ETYM Greek, knowledge of things divine, wise in the things of God; dios God + sophos wise: cf. French théosophie.
Belief based on mystical insight into the nature of God and the soul. Immediate divine illumination or wisdom.
Supposed mystical or philosophical knowledge of God, especially of a Buddhistlike sect, “The Theosophical Society”.
Any religious or philosophical system based on intuitive insight into the nature of the divine, but especially that of the Theosophical Society, founded in New York 1875 by Madame Blavatsky and H S Olcott. It was based on Hindu ideas of karma and reincarnation, with nirvana as the eventual aim.