Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Hedenborg White, Manon (1990-....)
Titre(s) : The eloquent blood [Texte imprimé] : the goddess Babalon and the construction of femininities in Western esotericism / Manon Hedenborg White
Publication : New York (N.Y.) : Oxford University Press, copyright 2020
Description matérielle : 1 vol. (xi-374 p.) ; 25 cm
Collection : Oxford studies in Western esotericism
Lien à la collection : Oxford studies in Western esotericism
Note(s) : Bibliogr. p. 345-367. Index
In the conventional dichotomy of chaste, pure Madonna and libidinous whore, the former
has usually been viewed as the ideal form of femininity. However, there is a modern
religious movement in which the negative stereotype of the harlot is inverted and
exalted. The Eloquent Blood focuses on the changing construction of femininity and
feminine sexuality in interpretations of the goddess Babalon. A central deity in Thelema,
the religion founded by the notorious British occultist Aleister Crowley (1875-1947),
Babalon is based on Crowley's favorable reinterpretation of the biblical Whore of
Babylon, and is associated with liberated female sexuality and the spiritual ideal
of passionate union with existence. Analyzing historical and contemporary written
sources, qualitative interviews, and ethnographic fieldwork in the Anglo-American
esoteric milieu, the study traces interpretations of Babalon from the works of Crowley
and some of his key disciples-including the rocket scientist John "Jack" Whiteside
Parsons, and the enigmatic British occultist Kenneth Grant-until the present. From
the 1990s onwards, this study shows, female and LGBTQ esotericists have challenged
historical interpretations of Babalon, drawing on feminist and queer thought and conceptualizing
femininity in new ways. Tracing the trajectory of a particular gendered symbol from
the fin-de-siecle until today, Manon Hedenborg White explores the changing role of
women in Western esotericism, and shows how evolving constructions of gender have
shaped the development of esotericism. Combining research on historical and contemporary
Western esotericism with feminist and queer theory, the book sheds new light on the
ways in which esoteric movements and systems of thought have developed over time in
relation to political movements
Sujet(s) : Crowley, Aleister (1875-1947) -- Appréciation
Femmes et ésotérisme -- 1990-2020
Critique féministe
Théorie queer
Indice(s) Dewey :
135 (23e éd.) = Rêves et ésotérisme
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780190065027 (rel.). - ISBN 0190065028. - ISBN 9780190065034 (erroné). - ISBN
9780190065041 (erroné). - ISBN 9780190065058 (erroné)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb45858332z
Notice n° :
FRBNF45858332
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
