ABSTRACT
Esoteric traditions passed into modernity through processes of institutionalization, which had a wider effect on the political and cultural landscape of Europe between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry and their successors acted as a reservoir for esoteric interests. People interested in alchemy and esotericism was the first to take up and spread the ideas disseminated by the original Tubingen circle. Besides the Rosicrucian movement, the traditions of Freemasonry have been a significant factor in the institutionalization of esotericism over the past three hundred years. One must speak of traditions in the plural, for no single type of Freemasonry actually exists. The esoteric aspect of these ideals concerned the 'higher knowledge' frequently sought by Enlightenment societies. The esoteric motif is also obvious in the idea, often expressed in alchemical symbolism, of transforming and refining the individual into a perfect human being.
