Esotericism, Ideology, and Violence

If esoteric religious practices are, by definition, "hidden," then who exactly do they exclude, and what are the social consequences of such exclusions? This panel examines the relationship between esoteric practice and violent ideology in three diverse historical and cultural circumstances. From the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, these panelists explore the interconnections between esotericism and discourses of universalism and traditionalism. These panelists demonstrate some of the ways in which esoteric discourses of prisca theologica and secrecy can and have led to intolerant and violent cultural formations. 

The first paper turns to Ramon Llull, an extraordinary figure both as a Christian apologist and as a collater of the various streams of knowledge that converged in medieval Spain. Predating Marsilio Ficino's *prisca theologia* by a few hundred years, Llull sought to chart the hidden unity amongst the Abrahmic faiths despite their apparent diffusion. This esoteric universalism is a theme of Western esotericism that runs through the present, with both benign and not-so-benign historical outcomes. While pointing out what is noble and in accordance with Christian truth in his Jewish and Muslim interlocuters, Llull advocated for further crusades on the grounds of his "Art". Influenced by intellectual historian Tomoko Masuzawa, this paper is a contribution to the dialogue on Euro-Christian universalism and its aftereffects, for better or worse. 

The second paper draws on on ethnographic research and digital data collection to consider the entanglement between the esoteric philosophies of Rene Guénon, Julius Evola, and Aleksandr Dugin and far-right nationalist ideologues. Utilizing case studies of digital content produced by American converts to Russian Orthodoxy (and its political framings), the author teases out how philosophically intolerant, anti-modern conceptions of the body and person—proliferated through memes, podcasts, and video streams—are intimately tied to understandings of traditionalism, racism, and the disciplinary structures of political authority in the 20th century European context. The author shows that the project of traditionalism espoused on far-right social media is not linked to primordial truths but rather to the 20th century philosophical conceptions of what counts as modern, right, wrong, true, false, salvific, or damning. In doing so, the author contends that traditionalism provides the vocabulary to help alleviate far-right anxiety about rapid social change, economic crisis, and shifting political dynamics.

The third and final paper explores the complex relationship between esotericism, violence, and the far-right through the work and life of Savitri Devi Mukherji (1905-1982), also known as Maximani Portas and 'Hitler's priestess.' This critical discourse analysis focuses on her uniquely problematic ideology of violence which combines modern aryanism and radical Hindu nationalism with Malthusian 'deep ecology' and contempt for Christianity and Judaism. In doing so, the author aims to highlight and contextualize her formative effect on violent international neo-Nazism and white nationalist politics, continuous from the mid-1960s onward. Through recently published data gathered from the digital *Savitri Devi Archive,* the author follows her lasting global impact in spreading this antisemitic revisionist history (Figueira 2002). In addition, the author also situate her influence within various contemporary esoteric, New Age, and environmentalist movements, especially through her religious eco-fascism which included devout reverence for Hitler, deified as an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu.