Editing Ariosophy (section)

=== Ariosophy ===
The term "Ariosophy" (wisdom concerning the Aryans) was coined by Lanz in 1915, with "Theozoology" describing its genesis and "Ario-Christianity" as the label for the overall doctrine in the 1920s.{{refn|"The term "Ariosophy", meaning occult wisdom concerning the [[Aryan]]s, was first coined by Lanz von Liebenfels in 1915 and became the label for his doctrine in the 1920s. List actually called his doctrine "Armanism", while Lanz used the terms "Theozoology" and "Ario-Christianity" before the First World War. In this book [i.e. ''[[The Occult Roots of Nazism]]''] 'Ariosophy' is used generically to describe the Aryan-racist-occult theories of both men and their followers."<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|p=227, note 1 to the Introduction}}</ref>|group=Note}}

This terminology was taken up by a group of occultists, formed in [[Berlin]] around 1920 and referred to by one of its main figures, {{ill|Ernst Issberner-Haldane|de}}, as the 'Swastika-Circle'. Lanz's publisher, {{ill|Herbert Reichstein|de}}, made contact with the group in 1925 and formed it into an institute with himself as director. This association was named the Ariosophical Society in 1926, renamed the ''Neue Kalandsgesellschaft'' (from ''Kaland'', Guido von List's term for a secret lodge or conventicle) in 1928, and renamed again as the ''Ariosophische Kulturzentrale'' in 1931, the year in which it opened an Ariosophical School at [[Pressbaum]] that offered courses and lectures in [[runic]] lore, [[biorhythms]], [[yoga]] and [[Qabalah]].

The institute maintained a friendly collaboration with Lanz, its guiding intellect and inspiration, but also acknowledged an indebtedness to List, declaring itself as the successor to the ''Armanen'' priest-kings and their [[hierophant]]ic tradition. Reichstein's circle therefore established the historical precedent for a broad conception that was followed by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke in 1985 when he redefined Ariosophy as a general term to describe Aryan-centric occult theories and hermetic practices, including both Lanz's Ario-Christianity and the earlier Armanism of List, as well as later derivatives of both systems. If the term is employed in this extended sense, then Guido von List, and not Lanz von Liebenfels, was the founder of Ariosophy.

The broader definition has been justified on the basis that List and Lanz had influenced each other mutually. The two men joined one another's societies; List figures in Lanz's pedigree of initiated predecessors; and Lanz is cited several times by List in ''The Religion of the Aryo-Germanic Folk: Esoteric and Exoteric'' (1910).