Welcome to ORAEDES
► Firstly, if you are looking for an encyclopedia allowing you to do research in the broad field of religious anthropology and esoterology, spirituality and religion in general and, more particularly, in the field of mysticism and Western esotericism.
● The encyclopedia is made up of two parts: Society and Signs each separated into three sections. In addition, it also includes a dictionary in which offers a lexicon in its first section.
► Secondly, if you want to have additional works and educational tools from our organization providing you maps, landmarks and compass in this very rich field.
● First of all we offer you mementos with a synthetic and practical aim ; they are present in the second section of the dictionary.
● We then deliver several lists of materials that we have used in the making of the encyclopedia or indicated in reference : besides a list of websites of value, we also offer an exhaustive list of organizations and various references that were useful to us. More precisely, an index is finally at your disposal.
● Finally, if you are looking for a database of research articles from publications dealing with topics covered in the encyclopedia.
► Concerned to be part of a professional approach, we strive to verify, classify, synthesize, interpret and relay the various information that reaches us during our work and our research.
● We will endeavor to regularly offer you new content by enriching our projects or by producing new ones.
● Although Western spirituality constitutes the main subject of our project, we will widen our object to foreign spiritualities in the humble proportions that it will be possible for us to devote to this domain.
► We offer various tools to enlighten you on our approach and to facilitate your navigation on the site.
● For the general objectives of the organization, please refer to the introduction in the general notice.
● You will also consult the details of our methodology through documentation dedicated to the technical, archival and documentary aspects of the encyclopedia.
● If, on the other hand, you are seeking to be guided through a reasoned reading of the encyclopedia, rather consult the mementos and in particular the thematic guide and the chronological guide which constitute the spine of the project.
● A panoramic view of the site is available on the right of this page : the "chronology" tab will allow you to review the history of the site and the "cartography" tab, its architecture.
● A Frequently Asked Questions where you will find comments on the purpose and the nature of this project is finally at your disposal.
► Finally, please note that the site is still under construction, constantly evolving and currently in the draft state, we offer the possibility for visitors to participate in the encyclopedia, the database or our projects by proposing by example, files, works or documentation.
● Quick contribution forms are first available in the side panel of each page of the encyclopedia. For a more elaborate or regular participation, requiring for example the sending of files, do not hesitate to contact us since we have a platform in the background dedicated to work on the encyclopedia.
● For those who would like to support us financially, donations are also possible.
► We take this opportunity to thank the contributors, internal or external to the organization. Those who gave us material, sources, reported misprint, errors, and advice. Many have helped us without knowing it : authors, academics, journalists, forum participants and bloggers ; they all have our eternal gratitude. We particularly salute the museums and libraries around the world who, through conscientious and patient work in archiving and digitizing their works, have greatly helped in the making of this encyclopedia by making the fruits of their labor available free of charge.