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Abstract:

This article examines the concept of the esoteric and related phenomena in the field of text interpretation and semiotics. Due to false ideas that have developed among the general public in the period starting from mid-19^th century when the fashion for occult literature emerged in Europe (from where it later spread overseas), the esoteric now is most often perceived as a property of text, and therefore can be explicated or “translated” into the realm of the evident. The article makes an attempt to define the esoteric as a semantic layer accessible to a special form of intellect that can be rationalized only to a very little extent. In addition, this study contains a brief overview of the traditional carriers of the esoteric such as symbol and linguistic games designed not to conceal (as it is commonly believed), but to
effectively transfer knowledge to a reader who is capable of using these tools. The article also gives some examples of transfer of the esoteric content, borrowed from the classical texts of the European hermetic tradition and accompanying illustrations. Among other things, these examples serve as a proof of the key idea expressed in this work according to which in case the esoteric is present, interpretation of the text becomes an integral part of reading, and commenting becomes a form of translation that helps the hidden semantic layer to remain relevant and suitable for assimilation in a new temporal and cultural framework.