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''Gnosis'' was an American
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
published from 1985 to 1999 devoted to the study of
Western esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...
. ''Gnosis'' was published by the Lumen Foundation, a
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
-based non-profit organization incorporated in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
by Jay Kinney and Dixie Tracy-Kinney to produce educational material, including a print magazine, on the Western esoteric tradition. Initial fund-raising resulted in a 5,000-copy print run of the first issue. The first issues were produced on a volunteer basis from a home office, but within three years the Lumen Foundation and ''Gnosis'' established permanent headquarters near
Mission Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to: * Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores * Dolores (given name) Dolores may also refer to: Film * ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt * ...
in San Francisco. In 1986, the writer
Richard Smoley Richard Smoley is an author and philosopher focusing on the world's mystical and esoteric teachings, particularly those of Western civilization. Early life and education Smoley was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1956. He attended the Taft Sch ...
began contributing to the magazine and went on to become its managing editor (briefly) and then, beginning in 1990, its editor for eight years. By 1990, ''Gnosis'' counted a circulation of 11,000 and went on to achieve a peak circulation of 16,000. During its run, ''Gnosis'' published interviews with such significant thinkers and teachers as
Huston Smith Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was an influential scholar of religious studies in the United States, He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book about comparative religion, ' ...
,
Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and ...
,
Graham Hancock Graham Bruce Hancock (born 2 August 1950) is a British writer who promotes pseudoscientific theories involving ancient civilizations and lost lands. Hancock speculates that an advanced ice age civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm, but t ...
,
Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (; fa, سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian philosopher and University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education in Iran and the Unite ...
,
Colin Wilson Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his phil ...
, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi,
Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine CBE (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was a British poet, critic, and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently ...
,
David Steindl-Rast David Steindl-Rast OSB (born July 12, 1926) is an American Catholic Benedictine monk, author, and lecturer. He is committed to interfaith dialogue and has dealt with the interaction between spirituality and science. Life and career Steindl-Rast ...
,
Claudio Naranjo Claudio Benjamín Naranjo Cohen (24 November 1932 – 12 July 2019) was a Chilean-born psychiatrist who is considered a pioneer in integrating psychotherapy and the spiritual traditions. He was one of the three successors named by Fritz Perls ( ...
, R. J. Stewart, and
June Singer June Singer (1920 – January 19, 2004) was an American analytical psychologist. She co-founded the Analytical Psychology Club of Chicago, later the Jung Institute of Chicago, as well as the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. She helped to ...
. Its writers and reviewers included many notable authors in the field, such as
Peter Lamborn Wilson Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 23, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wils ...
, Stephan A. Hoeller, Kabir Helminski,
Roger Walsh Roger N. Walsh (born 1946) is an Australian professor of Psychiatry, Philosophy and Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, within UCI's College of Medicine. Walsh is respected for h ...
,
Jacob Needleman Jacob Needleman (October 6, 1934 - November 28, 2022) was an American philosopher, author, and religious scholar. Needleman was Jewish and was educated at Harvard University, Yale University, and the University of Freiburg, Germany.Carl W. Ernst,
Charles A. Coulombe Roy-Charles A. Coulombe (born November 8, 1960), known as Charles Coulombe, is an American Catholic author, historian, and lecturer. Coulombe is known for his advocacy of monarchism. Early life and education Coulombe was born in Manhattan on ...
, David Fideler (founder of
Phanes Press Phanes Press is a New Age book publishing imprint of Red Wheel Weiser Conari. Phanes Press was founded by David Fideler in 1985 to publish Neoplatonic and other esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes ...
), Chas S. Clifton,
Erik Davis Erik Davis (born June 12, 1967) is an American writer, scholar, journalist and public speaker whose writings have ranged from rock criticism to cultural analysis to creative explorations of esoteric mysticism. He is perhaps best known for his b ...
,
Robert Hand Robert Sterling Hand is an American astrologer, historian, and writer. Early life Robert Hand was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and grew up in Orleans, Massachusetts. He began studying astrology at the age of 17. His father, Wilfred Hand, was ...
, and
John and Caitlin Matthews John Matthews (born 1948) and Caitlín Matthews (born 1952) are English writers. Together, they have written over 150 books and translated into more than thirty languages. Their work also includes Tarot packs, a card-based storytelling system, ...
. Each issue usually included reviews of a dozen current books on topics of interest to ''Gnosis'' readers.Lumen Foundation website
/ref> Although it was written for a general readership,
Wouter Hanegraaff Wouter Jacobus Hanegraaff (born 10 April 1961) is full professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and related currents at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He served as the first president of the European Society for the Study of ...
, professor of history of hermetic philosophy and related currents at the
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
, has observed that it "contributed considerably to the setting of academic standards in a field where university chairs or curricula devoted to Western esotericism were still absent, and which at the time n the 1980s and 1990swas still dominated by sensationalism and plain ignorance." Hanegraaff, Wouter J. "Kabbalah and ''Gnosis'' Magazine: 1985-1999". In
Boaz Huss Boaz Huss (born 1959) is a professor of Kabbalah at the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is a leading scholar in contemporary Kabbalah. Early life and education Boaz Huss was born in Jerusalem ...
, ed., ''Kabbalah and Contemporary Spiritual Revival''. Beer-Sheva, Israel: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 2011, p. 256.
The art director of issues 26 and 27 was
Tony Lane Anthony Samuel Lane (May 2, 1944 – January 1, 2016) began his career as an assistant to Alexey Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar, and became an early art director for Rolling Stone magazine. He was the designer of iconic album covers for Simon & Garf ...
. In 1998 ''Gnosis'' won ''
Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...
'' Alternative Press Award for "best spiritual coverage". In 1999, largely for financial reasons, ''Gnosis'' ceased publication. In 2019, the Lumen Foundation was dissolved and remaining assets were donated to the
Theosophical Society in America The Theosophical Society in America (TSA) is a member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the teaching of Theosophy and affiliated with the international Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India. The name "Theosophical Society in ...
.


References


External links

* Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1985 Magazines disestablished in 1999 Magazines published in San Francisco 1985 establishments in the United States Western esoteric magazines {{reli-mag-stub