Peter Forshaw is a British researcher and writer, specializing in the history of alchemy, magic, Kabbalah, astrology, rituals, and esotericism. He is currently an associate professor of Western esotericism at the University of Amsterdam, within the Centre for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents.
He studied Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Indian philosophy at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1982-1986). After several years spent in France, India, Thailand, and Japan, he returned to the UK to earn a master's degree in Renaissance studies at Birkbeck, University of London. He also completed his PhD in intellectual history there, focusing on alchemy, magic, and Kabbalah in the work of Heinrich Khunrath.
After his doctorate, he received a postdoctoral fellowship from the British Academy for his research on the history of ritual magic in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He then held research positions at the universities of Strathclyde and Cambridge, working on projects related to alchemy and astrology in the early modern period.
In 2009, he was appointed lecturer in the history of Western esotericism at the University of Amsterdam. He served as editor-in-chief of the journal Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism for ten years and has edited several volumes.
