Democratization and the aristocracy of the occult: Fernando Pessoa between Theosophy and Rosacrucianism

• Main Author: Dix, Steffen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brown University 2014-10-01
• Series: Pessoa Plural
• Subjects: Theosophy; Rosacrucianism; Avant-garde (Aesthetics); Teosofia; Movimentos de vanguarda
• Online Access: https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:757348/PDF/

Fernando Pessoa began at a very early age to show a marked inclination for the occult and it continued to develop until the end of his life. It's easily discernible that Pessoa's fascination was more than a passing curiosity although it was a relatively common one in artistic circles, especially in the European avant-garde, during the first decades of the 20th century. When we consider Pessoa's complete opus, we have to recognise that esoteric matters and the occult play an important part in his writing but, rather curiously, the number of texts written about these issues on his literary work indicate it remains a mere side interest in Pessoan studies to this day. In this article I intend to place this aspect within its sociocultural context, and I would also like to distinguish and identify his interests, especially with respect to Theosophy and Rosicrucianism.