American Metaphysical Religion
Esoteric & Mystical Traditions of the New World
Ronnie Pontiac
Inner Traditions 2023
Pb, 608pp, £26, ISBN 9781644115589
A positive and pragmatic attitude has long been one of the distinguishing characteristics of American esotericism. In Lodge 49 (2018-19), the most fortean of recent American TV dramas, its main protagonist, Dud – a Californian surfer dude with a sunny disposition – finds meaning to life within the arcane brotherhood of the show’s title. Dud’s attitude encapsulates the “relentless optimism” that Ronnie Pontiac posits as a key theme of “American Metaphysical Religion”: a term he uses to cover all manner of American esoteric and mystical thought and practice.
In his mammoth history, Pontiac’s narrative takes us from the pre-colonial to the present day. A respectful chapter on the spiritual heritage of Native Americans leads into sections framed around the mixed fortunes of early colonialists, such as Thomas Morton (c.1579-1647) and John Winthrop Jr (1606-1676). Morton – the “Pagan Pilgrim” – fell afoul of fellow settlers by establishing close relations with the indigenous population and holding revels around a maypole at the colony he founded. Winthrop – collector of books from John Dee’s library – was more successful in spreading both Rosicrucianism and older traditions of alchemy in the “New World”.
Pontiac regularly notes how the existence of separate rural communities which nurtured minority views allowed for the development of esoteric beliefs. He explores at length the life of Frances Wright (1795-1852), an early feminist, free thinker and abolitionist, who founded the utopian Nashoba Commune in 1825, in an ill-fated attempt to cure slavery; as well as the proto-eugenic Oneida communities, founded by Joseph Noyes – “the first American to put free in front of love”. Spiritualism also weaves in and out of the narrative. Rather than being a mid-19th century entity, however, Pontiac sees the growth
