From Mystery to ‘Mysticism’

In this episode of "The Schweppe, the secret history of Western Esotericism podcast," Earl Fontainelle explores the multifaceted meanings of "mysticism," distinguishing between its highbrow, religious connotations and its more colloquial use to describe the weird or nonsensical. He presents three common understandings of mysticism: direct experience of the divine, a specific esoteric path within a religion, and a shared inner core of religious experience across different traditions. Fontainelle traces the historical evolution of the term "mysticism" from its ancient Greek roots in mystery cults, where "mystikos" primarily meant "secret" or "pertaining to the mysteries," to its modern interpretation as an experiential religious path. The discussion touches on the influence of Platonism, Pseudo-Dionysius, and later thinkers like Jean Gerson, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Immanuel Kant, Aleister Crowley, René Guénon, Rudolf Otto and William James in shaping contemporary understandings of mysticism, setting the stage for a critical examination of the term's usefulness in the next episode.