Occultists and Mystics of All Ages

What It's About

Seven biographical essays on figures who straddled the line between philosophy, religion, and the occult: Apollonius of Tyana, Plotinus, Michael Scot, Paracelsus, Emanuel Swedenborg, Count Cagliostro, and Anna Kingsford. Rather than simply retelling their legends, Shirley weighs primary sources against later myth-making and religious polemic, trying to establish what can actually be known about each life.

Key Concepts

Each essay wrestles with the same underlying question: how much of a mystic's reputation is genuine spiritual insight, how much is later embellishment, and how much is the product of hostile or hagiographic bias in the sources. Shirley treats his subjects sympathetically without abandoning critical judgement, so a miracle-worker like Apollonius or a alleged charlatan like Cagliostro receives the same scrutiny as respected philosophers like Plotinus.

About the Author

Ralph Shirley (1865–1946) was an English writer and editor born into an aristocratic family and educated at Oxford. He became director of the publisher William Rider & Son and, in 1905, founded The Occult Review, which he edited for over two decades. He was also active in psychic research circles.