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Theosophy, literally "wisdom of the divine" (in the Greek language), designates several bodies of ideas. The term has been used, for example by the neo-Platonist philosopher Ammonius Saccas, as well as by certain followers of Emanuel Swedenborg and Jacob Boehme. The term may also refer to the kind of Kabbalah taught by Isaac Luria.
A formal definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary describes Theosophy as "any of various philosophies professing to achieve a knowledge of God by spiritual ecstasy, direct intuition, or special individual revelation; esp. a modern movement following Hindu and Buddhist teachings, and seeking universal brotherhood."
The "modern movement" alluded to here--though in fact non-theistic--is the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott in 1875. This society has since split into a number of organizations, some of which no longer use the term "theosophy". Members of this tradition view Theosophy as a "body of truth" that may be found in various ancient philosophies as well as world religions. They emphasize a distinct body of teachings received from the Masters of the Great White Brotherhood, through Blavatsky and others, describing the spiritual evolution of the universe and humanity.
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