Salatieteiden Suomi

Salatieteiden Suomi: Esoteerinen ja okkultti Turku, edited by Boris Brander, Janne Bäckman and Atte Huhtala. Like, 2024

In the summer of 2019, students from the University of Turku, interested in esotericism, conducted a guided and dramatized tour of the history of esotericism and the occult in Turku for participants in the Donner Institute’s Approaching Esotericism and Mysticism conference.

Based on the material collected for the tour, a work on the subject was planned and also more advanced esoteric scholars were invited to participate. The present book is the result of many years of hard work and it presents Turku’s centuries-old, partly hidden history: the magical practices, witch trials and alchemical experiments of the teachers and students in the 17th and 18th centuries; the stage performances of magic and illusions and the origins of esoteric movements in the 19th century; and the communities and individuals active in the Turku underground movement from 1960s and in the field of alternative spirituality in the 20th century.

The book brings hitherto overshadowed and unusual figures to the limelight and highlights new aspects of the familiar ones. With a map of the city and rich illustrations, the book serves as a guide to Turku’s urban landscape and rich occult history.

Tiina Mahlamäki