta del ponente que Asprem y Granholm citan, y el efecto que le adjudican: la pregunta por la Rusia contemporánea queda fuera de lugar.

«To the present authors, this aversion seems connected to similar biases in the history of religion, which followed the influence of Mircea Eliade. Eliade and the phenomenological school of “history of religion” associated with him tended to oppose sociology due to what was perceived as its inherent “reductionism”» — de dónde hacen venir Asprem y Granholm la aversión del campo a la sociología: de la escuela fenomenológica de historia de las religiones asociada a Mircea Eliade.

«as, for example, when Goodrick-Clarke dismisses “definitions of ‘the esoteric’ in terms of discourse, social constructions, and legitimacy” because they “lack a hermeneutic interpretation of spirit and spirituality as an independent ontological reality» — el ejemplo con que los editores nombran ese fantasma: Goodrick-Clarke descarta las definiciones por discurso porque no leen el espíritu como realidad ontológica independiente.

«Involving sociological perspectives, and looking at the role played by social factors in the formations of the esoteric, does not need to mean that one reduces one’s subject to these particular social factors» — y el límite con que Asprem y Granholm sostienen su propuesta: mirar los factores sociales no obliga a reducir el objeto a ellos.

«with Marcello Truzzi even calling it “a wastebasket, for knowledge claims that are deviant in some way» — Asprem y Granholm citan a Marcello Truzzi para mostrar el otro extremo: lo oculto como cesto de papeles de lo desviado.

«In a Faivrean approach, the “esoteric form of thought” is primarily expressed in the intellectual philosophies and theologies of men like Ficino, Pico, Paracelsus, Bruno, Dee, Khunrath, Maier, Fludd, and so on, whereas “lowbrow” folk expressions are typically neglected» — el sesgo de élite que Asprem y Granholm imputan al enfoque de Antoine Faivre, con la lista de nombres que lo encarna.

«As we will suggest, the elite bias becomes particularly problematic when recognizing that contemporary esotericism is intimately, and increasingly, connected with popular culture and new media» — por qué ese sesgo se vuelve insostenible en el presente, según los editores.

«The volume is divided into four parts, each with a specific focal point. These deal with issues of tradition in esotericism; with the impact of new media and popular culture on the esoteric today; with “esoteric transfers” (i.e. the influence of the esoteric on other social spheres that are traditionally thought of as “non-esoteric” and “non-religious”); and with the esoteric “leaving the margins” in a multitude of ways» — el plan del libro tal como lo enuncian Asprem y Granholm: cuatro partes, de la tradición a la salida de los márgenes.

«The appeal to tradition, particularly connected to lost ancient wisdom, or perennial higher truth, is a central feature of much esoteric discourse, but so is the rhetoric of rationality and notions of progress and growth» — la tensión que los editores ponen en el centro de la primera parte: la apelación a la sabiduría antigua convive con la retórica de la racionalidad y del progreso.

«In the sense of being the creation of human activities, all tradition – in whichever sense the term is used – is of course invented» — la tesis que Asprem y Granholm sostienen sobre la tradición, tomada en cualquiera de sus acepciones.

«tradition has often been the outcome of processes of invention in which scholars have played pivotal roles» — y el papel que se adjudican a sí mismos y a su gremio dentro de ese proceso.

«Today, the role of scholarship in conferring legitimacy on self-identified “esotericists” by providing frameworks for tradition is, perhaps, an inconvenient truth to many scholars in the field, but one that demands more attention» — lo que los editores llaman una verdad incómoda para su propio campo: la erudición legitima a quienes se declaran esoteristas.

«In “Inventing Africa”, Fredrik Gregorius deals with the creation of a “primordial African tradition” among African American esoteric spokespersons, a subject matter which has received very little attention from scholars of Western esotericism» — así presentan los editores el capítulo 3, de Fredrik Gregorius, sobre la invención de una tradición africana primordial.

«A running theme, all the way from Prince Hall to the present day, is the role of Egypt. Gregorius shows how “ancient Egypt” has been a hotbed of racialist polemics, with African American esotericists providing a counterpoint to the common presentations of Egypt as a “white culture”. Egypt is presented as having continuity with the rest of “black Africa”, and as being the source from which all subsequent “higher wisdom” has been stolen» — el hilo que Gregorius sigue, según el resumen de los editores: Egipto como terreno de polémica racialista y como fuente robada de toda sabiduría posterior.

«This is particularly evident in Welsing’s melanin theories, where the pigment not only provides superhuman powers, but also presents people of African heritage as “the master race” – infinitely superior not only to Caucasians, but all other “coloured races” as well» — y el punto donde Gregorius, según los editores, halla el paralelo con el supremacismo blanco: la teoría de la melanina de Frances Cress Welsing.

«On the one hand, LaVey promotes the newness of his organization and philosophy, essentially claiming it to be the first of its sort, and thus the start of Satanism proper» — la primera mitad de la contradicción que Per Faxneld traza en Anton LaVey, según los editores.

«This apparent conflict is solved in LaVey’s openly pragmatic approach to tradition: “you can choose your fiction to live by» — y cómo se resuelve, con la frase de LaVey que Faxneld cita: la ficción por la que se vive se elige.

«We also find actors in the milieu who claim to represent “traditional Satanism”, which, in an ironic turn of events, is actually a more recent development that LaVey’s “modern Satanism”» — la ironía que Faxneld consigna, según los editores, sobre el satanismo llamado tradicional; el troceo imprime that donde se espera than.

«Chaos Magicians make use of a fairly standard (at least as far as esotericism goes) perennialist notion of claiming an “age-old tradition”, and on the other we find a more complex idea of progress within an “age-old tradition”, with new developments superseding older ones. Thus, Chaos Magick can be presented by its practitioners both as being in line with an ancient tradition» — las dos estrategias de legitimidad que Colin Duggan halla en la Chaos Magick, según el resumen de los editores.

«Popular culture is seen as “the shared environment, practices, and resources of everyday life in a given society» — la definición de cultura popular que Asprem y Granholm adoptan, tomada de Gordon Lynch.

«An example of this seems present in Henrik Bogdan’s idea of the “[m]igration of esoteric ideas into non-esoteric materials”, where the presence of “symbols, ideas, or techniques that traditionally are connected to a certain esoteric tradition” in fantasy literature, for example, is not really esoteric, as the “esoteric form of thought is not present» — a qué llaman los editores el sesgo de la convicción seria: Henrik Bogdan retira el carácter esotérico a lo que migra a la literatura fantástica.

«Whether or not a producer of popular culture has “authentic esoteric sentiments” is, however, largely irrelevant; the audience may still find inspiration in the material, which can have a causal influence on the development of ideas, mythologies and practices» — el desplazamiento que los editores proponen: de la intención del productor al efecto sobre el público.

«Here, Christopher Partridge elaborates on the concept of “occulture”, first introduced in his two-volume» — así presentan los editores el capítulo 6, de Christopher Partridge.

«as occulture functions as “a reservoir that is constantly feeding and being fed by popular culture» — la fórmula de Partridge que los editores recogen: la occulture como depósito que alimenta a la cultura popular y se alimenta de ella.

«Occulture is, as Partridge suggests, fast becoming the primary mode of religiosity in the “post-Christian West”» — y el alcance que Partridge le da, según el resumen editorial.

«Ending his chapter with a case study of musician, artist and magician Genesis P-Orridge – who first coined the term “occulture”» — los editores adjudican la acuñación del término a Genesis P-Orridge, no a Partridge.

«An example of direct mediatization in the esoteric milieu is online initiations, where an initiate must access the Internet in order to perform the activity» — el ejemplo con que los editores distinguen la mediatización fuerte: la iniciación en línea no se ejecuta fuera del medio.

«In “From Book to Bit”, Jesper Aagaard Petersen (Chapter 7) looks at the use of computer-relayed communication technology in the Satanic milieu, and demonstrates how one finds both continuity and innovation with regard to “offline” communication practices» — así presentan los editores el capítulo 7, de Jesper Aagaard Petersen, sobre el medio satánico en línea.

«Petersen highlights the necessity to develop new methodology and approaches when it comes to doing online research on these emerging sources» — y la exigencia de método que le atribuyen.

«Religion is furiously present online, and, as several scholars have noted, esotericists – particularly neopagans – “are more active on the Internet than any other religious group» — el dato que los editores recogen para presentar el capítulo 8, de John L. Crow: los neopaganos como el grupo religioso más activo en Internet.

«We can observe the creation of cybercovens, but also the meeting of practitioners in virtual worlds such as Second Life. Here, many practitioners have come to describe the cyber realm as analogous to the astral plane, and some even recast their computers as sacred magical objects – with a guaranteed place on their physical altars» — lo que Crow describe, según el resumen editorial: el reino cibernético leído como análogo del plano astral, y la computadora puesta en el altar.

«Urban shows how the new forms of communication associated with the Internet has influenced the practice of secrecy in Scientology, particularly complicating its enforcements of information control» — así presentan los editores el capítulo 9, de Hugh B. Urban, sobre el secreto en la cienciología.

«Analysing Scientology from the 1950s to the 1980s as a “Cold War religion”, preoccupied with, and implicated in, the anxieties and paranoias concerning security, surveillance, and politically motivated deception that characterized the era, Urban pays attention to the espionage war which erupted between the Church and various US government agencies, including the FBI» — y el marco con que Urban lee esas décadas, según el resumen: una religión de la Guerra Fría.

«what he calls (based on the sociologies of Georg Simmel and Pierre Bourdieu) “the dual nature of secrecy” – its double role as both a source of symbolic power and a potential liability for its owner» — la fórmula con que Urban cierra, según los editores: el secreto como poder simbólico y como pasivo a la vez.

«Dyrendal goes on to consider the considerably less researched area of conspiracy theories in esoteric movements, and discusses the possibility (and utility) of analysing conspiracy theory as esoteric discourse» — el giro que los editores atribuyen a Asbjørn Dyrendal en el capítulo 10: no las teorías conspirativas sobre lo esotérico, sino las que hay dentro.

«From discussing the contemporary erosion of the secularization paradigm, von Stuckrad moves on to consider four central transformations, or reconfigurations, of the “religious field of discourse”» — así presentan los editores el capítulo 11, de Kocku von Stuckrad, y sus cuatro reconfiguraciones del campo religioso.

«The example provided is the human genome project, which has been given an esoteric dimension by several commentators and participants, discussing genes as “code”, the revelation of which provides humanity with “the language of God”» — el caso con que von Stuckrad muestra el discurso esotérico dentro de lo aparentemente secular, según el resumen editorial.

«Senholt focuses on three ideological formations in contemporary right-wing politics: the European New Right, Radical Traditionalism, and Eurasianism» — las tres formaciones que Senholt examina, según el resumen editorial.

«He suggests that what Wouter Hanegraaff once called the “Grand Polemical Narrative” (i.e. a process which has constructed and reified “esotericism” by a series of polemical exclusions grounded in the battle against “paganism”) simultaneously gave rise to counter-narratives, questioning Christian monotheism as well as the intellectual traditions» — la explicación tentativa que los editores atribuyen a Senholt: el Gran Relato Polémico de Hanegraaff generó a la vez sus contrarrelatos.

«The focus is on the curious story of how a popular “New Age” inspirational book became a handbook for revolutionary Islamists in the context of the second Chechen war» — así presentan los editores el capítulo 13, de Eduard ten Houten, sobre Coelho y Basayev.

«In the hands of Chechen freedomfighter (or terrorist, depending on the perspective) Shamil Basayev, Coelho’s vague spiritual message to the affluent middle classes took on concrete meaning: the “New Age” manual became a call to arms against a physical oppressor» — y el efecto que ten Houten describe, según el resumen: el mensaje espiritual difuso se vuelve llamado a las armas; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice freedom-fighter donde la cita trae freedomfighter.

«Despite these affinities, Greer maintains that equating the two fields, or firmly placing one within the other, would be erroneous. Instead, a more sound approach is to regard Deep Ecology and the esoteric as two distinct fields of discourse that sometimes converge» — y el límite con que Greer la sostiene, según el resumen editorial.

«the final part approaches partly the same theme by looking at something of a “de-marginalization” or “mainstreaming” of the esoteric» — el asunto de la cuarta parte, según los editores: la desmarginalización de lo esotérico.

«Taking a discursive approach to secularization theory, Granholm suggests that the notion of secularization “can be regarded a post-Enlightenment hegemonic discourse – informed by the ideology of secularism” – which has helped to create the situation that it tries to describe» — la tesis que los editores atribuyen a Granholm en el capítulo 15: la secularización como discurso hegemónico que produce lo que describe.

«he argues that the “post-secular” suggests not a straightforward “return of religion”, but rather an awareness of the continued relevance of religion in secular societies, as well as changing perceptions of what actually counts as religion, what functions it may have, and where it is located» — y qué no significa lo pos-secular, según el mismo resumen.

«Analysing esoteric elements of the science fiction franchise Stargate, and the film Avatar (at the time of writing, the top-grossing movie of all time), also considering their reception, context and spread, Granholm finds there is a strong case to be made that “the esoteric has entered the mainstream» — los dos casos de cultura popular con que Granholm arma su argumento, según los editores.

«Asprem demonstrates by way of statistical data that some paranormal beliefs are actually more common among those with high education, including in the natural sciences» — la correlación que Asprem sostiene en el capítulo 16, contra la imagen de la creencia paranormal como cosa de gente sin estudios.

«Asprem seeks the answer in the emergence of modern parapsychology in the 1930s, which he links to the “intersection of two parallel processes”: the disenchantment of esoteric discourse, and attempts to re-enchant science» — y dónde busca su explicación: en el cruce de dos procesos paralelos de los años treinta.

«The invention of new technical nomenclature to cover a number of “occult abilities” was important in this respect, even giving rise to the names of some paranormal phenomena which show up significantly in polls of beliefs: “telepathy” and “extra-sensory perception”» — el papel que Asprem adjudica a la nomenclatura técnica en esa sanitización, con los dos términos que llegaron a las encuestas.

«Asprem shows how the presence of parapsychological beliefs in academia cannot be seen solely as an “incursion from the outside”; it is rather the result of developments occurring within academia itself, with relation to a broader esoteric, occultural milieu» — y la consecuencia que saca, según el resumen: la occulture tiene centros nerviosos dentro de la cultura académica de élite.

«The notion of Indigo children can be traced to the self-proclaimed “synesthete” Nancy Ann Tappe» — a quién remonta Daniel Kline el discurso de los niños índigo en el capítulo 17.

«Tappe invented a typology of personality traits corresponding to colours which, it was claimed, could be clairvoyantly seen in peoples’ auras» — y en qué consistía la tipología de Nancy Ann Tappe, según el resumen editorial.

«Kline considers the notion that the Indigo discourse is “a manifestation of the failures of the ‘baby boomer’ countercultural generation of the 1960s and 1970s”, who failed to manifest their ideological aspirations and have since projected “their hopes for saving the world upon their children”» — una de las lecturas que Kline sopesa: el discurso índigo como manifestación del fracaso de la contracultura de los sesenta.

«the category of the Indigos has served a function of sacralizing “problem children” – particularly during the increase of attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) diagnoses, but also with reference to diagnoses such as autism» — la función que Kline le atribuye frente al diagnóstico médico, según los editores.

«First, while contemporary spirituality and particularly “New Age” has been conceived of as a “part of” Western esotericism (i.e. as modern or contemporary esotericism), in the historical sense of the word, esotericism should rather be seen as one among several other sources of influence on contemporary spirituality» — el primero de los tres argumentos que los editores atribuyen a Liselotte Frisk en el capítulo 18.

«Noting a striking neglect of studies on the use of psychoactive substances in religious movements generally, Hanegraaff argues that an important and analytically interesting field of religious practice and innovation has been precluded by generations of scholars due to biases based largely on political circumstances as well as crypto-Protestant stereotypes of what legitimately counts as “religion”» — a qué atribuye Hanegraaff el descuido del uso de psicoactivos en el estudio de la religión, según el resumen del capítulo 19.

«Hanegraaff tries to ameliorate the situation by suggesting the term “entheogenic religion”, which may be subdivided into a stricter and a wider sense» — y el término que propone en su lugar, con su partición.

«The ritual use of substances is only one such technique, and constitutes entheogenic religion in a stricter sense» — cómo queda acotado el sentido estricto, según los editores.

«the “masculinity = culture = rationality and femininity = nature = intuition” stereotypes have been common in much of esotericism – but can also be found in the trope, often reified by scholars, of men as “occult scientists” who actively control their world by the use of magic, and women as “intuitive witches” who are passively and emotively guided by their surroundings» — los estereotipos de género que Jay Johnston halla en el esoterismo y en su propia erudición, según el resumen del capítulo 20.

«In the end, Johnston proposes to “queer the esoteric”, by applying queer theory’s project of subverting problematic binary categories and dualistic logic to esotericism itself» — y la propuesta con que cierra.

«While this volume covers much ground, the theme of contemporary esotericism is too broad to be treated in any sort of comprehensive manner in a single volume. With the main criterion being an interest for theoretical and methodological innovation and reflection we have tried to include as many relevant themes as possible, but the reader will undoubtedly notice omissions» — el límite que los editores se ponen al cerrar la introducción.

«we have chosen to go for a more “externalist” approach. That is, instead of meticulously investigating specific, isolated phenomena that may have some claim to consistency, continuity and autonomy over time, we have instead encouraged looking at phenomena in their particular and broader cultural and societal contexts» — la segunda: la opción externalista deja fuera linajes, corrientes y continuidades.

«the reader will notice that the concept of esotericism/esoteric is not defined conclusively anywhere between the two covers of this book. This is no accident, but instead a conscious choice» — y la tercera, que los editores declaran deliberada: el volumen no define el esoterismo en ninguna parte.

«In this book we can see the coexistence of three main theoretical approaches that have all emerged during approximately the last half decade. Together they could be considered the groundwork for something of a “new paradigm” in the study of the esoteric in Western culture» — lo que los editores ponen en lugar de una definición: tres enfoques que juntos llaman un nuevo paradigma.

«The von Stuckrad approach. Here the esoteric is used as an analytical tool, consciously constructed by the scholar to investigate processes of identity formation on the broader European religious and cultural field» — el primero de los tres, nombrado por su portavoz.

«the esoteric is construed to focus on discourses concerned with the “secretive dialectic of concealment and revelation” and “perfect knowledge”,30 regardless of which cultural fields these discourses might show up in» — y en qué se enfoca, según los editores.

«The Hanegraaff approach. As above, the focus is not on the esoteric “in itself”. Instead of stipulating an analytical construct, the focus is on the complex historical processes which have themselves constructed and created the notion of “the esoteric” in Western culture» — el segundo enfoque, constructivista, según el resumen de los editores.

«The Partridge approach. In this approach, the focus is on contemporary processes of cultural and religious change. Designed to analyse religious expression in the present day rather than in distant historical periods» — y el tercero, orientado al presente.

«So-called “pagan studies” is a problematic field, which often seems more interested in developing (neo)pagan theology than conducting unbiased and critical scholarly investigation» — en nota al pie, Asprem y Granholm objetan al campo vecino de los pagan studies que atienda más a la teología neopagana que a la investigación.

«The neglect is largely due to the strong historiographical emphasis in previous research on Western esotericism» — a qué atribuyen los editores ese descuido del presente: al peso historiográfico del propio campo, no a falta de materia.

«As Hanegraaff argued over a decade ago, the main problem of these sociological constructs of “the occult” is precisely their neglect, and preclusion, of historicity» — la objeción que los editores recogen de Hanegraaff contra los constructos sociológicos de lo oculto.

«Another interesting feature of Chaos Magick, and one which marks it out as an odd bird in the otherwise often conservative realm of ceremonial magic, is its openness to popular culture as a source of inspiration and an arena for magical practice» — lo que, según los editores, distingue a la Chaos Magick dentro de la magia ceremonial: su apertura a la cultura popular.

«the reader will notice that the focus is still rather heavily biased in the direction of intellectualist approaches, while those focused on practice, and particularly anthropological perspectives, are, with only a couple of exceptions, missing» — la primera omisión que ellos mismos declaran: falta el enfoque antropológico y de la práctica.

«all three approaches steer away from providing a conventional substantial definition of the esoteric, instead going for more fluid and open-ended perspectives» — lo que los tres comparten, según Asprem y Granholm.

«This is also why the three approaches do not seem to clash, but rather complement one another, dealing with different areas and having different, though compatible, applications» — y por qué los editores sostienen que conviven sin chocar.

«the process through which core elements of a social or cultural activity … assume media form» — la definición de mediatización que los editores toman de Hjarvard para la segunda parte del volumen; el libro repite el mismo pasaje en la plana 334, dentro del capítulo 15 de Granholm.

«What do esoteric phenomena such as Chaos Magick, runic symbolism, Tantric yoga, and the mythical Atlantis have to do with radical right-wing» — la pregunta con que Jacob Senholt abre el capítulo 12, citada aquí por los editores y repetida textualmente en la plana 255, que es donde el propio capítulo la formula.

«Greer criticizes earlier scholars who have uncritically connected Deep Ecology with the esoteric, as they in the process singularize the former» — la objeción que los editores atribuyen a Joseph Christian Greer en el capítulo 14: quienes ligaron la ecología profunda a lo esotérico la tratan como una sola cosa.

«Ecology, just as esotericism, is a “hotly debated discursive field”, in which many actors struggle to enforce their particular interpretation» — y lo que Greer pone en su lugar, según el resumen editorial: un campo discursivo en disputa, como el esoterismo mismo.

«In short, instead of a singular Deep Ecology we have a great number of competing, and at times contradicting, Deep Ecologies» — la consecuencia en plural que los editores le atribuyen.

«“Esotericism” is often linked with “tradition”. References to “hidden” or “perennial” traditions abound on the emic level, and often enough esotericism has itself been conceived of as constituting a “tradition” traceable through history» — el doble hecho del que parten Asprem y Granholm en el capítulo 2: la tradición como apelación émica y el esoterismo mismo como tradición rastreable.

«We generally find that a lack of historical awareness is detrimental to sociological uses of “tradition”/”traditional”, although the more nuanced notion of “detraditionalization” and attendant processes does have some promise» — su balance sobre el uso sociológico del término, con la excepción que salvan.

«the very existence of our field and our strategic uses of terms such as “esotericism” in particular have facilitated, through grateful reception among practitioners, a process by which “esotericism” is becoming an object in a sense which it arguably was not before» — la tesis más incómoda del capítulo, en boca de sus propios autores: el campo académico contribuye a fabricar el objeto que estudia.

«The term “tradition” has been associated with a large number of different meanings in both common speech and specialist literature. A plurality of conceptualizations of tradition exists in scholarly circles, often bound up in specific disciplinary concerns and preferences» — el punto de partida del inventario que Asprem y Granholm levantan.

«The standard definition thus follows closely on the etymological origin of the term, with the Latin verb tradere meaning “to hand over” or “deliver”.7 This general understanding, however, seems hardly analytically useful» — su objeción a esa definición: la etimología de tradere no basta para analizar nada.

«This use is doubly problematic, as it tends to homogenize its subject, while at the same time making a more analytically focused use of the term more difficult» — y la objeción doble que le ponen.

«A third understanding, derived from the discipline of anthropology and still in use in some historiographic research informed by the discipline, is the use of “traditional religion” to denote religious expressions which are (seemingly) unaffected by (Western) modernizing influences» — el tercer uso: religión tradicional como lo no tocado por la modernización occidental.

«The projection of “traditional societies”, whether they be pre-modern Western or current non-Western ones, tends to say more about the scholar’s perceptions of self and the society he/she comes from than accurately describing the society/religion under actual investigation» — lo que Asprem y Granholm dicen que ese uso describe en realidad: la percepción que el investigador tiene de sí y de su sociedad.

«The sociology of religion has inherited much from the early anthropological and historical perspectives on tradition, although lacking the somewhat more complex historical model of “eras”. Instead, we often deal with modernity and “that which comes before”, resulting in a curiously homogeneouslooking past» — el pasado uniforme que, según los autores, hereda la sociología de la religión; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice homogeneous-looking donde la cita trae homogeneouslooking.

«the notion of tradition has received little systematic attention in the literature of sociology and social theory» — la constatación que toman de Thompson para cerrar ese tramo.

«Thus Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead distinguish between “strongly traditionalized religion”, which “involves faith in knowledge and wisdom taken to be transmitted from the transcendent and authoritative past”, and “strongly detraditionalized religion”, which “turns elsewhere for authority”» — la distinción de Paul Heelas y Linda Woodhead que Asprem y Granholm sí juzgan aprovechable.

«While commonly linked to secularization, detraditionalization is distinct in that it “has to do with the transformation not the disappearance of religion» — y el rasgo que separa la destradicionalización de la secularización, según la cita que recogen.

«In Heelas’s working definition, detraditionalization “involves a shift of authority: from ‘without’ to ‘within’”, as well as “the decline of the belief in pregiven or natural orders of things» — la definición de trabajo de Heelas, en dos movimientos.

«A problem is that Heelas’s work is informed by a simplified distinction between “religions of difference”, “religions of humanity” and “spiritualities of life”,15 which demonstrates obvious value judgements» — la objeción que le ponen: la tipología de Heelas trae juicios de valor incorporados.

«Heelas clearly regards “spiritualities of life” more favourably, and as forms of religiosity which suit late modern life better, whereas “religions of difference” are deemed conservative, dogmatic and repressive» — y en qué dirección van esos juicios, según Asprem y Granholm.

«A pair of terms that could be linked to sociological discussions of detraditionalization, and which may even be more useful, is “disembedding” and “re-embedding”. These terms refer to linked processes whereby certain cultural or religious elements are separated from their various contexts (disembedded) and situated in new ones (re-embedded)» — el par de términos que los autores prefieren: desincrustación y reincrustación.

«a look at esoteric actors demonstrates that this practice has been commonplace among so-called esotericists for a very long time, and in fact seems to be a driving dynamic in internal cultural innovation» — la objeción histórica que oponen a los sociólogos: la práctica no es moderna ni caracteriza a la modernidad.

«from the translation and incorporation of the Hermetic texts, and the development of a Christian Kabbalah, to the esoteric reception of yoga and Buddhist doctrine in the late eighteenth and through the nineteenth century» — y la serie de casos con que la sostienen, de los textos herméticos a la recepción esotérica del yoga y del budismo.

«In fact, this may amount to a criticism of Heelas’s understanding of detraditionalization, as the de facto disembedding of cultural data and their re-embedding in new contexts has very often been intrinsically linked with specific esoteric claims to tradition – particularly forms of perennialism, as we discuss at length later in this chapter» — dónde sitúan el límite de Heelas: la desincrustación esotérica va anudada a reivindicaciones de tradición, sobre todo perennialistas.

«We suggest that a fruitful way to go is to follow a critical constructivist course, focusing on the ways in which “traditions” are constructed in specific historical, social and cultural contexts, and the ways they are claimed by situated spokespersons, rather than trying to use the term as an unproblematic analytic term to be employed by the scholar for picking out features or developmental traits in a given “religion” or “culture”» — la opción de método que Asprem y Granholm declaran para el resto del capítulo.

«The authors noticed how a large number of “traditions” in modern society (especially connected with state, government and national culture and identity, which appeared to present an aura of long-standing continuity with the past) were, upon further scrutiny, in fact constructed in the relatively recent past» — lo que Hobsbawm y Ranger hallaron, según el resumen de los autores.

«The invention of traditions was seen to be intrinsically linked to nationalist projects of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and as responses to the great upheavals of political and social revolutions, with Hobsbawm even pointing to a veritable “mass-production of tradition” in the period between 1870 and 1914» — y el marco histórico en que lo situaron, con la expresión de Hobsbawm sobre la producción en masa de tradición.

«The notion of “invented tradition” was originally defined by Hobsbawm as “a set of practices, normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past» — la definición de Hobsbawm, citada por Asprem y Granholm.

«As Olav Hammer and James R. Lewis note, every single known religious system cultivates invented traditions of one sort or another» — lo que los autores recogen de Hammer y Lewis sobre el alcance del fenómeno.

«in addition we find a strong tendency to misattribute central texts, be it through the creation of pseudepigraphic texts, the attribution of anonymous material to a founding figure (e.g. Siddhartha, L. Ron Hubbard), a revered historical authority (e.g. Aristotle), or even non-existing or mythical persons» — y el rasgo que les interesa aquí: la mala atribución de los textos centrales, con sus tres formas.

«this kind of attribution has been a central part in the making of esoteric genealogies of higher knowledge, emphasizing prisci theologi (whether mythical or real) like Hermes and Zoroaster, or referring to entirely fictitious “secret traditions”, such as in Rosicrucianism» — cómo lo aplican al esoterismo: los prisci theologi y las tradiciones secretas enteramente ficticias.

«analyses of such inventions in esotericism have typically focused on the function they play in legitimating authority and establishing an aura of unique authenticity» — en qué se desplaza el análisis al pasar de Hobsbawm al esoterismo, según los autores.

«An extensive study of “the appeal to tradition” as a rhetorical strategy in modern esoteric discourse was provided by Olav Hammer in Claiming Knowledge, which analysed cases from the Theosophical appeal to “ancient sages” (which in 1875 were Chaldaeans, hermeticists, and kabbalists but had morphed into Hindu yogis and secret Tibetan masters by 1888), the construction of a traditional lineage for the chakra system as used in modern occultism, and the abundant reference to “imaginary utopias” such as Egypt, India, Tibet and “primitive” societies of native Americans» — el inventario de casos de Olav Hammer que Asprem y Granholm resumen, con el cambio de los sabios antiguos teosóficos entre 1875 y 1888.

«At the basis of Hammer’s analysis is a sharp distinction between emic and etic historiography: the “accounts of believers” about the provenance of their doctrines and rituals constitute emic historiography, and is contrasted with the “secular studies” of professional, non-confessional historians» — la distinción de Hammer entre historiografía émica y ética, tal como la recogen.

«Hammer makes sure to note that the emic and etic historiographies are often in direct conflict, not only over emphasis and interpretation, but about basic facts of history as well» — y el punto que subrayan: el conflicto entre las dos no es solo de énfasis.

«In etic scholarship, however, doubts that the Rosicrucian order proclaimed by the manifestos was a fiction, which became a self-fulfilling prophecy, have long since faded» — y del lado ético, según Asprem y Granholm.

«To practice history of religions … is to insist on discussing the temporal, contextual, situated, interested, human, and material dimensions of those discourses, practices, and institutions that characteristically represent themselves as eternal, transcendent, spiritual, and divine» — la tesis de método de Bruce Lincoln que los autores hacen suya.

«We hold that this implicitly critical edge of historical research ought to be more explicitly recognized in studies of tradition in esotericism than has usually been the case» — la reivindicación con que Asprem y Granholm cierran ese tramo.

«Despite its title, and with a few notable exceptions,30 this volume focuses more on the internal (emic) conceptualizations of tradition, their related philosophies, theologies and mythologies, than on attempts to develop the critical analysis of appeals to “tradition” in esotericism vis-à-vis etic historiography» — la objeción concreta que dirigen a las actas de la conferencia inaugural de la ESSWE.

«Knowing more about the social and material basis for actual transmissions of knowledge is obviously of value, but the continued neglect of a clear critical stance to the invention of tradition is regrettable» — y el límite con que la formulan: lo que ese volumen aporta no queda anulado.

«the cultural configurations or discursive formations which are commonly seen as being at the base of “esotericism” in the historical sense were formed in Renaissance intellectual cultures which typically went far to equate the antiquity of a doctrine with its truth» — la razón histórica que dan para la centralidad de la tradición: el episteme renacentista equiparaba antigüedad y verdad.

«narratives of ancient wisdom are omnipresent in esoteric discourse, whether related to Hermes Trismegistus, Zoroaster, Moses or Orpheus, or to the increasingly more exotic ancients of modern times, such as the Atlanteans, discarnate Secret Chiefs, or even space aliens from the Pleiades» — la serie de sabios antiguos que los autores enumeran, desde Hermes Trismegisto hasta los alienígenas de las Pléyades.

«We might distinguish two concepts that are of particular importance for the history of esotericism: prisca theologia, and philosophia perennis. Although frequently used interchangeably, these in fact denote two quite different epistemic schemes, evaluating the relation between truth, history and tradition in quite different ways» — la distinción que sostienen contra el uso intercambiable corriente.

«Prisca theologia refers to the notion of a “pristine theology”, revealed in a distant utopian past, and since partly lost through history» — la definición que dan de prisca theologia, y los nombres a los que la asocian.

«it meant that the discovery and diligent study of ancient source texts had the potential of “restoring” truth and overthrowing modern and hence “illegitimate” innovations» — el filo radical que le atribuyen a ese esquema tras la Reforma.

«philosophia perennis presents a scheme where wisdom is eternal, always present underneath the surface of any historical period» — en qué se diferencia el segundo esquema del primero, según los autores.

«Where prisca theologia is radical, philosophia perennis has a conservative tinge: contemporary traditions are authentic and ought to be preserved, since they represent a hidden but living truth. Reform is futile» — y la consecuencia política que le adjudican.

«Since the underlying assumption in late Hellenistic culture was that nothing could be “both new and true”,37 church fathers like Augustine had to claim the antiquity of Christianity, even when its founders had lived only a few generations earlier and its status was that of a “new religious movement”» — por qué los padres de la Iglesia tuvieron que reclamar antigüedad, según Asprem y Granholm.

«is now called the Christian religion, was with the ancients … and it was with the human race from its beginning to the time when Christ appeared in the flesh: from when on the true religion, which already existed, began to be called the Christian» — el pasaje de Agustín que citan a través de Edgar Wind.

«As Wouter Hanegraaff has pointed out, the revival of philosophia perennis as an explicit stance by Steuco in the sixteenth century must similarly be seen as a response to the calls for reform based in part on prisca theologia» — la lectura de Hanegraaff que recogen: Steuco responde a los llamados a la reforma.

«While the Renaissance intellectuals who created the “corpus of reference” for later esoteric thought (e.g. Ficino, Pico, Reuchlin, Agrippa and others) constructed their wisdom narratives to include ancient sages such as Hermes, Zoroaster, Moses, Orpheus, Pythagoras and Plato, they simultaneously played a dangerous argument into the hands of a new generation of reformers who wanted to “purify” Christianity of any form of “paganism”» — el efecto no querido que los autores atribuyen a los relatos de sabiduría antigua del Renacimiento.

«In the hands of these later Protestant reformers, the Renaissance “history of truth” was inverted to form a “history of error”» — la inversión que, según Asprem y Granholm, hicieron los reformadores protestantes de esos mismos relatos.

«In their view, Zoroaster was the source of devil worship, and Plato a dangerous pagan whose ideas had infested Christian culture and especially the Roman Church» — cómo quedaron Zoroastro y Platón en esa inversión.

«Through the application of polemical simplifications of history, all the diverse thinkers that were considered suspect of paganism, magic, or worse were lumped together and seen as representing a connected diabolical trend» — el mecanismo con que, según los autores, quedaron todos amontonados en una sola corriente.

«These were the first steps towards the reification of what has later become known as “esotericism”. Importantly, it took shape as a category of “rejected knowledge”, created in polemical battles to define correct religion, philosophy and, increasingly, science» — y la tesis de fondo: el esoterismo nace como categoría de conocimiento rechazado, en batallas polémicas.

«A notion of philosophia perennis has indeed been kept at the base of self-mythologization in Masonic contexts, and especially in the esoteric orders that were created during the nineteenth century» — dónde localizan la continuidad de la philosophia perennis en época moderna.

«Frances Yates’s notion of “the Hermetic tradition” popularized such a view concerning Hermetic philosophy in the Renaissance, but it also legitimized a broader idea of a coherent oppositional intellectual and religious tradition in Europe – especially after being read and interpreted by counterculturalists of the late 1960s who used it to support their contemporary agendas» — el papel que Asprem y Granholm adjudican a Frances Yates y a su recepción contracultural en la idea de una tradición esotérica coherente.

«However, the idea of a self-contained “esoteric tradition” seems to be a special case of construction of tradition that took shape especially in the context of nineteenth-century occultism» — y dónde sitúan el origen de esa idea.

«[N]ovelty is no less novel for being able to dress up easily as antiquity» — el epígrafe de Eric Hobsbawm con que Asprem y Granholm abren el capítulo 2; el troceo imprime la inicial entre corchetes porque la capital va recortada.

«we recognize its strong critical potential and call for more systematic scrutiny of the social, material, contextual and situated background» — lo que Asprem y Granholm piden del enfoque constructivista de Hobsbawm, de Hammer y de Lewis; la frase sigue en la plana 37.

«[A]nything which is transmitted or handed down from the past to the present … [including] all that a society of a given time possesses and which already existed when its present possessors came upon it and which is not solely the product of physical processes in the external world or exclusively the result of ecological and physiological necessity» — la definición de diccionario que citan de Edward Shils, y que enseguida acotan.

«Another common understanding, relating specifically to the field of religion, is when “tradition” functions simply as a synonym for a particular religion» — el segundo uso que inventarían: tradición como sinónimo de una religión.

«in contemporary esoteric orders which claim a Rosicrucian heritage, such as the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC) or the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn» — el ejemplo con que ilustran esa divergencia, del lado émico.

«The notion of philosophia perennis was launched by the Augustinian scholar Agostino Steuco (1497–1548) in 1540, and constitutes, when taken in a strict» — a quién y a qué fecha adjudican la philosophia perennis; el troceo corta aquí por cambio de tramo y la frase sigue diciendo que es un relato de sabiduría antigua rival.

«This led to the formation of modern occultism, where one of the first and most influential tradition-builders was Eliphas Lévi» — a quién adjudican Asprem y Granholm el primer puesto entre los constructores de tradición del ocultismo moderno.

«It is significant that it was in this context that the noun “esotericism” started to get popularized for the first time, typically referring to a perennial tradition connected with Hermeticism, alchemy, astrology, magic, and so on, but above all with the Kabbalah, conceived of as a timeless, perennial system of wisdom» — cuándo y con qué contenido se popularizó el sustantivo esoterismo, según los autores: una tradición perenne con la cábala en el centro.

«This notion continued to gain currency in British occultism, as it emerged in its institutionalized forms through societies such as the Hermetic Society and the Theosophical Society, and esoteric orders of initiation such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn» — las instituciones por las que, según los autores, pasó esa noción al ocultismo británico.

«Waite’s notion of “the secret tradition” encompassed all said topics, but was above all intrinsically connected to his personal brand of Christian mysticism» — a qué quedaba amarrada la tradición secreta de Arthur Edward Waite, según Asprem y Granholm.

«The “secret tradition” was thus, for him, not necessarily constrained by any direct historical continuity of thinkers, authors, texts, or even secret societies, but rather by an “invisible community” of those who had achieved exalted mystical insights» — y qué la sostenía en su lugar: no la continuidad histórica sino una comunidad invisible.

«While most current scholarship on Western esotericism strongly criticizes the idea of a coherent “esoteric tradition”50 as being the result of emic historiography, one commonly comes across this view among non-specialists» — dónde sobrevive, según los autores, la idea de una tradición esotérica coherente.

«perennial characteristics of the esoteric worldview suggest … that this is an enduring tradition which, though subject to some degree of social legitimacy and cultural coloration, actually reflects an autonomous and essential aspect of the relationship between the mind and the cosmos» — el pasaje de Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke que Asprem y Granholm citan como caso de esencialismo dentro de la literatura especializada.

«the notion of “the occult tradition” is, in fact, where emic and etic historiography often meet» — la tesis que sacan del caso: la tradición oculta es el punto donde se tocan la historiografía émica y la ética.

«It is problematic, however, if and when religious convictions strongly inform and filter scholarship» — el límite con que lo dicen: el problema no es la convicción sino su filtro sobre la investigación.

«The construction of shamanism demonstrates the influence and confluence of a multiplex of different actors – ranging from nineteenth-century national romantics, through twentieth-century scholars, to esoteric practitioners today» — por qué eligen el chamanismo como caso: en él confluyen románticos nacionales, académicos y practicantes esotéricos.

«This particular country is a good starting point as it is here that we can discern some of the first steps in projecting shamanism as a “universal and ancient” religious technique, and where we still to this very day find scholars engaged in this project» — por qué arrancan el caso en Finlandia, según Asprem y Granholm.

«Here, the idea of the Völksgeist – a “folk spirit” uniting all people of a particular heritage and binding them together in the nation – was first articulated» — la noción romántica alemana de la que hacen depender la invención de las tradiciones nacionales; el troceo imprime Völksgeist con diéresis en la o.

«In this context we also find the “first wave” of Germanic neopaganism – as a “folk-oriented” religiosity to replace universalistic Christianity – as well as examples of the racialism that would later find violent political expression in the regime of the National Socialist Party in the 1930s» — lo que los autores sitúan en ese mismo contexto, con su desenlace político nombrado.

«In this process of forging a national culture and identity legitimacy was needed, and thus the study of Finnish folklore was born» — de dónde hacen nacer los autores el estudio del folclor finlandés: de una necesidad de legitimidad nacional.

«Part of this project of Finlandizing Finland was the creation of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, by Elias Lönnrot (1802–84) in the mid-1800s (the “old” Kalevala in 1835–6, and the extended “new” Kalevala in 1849); not as an authentic example of collected tales, but as a conglomerate of folk tales and the embellishments and innovations of Lönnrot, all in order to create an epic in the image of its classic Greek counterparts» — qué es el Kalevala de Elias Lönnrot, según Asprem y Granholm: un conglomerado con añadidos del compilador, no una colección de relatos recogidos.

«He wanted to prove the antiquity of Finnish culture and find the original homeland of the Finnish folk, and for this effect he did ethnography in Siberia» — el propósito con que Matias Aleksanteri Castren hizo etnografía en Siberia, según los autores.

«These included the father of Finnish comparative religion, Uno Harva-Holmberg (1882–1949), who explored “cross-culturally Eurasian shamanism as a universal Finno-Ugric-Altaic system» — y quién dio el paso siguiente, según la cita que recogen de Znamenski.

«The popularization of shamanism in the public consciousness can be attributed to two authors in particular: Carlos Castaneda and Mircea Eliade» — a quiénes adjudican los autores la popularización del chamanismo.

«In this book, and a whole series of later ones, Castaneda expounds on his apprenticeship with the Yaqui Indian Shaman Don Juan Matus, focusing on vivid tales of “entering another reality”» — qué cuenta Castaneda en The Teachings of Don Juan, según el resumen de los autores.

«However, even in the 1970s critics convincingly argued that Castaneda’s research was most likely to have been conducted in libraries rather than in the field, and that his “apprenticeship” with “Don Juan” was probably fictional» — lo que los críticos de los años setenta sostuvieron sobre ese trabajo de campo, según Asprem y Granholm.

«Still, Castaneda’s books continue to be influential among religious practitioners, and even remained examples of ideal ethnography in anthropological circles for a very long time» — y el límite que ponen: la objeción no le quitó influencia ni entre practicantes ni en antropología.

«Znamenski attributes this to a changing academic climate in the 1960s, with increasing concerns to “validate the native’s point of view» — la explicación que recogen de Znamenski para esa persistencia.

«His notion of “core shamanism”, the universal building blocks of shamanism worldwide, is even discussed by Michael Winkelman in his article on shamanism in the Encyclopedia of Religion, and included in the bibliography of Mircea Eliade in an article on the same theme in the volume» — el caso de Michael Harner, que los autores usan para mostrar el paso del antropólogo al portavoz y su vuelta a la enciclopedia académica.

«Eliade is among the most influential scholars in the history of the study of religion, and “almost certainly the most familiar name in the field”72 outside scholarly quarters» — el peso que los autores le reconocen a Mircea Eliade antes de examinarlo.

«However, the term “shamanism” is problematic when used to refer to religious phenomena beyond those relating to the Tungusic cultures the word originates in, and becomes increasingly problematic when considering the extremely broad application it has been put to» — la objeción de los autores al término, anclada en su origen tungús.

«In his youth – and continuing to his death – Eliade was greatly influenced by René Guénon – author and founder of the Traditionalist school of esoteric thought» — la filiación que Asprem y Granholm trazan entre Eliade y René Guénon.

«The central concerns of Traditionalism were the critique of Western modernity and the pursuit of “authentic primordial tradition”» — en qué consistía el tradicionalismo, según los autores.

«the term “reintegration” that was central to Eliade’s work, as well as his very conception of “tradition”, was most likely to have been derived from Guénon» — y qué le adjudican a Eliade como tomado de Guénon, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«Eliade was an active participant, from 1949 to 1976, in the Eranos meetings arranged in Ascona, Switzerland, since 1933. There he congregated with figures such as Carl Gustav Jung, Gershom Scholem, Henry Corbin, and Joseph Campbell86 – all respected and influential scholars in their respective fields and, even more importantly, influenced by similar esoteric–Traditionalist views, and in turn highly influential on later esotericism» — el círculo de Eranos como red de esa influencia, con los nombres que los autores enumeran.

«When recognizing that many pioneers in the field, especially among those which Hanegraaff has termed the “generalists” in the study of esotericism,55 have had their scholarly interest sparked by personal» — a qué atribuyen los autores ese encuentro, con el término de Hanegraaff para esos pioneros; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente diciendo convicciones esotéricas.

«Already in the early 1960s the concept of shamanism had been expanded to include the Eskimos» — el arranque del inventario de extensiones del término que los autores levantan; se corta antes de la llamada de nota que el troceo pega a la palabra.

«It should also be noted that the father of the modern school of the study of Western esotericism, Antoine Faivre, also participated in the Eranos meetings in the 1970s, and had particularly close relations to Henry Corbin» — la filiación que Asprem y Granholm trazan para Antoine Faivre, fundador del estudio moderno del esoterismo occidental.

«Conceived of as a “counter-university”, an “international center for comparative spiritual research” dedicated to reviving esoteric knowledge and fighting the evils of the modern world, the group counted a great number of early specialists of esoteric subjects among its members – including Eliade himself» — qué era la Université Saint Jean de Jérusalem, fundada por Faivre y Corbin, según los autores.

«As carefully documented by Hanegraaff, this platform was something of a laboratory for Faivre’s ideas about esotericism in his most religionist period, which would last until approximately the end of the 1980s» — y qué papel le adjudican en la obra de Faivre, siguiendo a Hanegraaff, con la fecha de corte.

«the case of Eliade makes it clear that essentially perennialist notions of tradition, similar to the idea of philosophia perennis discussed earlier, have asserted a strong influence on scholarly constructs such as shamanism, which in the next instance have informed actual practices and emic notions of tradition and connection with an archaic authentic past» — la conclusión que los autores sacan del caso Eliade: un constructo académico perennialista vuelve al practicante como tradición.

«Scholars and scholarship do not exist in isolation; rather, they co-inhabit their world with their research subjects and readers. When it comes to studies of (particularly modern) esotericism, the researched and the reader are often the same person» — la premisa del tramo siguiente, en boca de Asprem y Granholm: en el esoterismo moderno el investigado y el lector suelen coincidir.

«Most current major scholars of esotericism stress the scholarly constructed nature of their research field,88 asserting that “‘[e]sotericism’ does not exist as an object» — lo que el campo sostiene de sí mismo, con la frase de von Stuckrad que los autores citan.

«However, with esoteric actors becoming increasingly familiar with scholarship from the field of Western esotericism, esotericism is indeed becoming an object. It is actively created as such by esotericists who are influenced and informed by the scholarship they actively and eagerly consume» — y la objeción que Asprem y Granholm le oponen: el objeto se está haciendo por la vía del lector.

«In the Sweden-originated magic order Dragon Rouge, founder and head ideologist Thomas Karlsson – who is also a scholar of Western esotericism, having earned a doctorate in 2010 at Stockholm University for a thesis on the seventeenth-century rune mystic Johannes Bureus90 – has presented an analysis of his order grounded in Antoine Faivre’s conceptualization of esotericism» — el caso con que lo muestran: Thomas Karlsson, fundador de Dragon Rouge y a la vez doctor en el campo, analiza su propia orden con las categorías de Faivre.

«esoteric actors may easily draw on scholarship in order to align themselves to “the primordial/perennial tradition” as described by scholars – to more properly represent esotericism as “authorized” by scholarly authorities, who are much respected by many in the esoteric milieu» — lo que ese caso implica, según los autores.

«It is different, however, in that tradition is here created in lieu of scholarly insistence that no such tradition exists, rather than with active scholarly participation in the process of construction» — y en qué se distingue del caso del chamanismo: aquí la tradición se hace contra la negativa académica, no con su concurso.

«In a sense, the notion of a “tradition” thus emerging is the result of a “fetishistic” reading of scholarship on esotericism» — la fórmula con que lo nombran.

«we might need to expand our view to include not only “esotericists” – or only esoteric discourse, to use Kocku von Stuckrad’s term – but rather the broader field of “discourse on the esoteric” (i.e. all actors who engage with the esoteric in one way or another» — la ampliación de objeto que proponen: del discurso esotérico al discurso sobre lo esotérico.

«Thus actors “relegating” phenomena to the field of the esoteric and occult (including scholars such as Truzzi as well as non-scholarly detractors), proponents of esoteric worldviews and philosophies, as well as more neutral scholars, are all participants on this field of discourse» — quiénes entran en ese campo ampliado, según Asprem y Granholm.

«Still, few scholars other than Christopher Partridge have explicitly discussed the role of popular culture in religious change, or the significance of the esoteric in this context» — el hueco que los autores señalan sobre cultura popular y cambio religioso.

«While the importance of fiction in this regard can logically be assumed to have increased under the impact of modern entertainment media (e.g. television, movies, mass-produced music, etc.) and new interactive media (particularly the Internet and social networking sites), the phenomenon is in no way new» — y el límite con que lo dicen: los medios modernos acentúan algo que no es nuevo.

«While being technically pieces of fiction, the manifestos were long taken to be genuine communications from an existing secret order dedicated to a “universal and general reformation of the whole world» — el estatuto doble que los autores le dan a los manifiestos: ficción tomada por comunicación genuina.

«Here we can also discern the role played by changing means of mediation: the impact of the Rosicrucian manifestos would never have been as immense as it was without the possibility of mass distribution offered by the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century» — el papel que adjudican al medio: sin imprenta no hay furor rosacruz.

«In Freemasonry, the models of Rosicrucian societies and vocational guilds fused to form an initiatory society, which in turn came to function as a model for many later magical orders, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn» — la cadena que trazan de las sociedades rosacruces a la masonería y de ahí a las órdenes mágicas.

«In the nineteenth century we find several more examples of fiction influencing “esoteric” currents, such as Emma Hardinge Britten’s books – which further influenced the creation of later initiatory magical orders – and Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s hugely influential novel Zanoni – which, among many other things, spread the idea of semi-immortal Rosicrucian “secret chiefs”» — los casos decimonónicos de ficción con efecto esotérico que los autores enumeran.

«In the twentieth century and beyond, the fiction of H. P. Lovecraft has similarly asserted an immense influence on occultism» — y el caso del siglo XX que añaden.

«The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was a prolific science fiction author, and many of the elements permeating his fictional work seem to have influenced the doctrines of Scientology as well» — lo que los autores sostienen sobre la relación entre la obra de ficción de Hubbard y la doctrina cienciológica, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«The former was created as a religion in religious census surveys in English-speaking countries. Pleas to write down “Jedi” as a religious orientation were posted online in advance of the census, with astounding results (in New Zealand 1.5 per cent of the population did so» — cómo nació el jediísmo, según Asprem y Granholm, y con qué resultado en Nueva Zelanda.

«In terms of the esoteric it is interesting to note that George Lucas was highly influenced by the works of Joseph Campbell when writing the movies» — el vínculo esotérico que los autores le encuentran, vía Joseph Campbell y Eranos.

«Esoteric discourse can certainly be conceived of as playing a part, as the movies – and thus Matrixism as a religion – revolves around the idea of knowledge providing the power to shape reality» — por qué cuentan el matrixismo como caso de discurso esotérico.

«Rather than operationalizing “tradition” as an analytical tool to look at, for example, means of transmission, coherence and autonomy of cultural systems, structural distinctions between “modern” and “pre-modern” societies, and so on, we have argued that a constructivist approach to the invention of tradition is a more promising path» — la primera conclusión del capítulo, en boca de sus autores.

«We have suggested that there are especially two types of oftenoverlooked co-producers of tradition whose roles need to be highlighted if the broadly constructivist programme drawn up in this article is to be followed, namely: the role of scholarship, and the role of fiction and popular culture» — y la segunda: los dos coproductores de tradición que el campo suele pasar por alto; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice often-overlooked donde la cita trae oftenoverlooked.

«Also, because of our own embeddedness in contemporary culture, they may be somewhat harder to spot; they are, so to speak, “hidden in plain sight”» — por qué cuesta verlos, según Asprem y Granholm.

«That occultists and neopagans are avid readers of works produced by scholars of esotericism is no secret, and we know historically that cultural knowledge produced or repackaged by academia, having received its official stamp of “quality goods” (with all its attendant commodity fetishism), tends to become a sought-after commodity in the more literate milieus of practitioners» — el mecanismo de mercado que los autores describen para el paso del saber académico al medio esotérico.

«In this light, some of the strategies wielded in order to claim an independent identity for “Western esotericism” as a more or less autonomous academic field may, regardless of the actual intentions and even explicit statements of some of those involved, have conferred cultural legitimacy onto practitioners who want to identify with something like a unique “esoteric tradition” as well» — la consecuencia que sacan para su propio campo, con la reserva sobre las intenciones declaradas dentro.

«This calls for an increased emphasis on scholarly reflexivity in the field, particularly when questions of identity, essence, and tradition are at stake» — y lo que piden con ello: más reflexividad, no menos investigación.

«The creation of specialist journals (e.g. Esoterica; Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism), specialist book series (e.g. SUNY’s Western Esoteric Traditions), and even scholarly organizations» — el aparato institucional que los autores enumeran: revistas, series y organizaciones especializadas.

«all using the term esotericism to signify “something” that they are “about”, significantly contributes to the reification of the category for the general audience – despite the explicated contrary intentions of most scholars in the field» — y el efecto que le atribuyen sobre el público general, con la contradicción declarada dentro: cosifica la categoría pese a la intención de quienes lo sostienen.

«The Rosicrucian current was instigated with the publication of two spoof pamphlets, Fama Fraternitatis (1614) and Confessio Fraternitatis (1615), followed by an alchemically loaded play, the Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459 (1616). All texts were published anonymously; however, the last one has been unambiguously attributed to the (at that time very young) German theologian Johann Valentin Andreae (1586–1654), while the two earlier manifestos seem to have been collaborative efforts by Andreae and» — cómo datan y atribuyen los autores los tres textos rosacruces fundacionales; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo, y las fechas entre paréntesis son del propio cuerpo del libro, no aparato de notas cosido.

«We have left the land and have embarked. We have burned our bridges behind us – indeed we have gone further and destroyed the land behind us. … Woe, when you feel homesick for the land as if it had offered more freedom – and there is no longer any land» — el pasaje de Nietzsche que Fredrik Gregorius toma de Paul Gilroy para abrir el capítulo 3.

«In the African diaspora, not even the memory or the language remains to form an ideal of a lost homeland. Following Nietzsche’s description of the state of modern man, we can claim that the African diaspora offers the most intense form of homelessness» — lo que Gregorius saca de ese pasaje para su asunto.

«For a long time European historical discourse construed Africa as a place without anything to offer in the way of culture or history. For those of African descent there was thus no history to claim, no cultural achievement to speak about» — el punto de partida histórico del capítulo, según Gregorius.

«himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, – an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder» — la continuación del mismo pasaje de Du Bois, ya en la plana siguiente.

«Some black leaders have accepted the idea of Africa as a dark continent; rather than striving to reclaim a lost cultural heritage they have regarded their role as being the leaders of an emerging African civilization based upon European values» — la primera de las tres respuestas que Gregorius tipifica.

«Others have romanticized the savage Africa, construing parallels with the Germanic and Celtic tribes of pre-Christian Europe» — la segunda.

«Still others have claimed that the image of Africa presented in Western narratives is false, and that not only does Africa have a lot to offer culturally and historically, but most of what we today see as European has an African origin» — y la tercera, que es la que el capítulo sigue.

«Rather than being clearly differentiated positions, the above approaches should be seen as ideal-types describing general trends, and often authors have based their approach, depending on context, on more than one position» — el límite con que Gregorius presenta su propia tipología.

«attempts have been made to find a perennial essence of African religion that is neither Christian nor Muslim, but based on indigenous African traditions» — qué buscan los afrocentristas en materia espiritual, según Gregorius.

«While often eclectic in their approach, Afrocentrists have become more and more focused on ancient Egypt as the primary ideal» — y hacia dónde se ha ido estrechando ese eclecticismo.

«In the development of a concept of a tradition that binds Egypt together with sub-Saharan Africa, esoteric ideas from Masonry, Jungianism, Theosophy and Rosicrucianism, among others, have been used» — los materiales esotéricos con que, según Gregorius, se ha armado esa tradición: masonería, junguianismo, teosofía y rosacrucismo.

«The debate over the racial identity of the ancient Egyptians has been central to the Afrocentric movement of the 1980s, but can be traced back to the 1800s» — la antigüedad que Gregorius le da a la disputa sobre la identidad racial egipcia.

«Egypt was a problem for the white establishment in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and while attempts were made to show that Egypt was an inferior civilization compared with ancient Greece, it was still difficult to deny the accomplishments of the ancient Egyptians» — por qué Egipto resultaba incómodo, según Gregorius.

«In the racial discourse of the US, where slavery was not officially abolished until 1865, Egypt became a recurring battle ground for both abolitionists and white supremacists» — en qué se convirtió Egipto dentro del discurso racial estadounidense, según Gregorius.

«In this man’s skull we behold one of ourselves – a Caucasian, a pure white man; notwithstanding the bitumen which has blackened the skin» — la frase de George Robins Gliddon ante los cráneos egipcios que Gregorius cita de Trafton.

«The unwrapping of the mummy was, however, a failure for Gliddon, as it was revealed that the mummy was in fact male and not female» — y el desenlace del espectáculo de Gliddon, según Gregorius.

«Well, the poor old mummy, was at length stripped of its swaddling clothes, and disembowled [sic], and furnished evidence of little else than that it was a veritable “he-nigger” after all. A humbling relic enough of Theban royalty, learning and renown» — el comentario satírico del periódico abolicionista afroamericano que Gregorius reproduce, con el sic del troceo sobre disembowled.

«The ironic comments aside, we see that the idea of Egypt as a black African civilization was at least partly established as a counter-narrative in response to Gliddon and his colleagues’ projection of a white Egypt» — lo que Gregorius saca del episodio: el contrarrelato del Egipto negro se afianza como respuesta.

«When pictures of Ramesses II were presented, in a later book by Gliddon, some compared Ramesses’s facial profile to that of Napoleon, while others, such as the former slave Frederick Douglass (1818?–95), perceived a clear resemblance to his own mother» — las dos lecturas del perfil de Ramsés II que Gregorius contrapone, la de Napoleón y la de Frederick Douglass.

«If Egypt were to become seen as an African civilization, then the argument that Africa had never created a civilization would be rendered invalid» — lo que estaba en juego políticamente, según Gregorius.

«That nineteenth-century scholars did as much as they could to promote a predominantly Middle Eastern or European image of Egypt is taken by contemporary Afrocentric writers as evidence for distortions of history in order to neglect the impact that Africa has had on European civilization, and it is hard not to agree at least in part» — la lectura afrocentrista de la egiptología decimonónica, que Gregorius acompaña hasta cierto punto y lo dice.

«Critics of Bernal claim that he paints a far too generalized picture of nineteenth-century scholarship on Egypt, and that he neglects the trend towards anti-Egyptianism among some more radical European writers» — la objeción que Gregorius recoge contra Martin Bernal.

«It is, however, difficult to claim that racism did not play a significant role in creating the image of the ancient world and Egypt as fair-skinned» — y lo que sostiene pese a esa objeción.

«While the question of racial characteristics is generally not seen as a significant question among most Egyptologists today, it remains an issue for both Afrocentrists and white racialist groups» — dónde sigue viva la disputa, según Gregorius, y dónde no.

«Masonry has been an important movement in the history of the African diaspora in North America. It had a large impact on the development of the constitution of Liberia, and many early black intellectuals were Masons» — el peso que Gregorius le da a la masonería en la diáspora africana norteamericana.

«It seems to have played an important role in creating an early black middle class by stressing the importance of culture and learning for African Americans» — la función social que le atribuye a la masonería de Prince Hall, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«While we know some details about his background, sources are scant and there is much contradiction between descriptions of his early life» — el límite documental que Gregorius declara sobre Prince Hall.

«He came into contact with Masonry during the early 1770s, and while initial attempts to join the local lodge were unsuccessful due to his race, he and fourteen other African Americans were initiated into the Grand Lodge of Ireland on 6 March 1775» — cómo entró Prince Hall en la masonería, según Gregorius, y por qué vía irlandesa.

«It was not a smooth process, as most Masons did not accept them even after their initiation, and Hall had to fight for recognition. Originally the group was only given permission to celebrate St John’s day and bury their dead “in manner and form» — y lo que se les concedió al principio, en la fórmula que Gregorius cita.

«The by-laws document is relevant not only for the history of Masonry in the US, but also as the first document to describe a form of black self-government» — el valor que Gregorius le da al reglamento de la African Lodge.

«According to historian Wilson Jeremia Moses, Prince Hall Masonry was a fairly standard form of Masonry based on the myth of the builders of the Temple of Solomon» — la primera de las dos posiciones que Gregorius contrapone sobre el contenido de esa masonería.

«Others, like Scott Trafton and Stephen Howe, have argued that it was important in transmitting ideas about Egypt, and provided distinctly “Africanized” interpretations of Masonry» — la segunda posición.

«The truth is probably somewhere in between. Most Prince Hall lodges seem to have been fairly traditional, but some embraced more “Egyptianized” forms» — y el juicio con que Gregorius se coloca entre las dos, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«He was concerned with the creation of a strong black masculine identity and saw Masonry as a means to achieve it» — qué buscaba Martin Robison Delany en la masonería, según Gregorius.

«Rather than breaking with biblical tradition, Delany inscribed Egypt and Ethiopia into it, giving Africa a central role as the place where Masonry was first established» — la operación que Gregorius describe en ese texto: no romper con la Biblia sino meter a África dentro.

«One of the ways to defend the presence of black Masons was to claim an African origin for Masonry itself» — y la función polémica que le adjudica en su contexto.

«Delany argues, with Moses as a central example, that even men not born free should be able to become Masons» — la otra función que Gregorius encuentra en el Moisés masón de Delany.

«Here Delany unites two different strands of thought; the monumentalist notion of Egypt as the land of Africans, and the situation of Africans in the diaspora interpreted in the context of the biblical Exodus-narrative and the captivity of Moses and the Israelites in Egypt» — los dos hilos que, según Gregorius, Delany anuda.

«Among critics, the book is usually quoted as evidence for the low academic standards of Afrocentric studies» — cómo circula Stolen Legacy entre sus críticos, según Gregorius.

«What is of interest here, however, is not the factuality of James’s claims but rather the history that he constructs and his use of esoteric sources» — y qué se propone Gregorius con el libro, en vez de juzgarlo.

«For James, the “conspiracy against the black man” is not a modern phenomenon, but one that dates back at least to Alexander the Great» — a cuándo remonta George G. M. James la conspiración, según Gregorius.

«For example, Aristotle’s On the Soul was, according to James, demonstrably plagiarized from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, since they both deal with the topic of the soul in some form» — el argumento de James sobre Aristóteles, tal como Gregorius lo expone.

«It was written in the 1950s when the black civil rights movement was on the rise, but with accompanying feelings among many that little actual change was taking place. James’s work can thus be seen as one born out of frustration and disillusionment» — el contexto con que Gregorius explica el desplazamiento del libro, de la influencia al robo.

«The term Greek philosophy, to begin with is a misnomer, for there is no such philosophy in existence. The ancient Egyptians had developed a very complex religious system, called the Mysteries, which was also the first system of salvation. As such, it regarded the human body as a prison house of the soul, which could be liberated from its bodily impediments, through the disciplines of the Arts and Sciences, and advanced from the level of a mortal to that of a God. This was the notion of the summum bonum or greatest good, to which all men must aspire, and it also became the basis of all ethical concepts» — el pasaje de James sobre los misterios egipcios que Gregorius cita de la introducción de Stolen Legacy.

«The Egyptian Mystery System was also a Secret Order, and membership was gained by initiation and a pledge to secrecy. The teaching was graded and delivered orally to the Neophyte; and under these circumstances of secrecy, the Egyptians developed secret systems of writing and teaching, and forbade their Initiates from writing what they had learnt» — y el pasaje sobre el secreto y la enseñanza oral.

«Most of this is standard material from Masonic and Rosicrucian writings, and the British historian Stephen Howe has claimed that Stolen Legacy is as “much a mystic–ritualistic, and more specifically Masonic, work as it is an Afrocentric one» — el juicio de Stephen Howe sobre Stolen Legacy que Gregorius recoge.

«Despite the fact that Masonry had such an impact on the black community, there are scant indications as to James himself being a Mason» — la reserva documental que Gregorius pone sobre la pertenencia masónica de James.

«While it is hardly improbable that James was a Mason, his works do not provide clear evidence for such statements» — y cómo la opone al juicio de Howe, sin negar la posibilidad.

«If anything, relying on the most quoted works, it would seem more likely that he was either a member of a Theosophical group or a Rosicrucian order» — la adjudicación alternativa que Gregorius propone, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«Its influence is most notable when it comes to the contents of the Egyptian mysteries and their history, and James sometimes quotes whole pages from Vail, not always with proper reference» — lo que Gregorius documenta sobre el uso que James hace de Charles H. Vail.

«According to Vail, the mysteries were first established in Atlantis, but after the fall of the civilization they survived in Egypt and Chaldea, where the mysteries had been established before Atlantis sank» — el origen atlante de los misterios según Vail, tal como Gregorius lo resume.

«A central theme in James’s writing is that nothing new was invented after the Egyptians, or rather that the “original version” of the mysteries was pure while later developments represented decline» — el esquema de decadencia que Gregorius atribuye a James.

«One of the few Greeks that get any real recognition is Socrates, who was considered to be an initiate of the mysteries, and also a Mason» — la excepción griega que James admite, según Gregorius.

«For James, philosophy is static and unchanging, and the role of the philosopher is thus to understand the mysteries, not to create new theories» — y qué papel le queda al filósofo en ese esquema.

«After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, – a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see» — el arranque del pasaje de W. E. B. Du Bois sobre la doble consciencia que Gregorius cita; la frase sigue en la plana 61.

«contrasted with a European view. People will maintain this mentality regardless of where they live: Africans in the United States will have a natural inclination to look at the world from an “African point of view”» — y el corolario que le añade: la mentalidad no depende del lugar de residencia.

«In the earliest period of the Egyptian and Ethiopian dynasties, the institution of Masonry was first established. Discovering a defect in the government of man, first suggested an inquiry into his true state and condition. Being a people of a high order of intellect, and subject to erudite and profound thought, the Egyptians and Ethiopians were the first who came to the conclusion that man was created in the similitude of God» — el arranque del pasaje de Delany que Gregorius presenta como uno de los primeros ejemplos de perspectiva afrocéntrica sobre la historia.

«This, it will be remembered, was anterior to the Bible record, because Moses was the recorder of the Bible, subsequent to his exodus from Egypt, all his wisdom and ability having been acquired there; as a proof of which, the greatest recommendation to his fitness for so high and holy an office, and the best encomium which that book can possibly bestow upon him in testimony of his qualifications as its scriptor, the Bible itself tells us that “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians» — y su continuación, donde Delany hace venir de Egipto la sabiduría de Moisés.

«Truly, if the African race has no legitimate claims to Masonry, then it is illegitimate to all the rest of mankind. … [T]o Africa is the world indebted for its knowledge of the mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry. Had Moses or the Israelists never lived in Africa, the mysteries of the wise men of the East never would have been handed down to us» — el arranque del pasaje de Delany que Gregorius reproduce sobre la deuda del mundo con África.

«Was it not Africa that gave birth to Euclid, the master geomatrician [sic] of the world? and was it not in consequence of a twenty five years’ residence in Africa that the great Pythagoras was enabled to discover that key problem in geometry – the forty seventh problem of Euclid – without which Masonry would be incomplete? Must I hesitate to tell the world that, as applied to Masonry, the word, Eureka, was first exclaimed in Africa? But – there I have revealed the Masonic secret and must stop» — y su continuación sobre Euclides y Pitágoras, con el sic del troceo sobre geomatrician.

«ideas, such as the Masons being aware of the African origin of their teachings but hiding them» — la vuelta de tuerca masónica de la conspiración de James, según Gregorius.

«In this chapter, “Afrocentricity” refers to a specific contemporary ideology that presents Africa as not only a continent of origin, but also articulates a psychological and spiritual mentality seen as essentially “African”. That is, an Afrocentrist believes that there is a certain African way of looking at the world» — la definición operativa de afrocentricidad con que trabaja Gregorius; la frase se completa en la plana 62.

«James’s aim is not merely to provide a mystical treatise on how to achieve esoteric goals, but rather to demonstrate how this new knowledge will serve the improvement of people of African descent in America and elsewhere» — para qué escribe James, según Gregorius: no un tratado místico sino un programa de redención.

«Now that it has been shown that philosophy, and the arts and sciences were bequeathed to civilization by the people of North Africa and not by the people of Greece; the pendulum of praise and honour is due to shift from the people of Greece to the people of the African continent who are the rightful heirs of such praise and honour» — el arranque del capítulo final de Stolen Legacy que Gregorius reproduce.

«It is also going to mean a most important change in the mentality of the Black people: a change from an inferiority complex, to the realization and consciousness of their equality with all the other great peoples of the world, who have built great civilizations» — y el efecto que James espera sobre la mentalidad de los negros, en el mismo pasaje.

«While James was hardly the first to perceive a need for a new attitude towards African and ancient history, as we have seen with Delany for example, he is one of the first to completely shift the focus from Europe to Africa» — dónde sitúa Gregorius la novedad de James, y con qué antecedente reconocido.

«Other black nationalist leaders, like Marcus Garvey and W. E. B. Du Bois, usually held up European civilization as the role model for a future African culture» — el contraste con que lo mide: Garvey y Du Bois seguían tomando a Europa por modelo.

«James was also one of the pioneers in focusing on a spirituality that is neither Christian nor Islamic as the foundation for African people. Instead, he turned to what he considered to be “ancient mystery traditions” and esoteric paths to self-deification» — la segunda novedad que Gregorius le adjudica: una espiritualidad ni cristiana ni islámica.

«For modern Afrocentrists, James’s book has become a central work and is for some almost above all forms of critique. According to Wilson J. Moses, however, it has also been overemphasized by critics» — la posición del libro entre afrocentristas y la reserva de Wilson J. Moses que Gregorius recoge.

«The idea of advanced Egyptian science and mysteries has become a recurring theme in Afrocentricity, as has the idea that Europeans stole most of it» — el tema que, según Gregorius, quedó fijado en la afrocentricidad.

«As the use of esoteric sources has been one of the most recurring criticisms against James, some Afrocentrists like Molefi Kente Asante try to downplay the esoteric side of James’s work» — la reacción que Gregorius documenta en Molefi Kente Asante ante las fuentes esotéricas de James.

«Esoteric sources are nevertheless quite visible, and spiritual ideas about the nature of man would also become integrated in Afrocentricity» — y lo que Gregorius opone a esa minimización.

«James’s work did not have an immediate impact on the black nationalist movement and remained somewhat obscure for many years. During the 1970s, but especially in the 1990s, there was a revival of his ideas, and they have since then become a common theme for cultural nationalists» — la curva de recepción de Stolen Legacy que Gregorius traza.

«He connects Masonry with the Egyptian mysteries (following Martin Delany and George James” theories), and makes connections to both Prince Hall and the Nation of Islam» — lo que hace Zachary P. Gremillion con ese material, según Gregorius.

«He claims that Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 to 1975, was a Mason and that the teachings of the movement are filled with Masonic symbolism» — y la adjudicación masónica que Gremillion hace de Elijah Muhammad.

«In the 1960s and 1970s we find political groups with eschatological ideas based on a quest to regain a lost African tradition and mentality» — el giro del capítulo hacia la política cultural estadounidense.

«US represented “us” as opposed to “them”, symbolizing unity among black people against external enemies, primarily white people» — qué significaba el nombre de la US Organization de Maulana Karenga, según Gregorius.

«Still, Karenga saw the need for myths and spirituality and created a system called Kawaida, as a form of philosophical foundation for US. This is a form of holistic philosophy, based on his understanding of the basic principles underlying all African societies» — qué es la Kawaida de Karenga, según Gregorius.

«Umoja (Unity) To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. • Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. • Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together. • Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together. • Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. • Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. • Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle» — los siete principios nguzo saba que Gregorius reproduce de Karenga; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Still, religion was of importance as a socially unifying factor, and Karenga created his own year of celebrations, based on the Black Power struggle, to replace the Christian one» — qué función le quedaba a la religión en el programa de Karenga, según Gregorius.

«While it would take a while for the complete Egyptomania that would later define the Afrocentric movement to surface, we can see how the image of Egypt became more majestic already in Karenga’s writings in the early 1980s» — cuándo empieza a crecer Egipto en Karenga, según Gregorius.

«Egyptian civilization is regarded as having its origin in Ethiopia, emphasizing the African foundation of Egypt, and there is mention of many Western ideas and religious concepts being based on Egyptian myths and concepts; the virgin birth and the Jesus figure are, for example, said to be modelled on Isis and Horus» — qué dice Introduction to Black Studies sobre Egipto, según el resumen de Gregorius.

«These are, however, not Karenga’s own ideas, but mainly reflections on other writers» — y el límite con que Gregorius se lo adjudica.

«There is hardly any focus on mystical powers or deep spirituality, but rather on the political achievements of Egypt and their communal aspects» — lo que Karenga sí subraya de Egipto en ese libro, según Gregorius.

«While the term itself came into popular use in the 1980s by Molefi Kente Asante (1942–), it hardly represents a clear break from older forms of black nationalism» — a quién y a qué década adjudica Gregorius el término afrocentricidad, con su límite dentro.

«Afrocentricity has become a controversial movement particularly in academia due to what critics consider unscientific methods and a racialized view of the world» — por qué es polémica en el mundo académico, según Gregorius.

«Asante has a tendency to dismiss all of his critics, including African-born scholars like the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, as Eurocentric, thus preventing any constructive dialogue» — la objeción que Gregorius dirige a Asante por el modo de responder a sus críticos.

«As Africa is not a nation but a continent with a multitude of different traditions and peoples, defining a common African culture and mindset should be highly problematic» — el problema de fondo que Gregorius plantea a toda definición de una cultura africana común.

«In order to resolve the problem, Asante creates an ideal image of African culture. Africa is first and foremost regarded as a cultural unity, a common feature of most forms of cultural nationalism» — cómo lo resuelve Asante, según Gregorius.

«Spirituality plays a central role for Asante, and like Karenga he is opposed to the idea of Africans adopting Christianity or Islam as their religion. In contrast to many other black nationalists, he spends a lot of time criticizing Islam, which he regards as a form of Arab nationalism» — la posición de Asante sobre cristianismo e islam, y su crítica particular al segundo, según Gregorius.

«According to Asante, a person’s religion needs to be based on his/her cultural and ethnical background. For Africans, the choice should thus be some form of indigenous African spirituality rather than reinterpretations of Christianity or Islam adjusted to fit the needs of black people» — el principio con que Asante deriva la religión de la pertenencia cultural, según Gregorius.

«Njia is the collective expression of the Afrocentric worldview which is grounded in the historical experience of African people. … The stage was being set for Njia for over 100 years. Each level of awareness predictably leads to the manifestation of Njia. Njia represents the inspired Afrocentric spirit found in the traditions of African-Americans, and the spiritual survival of an African essence in America» — el pasaje de Asante sobre Njia que Gregorius reproduce.

«While important in the early writings of Asante, Njia does not seem to have become as much of a living movement as Asante had hoped for» — y el balance que Gregorius hace de su fortuna.

«Rather than seeking to create a mass movement, Asante’s goal is to create a form of spiritual elite who will become the spiritual leaders for the rest of the black community, echoing the ideals of Karenga’s US Organization» — la estrategia de élite espiritual que Gregorius atribuye a Asante.

«He even mentions 250,000 Afrocentrists as the precise number necessary to achieve this transformation» — y la cifra exacta que Asante da, según Gregorius.

«Conversely, Asante rejects Du Bois’s theory of a double consciousness as being hostile to the interests of Africans» — el desacuerdo de Asante con Du Bois, consignado sin arbitrar.

«For Asante it is clear that people of African descent share a common mentality and spirit which makes it possible for them to intuitively feel and respond to African symbols and feel a connection to civilizations that have long since disappeared» — la premisa de Asante sobre una mentalidad africana compartida, según Gregorius.

«His arguments are similar to Karenga’s, but rather than seeing African religions as containing “spookism”, as Karenga does, Asante claims that African religions are based on the notion of God being immanent» — en qué se apartan Asante y Karenga sobre la religión africana, según Gregorius.

«What if African people, on the continent and in the Diaspora, looked to establish a Neo-Kemetic vision of the world? Would not the potential of this revolution be explosive in a positive way for creativity in politics, art, culture, science, philosophy, and architecture? Thus, those African leaders who speak about a renaissance of Africa must know that it is impossible without some appeal to a classical past» — el pasaje de Asante sobre la visión neokemética que Gregorius reproduce.

«Ausar and Auset are alternative names for Osiris and Isis, and the teachings of the society are based on a mixture of traditions that are all claimed to have their origins in Egypt» — qué es la Ausar Auset Society de Ra Un Nefer Amen, según Gregorius.

«Based on the indigenous traditional African cultures dating from the earliest documentable periods (Kamit [ancient Egypt], Indus Kush [pre-Aryan Vedantic India], Canaan [Palestine], and Kush [Ethiopia]), the classes taught revolve around the oldest religion known to mankind – the Ausarian religion of ancient Kamit. The Kamitic Tree of Life (Paut Neteru) forms the basis of the cosmogony (philosophy) of this ancient system. It reunites the traditions of the great Black founders of civilization, allowing us to weave their knowledge into a spiritually empowering way of life which aims at the awakening of the Ausar principle (the Divine Self) within each being» — la autodescripción de la sociedad que Gregorius cita de su página web; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The society considers man and God as being linked qualitatively but not quantitatively: a person has the potential for divine powers, but these are dormant within him until correct spiritual training awakens them» — la doctrina del hombre y lo divino de la sociedad, según Gregorius.

«The society does not embrace the idea of salvation by faith familiar from Christianity, but rather posits that one must act in accordance with the moral laws of the universe in order to reach a happy and spiritually fulfilled life» — y su oposición declarada a la salvación por la fe.

«The society adheres to the idea of sacred kingship, and the King also functions as the High Priest» — la forma de autoridad de la sociedad, según Gregorius.

«Ashby sees something similar in Egyptian descriptions of the gods and has created a yoga system based on the body poses of various deities in Egyptian hieroglyphs» — cómo construye Muata A. Ashby su yoga egipcio, según Gregorius, y con qué paralelo alemán.

«While many Afrocentric writers have a negative view of European civilization, it is rare to find overtly racist sentiments against white people as individuals» — el límite que Gregorius pone antes de entrar en la teoría de la melanina.

«Still, within the Afrocentric movement we do find ideas that seem to mirror white supremacist ideologies, and, just in the same manner, we do find that these ideas sometimes interact with spiritual ones. We can find theories that explain the need to “keep the race pure”, and ideas about magical possibilities related to the “blood of the race”» — y lo que sí encuentra: ideas que espejean al supremacismo blanco.

«White supremacy was the only functional racism; 2) all Third World peoples are victims of it; 3) racism is not merely an individual or institutional phenomena [sic], but a universal system of domination; and 4) that European theories and systems of political and economic organization are designed to establish, insure and expand white domination» — los cuatro puntos de Neeley Fuller que Karenga señala como base de Welsing, citados por Gregorius con el sic del troceo sobre phenomena.

«According to her, white supremacy could not be explained by economic or social factors, but was rather based on an inferiority complex that white people had. White people were lacking in colour, and thus feared people of colour as their presence was a constant reminder of this» — la explicación que Frances Cress Welsing da del supremacismo blanco, según Gregorius.

«Evidence of white supremacy could in Welsing’s mind be seen throughout society, from pool tables – where the white ball is used to strike all the coloured ones – to candy bars that represented the genitalia of black men which white people secretly wanted to consume» — los indicios que Welsing enumera, según Gregorius.

«According to Welsing, white people are the result of a mutation. Originally, existence was peaceful in an African matriarchy, but this was disrupted by the appearance of a genetic mutation: albinos. The mutants were expelled from Africa due to their inferiority» — el relato de origen de la raza blanca según Welsing, tal como Gregorius lo resume.

«Considering the recent violence against albinos in parts of Africa, Welsing’s ideas appear all the more disturbing» — y el comentario con que Gregorius lo acompaña.

«Black people were the first people on the planet. … White people … lost the color through a genetic mutation to albinism, which genetics defines as a genetic deficiency state and they were forced out of Africa into Europe. Scientists who classify themselves as White don’t want to say [this]. You can’t simultaneously think White is superior and then say that White is a genetic deficiency state. I look at the system of racism having come into being consciously because the White population recognized, after they circumnavigated the globe, that they were a tiny minority, fewer that [sic] one-tenth of the people on the planet. And they were geneticrecessive compared to the genetic dominance of people who produce color. They realized that they could be genetically annihilated and White people could, as a collective of people, disappear. They worked out a system for White survival, which entails dominating all of the Black, Brown, Red and Yellow people on the planet. So racism is a behavioral system for the survival of White people» — el pasaje de entrevista de Welsing que Gregorius reproduce, con el sic del troceo sobre fewer that; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice genetic-recessive donde la cita trae geneticrecessive.

«The system of white supremacy is, according to Welsing, based on controlling the coloured population by keeping them psychologically chained and unaware of their potential. One effect of this is a psychological state where people of colour feel inferior and regress to a childlike state, unaware of their inherent power» — cómo funciona ese sistema según Welsing, en el resumen de Gregorius.

«This power gives the black person almost superhuman abilities and Welsing theorizes that melanin even has magical qualities» — y el paso a lo mágico que Gregorius le atribuye.

«of melanin. Furthermore, Sirius B is presented as in some way acting as a reservoir of knowledge that people with high levels of melanin can tap into, as a sort of “Akashic chronicle” available only to certain races» — el papel que Welsing le da a Sirio B, según Gregorius, con la fórmula de la crónica akáshica.

«While all people of colour are, in Welsing’s opinions, victims of white supremacy, the particular focus is on black people. They are seen as a master race among the coloured people» — y la jerarquía que resulta dentro de su propio esquema.

«Welsing is treated as an acknowledged academic in scholarly Afrocentric journals like Journal of Black Studies and Journal of Black Psychology, so she cannot be dismissed as a fringe author in the field» — por qué Gregorius sostiene que Welsing no es marginal en su medio.

«In the works of another melanin theorist, Carol Barnes, we find that melanin makes a person almost divine» — el caso de Carol Barnes, más explícito que Welsing según Gregorius.

«There is also a smaller publishing industry that produces books on how to activate the power of melanin within you. These books often include health tips and different spiritual techniques like meditation by which this can be done» — la industria editorial que Gregorius describe alrededor de la melanina.

«founded by followers of Malcolm X and based on his legacy, the group soon focused increasingly on Karenga himself, who became a quasi-religious» — cómo se desplazó el centro de la US Organization, según Gregorius.

«While “spiritual” matters were seen as important, Karenga took a rather negative view on religion and particularly what he called “spookism” (i.e. belief in the supernatural). Karenga regarded God as being within the human being itself» — la posición de Karenga sobre lo sobrenatural, con el término émico que Gregorius conserva.

«We are an ancient people from an ancient civilization and we do not always use the ancient authority that melanin and our higher spiritual and mental status grants us. We are not humanistically on the same level as the Caucasian. We are biochemically and electromagnetically superior to them. Therefore, we must examine the inferior Caucasian from the superior African status. It may take some getting used to, but we are the chosen race from the spirit world and the race blessed by the Sun. We must take our position of world leadership on this planet or have no planet because the Caucasians will destroy it. I beg of you, do not let the Caucasian junk food diet or diseases make you a prisoner in your own body» — el pasaje de Llaila O. Afrika que Gregorius reproduce como ejemplo extremo de la teoría de la melanina; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Welsing and other melanin theorists are fond of interpreting human as “hue-man”, creating the impression that being human is to be coloured» — el juego etimológico que Gregorius documenta en las teorías de la melanina.

«CNS (central nervous system) plus EMS (essential melanic system) equals HB (human being). That the central nervous system combined with the essential melanic system is what makes you human. That in fact, to be human is to be black. To be human is to be black» — el pasaje de Wade Nobles que Gregorius cita a través de Bernard Ortez de Montellano.

«Bradley claims that white people are more violent and aggressive because their DNA contains elements of Neanderthal DNA, while black people are the only» — la teoría del hombre de hielo de Michael Bradley, según Gregorius; la frase se completa en la plana 80 diciendo que los negros son los únicos humanos puros.

«These ideas have been embraced by the Afrocentric scholar Leonard Jeffries who divides the world into black “sun people” and white “icemen”» — quién recogió esa teoría dentro del afrocentrismo, según Gregorius; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice ice-men donde la cita trae icemen.

«The ecology of the cave is different than the ecology of the riverbank.” Then a pause. “Cave vs. riverbank!” he (Jeffries) exclaims. People of European heritage acclimated themselves to caves and cold climates. Scavenging for food and resources to live on, they acquired their “dog-eat-dog values.” Sun people, by contrast, benefited from their warm ecology. “People who live on a riverbank with an abundance of coconuts become cooperative» — la reseña de las clases de Leonard Jeffries que Gregorius cita de Richard M. Benjamin.

«Jeffries has been involved in several legal battles and has endangered his academic career due to his statements concerning white people and Jews. The latter, he claims, were responsible for the slave trade» — las consecuencias de esas posiciones, según Gregorius, y la adjudicación de Jeffries sobre la trata.

«Molefi Kete Asante, while generally negative to overtly racist doctrines, has also looked favourably upon the ice-man theory, though it is generally downplayed in his writings» — la posición ambigua de Asante ante la teoría del hombre de hielo, consignada con su matiz.

«That there exists a moral and spiritual crisis that must be addressed has been one of the most common themes and goals for black activists since the 1700s» — el hilo común que Gregorius encuentra en todo el recorrido.

«Ideas about the need for some form of enlightened elite to lead the people are also common. What esoteric orders like Masonry historically gave people was a system by which this could be accomplished» — y qué aportaron las órdenes esotéricas a ese programa, según Gregorius.

«Esoteric ideas are used in conjunction with a larger narrative explaining the current situation for black people as being due to a lack of knowledge» — el relato en que se insertan las ideas esotéricas, según Gregorius; la frase se completa en la plana 81.

«One central aspect of this project is to rewrite history. In this discourse it has been common to embrace conspiracy theories and ideas about a lost, secret, and/or suppressed history» — el lugar de la conspiración y de la historia suprimida en ese programa, según Gregorius.

«While Asante claimed that there was a need for a social evolution in order for Afrocentricity to be born, the general rhetoric is based upon the idea of older and static wisdom» — la tensión que Gregorius señala entre la evolución que Asante pide y la retórica de sabiduría estática.

«Regarding religion, we see attempts to create alternative spiritualities that are not based upon Christianity or Islam, but rather on indigenous African traditions. God is often regarded as immanent, and the human being thus has the potential to awaken the divine within him-/herself» — el rasgo religioso común que Gregorius extrae: espiritualidades indígenas con Dios inmanente.

«As the sociologist Algernon Austin has argued, the development towards self-improvement, though in a highly collective form, can be seen as a means to continue after the decline of political radical groups from the 1970s» — la lectura de Algernon Austin que Gregorius recoge sobre el paso de lo político a la superación personal.

«Many Afrocentric writers are focused on the importance of family and relationships and how to sustain them. Often we find conservative and predominantly heteronormative views on marriage and family» — y el rasgo conservador que Gregorius consigna en esa literatura.

«While Afrocentricity is still a living movement in the USA, the culturally dominant role the movement had during the 1990s has declined. This has not only to do with political and social developments, but can also be attributed to Afrocentrists entering academia and establishing black studies programmes» — a qué atribuye Gregorius el declive del afrocentrismo, incluida la paradoja de su entrada en la academia.

«The critique comes not only from scholars of African and ancient history, but also from academics dealing with Afro-American history and philosophy who feel that the Afrocentric paradigm is limiting, unscientific, and based on untenable essentialist notions of culture and» — de dónde viene la crítica, según Gregorius; la frase termina en la plana 82 con la palabra raza.

«The Inclusion of black studies programmes, based on Afrocentric ideas, have also many times proved to be pyrrhic victories as the inclusions often were nothing more than symbolic» — el balance de Gregorius sobre esos programas; el troceo imprime Inclusion con mayúscula a media frase.

«Judging from the writings produced today, spirituality will continue to play a central role, even if the harsh critique of religions such as Christianity and Islam is being downplayed to further interreligious cooperation» — el pronóstico con que Gregorius cierra el capítulo 3, con su límite dentro.

«In this article, I will investigate how Anton Szandor LaVey (1930–97), who founded the Church of Satan in 1966, constructed a Satanic tradition in his texts, and to what use he put it» — lo que Per Faxneld se propone en el capítulo 4, con la fecha de fundación de la Church of Satan.

«What I shall look at here, however, is rather how LaVey himself makes ambiguous references to a supposed pre-existing Satanic tradition» — y en qué se distingue su pregunta de la de James R. Lewis, según Faxneld.

«But several of LaVey’s strategies for employing tradition harken back to approaches prevalent in Western esotericism, and are instantly recognizable to a scholar of such ideas» — por qué Faxneld lee a LaVey con las categorías del esoterismo occidental.

«he both utilizes historical predecessors in a way that is common within Western esotericism in general, and breaks with this common usage in a way similar to what we can observe among Chaos Magicians» — la doble operación que Faxneld le atribuye: usar el recurso común y romperlo a la vez.

«Satanic tradition, rather than Satanist tradition, is the more common emic term, which I shall also use here» — la decisión terminológica que Faxneld declara en nota, y su razón émica.

«LaVey discarded much of the old esoteric and Satanic material as useless and outdated, but he still emerges as dependent on it to a fairly large extent» — la tensión de partida que Faxneld describe en LaVey.

«I shall argue in this article that legitimation is not, as perhaps would be expected, the prime function of tradition for LaVey. Rather, he seems to deem tradition most useful for bringing about certain psychological effects» — la tesis del capítulo, en boca de Faxneld: la función principal de la tradición en LaVey no es legitimar.

«In order to get a more complete view of the theme discussed here, it would be necessary to also talk to a great number of Church of Satan members and study views concerning tradition» — el límite metodológico que Faxneld declara sobre su propio material.

«For the present article, I shall leave these questions aside and treat all LaVey’s works as written solely by him» — y la decisión que toma al respecto, con su razón.

«If we understand the question as pertaining to how long there has been an unbroken explicitly Satanic tradition, in the sense of a group of people adhering to a teaching of that type, the answer is quite simple: an enduring tradition of Satanism was initiated in 1966, when Anton LaVey founded the Church of Satan» — la respuesta que Faxneld da a la pregunta por la antigüedad del satanismo, con la condición que la sostiene.

«In this section of the article I will use a fairly broad definition of Satanism, where the term designates any more systematic and sustained celebration of Satan, as a symbolical or actually existing figure» — la definición de satanismo con que trabaja en ese tramo.

«A tradition, in turn, is here understood to be a set of more or less distinct ideas kept continuously alive by persons over a period of time spanning at least several decades» — y su definición operativa de tradición.

«Even if no one prior to 1966 inaugurated a tradition that remains in existence to this day, there were people who nourished an intense sympathy for the Devil long before LaVey» — el límite que Faxneld pone de inmediato a su propia respuesta.

«One exception is the Polish Decadent author Stanislaw Przybyszewski (1868–1927), who both openly referred to himself as a Satanist and developed a Satanic Weltanschauung through a series of works in different genres (novels, short stories, essays in history, art criticism). He could be said to be the first “proper” Satanist, as his literary exploration of such sympathies also resulted in a specific and lasting view of the world with Satan as its root metaphor» — a quién adjudica Faxneld el primer satanismo propiamente dicho, y por qué.

«This order had some features that can clearly be labelled Satanic, such as Luciferian masses, but whether they were pronounced enough to justify designating the entire system thus is questionable» — la reserva de Faxneld sobre la Fraternitas Saturni.

«I have earlier – in Faxneld, Mörkrets apostlar, 177–88 – argued they should indeed be labelled Satanists, but having pondered the matter for a few years more I am no longer quite as convinced this is appropriate» — la rectificación que Faxneld hace en nota de su propio libro anterior sobre la Fraternitas Saturni.

«Though some of them, like Kadosh, have inspired present-day Satanist groups, their ideas have not been passed down in an unbroken line of transmission» — la distinción que Faxneld mantiene entre inspiración y transmisión.

«The Theosophical Society and Fraternitas Saturni have both carried on activity to this day, but their specifically Satanic ideas have played very little or no part at all in the long run. These elements have, it seems, largely faded away with time» — qué pasó con los elementos satánicos de esas dos organizaciones, según Faxneld.

«The lack of evidence satisfying a scholar has not hindered some Satanists from making claims about very deep, but secret, historical roots for their lineages» — y lo que ese hueco documental no impide, según Faxneld.

«LaVey, as we shall see, instead chose to construct tradition in a rather more inclusive and generous manner where actual continuity, or even Satanic sympathies in the supposed predecessors, are deemed to be of less importance» — en qué se aparta LaVey de esos reclamos de continuidad, según Faxneld.

«To some extent, LaVey uses references to historical Satanism to strengthen his legitimacy. More importantly, however, he utilizes (consciously constructed) tradition as a tool in the same way demons or inverted pentagrams are used» — el desplazamiento de función que Faxneld describe: la tradición como herramienta, igual que el pentagrama invertido.

«LaVey is at most times explicitly primarily interested in what functions “traditional” Satanic symbols, rituals, and historiographic narratives have, not their pedigree or formal veracity itself» — lo que a LaVey le importa de sus símbolos, según Faxneld.

«A case in point is the Black Mass, which, according to LaVey, should be used to rid oneself of inhibitions and false ideals by blaspheming current holy cows. The point is not to please Satan or mock Christianity, as would typically be believed about this ritual, but to decondition the participant» — para qué sirve la misa negra según LaVey, en la lectura de Faxneld.

«In the 1960s, LaVey opines, it would be more useful to denigrate the widely popular psychedelic movement by trampling an LSD tablet underfoot instead of communion wafers» — el ejemplo con que LaVey lo ilustra, recogido por Faxneld.

«For this reason, older blasphemous rituals can never be used unaltered since they cannot be expected to have the intended effect on a present-day person» — la consecuencia que Faxneld extrae para el uso de rituales antiguos.

«One important feature in how he views this phenomenon is that he deems it necessary during rituals to evoke a sense of wonder and amazement, temporarily shutting down critical, intellectual thinking. This is done in order to achieve the magician’s goal, “to expand his will”. The room where the ritual takes place becomes an “intellectual decompression chamber» — cómo entiende LaVey el ritual mágico, en la exposición de Faxneld, con sus dos expresiones.

«The tall tales being told – of Templars, secret fraternities, Middle Eastern Satanic rites, esoteric knowledge being passed from initiate to initiate, and so on – must be understood in relation to the “willing suspension of disbelief” taking place in the ritual chamber» — y en qué marco hay que leer sus historias de templarios y fraternidades secretas, según Faxneld.

«By consciously setting aside critical thinking in a particular ritual situation, they can allow for mechanical devices (the shaking of metal plates to simulate sudden thunder, etc.) to amaze them and make the situation even more numinous» — el mecanismo que Faxneld toma de Peter Jackson para leer esa suspensión.

«LaVey suggests “faking” this belief too, simply to achieve the useful effects a (temporary) traditional religious/esoteric mindset can have» — y en qué se aparta LaVey de los casos antiguos de Jackson, según Faxneld.

«This book was written because, with very few exceptions, every tract and paper, every ‘secret’ grimoire, all the ‘great works’ on the subject of magic, are nothing but sanctimonious fraud» — la diatriba con que abre The Satanic Bible, citada por Faxneld.

«Those with the greatest degree of natural magical ability are often far too busy with other activities to learn the ‘finer’ points of the Sephiroth, Tarot, I Ching, etc» — el desprecio de LaVey por el aparato esotérico, en cita de Faxneld.

«But then he immediately adds: “This is not intended to suggest that there is no value in arcane wisdom» — y la salvedad inmediata que Faxneld subraya.

«Having access to such a reservoir, a “Satanist can easily invent fairy tales to match anything contained in holy writ”, but at the same time – unlike his Christian compatriot – admitting his invention is fictitious» — qué uso le queda a ese depósito de fantasía, según la lectura de Faxneld.

«The concept of a long and mysterious tradition informing his Satanism, an idea he does propagate, is – just like Satan, ritual robes, altars, and so on – a colourful and evocative backdrop to psychodrama of the type he prescribes» — la respuesta que da: la tradición como telón de fondo del psicodrama.

«At least this was probably his intention. However, during my fieldwork among North American Satanists (most of whom were not members of the Church of Satan, but often still very much inspired by LaVey), it has become clear to me that many read him as literally an inheritor of secret esoteric traditions» — y el límite que Faxneld le pone con su propio trabajo de campo, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«Thus, when LaVey utilizes stereotypical esoteric markers of legitimacy and high age, such as references to the Knights Templar as predecessors, many fail to see the ironic smile and mischievous glint in his eye» — lo que, según Faxneld, se les escapa a esos lectores.

«When he brings to the fore the Yezidi as the originators of most Satanism to come, he does this for the reason that it is evocative and sets the proper mood, regardless of if it is a historically “correct” tradition that he sketches» — el caso de los yezidíes como origen del satanismo, leído por Faxneld como recurso de atmósfera.

«Still, if the occasional “rube” was duped and figured the “traditional” elements a good reason to pay the membership fee in the Church of Satan, LaVey would probably not have minded» — la reserva con que Faxneld acota su propia lectura benévola.

«To a great extent, it would seem LaVey has suffered a fate similar to that of another great humorist and ironic, Aleister Crowley, who is also often read too literally» — el paralelo que Faxneld traza con Aleister Crowley.

«The English magician wrote of having celebrated child sacrifices 150 times a year between 1912 and 1928.30 Of course, what he meant was that he had masturbated frequently in sex magical rites, thus spilling seed containing potential children. A great many people, though in this case hardly any among his actual followers, did not comprehend this obvious joke and thought Crowley a child murderer» — y el ejemplo con que lo sostiene: los sacrificios de niños de Crowley leídos al pie de la letra.

«As is well known, The Satanic Bible contains a prologue borrowed from Ragnar Redbeard» — el primer problema de autoría que Faxneld consigna sobre The Satanic Bible; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«Michael Aquino wrote some sections in The Satanic Rituals, and it has been claimed that Diane Hegarty, LaVey’s partner from 1960 to 1985, also contributed to his early texts» — y los otros dos: Michael Aquino en The Satanic Rituals y la contribución atribuida a Diane Hegarty.

«In the context of Western esotericism, one of the first to express unequivocal praise of Satan was H. P. Blavatsky, cofounder and front figure of the Theosophical Society» — el lugar de H. P. Blavatsky en la historia del elogio a Satán, según Faxneld.

«If her system is considered as a whole, however, these ideas are peripheral» — y la acotación inmediata de Faxneld sobre el peso de esas ideas dentro del sistema teosófico.

«The first person to build an entire esoteric system around Satan, though admittedly a rather» — quién fue el primero en armar un sistema esotérico entero alrededor de Satán, según Faxneld; la frase sigue en la plana 86.

«minuscule one, was the obscure Danish occultist Ben Kadosh (Carl William Hansen, 1872–1936). He did not manage to gather more than a handful of adherents to this teaching, at most, possibly none at all» — el nombre y el alcance de ese sistema, con la reserva de Faxneld sobre el número de adherentes.

«LaVey dryly remarks: “one no longer reads a Victorian romance for sexual titillation» — la frase de LaVey con que Faxneld remata el punto sobre los rituales antiguos.

«Given such frank admissions, how are we to read LaVey’s use of the stereotypical arsenal of esoteric legitimization devices? He has, after all, practically invalidated all religious ideas as such and lowered their status to that of fairy» — la pregunta que Faxneld se plantea a partir de esas admisiones; la frase termina en la plana 89 con la palabra tales.

«For example, LaVey’s dividing of history into different eras and ages, where the latter bear the mark of either Fire or Ice (symbolizing different religious/moral ideals), is very similar to concepts familiar from Theosophy and Thelema» — el préstamo estructural que Faxneld detecta en LaVey: las eras de Fuego y de Hielo.

«LaVey, who was reasonably familiar with esoteric source material, developed his own creed in dialogue with it, discarding most of its intricate metaphysics with a happy grin, but always keeping that which was useful for his goals» — cómo trabajaba LaVey con el material esotérico, según Faxneld.

«Man needs ceremony and ritual, fantasy and enchantment» — la frase de The Satanic Bible con que Faxneld sostiene ese uso instrumental.

«By fiercely attacking the esotericists of old, and then still making ample use of their material, for example John Dee’s Enochian language (almost half of The Satanic Bible consists of a reworking of Dee’s material),33 LaVey can both have his cake and throw it in the garbage can» — la fórmula de Faxneld para la doble operación, con el dato del enoquiano de John Dee dentro.

«But if one has the right understanding of it, LaVey seems to say, much that is useful can be salvaged and incorporated into a new and entirely rational tradition – that still has continuity with the past» — lo que, según Faxneld, LaVey deja en pie tras el rechazo.

«LaVey, in short, is not blind to how attractive high age is to many when it comes to ideas, but pairs the appeal of tradition with rational, materialistic interpretations more in unison with his time» — y el balance que Faxneld hace de esa combinación.

«Theosophist Henry Olcott, for instance, held up his society as the inheritors of a tradition encompassing Albertus Magnus, Cagliostro, Pico della Mirandola, Paracelsus, Cornelius Agrippa, alchemists, Rosicrucians, and many others» — el ejemplo de genealogía esotérica con que Faxneld arranca, tomado de Henry Olcott.

«In more recent times, there has been a decreasing tendency to explicitly view older generations of esoteric writers as spiritual forebears. The more or less tangible initiatory chain Antoine Faivre has written of is no longer quite as essential to all practitioners» — la tendencia reciente que Faxneld señala, contra la cadena iniciática de Antoine Faivre.

«LaVey is not, as perhaps would have been expected, disinterested in esoteric genealogies. In fact, he spends quite a few pages on delineating them» — y lo que Faxneld encuentra en LaVey contra esa expectativa.

«Ordo Templi Orientis, LaVey states in The Satanic Bible, were “practicing some of the principles set forth in this volume» — lo que LaVey adjudica a la Ordo Templi Orientis, en cita de Faxneld.

«The main symbol of the Church of Satan, the Sigil of Baphomet, was according to LaVey “used by the Knights Templar to represent Satan» — el origen que LaVey da al Sigilo de Bafomet, según Faxneld.

«Occasionally LaVey also makes claims to possess esoteric knowledge, in the sense of something truly secret, passed down between initiates only. For example, he states concerning a supposedly Russian ritual: “Oral communication and fraternal legacy have made the following rite available» — los reclamos de transmisión secreta que Faxneld documenta en LaVey.

«Using a familiar line of argument, he also makes himself out to be the custodian of a higher wisdom than that of older esotericists, incorporating their systems but surpassing them» — la estrategia de superación que Faxneld le atribuye.

«For example, “L’Air epais”, a putatively Templar-constructed rite that LaVey presents, is according to him an expression of an insight supreme to that disseminated in Freemasonry, and could be called a thirtyfourth degree, above the thirty-three in Masonic systems» — y el ejemplo con que la muestra: un grado treinta y cuatro por encima de los treinta y tres masónicos; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice thirty-fourth donde la cita trae thirtyfourth.

«Clearly, tradition is not unimportant to this writer, even if he may often be cheerfully disrespectful towards it» — el balance de Faxneld sobre el peso de la tradición en LaVey.

«He is sharply critical of some examples of historical Satanism, and for instance labels La Voisin’s activities in seventeenth century France “organized fraud” and “degraded”» — lo que LaVey rechaza del satanismo histórico, según Faxneld.

«Some other predecessors fare better, notably Sir Francis Dashwood and his eighteenth-century Hell-Fire Club» — y lo que salva: el Hell-Fire Club de Francis Dashwood.

«Dashwood, according to LaVey, “managed to conduct rituals replete with good dirty fun, and certainly provided a colorful and harmless form of psychodrama» — el juicio de LaVey sobre Dashwood, citado por Faxneld.

«There had always been a Satanic underground, centuries old, but there had never been an organized Satanic religion, practicing openly» — la fórmula de Blanche Barton que Faxneld cita: un submundo antiguo, pero ninguna religión organizada.

«Barton quotes LaVey concerning Benjamin Franklin’s involvement with this clique of influential men: “If people knew of the role the Hell Fire Club played in Benjamin Franklin’s structuring of America, it could suggest changes like: ‘One nation, under Satan,’ or ‘United Satanic America» — lo que LaVey dice de Benjamin Franklin y el Hell-Fire Club, en cita de Faxneld.

«Setting the club in such a historical frame has some similarity to conspiracy theory – though one which celebrates the machinations of the secret cabal instead of worrying about it» — la lectura que Faxneld propone de esa maniobra.

«This construction of tradition may be done tongue in cheek, but even half-jokes will have an effect when told many times» — y la reserva con que la acota.

«There is a tension in LaVey’s texts between wanting to be the founder of the first real Satanic society, and referring to (often prestigious, like Franklin) historical figures and groups as predecessors» — la tensión que Faxneld sostiene que recorre los textos de LaVey.

«only person in recorded history to codify Satanism into an applicable religion is Anton Szandor LaVey» — el aforismo de LaVey que Faxneld cita del final de Satan Speaks!.

«These are rather guarded phrasings. Since “an applicable religion” is a subjective assessment, and how to define “organization” and “above-ground” is not self-evident either, it is hard to argue against LaVey being first» — la lectura que Faxneld hace de esas fórmulas: son inatacables porque son subjetivas.

«If the Church of Satan was according to its own historical narrative the first Satanic organization of note (and most scholars would agree), Anton LaVey certainly never tried to lay claim to being the first Satanist» — la distinción que Faxneld mantiene: primera organización, no primer satanista.

«Most of these were decidedly not Satanists in the sense that they used Satanic symbolism, but can still be labelled thus if one employs the rather inclusive criteria suggested by LaVey under the heading de facto Satanists» — por qué esos precursores de Barton solo cuentan bajo el criterio laveyano.

«sometimes historical, sometimes contemporary”, who he “would identify as de facto Satanists, even though they might not have called themselves that because of the times they lived in. But by their actions, their writings, their attitudes, you can see that they were Satanists through and through» — la definición de satanista de facto que LaVey da en entrevista con Barton, citada por Faxneld.

«He writes of Galileo and Leonardo da Vinci that they “most certainly were Satanic in the sense that they expressed ideas and theories destined to break down the status quo» — los dos ejemplos tempranos que Faxneld documenta antes de que exista el término.

«The pseudo-Satanist has always managed to appear throughout modern history, with his black masses of varying degrees of blasphemy; but the real Satanist is not quite so easily recognized as such» — la distinción de LaVey entre pseudosatanista y satanista real, citada por Faxneld.

«The real Satanists are simply the most successful individuals in any given time, and not the people who celebrate Satan» — cómo queda definido el satanista real, según Faxneld.

«Since Satan to LaVey is a thing of fairy tale, a pure construct and useful symbolic tool, it would be absurd to make him the focal point in the same way God is for a Jew. Celebrating Satan is thus not necessary in order to be a (de facto) Satanist» — la razón que Faxneld da para que celebrar a Satán no sea necesario en ese esquema.

«However, LaVey holds up men like Rasputin and Cagliostro as examples of successful persons who, he claims, incidentally also dabbled in the black arts» — y la tensión que Faxneld señala: los ejemplos concretos sí traen artes ocultas.

«Even if the esoteric is explicitly said not to be a necessary ingredient in the making of a real Satanist, many of the actual examples provided have allegedly been involved with at least some form of esoteric practices. Hence, a tradition is constructed that does overlap with older esoteric historiography» — la consecuencia que Faxneld extrae de esa tensión.

«Satanism, he says, has its roots in figures that “are all Satanic, always have been, but just might not have been labeled that yet. There has always been a genetic strain of Satanists, but it’s just now getting to the point where we can stand up to identify ourselves and our forebears» — la cepa genética de satanistas que LaVey postula, en cita de Faxneld.

«can be viewed as a form of Satanist perennialism: there is a worldview which has always existed, in all cultures and times, but has not been known under a single name» — cómo lee Faxneld ese esquema: un perennialismo satánico.

«The notion of unity of all religious faiths, a prevalent legend among esotericists, is given a different spin by LaVey» — cómo reformula LaVey la unidad de las religiones, según Faxneld.

«Where Theosophists and many New Agers would claim all religions are basically the same at their core, for example, LaVey divides them into Right-Hand and Left-Hand Path varieties that stand in opposition to one another. But within each of these distinct categories, different creeds are pretty much alike: the left liberates and the right represses» — y en qué consiste esa reformulación: dos vías opuestas, homogéneas por dentro.

«According to LaVey, the Templars encountered the Yezidi during their journeys and as a result later developed “one of the most significant rites of Satanism» — la conexión histórica que LaVey postula entre templarios y yezidíes, según Faxneld.

«That the Templars were Satanists – in the sense that they revered Satan – is decidedly emic historiography, as scholarly experts on them agree they were certainly nothing of the sort» — la objeción que Faxneld pone en nota a esa conexión, adjudicándola a la historiografía émica.

«In his appropriation of various exotic elements, LaVey utilizes the esotericist strategy described by Olav Hammer where the use of correspondences hides» — la estrategia de Olav Hammer que Faxneld reconoce en LaVey; la frase termina en la plana 96 con las diferencias culturales.

«Perhaps this undercurrent is easy to perceive because many of the rituals have been constructed by LaVey himself, and do not have the origin in distant places and times he claims» — la explicación alternativa que Faxneld propone para esa corriente subterránea.

«This does not mean LaVey is a liar, any more than is the case with an author of fiction employing his inventiveness and poetic licence. Incensed reactions accusing him of forgery, as I have frequently encountered among Satanists not belonging to the Church of Satan, simply miss the point» — y la defensa que Faxneld le hace frente a las acusaciones de falsificación.

«The Satanic “tradition”, ritual texts, even Satan himself, are all fiction to LaVey. They are consciously constructed by him to be used with certain purposes, not as something to believe in the same way a Mormon clings to the veracity of Joseph Smith’s texts or a devout Pentecostal views God» — el estatuto que Faxneld le da a todo el material: ficción consciente, no objeto de fe.

«We are not limited to one deity, but encompass all the expressions of the accuser or the one who advocates free thought and rational alternatives by whatever name he is called in a particular time and land. It so happens that we are living in a culture that is predominantly Judeo-Christian, so we emphasize Satan» — por qué Satán y no otra figura, según LaVey en cita de Faxneld.

«But the reasons why LaVey advocates transcultural bricolage are quite different from those of Blavatsky or New Age writers. When he boldly proclaims “You aren’t limited to Judeo-Christian myths”, the motivation has nothing to do with a supposed unity of figures – taken from different contexts – on a level of true esoteric understanding, but is based on his view of religious ideas as simply colourful fiction: “Unlike those who depend on dogma and blind faith, you can choose your fictions to live by» — en qué se aparta el bricolaje de LaVey del de Blavatsky y la New Age, según Faxneld.

«His perennialism and use of material from other cultures thus has highly pragmatic rationalist underpinnings, instead of being grounded in mystical insights. Interestingly, he still often ends up handling his material in much the same way esotericists in general do» — el balance con que Faxneld cierra ese tramo, sin resolver la paradoja.

«the latter’s description in his novel Là-Bas (“Down There”, 1891; published in English as The Damned) seems to be the main source of inspiration, and thus LaVey’s claim that his ritual “is the version performed by the Societé des Luciferiens in late nineteenth and early twentieth century France” needs to be taken with a grain of salt» — la fuente literaria real de la misa negra de LaVey, según Faxneld, contra la atribución que el propio LaVey le da.

«These are not the words of a representative of a group that considers itself steeped in ancient tradition, but of a group whose founder fully admits to having constructed its rituals based on fiction» — lo que Faxneld saca de la formulación de Barton.

«Literary tradition seems to serve a more conventional legitimating function than esoteric tradition. The Church of Satan obviously enjoys the cultural capital and historical legitimacy Satanism gains from old literary panegyrics to Lucifer» — la distinción que Faxneld introduce entre tradición literaria y tradición esotérica en LaVey.

«Carducci’s credentials as a Satanist include not only his worldly successes and overt opposition to Christianity but his writing of the highly controversial poem, Inno a Satana» — el argumento de R. Merciless sobre Giosuè Carducci en el sitio de la Church of Satan, citado por Faxneld.

«Even if Carducci would not have used the term Satanist about himself, he all the same, “Merciless” proudly proclaims, belongs “firmly within the Satanic tradition» — y la conclusión que Merciless saca, recogida por Faxneld.

«Embedding his rituals in a literary tradition, LaVey creates cultural legitimacy for them. They are not invented on the spot, but have the dignity of the literary canon to support them» — la función que Faxneld le adjudica a esa tradición literaria.

«This could potentially be viewed in the light of how one of his heroes, horror author H. P. Lovecraft, created elaborate pseudo-history concerning his fictitious tome of esoteric lore, The Necronomicon, in order to generate the right mood» — el paralelo con H. P. Lovecraft y el Necronomicón que Faxneld propone.

«The fact that LaVey also provides rituals based directly on Lovecraft’s fiction should be enough for anyone to see that he does not make a clear distinction between evocative fiction and actual historical tradition» — y lo que ese hecho muestra, según Faxneld.

«The Doctor [the honorary title his adherents use when speaking of him] would say: ‘None of it is authentic, but we’ll use whatever props work best.’ … Authenticity was not an issue for him. He was a showman, he was a practical person» — lo que el actual sumo sacerdote Peter H. Gilmore dice de la relación de LaVey con la tradición, en entrevista con Faxneld.

«LaVey’s often breezy attitude towards tradition prompted many of his later competitors in the Satanic milieu to contrast themselves with him by making stronger appeals to tradition» — la reacción que ese estilo provocó en el medio satánico, según Faxneld.

«On the other hand, their appeals to ancient arcane wisdom and secret lineages are quite possibly also a conscious strategy to build legitimacy in a way differing from LaVey’s successful methods (appeals to rationality/science, personal charisma, and only to a lesser extent tradition» — la lectura estratégica que Faxneld propone de esos reclamos rivales, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«LaVey has described how he looked for Satanists before founding the Church of Satan, but did not find any» — el relato de LaVey sobre su búsqueda previa, recogido por Faxneld.

«This is similar to how Graham Harvey speculates that Gerald Gardner searched for “traditional Witches”, but without much success. Eventually, after the founding of Wicca, others stepped forward and proclaimed they, unlike Gardner, were in fact truly traditional Witches» — el paralelo con Gerald Gardner y la Wicca que Faxneld toma de Graham Harvey.

«As Harvey has pointed out, neopagans “are usually fully aware of the disjunctions between the past and the present”, and know very well that they are making a reconstruction based on scanty sources» — lo que Harvey sostiene sobre la consciencia histórica de los neopaganos, según Faxneld.

«The very fact that neopaganism is an invented tradition can also be considered part of its appeal, since people can then freely continue inventing» — y la vuelta de tuerca que Faxneld recoge: lo inventado es parte del atractivo.

«to find authenticity in alleged historicity”. To Harvey, there is an inherent paradox in consciously creating rituals “to provide a semblance of antiquity» — la paradoja que Harvey señala y que Faxneld discute.

«If neopagans have similar ideas as LaVey, as I suspect at least some of them do, the paradox is dissolved. The “willing suspension of disbelief” in the ritual context then becomes an instrument to make the rituals more effective» — cómo se disuelve esa paradoja, según Faxneld, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«Seldom will you hear a founder in a (more or less) religious context state frankly “I simply made this stuff up just now”. LaVey does not say so either, though he not-so-tacitly admits to freely picking and choosing whatever is fun and colourful from older tradition, without any pretence at mystical insight concerning the material» — lo que LaVey admite y lo que no, según Faxneld.

«When I interviewed prominent Left-Hand Path adherents Zeena (estranged daughter of Anton LaVey) and Nikolas Schreck in 2005, they were very clear that they would happily modify their beliefs and practices in accordance with any new convincing scholarly findings pertaining to the Egyptian god Set, the main focus of their spirituality» — el caso de Zeena LaVey y Nikolas Schreck, que Faxneld documenta por entrevista propia.

«Their emphasis on “correct” tradition therefore leads to their own worldview being open to shifts in academic opinions concerning the ancient religious material they are employing to construct “tradition”» — la consecuencia que Faxneld extrae de esa disposición.

«LaVey would never have felt any need to make changes in his system to harmonize it with the latest word from academia» — el contraste con LaVey.

«Since Rudolf Steiner was able to gain mystical insights about the Guardian of the Threshold, research demonstrating the fact that this concept was derived from the fiction of Edward Bulwer-Lytton would to an Anthroposophist simply be a reflection of the scholar’s lacking mystical abilities that hinder a higher understanding of esoteric tradition» — el ejemplo con que Faxneld muestra la otra manera de blindarse: la de un antropósofo ante el origen literario del Guardián del Umbral.

«Bluntly put, esoteric tradition is simply fun fluff to him, helping to create an appropriate atmosphere for his activities, just like plastic devil-horns, fake skulls, and arcane symbols» — la razón distinta por la que LaVey queda a salvo, según Faxneld.

«The potential psychological effects of silly costumes and playful constructions of tradition are, however, anything but a joke to LaVey» — y el límite con que Faxneld lo dice: el disfraz es broma, el efecto no.

«Though Anton LaVey may be sceptical of esotericism as a “religious” belief, and frequently mocks esoteric systems as old-fashioned rubbish, he nevertheless makes much use of its tropes» — el planteamiento con que Faxneld abre su conclusión.

«The most common reason for inventing a religious tradition and creating an emic historiography is, as Hammer and Lewis put it, that this “confers legitimacy to religious claims and practices» — la función corriente que Hammer y Lewis adjudican a la tradición inventada, citada por Faxneld.

«At least the first two are clearly observable in the Church of Satan. But more important, I contend, are the openly displayed and consciously utilized mechanics of tradition as moodcreating spectacle for purely instrumental purposes» — y lo que Faxneld sostiene que pesa más en este caso; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice mood-creating donde la cita trae moodcreating.

«Hence, Anton LaVey should not be considered a counterfeiter of tradition, but a person quite openly playing with the psychological effects of tradition, and inviting others to take part in this game» — la tesis con que Faxneld cierra el capítulo 4.

«The answer is probably not – as some might suggest – only Anton LaVey and his church’s bank account, but the individual member as well, who gains psychological benefits both in and outside of the ritual chamber» — a quién beneficia esa tradición medio jugada, según Faxneld.

«My statement concerning the view of tradition among “most” Church of Satan members is quite impressionistic, and is based on very limited fieldwork in combination with regular reading of various Internet forums for Satanists during the last decade. Admittedly, the analysis is hence very preliminary, and needs more substantiation» — la reserva que Faxneld pone en nota sobre el alcance de su propio trabajo de campo.

«In one of his more bombastic essays, first published in 1970, LaVey writes of forebears who were “tortured as agents of Satan”, and pours scorn on those dabblers in the occult today who refuse to accept the label of Satanist» — el reproche de LaVey a los ocultistas que rehúyen la etiqueta de satanista, citado por Faxneld.

«which “killed their brothers and sisters of the past”.39 Their refusal to do so besmirches “the names of those who bore the mark of brand and tongs and gazed upon their dead and dying with curses softly spoken» — y lo que esa negativa mancilla, según LaVey, en la continuación del mismo pasaje.

«Toward the end of the essay the Templars are mentioned, giving them the position of Satanic pioneers» — el uso de los templarios como pioneros satánicos; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«Making this group part of one’s own genealogy is of course among the most common devices of esoteric legitimation» — y cómo lo clasifica Faxneld: recurso clásico de legitimación esotérica.

«It is interesting to note that this perennialist approach to Satanism is not entirely novel. Already Stanislaw Przybyszewski, mentioned earlier in this chapter, had practically the same view» — el antecedente que Faxneld señala en Przybyszewski para el perennialismo satánico.

«LaVey, however, did not derive this idea from the Pole, but from a less specific reservoir of esotericist concepts» — y el límite con que lo dice: no hay filiación directa.

«he explains, “is a blend of Gnostic, cabbalistic, Hermetic, and masonic elements” and even if he freely mixes practices from a variety of different countries and times “it will be easy to perceive a basic undercurrent through the central variants» — lo que LaVey declara sobre la composición de su ritual, en cita de Faxneld.

«Chaos Magick1 is an innovation of twentieth-century occultism that draws influence from a variety of sources, including occultists such as Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare» — cómo sitúa Colin Duggan la Chaos Magick al abrir el capítulo 5; el troceo pega la llamada de nota al término.

«It began in the late 1970s with the publication of Peter Carroll’s Liber Null and Ray Sherwin’s The Book of Results in 1978» — la fecha y los dos textos fundacionales que Duggan le adjudica.

«There have been very few scholarly commentaries on Chaos Magick, and most of those that have been produced lack the methodological and theoretical components required to build common terminology and further understanding» — el estado de la cuestión que Duggan describe, y por qué escribe.

«Of the scholars who have commented on Chaos Magick, Dave Evans has proved to be the most thorough with the historical analysis he offers in The History of British Magick After Crowley, despite his claim that an accurate overall history of Chaos Magick “may not yet be possible» — a quién reconoce Duggan como el estudio más completo, con la reserva del propio Evans dentro.

«Chaos Magick is capitalized and spelled with a “k” in this chapter as this is how it most often appears in the primary sources. The addition of the “k” is due to the influence of the British occultist Aleister Crowley, who introduced this convention» — la decisión ortográfica que Duggan declara en nota, y a quién adjudica la k.

«This chapter will take Chaos Magick as its example and investigate how tradition and perennialism are used to legitimize innovation among its practitioners» — lo que Duggan se propone en el capítulo.

«a] category in the study of religions, which comprises all attempts by esotericists to come to terms with a disenchanted world or, alternatively, by people in general to make sense of esotericism from the perspective of a disenchanted secular world» — la definición de ocultismo de Hanegraaff que Duggan adopta como punto de partida.

«The definition has, however, been problematized by Marco Pasi, who outlines the different uses of the term and suggests more specific characterizations than Hanegraaff» — la objeción de Marco Pasi que Duggan recoge.

«he insists that “the spiritual realisation of the individual” and the role of the traditional “occult sciences” are vital to any thorough understanding of the term» — lo que Pasi exige de toda definición de ocultismo, según Duggan.

«Pasi’s characterization is relevant when considering late twentieth-century developments where the focus shifts from the institutional occultism of groups like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to the radical subjectivity of developments like Chaos Magick» — por qué Duggan prefiere la caracterización de Pasi para el siglo XX tardío.

«Since magick is an individualist pursuit the individual must always be of paramount importance and anyone who denies this is looking for profit or power or does not know any better» — la frase de Ray Sherwin con que Duggan sostiene el individualismo de la Chaos Magick.

«Late twentieth-century occultism takes into account factors such as increasing access to a large amount of information and the increasing democratization of text production» — los dos factores con que Duggan distingue el ocultismo del siglo XX tardío.

«The ancient Greek term mageía, which is at the origin of all modern words related to “magic”, had a Persian origin, and served to indicate, since its adoption by Greek culture, religious activities considered to be exotic, unsanctioned, or forbidden. The term kept these mostly negative connotations in Roman culture, where it was translated as magia» — la historia temprana del término magia que Duggan cita de Marco Pasi.

«Pasi also notes the role played by late nineteenth-century scholars, working in the social sciences, in universalizing the category of “magic” and the strong tendency to cast magic as a primitive form of religion» — el papel que Pasi adjudica a las ciencias sociales decimonónicas en la universalización de la categoría, según Duggan.

«These were typically based on the inherent harmony in the cosmos as created by a loving God. However, there were also contemporaneous accusations that any effects observed in magic were actually being carried out by some kind of intermediary demon associated with the Christian devil» — las dos lecturas renacentistas de la magia que Duggan resume de Hanegraaff.

«An outstanding example of this shift is the early twentieth-century British occultist Austin Osman Spare who claimed a wholly psychologized system of magic» — el caso que Duggan pone como ejemplo del giro psicologizado.

«Aleister Crowley also played a major role in this shift, but displayed ambivalence on the issue of magical efficacy on more than one occasion» — y la ambivalencia que Duggan consigna en Crowley sobre la eficacia mágica.

«Chaos Magicians are also quick to claim the influence of chaos theory and the modern proliferation of information on their conception of magic» — de qué se reclaman deudores los magos del caos, según Duggan.

«m]agick has always been a study of the mind and how to make use of its latent powers. Some of these powers are still considered by most people to be supernormal. It also sought to use the powers the people saw in nature» — la definición de magia de Ray Sherwin que Duggan cita de The Theatre of Magick.

«The key idea here is the belief that humans can develop and improve themselves through the use of some system of magical practices» — la idea de fondo que Duggan extrae de esa línea psicologizada.

«One is struck by the individualism that resonates throughout the chaos magical movement to such a degree that one can hardly speak of a chaos magical tradition even if there is an order of “Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros» — el juicio de Versluis sobre el individualismo de la Chaos Magick que Duggan recoge.

«The strategies employed in the texts of Chaos Magick demonstrate that there is no self-contained “chaos magical tradition” but that Chaos Magick is an innovation of twentieth-century occultism» — la tesis que Duggan opone a la idea de una tradición mágica del caos.

«It makes a set of claims about a constructed tradition of magic which are then modified by individuals to suit» — y qué hace en su lugar, según Duggan; la frase termina en la plana 106.

«Many of the texts have been reproduced in electronic versions and are readily available online, and while some of these have been illegally distributed, others are self-published e-books allowing the author access to a broad audience» — cómo circulan los textos de la Chaos Magick, según Duggan.

«This study will restrict itself to the primary texts by a number of authors associated with the emergence and development of Chaos Magick. Due to limited space a number of other authors are not included» — el límite de corpus que Duggan declara.

«Kerry Thornley and Gregory Hill claim to have founded Discordianism in 1958 or 1959 after a revelatory experience at a bowling alley in a Los Angeles suburb» — el relato fundacional del discordianismo que Duggan consigna como reclamo de sus autores.

«Both order and disorder are manmade concepts and are artificial divisions of PURE CHAOS, which is a level deeper than the level of distinction making» — la tesis de la Principia Discordia sobre el caos que Duggan cita.

«Discordianism places a lot of emphasis on humour; the Principia Discordia states that “occultists have been blinded to what is [sic] perhaps the two most important pairs of apparent or earth-plane opposites: ORDER/DISORDER and SERIOUS/HUMOROUS» — el reproche discordiano a los ocultistas que Duggan cita, con el sic del troceo sobre what is.

«There are clear relationships and similarities between the three developments mentioned here and the division is largely an artificial one» — la reserva que Duggan pone a su propia separación de los tres desarrollos.

«A major problem in researching these publications is access, particularly to those that were published in pamphlet form, as they are generally in the hands of private collectors» — el muro documental que Duggan declara sobre las revistas del medio.

«Others were published with issue numbers to give the impression that the publication had been in print for longer than it actually had» — y la trampa bibliográfica que consigna en esas publicaciones.

«the texts used here are representative simply because they have been the most pervasive, successful texts, and therefore have been the first texts encountered by interested parties seeking to learn about Chaos Magick» — el criterio de representatividad con que Duggan elige sus fuentes.

«t]he latest innovation and the ageless tradition are perceived to be essentially the same» — la fórmula de Olav Hammer sobre la amnesia de fuentes que Duggan toma como herramienta.

«However, it will be shown in the following sections that different appeals to tradition emphasize one or other of these two aspects of tradition. Emphasizing either the latest innovation or the ageless tradition is used as a strategy to legitimize individual reinterpretations in Chaos Magick» — y el uso que Duggan le dará, desdoblando los dos polos de esa fórmula.

«The ambivalent appeal to tradition is used to distinguish one’s self and one’s innovations from those of one’s predecessors» — la función que Duggan adjudica a la apelación ambivalente a la tradición.

«w]riters will attempt to stress continuity and disregard change, a legitimizing process that has its typical elements» — lo que Hammer describe como proceso legitimador corriente, citado por Duggan.

«In the case of Chaos Magick, it will be shown that although continuity is stressed when legitimizing the tradition, legitimacy for innovations can be sought through emphasizing change and showing that innovation is itself a part of Chaos Magick» — y la vuelta de tuerca que Duggan encuentra en la Chaos Magick: la innovación misma legitima.

«Iconoclasm is used figuratively by Chaos Magicians to signify an irreverent act of tearing down and deriding the established, the dogmatic, or the conventional» — la definición de iconoclasia con que Duggan trabaja.

«For the purposes of this chapter, the term should be understood as a strategy of completely disregarding the established ideas of one’s predecessors in favour of one’s own ideas» — y su formulación operativa.

«Chief among the techniques of liberation are those which weaken the hold of society, convention, and habit over the initiate, and those which lead to a more expansive outlook. They are sacrilege, heresy, iconoclasm, bioaestheticism [sic], and anathe-mism» — la lista de técnicas de liberación de Peter Carroll que Duggan cita de Liber Null, con los dos sic del troceo.

«a wide range of terms [that] have been used to refer to the idea that there exists an enduring tradition of superior spiritual wisdom, available to humanity since the earliest periods of history and kept alive through the ages, perhaps by a chain of divinely inspired sages or initiatory groups» — la definición de tradición perenne que Duggan toma de Hanegraaff.

«prisca theologia “emphasized the idea of a wisdom that has been lost, forgotten, overlooked or neglected, and should now be recovered”.31 This implies a certain degradation of the wisdom over time and superiority over current wisdom» — cómo distingue Duggan la prisca theologia, siguiendo a Hanegraaff.

«Philosophia perennis, on the other hand, “emphasized the continuity of true wisdom through the ages» — y la philosophia perennis, que es la que le sirve para la Chaos Magick.

«For a century and a half after Ficino, the idea that there was a Perennial Philosophy became increasingly widely accepted. Perennialism was, however, discredited in the early seventeenth century and thereafter survived only at the edges of Western intellectual life. Then, in the nineteenth century, Perennialism was revived in a slightly modified form, with the newly discovered Vedas being taken as its surviving textual expression» — la historia del perennialismo que Duggan cita de Mark Sedgwick, con el giro decimonónico hacia los Vedas.

«a vague notion of a ‘perennial philosophy’ has come to enjoy a certain vogue in the domains of alternative spirituality and the New Age movement» — la constatación de Hanegraaff sobre la fortuna vaga del término, recogida por Duggan.

«perennialism”, as it is understood here, is the notion that there is an eternal truth or wisdom which can be accessed and has been expressed in the world by various elements down through the ages» — la definición operativa de perennialismo que Duggan fija para el capítulo.

«Radical subjectivity, combined with increasing access to information relating to the many different aspects of Western esotericism, forced a perennialized perspective into the discourse» — a qué atribuye Duggan la perennialización del discurso del ocultismo tardío.

«There is an expectation that the philosophia perennis extends into the future as well as the past. In this way, iconoclasm is a valid interpretation of perennialism because all instances of the tradition, in whatever form they may appear, are valid» — y por qué la iconoclasia resulta compatible con él, según Duggan.

«Iconoclasm is the driving principle of this perennialism since the established, conventional, or dogmatic must be challenged or even destroyed to produce the next instance of knowledge or wisdom» — la tesis central del capítulo, en boca de Duggan.

«despite the enormous geographical separation between shamanic cultures, they share almost identical methods» — la afirmación de Carroll sobre el chamanismo que Duggan cita de Psychonaut.

«However, the uses of the shaman as a referent in the texts of Chaos Magick are not an appeal for a return to nature but function almost solely for the purposes of garnering legitimacy by appealing to the ancient origin of magic» — y para qué sirve la figura del chamán en esos textos, según Duggan.

«In this movement, the term initiation takes on the neoshamanic meaning of a period of trial and growth rather than an institutionalised series of hierarchic degrees … Chaos magic represents an anarchic and radical individualist mystico-magical movement that is by self-definition antitraditional, but that nonetheless draws from religious traditions and emphasizes transformations of consciousness» — el juicio de Versluis sobre la iniciación en la Chaos Magick que Duggan recoge, con su contradicción declarada dentro.

«A distinctive trait of esotericism is that of imagined community. As per the non-intrinsic characteristic of concordance … an esoteric history of humanity is constructed, and through this imagined history a cross-cultural and cross-historical community of esotericists is created. This imagined community grants the esotericist a feeling of belonging, even though he or she might be the only esotericist in his or her community, lacking any contacts with other living practitioners» — la comunidad imaginada de Kennet Granholm que Duggan usa para situar al destinatario de estas apelaciones.

«What characterizes the currents and authors treated here, however, is precisely this sense of being part of a trans-historical “community”, of which it is believed that all members would basically have agreed among one another, had they been able to meet» — la fórmula de Hanegraaff sobre esa comunidad transhistórica, citada por Duggan.

«This consenting hegemony of perennialism among the community provides the framework in which the appeals to tradition are made» — y la consecuencia que Duggan saca para su análisis.

«Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY), was formed in 1981 and is most often associated with Genesis P-Orridge» — la fecha de fundación de TOPY y la figura con que Duggan la asocia; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«It is described by Partridge as “arguably the most significant organized, online occult community”,18 and it was instrumental in the spread of Chaos Magick-related ideas and resources» — el juicio de Partridge sobre TOPY que Duggan recoge, y el papel de difusión que le adjudica.

«and democratization are expressed through the discourse on perennialism and iconoclasm» — por dónde se expresan la individualización y la democratización en la Chaos Magick, según Duggan; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase y el tramo arranca después del corte.

«occulture includes those often hidden, rejected and oppositional beliefs and practices associated with esotericism, theosophy, mysticism, New Age, Paganism, and a range of other» — la definición de occulture de Christopher Partridge que Duggan cita para nombrar a su público; la enumeración sigue en la plana 113.

«subcultural beliefs and practices, many of which are identified by Campbell as belonging to the cultic/mystical milieu and by Stark and Bainbridge as belonging to the occult subculture» — el final de esa misma definición, con las dos genealogías sociológicas que Partridge nombra.

«This occultural audience engages in a consenting perennialism with respect to constructed traditions. However, given the importance of subjectivity, individuals legitimize their own reinterpretations of these traditions through the iconoclastic impulse» — cómo se relacionan público y practicante, según Duggan.

«There are two strategies involved in the legitimization of Chaos Magick through an appeal to tradition. The first strategy is one where an appeal is made to “the age of the tradition” with an emphasis on continuity. The second strategy is an appeal to the most recent instance of a constructed tradition. This involves claiming to be the next in a natural progression of innovations that supersedes the previous one» — las dos estrategias que Duggan distingue y que organizan el resto del capítulo.

«With regard to the seminal authors, Carroll and Sherwin, both strategies are used together. This serves as an establishing, legitimizing act for Chaos Magick in general, positing it as the natural successor in an age-old tradition of magic» — quiénes usan las dos a la vez, según Duggan.

«Examples are Julian Wilde, who employs the first of the strategies mentioned above, and Joel Biroco, who employs the second» — y el reparto de los dos casos que examina por separado.

«The Illuminates of Thanateros are the magical heirs to the Zos Kia Cultus and the A» — la declaración de filiación de Carroll en Liber Null que Duggan cita; el troceo no reproduce los tres puntos del nombre de la orden de Crowley.

«Carroll also provides a diagram, a kind of flowchart, on the page following the introduction. It is called “The survival of the magical tradition” and it includes shamanism as the origin and precursor of the beliefs and practices of a whole host of other people, groups and movements» — el diagrama de Liber Null que Duggan describe, con el chamanismo en el origen.

«our oldest magical and mystical tradition. It is from shamanism that all religious arts and magical sciences originate» — la fórmula de Psychonaut sobre el chamanismo que Duggan cita.

«It is absurd that sophisticated magicians spend so much of their energy in keeping out impressions from the chaos or weird side of consciousness when shamans the world over go to extreme lengths to open themselves up to those impressions and energies» — el reproche de Sherwin a los magos sofisticados, citado por Duggan.

«It is no surprise then that the diagram in Liber Null includes Tantra, Taoism, Sufism, Gnosticism, the Knights Templar, Hermeticism and alchemy, medieval goetia, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, John Dee, the Bavarian Illuminati, Ordo Temple Orientis, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, Austin Osman Spare and the Zos Kia Cultus, witchcraft and sorcery, and finally ends in the Illuminates of Thanateros» — la lista entera del diagrama de Carroll, tal como Duggan la transcribe.

«This is the kind of list that scholars of Western esotericism will be familiar with as it includes much of the subject matter that constitutes the field. Not only that, it is a perfect example of the kind of perennialism prevalent in the late twentieth century» — lo que Duggan señala de esa lista: es el temario de su propio campo.

«The secrets of magic are universal and of such a practical physical nature as to defy simple explanation. Those beings who realize and practice such secrets are said to have achieved mastership. Masters will, at various points in history, inspire adepts to create magic, mystic, religious, or even secular orders to bring others to mastership. Such orders have at certain times openly called themselves the Illuminati; at other times secrecy has seemed more prudent. The mysteries can only be preserved by constant revelation. In this, the I.O.T. continues a tradition perhaps seven thousand years old, yet the Order in the outer has no history, although it is constituted as a satrap of the Illuminati» — el pasaje de Carroll sobre los maestros y los Illuminati que Duggan cita; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The Shaman is one of the most ancient and one of the most enduring figures in human evolution. Shamanism is the source of both Magic and Religion, and as Mircea Eliade put it, is ‘an archaic technique of ecstasy» — la fórmula de Phil Hine sobre el chamán, con la cita de Mircea Eliade dentro, recogida por Duggan.

«The reference to Eliade’s 1951 work (trans. 1964), Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, perhaps reveals the source of the notion of a transcultural shaman, referred to in this and many other of the Chaos Magick texts» — de dónde viene el chamán transcultural de estos textos, según Duggan, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«This provides a good example of the difficulties that arise when scholarship begins to shape the discourse on religion or magic» — y lo que Duggan ve ahí: la erudición dando forma al discurso que estudia.

«Despite the fact that he did not practice any religious tradition and despite the complexity of argument needed to describe him as religious, Eliade was often apprehended as profoundly religious» — el juicio de Bryan Rennie sobre la recepción de Eliade que Duggan cita.

«Its [shamanism’s] structural elements can be traced well back into the Upper Palaeolithic era, and these elements are essentially similar throughout many different cultures, in different frames of time. Even though the surface details of the shamanic world-view tends to differ even within particular cultures, the underlying principles remain similar, supplying some elemental requirement of the human psyche which has remained constant over a period of hundreds of thousands of years» — la continuidad paleolítica que Hine reclama para el chamanismo, en cita de Duggan.

«With references to Eliade and the “Upper Palaeolithic era”, there is an effort here to gain legitimacy through an appeal to academia» — qué función le da Duggan a ese vocabulario erudito en Hine.

«By the Eighteenth Century, and the rise of Science, the idea of “Animal Magnetism” arose in the West, being the first manifestation of the “Energy” Model of magick. This model places emphasis on the presence of “subtle energies” which can be manipulated via a number of techniques. Along came Bulwer Lytton and his idea of “Vril” energy, Eliphas Levi and the Astral Light, Mediums & ectoplasm, Westernised “popular” accounts of Prana, Chakras, and Kundalini, and eventually, Wilhelm Reich’s Orgone energy» — el modelo de la Energía, con la serie de nombres que Hine enumera.

«The next development came with the popularisation of Psychology, mainly due to the Psychoanalytic fads of Freud, Jung & co. During this phase, the Otherworlds became the Innerworlds, demons were rehoused into the Unconscious Mind, and Hidden Masters revealed as manifestations of the “Higher Self”» — y el modelo psicológico, con el traslado de los demonios al inconsciente.

«These models, though historicized, are not abrogated. The Chaos Magician is free to choose from any one of them or a combination of them all» — el rasgo que Duggan subraya: historizar los modelos no los deroga.

«This model differs from the previous one by placing the emphasis on neurology rather than psychology. A reinterpretation of the macrocosm/microcosm dynamic, this distinction serves to emphasize the connection between biological activity in the brain and the universe» — cómo lee Duggan ese modelo: una reinterpretación del macrocosmos y el microcosmos.

«However, despite the insistence on the importance of information, the reliance of most instructional manuals on techniques such as sigilization56 suggests that a strong psychological element remained prominent in Chaos Magick» — y el límite con que lo acota.

«It is also worth noting that should you ever find yourself in the position of having to “explain” all this weird stuff to an non-afficiando [sic] or skeptic, then the Psychological model is probably your best bet. These days, people who ascribe to the Spirit model, if they are not of a Pagan or Occult persuasion themselves, tend to think that they have an exclusive copyright over the use of Spirits! If the person is a computer buff or Fractal phreak, then by all means go for the “cyberpunk” paradigm. Scientists only tend to accept something if a scientific “rationale” can be wheeled up to slot it into» — el consejo de Hine sobre qué modelo usar según el interlocutor, citado por Duggan con los dos sic del troceo.

«Awareness of how and when to use different appeals for legitimacy is an important feature of Chaos Magick, and twentieth-century occultism as a whole, and is a result of the significant increase in access to information occurring in the 1970s and 1980s» — lo que Duggan extrae de ese consejo para el conjunto del ocultismo del siglo XX.

«The collection/accumulation of techniques and beliefs known as shamanism pre-dates all organised religion. The witch-doctor, the medicine man, the primitive sorcerer of the hunt, all have much in common and would have little difficulty in relating to each others [sic] practices – and yet shamanism remains an intensely personal and relevant system of application – each “wise man” (or woman), through a result of his own cultural heritage, retains and enjoys a fresh inter-relationship with those spirits, ancestors, animal-allies and supernatural beings that probe [sic] beneficial to him and his work – all progress is made through a fresh personal application of the inherited world-view. It is interesting (and perhaps reassuring to some of you/us) to note that from Eskimo to aborigine, in many cases the shaman is a misfit, sickly, reclusive and temperamental» — el chamanismo de Julian Wilde, citado por Duggan con los sic del troceo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This characterization of the shaman as a natural innovator creates the space for Wilde to legitimize his own innovations» — para qué le sirve a Wilde ese chamán innovador, según Duggan.

«I find it inconceivable that so many talented occultists still cling to a perverted, post-victorian [sic] perspective of reality. The Golden Dawn and other movements of that ilk bestowed upon the world great pioneers/warriors (and I here acknowledge my debt and gratitude to them) but one can no longer trudge drearily in their well-worn footsteps, hoping that (by some process of sympathetic magic?) some of their accomplishments/abilities will rub off – if you pursue dinosaur tracks all you are likely to acquire are dinosaur droppings and a few bones – small reward for a life-time’s work. A fossil is not a living creature – discovering someone else’s reality and making it your own may be convenient and gratificatory [sic], but it is also second-rate» — el rechazo de Wilde a la Golden Dawn, con su deuda reconocida dentro, citado por Duggan; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Wilde employs the first strategy but not the second. He seeks to affiliate with an age-old and authentic tradition of magic originating with the shaman while rejecting the systematization and organization of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Theosophical Society» — el diagnóstico de Duggan sobre la posición de Wilde.

«Wilde is attempting to gain legitimacy for his emphasis on the importance of fictional works in Chaos Magick. He wants innovation itself to become an inherent part of what Chaos Magicians do» — lo que Duggan lee en esa dedicatoria.

«He uses the second strategy only by placing himself and his version of Chaos Magick as the next instance in the natural progression of “the magical tradition”» — la estrategia de Joel Biroco, según Duggan.

«I regard the 156 current as an essentially underground current of frontline occultism and the true successor to what was the 93 current of Thelema (now another nostalgia current) and also the Chaos current, both outmoded by KAOS-BABALON yet foreshadowed in both» — la declaración de Biroco sobre su corriente 156, citada por Duggan.

«The significance of the numbers comes from employing gematria, a system of assigning numerical values to letters and words widely used by Aleister Crowley» — de dónde salen esas cifras, según Duggan.

«Biroco is drawing a direct line from Crowley’s Thelema to his version of Chaos Magick and disregarding other types of Chaos Magick almost entirely» — el efecto de esa maniobra, según Duggan.

«I instigated KAOS-BABALON or “156 current”, which I had been working on in the background as a truly “occult” (hidden) current, regarding Babalon as having occult identity with Chaos, essentially being female and male counterparts. It turned the Chaos current into a hard-edged and dark sex magick current» — cómo describe Biroco su propia innovación, en cita de Duggan.

«Here, he is claiming his innovation to be authentic and legitimate because it is hidden, and in the previous quote it is described as underground. The operative ideas here are secrecy and popularization» — la lectura que Duggan hace de esa apelación a lo oculto.

«The idea of higher knowledge is closely linked to a discourse of secrecy, albeit not because esoteric truths are restricted to an “inner circle” of specialists or initiates but because the dialectic of concealment and revelation is a structural element of secretive discourses. Esoteric knowledge is not so much elitist as hidden» — la formulación de von Stuckrad sobre secreto y conocimiento superior que Duggan recoge.

«Biroco’s emphasis on the hidden, underground nature of his innovation also functions as a rejection of the popularization of Chaos Magick. Biroco sees popularization as a dilution of Chaos Magick» — y para qué le sirve a Biroco, según Duggan.

«Chaos Magicians are not attempting to convince a wide audience of the legitimacy of their claims. However, they knowingly engage in creation and innovation while directing their appeals for legitimacy at a select audience who share perennialism about traditions of magic» — a quién se dirigen estas apelaciones, según la conclusión de Duggan.

«Chaos Magicians do not have to claim to have found an unpublished text by a revered author. They have no single religious leader. They are fully aware of the plurality of individualisms that make up Chaos Magick» — qué distingue a la Chaos Magick de otras construcciones de tradición, según Duggan.

«In the knowledge that traditions are constructed and can be appealed to in different ways at different times, iconoclasm acts as a valid interpretation of perennialism» — la tesis con que Duggan cierra el capítulo 5.

«The appeal to tradition is only one of the ways Chaos Magicians seek legitimacy. There is plenty of scope for a proper exploration of the way science is used to describe and legitimize how Chaos Magick works» — y la deuda de investigación que declara: falta el uso de la ciencia.

«He states that Spare was “emphatic about the workability of sigils” and that his own (Sherwin’s) “experiments over the last fifteen years confirm his confidence in the technique as do the experiments I have persuaded other people to do» — cómo afianza Sherwin esa filiación con Austin Osman Spare, según Duggan.

«Until fairly recently (in a broad historical sense), practitioners of magick subscribed to the “Spirit” Model of Magick, which basically» — el arranque del modelo del Espíritu que Hine describe, citado por Duggan; sigue en la plana 117.

«states that the Otherworlds are real, and inhabited by various pantheons of discrete entities – elementals, demons, angels, goddesses, gods, etc» — y su continuación, con el poblado de esos otros mundos.

«The current up-and-coming paradigm is the “Cybernetic” model, as we swing into being an information-based culture» — el arranque del modelo cibernético de Hine, citado por Duggan; sigue en la plana 118.

«says that the Universe, despite appearences [sic], is stochastic in nature. Magick is a set of techniques for rousing a neurological storm in the brain which brings about microscopic fluctuations in the Universe, which lead eventually to macroscopic changes – in accordance with the magician’s intent» — y su continuación, con el sic del troceo sobre appearences y la magia como tormenta neurológica.

«I grow wary/weary and increasingly intolerant of those organisations/movements (the IOT and a few other notables excepted) that seek to codify and delineate every tiresome aspect of an increasingly over-blown and irrelevant world-view» — la diatriba de Julian Wilde contra la codificación, citada por Duggan; sigue en la plana 120.

«Kabalistic/Monotheistic lore is/should be dead, further, is evil, is rigid, is sexist, is status-ridden, is of a past we should have outgrown/disowned. It is time for new god/esse/s/daemons – learn to call them – they will always answer» — y su continuación, donde Wilde llama a nuevos dioses y demonios.

«My greetings to you, fellow-seekers/warriors of the/your new aeon! … those who have recognised/wished to actualise more pertinence in the writings of Moorcock, Brady, Tolkien and Castenada [sic] than in Regardie, Fortune or even Crowley» — la dedicatoria de Wilde que Duggan cita, donde Moorcock, Tolkien y Castaneda pesan más que Regardie, Fortune o Crowley, con el sic del troceo sobre Castenada.

«turned their back on a golden dawn and have flown instead to the rainbow-jagged darkness of Vajrana (the tantric-gnostic Shambala), those with jaded magickal appetites, those who wish to live in their own universe and not in someone else’s – this is for you in the fond hope that it will inspire/encourage you enough to sweetly/awe-fully disturb your magic and your life» — y su continuación, con el destinatario que Wilde se busca.

«While Western esotericism has its roots in the Hellenistic world of the first few centuries of the Common Era, and while much contemporary esoteric thought can be traced back to the rediscovery of early texts during the Renaissance (and, particularly, to the modern occult revival of the nineteenth century), the late modern period since the 1960s has witnessed the emergence of a political and cultural context that has proved particularly conducive to the proliferation of broadly esoteric ideas» — el marco temporal con que Christopher Partridge abre el capítulo 6.

«Indeed, no longer can such thought be considered occulted or esoteric, in the sense of being recondite and secretive. While there are, of course, occult traditions and organizations that are styled as such, concerned with the cultivation of a sense of gnostic privilege, the culture in which they are embedded is no longer hidden or unfamiliar. It is ordinary and everyday» — la tesis del capítulo, en boca de Partridge, con su salvedad sobre las órdenes que sí cultivan el privilegio gnóstico.

«The well-documented shift from “religion” to “spirituality”,1 the turn to the self, the change of focus from external authority to inner experience has significantly increased the appeal and respectability of esotericism» — a qué atribuye Partridge el aumento de atractivo y respetabilidad del esoterismo.

«rather than providing an analysis of, for example, particular esoteric traditions or organizations, the following discussion is primarily concerned with exploring the social and cultural conditions, the occultural context within which contemporary esotericism thrives» — lo que Partridge se propone estudiar en lugar de tradiciones u organizaciones.

«We might, for example, consider the ways in which modern societies and political systems have witnessed a shift towards individualization, the result of which has been a turn away from deference to traditional sources of authority, and a turn towards personal experience and freedom of choice» — el primero de los procesos que Partridge enumera: la individualización.

«It is also worth noting that Western modernity has been shaped by colonialism, in that not only has there arguably been significant Easternization,4 particularly evident in Theosophical currents, but that this has included a conspicuous orientalism,5 which has, in turn, significantly supported the turn to the self» — el segundo, con la orientalización y el orientalismo nombrados.

«Furthermore, late modern capitalist societies, characterized by unprecedented levels of affluence, have become sites of conspicuous consumption within which spirituality, therapy and the pursuit of wellbeing have become commodified, marketed, branded and invested with economic value» — el tercero: la mercantilización del bienestar y la espiritualidad.

«looked on [spirituality] in much the same way as other purchasable goods» — la fórmula de Wade Clark Roof que Partridge cita sobre los nacidos después de 1960.

«While this does not necessarily reduce esotericism and the pursuit of spirituality to the profit motive, it does link it, along with other lifestyle acquisitions, to identity and the construction of the self» — y el límite con que Partridge lo dice: lo liga a la identidad, no lo reduce al lucro.

«However, the point is that such post-materialist values provide fertile ground for contemporary esotericism, the claimed effect of much of which is, generally speaking, personal empowerment, metamorphosis, and liberation through the acquisition of illuminated knowledge (gnosis) and, as such, the developing of one’s potential as a human being in relation to the cosmos» — por qué esos valores favorecen al esoterismo, según Partridge.

«In other words, in affluent, information-rich, self-oriented societies, in which our basic needs are catered for, we have the time to seek and the money to purchase experiences and lifestyles» — y la formulación corta de ese diagnóstico.

«For example, in their study of post-Christian spirituality, Stef Aupers and Dick Houtman argue that this is largely driven by cohort replacement, in that younger generations with stronger affinities to, and a greater penchant for, post-Christian spirituality have simply replaced an older generation for whom this was not the case» — la explicación por reemplazo de cohortes que Partridge toma de Aupers y Houtman.

«Key to this shift, of course, was the rise of youth culture and the increased influence of popular culture, both of which have contributed to an independence from the values of the previous generation» — qué hizo posible ese reemplazo, según Partridge.

«the emphasis in ritual and in all self-transformation techniques is individual discovery and self-development. There is no clear list of behaviours, such as those that exist in Islam, Judaism, or Christianity, that adherents are expected to change or adopt» — lo que Helen Berger y Douglas Ezzy observan en la wicca adolescente, citado por Partridge.

«The evidence, therefore, would seem to suggest that Western culture is not becoming less religious, but rather that it is, for a variety of reasons, becoming differently religious» — la corrección que Partridge hace a la tesis de la secularización.

«Rather than becoming secularized it is, as I have argued elsewhere, witnessing a confluence of secularization and sacralization, at the heart of which is a deceptively powerful “occulture”» — y el término con que la nombra.

«Even if individuals are not convinced of all the claims made by particular spiritualities, philosophies or esoteric systems, there is, nevertheless, a conspicuous interest in them and a growing credulity concerning their plausibility» — el matiz con que Partridge acota la adhesión: interés y plausibilidad, no convicción.

«Indeed, there appears to be a constantly replenished reservoir of beliefs and practices associated with esotericism, Theosophy, mysticism, neopaganism, the paranormal, and a range of other ideas from the bizarre to the familiar, a reservoir that is constantly feeding and being fed by popular culture» — el depósito que Partridge describe, con la lista de materiales que lo componen.

«Just as, arguably, occult and magical thought was once a widespread familiar feature of Western societies, in the sense that their members possessed a consciousness that genuinely participated in an enchanted world,17 so today, particularly since the 1960s, we are witnessing the increasing ordinariness of occulture» — el paralelo histórico con que Partridge sostiene la ordinariez de la occulture.

«Occulture, as a sociological term, refers to the environment within which, and the social processes by which particular meanings relating, typically, to spiritual, esoteric, paranormal and conspiratorial ideas emerge, are disseminated, and become influential in societies and in the lives of individuals» — la definición sociológica de occulture que Partridge fija.

«Central to these processes is popular culture, in that it disseminates and remixes occultural ideas, thereby incubating new spores of occultural thought» — y el papel que le da a la cultura popular dentro de ella.

«popular (oc)culture provides a space within which there is an openness to the possibility of metaphysical interpretation» — lo que la cultura popular abre, según Partridge, tras la lista de series, películas y libros que enumera.

«However, it is no easy task mapping the flow of ideas and the creation and dissolution of synergies, whether in popular culture or elsewhere. So rapid is the flow that once mapped, occultural content quickly becomes passé» — el límite de método que Partridge declara sobre su propio objeto.

«can be regarded as the cultural underground of society. Much broader, deeper and historically based than the contemporary movement known as the underground, it includes all deviant belief systems and their associated practices. Unorthodox science, alien and heretical religion, deviant medicine, all comprise elements of such an underground» — la definición de medio cúltico de Colin Campbell que Partridge cita.

«More recently, Jeffrey Kaplan and Heléne Lööw have revisited the theory, identifying the cultic milieu as a “zone in which proscribed and/or forbidden knowledge is the coin of the realm, a place in which ideas, theories and speculations are to be found, exchanged, modified and, eventually, adopted or rejected by adherents of countless, primarily ephemeral groups» — cómo reformulan Jeffrey Kaplan y Heléne Lööw esa noción, en cita de Partridge.

«Their attempt to develop the cultic milieu model is essentially Procrustean. Indeed, they themselves seem to recognize this, in that, in seeking to account for a relatively wide spectrum of ideas from nature mysticism to spiritual articulations of the gothic, and from Charles Manson to National Socialism, the theory is being stretched so far that it is beginning to show cracks» — la objeción de Partridge a esa reformulación.

«However, the picture is, in fact, not only rather more complex than Campbell realized, but also, I would argue, far vaster and more ubiquitous than that painted by Kaplan and Lööw» — y lo que Partridge opone a las dos versiones.

«Indeed, although seeking to account for a vast range of ideas that converge and mutate at speed, Kaplan and Lööw still want to retain a sociological model that theorizes this enormous diversity as “a single entity”.25 This is, to say the least, problematic» — el punto en que Partridge halla insostenible el modelo: tratar esa diversidad como una entidad única.

«Having said that, even if Kaplan and Lööw were able to revise Campbell’s theory in order to account for the plethora of ideas they have identified, it would still fail to make sense of the processes of re-enchantment. This is why we need to think in terms of “occulture” rather than “the cultic milieu”» — y por qué hace falta otro término, según Partridge.

«Of course, while “culture” might be interpreted in any number of ways, as a composite part of the compound “occulture”, it broadly follows Raymond Williams’s thesis that “culture is ordinary» — de dónde toma Partridge la mitad culture del compuesto.

«This is, again, not to deny that there is, within occulture, that which is occult, esoteric, oppositional, or countercultural, but rather that occulture per se is largely ordinary and everyday» — el límite con que Partridge sostiene su tesis.

«As a compound, “occulture” suggests a democratized occult, an open esotericism – “occulture is ordinary» — y la fórmula corta con que la enuncia.

«Occulture describes certain shared attitudes, values, and practices that characterize society. While we might think of periods when occultural lifeworlds become particularly conspicuous and influential in terms of re-enchantment, actually, occulture is never absent. It is, historically, a feature of all societies» — el alcance histórico que Partridge le da a la occulture.

«That there exists within every society a small but dedicated underground of true seekers of esoteric and, very often, forbidden knowledge, is well known. The Middle Ages had its heretics, magicians and alchemists whose quests were not unlike those of the seekers described by Campbell as inhabiting the cultic milieu» — lo que Kaplan y Lööw dicen sobre la antigüedad del fenómeno, citado por Partridge.

«My point is that, while this is true, the theory of occulture requires that we consider not simply elite, underground communities with a penchant for the occult and the forbidden, but society as a whole» — y en qué se aparta Partridge de ellos: no la comunidad subterránea sino la sociedad entera.

«at all levels of social life and human need the Christian religion acquired immense and ubiquitous utility in the minds of medieval men”, but also, at the level of popular consciousness, it actually functioned as “a vast reservoir of magical power, capable of being deployed for a variety of secular purposes» — el pasaje de A. D. Gilbert sobre la religión medieval como depósito de poder mágico, citado por Partridge.

«I]nvisible powers associated with the Devil afflicted people with physical as well as spiritual ailments; hence Christian words of power made herbal medicine handed down through classical and Germanic lore efficacious against these forces … All of the remedies show the conjunction of good forces against evil forces without a necessary distinction between physical and spiritual, natural and supernatural … Any material phenomenon had a potential spiritual meaning, whether it be a demonic illness or temptation testing the resistance of a Christian or a weakness of body designed to demonstrate God’s miraculous power» — el pasaje de Karen Jolly sobre los ensalmos contra elfos que Partridge cita; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The medieval Church … found itself saddled with the tradition that the working of miracles was the most efficacious means of demonstrating its monopoly of the truth. By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Lives of the Saints had assumed a stereotyped pattern. They related the miraculous achievements of holy men, and stressed how they could prophesy the future, control the weather, provide protection against fire and flood, magically transport heavy objects, and bring relief to the sick» — el pasaje de Keith Thomas sobre los milagros de los santos que Partridge cita.

«magic was part of the mainstream in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, closely connected with religion, music, mathematics, and medicine» — lo que Partridge recoge de Goodrick-Clarke sobre el estudio de D. P. Walker.

«the mist-shrouded castle, the villain sworn to the Devil, ghosts, spectres, sorcerers and witches, a flirting with the weird, the uncanny, the bizarre, with sado-masochistic sexuality – and, underpinning all, the Burkeian obsession with dread and the infinite unknown. Supernatural elements like spectralization triggered new sexual frissons; the old demonological themes of possession, incubi and succubi were eroticized … Such disciplines as alchemy, astrology and animal magnetism, and the fringes of physiognomy and phrenology evidently enjoyed a certain vogue» — el inventario de Roy Porter sobre lo gótico ilustrado que Partridge cita; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«While many other studies might be cited, the point is that it is hardly a new state of affairs that occulture is everyday, rather than the sole preserve of some underground cultic milieu. While continuously flowing and changing in content, breadth and intensity, it is not primarily a subterranean phenomenon, the ideas of which periodically emerge, filtered and proscribed, into the mainstream» — la conclusión que Partridge saca de esa serie histórica.

«Of course, the notion of a cultic milieu does not necessarily contradict occulture, in that occulture would help to account for the progress of the cultic milieu and the mainstreaming of its ideas. Understood in this way, the cultic milieu becomes just such an underground site of occultural coalescence, a space in which esoteric and exotic ideas can be incubated. But that is only one aspect of occulture» — y el lugar que le deja al medio cúltico dentro de su propio esquema.

«Occulture is likewise used to mean both a whole way of life and the special processes of discovery and creative effort. Like Williams, I insist on both and on the significance of their conjunction» — cómo traslada Partridge esa doble acepción a la occulture.

«From the relatively mundane to the bizarrely esoteric, from approaches to health and wellbeing to conspiracies relating world domination and apocalypse, popular culture disseminates occultural content, creates synergies and encourages new spores of occultural thought to emerge» — lo que hace la cultura popular con el contenido occultural, según Partridge.

«The Da Vinci Code, for example, won “best book” in the 2005 British Book Awards;43 it has sold more than 30 million copies in 40 languages, and Penguin Books have even produced a guide to what I would describe as the occultural context of the novel in its Rough Guides series» — los datos de circulación con que Partridge sostiene el caso de El código Da Vinci.

«the percentage of esoteric books published since 1930 has more than doubled: in 1930 occult books constituted 7 per cent of religious books published. This gradually rose to 17 per cent in 1990, dipped to 11 per cent in 1995 and rose again to 15 per cent in 2000» — la serie estadística sobre libros esotéricos que Partridge cita de Brierley.

«Indeed, in the 1970s, Ronald Inglehart persuasively argued that the affluence of post-industrial societies had created a situation in which individual values were being transformed from materialist values» — el giro posmaterialista de Ronald Inglehart que Partridge recoge; la frase sigue en la plana 126.

«The cultic milieu theory is currently not fit for purpose» — el veredicto de Partridge sobre la teoría del medio cúltico.

«occulture is less concerned with particular groups, systems of belief and spiritual practices – although these are important – and much more concerned with the conditions within which particular “lifeworlds”» — en qué se desplaza el foco al pasar del medio cúltico a la occulture, según Partridge; la frase sigue en la plana 130 con las estructuras de plausibilidad.

«Hence, while the use of the term “occult” in “occulture” suggests the hidden, the exotic and the elite (which, of course, is a large part of the bookish, secretive, gnostic appeal of much Western esotericism), the addition of the term “culture” opens up a very different perspective, signifying that which is everyday» — cómo se matizan entre sí las dos mitades del término, según Partridge.

«The making of a society is the finding of common meanings and directions, and its growth is an active debate and amendment under the pressures of experience, contact, and discovery, writing themselves into the land. The growing society is there, yet is» — el arranque del pasaje de Raymond Williams sobre la cultura que Partridge cita; sigue en la plana 133.

«In a Danish survey, “more than half of the respondents report an increased interest in religious issues” after reading The Da Vinci» — el dato de la encuesta danesa que Partridge toma de Stig Hjarvard.

«also remade in every individual mind. The making of a mind is, first, the slow learning of shapes, purposes, and meanings, so that work, observation and communication are possible. Then, second, but equal in importance, is the testing of these in experience, the making of new observations, comparisons and meanings. A culture has two aspects» — la continuación del pasaje de Williams que Partridge cita, con la formación de una mente.

«the new observations and meanings, which are offered and tested. These are the ordinary processes of human societies and human minds, and we see through them the nature of a culture; that it is always both traditional and creative» — y los dos aspectos de una cultura, siempre tradicional y creativa a la vez.

«We use the word culture in these two senses: to mean a whole way of life – the common meanings; to mean the arts and learning – the special processes of discovery and creative effort. Some writers reserve the word for one or other of these senses; I insist on both, and on the significance of their conjunction. The questions I ask about culture are questions about our general and common purposes, yet also questions about deep personal meanings. Culture is ordinary, in every society and in every mind» — el cierre del mismo pasaje, con la doble acepción de cultura que Williams reclama.

«my use of the term “occulture” can be traced back to attempts to make sense of what I understood to be an ambient supernaturalism, a spiritual environment, a culture of the occult broadly conceived» — de dónde le viene a Partridge el término occulture.

«The neologism, I discovered, was probably coined by the esotericist, musician, artist and self-styled “cultural engineer” Genesis P-Orridge (Neil Andrew Megson, 1950–), whose work with the performance art group COUM Transmissions, the bands Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, and the spoken word project Thee Majesty developed a particular brand of transgressive» — a quién adjudica la acuñación, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«As Paul Hegarty comments of Throbbing Gristle’s work, it offered “a thoroughgoing critique or even attack on conventional, modern, Christian, artistic, moral, capitalist thought and living”, much of which could be understood in terms of “transgression and perversion» — el juicio de Paul Hegarty sobre Throbbing Gristle que Partridge recoge.

«in the case of P-Orridge, there was, as Don Watson argues, “a deeply rooted desire to expose and challenge the hidden mechanisms of social control» — la motivación de fondo que Don Watson atribuye a P-Orridge, según Partridge.

«During the late 1970s P-Orridge became interested in “how a small number of fanatical individuals could have a disproportionate impact on culture”53 – a process that became key to the sociological understanding of occulture that I was beginning to construct: micro-ideas with macro-effects» — el interés de P-Orridge que Partridge convierte en fórmula sociológica.

«From a sociological perspective, because occulture is ordinary, taken for granted, embedded in the everyday, its viral potential is enormous» — por qué ese efecto desproporcionado es posible, según Partridge.

«Likewise, he insisted that music is “a platform for propaganda”,55 in that an individual musician or a band is able to disseminate selective information which will, not only significantly emotively influence the thinking of a particular group of people, but, by means of that affective manipulation, also subvert mainstream thinking and challenge established authorities» — qué función le da P-Orridge a la música, según Partridge.

«When such activities are coupled with the energies available in magick, however these might be understood, it becomes esoterrorism» — y en qué punto eso se vuelve esoterrorismo.

«This, of course, is a relatively idiosyncratic and convoluted understanding of magick and the occult. Having said that, it is intended to be a practical, protest esotericism for a disillusioned, unemployed “blank generation”» — el juicio de Partridge sobre esa formulación, con lo que sí le reconoce.

«requires an active individual, dedicated towards thee establishment ov a functional system ov magick and a modern pagan philosophy without recourse to mystification, gods or demons; but recognising thee implicit powers ov thee human brain (neuromancy) linked with guiltless sexuality focused through Will Structure (Sigils)» — la definición de TOPY en Thee Grey Book que Partridge cita, con la ortografía propia del grupo.

«While clearly idiosyncratic, this functional, anti-mystical “system ov magick” indicates the breadth of interpretation of esotericism in the contemporary world» — qué muestra ese caso, según Partridge.

«A friend of Burroughs (whom he had known since 1971), P-Orridge had, for several years, requested an introduction to Brion Gysin, the principal architect of the cut-up method, developed in 1959 and used to great effect by Burroughs. Eventually, Burroughs wrote him a letter of introduction and he met Gysin in Paris in the late 1970s, probably 1978,61 and quickly established a close master–disciple relationship» — la cadena Burroughs-Gysin-P-Orridge que Partridge traza, con su grado de certeza en la fecha.

«Put simply, cut-up involves cutting a text into pieces, which are then rearranged into a new text» — en qué consiste el método del cut-up, según Partridge.

«Whatever you do in your head”, insisted Gysin, “bears the prerecorded pattern of your head. Cut through that pattern and all patterns if you want something new … Cut through the word lines to hear a new voice off the page» — la formulación de Brion Gysin que Partridge cita.

«understood more than anyone else at that point in culture that, just as we can take apart particles until there’s a mystery, so we can do the same with culture, with words, language and image. Everything can be sliced and diced and reassembled, with no limit to the possible combinations» — lo que P-Orridge dice haber aprendido de Gysin, en cita de Partridge.

«There could hardly be a better summary of occultural processes than the sentence italicized above» — y el uso que Partridge le da: esa frase le sirve de resumen de los procesos occulturales.

«If one didn’t look at the very nature of how we build and describe our world, [Gysin] thought, we get into very dangerous places. Once you believe things are permanent, you’re trapped in a world without doors. Gysin constructed a room with infinite doors for us to walk through. What amazed me about Gysin’s work was how it could be applied to behaviour: there were techniques to free oneself through the equivalent of cutting up and reassembling words. If we confound and break up the proposed unfolding the world impresses upon us, we can give ourselves the space to consider what we want to be as a species … He would take words, break them down into hieroglyphics, then turn the paper and do it again and again until the magical square was filled with words. Gysin worked with the idea of painting as magic, to change the perception of people and to reprogramme the human nervous system … I made an agreement with Gysin before his death that I would try to champion and vindicate his work and legacy» — el pasaje largo de P-Orridge sobre Gysin que Partridge cita; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«He and his late partner, Jacqueline Breyer (“Lady Jaye”), following their marriage in 1993, embarked on what he termed the “Pandrogeny Project”,67 which, informed by the cut-up technique, embraced the aesthetics of body modification as the first step towards becoming a single “pandrogynous” being» — qué es el Pandrogeny Project, según Partridge.

«That is to say, he was not struggling to be female while trapped in a male body» — el límite con que Partridge lo describe: no es una cuestión transexual.

«Rather, this was far more of an esoteric project, in that it was an expression of his belief that the self is pure consciousness trapped in flesh and controlled by DNA. Humans are, he believes, at an early stage in their psychic evolution towards fleshless consciousness; the Pandrogeny Project is a step towards that evolutionary goal; a step away from the “control”» — la lectura esotérica que Partridge propone del proyecto.

«However, as with much of P-Orridge’s thought, it is typically occultural, in that pandrogyny is a synergy of ideas, the principal thesis drawing on a common stock of esoteric and transpersonal theories of consciousness and “Mind”» — y por qué lo llama occultural: una sinergia de ideas tomadas de un acervo común.

«For the esoterrorist, cut-up and the cultivation of occult culture are central to the subversion of social control, just as pandrogyny is an act of resistance to the control of the DNA. All forms of control must be disrupted and subverted» — la función del cut-up en el esoterrorismo, según Partridge.

«Control. Control needs Time (like a junkie needs junk). Time appears linear. Cut-ups make time arbitrary, non-linear. They reveal, locate and negate Control. Control hides in social structures like Politics, Religion, Education, Mass Media. Control exists like a virus for its own sake. Cut-ups loosen rational order, break preconceptions and expected response. They retrain our perception and acceptance of what we are told is thee nature of reality. They confound and short-circuit Control. All Control ultimately relies upon manipulation of behaviour. In culture thee Cut-up is still a modification of, or alternate, language. It can reveal, describe and measure Control … Magick as a method is a Cut-up Process that goes further than description. It is infused with emotion, intuition, instinct and impulse, and includes emotions and feelings … Control Disintegrates. Magick integrates. Thee idea is to apply thee cut-up principle of behaviour. Thee method is a contemporary, non-mystical interpretation of “Magick.” Thee aim is reclamation of self-determination, conscious and unconscious, to the Individual. Thee result is to neutralise and challenge thee essence of social control» — el pasaje de P-Orridge sobre el control y el cut-up que Partridge cita; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Whereas the spelling of “magick” is simply taken from Aleister Crowley’s spelling convention (originally designed to distinguish his theories of magic from other interpretations he considered superstitious or misguided), the other odd spellings and grammatical constructions are intended to challenge thought and ways of reading; our angle of vision is bent during the process of reading» — de dónde vienen la ortografía y la gramática desviadas, según Partridge, y para qué sirven.

«The point is that cut-up or remix is central to occulture. It is not simply that particular ideas and signifiers are disseminated within an occultural environment, but rather that in the process they are cut-up, remixed, deconstructed and reconstructed. New synergies are formed, which are then, in a dialectic process, cut-up and remixed, the results of which then attach to other ideas and signifiers and so on» — por qué el cut-up es central a la occulture, según Partridge.

«P-Orridge, therefore, did not simply coin the term, but he is himself an excellent example of the subsequent sociological theory» — el doble papel que Partridge le adjudica a P-Orridge.

«often there is a confluence of esoteric ideas, popular culture, and traditional supernaturalism. In other words, as with TOPY, common interests and convictions lead to the formation of concrete communities or organizations, whether virtually or in the flesh» — el patrón que Partridge extrae de esas organizaciones pequeñas.

«Psychic TV] are attempting to knit together thee fine lines ov shamanic initiation and voodoo invokation allegorically coded into western X-tian myth. TV itself becoums thee ceremony, thee language ov thee tribe. It becoums apparent that, cloaked in spurious messianic trivia, are ancient tantric rituals involving small death, limbo and resurrection that have now been literalised and usurped by a base language system named religion. Just as religion cloaks ancient knowledge and techniques, so Television cloaks its power to invoke thee lowest coumon denominator ov revelation … We intend to reinstate thee ability ov TV to empower and entrance thee viewer. To remove thee window and passibity, and re-enter thee world ov dreams beyond. We believe TV is a Modern alchemical weapon that can have a positive and cumulative effect upon Intuition» — el manifiesto de Psychic TV sobre la televisión como arma alquímica que Partridge cita; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Understanding TOPY to be the natural successor to the early Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), particularly under Crowley’s leadership, it was established to be “a secret society created as an access point into the world of magick» — cómo se situaba TOPY respecto de la Ordo Templi Orientis, según Partridge.

«Neither the OTO nor TOPY were teaching orders, existing instead to foster socialization around occult ideas – halfway points for those interested in the hidden undercurrents of reality, training wheels that, when eventually discarded, would lead the individual either towards more abstruse orders of robed ritualists or, preferably, onto their own two feet and their own personal apotheosis» — el juicio de Jason Louv sobre esas dos órdenes que Partridge cita.

«Although there is much about P-Orridge’s work with which one might take issue, such as its articulation of oppression, suffering and abuse, occasionally defended with what appears to be a veneer of unreflective or uncaring faux morality,84 for several reasons “occulture” has proved to be a pregnant and useful term, as we have seen» — la reserva que Partridge pone sobre la obra de P-Orridge sin retirarle el término.

«Occulture is not occult culture, in the sense that it is not a milieu of the esoteric and the hidden (although it certainly includes that which is esoteric and hidden); nor is it a site of the exotic and the forbidden (although it certainly includes the exotic and the forbidden). Rather, like culture – which, of course, it is – it is ordinary and everyday» — la distinción con que Partridge cierra el capítulo 6.

«As such, occulture, as culture, is an explanans for Western re-enchantment rather than jargon for occult culture» — y el estatuto teórico que le reclama al término.

«Indeed, although there are obviously exceptions and confounding variables, occulture’s current persuasive power has a generational specificity» — el límite con que Partridge acota su tesis generacional.

«because occulture is ordinary, and because, therefore, occult culture has a certain cogency and plausibility, subversive ripples caused by minority esoteric ideas can travel a long way in society» — y la consecuencia que saca sobre la difusión de las ideas esotéricas minoritarias.

«an explosion of holistic ideas and practices into the mainstream … Mind-body-spirit publishing has expanded from a specialist niche to the fastest growing non-fiction genre in a multinational» — lo que Elizabeth Puttick observa en el mercado editorial, citado por Partridge; el pasaje sigue en la plana 135.

«multimedia industry. This growth contrasts with traditional religious publishing, which is in decline. In the process, the most successful spiritual authors have become both gurus and global brands» — y su continuación, con el contraste frente a la edición religiosa tradicional.

«We live in limbo and thirst for freedom … Vested interests of every kind want us lazy and atrophied … Man’s fall from grace is his fall from inner security. His defeat is his surrender to conditioned boundaries imposed by the strict regime of acceptability instead of the natural honesty of his individual instinct that recognises all things to be in a state of flux … We are trained to not even want to» — el arranque del manifiesto de P-Orridge sobre música, magia y cultura oculta que Partridge cita; sigue en la plana 137.

«think. Decondition the condition. Conditioning is control. Control is stability. Stability is safety for those with a vested interest in control. Let’s go out of control. What breaks this cycle is a psychic jolt. Music is magick, a religious phenomena that short circuits control through human response. The moment we forget ourselves and end the limbo-dance we enter a world of struggle, joy and clarity. A tragic, but magickal world where it is possible to accept mortality and thereby deny death. Experience without dogma, anguish without shame or sham. A morality of anti-cult. Occult culture. Its rituals collective, yet private, performed in public, but invisible … The rites of youth. Our alchemical human heritage, encased like a cadaver in a black suit» — su continuación, donde la música queda definida como magia y la cultura oculta como moral del anti-culto; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«manor … it was magick designed for the blank-eyed, TV-flattened, prematurely abyss-dwelling youth of the late Twentieth Century – like the punk kids in Derek Jarman’s Jubilee, who have never ventured out of the council flats they were born in. Rather than high ceremony, drawing-room intrigue and exalted initiatory ritual, the focus more often than not became simple survival, and defense of individual vision from a malevolently dehumanizing culture that the Victorians and Modernists» — el pasaje de Jason Louv que Partridge cita, contraponiendo esta magia a la de la Golden Dawn; la frase sigue tras el corte de tramo.

«Probably no word does better justice to the TOPY phenomenon than “Occulture.” Meshing “Occult” with “Culture,” there’s also» — el arranque del pasaje de Carl Abrahamsson sobre la palabra occulture que Partridge cita; sigue en la plana 143.

«a prefixed trace of “Occident” if you will. The defined concept as such was integrated in the inter-TOPY-“lingo” in the late 80s, and then grew to become a readily accepted general term for anything cultural yet decidedly occult/spiritual. As a more or less unnamed concept, Occulture had already been active in TOPY since day one. The field of research was never ever occultism per se or culture per se, but always consisted of interchangeability where eventually the clear-cut borders were gently erased. Books, pamphlets, newsletters, film and video screenings, record and cassette releases and other manifestations could certainly contain more or less blatant esoteric form or content, but it was in no way a prerequisite. The literal meaning of “occult” (as in “hidden”) was given a wider perspective than the merely “magical” one» — su continuación, con la historia interna del término en TOPY; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«dreams and maximise their natural potential. It is for those with thee courage to touch themselves. It integrates all levels ov thought in thee first steps towards final negation ov control and fear» — la continuación de esa misma declaración de TOPY, ya en la plana siguiente.

«Even if the adoption of new technologies has not been even, all kinds of esotericism, occultism and alternative religiosity previously relegated to the margins as fringe pursuits are now exhibited and easily found alongside established offline religions through hyperlinks and search engines» — el efecto sobre el esoterismo y la religiosidad alternativa, según Petersen.

«With this propagation of information we lose a sense of relative comprehension, but we gain something else» — y el balance con que lo acota.

«In her research, Annette Markham has proposed two important ways in which the Internet and related computer-mediated communication technologies are viewed and used: as a tool for communication and as a virtual social space» — la distinción de Annette Markham que Petersen adopta.

«As a context, the new virtual space magnifies something that has been very difficult to see, let alone study, namely the fluid relations between free-floating material and the audiences and practitioners using it» — lo que el espacio virtual hace visible, según Petersen.

«Traditionally, this milieu was “located” in informal networks and flows that were in place long before the Internet, especially via books and periodicals, but also more broadly disseminated through suggested reading lists of occult groups, word-of-mouth and bulletin boards in occult shops, seminars, concerts and fairs, and classified ads in magazines and newspapers» — dónde vivía el medio cúltico antes de Internet, según el inventario de Petersen.

«So, in a sense, the cultic milieu has always been mediatized and thus “deterritorialized”.4 What the Internet offers is a new access point» — la corrección que Petersen hace a la novedad de Internet.

«What is new are the hybrid texts we find online, situated between text and speech, displaying interpretative practices which on the one hand construct a meaningful social order and on the other are conditioned by the same order – ideally in the form of “virtual community”» — qué es lo genuinamente nuevo, según Petersen.

«This alternative should facilitate virtual fieldwork by softening the textual bias of historiography and the actor bias of participant observation» — y los dos sesgos que dice querer ablandar con ese método.

«Broadly speaking, there are two main discourses on the satanic today, both of which can be located online» — la partición de partida del capítulo, según Petersen.

«On the one hand, we have the various cultural narratives on Satan and Satanism, which form part of the “occultural” landscape of Western societies and are recycled in popular culture by moral entrepreneurs such as media commentators, conspiracy bloggers and cult watch groups, and occasionally by adolescents and provocateurs» — el primer discurso, con los actores que lo reciclan.

«On the other hand, there are the satanic discourses among selfdeclared Satanists within a “satanic milieu”, appropriating the figure of Satan into identity work» — y el segundo, que es el objeto del capítulo.

«Rising out of the cultic milieu of 1960s California, Anton LaVey established the Church of Satan in 1966. In the “golden age” from 1966 to 1972, the High Priest and his church enjoyed a strong media presence, fully in tune with the general upsurge of interest in the occult and witchcraft, which stimulated the condensation of an autonomous satanic milieu out of the heterodox discourses at the time» — cómo se condensa el medio satánico, según Petersen, y en qué años.

«As the Internet opened the floodgates in the 1990s, the quantity and visibility of material produced and distributed by alternatives to the Church of Satan underwent a drastic surge, transforming the satanic milieu itself into a more polyvocal entity through feedback loops» — el efecto de Internet sobre ese medio, según Petersen.

«First of all, clashes over the definition of Satanism itself have produced numerous small networks, communities, and organizations, first through email discussion groups and Usenet (e.g. alt.satanism), and later through community groups (such as Yahoo and Google) and social network sites (especially Myspace and Facebook» — la primera consecuencia que Petersen documenta: la proliferación de redes por disputa de definición.

«Second, even though LaVey’s Satanic Bible (1969) has stayed atop the status pile, it now has serious competition from Internet-based material and material promoted through the Web» — la segunda: el libro de LaVey conserva el primer lugar pero ya compite.

«Finally, some websites actually function as archives with material of both introductory and advanced nature, superseding any engagement with printed books» — el tercer efecto: sitios que sustituyen al libro impreso.

«The uneasy connections between these examples point to the difficulty of establishing the boundaries of the satanic milieu and satanic discourse from both an insider and outsider perspective» — el problema de delimitación que Petersen declara.

«In contrast, the Church of Satan’s disdain towards devil worshippers, neopagans and occultists is widely documented, even though LaVey frequently borrowed from them all» — la contradicción que Petersen consigna en la Church of Satan, sin armonizarla.

«Neither field is completely congruent with each other, but they do share a lot of discursive ground, most notably the focus on expressing or transforming the self and the eclectic use of ritualized practices such as magical work, art, music, poetry, or any combination of these» — lo que comparten el medio satánico y el neopagano, según Petersen.

«More specifically, what Nevill Drury has dubbed the “cthonian” orientation towards the carnal, the transgressive, and the subconscious, as well as the choice of darker gods such as Satan, Set and Kali, makes associations between “satanic” and “Left-Hand Path” groups especially salient and solid boundaries between their respective discourse and practices particularly difficult to trace» — la orientación ctónica de Nevill Drury que Petersen usa para explicar esa cercanía.

«In an attempt to manage this complexity, we can approach modern Satanism as related to esoteric discourse in general through two complementary strategies of appropriation, namely “secularizing” the esoteric and “esotericizing” the secular» — las dos estrategias de apropiación con que Petersen ordena el asunto.

«By combining concrete “boundary-work” with strategies of legitimation in the satanic milieu, we can see how particular understandings of Satanism are actively built by engaging with a wide variety of cultural material, simultaneously constructing a positive self-religion and distancing oneself from other, competing articulations» — qué permite ver esa combinación, según Petersen.

«In contrast to the systematic discourse of these two types, reactive Satanism(s) are appropriating cultural narratives and stereotypes of Satanism as a strategy of resistance-through-inversion, making it a category on the border between the satanic milieu and generalized rebellion» — y el tercer tipo, reactivo, que queda en el borde.

«In general, the “cthonian” style has had a lot of success in horror movies, avant-garde art, and “deviant” subculture: vampire groups, modern primitives and Goths listening to post-punk, industrial and metal, to name a few “scenes”, regularly tap into material provided by Satanism and the Left-Hand Path» — dónde circula el estilo ctónico fuera del medio, según Petersen.

«In this sense, popular culture and “occulture” are pathways to and from the satanic milieu, blurring core and peripheries considerably» — el papel que Petersen le da a la cultura popular y a la occulture respecto del medio satánico.

«the conflict over the nature of modern Satanism and LaVey’s heritage in particular intensified after his death in 1997, culminating in a gradual exodus of disgruntled members from the Church of Satan in the early 2000s as the leadership changed» — el conflicto interno que Petersen data tras la muerte de LaVey.

«The present constitution of the satanic milieu seems to stimulate two distinct reactions to online community building and Internet Satanism, an inclusive/tolerant and an exclusive/dismissive, based on the strength of offline presence as well as organizational integration» — las dos reacciones al satanismo en línea que Petersen distingue.

«Since there are many methods of expressing Satanism, you have to find the one that suits you the best. Only you can know what is right for you in the end. Your choice should be a spiritual or philosophical commitment that is based on an informed decision. In my opinion, there is no one right way to be a Satanist; they are all forms of Satanic expression. But, no matter what the origin of our beliefs, as Satanists, we are all a part of the current of Satanism» — la posición inclusiva, en palabras de Venus Satanas citadas por Petersen.

«What becomes clear is that most, if not all of the subcultures covered in this book overlap, having been shaped by the effects of shared philosophies. In doing so, individuals within these subcultures come to share an appreciation for similar ideals, and eventually form larger communities. … The answer lies in not focusing on the lines of the picture, but in stepping back and letting these lines blur until all you see is that one image that we’ve become» — y la formulación de Corvis Nocturnum que Petersen recoge en la misma línea.

«In Nocturnum’s vision, Goth, dark spirituality, Satanism, Vampirism and BDSM are “dark subcultures” which cohere in shared ideals, philosophies and values» — cómo resume Petersen esa visión.

«There are definitely some pathetic web sites and hilariously goofy “organizations,” which are usually some disturbed fellow with a web site and his equally naive online pals pretending to be “evil”. That sort of rebellion, using pre-packaged “dark” imagery, usually is short-lived. The only folks who regularly see these antics are people who take a good deal of time to search them out, as the sites and chat rooms that these wannabes frequent receive little traffic» — la posición excluyente, en palabras de Peter H. Gilmore citadas por Petersen.

«Nevertheless, it is quite clear that most of the offerings online are viewed as misguided at best; Satanism needs to be lived in the real world, through concrete accomplishments based on a thorough understanding of Anton LaVey’s books» — cómo lee Petersen la presencia en línea de la Church of Satan pese a su despliegue.

«By contrasting “we Satanists” with the “ghetto of online Satanism”, the high priest simultaneously downplays the numbers, coherence, and influence of social contenders and monopolizes satanic discourse as “LaVeyan”» — y qué logra esa retórica, según Petersen.

«Thus the Internet is overflowing with Church of Satan “rap sheets”, LaVey biographies and “anti-LaVey” statements. Such dismissiveness is not rare in cultic circles, but it has a certain edge in the case of the Church of Satan because of its age, founder and status» — la reciprocidad del desprecio que Petersen consigna.

«The temptation to appropriate an emic term and talk about a “satanic community” or “movement”, understood as a broad heterogeneous social trajectory much like the “black” or “gay” community, should be anchored in empirical fact, as shown by the conflict between inclusive and exclusive viewpoints» — la cautela metodológica de Petersen ante el término comunidad satánica.

«The very idea of a milieu is show-casing the interplay between abstract deterritorialized spaces within global flows of occulture, and local reterritorializations of the milieu, fixing flows in intelligible localities» — qué es un medio, según Petersen, entre lo desterritorializado y lo local.

«Who was responsible and when was the site established? • How popular is the site and what is its reputation in the milieu? • Who is connected to whom» — las tres preguntas que Petersen se plantea con herramientas webométricas.

«While I have tried to be representative, the countless offerings necessitate a selection based on more impressionistic criteria» — el límite de muestreo que Petersen declara sobre su lista de sitios.

«Although the results are unsurprising, this method fixes the sites in time and place, something seldom given in the “here and now” of online production» — qué aporta el método de registro de dominios, según Petersen.

«First, Internet Satanism predates 1996, but mainly as a text-based phenomenon. With the World Wide Web and the graphics-based web browsers introduced around 1993, usage gradually shifted from text to hypertext and image» — el primer hallazgo de la tabla, según Petersen.

«Second, turning to registrants, the geographical distribution is predominantly American, but this is an artefact of both the Californian birthplace of modern Satanism and my sampling bias» — el segundo hallazgo, con el sesgo propio declarado dentro.

«Nevertheless, data on sites with a traffic rank over 100,000 are not entirely trustworthy, which applies to all the satanic and Left-Hand Path sites measured here» — el límite de fiabilidad de los datos de tráfico que Petersen declara.

«The only sites with some popularity are the Church of Satan and (somewhat paradoxically) Joy of Satan’s page base on the angelfire network, and they are still very far from Scientology or YouTube. Most of these sites are decidedly “fringe”» — y el resultado que sí sostiene.

«Similarly, the number of links to sites is wildly imprecise, as Alexa only counts links “from sites visited by users in the Alexa traffic panel. Links that were not seen by users in the Alexa traffic panel are not counted» — la segunda imprecisión que Petersen declara, con la explicación de la propia herramienta.

«Nonetheless, used heuristically the relations between the sites do say something significant about relative strength, network building, and authority whether we are working with one or the other data set» — y para qué sirven esos datos pese a todo, según Petersen.

«Concluding on the basis of traffic rank and links we can say that most satanic and Left-Hand Path sites live in obscurity» — la conclusión de Petersen sobre el alcance real de esos sitios.

«The results are by far the most provisional, as I have yet to strike a balance of starting points in either mode to get a manageable model» — el fracaso metodológico que Petersen declara sobre el análisis de enlaces.

«A high number of links to the site does not guarantee a central place or even a node in the cluster map, indicating that sites such as Vexen Crabtree’s or Venus Satanas’s have a reputation (i.e. inlinks) outside the satanic milieu in a narrow sense» — lo que ese desajuste permite inferir, según Petersen.

«Although overshadowed by pornography and file sharing, religion is a popular topic online, and increasingly so» — cómo abre Jesper Aagaard Petersen el capítulo 7; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«As a consequence, the previously hard-to-get and difficult-to-see has blossomed as the virtual environment supports the easy transmission, archiving and recontextualization of texts and imagery» — y lo que el medio virtual hace accesible, en la continuación de la misma frase.

«In order to assess such community and authority building in a virtual environment, I will argue for a dis» — el método que Petersen propone para estudiarlo; la frase se completa en la plana 147 diciendo que es un enfoque discursivo entre la historia de las religiones y la ciberantropología.

«Hence rationalist Satanism(s) in the tradition of LaVey (including groups outside the church but sympathetic» — el primero de los tipos de Petersen; la frase sigue tras el corte de tramo del troceo.

«to the ideology of the founder) are foregrounding natural and pragmatic elements, but infusing the secular narrative with esoteric modes of legitimacy, while esoteric Satanism(s) are suffusing the esoteric structure of the “cthonian” with secular modes of legitimacy» — y su continuación, con el segundo tipo, el satanismo esotérico.

«Of course, a given start date does not guarantee activity, just as a» — la reserva con que Petersen acota el dato de registro; la frase sigue tras el corte de tramo.

«given registration date is not an absolute start date; for example, the Church of Satan existed on www.coscentral.net/cos for at least two years before actually launching the present address. Conversely, the Satanic Reds had a geocities address for a decade before “upgrading”» — y su continuación, con los dos casos que la ilustran.

«Scientology International www.scientology.org For comparison – website and forum 32,760 1228 34,432» — la fila de comparación que Petersen añade a esa misma tabla, con la cienciología como término de contraste.

«On the other hand, many of the nodes are not associated directly with Satanism (like otohq.org, Ordo Templi Orientis’s now-defunct directory) or not operational, limiting the explanatory power if relying too heavily on the map alone» — el límite que Petersen pone a su propio mapa de agrupamientos.

«The cluster map indicates that relations and networks of communication do exist. Correlated with Tables 7.1 and 7.2, we do see actual community sites, but little to confirm any community in the singular» — lo que el mapa sí muestra y lo que no, según Petersen.

«Twelve of the nineteen sites I have analysed do not even show up on a co-link analysis, indicating that little is done to build or strengthen the network into a mutual practised community or movement of interest» — el dato que Petersen opone a la idea de una comunidad satánica en línea.

«In fact, using “community” in the singular glosses over (or completely ignores) the struggles and conflicts inherent in actual delimitations of “community” between the various groups and actors» — y qué oculta ese singular, según Petersen.

«It would seem that heterogeneous communities in the plural do develop both online and offline, but mostly around relatively homogeneous social entities, such as the ideologies, worldviews, and practices of organized satanic groups with specific texts, spokespersons and interpretations» — lo que Petersen sí sostiene: comunidades en plural alrededor de entidades homogéneas.

«This substitution is not done to criticize the veracity of perceived feelings of togetherness or the authenticity of emotional, ethical, and aesthetic communion between satanic seekers. Rather, it is to emphasize the discursive nature of these emotions and cognitions, and the basic imaginary nature of communities and currents» — el límite con que Petersen propone cambiar comunidad por medio.

«Thus I do not reject the basic understanding of modern Satanism as a cohesive current, but I do claim that this cohesion is of a second order far less communitarian and far more fuzzy than implied in terms like “community” and “movement” in the singular» — y lo que no niega al hacerlo.

«In contrast, “milieu” acts as an aggregate noun demarcating certain ideological and symbolic interests and shared patterns of consumption, and it should be understood as a mid-level analytical concept between the general “occulture”, or boundary culture between margin and mainstream, and distinct communities, groups and organizations within it» — la definición de medio con que Petersen trabaja.

«Based on Benedict Anderson’s influential idea of imagined communities, Derek Foster proposes that all communities larger than face-to-face networks must be imagined» — la premisa de Derek Foster que Petersen adopta, sobre Benedict Anderson.

«That which holds a virtual community intact is the subjective criterion of togetherness, a feeling of connectedness that confers a sense of belonging. Virtual communities require much more than the mere act of connection itself» — la fórmula de Foster que Petersen cita sobre qué sostiene una comunidad virtual.

«While there may be an imagined “Satanic community” which has a social reality for some inclusive-minded Satanists, the model shows little performance of this community outside a narrowly defined “we” and a lot of resistance from other sectors of the milieu» — el balance de Petersen sobre esa comunidad imaginada.

«People tend to cluster in networks around discourses and practices sharing specific themes, even if they move from one to the next in their search for knowledge and experiences. There are thus various levels of “we-information” and a choice of avenues of “togetherness” and “antipathy” from which to build communities in the plural, all of which are distributed and amplified by the virtual realm» — cómo se agrupan los participantes, según Petersen.

«The early “frontier” of deterritorialized online Satanism has been both strengthened and weakened by the gradual reterritorialization of Satanisms online in the past decade, limiting heterodoxy and constructing boundaries to establish a semblance of dominance» — el efecto doble de la reterritorialización en línea, según Petersen.

«Tord Olsson convincingly argues that we have to be extremely careful when analysing utterances as representations, as the adherents of a given religion do not necessarily believe what they are saying and doing, because what they are saying and doing is context-dependent» — la cautela de Tord Olsson que Petersen hace suya.

«In other words, we cannot expect the multitude of divergent expressions of a religion to be systematically connected in an isolate, coherent system implanted in people’s heads or in the culture shared by them» — y su consecuencia para el análisis de creencias.

«are conditioned by genre and speech situation”42 and may appear radically different in different contexts: anthropomorphic and concrete in myths associated with a narrative situation, and pantheistic and abstract in hymns related to a situation of praise» — el ejemplo de Olsson sobre las representaciones de los dioses según el género, citado por Petersen.

«D]ifferent understandings dominate in different speech contexts; … given conceptions find expression in given genres» — la formulación corta de esa regla, citada por Petersen.

«First, we can apply genre dependency of gods directly, noting that how Satan (and other sinister beings) is understood must be related to genre and speech context» — la primera aplicación que Petersen le da al satanismo.

«Whether Satan is a metaphor, a symbol or a real entity is partly dependent upon the dogmatic stance of the group or person in question, but also upon the conduit in which this “belief system” is communicated – reflexive essays, mythical narratives and (especially) hymns, prayer and ritual texts such as invocations» — de qué depende el estatuto de Satán, según Petersen.

«Basically, online texts constitute a new genre. I will focus on a particularly interesting example, namely the “posts” and “threads” on message or discussion boards, which is both a common form of community software and an accessible field for research. Here we move from fixed text consumption to fluid text production» — la tesis de Petersen sobre el texto en línea.

«Texts” are not only referential, content-oriented and fixed, and “speech” is not only performance. However, thought of as generic extremes on a continuum, these types could illustrate different aspects of the functionality of communication – primarily the asynchronous and the synchronous on one hand and the mediate and the immediate on the other» — el continuo entre texto y habla con que Petersen trabaja.

«In his analysis of “cybertalk”, Norman Denzin makes similar connections through his concept of “performance speech” – a text which, when in the form of a thread, is messy, dialogical, immediate, situated, and constantly reinterpreted, as speech; but which is precisely also a text because it is written and therefore more unambiguous, proofread and thought through beforehand» — el habla escenificada de Norman Denzin que Petersen adopta.

«The written dialogue is in other words “betwixt and between”, at once producing community and fixating meaning, including and excluding, which is especially useful in an analysis attempting to correlate structure and actor, system and practice, or speech situation and expression» — y para qué le sirve esa categoría.

«Sp34k:] *makes a lovely curtsy* A-hoy out there land crabs … I have been thinking “Many Satanists say that they go through different rituals and achieve a greater power/force within themselves when they perform it/When it is performed” Well, I am curious and want to know how the rituals YOU perform are done “if you perform rituals” And how does one achieve this “strength”» — el mensaje inicial del hilo del foro danés que Petersen analiza, en su traducción.

«This is the first post in a thread on the Danish Satanisk Forum Message Board, an official public discussion board established in 2002 by the organization Satanisk Forum (Satanic Forum) to facilitate interaction between members and accommodate guests» — la ficha del foro que Petersen da.

«This is probably due to the language barrier, as well as the quite explicit and enforced rationalist take on Satanism, which prohibits any large-scale networking with esoteric Satanists, talk of “Satanic community” and “Satanic ‘subculture’” notwithstanding» — a qué atribuye Petersen la escasa proyección del foro danés, con su grado de certeza dentro.

«Today, although the activity has declined due to further schism and general fatigue, Satanisk Forum is the most visible and accessible association of rationalist Satanists in Denmark with about 200 members and 555 participants on their message board» — el tamaño del grupo al momento de escribir, según Petersen.

«Sp34k’s post is characterized by an immediate and speech-oriented form. It is filled with language markers of an oral nature and the sentence construction is typical of speech, not writing» — el análisis formal que Petersen hace del primer mensaje.

«Notice also the common paralinguistic use of asterisks to perform an action in writing: “*makes a lovely curtsy*”. This is typical of chat and SMS-language, and is a written contextual event – a stage management of sorts» — y el rasgo paralingüístico que subraya.

«The post gives the impression of an inquirer who is of minor importance on the specific message board, in the offline group behind it, and in the amorphous milieu of Satanists online» — lo que la forma del mensaje dice de la posición de quien lo escribe, según Petersen.

«This post is much more text-oriented and distanced than Sp34k’s: notice the construction of sentences and the informational “flow” in the text. It seems proofread and professional» — el análisis formal de la respuesta, según Petersen.

«Without rejecting the question outright, the answer nevertheless communicates that practising rituals is something marginal in satanic circles (not many users [in particular], not practised by many), something natural (equal to strong emotions), and something that can be studied in both academic and satanic literature (Rothstein and LaVey» — y lo que esa respuesta comunica sin decirlo, según Petersen.

«After the initial encounter the thread develops into a pseudo-conversation where Sp34k is lectured by Amina and “Wolf” on such subjects as dream travel, New Age, nihilism, and religious education in primary school» — cómo sigue el hilo, según Petersen.

«It is here important to understand that different message boards and discussion groups provide different degrees of freedom – they produce different types of hybrid text, depending on such matters as moderation and tacit rules within the group» — la variable que Petersen introduce: el grado de moderación del foro.

«A heavily moderated site results in spellchecked and corrected posts similar to essays, while a less moderated site results in messy posts filled with errors in grammar and spelling, emoticons, and chat-style abbreviations similar to the immediacy of speech» — y sus dos efectos opuestos sobre el texto híbrido.

«For online hybrids and discursive constructions of togetherness, Bruce Lincoln’s definition of authority as the right to speak explicitly ties its presence to a dynamic and concrete instance of authorization and trust» — la definición de autoridad de Bruce Lincoln que Petersen prefiere.

«Her empirical research indicates that “multiple layers or perceptions of authority” have to be discerned, yet her understanding of authority itself is curiously old-fashioned» — la objeción que Petersen dirige a Heidi Campbell, con lo que sí le reconoce.

«A lot of elements indicate that Amina and Wolf’s posts have hegemonic or authoritative status, both when considering the formal characteristics and the content. In addition, when moving beyond the posts themselves, the fact that they are both site administrators and moderators on the board, both are members of Satanisk Forum (which is indicated by a banner below the avatar) and both have posted extensively (2460 and 1117 posts for Amina and Wolf, respectively, at the time of writing – that is about 30 per cent of all posts on the board when combined) contribute to this conclusion» — los indicios con que Petersen adjudica autoridad a esos dos participantes.

«This asymmetry of authority is further expressed in the marked difference between the “old guard” and new members. If we compare with other threads on the message board such as “A Request to the Users” and “LaVey’s ‘The Satanic Rituals’”,56 we can categorize posters within diminishing roles of status and power: administrators, active members of Satanisk Forum, active non-members, inactive members, infrequent posters, “I have been issued a warning”-debaters (indicated by another banner on the profile), and the banned and expelled» — la escala de estatus que Petersen deriva del foro.

«But aside from the date of registration and membership of the parent body all of these roles and positions of power are constituted communicatively – they exist locally by the very fact that there is intentional communication» — y el punto que subraya: esas posiciones se constituyen comunicativamente.

«Core members are articulating one discourse and marginalizing others, so that some posts have more meaning than others even though there are several interpretations present within one thread. This is in fact a virtual community with an inside and an outside» — lo que Petersen concluye del hilo.

«It is different how one has one’s rituals, some has them to prove to themselves that they are worth more and actually mean something. I hold (perform) rituals to support my faith, not to prove anything. I believe in myself and really don’t care what everybody else is saying and think of me. I trust only myself and my god satan. I am the inverse of what the Christians. A real God fulfils one’s wishes, that never happened when I was a Christian, never. I know that the Christian’s God take care of light and dry weather. In that case I do the opposite. I listen to satan. Have been to some ritual meetings, one feels valuable and is a servant of Satan. Sometimes I lie outside at midnight, full moon and rain. And feel satan’s power. He is the one that is the creator, him that should be respected. Does someone have other rituals? – I would like very much to hear about it» — el mensaje de Satani que rompe la interpretación hegemónica, en la traducción de Petersen; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Satani, on the other hand, is referring explicitly to Christianity in an anti-Christian, theistic and deeply metaphysical discourse; rituals work because God and Satan exist – God provides us with light and dry weather, Satan fulfils one’s wishes» — en qué se aparta esa interpretación de la oficial del foro, según Petersen.

«Satani does not stand a chance. On the same day Wolf quotes the passage about light and dry weather, and dryly remarks that the answer to that rather should be found in meteorology» — cómo reacciona el moderador, según Petersen.

«She effectively ends the “discussion” by first referring to “the many books and articles I have read together with about ten years in the milieu”, and secondly through a total deconstruction of Satani’s post by embedding it in an academic discourse – she demands explicit references and calls his interpretation of rituals “ostensive acting”, an emulation of popular Western demonology by living out a mythical frame» — y cómo cierra Amina la discusión, con el término académico que le aplica.

«We can see that there is a hegemonic discourse of ritual, but that it has to be articulated, indeed activated and reconstructed constantly» — la conclusión de Petersen sobre el hilo.

«Sp34k ends on the inside of this community while Satani ends on the outside, and it is to a large degree a matter of “walking the walk and talking the talk” (or perhaps “when in Rome» — y por qué uno queda dentro y el otro fuera, según Petersen.

«Amina and Wolf are accommodating and enter into cautious dialogue with him, whereas they cut off Satani completely because he challenges the boundaries of the established discourse» — la diferencia de trato que Petersen documenta.

«On a formal level, contributors who are inside the virtual community become more text-oriented, even though literacy is not a guarantee of affiliation» — la regularidad formal que Petersen encuentra, con su límite dentro.

«Hence I agree with Mark MacWilliams that virtual communities are at least “symbolically real heteroglossic spaces”, constituting a “diverse mixture of voices” that creates places in which to include or exclude others» — la formulación de Mark MacWilliams que Petersen suscribe.

«Naturally, not all communication, nor communication in itself, creates community, but it is difficult to imagine a community both off- and online without communication» — y el límite con que la suscribe.

«In a wider picture, whether the tool of communication is used honestly or deceptively, and whether the virtual place itself is viewed as a goldmine or a rubbish heap, depends on the identity of the group in question, the relations of participants, and a host of other aspects tied to global and local factors» — de qué depende el uso de la herramienta, según Petersen.

«The basic analysis presented here can be extended to other comparable religious milieus exhibiting a decentralized and fragmented nature offline and online, such as the “Thelemic milieu”, which resembles the satanic one studied in the present context» — a qué otros medios cree Petersen extensible su método.

«indeed, the hybrid text is a new genre with direct access to plays of power and discourse» — y la tesis metodológica con que cierra el capítulo 7.

«Table 7.2 Traffic ranking data on a small selection of satanic/Left-Hand Path websites» — el rótulo de la tabla 7.2 de Petersen, que se recorre por muestra: sus filas son datos de tráfico de sitios satánicos medidos en noviembre de 2010.

«in relation to the concrete research programme; it is the dialogical aspect which is of interest here – it is never sufficient to analyse a single post» — y su continuación: lo que interesa es lo dialógico, de modo que un solo mensaje nunca basta.

«There aren’t many users of ritual on the board (in particular) judging by earlier threads. As a replacement I would recommend the section on rituals in “Gud er (stadig) blå” which gives some theoretical background. Otherwise you might relate to peoples experiences with certain types of rituals by thinking of some piece of» — el arranque de la respuesta de Amina en ese hilo, en la traducción de Petersen; sigue en la plana 164.

«music that has affected you strongly. The special thing about rituals is that they speak directly to our feelings in the same way music can do. The best known satanic rituals are those mentioned in “The Satanic Bible” and “The Satanic Rituals”. In my opinion these rituals are not practised by many, however» — y su continuación, con la equiparación entre ritual y música y el juicio sobre su poca práctica.

«During the new moon every month, at a predetermined time, a worldwide group of occultists astrally meet at Moonbase Temple located under the surface at the centre of the visible part of the moon. Here each participant performs individual rituals in the astral temple, while working with the agreed-upon word of power and sigil. After the ceremony, each participant records his or her experiences, and these are distributed among the group for comparison» — la escena con que John L. Crow abre el capítulo 8: la reunión astral mensual en el Moonbase Temple.

«According to Margaret Ingalls, who uses the pseudonym of Soror Nema and coordinates these ceremonies, there is a reflecting pool at the centre of the temple with the Earth centred in it sending all positive energy from the rites back to the planet. When asked if she could see others in the temple when present, she said she could not distinguish individuals but often could feel their presence» — lo que Margaret Ingalls, alias Soror Nema, le dice a Crow en entrevista telefónica sobre esa práctica.

«Ingalls’s description of astral travel is typical within occultism and can be traced back to the techniques and experiences recorded by individuals in such nineteenth-century groups as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Theosophical Society» — dónde sitúa Crow el origen de esa técnica.

«During these astral travel episodes, the individual imaginatively leaves her or his physical body and travels to places in this world or another dimension. The travellers claim that their inner selves travel into an imaginative environment generally accessible only to themselves. Here they encounter various entities, objects and structures with which they can interact» — en qué consiste el viaje astral, según la descripción de Crow.

«In 1895, prominent Theosophist and clairvoyant, Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) published The Astral Plane, which described the various sceneries, phenomena, and human and non-human inhabitants one might encounter in the astral environment» — el libro de Charles Webster Leadbeater que Crow toma como referencia del plano astral.

«With the emergence of computer technology, and the Internet specifically, various groups of people began to transfer the imaginative quality of the astral environment to cyberspace, and language that was previously used to refer to the astral was now used to describe cyber realms» — el traslado que interesa al capítulo, según Crow.

«Both cyberspace and magical space are purely manifest in the imagination. … Both spaces are entirely constructed by your thoughts and beliefs» — lo que el programador y neopagano Mark Pesce le dice a Erik Davis, citado por Crow.

«Yet there were still significant impediments to cyberspace becoming just like the astral plane as described by nineteenth- and twentieth-century occultists. One was that text and static images on webpages still required the individual to look at the content and then imaginatively construct the “cyberastral” with their imaginations. The Internet was simply a way to deliver the content, but the person still had to imaginatively assemble it to bring the cyberastral realm alive» — el obstáculo que Crow señala en la primera etapa de la red.

«The newest three-dimensional virtual worlds do provide the possibility to convincingly represent a cyberastral world, and some esoteric religious practitioners are using these worlds as places to practise their religion» — qué cambia con los mundos tridimensionales, según Crow.

«Moreover, this cyberastral environment has an added benefit that the astral environments visited by nineteenth-century occultists lacked: one can travel to the cyberastral and communicate with others while doing so» — el rasgo nuevo que Crow subraya frente al astral decimonónico.

«Thus the transfer of ideas about the astral plane to cyberspace and the development of sophisticated three-dimensional virtual worlds has led to the emergence of a particularly new type of astral plane, one that is imaginative, embodied, computer generated, and most importantly, social» — la tesis del capítulo, en boca de Crow.

«The idea of an astral plane as a distinct realm emerged during the late nineteenth century. It was made possible by a convergence of concepts about the cosmos and notions of the self and its relationship to the body. In particular it was the closing of the divide between this world and the next, and the emergence of the bifurcated self, a notion of the self understood as being separable from the body» — cuándo y de qué convergencia nace el plano astral, según Crow.

«Platonic and Neoplatonic ideas posited various dualistic cosmologies where the material body was a lesser copy or emanation of the soul just as the material world was a lesser version of the transcendent. A recurring concern of these thinkers was that the body could somehow injure the soul. In turn, salvation depended on disciplining and refining the body, making it a proper vehicle for the soul» — el fondo platónico que Crow describe.

«During the Middle Ages the soul was fully integrated with the body, “bound to sensations, emotions, reasoning and identity”.8 Not surprisingly, it was at this time that the supernatural was often claimed to be penetrating this world, manifesting angels, miracles, demons and devils» — la relación medieval entre alma y cuerpo, según Crow.

«By the sixteenth century figures such as John Dee (1527–c. 1609) and Edward Kelly (1555–97) used a crystal ball, prayers and magic to contact angels in higher realms, bridging the divide between this world and the other, and making it experienceable, in part, while remaining physically embodied» — el caso de John Dee y Edward Kelly como puente entre los dos mundos, según Crow.

«In the eighteenth century, Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) claimed to have repeatedly travelled to other worlds through visions, and described the inhabitants and scenery in naturalistic language» — el caso de Swedenborg, con el rasgo que a Crow le interesa: el lenguaje naturalista.

«According to the mediums, the self on the other side looked exactly like the physical body, often carrying with it race, gender and age» — lo que los médiums espiritistas decían del yo del otro lado, según Crow.

«Whereas in Graeco-Roman cosmologies the body was a lesser copy of the soul, by the nineteenth century this had become inverted and the soul in the next world resembled its body in this world» — la inversión que Crow describe entre la cosmología grecorromana y la decimonónica.

«By the end of the nineteenth century, occultists like Leadbeater could assert that the astral plane is an “absolute reality” and that “the objects and inhabitants of the astral plane are real in exactly the same way as our bodies» — la afirmación de Leadbeater sobre la realidad del plano astral que Crow cita.

«However, this was not the only way the astral plane was understood. For members of the Golden Dawn, for example, it existed symbolically, structured according to elaborate systems of correspondences» — y la otra lectura, la de la Golden Dawn, consignada sin armonizar.

«Significant for our understanding of the astral plane was the sense of self that emerged from Cartesian dualism. The sense of self coming out of Christianity, especially Pauline Christianity, is one in which the self is internal and personal. This changed with the philosophy of René Descartes (1596–1650), which identified the mind with consciousness and self-awareness» — la genealogía cartesiana del yo que Crow traza.

«elevation of inner faith and spirituality as signs of the authentic selfhood will interact with Greco-Roman anti-materialist tendencies, feeding into Western thought via Agustine, who, in turn, inspired Descartes’s less ambivalent mind-versus-body and spiritversus-matter dualisms» — el pasaje de Manuel Vásquez sobre Pablo, Agustín y Descartes que Crow cita, con el sic del troceo sobre Agustine.

«Bridging this divide is what Wouter Hanegraaff describes as “subtle bodies”.15 These subtle bodies, their divisions, enumeration and constitution differ from tradition to tradition, but are often found mediating or constituting parts of a person» — los cuerpos sutiles de Hanegraaff, que Crow usa como puente.

«Historian Julie Hall traces numerous threads, including Neoplatonism, Egyptian cosmologies, Kabbalah, Paracelsianism, Spiritualism, and more that contributed to the synthesis which manifested in Theosophical understandings of the self and world» — las hebras que Julie Hall reúne en la síntesis teosófica, según Crow.

«The result was the creation of a double-self, or simply “the double” as it was frequently called in Theosophical circles, which caused individuals to identify the self as both mind (subject) and body (object) simultaneously» — el doble teosófico, según Crow.

«Thus the notion of the double-self combined with a view of the other world as accessible in this world while still possessing a body allowed occultists of the nineteenth century to imaginatively leave their physical bodies behind. In this way they could travel in an astral environment that was similar to the material world, but also transcend the limits imposed by materiality and the body» — qué permitía esa combinación, según Crow.

«In general, there were two types of astral travel in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first was when the individual left his or her body and travelled in the astral level of the material world, either in terms of the present, but also in the past and future. For the purposes of this chapter, I shall label this type of astral travel “geo-temporal astral travel» — el primero de los dos tipos de viaje astral que Crow distingue, con el nombre que él le pone.

«The other kind is where the individual travelled in a world very different from the material one; an environment controlled by symbols and symbolic correspondences rather than natural laws. I label this type of astral travel “symbolic astral travel» — y el segundo.

«While both groups engaged in each type of astral travel, the members of the Theosophical Society were more concerned with issues regarding the astral and its relation to the material world. In contrast, the members of the Golden Dawn understood their astral travel experiences as part of a magical and initiatory context where travelling on the astral plane helped develop a deeper understanding of the self and the universe» — cómo reparte Crow esos dos tipos entre la Sociedad Teosófica y la Golden Dawn.

«Moreover, in the early years of the society, astral travelling (or “liberating the double”, as it was called) was seen as the highest possible achievement in magic» — el rango que la liberación del doble tenía en la primera Sociedad Teosófica, según Crow.

«One evening I lay down in Madame Blavatsky’s, intending to try to see if I could get out of my body. The bystanders said that in a few minutes I snored very loudly, but with me it was totally different. I could notice no break of unconsciousness, nor a moment of sleepiness. It seemed to me as though I was awake and standing up to go out into the hall, and that a handkerchief lay over my eyes just as I had placed it when lying down. An effort to throw off the obstacle was unsuccessful, and so I went out into the hall down which I thought to go to see my body in the kitchen, and there I threw off the handkerchief through a mighty effort – whereupon I immediately again found myself where I had laid myself down, in the laughter of those watching who had heard my unmusical snoring» — el relato de William Quan Judge sobre su propio experimento, citado por Crow; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In 1909 Leadbeater met Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895– 1986), and claimed that through his clairvoyance he could see that one day Krishnamurti would be the next world teacher» — el episodio de Leadbeater y Krishnamurti que Crow consigna.

«These examples of geo-temporal astral travel demonstrate that, according to the Theosophists involved, it was an activity the double partook in while the physical body was asleep. Moreover, the double could travel in this world, being visible or invisible, and in the present as well as forward and backward in time» — lo que Crow extrae de esos ejemplos, con la atribución expresa a los teósofos implicados.

«Unlike the Theosophists mentioned above, the symbolic astral travel was experienced while awake» — la diferencia práctica que Crow señala en la Golden Dawn.

«The Golden Dawn divided their astral work into three types: Descrying in the Spirit Vision, Astral Projection, and Rising on the Planes» — los tres tipos de trabajo astral que la Golden Dawn distinguía, según Crow.

«The Tarot Trump, the Empress was taken; placed before the persons and contemplated upon, spiritualized, heightened in coloring, purified in design and idealized. In vibratory manner pronounced Daleth. Then, in spirit, saw a greenish blue distant landscape, suggestive of the mediaeval tapestry. Effort to ascend was then made; rising on the planes seemed to pass up through clouds and then appeared a pale green landscape and in its midst a gothic temple of ghostly outlines marked with light. Approached it and found the temple gained in definiteness and was concrete, and seemed a solid structure. … Opposite the entrance perceived a cross with three bars and a dove upon it; and beside this, were steps leading forwards into the dark, by a dark passage. Here was met a beautiful green dragon, who moved aside, meaning no harm, and the spirit vision passed on. Turning a corner … there appeared a woman of heroic proportions, clothed in green with a jewelled girdle, crown of stars on her head, in her hand a sceptre of gold, having at one apex a lustrously white closed lotus flower; in her left hand an orb bearing a cross. She also had a shield with a dove upon it. She smiled proudly, and as the human spirit sought her name, replied: I am the mighty Mother Isis; most powerful of all the worlds, I am she who fights not, but is always victorious» — la visión de Florence Farr Emery y Elaine Simpson que Crow reproduce del Flying Roll IV; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«With the presence of a dragon and the Egyptian goddess Isis, symbolic astral travel operates in an environment not connected directly with the physical world but rather in a fantastic or» — cómo lee Crow ese material: un entorno simbólico y no geográfico.

«While the realm may seem completely dreamlike and plastic, this was not how it was understood by occultists. These symbolic astral realms have rules and laws. Certain actions, rituals and words brought from the physical world obtain great effects in the astral» — y el límite que Crow le pone: ese mundo tiene reglas.

«Within neopaganism, the astral plane became fused with traditions claimed to trace back to ancient times» — cómo entra lo astral en el neopaganismo, según Crow.

«Prior to founding Wicca in the 1950s, Gardner was involved with individuals who traced their occult and religious practices back to the Theosophical Society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Ordo Templi Orientis, Aleister Crowley and older occult or esoteric traditions» — la filiación ocultista de Gerald Gardner que Crow traza.

«Quoting from Gardner’s Book of Shadows, his magical ritual book, the Farrars detail Gardner’s instructions “To Leave the Body”. They write that the purpose of this practice is “to help bring about what may variously be called clairvoyance, expansion of consciousness, opening up the levels, opening the Third Eye, or communication with the Goddess; and, at a more advanced stage, astral projection» — el propósito que Janet y Stewart Farrar dan a la instrucción de Gardner, citado por Crow.

«As Hanegraaff observes, a central aspect of New Age religion is the belief in “other realities” which can be accessed freely by human beings. This he notes can be accomplished through what he labels “Altered States of Consciousness» — lo que Crow toma de Hanegraaff sobre la New Age.

«Various aspects of the astral have also been incorporated into New Age channelling practices where, as Michael F. Brown describes, “practitioners believe that they can use altered states of consciousness to connect to wisdom emanating from the collective unconsciousness or even from other planets, dimensions, or historical eras» — la canalización New Age descrita por Michael F. Brown, en cita de Crow.

«Brown traces New Age channelling back to Spiritualist mediums who also communicated with those on the other side» — y la genealogía espiritista que Brown le da.

«Crowley incorporated astral travel into his magical curricula and this is still promoted by the group» — la continuidad que Crow señala en la Ordo Templi Orientis.

«Religion of every kind, big and small, old and new, mainstream and more exotic, is present online, and in great abundance» — la constatación de Lorne L. Dawson que Crow recoge.

«In fact, as Stef Aupers remarks, recent studies have found that neopagans are more active on the Internet than any other religious group» — el dato sobre los neopaganos en línea que Crow toma de Stef Aupers.

«Coming from a relatively new and individualistic religion, neopagans are not averse to religious experimentation and change. Indeed, they are willing to take traditional forms of practice and adapt them for online use» — por qué los neopaganos adaptan sus prácticas al medio, según Crow.

«when covens go online – when they become ‘cybercovens’ … the notion of a coven [becomes] considerably more elastic» — la fórmula de Dawson y Cowan sobre los cibercovens que Crow cita.

«It is this boundary that psychologically contributes to the participants understanding of the cybercoven as a sacred space, even if the interaction is through a website or online message boards» — qué hace del cibercoven un espacio sagrado, según Crow.

«required to master in order to “obtain a clear idea of the relation of Man to the Universe, and to the spiritual planes» — y el fin declarado de esa práctica, en la cita que Crow recoge.

«In another example Judge not only roams free from his body but his double can be seen by others. He states “that while my body was snoring, my double, or simulacrum, scin lecca, or whatever you might call it, which is a visible exact replica of me, could be seen as it went down the way to the kitchen» — la segunda cita de Judge, donde el doble resulta visible para otros.

«First, the traveller is to enter a room and sit still meditating for a period of time. Then preliminary magical rituals are performed, a tarot trump to astrally explore is chosen, and then the card is studied» — el procedimiento que Crow describe a partir del Flying Roll IV; se corta antes del aparato de notas.

«Christopher Partridge has traced notions of the astral in mid-twentieth-century UFO-related religions back to Theosophy» — lo que Crow recoge de Partridge sobre las religiones ovni; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«He also sees numerous similarities with New Age and Theosophy including ideas of “reincarnation, chakras, past lives, future lives, psychic therapy, oneness with the Earth, channelling, astral travel and so on» — y la lista de rasgos compartidos que Partridge enumera, en cita de Crow.

«The Pew Internet and American Life report for 2001 states that a quarter of the Americans who had access to the Internet used it for religious purposes, often information searching, accessing religious material or connecting to others of the same faith» — el dato de 2001 sobre uso religioso de Internet que Crow cita.

«In a similar report in 2004 this number had increased to 64 per cent» — y el de 2004, con el salto que Crow consigna.

«t]he irresistible logic of each of the two compelling views of the self – a spiritual and emotional subject as opposed to embodied, mechanical object – in the end required that the self be both» — la formulación de John Corrigan sobre ese desdoblamiento del yo, citada por Crow.

«Because their numbers are few and they are geographically scattered, the Internet acts as a way for individuals to create affinity communities with others who share the same interests and beliefs» — para qué sirve la red a quienes practican religiones esotéricas, según Crow.

«Nevertheless, there are still significant barriers to creating a community through text and static images. While one may feel an affinity with those who share the same chat group or discussion board, the episodic interaction requires one to revisit frequently to see replies» — y el límite del texto y la imagen fija, según Crow.

«Cowan quotes Lisa McSherry as writing that cyberspace is “a technological doorway to the astral plane» — la fórmula de Lisa McSherry que Crow recoge a través de Cowan.

«The hyperbole and exaggerated rhetoric in which so many claims for the power of the Internet seem to come cloaked is met by the reality that we are all ineluctably embodied, subject to the constraints of time and space, and that our ability to interact online is hardly a global phenomenon» — y la objeción de Cowan a esa retórica, citada por Crow.

«One of the technopagans Davis interviewed, Mark Pesce, was on the forefront of meeting this challenge as he helped develop one of the first three-dimensional modelling languages used on the Internet. Called VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language), this language, developed in the mid-1990s, was one of the attempts to move beyond text and static images towards three-dimensional realms» — el papel de Mark Pesce en el VRML, según Crow.

«Virtual environments are computer generated domains which create a perception of space and permit modification through the exertion of agency» — la definición de entorno virtual que Crow toma de Gordon Calleja.

«These environments are then encapsulated in virtual worlds, which are “composite assemblages of persistent, multi-user virtual environments extending over a vast geographical expanse» — y la de mundo virtual, en la misma cita.

«The distinction becomes one of agency. In virtual environments, the individual can exert agency to manipulate the environment, whereas on websites and discussion boards this type of manipulation is precluded» — en qué se apoya esa distinción, según Crow.

«One example of a virtual world without teleology is Second Life. This is a three-dimensional virtual world where individuals are free to purchase digital property and supplies, build whatever they want, and travel wherever they like» — por qué Second Life le sirve a Crow como caso.

«By drawing on our evolutionary history, VR [virtual reality] has allowed our embodied reality to map onto our embodied experiences in cyberspace. … the point of projection is at standing height. The perspective offered to viewers mimics their experience in the world, and viewers measure objects in the virtual environments as they do in reality – that is, against their own bodies» — el pasaje de Murray y Sixsmith sobre la perspectiva encarnada en realidad virtual que Crow cita.

«However, in contradistinction to the earlier nineteenth-century understanding of the self, Murray and Sixsmith argue that what virtual reality users experience is not a projection of the subjective self into the virtual world as the nineteenth-century occultists did. Instead, a model is offered where the subjective understanding of the body’s boundaries become malleable and ambiguous» — en qué se aparta ese modelo del de los ocultistas decimonónicos, según Crow.

«reveals that the body in the world is both foreground and background. It constitutes our locus, so that we are ‘here,’ rather than ‘there.’ Yet, at the same time, the body recedes from conscious reflection» — la formulación fenomenológica de Murray y Sixsmith que Crow recoge.

«a] sense of presence, of being there in virtual environments … calls for a dampening of awareness in reality and a heightening acceptance of the surrounding virtuality» — y lo que exige la sensación de presencia, según la misma cita.

«They have found that not only does immersion in digital technological environments stress some skills over others, it physiologically changes the brain. There is an increase in the density of neurological connections in the areas of the brain used for experiencing virtual environments» — el dato neurológico que Crow recoge sobre la inmersión digital.

«However, as Marc Prensky, a specialist in digital learning, writes, “these differences … are less a matter of kind than a difference of degree» — y el límite que Marc Prensky le pone, citado por Crow.

«reading visual images as representations of three-dimensional space (representational competence), multidimensional visualspatial skills, mental maps, “mental paper folding” (i.e. picturing the results of various origami-like folds in your mind without actually doing them), “inductive discovery” (i.e. making observations, formulating hypotheses and figuring out the rules governing the behavior of a dynamic representation), “attentional deployment” (such as monitoring multiple locations simultaneously), and responding faster to expected and unexpected stimuli» — la lista de destrezas que Prensky enumera, citada por Crow; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice visual-spatial donde la cita trae visualspatial.

«Inducing a participant’s symbolic immersion involves triggering powerful semantic, psychological associations by means of the content of an experience. As an illustration, digitally fighting a terrifying, horrible virtual monster can build a mounting sense of fear, even though one’s physical context is unchanging and rationally safe» — el pasaje de Chris Dede sobre la inmersión simbólica que Crow cita.

«Indeed, the view that the whole environment needs to be simulated ignores the fact that a focus can be centred on a set of stimuli with the exclusion of the surrounding environment. It is no different than being absorbed in a book, movie, or television show to the point that one’s surroundings are temporarily forgotten» — la objeción de Crow a la exigencia de simular el entorno entero.

«Kerstin Radde-Antweiler and Simon Jenkins, both scholars publishing in Online: Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, have made extensive studies of religion and ritual in three-dimensional virtual worlds, with Radde-Antweiler specifically focusing on Second Life. What they found was that, indeed, numerous people have participated in online religious rituals and have had, to some degree, satisfying experiences» — lo que hallaron Radde-Antweiler y Jenkins sobre el ritual en mundos virtuales, según Crow.

«The experience of praying the Lord’s Prayer together focused attention on our togetherness in prayer and worship, despite our distance in terms of geography, culture, language and faith expression. The people sitting on either side of you in a Church of Fools pew could be from Melbourne and Kansas City, and yet here you were, sitting in the same imaginative space, and being able to talk and pray together, even though you would probably never meet each other face to face in the physical world» — el testimonio que Jenkins recoge sobre el padrenuestro en línea, citado por Crow.

«Similar to Jenkins, Radde-Antweiler notes that there have been numerous “clusters” of religiosity in Second Life. She documents the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, New Age, Buddhist and Hindu clusters, which offer information and a variety of services» — los grupos religiosos que Radde-Antweiler documenta en Second Life, según Crow.

«Welcome to our Holy City. Outside you will see the walls of a fullscale reconstruction of the Second Temple that stood in Jerusalem until the year 70. To experience the size of the building move around in mouse-mode: it will be you walking through the gates» — la nota de bienvenida del Segundo Templo reconstruido en Second Life que Crow reproduce.

«As is evident by the greeting, the makers of the temple equate the viewing of the virtual temple as equivalent to seeing the temple in the physical world, at least to some degree» — y cómo la lee Crow, con su acotación dentro.

«One cybercoven, called Covenstead, consists of a massive digital campus with multiple parts, including a pub for drinking cyber-mead, dancing and playing trivia, a library with digital versions of magical and neopagan texts, a marketplace to purchase various virtual clothes and objects for use by the avatar, a large field for group meditation, a Stonehenge setting used for community ritual (complete with altar and central bonfire» — el inventario del cibercoven Covenstead que Crow describe.

«However, for many Covenstead members, Second Life is not just a place for community. They view their participation in it, especially during ritual, as a form of astral travel» — lo que ese cibercoven representa para sus miembros, según Crow.

«the community expects to be able to be themselves among other Pagans and to have classes, rituals and events offered» — lo que Ainsley Weatherwax le dice a Crow en entrevista sobre la comunidad.

«She mentioned that some of the technical limitations for Second Life hampered the performance of ritual. With more participants, there is a greater lag time for the animation and this disturbed the semblance of the ritual» — los límites técnicos del ritual en Second Life que Weatherwax señala, según Crow.

«I see ritual in Cyberspace as a work in progress. No one seems to really know what works best yet» — y su juicio sobre el estado de la cuestión, en cita directa.

«In general the cybercoven desires to be inclusive during its ritual and thus does not use voice but instead uses text to deliver speech as it is inclusive of the hearing impaired. Although it is not the case for all the participants, this limits the ability for some to feel completely immersed in cyber-ritual» — la decisión de accesibilidad del cibercoven y su costo, según Crow.

«My thought on that is, if I am actually a spirit being, then my ‘physical’ body is a form of an avatar. If we are doing energy work on the astral or other planes, I am just using a different kind of avatar to identify with» — lo que Tamaya Rayna le dice a Crow sobre el avatar y el cuerpo.

«Cartesian dualism underlies Rayna’s language, mirroring the language used by nineteenth-century occultists» — y cómo lo lee Crow.

«Another participant who saw Second Life as a form of the astral was Jimmy Orsini. He also claimed to feel the energies of others while in ritual,73 and, moreover, saw his laptop as a ritual object to enter the cyberastral, much like nineteenth-century occultists used magic mirrors and crystal balls» — el caso de Jimmy Orsini, que pone su computadora portátil en el altar, según Crow.

«As the complexity of the device exceeds the knowledge of the user, the device becomes opaque and unpredictable. This opacity opens up the opportunity for enchantment whereby the laptop becomes an object for ritual» — la explicación que Crow da del encantamiento del aparato.

«Magic and (computer) technology are not mutually exclusive and, more than that, technological progress may paradoxically be responsible for the growth and flowering of mystery and magic in the late modern world» — la formulación de Stef Aupers que Crow cita.

«His avatar name is Thaleenin Sydney, and in the physical world he is a ceremonial magician and works as a programmer. He claimed that his programming skills were part of his magical practice, which included creating scripts for avatars in Second Life to use in ritual» — el caso del programador y mago ceremonial que Crow entrevista.

«For someone advanced SL is just another aspect of the astral depending on what they want to do. For a beginner SL is best. People can get here in 5 min of downloading the program as opposed to whatever it may take to get on the astral» — lo que ese participante dice sobre el uso didáctico de Second Life.

«In each of the cases where the participant saw Second Life as some form of astral, there was a mixing of the self, the body, the technology, the imagination, and community where all of these come together to blend the physical world with the virtual» — lo que Crow encuentra común a todos esos casos.

«The virtual world is flexible like the symbolic, but with the ability to interact with others, it also had aspects of geo-temporal thus creating the cyberastral as its own category of astral travel» — y por qué propone el ciberastral como categoría propia.

«Because of the diffusion of occult ideas and their combination with notions of cyberspace and virtual reality, the emergence of a cyberastral has taken place for some who practise esoteric religion» — la conclusión del capítulo 8, en boca de Crow.

«Does this mean that everyone who participates in Second Life views it as the astral plane? No; this is hardly the case, and I located only a small number of participants who made such a claim» — el límite con que Crow acota su hallazgo.

«While these virtual worlds were designed with episodic goals requiring collaboration, many players found other uses for the system» — el límite que Crow señala en los juegos masivos en línea; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«However, these virtual worlds impose teleology; one generally plays to win the game» — y la teleología que les atribuye, frente a Second Life.

«We need to experiment to find out what works in Cyberspace best. And a lot of people seem so mired in the trappings of RL [real life] traditions in ritual they aren’t willing to let go of them to discover what really works. I see cyberspace as an amazing vehicle for magic. SL [Second Life] could be even more so with its amazing graphic creation capabilities. … These could add amazing dimension to [what] was once just “chatroom” ritual. And if you have a totally hearing crowd, the ability to add voice and sound to the imagery is wonderful. … The ritual should fit what is available. Imagination plays [a part in] all of it. So why should we force our avatars into human shapes to do human gestures for ritual when this is obviously not a necessity in cyberspace? We could do the whole ritual in colour and light and pure visual effect. [This] might work much better. The environs always dictated ritual in RL, so perhaps different environs should dictate different ritual technique» — el arranque del pasaje largo de Weatherwax sobre cómo debería ser el ritual en el ciberespacio; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo; sigue en la plana 189.

«I think imagination can get around mostly anything and electricity has always been an amazing channel for spiritual energy. We might actually find a way to use it [Second Life] that will exceed our results in RL» — y su cierre, con la electricidad como canal de energía espiritual.

«Moreover, the ways the participants discussed the cyberastral showed a blending of geo-temporal and symbolic astral travel» — lo que Crow observa sobre la mezcla de sus dos tipos de viaje astral.

«In 1995 Erik Davis hoped that the astral would be reborn in cyberspace. With Second Life one might ask if it finally has been» — la pregunta abierta con que Crow cierra el capítulo 8.

«Secrets, secrets SECRETS! Ah, the endless quest, the far, far search, the codes, the vias, the symbols, the complications, the compilations, the mathematicity and abstracticity of secrets, secrets» — el primer epígrafe del capítulo 9, tomado de L. Ron Hubbard, con que Hugh B. Urban abre.

«The secret operates as an adorning possession … This involves the contradiction that what recedes before the consciousness of others and is hidden from them is emphasized in their consciousness; that one should appear as a noteworthy person through what one conceals» — el segundo epígrafe, de Georg Simmel, que dará la clave de lectura del capítulo.

«From its origins in the 1950s, the Church of Scientology has been one of the most controversial, contested, and yet also poorly understood new religions in the world» — cómo sitúa Urban a la cienciología.

«And yet despite its infamous reputation in popular culture, Scientology has – with a few notable exceptions4 – rarely been subjected to serious critical analysis by historians of religions» — el hueco académico que Urban señala.

«Not only did the Church develop a complex esoteric series of training levels or “advanced technology”, but it has also been extremely aggressive in enforcing its rights to the information contained in these higher grades» — el doble rasgo que Urban le atribuye: niveles esotéricos y defensa agresiva de esa información.

«By the late 1960s, moreover, Scientology had also created elaborate mechanisms of surveillance to monitor both its own members and its critics in the surrounding society, including its own intelligence agency, which many have likened to the FBI and the CIA» — el aparato de vigilancia que Urban data a fines de los sesenta.

«What makes the Church of Scientology controversial is not so much Hubbard’s teachings, but the Church’s tenacious secrecy and the extremes to which it is willing to go to protect itself» — la formulación de Ann Brill y Ashley Packard que Urban recoge.

«From the outset, we should note that Scientology is not exactly an esoteric organization in the traditional sense, comparable with fraternal orders such as Freemasonry or magical groups such as the Golden Dawn» — la salvedad con que Urban acota su propio objeto.

«Many of Scientology’s secrets, we will see, have had less to do with transmitting esoteric gnosis than with preserving the Church, its wealth and its power, often in hostile social and political contexts» — a qué sirven esos secretos, según Urban.

«However, Scientology did develop an elaborate esoteric hierarchy of training levels, a complex esoteric cosmology and a very tight system of information control that rivals (if not surpasses) that of any other Western esoteric tradition» — y lo que sí le reconoce en materia esotérica.

«Perhaps most important, Scientology offers profound insight into what I call the dual nature of secrecy – its role both as a source of symbolic power and a potential liability for its owner» — la doble naturaleza del secreto, que es la tesis del capítulo.

«As the sociologist Georg Simmel famously observed, secrecy can serve as a kind of “adorning possession” for its owner;7 like fine clothing or jewellery, esoteric knowledge can ironically enhance the status of its owner precisely by virtue of what it conceals» — el primer lado, con Simmel.

«Yet, at the same time, secrecy can also bring even more suspicion, scrutiny and attack from critics, opponents and government agencies who see such concealment as a potential threat; and, in turn, increasing government scrutiny tends to foster even more elaborate tactics of concealment, obfuscation and dissimulation on the part of the religious organization» — y el segundo, con el bucle que describe.

«According to official narratives promoted by the Church to this day, Hubbard was a unique combination of rugged explorer, world traveller and engineer, equally accomplished as “a daredevil barnstormer, a master mariner, [and] a Far East explorer”, as well as the founder of a revolutionary new religious philosophy» — la biografía oficial de Hubbard que Urban consigna como relato de la Iglesia.

«Born in Nebraska in 1911, Hubbard claims to have been initiated by Blackfoot shamans in Montana, then to have travelled widely in Asia and learned the secrets of Eastern sages, Buddhist priests and “the last remaining magician from the line of Kublai Khan’s court» — lo que esa biografía le atribuye, con el verbo de reclamo dentro.

«Virtually every detail of Hubbard’s life narrative, however, has been the subject of debate, and many critics have argued that most, if not all, of his official biography is a fabrication» — la disputa sobre esa biografía, consignada sin arbitrar.

«the evidence portrays a man who has been virtually a pathological liar when it comes to his history, background, and achievements» — el juicio del juez Paul Breckenridge que Urban cita.

«As Dorthe Refslund Christensen suggests, however, Hubbard’s biography is perhaps best understood not as a factual account at all, but rather as a kind of “hagiographic mythology”;12 as such, it is not dissimilar to the hagiographic biographies of founders of other esoteric traditions and new religions, such as Madame Blavatsky or Joseph Smith» — la lectura alternativa que Urban recoge de Dorthe Refslund Christensen.

«After leaving the Navy following World War II, Hubbard moved to Pasadena, California, where he befriended one of the most enigmatic occultists of twentieth-century America, John (Jack) Whiteside Parsons» — el episodio californiano que Urban reconstruye.

«Parsons was an initiate in Crowley’s highly esoteric group, the Ordo Templi Orientis, and immersed in its most secret and dangerous rituals. Sharing his interest in science fiction and magic, Hubbard became Parsons’s close friend and a partner in his esoteric magical rites» — la posición de Parsons en la Ordo Templi Orientis y la entrada de Hubbard, según Urban.

«The aim of Parsons’s “Babalon Working” was first to identify a female partner who would serve as his partner in sexual rituals; the partner would then become the vessel for the “magickal child” or “moonchild”, a supernatural offspring that would be the embodiment of ultimate power: indeed, this child would be “mightier than all the kings of the Earth» — en qué consistía la Babalon Working, según el registro de Parsons que Urban resume.

«Impressed by Hubbard’s natural magical abilities, despite his lack of any formal training, Parsons made Hubbard an intimate participant in the Babalon Working, and even his “Scribe”, who served as the voice for Babalon herself during the rites» — el papel que Parsons le da a Hubbard en esos ritos, según Urban.

«I have been in direct touch with One who is most Holy and Beautiful … First, instructions were received direct through Ron, the seer … I am to act as instructor guardian guide for nine months; then it will be loosed on the world» — la carta de Parsons a Crowley que Urban reproduce.

«Ironically, however, Crowley himself was by no means approving when he learned of the ritual activities of Parsons and Hubbard. On the contrary, he seems to have been quite upset, writing in April 1946: “Apparently Parsons or Hubbard or somebody is producing a Moonchild. I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these goats» — la reacción de Crowley a esos ritos, citada por Urban, y que corta la lectura de continuidad.

«In 1946, Hubbard, Parsons and Parsons’s former girlfriend, Betty, formed a partnership called Allied Enterprises. Their scheme was to purchase yachts on the US East Coast, sail them to California and then sell them for a profit. Parsons put up $20,970.80, almost the entirety of his life’s savings, while Hubbard put up a mere $1,183.91» — el negocio de yates entre Parsons y Hubbard, con las cifras que Urban da.

«Suspect Ron playing confidence trick – Jack Parsons weak fool – obvious victim prowling swindlers» — el cable de Crowley sobre ese negocio, citado por Urban.

«Perhaps the most remarkable part of this whole story about Hubbard, Parsons and secret sexual rites is that the Church of Scientology admits that all of this did happen» — lo que Urban subraya del episodio: la propia Iglesia lo admite.

«Hubbard broke up black magic in America … [H]e was sent in to handle the situation. He went to live at the house and investigated the black magic rites and the general situation and found them very bad … Hubbard’s mission was successful far beyond anyone’s expectations … Hubbard rescued a girl they were using. The black magic group was dispersed and destroyed» — la versión que la Iglesia de la Cienciología publicó en el Times, reproducida por Urban.

«It is worth noting, however, that neither the Church of Scientology nor any independent researcher has ever produced any evidence for this claim» — y la constatación con que Urban la acota.

«While Hubbard only refers to Crowley by name in one series of lectures from 1952 – calling him “my very good friend” – there has been much speculation as to whether any occult or magical ideas carried over into the early Scientology movement» — el estado documental de la relación con Crowley, según Urban.

«On one side, critics of the Church (such as Hubbard’s own son, L. Ron Jr) have suggested that Hubbard was “deeply involved in the occult” and that he even saw himself as the modern successor to the Great Beast» — la primera posición de la disputa, consignada sin arbitrar.

«On the other side, the Church of Scientology itself has adamantly denied any connection between Crowley’s magic and Hubbard’s religious ideas; indeed, it forced the Sunday Times to pay a settlement for suggesting that there might be such a connection» — la segunda.

«Meanwhile, many scholars such as Roy Wallis and J. Gordon Melton have largely dismissed Hubbard’s connection to Crowley, arguing that “there is no evidence that Hubbard’s system of Scientology owes any great debt to that of Crowley» — y la tercera, académica.

«Here I will not attempt to resolve this complex debate, which has been argued fiercely by scholars, Scientologists and ex-Scientologists alike» — la abstención que Urban declara ante esa disputa.

«Regardless of the exact nature of his involvement in occultism, the theme of occultation is one that runs throughout his entire life and hagiographic mythology» — lo que Urban sí sostiene, con el término que le sirve de hilo.

«From its origins until the death of its founder in 1986, Scientology was very much a Cold War religion, deeply influenced by and preoccupied with the central anxieties of these decades – and perhaps above all by the Cold War obsession with secrecy, surveillance and information control» — la tesis histórica de Urban sobre la cienciología como religión de la Guerra Fría.

«With man now equipped with weapons sufficient to destroy all mankind on earth, the emergence of a new science capable of handling man is vital. Scientology is such a science. It was born in the same crucible as the atomic bomb» — la formulación de Hubbard que Urban cita para sostenerla.

«Not only did he identify various individuals (including his own ex-wife) as Communist sympathizers, but he also offered his techniques as a means to combat the Soviet menace» — lo que Hubbard escribía al FBI, según Urban.

«The US government has always danced with the devil of secrecy during wartime … the cold war provided the foreign threat to justify the pervasive Washington belief that secrecy should have the greatest possible latitude and openness should be restricted as much as possible – constitutional liberties be damned» — el pasaje de Angus MacKenzie sobre el secreto de posguerra que Urban cita.

«Hubbard’s early Dianetics movement had focused on the goal of achieving the state of “Clear” – a kind of optimal mental and physical wellbeing; yet, by the late 1960s, Hubbard added a series of increasingly esoteric levels beyond the Clear state called Operating Thetan (OT), in which one gains deeper knowledge about one’s true spiritual nature (Thetan) and the history of the universe» — el paso de Clear a los niveles Operating Thetan, según Urban.

«t]he belief system of the movement became increasingly esoteric, and a ‘hierarchy of sanctification’ emerged. Members could locate themselves on levels of initiation into the movement’s mysteries» — la formulación de Roy Wallis sobre esa jerarquía, citada por Urban.

«After the Grades … matters become more complicated because the pre-clear proceeds to the Confidential levels of auditing … Hubbard decided to cordon off all processes and techniques beyond Grade IV so that the uninitiated would have no prior knowledge … of the special theories explaining the significance of each level» — la explicación de Harriet Whitehead sobre el corte tras el grado IV, citada por Urban.

«Those moving through the OT levels must carry the materials in locked briefcases and are instructed to keep them in secure locations. They are forbidden to discuss any aspect of the materials with anyone, including family members» — las reglas de custodia de esos materiales, según Urban.

«However, it also seems clear that the advanced technology materials of the OT grades also play the role of “adorning possessions” in Simmel’s sense – that is, as sources of prestige and honour that enhance the individual’s status precisely by virtue of what they conceal» — y la lectura de Simmel que Urban les aplica.

«According to Hubbard’s audio journal of 1967, this level is “so occluded that if anyone tried to penetrate it … they have died» — lo que Hubbard decía del nivel OT III, citado por Urban.

«Here are contained the secrets of a disaster which resulted in the decay of life as we know it in this sector of the galaxy. The end result of OT III is truly the stuff of which dreams are spun: The return of full self-determinism and complete freedom» — y lo que ese nivel promete, en la cita que Urban reproduce.

«The beings were blown up, but their thetans or spirits survived in a confused state and eventually adhered to modern humans like spiritual barnacles. These “extra-body thetans” that adhere to each one of us are a chief cause of the ignorance and suffering that we experience in this life. Advanced auditing therefore requires clearing and removing these extra-body thetans» — y su continuación, con la doctrina de los thetanes adheridos.

«But beyond their secrecy and complex metaphysical content – which really is not particularly remarkable when compared with other esoteric traditions – perhaps the most controversial aspect of the OT levels is simply their cost» — lo que Urban señala como más polémico que el contenido mismo.

«According to price lists from 2009, the OT levels range from $2800 to $8400, which is on top of the thousands of dollars required to reach the preliminary state of Clear and the preparatory training required to begin the OT levels, not to mention the various additional costs such as books, videos, the latest E-meter41 ($4600) and the cost of staying at facilities offering the OT courses, such as the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida (rooms ranging from $150 to $15,000 a night). As such, conservative estimates suggest that a Scientologist hoping to reach Clear would spend a minimum of $128,000, while those attaining level OT VIII would invest a minimum of somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000 in the Church of Scientology» — las cifras que Urban da; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«As early as 1963, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had begun to investigate the Church of Scientology, and finally raided its centre in Washington, DC, on the grounds that Scientology was making false claims about the benefits of its counselling device, the E-meter. Moving in with unmarked vans, a squad of FDA agents and US marshals confiscated more than three tonnes of materials, books, paper and E-meters» — la redada de la FDA que Urban data y describe.

«In 1967, the IRS also began to investigate Scientology, stripping it of its tax-exempt status and claiming that it owed several million dollars in unpaid taxes. This in turn launched a massive legal war between the IRS and the Church that involved literally thousands of lawsuits and dragged on until the Church’s victory in 1993» — y la guerra fiscal, con su desenlace.

«In response to this increasingly aggressive government surveillance, Scientology began to undertake its own elaborate tactics of counter-espionage and covert operations that almost rivalled those of the FBI» — la respuesta de la Iglesia a esa vigilancia, según Urban.

«the Church has one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the US, rivalling even that of the FBI» — el juicio de Ted Gunderson que Urban cita, y sobre cuyo autor pone reserva en nota.

«Formed in 1966 under the directorship of Hubbard’s wife, Mary Sue, this agency became known as the Guardian’s Office (GO) and operated in a variety of intelligence capacities until 1983 (currently, a new agency operates under the title of the Office of Special Affairs» — la ficha de la Guardian's Office que Urban da.

«Someone who was labelled fair game was an individual identified as a threat to the Church of Scientology, and who could therefore be harassed, threatened or punished using any and all means possible – indeed, “tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed» — en qué consistía el principio de fair game, según Urban.

«At the same time, Hubbard also began using a process known as “Security Checks” on members of the Church itself in order to weed out any potential subversives within the organization. Members were hooked up to the E-meter and asked a series of sensitive questions about their loyalty to the Church, any secrets they might be keeping, and any possible connections they might have to Communism» — y los Security Checks hacia dentro de la organización.

«Are you a pervert? Are you guilty of any major crimes in this lifetime? Are you or have you ever been a Communist» — la muestra de preguntas de esos controles que Urban reproduce.

«More than one observer has thus compared Scientology to a modern version of a “mystery religion”, not unlike the Greek mysteries or various other secret societies and esoteric orders (including modern esoteric orders, such as Parsons’s and Crowley’s OTO» — la comparación con las religiones de misterio que Urban recoge; la frase sigue en la plana 200.

«Scientologists’ progress, the “Bridge to Total Freedom”, lists fifteen OT levels, only seven or eight of these appear to have been completed before Hubbard’s death, or at least are currently available to Church members» — el desajuste entre los quince niveles anunciados y los disponibles, según Urban.

«The most infamous of the OT materials is the narrative revealed at OT level III, which explains the past history of the physical universe and the source of human suffering in this life» — qué contiene el nivel OT III, según Urban.

«Yet Hubbard risked his own life and health in order to achieve the dramatic breakthrough to OT III, passing through the “Wall of Fire” to uncover the secret history of our galaxy and the means to recover our ultimate potential as spiritual beings» — el relato del avance de Hubbard al OT III, en los términos de la Iglesia que Urban recoge.

«The most remarkable of these began in 1975, when the GO planted hidden microphones and undercover agents within the offices of the IRS itself in order to obtain and photocopy all of the service’s vast files on Scientology» — la infiltración de la Guardian's Office en el IRS que Urban data.

«Some 134 agents were involved in the raids, armed with crowbars, sledgehammers and battering rams. In July 1977, the FBI confiscated as many as 200,000 documents, along with eavesdropping equipment and burglary tools – so much material that it took a truck to haul it away» — la redada del FBI de 1977, con las cifras que Urban da.

«Eleven Scientologists, including the GO head Jane Kember and Mary Sue Hubbard, were apprehended, tried, convicted and imprisoned; L. Ron himself was named as an unindicted co-conspirator, and then spent most of his remaining years in hiding until his death in 1986» — el desenlace judicial de ese episodio, según Urban.

«Not long after the birth of the World Wide Web itself, the Church’s most confidential Operating Thetan materials were leaked and soon began to circulate wildly in cyberspace, leading to a series of complex lawsuits and an array of aggressive measures designed to staunch the flow of esoteric information online» — el traslado del conflicto al ciberespacio, según Urban.

«the ultimate ecclesiastical authority regarding the standard and pure application of L. Ron Hubbard’s religious technologies» — cómo se define a sí mismo el Religious Technology Center, en cita de Urban.

«On the one side, the Church has argued that its advanced tech materials are not only copyrighted and trade secrets but also confidential religious texts; disseminating these texts without permission, the Church has argued, is as offensive as stealing the esoteric teachings of Australian aboriginal cultures or other religious traditions» — el argumento de la Iglesia sobre esos materiales, según Urban.

«On the other side, however, critics of the Church have argued that their right to disseminate these materials is also protected as free speech, and that revealing these materials is not only justifiable but a moral obligation so that the public can see what lies at the heart of this dangerous organization» — y el argumento contrario, consignado sin arbitrar.

«Despite the fact that Scientology’s attorneys argued that “disclosure of the materials is a violation of the group’s religious freedom”, the Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the documents to be made public at the clerk’s office» — la resolución judicial en el caso Wollersheim, según Urban.

«In response, some 1500 Scientologists crammed into the court buildings, swamping workers with hundreds of requests to photocopy the documents in an attempt to ensure that the materials were not made public» — la maniobra con que respondieron los cienciólogos, según Urban.

«The Church’s argument was that the confidential OT materials were both copyrighted and trade secrets, the disclosure of which could cause “irreparable spiritual injury if a rival church were allowed to disseminate them» — el argumento legal contra FACTNet, en cita de Urban.

«In 1990, Fishman was convicted of mail fraud, a crime that he claimed he had been brainwashed into committing in order to pay for his Scientology auditing» — el caso Fishman, según Urban.

«Among others, it dismisses Jesus as a “lover of young boys” who was “given to uncontrollable bursts of temper and hatred”; more surprising still, it identifies Hubbard both as the future Buddha Maitreya and as Lucifer, the light-bringer and anti-Christ» — lo que contiene el texto atribuido al nivel OT VIII, según Urban.

«The anti-Christ represents the forces of Lucifer (literally, the “lightbearer” or “light bringer”). My mission could be said to fulfill the Biblical promise represented by this brief Anti-Christ period. During this period there is a fleeting opportunity for the whole scenario to be effectively derailed, which would make it possible for the mass Marcabian landing (Second Coming) to take place» — el pasaje mismo, reproducido por Urban; el troceo parte la palabra con guion a fin de renglón y span() la une, de modo que el impreso dice light-bearer donde la cita trae lightbearer.

«Interestingly enough, the RTC initially claimed copyright of all the OT materials in the affidavit – including this OT VIII text – but later amended its claim to exclude the OT materials, now arguing they are a forgery. At present the authenticity of the OT documents remains unclear» — el vaivén de la propia Iglesia sobre la autenticidad de ese documento, consignado por Urban sin resolverlo.

«Regardless of their authenticity, however, the presence of these documents in cyberspace has encouraged the belief among many critics that Hubbard was in fact still immersed in the works of Aleister Crowley and continued to see himself in the lineage of the “Great Beast 666”» — y el efecto que ese material tiene entre los críticos, según Urban.

«Even with these intensive measures, however, copies of the documents were made and soon found their way onto the Internet. In October 1994, they appeared on the newsgroup alt-religion.scientology, formed three years earlier in order to facilitate critical discussion of the Church» — cómo llegaron esos documentos a la red, según Urban.

«Despite the Church’s legal efforts, however, the Fishman affidavit along with all of the confidential OT materials reappeared on alt-religion.scientology in July 1995, and have since been reproduced and disseminated in multiple languages across the World Wide Web» — el resultado de la ofensiva legal, según Urban.

«translated, encrypted, and hid just about anywhere you can imagine around the world … [Scientology] tried to put out a fire with matches and gasoline» — la fórmula de Wollersheim que Urban cita sobre ese resultado.

«In 2002, lawyers representing the Church targeted Google, the web’s most powerful search engine, demanding the removal of confidential Scientology materials – most notably, the secret OT materials – along with a list of allegedly infringing URLs (these demands have been only minimally successful» — la ofensiva contra Google, con su resultado, según Urban.

«In May 2009 Wikipedia’s arbitration council voted 10–0 to ban any users coming from any IP addresses owned by the Church of Scientology or its associates. The landmark action was taken because the Church was found to have repeatedly and deceptively edited hundreds of articles related to the controversial religion, thus damaging Wikipedia’s reputation for neutrality» — y el bloqueo de Wikipedia, con el motivo que Urban consigna.

«Anonymous first began to target the Church of Scientology in January 2008 after the leak of a confidential video featuring Tom Cruise» — cómo empieza el conflicto con Anonymous, según Urban.

«Scientology’s threats against YouTube became a powerful catalyst for the Anonymous collective, which saw this as a dangerous attack on free speech and the open flow of information online» — lo que ese episodio desató, según Urban.

«should be destroyed. For the good of your followers, for the good of mankind, and for our own enjoyment, we shall proceed to expel you from the internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form» — la declaración de Anonymous que Urban reproduce.

«Shortly after the conflict began in 2008, a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack was launched against Scientology websites, temporarily shutting them down with high volumes of traffic» — las tácticas virtuales que Urban documenta.

«As of December 2010, a simple Google search on “OT III” produced over 44,000 hits, while a search on “Xenu” produced over 700,000» — la medida con que Urban cierra: el conteo de resultados de búsqueda.

«Indeed, various observers have noted that the Internet may well prove to be “Scientology’s Waterloo” – that is, a battle of information that it cannot realistically win» — el pronóstico que Urban recoge de otros observadores.

«As ex-Scientologist Gerry Armstrong commented in an interview with me in August 2009, he believes that this could well be “the last generation of Scientologists”, since young people today grow up on the Internet, live increasingly in cyberspace and get all of their information online» — lo que Gerry Armstrong le dice a Urban en entrevista.

«you cannot unveil the SECRET and have it ever be quite so secret again» — y la frase de Hubbard con que Urban remata.

«Scientology is a particularly striking example of the fact that religious secrecy is rarely simply a matter of esoteric gnosis transmitted through isolated groups of initiates far removed from the messy social and political realm; on the contrary, religious secrecy is very often intimately entwined with larger cultural and historical forces, with struggles over power, and with very real material (as well as spiritual) interests» — la conclusión general de Urban sobre el secreto religioso.

«On the one hand, the increasingly esoteric levels of Hubbard’s OT “advanced tech” clearly served as a kind of “adorning possession”, in Simmel’s sense – that is, a source of status, prestige and power that enhances one’s character precisely by virtue of what it conceals» — el primer lado de la doble naturaleza del secreto, con Simmel.

«Or, to borrow a phrase from sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, secrecy can also serve as a form of “symbolic capital”; that is, a symbolic resource of distinction, honour and status that comes from possession of rare, highly valued esoteric knowledge» — y su traducción a la lengua de Bourdieu.

«Yet, on the other hand, secrecy can also be a profound liability for a religious group. By its very exclusivist nature, the practice of secrecy tends to arouse suspicion among dominant social and political powers, giving rise to all manner of fears: “Freemasons are running the country”, “the Mau Mau are ready to revolt» — el segundo lado, con los temores que despierta.

«Indeed, the Church soon found itself not just generating large amounts of income through its confidential advanced tech, but also quickly enmeshed in a complex war of surveillance, information control and espionage, both within its own ranks and with numerous government agencies, media outlets and online critics. The result has been an escalating, spiralling feedback loop of secrecy, esoteric knowledge, government scrutiny, media exposés, counter-espionage, and now all-out information warfare in the cyber-domain» — cómo se encadenan los dos lados en el caso cienciológico, según Urban.

«D]uring periods of social or political tension, religious secrets, real or imagined, take on a broader and more sinister importance, for they may be seen as evidence that a religious community has unsavory beliefs or behaviors that it must hide … We entered such a period after the September 11, 2001, attacks» — el pasaje de Michael Barkun sobre el secreto religioso después de 2001 que Urban cita.

«Today, we face a host of complex questions as to how to deal with secretive religious groups that might be engaged in subversive, dangerous and/or illegal activities. Do government agencies have a responsibility to use virtually any and all means at their disposal to monitor secretive groups and protect the public – including warrantless wiretapping, “sneak and peak searches”, “enhanced interrogation” techniques, and other aggressive methods that were previously considered illegal» — las preguntas abiertas con que Urban cierra el capítulo 9.

«However, the scholarly literature has focused mainly on conspiracy theories about esoteric societies» — el desequilibrio bibliográfico que Asbjørn Dyrendal señala al abrir el capítulo 10.

«Societies long defunct according to academic historiography may be presented as driving forces in history, the crowning example being the Bavarian secret society Illuminati, theories about which have grown only more expansive since the order’s demise in the 1780s» — el ejemplo con que lo ilustra: los Illuminati de Baviera.

«Both recently, such as during the Satanism scare, and more distantly, in the aftermath of the French Revolution,2 conspiratorial versions of history and society have acquired prominence. In such cases fear and outrage may reach the level of moral panic» — cuándo esas teorías dejan de ser pintorescas, según Dyrendal.

«Collective action and mainstreaming have been less prominent in a correspondingly less researched phenomenon: varieties of belief in, and use of, conspiracy theories in esoteric movements» — y el objeto menos estudiado que Dyrendal se propone: la conspiración dentro de los movimientos esotéricos.

«Here, however, I will show further examples of conspiracy theory in esoteric societies, with three largely different usages; in anthroposophy, Satanism and Discordianism» — los tres casos que el capítulo examina.

«I will look at the examples through the lens of three interrelated topics that follow closely on my chosen definitions of conspiracy theory and esoteric discourse (below): notions of history, agency and knowledge» — los tres ejes de análisis que fija.

«In this context, “conspiracy theory” is taken to mean theories involving consciously plotting cabals, theories that are, in regard to extant knowledge, fanciful, and which make use of what is, from an academic perspective, specious reasoning, factually unlikely, or simply wrong» — la definición operativa de teoría conspirativa con que Dyrendal trabaja, hecha con las connotaciones peyorativas y no contra ellas.

«The consciously plotting cabal mark out what constitutes “conspiracy theory” from a broader family of narratives about hidden forces limiting human agency and subverting our quest for knowledge» — qué distingue a la teoría conspirativa dentro de una familia más amplia, según Dyrendal.

«In this article I subscribe to a narrower understanding of conspiracy culture to delimit the milieu and discourses surrounding conspiracy theorists understood as “spokespersons”» — el recorte que Dyrendal declara sobre la cultura conspirativa.

«What makes a discourse esoteric is the rhetoric of hidden truth, which can be unveiled in a specific way and established contrary to other interpretations of the universe and history – often that of the institutionalised majority» — la definición de discurso esotérico de von Stuckrad que Dyrendal adopta.

«We may note that by including opposition to “the institutionalised majority”, this way of viewing esoteric discourse foreshadows the possibility that reflected polemical narratives may be used by those forced into the domain of rejected knowledge» — por qué esa definición le sirve, según Dyrendal.

«As Wouter Hanegraaff notes with regard to the mainstream, identity construction depends on “simultaneously constructing an ‘other’ who represents whatever we do not want to be» — la formulación de Hanegraaff sobre la construcción de identidad que Dyrendal cita.

«This works the other way around as well, and demonizing the “other” can strengthen identity when social bonds are loose» — y la simetría que Dyrendal le añade.

«Unlike Campbell’s focus on a monist nature of the mystical religion he termed the cultic milieu, Partridge’s occulture includes the dualist. The ideas constituting dark occulture, to which conspiracy theory belongs, are thus a phase of, or subscene within, the broader “occultic” milieu» — en qué se aparta la occulture de Partridge del medio cúltico de Campbell, según Dyrendal, y dónde cae la conspiración.

«Members usually mask themselves, either with bandanas or, more often, with Guy Fawkes masks modelled on those in the» — las tácticas físicas de Anonymous que Urban describe; la frase termina en la plana 208 nombrando la película.

«Anonymous protestors typically carry an array of signs bearing slogans such as “Religion is free: Scientology is neither”, “$cientology kills” and “Google ‘Fair Game’» — las consignas que Urban transcribe de esas protestas.

«As author and former Scientologist William S. Burroughs noted in 1978, well before the dawn of the Internet» — la advertencia de William S. Burroughs de 1978 que Urban cita; la cita sigue en la plana 209.

«they may well find themselves bypassed”.72 In the digital age, when even the most intense efforts of the RTC appear to be largely unsuccessful at staunching the relentless flow of information in cyberspace, Burroughs may well prove to be correct» — y el cierre de esa cita, con el comentario de Urban.

«Their common rejection by the mainstream may lead those defined as Other by a self-proclaimed orthodoxy to define their ties to each other and their emically constructed historical forebears as close» — la reciprocidad polémica que Dyrendal propone; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«They may also project a similar kind of otherness onto their preferred opponents, effectively demonizing the mainstream as much as any discourse of the more powerful» — y la segunda mitad de esa simetría.

«So in order to assuage the thirst for esoteric knowledge, I shall attempt a tentative answer to a discussion I have had with one of the editors of the present volume: may conspiracy theories in themselves qualify for membership in contemporary esoteric discourse in any useful manner? Does relating them to each other help us understand anything better» — la pregunta de fondo del capítulo, que Dyrendal dice haber discutido con uno de los editores.

«Like their forebears,20 modern-day disciples of Rudolf Steiner vary widely in their opinions on a multitude of topics. This includes vaccination» — la advertencia de pluralidad con que Dyrendal abre el caso antroposófico.

«Rudolf Steiner’s comments … leave no doubt about the ‘hidden agenda’ behind the plan to vaccinate all the world’s children with as many vaccines as possible, thus devastating their spiritual development» — la teoría conspirativa que el médico antroposófico Philip Incao funda en Steiner, en cita de Dyrendal.

«Incao builds his theory by first finding fault with the scientific backing behind vaccines, misrepresenting along the way the state of research in standard conspiracist manner» — cómo se arma ese argumento, según Dyrendal.

«What Steiner did have to say on the issue is more complicated. It is far from clear that it must be read as Incao does (indeed, it seems overly narrow), but we do see several instances where Steiner put forward varieties of the statement Incao quoted, and which puts the statement in context» — la reserva con que Dyrendal separa a Steiner de su lector.

«W]hile human bodies will develop in such a way that certain spiritualities can find room in them, the materialistic bent, which will spread more and more under the guidance of the spirits of darkness, will work against this and combat it by physical means» — el pasaje de Steiner de 1917 que Dyrendal cita; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente.

«What his esoteric vision tells him, is that the evil spiritual forces of different ages will by necessity work for a “vaccine” against the spiritual development of the age, and for a soulkilling materialism. Materialism as a cultural force may thus seem to be the central enemy, but through application of esoteric insight, it is revealed that it reflects deeper forces, and that a “vaccine” against spirituality will be the tool of evil (materialistic) spirits» — cómo lee Dyrendal esa visión de Steiner.

«How does Steiner know? He knows, of course, through his special, spiritual insight, which leaves him able to experience higher knowledge directly» — la fuente de conocimiento que Steiner declara, según Dyrendal.

«This knowledge concerns power and agency, revealing a conspiracy against human freedom by evil spiritual forces that work through human beings, some of whom are organized in “secret brotherhoods”» — y qué revela ese conocimiento.

«He starts with a mystery: the “incomprehensible” murder of what he calls a noble woman. More accurately, although Steiner does not say so explicitly, it is about the murder of Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria (1837–98) by the anarchist Luigi Lucheni» — el caso con que Steiner abre esa conferencia, identificado por Dyrendal.

«Since they are probably possessed and greedy for knowledge and power, they have been killing people, seemingly wantonly. Why? Because, Steiner tells us, the souls of those killed may be used to gather knowledge and power, and transmitted from the dead through trained mediums» — lo que Steiner atribuye a las hermandades secretas, según Dyrendal.

«During the fifth post-Atlantean epoch the human being’s physical apparatus for thinking will become mature enough to comprehend fully certain elements of disease, certain processes of healing, and connections between natural processes and diseases» — el pasaje de Steiner sobre la madurez del pensamiento en esa época, citado por Dyrendal.

«by bringing out remedies to be administered by inoculation, just as inoculations have been developed as a protection against diseases, only these inoculations will influence the human body in a way that will make it refuse to give a home to the spiritual inclinations of the soul» — y el pasaje sobre las inoculaciones que cerrarían el alma.

«But we may note that although “inoculations” are mentioned as part of the materialist conspiracy of evil powers, Steiner clearly differentiates between existing vaccines against diseases, and those to come, which will be against the spirit. The conflation made by Incao is easily understandable from many other uses Steiner made of the same trope, but it is produced by later interpretation» — la distinción que Dyrendal mantiene entre lo que Steiner dice y lo que Incao le hace decir.

«Echoing a tradition from nineteenth-century occultism’s discouragement against leaving one’s will in the hand of others (e.g. mesmerists), he said that a Satanist “should not allow himself to be programmed by others» — la razón por la que LaVey aborrecía el conformismo, según Dyrendal.

«He abhorred “the masses”, and presented conspiracy theory as mythmaking for the masses. As myths they are necessary, “for they are essential to man’s emotional needs» — la posición declarada de LaVey sobre las teorías conspirativas, en cita de Dyrendal.

«In order to insure the propagation of humanity, nature made lust the second most powerful instinct, the first being self-preservation. Realizing this, the Christian Church made fornication the ‘Original Sin’» — el pasaje de The Satanic Bible que Dyrendal cita como conspiración sacerdotal.

«This sorry state of affairs is the result of manipulation by priestcraft, a conspiracy by the Christian cabal: “The religionists have kept their followers in line by suppressing their egos» — y la fórmula con que LaVey la resume, según Dyrendal.

«It is that as well, but in a secularized version of esoteric discourse, the secular text was itself “Magus” LaVey’s most powerful form of magic» — cómo lee Dyrendal el texto de LaVey: el texto secular como su magia más potente.

«I]f the love of money is the root of all evil; then we must at least assume the most powerful men on earth to be the most Satanic. This applies to financiers, industrialists, popes, poets, dictators, and all assorted opinion-makers and field marshals of the world’s activities» — el argumento de LaVey sobre los hombres más poderosos como los más satánicos, citado por Dyrendal.

«Occasionally, through “leakages,” one of the enigmatic men or women of earth will be found to have “dabbled” in the black arts. These, of course, are brought to light as the “mystery men” of history. Names like Rasputin, Zaharoff, Cagliostro, Rosenberg and their ilk are links – clues, so to speak, of the true legacy of Satan … a legacy which transcends ethnic, racial and economic differences and temporal ideologies, as well. The Satanist has always ruled the earth … and always will, by whatever name he is called» — la genealogía satánica que LaVey construye, en cita de Dyrendal.

«In constructing a “true” lineage of Satanism LaVey mirrors and reinvents conspiracy culture’s lore: the powerful truly are Satanists» — cómo invierte LaVey el motivo conspirativo, según Dyrendal.

«The skirmishes take place in the region of one’s own mind. The less one is aware of the invisible war, the more receptive one is to its ongoing process of demoralization, for the insensate human is vulnerable, malleable and ripe for control» — el pasaje de LaVey sobre la guerra invisible que Dyrendal cita.

«Subliminal messages and other hidden control measures attempt to deprive everyone of that “wondrous, unique experience”44 life should be. Satanists should use their insight and “materialist magic” to make their own subliminals instead, thus avoiding unwanted influences» — y la respuesta que LaVey propone, según Dyrendal.

«But LaVey’s play with conspiracy theory may also be seen to follow quite logically from, and relate strongly to, his conceptions of magic and agency» — y por qué ese juego no es arbitrario, según Dyrendal.

«LaVey often leans toward the categorical statement or surprising observation, but tends to encourage little in the way of argument» — el estilo de LaVey, según Dyrendal.

«i]n essence, it is the experience of practical application or experiential authority that undergirds LaVeyan scientism – science is true because it resonates with satanic reasoning» — la explicación de Jesper Petersen sobre el cientificismo laveyano que Dyrendal recoge.

«He declares and concludes. Filling in the gaps is for the reader, who may, on closer reading, find seemingly simple statements to be ambiguous, playful and sardonic» — y cómo queda el lector ante ese estilo, según Dyrendal.

«Discordianism started as a mock religion around 1957, with Principia Discordia as an anarchic, mock scripture devoted to Eris, the goddess of chaos» — la ficha del discordianismo que Dyrendal da.

«Founded by Hassan i Sabbah, 1090 ad (5090 al, 4850 am) Reformed by Adam Weishaupt, 1776 ad (5776 al, 5536 am) THE ANCIENT ILLUMINATED SEERS OF BAVARIA invite YOU to join The World’s Oldest and Most Successful Conspiracy» — el anuncio de los Illuminati de Baviera que la Principia Discordia imprime, reproducido por Dyrendal.

«The chapter is, appropriately, called “The Epistle to the Paranoid”, and the “advert” is a play on the style and content of similar advertisements for conspiracy literature» — cómo lo lee Dyrendal: una parodia de los anuncios de literatura conspirativa.

«The “knowledge” presented is, however, as part of “nonsense as salvation”54 partly contradicted, partly transcended by giving conflicting information» — la estrategia discordiana que Dyrendal describe.

«The Illuminati seems the authoritarian, secret cabal behind the New World Order (NWO), but in reality “employs a totally different, laissez-faire (and Taoist) agenda» — lo que la trilogía Illuminatus! hace con los Illuminati, según Dyrendal.

«By creating confusion, casting doubt and uncertainty on everything, the reader is treated to a narrative “mindfuck” – a strategy for disrupting an established sense of reality related to “esoterrorism”57 – forcing the reader to question what is real» — el efecto buscado por ese estilo, según Dyrendal.

«Then I saw the fnords. The feature story involved another of the endless squabbles between Russia and the U.S. in the UN General Assembly, and after each direct quote from the Russian delegate I read a quite distinct “Fnord!” The second lead was about a debate in Congress on getting the troops out of Costa Rica; every argument presented by Senator Bacon was followed by another “Fnord!” At the bottom of the page was a Times depth-type study of the growing pollution problem and the increasing use of gas masks among New Yorkers; the most distressing chemical facts were interpolated with more “Fnords.” Suddenly I saw Hagbard’s eyes burning into me and heard his voice: “Your heart will remain calm. Your adrenalin gland will remain calm. Calm, all-over calm. You will not panic. You will look at the fnord and see it. You will not evade it or black it out. You will stay calm and face it.” And further back, way back: my first-grade teacher writing FNORD on the blackboard, while a wheel with a spiral design turned and turned on his desk, turned and turned, and his voice droned on, IF YOU DON’T SEE THE FNORD IT CAN’T EAT YOU, DON’T SEE THE FNORD, DON’T SEE THE FNORD … I looked back at the paper and still saw the fnords» — el pasaje de Illuminatus! sobre los fnords que Dyrendal reproduce; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Fnords are programmed to spread a low-grade fear making people eager to believe, and easy to control and manipulate. Fnords continue and develop the popular literary and political conspiracy theme of “brainwashing”59 related to foreign power, government, and consumer society alike» — qué son los fnords, según la exposición de Dyrendal.

«Then I got a hunch, and turned quickly to the advertisements. It was as I expected: no fnords. That was part of the gimmick, too: only in consumption, endless consumption, could they escape the amorphous threat of the invisible fnords» — y el pasaje donde la publicidad queda exenta de ellos.

«Through Discordian use, and particularly in the Illuminatus! trilogy, conspiracy theory functions as a deliberate “mind virus” to disrupt the reader’s ordinary cognitive system» — la función que Dyrendal le adjudica a la teoría conspirativa en el discordianismo.

«It becomes, in keeping with founder Kerry Thornley’s vision of Discordianism as “an American form of Zen Buddhism”,61 a kind of absurd koan, taking rationality to extremes of paradox where every claim to knowledge collapses in on itself» — y el paralelo con el koan que propone.

«The examples above show how some esoteric spokespersons have used conspiracy theory with regard to history, agency and knowledge. It works partly as a mythology of evil, making sense of history by revealing secrets about how the world works» — el balance de los tres casos, según Dyrendal.

«The claims to knowledge have different qualities, from certain truth to complete doubt. Knowledge about the hidden conspiracy plays, in limited parallel to esoteric “gnosis”, different roles in “salvation”, but it is always a guide to action: from understanding the deeper issues and agents of our time, through purely personal protection, to deliberate chaos and the collapse of ontology as a way to enlightenment» — y la variedad de estatutos epistémicos que encuentra entre ellos.

«While Jim Marrs starts from a basis of “event conspiracies” (the assassination of John F. Kennedy) and holds a more or less consistent secular basis for his thinking throughout his texts, David Icke is explicitly “spiritual” and anti-materialist in his mode of argument» — por qué Dyrendal elige a Marrs y a Icke como casos contrastantes.

«Considering the “secular” conspiracy theorists helps make sure that we are not merely comparing the same kind of apples» — y la razón metodológica de ese contraste.

«David Icke is one of the brightest stars on the occultural conspiracy scene, but controversial among some circles of conspiracy theorists, partly for his explicitly spiritual side, and partly for anchoring his conspiracy in shapeshifting reptiles» — cómo sitúa Dyrendal a David Icke.

«Judaism, Christianity and Islam all base their beliefs on these same stories written by the Levites after their stay in Babylon. We are looking at a point in history which was to define and control the world from then until now. … The Cabala is the esoteric stream of what is called Judaism, which is in fact a front for the Babylonian Brotherhood, as is the Vatican» — el pasaje de Icke sobre la Hermandad Babilónica que Dyrendal cita.

«This exemplifies a typical epistemological strategy: listing names combined with brief narratives of their hidden connections and their meaning, so that initiates may awaken to knowledge and be free» — y la estrategia epistemológica que Dyrendal le atribuye.

«Icke effortlessly constructs correspondences (and substantive identity) between symbols and actors across time, culture, and political and religious identities. They all derive from the same source and have the same purpose: “casting a spell on the human mind and emotions” in order to destroy human understanding of “who we really are” – part of an energetic, divine whole with “no us and them, only we and ultimately ‘I’» — el procedimiento de correspondencias de Icke, según Dyrendal.

«Humans who understand their true nature, power and worth would be impossible to manipulate … Only by delinking humanity from this knowledge has it been possible to orchestrate the reptilian-Brotherhood Agenda over thousands of years. The creation of religion and official “science” has been fundamental to that and … the same secret societies were responsible for establishing both» — el pasaje de Icke sobre por qué hay que desligar a la humanidad de ese saber.

«To create the strongest possible negative feelings associated with fear and guilt, so that it may dominate consciousness, “the Brotherhood use horrific Satanic rituals and sacrifice» — el papel del miedo en el esquema de Icke, según Dyrendal.

«A preparation for this, recalling Steiner and his modern disciple, is the weakening of the mind–body through vaccines, which have been a tool of keeping mankind ill and functioning below par, and an important development in getting “access keys to the body-computer» — el eco de Steiner que Dyrendal encuentra en Icke a propósito de las vacunas.

«Icke’s style is declarative. He presents his claims to knowledge as statements of fact, and he uses the gamut of “New Age” validations of knowledge,71 from personal experience and testimonials to science. He stresses the latter in the form of his own “research” with supportive testimonials as “independent confirmation”, whether through others’ research, channelling, or allegedly autobiographical information» — el estilo epistémico de Icke, según Dyrendal.

«The Cabala”, he writes, “is the secret knowledge hidden in codes within the Old Testament and other texts» — lo que Icke dice de la cábala, citado por Dyrendal.

«Although standing in clear continuity with the broader “New Age” milieu, Icke is a critical member. He sees New Age as being ignorant of the dark, reptilian forces, calling it “spirituality as escapism» — la relación crítica de Icke con la New Age, según Dyrendal.

«You think with your intellect and that is so vulnerable to programming through the eyes and ears by the daily diet of lies, suppression and misrepresentation in the media and by all those Brotherhood clones to which it offers a platform. But when we feel, we are tapping into our heart centre, our intuition, that connection with the cosmos» — el pasaje de Icke sobre intelecto e intuición que Dyrendal cita.

«have told you that the spirits of darkness are going to inspire their human hosts, in whom they will be dwelling, to find a vaccine that» — la continuación del pasaje de Steiner que Dyrendal cita; la frase termina en la plana 216.

«will drive all inclination towards spirituality out of people’s souls when they are still very young» — y su cierre, con la vacuna contra la espiritualidad.

«LaVey plays with the contents as well as the form of conspiracy theory, at times communicating a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards belief, mocking what he deems excesses» — y cómo se manifiesta ese registro, según Dyrendal.

«Conspiracy lies at the heart of history and how one views it, writes Jim Marrs, now one of the veterans in conspiracy theory: “Here there are only two views: accidental or conspiratorial» — la alternativa con que Jim Marrs plantea el asunto, citada por Dyrendal.

«Starting out from “event conspiracies” like the John F. Kennedy assassination, Marrs broadened out to “UFO cover-ups” and extraterrestrial presence, and more comprehensive theories encompassing the totality of history (and some prehistory» — la trayectoria de Marrs, según Dyrendal.

«Marrs’s texts belong to the secular side of conspiracy culture. Not in the sense of pressing an explicitly secular agenda, but in the sense that he, unlike many other writers of “grand conspiracy”, does not present an explicitly religious agenda of his own» — en qué sentido llama Dyrendal secular a Marrs.

«They may at times be called “satanic” or alleged to be Satanists, but he attributes no supernatural abilities to them» — y el límite que le reconoce.

«This is when he presents the fluoridation of water as part of the Nazi heritage of mind control, and alleges that “sodium fluoride was placed in the drinking water of Nazi concentration camps to keep inmates pacified and susceptible to external control» — el caso de la fluoración del agua que Marrs sostiene, citado por Dyrendal.

«But more than anything, he holds a continued interest in secret societies and, like Icke, sees a “Babylonian” heritage behind the current world conspiracy» — lo que Marrs comparte con Icke, según Dyrendal.

«World War II was largely the result of infighting between secret occult societies composed of wealthy businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic» — la afirmación de Marrs sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial, citada por Dyrendal.

«The imprint of secret societies can be found in every war and conflict of the twentieth century» — y la generalización con que la sostiene.

«He buys into their fake sources and historiography, for instance attributing to the historical Illuminati the prescience and/or influence to coin “flower power” (in the form “Ewige Blumenkraft”) as slogan» — lo que Dyrendal señala: Marrs toma por dato las fuentes inventadas de Illuminatus!.

«t]he world’s deepest secrets all lead back to Sumer in Mesopotamia, the first known great» — dónde remonta Marrs el origen de todo, en cita de Dyrendal.

«It was a prime, first site of extraterrestrial operations on earth, explains Marrs, seeking this space because it combined water, fuel and moderate weather» — y por qué ahí, según la explicación de Marrs que Dyrendal recoge.

«The historical narrative of Rule by Secrecy is jumbled. The origin with the extraterrestrial “Annunaki” is presented as a climax at the end of the book. Every chapter in itself deals with single strands of historical claims that may or may not be dealt with or linked to in other chapters. Continuity is underdeveloped» — el juicio de Dyrendal sobre la forma narrativa de ese libro.

«There is no guarantee”, he starts out with what seems a massive understatement, “that all of the information presented here is absolute ground truth» — la salvedad epistémica con que Marrs abre, citada por Dyrendal.

«As is common to grand conspiracy, this is not a call for extra careful consideration of sources of information. Instead it serves to make the case for a liberal, more “esoteric” approach to the production of knowledge. The doubt and uncertainty presented at the outset is rarely seen again» — y para qué sirve esa salvedad, según Dyrendal.

«Two of the central strategies could be called innuendo and superficial resemblance. Coale comments that “Marrs weaves his web of guilt by association”,93 and all of the elements are important. Lists, names and connections produce hidden meanings» — las dos estrategias de producción de saber que Dyrendal identifica en Marrs.

«Marx’s manifesto set forth the ten immediate steps to create an ideal communist state. They bear a striking similarity to the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, suggesting some common origin. … This list was also remarkably similar to the steps for creating an ideal society proposed by the Bavarian Illuminati, strongly indicating a close connection between the two» — el pasaje de Marrs que encadena a Marx, los Protocolos y los Illuminati, citado por Dyrendal.

«Since the conspiracy is a web of relations, and everything is shrouded in secrets, the proof is in the linking. When the link may be made, it serves as proof» — la lógica probatoria que Dyrendal le atribuye.

«This comparison provided compelling support for those who claim that the biblical Israelites drew heavily from the ancient Egyptian texts. The Egyptians, in turn, gained their knowledge and beliefs from the older cultures of Babylon and Sumer» — el remate del cuadro comparativo entre el Libro de los Muertos y el Decálogo que Marrs presenta, en cita de Dyrendal; el cuadro mismo queda fuera porque el troceo lo entrevera con bytes de control.

«Perceived similarities are proofs of contacts, influences and, finally, identity. If you cannot find the time to produce even the spurious similarities to “prove” the connections, you may, as we see exemplified in the final sentence, just postulate them» — y la lectura de Dyrendal sobre ese procedimiento.

«Still, the topic of the conspiratorial suppression of knowledge is always in place. Indeed, it plays a central role as what limits freedom and “salvation”. Information (“the truth”), Marrs concludes, is what will set you free» — el papel soteriológico que el saber tiene en Marrs, según Dyrendal.

«The unveiling of conspiracy tends to take the form of a historical narrative. The polemical content and narrative form serve conspiracy theories in their function as mythologies of evil revealing secret knowledge about the origins and nature of evils befalling humanity (and Nature)» — la forma que toma la revelación conspirativa, según Dyrendal.

«Besides, and allied with, the suspects in high finance, politics and the military, the historical “secret societies” are presented by both some esotericists and conspiracy theorists as important loci of hidden traditions wielding unknown power» — el lugar que las sociedades secretas ocupan en los dos discursos, según Dyrendal.

«As discussed by Hugh Urban,98 the very claim of possessing secret knowledge and hidden power may raise suspicion from outsiders» — el primer elemento de esa relación, que Dyrendal toma del capítulo 9 del volumen.

«The second element is the esoteric discourse on “secret chiefs” or “ascended masters” as hidden leaders with particularly deep insight and power» — y el segundo.

«Add the two, and we may see conspiracy theories involving secret societies as the outline of an esoteric movement-discourse, appropriated, filled in, and turned on its head: instead of guiding humanity in its progress, the secret chiefs of conspiracy mislead, corrupt and destroy, and the secrecy itself “proves” (as stated already in Roman conspiracy theories about early Christians) that suspicions are true» — la inversión que Dyrendal propone entre jefes secretos y conspiradores.

«while partially adopting the content and form of esoteric discourse, it reveals secrets of history in order to remove secret power in the present. The soteriological aspect of conspiracy theory is served by removing the alleged veil of secrecy from esoteric knowledge, serving at the same time as “initiation” into this knowledge» — cómo invierte la conspiración el discurso esotérico, según Dyrendal.

«Conspiracy theories thus tend to reveal the least “ordinary”99 aspects of occulture as destructive, while at the same time partaking in the same occulture they reveal as evil» — la paradoja que Dyrendal consigna: la conspiración forma parte de la occulture que denuncia.

«In brief, the revelation of “secret knowledge” in conspiracy theory serves to delimit in-group from out-group, aiming in the same stroke to work as an “initiatory” experience regulating the possibility of salvation through disclosure: adopt, and awaken, or reject, and join the black brethren (or the sheeple» — y la función social que le adjudica.

«Conspiracy theory tends, however, to be characterized as “fundamentalist” rather than esoteric in its epistemology» — la clasificación corriente que Dyrendal discute.

«Like prophetic literature, they show a marked tendency to “semiotic arousal”103 where the visible becomes transparent signs evidencing the invisible» — lo que Dyrendal le opone: la excitación semiótica que comparte con la literatura profética.

«But at the same time, conspiracy theory is driven by the narrative logic of suspense fiction;104 the conspiracy must leave clues so that the detective may solve the case. This makes culture into a “Book of Nature” whereby the signature of its conspiratorial authors may be read» — la exigencia narrativa que Dyrendal encuentra dentro de esa inmunización.

«The strategy may be simple inversions, as the “fact–fiction reversal” noted by Michael Barkun,105 whereby precisely because something is marked as fiction, it may be deemed legitimate to view it as masked fact» — la inversión de hecho y ficción de Michael Barkun que Dyrendal recoge.

«Taking this epistemology seriously, one is caught in a web of contradictions and uncertainties: Nothing is certainly true, but anything might be true» — la consecuencia epistémica que Dyrendal extrae.

«The claims to knowledge may be shrouded in a very limited uncertainty, but are nonetheless presented as fact» — y el contraste que mantiene entre el juego discordiano y el resto de los casos.

«The style in conspiracy discourse tends, as in cult archaeology and other types of alternative history, to appeal to the academic, and the prose may be dense with references to “research”. It involves using phrases and terms from both academic and “rejected” science. The effect is a variation of “terminological scientism» — el estilo académico prestado que Dyrendal describe, con el término de Hammer.

«The relation between knowledge and agency is, then, in many ways the most important one as it holds the key to salvation. In order to break free one must be made aware of how one’s agency is being subverted» — el eje que Dyrendal declara decisivo.

«paraphrase Partridge, occulture at its most ordinary: the attempts to subvert “brainwashing” by “mindfucks” or “esoterrorism” may be foregrounded by the esoteric avant-garde, but the fear of threats to agency through mainstream consumer culture is itself mainstream» — y por qué llama ordinaria a esa preocupación, con Partridge.

«I]ntense anxiety about an apparent loss of autonomy or self-control – the conviction that one’s actions are being controlled by someone else, that one has been “constructed” by powerful external agents. … This fear sometimes manifests itself in a belief that the world is full of “programmed” or “brainwashed” subjects, addicts or “mass-produced” persons» — la definición de pánico de agencia que Dyrendal cita.

«Indeed, in some of the theories, this, not the actions of murder and mayhem, is the epitome of the conspiracy’s evil. This is one reason why knowledge is given soteriological status: it has the power to “break the programming» — dónde sitúa Dyrendal el mal máximo dentro de esas teorías, y por qué el saber salva.

«In line with modern assumptions generally, and selfspirituality specifically, the self as agent is functionally sacred. It is the last refuge of what should be protected from the onslaught of modernity and outside power, but which the lore of conspiracy culture tells us is under attack» — el estatuto del yo como agente en ese esquema, según Dyrendal.

«Popular esotericism – from The Secret and other positive thinking manuals to more complex introductions to magic(k) – thrives on this, but goes one level further: the diamantine self is a higher self, above the purely rational and interior. It tends to be both “supra-rational” and transpersonal, requiring “initiatory” knowledge in order to become self-aware» — y el paso que da el esoterismo popular sobre ese ideal, según Dyrendal.

«It affirms personal agency, but, as brought to the fore by LaVey, through a different lens: The good news is that there exists effective, personal agency in the world, and that it uses recognizable techniques. The bad news is that the techniques are in use by evil forces so steeped in secrecy that they are almost impossible to reach» — la inversión que la conspiración hace de la recuperación de agencia, según Dyrendal.

«In both “light” and “dark” occulture, exposing hidden sources of power and agency leads to the recovery of agency» — y lo que las dos mitades de la occulture comparten.

«Connecting anything with something else through hidden links, where everything is connected and identity is conferred on principles of “signatures”, occult correspondences, and “as here, so there”, conspiracy theory may take on the look of a modern esoteric discourse, preoccupied, perhaps, with social salvation rather than the divine» — la tesis final de Dyrendal sobre la teoría conspirativa como discurso esotérico moderno.

«Both esoteric discourse and conspiracy theories belong to occulture, and they seem to draw from the same doxa. Thus historiographies, topics, and concerns move between them, adding the dualistic, polemical edge to their response to a marginalizing mainstream» — y la base común que les atribuye.

«This article has developed partly out of discussions with Egil Asprem, who has contributed numerous valuable ideas at different stages. The article would not have been possible without his contribution» — el agradecimiento de Dyrendal a uno de los editores, que documenta la conversación que el capítulo dice continuar.

«Marrs’s main interest lies in the influence of “secret societies” on economics and politics» — dónde está el interés principal de Marrs, según Dyrendal; se corta antes de la llamada de nota pegada.

«These are the main areas where he sees the limitation of human freedom, and where the abuse of power by the conspiracy interferes deeply with the lives of people» — y por qué, en la continuación de la misma frase.

«Conspiratorial history may be seen as an inverted esoteric discourse on history, knowledge and agency. Alleged chains of transmission for the conspiracy» — la asimetría que Dyrendal señala; la frase sigue en la plana 232 diciendo que los antecedentes propios quedan sin declarar.

«An esotericist like Steiner is closer to “conventionally” religious conspiracy writers,109 and his revelations may be more easily recognizable» — dónde queda Steiner dentro de ese cuadro, según Dyrendal; la frase sigue en la plana 234.