The Theosophical Review
The Theosophical Review (Die Theosophische Rundschau) was a theosophical journal published by George Robert Stow Mead and Annie Besant . It was the successor to the magazine Lucifer and existed from 1897 to 1909 in London .
history
The predecessor of the Theosophical Review was the journal Lucifer . This was controversial because of its name from the beginning and sometimes subjected to severe criticism, as the title was equated with Lucifer , Satan or the devil . When Annie Besant handed over the position of editor to George Robert Stow Mead (GRS Mead) in September 1897 , he immediately changed the name of Lucifer to The Theosophical Review . This removed a point of criticism and friction. Until 1906, Besant was listed as editor and Mead as deputy editor on the title page, but Mead was solely responsible and Besant was only nominally listed.
The mode of appearance, type and extent were the same as with Lucifer . The magazine was published twice a year, with six issues each being bound into one issue, i.e. the September to February issues were combined into one large issue, as were the March to August issues. A total of 23 issues of this type appeared, each with almost 600 pages. The last edition of Lucifer , March – August 1897, was followed for the first time by the Theosophical Review for September 1897 – February 1898 . Under Mead's editorship, the magazine gained recognition outside of the Adyar Theosophical Society (Adyar-TG), with Mead himself publishing more than 160 articles and essays, about 100 of which came from Besant. In around twelve years of existence, a total of more than 2,400 essays and articles have been published.
Charles Webster Leadbeater was expelled from the Adyar TG on May 16, 1906 for alleged homosexual relationships with his students. After Besant had become the new president of Adyar-TG in June 1907, she enforced the resumption of Leadbeater in January 1909. Mead strongly opposed this decision and when this was unsuccessful, he resigned from the Adyar TG on February 20, 1909, along with a number of other theosophists, and resigned from all offices. This also affected the Theosophical Review , which had to be discontinued due to the lack of a qualified successor who could have taken over Mead's role as editor. The last edition was September 1908-February 1909.
On March 11, 1909, Mead founded his own organization, the Quest Society, independent of the Adyar-TG . To do this, he started the magazine The Quest , for which he also acted as publisher. Sometimes The Quest is seen as the successor to the Theosophical Review , although Mead and the Quest Society clearly distanced themselves from the Adyar-TG.
content
Theosophical topics were in the foreground, but in contrast to Lucifer there were no more attacks against the established churches and organizations. According to Mead's preference, more space was devoted to the subjects of Gnosticism , Neoplatonism and Hermetics . Articles of a religious nature, Buddhism , Hinduism and Christianity were used, as well as astrology and reincarnation . Several essays by Rudolf Steiner , at that time still general secretary of the German section of the Theosophical Society , were published.
literature
- Theosophical Review Magazine April 1901-August 1901 . Kessinger Publishing , Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-5325-8 . (Reprint)
- Theosophical Review Magazine 1902 . Kessinger, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-5326-6 . (Reprint)
- Theosophical Review Magazine January 1903-April 1903 . Kessinger, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-5329-0 . (Reprint)
- Theosophical Review Magazine May 1903-August 1903 . Kessinger, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-5328-2 . (Reprint)
- Theosophical Review Magazine September 1903-December 1903 . Kessinger, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-5327-4 . (Reprint)