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Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Franz Winter:The Use of Ancient Gnostic Texts in Modern Esoteric Movements: the

Case of Samael Aun Weor

“Gnosis” and “Gnosticism” are words that are widely used in modern esotericliterature. References to this “Gnostic tradition” are found in the writings of manyesoteric authors. In addition to using this terminology, some writers explicitly refer toancient Gnostic texts. My paper focuses on a special case of this usage of ancientGnostic texts in the framework of a modern esoteric movement: a publication of theColombian esoteric writer Samael Aun Weor, born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez(1917–1977), who originally founded the Movimiento Gnostico, which later split intomany different “Neo-Gnostic” groups now active all around the world. The author’slast book, published posthumously, is a commentary on the ancient Gnostic textPistis Sophia. I want to discuss its content, its setting and the handling of the “ancient”text. This should provide insight into the new interpretation given to ancient texts inthe framework of a modern esoteric movement.

Keywords:Christianity, Neo-Gnosticism, Latin America, Occultism

1

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Archaeology:

• Caroline Tully (U. Melbourne): “The artifice of Daedalus: Modern Minoicaas Religious Focus in Contemporary Paganism”

• Helga Vogel (FU Berlin): “‘The Goddess is alive!’ – Goddess Feminismand Archaeology: the Case of Çatal Höyük”

back to top

2

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Balkans:

• Nemanja Radulovic (U. Belgrade): “The Role of Gnosticism in Neo-Bogomilism”

back to top

3

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Christianity:

• Anne Kreps (Yale-NUS College, Singapore): “The Essenes in SouthernOregon”

• Nemanja Radulovic (U. Belgrade): “The Role of Gnosticism in Neo-Bogomilism”

• Franz Winter (U. Vienna): “The Use of Ancient Gnostic Texts in ModernEsoteric Movements: the Case of Samael Aun Weor”

back to top

4

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Essenes:

• Anne Kreps (Yale-NUS College, Singapore): “The Essenes in SouthernOregon”

back to top

5

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Feminism:

• Lily A. Bonga (Crete): “Mother-Goddess Misconceptions”

• Meret Fehlmann (U. Zürich): “Ancient Goddesses for Modern Times orNew Goddesses from Ancient Times?”

• Kathryn Rountree (U. Tasmania): “Transforming Goddesses: Neo-PaganProjects of Revival and Reinvention”

• Caroline Tully (U. Melbourne): “The artifice of Daedalus: Modern Minoicaas Religious Focus in Contemporary Paganism”

• Helga Vogel (FU Berlin): “‘The Goddess is alive!’ – Goddess Feminismand Archaeology: the Case of Çatal Höyük”

back to top

6

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Germany:

• Helga Vogel (FU Berlin): “‘The Goddess is alive!’ – Goddess Feminismand Archaeology: the Case of Çatal Höyük”

back to top

7

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Goddess-worship:

• Lily A. Bonga (Crete): “Mother-Goddess Misconceptions”

• Meret Fehlmann (U. Zürich): “Ancient Goddesses for Modern Times orNew Goddesses from Ancient Times?”

• Kathryn Rountree (U. Tasmania): “Transforming Goddesses: Neo-PaganProjects of Revival and Reinvention”

• Caroline Tully (U. Melbourne): “The artifice of Daedalus: Modern Minoicaas Religious Focus in Contemporary Paganism”

• Helga Vogel (FU Berlin): “‘The Goddess is alive!’ – Goddess Feminismand Archaeology: the Case of Çatal Höyük”

back to top

8

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Greece:

• Meret Fehlmann (U. Zürich): “Ancient Goddesses for Modern Times orNew Goddesses from Ancient Times?”

• Kathryn Rountree (U. Tasmania): “Transforming Goddesses: Neo-PaganProjects of Revival and Reinvention”

• Caroline Tully (U. Melbourne): “The artifice of Daedalus: Modern Minoicaas Religious Focus in Contemporary Paganism”

back to top

9

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Italy:

• Kathryn Rountree (U. Tasmania): “Transforming Goddesses: Neo-PaganProjects of Revival and Reinvention”

back to top

10

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Latin America:

• Franz Winter (U. Vienna): “The Use of Ancient Gnostic Texts in ModernEsoteric Movements: the Case of Samael Aun Weor”

back to top

11

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Literature:

• Meret Fehlmann (U. Zürich): “Ancient Goddesses for Modern Times orNew Goddesses from Ancient Times?”

back to top

12

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Music:

• Linda Simonis (Ruhr-U., Bochum): “Neo-Gnosticism in ContemporaryPopular Music: Current 93 and Nox Aurea”

back to top

13

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Neo-Gnosticism:

• Matthew Dillon (Rice U., Houston): “Unearthed Rituals, Recollected The-ologies, Mnemohistory and the Role of Scholarship in Contemporary‘Gnosticism(s)’”

• Nemanja Radulovic (U. Belgrade): “The Role of Gnosticism in Neo-Bogomilism”

• Linda Simonis (Ruhr-U., Bochum): “Neo-Gnosticism in ContemporaryPopular Music: Current 93 and Nox Aurea”

• Franz Winter (U. Vienna): “The Use of Ancient Gnostic Texts in ModernEsoteric Movements: the Case of Samael Aun Weor”

back to top

14

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Neo-Paganism:

• Ethan Doyle White (U. College London): “The Revived Cult of Antinous”

• Hubert Mohr (U. Basel): “Online Temples – a New Cultic Form of Neo-Ancient Cyberpaganism”

• Nemanja Radulovic (U. Belgrade): “The Role of Gnosticism in Neo-Bogomilism”

• Kathryn Rountree (U. Tasmania): “Transforming Goddesses: Neo-PaganProjects of Revival and Reinvention”

• Caroline Tully (U. Melbourne): “The artifice of Daedalus: Modern Minoicaas Religious Focus in Contemporary Paganism”

back to top

15

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

New Age Religion:

• Anne Kreps (Yale-NUS College, Singapore): “The Essenes in SouthernOregon”

back to top

16

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

New Media:

• Matthew Dillon (Rice U., Houston): “Unearthed Rituals, Recollected The-ologies, Mnemohistory and the Role of Scholarship in Contemporary‘Gnosticism(s)’”

• Ethan Doyle White (U. College London): “The Revived Cult of Antinous”

• Hubert Mohr (U. Basel): “Online Temples – a New Cultic Form of Neo-Ancient Cyberpaganism”

back to top

17

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

North America:

• Anne Kreps (Yale-NUS College, Singapore): “The Essenes in SouthernOregon”

• Kathryn Rountree (U. Tasmania): “Transforming Goddesses: Neo-PaganProjects of Revival and Reinvention”

back to top

18

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Occultism:

• Nicholas Marshall (Århus U.): “Robes and Gowns: the Relationship be-tween Scholarship and the Occult in the 20th Century”

• Pavel Nosachev (NRU./St. Tikhon’s, Moscow): “The Dazzling Darkness ofPaganism: the Theme of Antiquity in the works of Evgeniy Golovin”

• Franz Winter (U. Vienna): “The Use of Ancient Gnostic Texts in ModernEsoteric Movements: the Case of Samael Aun Weor”

back to top

19

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Popular Culture:

• Meret Fehlmann (U. Zürich): “Ancient Goddesses for Modern Times orNew Goddesses from Ancient Times?”

• Linda Simonis (Ruhr-U., Bochum): “Neo-Gnosticism in ContemporaryPopular Music: Current 93 and Nox Aurea”

back to top

20

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Queer Culture:

• Ethan Doyle White (U. College London): “The Revived Cult of Antinous”

back to top

21

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Reception of Scholarship:

• Matthew Dillon (Rice U., Houston): “Unearthed Rituals, Recollected The-ologies, Mnemohistory and the Role of Scholarship in Contemporary‘Gnosticism(s)’”

• Nicholas Marshall (Århus U.): “Robes and Gowns: the Relationship be-tween Scholarship and the Occult in the 20th Century”

back to top

22

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Russia:

• Pavel Nosachev (NRU./St. Tikhon’s, Moscow): “The Dazzling Darkness ofPaganism: the Theme of Antiquity in the works of Evgeniy Golovin”

back to top

23

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Traditionalism:

• Pavel Nosachev (NRU./St. Tikhon’s, Moscow): “The Dazzling Darkness ofPaganism: the Theme of Antiquity in the works of Evgeniy Golovin”

back to top

24

Freie Universität BerlinNew Antiquities: Transformations of the Past in the New Age and Beyond

26 & 27 June 2014

Index:

Turkey:

• Helga Vogel (FU Berlin): “‘The Goddess is alive!’ – Goddess Feminismand Archaeology: the Case of Çatal Höyük”

back to top

25

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