Introduction

In studying Western Esotericism, we encounter a number of what you might call outliers of the human condition. Radically altered states of consciousness, for example, particularly those resulting in visions or imaginal journeys are a mainstay of esoteric religious movements. These modes of expression are by their nature ways in which truth may be publicly hidden and supposed deeper meanings excavated from surface texts. This is why scholars have been led to think about esotericism in terms of marginality or exclusion. But none of this should surprise us as each and every person on earth enters into radically alteredStates of consciousness and has visions on a regular basis. We've all experienced the kind of impossible occurrences in which magic