The Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies (VJEAS), 2024
This article provides an in-depth study of two occultist journals published in France at the turn... more This article provides an in-depth study of two occultist journals published in France at the turn of the twentieth century, namely, La Voie and La Gnose. Although ultimately commercially unsuccessful, both journals proved to be very important in the development of the influential esotericist René Guénon (1886–1951). Through a detailed analysis of all issues, it is shown how both journals initiated their publication as house organs of a neo-Gnostic organisation (the Gnostic Church of France), but soon moved to “Eastern” themes such as East Asian religions or Islam. In conclusion, it is argued that the history of these two journals is evidence of the “logic of bricolage” employed by occultists in their quest for religious meaning in the age of European Colonialism.