Western esoteric healing I: Conceptual background and therapeutic knowledge

This article, the first of a two-part series, explores the subject of Western esoteric healing. First, conceptual background is offered on Western esotericism and traditions of esoteric healing. Second, the concept of therapeutic knowledge, which emerged from the philosophy of medicine and medical anthropology, is introduced and described in detail, including its application to the study of esoteric healing. Third, a taxonomy is proposed for sources of such knowledge in respective esoteric healing systems, traditions, or organizations. These sources are channeling, initiation, and empirical observation or validation. In the second article, examples will be given for each category of the taxonomy, followed by recommendations for further study.