![]() ![]() Selected conceptualisations are then set in dialogue with contemporary feminist and gender theory. In excavating the writings and as far as possible workings of Crowley, Jack Parsons, and Kenneth Grant (in particular) Hedenborg White marshals considerable primary sources and attends to their analysis with precision. Indeed, it is this diligence that forms the volume’s initial tricky aspect: the danger of being seduced by the delights of historical and discursive detail. There is no doubt that Hedenborg White is a diligent researcher. In this review I am not simply going to summarise the contents of each chapter progressively (that is the work of an Introduction), rather the focus is on its overall contribution to the discipline and aspects of its argumentation. Hedenborg White is diligent and thorough in the volume’s conceptual set up and clear to articulate her own position in regard to current disciplinary and conceptual debates that impinge upon the volume’s remit. Hedenborg White has a lot to do here, commencing with the titular use of “Western” and “esotericism,” of the latter she follows Hanegraaff’s delineation of esotericism as “rejected knowledge.” As a strongly binary construct (accepted/rejected) this seems an incongruous choice for a volume seeking to think femininities beyond a hegemonic male–female binary. So too, the initial chapters set the agenda for the text and clear the ground in respect to contentious or disputed terminology and theoretical interpretation. Over twelve chapters Hedenborg White maps the conceptualisation of Babalon and Scarlet Women (plural intended) commencing unsurprisingly with Aleister Crowley and following a historical trajectory up to the practice of contemporary esotericists. The form and discursive style of this text follows established genre expectations. It is an accomplished work that wrestles with discursive demons that can neither be vanquished nor subdued. Let there be no mistake, this is a study rich in detail, assured in scholarly analysis and focused on issues of contemporary import. I suspect that it was not the intent of Hedenborg White to have engendered (pun intended) all the ways in which her text engaged my appreciation of thorny issues, nonetheless the following discussion seeks to highlight some of its genuinely productive aspects and also a few of its trickier limitations. As is perhaps to be expected for a volume focused on the various figurations of the goddess Babalon. It’s a good term for describing that which is not easily pinned down, summarised or consumed. The Eloquent Blood: The Goddess Babalon and the Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |