Religious philosophy or speculation about the nature of the soul based on mystical insight into the nature of god. The beliefs of a religious sect, the Theosophical Society, founded in New York City in 1875, incorporating aspects of Buddhism and Brahmanism. Theosophy deduces the essentially spiritual nature of the universe from an assumption of the absolute reality of the essence of God.
Emphasis is given to allegorical interpretation of sacred writings and doctrines.
Asian philosophy and theology, especially of India, contain a vast body of theosophical doctrine, and modern theosophy draws much of its vocabulary from Indian sources. The Theosophical Society, with which theosophy is now generally identified, was founded in 1875 by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The Theosophical Movement, absurd and politically suspect as it was, nevertheless inspired many artists and designers with its visual manifestations of spirituality. Among those who took it directly into their works included Wassili Kandinsky and Mondrian, but also the influential Czech painter Frank Kupka and Edvard Munch. The Theosophical Society was founded by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott and Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, a pudgy, crafty, cigar-smoking trickster from Russia.