1.     Objects. The ESSWE shall seek to achieve its objects by:

1.1.  Organizing conferences and other academic meetings;

1.2.  Generally promoting contacts and programs of exchange among scholars;

1.3.  Promoting publications and rendering services in that connection;

1.4.  Stimulating research and education;

1.5.  Promoting academic debate, interdisciplinary and critical approaches, and the application of a variety of scholarly methods;

1.6.  Co-operating with other scholarly societies in and beyond Europe; and

1.7.  Encouraging the appreciation of the historical, cultural and intellectual significance of Western Esotericism by research institutions, scholarly policy makers, and the general public.

2.     Membership

2.1.  The Membership Committee shall consist of the Membership Secretary and two further members of the Board appointed by the Board.

2.2.  In considering applications for membership

2.2.1.     Only under the most exceptional circumstances will the Membership Committee consider giving membership to persons without a university affiliation, and then normally only to those who have or are studying for a relevant PhD degree. In order to consider such cases, the Membership Committee will request a CV, a list of published works, and one representative article or book chapter.

2.2.2.     Whether a university is a "recognized university" shall be determined by the Board.2.3.  Members of the Society may be appointed Honorary Members.  Honorary Members must have been members of the Society for at least fifteen years and have subsequently retired from active research, or be deemed suitable as Honorary Members by the Board because of their special qualities. 

2.4.  In addition to members, the Society shall have associates. Associates have the same rights as members, but may not vote at the Meeting of Members.

2.4.1.     Student Associates must be registered as students at a recognized university. Requests for student associate status must be supported by a copy of a valid student card. Persons registered as Ph.D. students at a recognized university may choose between applying for student associate status of the Society (in which case they normally benefit from reduced fees) and applying for membership of the Society (in which case they may vote and serve on the Board).

2.5.  Persons who do not have a current university affiliation, or are not currently engaged in scholarly work in the field of Western Esotericism, or do not have a PhD and are not engaged in study for one, normally become associates.

2.6.  The membership fee shall be set by the Board for each type of member and associate separately.

3.     General Meeting of Members

3.1.  The minutes shall be approved and signed by the chair and the secretary of the meeting in question, or approved by the following Meeting of Members; in the latter case they shall be signed by the chair and the secretary of that following meeting as proof of approval. The minutes shall be kept in the minute-book of the Meeting of Members.

4.     Board

4.1.  The Board shall not normally consist of more than thirteen members.

4.2.  The Board shall if possible nominate two persons as candidates for election for each board position, unless the position is to be filled by a candidate for re-election or by a candidate who is to be elected to the position of President or Vice President or is to be appointed Treasurer or Secretary. The names of the nominees shall be stated in the convening notice for the Meeting of Members in question. When nominating candidates, the Board shall take into account a balanced composition according to sex, scholarly speciality and country of origin inside Europe; if the election is held online, the names of the nominees should be sent out to the members at least two weeks prior to the election. A Call for Nominations should be posted two months prior to the election.

4.3.  One Board member shall be a Student Representative; the Board will normally nominate a person who is registered as a PhD student and has previously been selected by the Society’s Student Associates and, as a transitional provision also by members who are former student members, following procedures specified by the Executive Committee.

4.4.  Candidates for offices and other Board members shall be nominated to hold office for a period of four years, except that the nominee for Student Representative shall be nominated to hold office for a period of two years, and candidates for the presidency shall be nominated to hold office for a period of four years as President and then four years as Former President. When a President is nominated for election for a second term, that term shall also be for a period of four years as President and then four years as Former President.

4.5.  Retiring officers and Board members shall be eligible for immediate re-election, but no person may remain on the Board for more than two terms without a specific resolution to that effect passed by the Board.

4.6.  A retiring officer shall be obliged to surrender without delay to his or her successor all materials that he or she has in his or her possession in connection with his or her office, in return for a receipt.

4.7.  In addition to the officers named in the Constitution, the Board shall appoint a Conference Supervisor for a term expiring at the end of the Conference that is supervised. The Conference Supervisor will be invited to attend Board Meetings, but cannot vote at them.

5.     Board meetings

5.1.  The Board shall meet as often as the President or two other members of the Board deem desirable. Members of the Board shall be called to Board meetings by the Secretary by a notice including the agenda, sent with at least fourteen days' notice, not counting the day of the call and that of the meeting. In urgent cases, at the discretion of the President, the prescribed method of calling a meeting and/or the period of notice may be varied.

5.2.  Board meetings shall be chaired by the President, and the Secretary shall keep the minutes. In the event of the absence of the President or the Secretary, the meeting shall designate one of those present to chair the meeting or to keep the minutes.

5.3.  A member of the Board may be represented by a fellow member of the Board authorized by proxy. A member of the Board may be a proxy for more than one fellow member of the Board.

5.4.  The Board shall pass resolutions by a majority of the votes cast. Resolutions may only be passed if a quorum of the majority of the total number of members of the Board is present or represented by proxy at a meeting. If votes are tied, the President (or, in his or her absence, the Vice President) shall cast a deciding vote.

5.5.  The Board may also pass resolutions without a meeting, provided that this is done in writing or by e-mail, and that a majority of the total number of members of the Board vote in favour. The documents evidencing the passing of such a resolution shall be kept with the minute book.

5.6.  Minutes shall be approved by the chair and the secretary of the meeting minuted, and shall, as proof thereof, be signed by them.

6.     Finance

6.1.  Members of the Board shall receive no remuneration for their work. They may be reimbursed for expenses, however, at a minimum level and only if the funds are available for this.

6.2.  The membership fee shall be applied in the first place to the costs of the internal administration of the ESSWE and then to its scholarly activities. Extraordinary contributions (such as subsidies, gifts and specific legacies) shall be applied in the first place to the scholarly activities of the ESSWE.

7.     Conferences

7.1.  The ESSWE shall endeavour to hold a conference every second year.

7.2.  The Board shall determine the place, duration, date and themes of conferences and may determine that languages other than English may also be used at conferences.

7.3.  The Supervisor of the following conference should whenever possible be appointed during the board meeting held in conjunction with the previous conference.

7.4.  The conference shall have an Academic Committee of which the chair is the Conference Supervisor and whose members shall be appointed by the Conference Supervisor and include two delegates of the Board of ESSWE.

7.5.  There will be no blind review of paper proposals.

8.     Prizes

8.1.  A biannual thesis prize of EUR 500 and a certificate will be awarded by the ESSWE, to be presented during the biannual conference. Each prize will be awarded by a committee chaired by a Board member appointed by the Board for this purpose. Two other judges will be appointed to the committee by the committee chair. If the preliminary decision of the committee is not unanimous, two further members will be appointed to the committee by the Executive Committee. The decision to publish or not is taken independently by the Aries book series.

9. Ethics Committee

9.1. The board shall appoint an ethics committee consisting of five members (three board members, the student representative, and one Full Member who is not on the ESSWE board). The committee shall be directed by a chairperson (who needs to be a board member).