Here we have it. The first book of a major new historian of religions, here setting his sights on Pennsylvania and early American history, ecological crisis as religious event, science fiction before there was science fiction, and what will become the paranormal. I am not sure how one could ask for more.

-       Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else

American Aurora provides some profound insights into the meaning and significance of climate change for our present and future.

- L. E. Sponsel for Choice

Grieve-Carlson is continuing a cultural refinement begun over a generation ago by Yates: documentation of how Renaissance Hermeticism subtly but foundationally informed Western culture.

- Mitch Horowitz, author of Modern Occultism: History, Theory, and Practice

Grieve-Carlson has centered American Aurora on a re-examination of the life of Kelpius at the dawn of the 18th century, which he uses to re-interpret the challenge of the paranormal in early American history.  In this elegant analysis of the community, he detects influences that resonate with modern controversies at the juncture of science and religion. By replacing these strands of ancient speculation into a new framework, the author argues powerfully for a re-examination of the ancient roots of a very modern and lively spiritual current.

-     Jacques Vallee, author of Trinity: The Best-Kept Secret

Timothy Grieve-Carlson’s American Aurora is an innovative and fascinating treatment of the life, work, and influence of the enigmatic Johannes Kelpius, a thinker, author, and theologian of the Seventeenth Century. Known variously as a wizard, a pagan, a Lutheran Pietist, or as an influence on an American tradition of esotericism, Grieve-Carlson, with remarkable skill, allows Kelpius’s work to finally speak for itself. What emerges is not only a groundbreaking study of an important theologian, but a pioneering treatment of esotericism from the perspective of environmental studies. 

As Enlightenment rationalism appeared to displace an enchanted cosmos amidst environmental catastrophes, Kelpius wrote about “living through the end of a particular world.” Grieve-Carlson reveals an “Hermetic Protestant” hermeneutic where the world and creation are alive with sacred presence that invites interpretation and relationship, rather than inert material to be defined. Grieve-Carlson’s writing is fresh and urgent—he notes that he reads Kelpius because he wants to learn what he has to say about apocalyptic times. American Aurora captivates, but also serves as a powerful catalyst for introspection and action. Grieve-Carlson identifies Kelpius as a cosmotheist and thus contributes to important discussions about theology and space today. A must-read for those seeking profound insights into the pressing matters of our time.

-       Diana Pasulka, Author of Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligence

American Aurora explores the surge of popular interest in Hermetic philosophy among Protestants during the seventeenth century, arguing that the environmental circumstances of the Little Ice Age motivated popular interest in practical esoteric knowledge. I follow this environmental knowledge across the Atlantic to early Pennsylvania, where it flourished far from the eyes of orthodox or university influence.

In particular, American Aurora focuses on the life and legacy of Johannes Kelpius (1667-1707), an enormously influential but comprehensively misunderstood theologian who settled outside of Philadelphia from 1694 to 1707. American Aurora explores the Hermetic and alchemical dimensions of Kelpius’s Christianity before turning to his legacy in American religion and literature. This includes original translations of Kelpius’s university writings–which have never before been translated into English–along with other important sources from the period in German and Latin. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Kelpius’s legacy began to warp under the scrutiny of both Enlightenment historians and antiquarian authors, entangling him in the legacies of nineteenth century Rosicrucianism and the occult revival. 

Ultimately, American Aurora points toward a time and place when climate change caused an eruption of esoteric thought and practice–and how this moment has been largely forgotten.