Abraham, The Jew: (Alchemist and magician, circa, 1400). Comparatively few biographical facts are forthcoming concerning this German Jew, who was at once alchemist, magician and philosopher; and these few facts are mostly derived from a very curious manuscript, now domiciled in the Archives of the Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal, Paris, an institution rich in occult documents. This manuscript is couched throughout in French, but purports to be literally translated from Hebrew, and the style of the handwriting indicates that the scribe lived at the beginning of the eighteenth century, or possibly somewhat earlier.
A distinct illiteracy characterises the French script, the punctuation being inaccurate, indeed frequently conspicuous by its absence, but an actual description of the document must be waived till later. Abraham was probably a native of Mayence, having come thence after the exile of the Jews from Spain, and appears to have been born in 1362. We find that his father, Simon by name, was something of a seer and magician, and that the boy accordingly commenced his occult studies under the parental guidance, while at a later date he studied under one, Moses, whom he himself describes as " indeed a good man, but entirely ignorant of The True Mystery, and of The Veritable Magic."
Leaving this preceptor, Abraham decided to glean knowledge by travelling, and along with a friend called Samuel, a Bohemian, by birth, he wandered through Austria and Hungary into Greece, and thence penetrated to Constantinople, where he remained fully two years. He is found next in Arabia, in those days a veritable centre of mystic learning; and from Arabia he went to Palestine, whence betimes he proceeded to Egypt. Here he had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of Abra Melin, the famous Egyptian philosopher, who, besides entrusting to him certain documents, confided in him by word of mouth a number of invaluable secrets; and armed thus, Abraham left Egypt for Europe, where eventually he settled in Germany, some say at Wurzburg, but better authorities posit Frankfurt.
Soon he was deep in alchemistic researches, but these did not prevent him from espousing a wife, who appears to have been his cousin Matilde Stein; and by her he had three daughters and also two sons, the elder named Joseph and the younger Lamech.
He took great pains to instruct both of them in occult affairs, while, on each of his three daughters, he settled a dowry of a hundred thousand golden florins. This considerable sum, together with other vast wealth, he claim to have gained by travelling as an alchemist; and whatever the truth of this statement, he certainly won great fame being summoned to perform acts of magic before man rich and influential people, notably the Emperor Sigismund of Germany, the Bishop of Wurzburg, King Henry VI. of England, the Duke of Bavaria, and Pope John XXIII
The remainder of Abraham's career is shrouded in mystery while even the date of his death is uncertain, but it is commonly supposed to have occurred about 1460. The curious manuscript cited above, and from which the foregoing facts have been culled, is entitled The Book the, Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin, as delivered by Abraham the Jew unto his son Lamech. The volume was translated around 1899 by one of the founders of the modern British Golden Dawn, and long time Imperator of its Paris Lodge, MacGregor (Samuel Liddell) Mathers.
This title, however, is rather misleading, and not strictly accurate, for Abra-Melin ha absolutely no hand in the opening part of the work this consisting of some account of Abraham's youth and early travels in search of wisdom, along with advice to the young man aspiring to become skilled in occult arts. The second part, on the other hand, is based on the documents which the Egyptian sage handed the Jew, or at least on the confidences wherewith the former favoured the latter; and it may be fairly accurately defined as dealing with the first principles of magic in general, the titles of some of the more important chapter being as follows: " How Many, and what are the Class of Veritable Magic ? " - What we Ought to Take int Consideration before the Undertaking of the Operation, " Concerning the Convocation of the Spirits, " and " I what Manner we ought to Carry out the Operations.
Passing to the third and last part, this likewise is most derived straight from Abra-Melin; and here the author eschewing theoretical matter as far as possible, gives information about the actual practice of magic. In the first place he tells how " To procure divers Visions, - How one may retain the Familiar Spirits, bound or free in whatsoever form, " and how " To excite Tempests, while in one chapter he treats of raising the dead, another he devotes to the topic of transforming oneself into " dive shapes and forms, " and in further pages he descants to flying in the air, on demolishing buildings, on discovering thefts, and on walking under the water. Then he dilates o the Thaumaturgic healing of leprosy, dropsy, paralysis and various more common ailments such as fever and sea sickness, while he offers intelligence on - How to be be loved by a Woman, " and this he supplements by direction for commanding the favour of popes, emperors, and other influential people.
Finally, he reverts to the question summoning visions, and his penultimate chapter is titled, " How to cause Armed Men to Appear, " while the concluding pages treat of evoking " Comedies, Opera and all kinds of Music and Dances." It is by employing Kabbalistic squares of letters that these things are to be achieved, or at least, almost all them, and lack of space makes it impossible to deal with the many different signs of this sort, whose use he counsels.
It should be said, in justice to the author that he manifests little selfishness, and seems to have striven after success in his craft with a view to using for the benefit of mankind in general. His writings are besides, a firm belief in that higher self existing in man, and a keen desire to develop it.
Abraxas: (or Abracax). The Basilidian (q.v., ) sect Gnostics, of the second century, claimed Abraxas as the supreme god, and said that Jesus Christ was only a phantom sent to earth by him. They believed that his name contained great mysteries, as it was composed of the se Greek letters which form the number 363, which is also number of days in a year. Abraxas, they thought, under his command 365 gods, to whom they attrib 365 virtues, one for each day. The older Mythology placed him among the number of Egyptian gods, demonologists have described him a - a demon, with head of a king and with serpents forming his feet. Represented on ancient amulets, with a whip in his. It is from his name that the mystic word, Abracad (q.v.) is taken.
Adepts: Adepts are men who after stern self-denial and by means of consistent self-development, have fitted themselves to assist in the ruling of the world. The means by which this position is attained is said to be long and arduous, but in the end the Successful one has fulfilled the purpose for which he was created and transcends his fellows. The activities of Adepts are multifarious, being concerned with the direction and guidance of the activities of the rest of mankind. Their knowledge, like their powers, say Theosophists, far exceeds that of man, and they can control forces both in the spiritual and the physical realm, and are said to be able to prolong their lives for centuries.
They are also known as the Great White Brotherhood, Great Hermetic Order, Rishis, Rahats, or Mahatmas. Those who earnestly desire to work for the betterment of the world may become apprentices or chelas to Adepts, in which case the latter are known as " masters, " but the apprentice must first have practised self-denial and self-development in order to become sufficiently worthy. The master imparts teaching and wisdom otherwise unattainable, and helps the apprentice by communion and inspiration. Madame Blavatsky (q.v.) alleged that she was the apprentice of these masters, and claimed that they dwelt in the Tibetan Mountains. The term Adept was also employed by mediaeval magicians and alchemists to denote a master of their sciences.
Adhab-Algal: The Mohammedan purgatory, where the wicked are tormented by the dark angels Munkar and Nakir.
Adjuration: A formula of exorcism by which the evil spirit is commanded, in the name of God, to do or say what the exorcist requires of him.
Adonai: A Hebrew word signifying " the Lord, " and used by the Hebrews when speaking or writing of Jehovah, the awful and ineffable name of the God of Israel. The Jews entertained the deepest awe for this incommunicable and mysterious name, and this feeling led them to avoid pronouncing it and to the substitution of the word Adonai for " Jehovah " in their sacred text. This custom still prevails among the Jews, who attribute to the pronouncement of the Holy Name the power of working miracles. The Jehovah of the Israelites was their invisible protector and king, and no image of him was made. He was worshipped according to his commandments, with an observance of the ritual instituted through Moses. The term " Jehovah " means. the revealed Absolute Deity, e Manifest, Only, Personal, Holy Creator and Redeemer.
Adoptive Masonry: Masonic societies which adopt women as members. Early in the eighteenth century such societies were established in France, and Speedily spread to other countries. One of the first to "adopt" women were the Mopses. The Felicitaries existed in 1742. The Fendeurs or Woodcutters were instituted in 1763 by Bauchaine, Master of a Parisian Lodge. It was modelled on the Carbonari, and its popularity led to the establishment of other lodges, notably the Fidelity, the Hatchet, etc. In 1774 the Grand Orient in Lodge of France established a system of degrees called the Rite of Adoption, and elected the Duchess of Bourbon as Grand Mistress of France.
The rite has been generally adopted into Freemasonry, and various degrees added from time to time, to the number of about twelve in all. Latin and Greek mysteries were added to the rite by the Ladies' Hospitallers of Mount Tabor. The greatest ladies in France joined the French lodges of adoption. The Rite of Mizraim created lodges for both sexes in 1818, 1821, 1838 and 1853, and the Rite of Memphis in 1839. America founded the Rite of the Eastern Star in five points. In these systems admission is generally confined to the female relations of Masons. The Order of the Eastern Star and that of Adoptive Masonry were attempted in Scotland, but without success.
Agathodemon: A good demon, worshipped by the Egyptians under the shape of a serpent with a human head. The dragons or flying serpents venerated by the ancients were also called Agathodemons, or good genies.
Agla: A kabbalistic word used by the rabbis for the exorcisms of the evil spirit. It is made up of the initial letters of the Hebrew words, Athah gabor leolam, Ado-nai, meaning, " Thou art powerful and eternal, Lord." Not only among the Jews was this word employed, but among the more superstitious Christians it was a favourite weapon with which to combat the evil one, even so late as the sixteenth century. It is also to be found in many books on magic, notably in the Enchiridion of Pope Leo III.
Agrippa von Nettesheim, Henry Cornelius (1486-1535): Cornelius Agrippa - A German soldier and physician, and an adept in alchemy, astrology and magic. He was born at Cologne on the 14th of September, 1486, and educated at the University of Cologne. While still a youth he served under Maximilian 1. of Germany. In the early 16th century he lectured at the University of Dole, but a charge of heresy brought against him by a monk named Catilinet compelled him to leave Dole, and he resumed his former occupation of soldier. In the following year he was sent on a diplomatic mission to England, and on his return followed Maximilian to Italy, where he passed seven years, now serving one noble patron, now another. Thereafter he held a post at Metz, returned to Cologne, practised medicine at Geneva, and was appointed physician to Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis 1.; but, on being given some task which he found irksome, he left the service of his patroness and denounced her bitterly.
He then accepted a post offered him by Margaret, Duchess of Savoy, Regent of the Netherlands. On her death he repaired to Cologne and Bonn, and thence to France, where he was arrested for some slighting mention of the Queen Mother, Louise of Savoy. He was soon released, however, and died at Grenoble in 1535.
Agrippa was a man of great talent and varied attainments. He was acquainted with eight languages, and was evidently a physician of no mean ability, as well as a soldier and a theologian. He had, moreover, many noble patrons. Yet, notwithstanding these advantages, he never seemed to be free from misfortune; persecution and financial difficulties dogged his footsteps, and in Brussels he suffered imprisonment for debt.
He himself was in a measure responsible for his. troubles. He was, in fact, an adept in the gentle art of making enemies, and the persecution of the monks with whom he frequently came into conflict was bitter and increasing. His principal works were a defence of magic, entitled De occulta philosophia, which was not published until 1531, though it was written some twenty years earlier, and a satirical attack on the scientific pretensions of his day, De incertitudine et Vanitate Scientiarum et Artium atque Excellentia Verbi Dei Declamatio, also published at Antwerp in 1531.
Ahnernerbe, S.S. – Reich Ancestral Heritage Office: Unlike other states in which Occultists are accorded little respect, Nazi Germany has made certain occult operations a part of the state, while repressing others with strict brutality. The S.S. itself has a network of Thule Society ritual which replaces Christian religion for S.S. Officers. Based in Old Prussian Paganism, with Nordic colorings, the S.S. has its own rites, festivals, rituals and burial customs. The “spiritual center” of the S.S. – dedicated entirely to the development of these and other public rituals, is the Ancestral Heritage Office.
Reichsführer S.S., Himmler, is an avid student of the occult. An SS occult research department, the Ahnenerbe (Ancestral Heritage) was established in 1935 with SS Colonel Wolfram von Sievers at its head. Occult research took SS researchers as far afield as Tibet.
As soon as the Nazi movement had sufficient funds, it began to organize a number of expeditions to Tibet and these succeeded one another practically without interruption through the present day. It is conjectured that the Nazis wish to find Shambala, an ancient center of power which is said to be accessible through hidden tunnels in Tibet.
The strongest influence on Hitler in this regard was Dietrich Eckart (1868-1923). Most biographers have underestimated the influence that Eckart exerted on Hitler. He was the wealthy publisher and editor-in-chief of an anti-semitic journal which he called In Plain German. Eckart was also a committed occultist and a master of magic. As an initiate, Eckart belonged to the inner circle of the Thule Society as well as other esoteric orders.
There can be no doubt that Eckart - who had been alerted to Hitler by other Thulists - trained Hitler in techniques of self confidence, self projection, persuasive oratory, body language and discursive sophistry. With these tools, in a short period of time he was able to move the obscure workers party from the club and beer hall atmosphere to a mass movement. The emotion charged lay speaker became an expert orator, capable of mesmerizing a vast audience.
One should not underestimate occultism's influence on Hitler. His subsequent rejection of Free Masons and esoteric movements, of Theosophy, of Anthroposophy, does not necessarily mean otherwise. Occult circles have long been known as covers for espionage and influence peddling.
Akashic Record: the idea that all of the experiences and memories of every living being are contained in the substance of the ether. Advanced magicians develop the ability to recover details of past events by "reading the Akashic Records."
Akiba: A Jewish rabbi of the first century, who, from being a simple shepherd, became a learned scholar, spurred by the hope of winning the hand of a young lady he greatly admired. The Jews say that he was taught by the elemental spirits, that he was a conjurer, and that, in his best days, he had as many as 24,000 disciples. He is said to be the author of a famous work, entitled, Yelzirah (q.v., On the Creation), which is by some ascribed to Abraham, and even to Adam. It was first printed at Paris in 1552. The historic Akiba was a formative influence on Judaism during the post-Diaspora period.
Albagensianism: A neo-Manichæan (Gnostic) sect that flourished in southern France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Among recent historians there is a pronounced tendency to look upon the Cathari as the lineal descendants of the Manichæans. The doctrine, organization, and liturgy of the former, in many points, reproduce the doctrine, organization, and liturgy of the early disciples of Manes. The successive appearance of the Priscillianists, the Paulicians, and the Bogomili, representatives to some extent of similar principles, fairly establishes the historical continuity between the two extreme links of the chain -- the Manichæans of the third, and the Cathari of the eleventh, century.
The Albigensians may also have some relation to the Arian Heresy, which flourished in southern France in the fifth century, before it was repressed by the Frankish King Clovis, the leader of the Merovingian Dynasty. The Arians denied that Jesus was divine.
The name Albigenses, given to the Southern French sect by the Council of Tours (1163) prevailed towards the end of the twelfth century and was for a long time applied to all the heretics of the south of France. They were also called Catharists (katharos, pure), though in reality they were only a branch of the Catharistic movement. The rise and spread of the new doctrine in southern France was favoured by various circumstances, among which may be mentioned: the fascination exercised by the readily-grasped dualistic principle; the remnant of Jewish and Mohammedan doctrinal elements; the wealth, leisure, and imaginative mind of the inhabitants of Languedoc; their contempt for the Catholic clergy, caused by the ignorance and the worldly, too frequently scandalous, lives of the latter; the protection of an overwhelming majority of the nobility, and the intimate local blending of national aspirations and religious sentiment.
What the Albigensians are supposed to have believed
Relatively little is known about the Albigensian beliefs, since the sect was repressed, and most evidence destroyed. What is known largely comes from their opponents. However some picture can be drawn.
The Albigenses asserted the co-existence of two mutually opposed principles, one good, the other evil. The former is the creator of the spiritual, the latter of the material world. The bad principle is the source of all evil; natural phenomena, either ordinary like the growth of plants, or extraordinary as earthquakes, likewise oral disorders (war), must be attributed to him. He created the human body and is the author of sin, which springs from matter and not from the spirit. The Old Testament must be either partly or entirely ascribed to him; whereas the New Testament is the revelation of the beneficent God. The latter is the creator of human souls, which the bad principle imprisoned in material bodies after he had deceived them into leaving the kingdom of light. This earth is a place of punishment, the only hell that exists for the human soul.
Punishment, however, is not everlasting; for all souls, being Divine in nature, must eventually be liberated. To accomplish this deliverance God sent upon earth Jesus Christ, who, although very perfect, like the Holy Ghost, is still a mere creature. The Redeemer could not take on a genuine human body, because he would thereby have come under the control of the evil principle. His body was, therefore, of celestial essence, and with it He penetrated the ear of Mary. It was only apparently that He was born from her and only apparently that He suffered. His redemption was not operative, but solely instructive. To enjoy its benefits, one must become a member of the Church of Christ (the Albigenses). Here below, it is not the Catholic sacraments but the peculiar ceremony of the Albigenses known as the consolamentum, or "consolation," that purifies the soul from all sin and ensures its immediate return to heaven. The resurrection of the body will not take place, since by its nature all flesh is evil.
The dualism of the Albigenses was also the basis of their moral teaching. Man, they taught, is a living contradiction. Hence, the liberation of the soul from its captivity in the body is the true end of our being. To attain this, suicide is commendable; it was customary among them in the form of the endura (starvation). The extinction of bodily life on the largest scale consistent with human existence is also a perfect aim. As generation propagates the slavery of the soul to the body, perpetual chastity should be practiced. Matrimonial intercourse is unlawful; concubinage, being of a less permanent nature, is preferable to marriage. Abandonment of his wife by the husband, or vice versa, is desirable. Generation was abhorred by the Albigenses even in the animal kingdom. Consequently, abstention from all animal food, except fish, was enjoined. Their belief in metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls, the result of their logical rejection of purgatory, furnishes another explanation for the same abstinence. To this practice they added long and rigorous fasts. The necessity of absolute fidelity to the sect was strongly inculcated. War and capital punishment were absolutely condemned.
History of the Albigensian Heresy
The contact of Christianity with the Oriental mind and Oriental religions had produced several sects (Gnostics, Manichæans, Paulicians, Bogomile) whose doctrines were akin to the tenets of the Albigenses. But the historical connection between the new heretics and their predecessors cannot be clearly traced. In France, where they were probably introduced by a woman from Italy, the Neo-Manichæan doctrines were secretly diffused for several years before they appeared, almost simultaneously, near Toulouse and at the Synod of Orléans (1022). Those who proposed them were even made to suffer the extreme penalty of death. The Council of Arras (1025), Charroux, Dep. of Vienne (c. 1028), and of Reims (1049) had to deal with the heresy. At that of Beauvais (1114) the case of Neo-Manichæans in the Diocese of Soissons was brought up, but was referred to the council shortly to be held in the latter city. Petrobrusians now familiarized the South with some of the tenets of the Albigenses. Its condemnation by the Council of Toulouse (1119) did not prevent the evil from spreading. Pope Eugene III (1145-53) sent a legate, Cardinal Alberic of Ostia, to Languedoc (1145), and St. Bernard seconded the legate's efforts. But their preaching produced no lasting effect. The Council of Reims (1148) excommunicated the protectors "of the heretics of Gascony and Provence." That of Tours (1163) decreed that the Albigenses should be imprisoned and their property confiscated. A religious disputation was held (1165) at Lombez, with the usual unsatisfactory result of such conferences.
Two years later, the Albigenses held a general council at Toulouse, their chief centre of activity. The Cardinal-Legate Peter made another attempt at peaceful settlement (1178), but he was received with derision. The Third General Council of the Lateran (1179) renewed the previous severe measures and issued a summons to use force against the heretics, who were plundering and devastating Albi, Toulouse, and the vicinity. At the death (1194) of the Catholic Count of Toulouse, Raymond V, his succession fell to Raymond VI (1194-1222) who favoured the heresy.
With the accession of Innocent III (1198) the work of conversion and repression was taken up vigorously. In 1205-6 three events augured well for the success of the efforts made in that direction. Raymond VI, in face of the threatening military operations urged by Innocent against him, promised under oath to banish the dissidents from his dominions. The monk Fulco of Marseilles, formerly a troubadour, now became Archbishop of Toulouse (1205-31). Two Spaniards, Diego, Bishop of Osma and his companion, Dominic Guzman (St. Dominic), returning from Rome, visited the papal legates at Montpellier. By their advice, the excessive outward splendour of Catholic preachers, which offended the heretics, was replaced by apostolic austerity. Religious disputations were renewed. St. Dominic, perceiving the great advantages derived by his opponents from the cooperation of women, founded (1206) at Pouille near Carcassonne a religious congregation for women, whose object was the education of the poorer girls of the nobility. Not long after this he laid the foundation of the Dominican Order. Innocent III, in view of the immense spread of the heresy, which infected over 1000 cities or towns, called (1207) upon the King of France, as Suzerain of the County of Toulouse, to use force. He renewed his appeal on receiving news of the assassination of his legate, Peter of Castelnau, a Cistercian monk (1208), which judging by appearances, he attributed to Raymond VI. Numerous barons of northern France, Germany, and Belgium joined the crusade, and papal legates were put at the head of the expedition, Arnold, Abbot of Citeaux, and two bishops. Raymond VI, still under the ban of excommunication pronounced against him by Peter of Castelnau, now offered to submit, was reconciled with the Church, and took the field against his former friends. Roger, Viscount of Béziers, was first attacked, and his principal fortresses, Béziers and Carcassonne, were taken (1209).
The monstrous words: "Slay all; God will know His own," alleged to have been uttered at the capture of Béziers, by the papal legate, were never pronounced (Tamizey de Larroque, "Rev. des quest. hist." 1866, I, 168-91). Simon of Monfort, Earl of Leicester, was given control of the conquered territory and became the military leader of the crusade. At the Council of Avignon (1209) Raymond VI was again excommunicated for not fulfilling the conditions of ecclesiastical reconciliation. He went in person to Rome, and the Pope ordered an investigation. After fruitless attempts in the Council of Arles (1211) at an agreement between the papal legates and the Count of Toulouse, the latter left the council and prepared to resist. He was declared an enemy of the Church and his possessions were forfeited to whoever would conquer them. Lavaur, Dep. of Tarn, fell in 1211, amid dreadful carnage, into the hands of the crusaders. The latter, exasperated by the reported massacre of 6,000 of their followers, spared neither age nor sex. The crusade now degenerated into a war of conquest, and Innocent III, in spite of his efforts, was powerless to bring the undertaking back to its original purpose. Peter of Aragon, Raymond's brother-in-law, interposed to obtain his forgiveness, but without success. He then took up arms to defend him. The troops of Peter and of Simon of Montfort met at Muret (1213). Peter was defeated and killed. The allies of the fallen king were now so weakened that they offered to submit. The Pope sent as his representative the Cardinal-Deacon Peter of Santa Maria in Aquiro, who carried out only part of his instructions, receiving indeed Raymond, the inhabitants of Toulouse, and others back into the Church, but furthering at the same time Simon's plans of conquest.
This commander continued the war and was appointed by the Council of Montpellier (1215) lord over all the acquired territory. The Pope, informed that it was the only effectual means of crushing the heresy, approved the choice. At the death of Simon (1218), his son Amalric inherited his rights and continued the war with but little success. The territory was ultimately ceded almost entirely by both Amalric and Raymond VII to the King of France, while the Council of Toulouse (1229) entrusted the Inquisition, which soon passed into the hands of the Dominicans (1233), with the repression of Albigensianism. The heresy disappeared about the end of the fourteenth century.
Albigensian Practice
The members of the sect were divided into two classes: The "perfect" (perfecti) and the mere "believers" (credentes). The "perfect" were those who had submitted to the initiation-rite (consolamentum). They were few in number and were alone bound to the observance of the above-described rigid moral law. While the female members of this class did not travel, the men went, by twos, from place to place, performing the ceremony of initiation. The only bond that attached the "believers" to Albigensianism was the promise to receive the consolamentum before death. They were very numerous, could marry, wage war, etc., and generally observed the ten commandments. Many remained "believers" for years and were only initiated on their deathbed. If the illness did not end fatally, starvation or poison prevented rather frequently subsequent moral transgressions. In some instances the consolation was administered to those who, after initiation, had relapsed into sin. The hierarchy consisted of bishops and deacons. The existence of an Albigensian Pope is not universally admitted. The bishops were chosen from among the "perfect." They had two assistants, the older and the younger son (filius major and filius minor), and were generally succeeded by the former. The consolamentum, or ceremony of initiation, was a sort of spiritual baptism, analogous in rite and equivalent in significance to several of the Catholic sacraments (Baptism, Penance, Order). Its reception, from which children were debarred, was, if possible, preceded by careful religious study and penitential practices. In this period of preparation, the candidates used ceremonies that bore a striking resemblance to the ancient Christian catechumenate. The essential rite of the consolamentum was the imposition of hands. The engagement which the "believers" took to be initiated before death was known as the convenienza (promise).
Actions of the Church
Properly speaking, Albigensianism was not a Christian heresy but an extra-Christian religion. Ecclesiastical authority, after persuasion had failed, adopted a course of severe repression, which led at times to regrettable excess. Simon of Montfort intended well at first, but later used the pretext of religion to usurp the territory of the Counts of Toulouse. The death penalty was, indeed, inflicted too freely on the Albigenses, but it must be remembered that the penal code of the time was considerably more rigorous than ours, and the excesses were sometimes provoked. Raymond VI and his successor, Raymond VII, were, when in distress, ever ready to promise, but never to earnestly amend. Pope Innocent III felt justified in saying that the Albigenses were "worse than the Saracens"; and still he counselled moderation and disapproved of the selfish policy adopted by Simon of Montfort.
Alfarabi: (d. 954.) An adept of remarkable gifts and an extensive knowledge of all the sciences; born at Othrar (or, as it was then called, Faral), in Asia Minor. His name was Abou-i~Zasr Mohammed-ibn-Takraw, but he received, from the town of his birth, his better-known appellation of Farabi, or Alfa Yabi. Though he was of Turkish extraction, a desire to perfect himself in Arabic, led him to Bagdad, where he assiduously studied the Greek philosophers under Abou Bachar Nlaltey. He next stayed for a time in Hanan, where he learned logic from a Christian physician. Having far surpassed his fellow-scholars, he left Hanan and drifted at last to Egypt. During his wanderings he came in contact with all the most learned philosophers of his time, and himself wrote books on philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and other sciences, besides acquiring proficiency in seventy languages.
His treatise on music, proving the connection of sound with atmospheric vibrations, and mocking the Pythagorean theory of the music of the spheres, attained some celebrity. He gained the goodwill and patronage of the Sultan of Syria in a somewhat curious fashion. While passing through Syria he visited the court of the Sultan, who was at that moment surrounded by grave doctors and astrologers, who were discussing abstruse scientific points with the potentate. Alfarabi entered the presence of the Sultan in his stained and dusty travelling attire (he had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca), and when the prince bade him be seated, he, either unaware of, or indifferent to the etiquette of court life, sat down boldly on a corner of the royal sofa. The monarch, unused to such an informal proceeding, spoke in a little-known tongue to a courtier, and bade him remove the presumptuous philosopher.
The latter, however, astonished him by replying in the same language: "Sire, he who acts hastily, in haste repents." The Sultan, becoming interested in his unconventional guest, questioned him curiously, and learned of the seventy languages and other accomplishments of Alfarabi. The sages who were present were also astounded at his wide learning. When the prince called at length for some music, Alfarabi accompanied the musicians on a lute with such marvelous skill and grace that the entire company was charmed. When he struck up a lively measure, the gravest sages could not but dance to it. When he changed the melody to a softer lilt, tears sparkled in every eye, and at last, with a gentle lullaby, be put the court to sleep. The Sultan wished to keep such a valuable philosopher about his court, and some say that Alfarabi accepted his patronage and died peacefully in Syria. Others, again, maintain that he informed the Sultan that he would never rest till he had discovered the secret of the Philosophers' stone, which he believed himself on the point of finding. These say that he set out, but was attacked and killed by robbers in the woods of Syria.
Almanach du Diable: An almanac containing some very curious predictions for the years 1737 and 1738, which purported to be published in the infernal regions. It is a satire against the Jansenists, which was suppressed on account of some over-bold predictions, and which has become very rare. The authorship was ascribed to Quesnel, an ironmonger at Dijon. The Jansenists replied with a pamphlet directed against the Jesuits, which was also suppressed. It was entitled Almanac de Dieu, dedicated to M. Carre de Montgeron, for the year 1738, and, in contradistinction to the other, claimed satirically to be printed in heaven.
Alrunes: Female demons or sorceresses, the mothers of the Huns. They took all sorts of shapes, but without changing their sex. The name was given by the Germans to little statues of old sorceresses, about a foot high. To these they attributed great virtues, honouring them as the negroes. honour their fetishes; clothing-them richly, housing them comfortably, and serving them with food and drink at every meal. They believed that if these little images were neglected they would cry out, a catastrophe which was to be avoided at all costs, as it brought dire misfortunes upon the household. They may have been mandrakes, and it was claimed for them that they could foretell the future, answering by means of motions of the head, or unintelligible words. They are still consulted in Norway.
Alu-Demon: This Semitic demon owes his parentage to a human being; he hides himself in caverns and corners, and slinks through the streets at night. He also lies in wait for the unwary, and at night enters bed-chambers and terrorises folks.
Amadeus: A visionary who experienced an apocalypse and revelations, in one of which he learned the two psalms composed by Adam, one a mark of joy at the creation of Eve, and the other the dialogue he held with her after they had sinned. Both psalms are printed in Fabricius' Codex Pseudepigraphus Veteris Testamenti.
Amaranth: A flower which is one of the symbols of immortality. It has been said by magicians that a crown made with this flower has supernatural properties, and will bring fame and favour to those who wear it.
Amaimon: One of the four spirits who preside over the four parts of the universe. Amaimon, according to the magicians, was the governor of the eastern part.
America: For the history of Spiritualism in America, See Spiritualism, where a full summary of the subject will be found. Apart from the doings at Salem, colonial America has little to offer in the way of occult history; but the modern United States of America is extremely rich in occult history. This, however, is a history of outstanding individuals - Thomas Lake Harris, Brigham Young and Joseph Smith, the Foxes, Andrew Jackson Davis, and so on, biographies of some of whom wilt be found scattered throughout this work. But that is not to say that various occult movements have not from time to time either originated in, or found a home in the United States. Indeed, the number of occult or semi-occult sects which have originated there, is exceedingly great, and the foundation of occult communities has been frequent.
Such were the Mountain Cove community of Harris; the Society of Hopedale, founded by Ballou; and so on. The notorious community, or rather nation of Mormons had undoubtedly a semi-occult origin. Its founder, Joseph Smith, and its first great prophet, Brigham Young, both had occult ideas, which rather remind us of those of Blake (q.v;), and were decidedly of biblical origin. It should be remembered that various Masonic and pseudo-masonic orders were well established in both Europe and America, and Mormonism definitely draws from Masonry and Rosicrucianism.
Smith purported to discover tablets of gold upon which was engraved the new law, buried on a hillside in New York. This was the germ of the Book of Mormon the Prophet, and a certain pseudo-mysticism was associated with the Mormon movement. This, however, wore off after a while. Some non-orthodox sects of Mormons still have archaic practices including taking multiple wives after the fashion of the ancient Israelites, and follow more mystical practices, having flourished since interest in the persecution of this sect, or any religious group, at least in the physical sense, largely vanished.
The Mormons hold that the Americas were reached by the Lost Tribes of Israel, and that a civilization flourished in Pre-Columbian times. More fresh in the recollection are the blasphemous absurdities of the prophet Dowie, who purported to be a prophet of the new Christianity, and succeeded in amassing very considerable wealth. Later, however, he became discredited, and many of his disciples seceded from him.
Sects of Adventists have also been fairly numerous. These persons at the call of their leaders have met in cemeteries and elsewhere arrayed in white robes, in the belief that the Last Day had arrived; but finding themselves duped, they invariably turned upon the charlatans who had aroused these false hopes. There is an instance on record, however, where one such person succeeded in bringing about the repetition of such a scene. The modern Jehovah’s Witness and Adventist Churches have roots in such movements, the original prophecies however long repudiated as they manifestly did not come true.
Theosophy, as will be seen in the central article on that subject, owes much to America, for it may be said that in the United States it received an almost novel interpretation at the hands of William Q. Judge, and Katherine B. Tingley, the founder of the theosophic colony at Point Loma.
The United States is frequently alluded to as the home and birthplace of " queer " religions par excellence. If Paris be excepted this charge holds good, for nowhere is pseudo-occultism so rife. It would indeed be difficult to account for this state of things. Shrewd as the average American is, there is no question that he is prone to extremes, and the temper of the nation as a whole is not a little hysterical.
Such sects are often founded by unscrupulous foreign adventurers, and worshippers of Isis, diabolic societies and such-like abound in the larger cities, and even in some of the lesser communities. But on the other hand many such cults, the names of which for obvious reasons we cannot mention here, are of native American origin. In course of time these duly invade Europe with varying fortunes.
The influence of Mysticism upon the founding fathers of the United States, in the form of Rosicrucianism or Freemasonry cannot be underestimated. The wave of Republican leaning Freemason lodges that rose in the late 18th century came to full fruition in America, and hardly a single man among the founding fathers was not a Freemason, such that there was a specific “Anti-Masonic” party which sought to control the influence of the Masons. Their influence was on the whole positive rather than negative, teaching a tolerance for religion and the rights of individual man. The early founding fathers are widely supposed to have established a Masonic order of a higher nature which supervised and shepherded the welfare of the Republic, such as might be supposed to be necessary in a State deprived of a monarchy which traditionally saw to such esoteric concerns.
Amoymon: One of the four kings of Hades, of which the eastern part falls to his share. He may be invoked in the morning from nine o'clock till midday, and in the evening from three o'clock till six. He has been identified with Amaimon (q.v.) Asmodeus (q.v.) is his lieutenant, and the first nine of his dominions
Answerer, Or Fragarach: A magical sword belonging to the Irish Sea-God, Lir. It was brought from the Celtic Other world by Lugh, or Hy Breasil, the Irish Sun-God, and it was believed that it could pierce any armour.
Angurvadel : The sword, possessing magical properties, which was inherited by Frithjof, the hero of an Icelandic saga. It had a golden hilt, and shone like the Northern Lights. In times of peace certain characters on its blade were dull and pale ; but during a battle they became red, like fire.
Anima Mundi: The soul of the world; a pure ethereal spirit which was said by some ancient philosophers to be diffused throughout all nature. Plato is considered by some to be the originator of this idea ; but it is of more ancient origin, and prevailed in the systems of certain eastern philosophers. By the Stoics it was believed to be the only vital force in the universe ; it has been entertained by many philosophical sects in a variety of forms, and in more modern times by Paracelsus and others. It is also incorporated in the philosophy of Schelling. Rich says : " The anima mundi, or heaven of this world, in which the stars are fixed, is understood to be a receptivity of the empyrean or heaven in which God dwells, so that the forms or seminal conceptions of the one correspond to the divine ideas of the other."
Anneber : A demon of the mines, known principally in Germany. On one occasion he killed with his breath twelve miners who were working in a silver mine of which he had charge. He is a wicked and terrible demon, represented under the figure of a horse, with an immense neck and frightful eyes.
Anamelech: An obscure demon, bearer of ill news. He was worshipped at Sepharvailn, a town of the Assyrians. He always reveals himself in the figure of a quail. His name, we are told, signifies a " good king, " and some authorities declare that this demon is the moon, as Adramelech is the sun.
Anonymous Adept: (1750): A noted German jesuit of the eighteenth century, known to his clerical confreres and his flock as Athanasius the Churchman. He composed two folio volumes of semi-alchemistic writing, which were published at Amsterdam in 1768- In the course of these voluminous works, he alludes to an alchemist whose name he refrains from revealing, and who is usually hailed in consequence by the elusive title heading this article.
Athanasius, we find, having long endeavoured to discover the Philosopher's Stone, and having met with no success, chanced one day to encounter a venerable personage, who addressed him thus: " I see by these glasses and this furnace that you are engaged in search after something very great in chemistry, but, believe me, you will never attain your object by working as you are doing."
Pondering on these words, the shrewd Jesuit suspected that his interlocutor was truly learned in alchemy, wherefore he besought him to display his erudition, and thereupon our Anonymous Adept took a quill, and wrote down a receipt for the making of transmutation powder, together with specific directions for using the same. “Let us proceed together, " said the great unknown; and at first some success appeared to be in the offering, but try as he might, his attempts all proved futile. Much enraged, he went to the inn where the Anonymous Adept was staying, but it need scarcely be said, perhaps, that the bird was flown. " We see by this true history, " remarks Athanasius, by way of pointing a moral, " how the devil seeks to deceive men who are led by a lust of riches "; while he relates further, that having been duped in this wise, he destroyed his scientific appliances, to renounce alchemy for ever.
Arbatel: A magical ritual published at Basle in 1575. The text is in Latin, and it appears to have been influenced by Paracelsus. It is of Christian, not Jewish origin, and although the authorship is unknown it is probably the work of an Italian. Only one of its nine volumes has come down to us. It deals with the institutions of magic, and is entitled Isagoge, which means essential or necessary instruction. In it we are introduced to the ritual of the Olympic spirits dwelling in the air and among the stars, who govern the world. There are, we are told, one hundred and ninety-six Olympic provinces in the universe.
Assumption of Godforms: a magical technique wherein the Adept identifies him or herself with a particular deity by "assuming its form." The archetypal image of the deity is created on the astral by focused visualization, vibration of the deity's name, the tracing of its sigil, etc. The magician then steps into this astral image and wears it like a garment or mask, continuing to strengthen the image with focused concentration. This is performed in order to create a vehicle for that particular aspect of the Divine that the magician is working with.
Astral Plane: an intermediate and invisible level of reality between the physical plane and higher, more divine realms. It is the common boundary between the individual and noumenal reality. A non-physical level of existence which is the basis of the physical plane. The astral plane has several "layers" of density and vibrational rate. The upper astral lies close to the angelic realms, while the lower astral is the world of dreams and phantasms. The astral plane contains many non-physical entities.
Astral Projection (or Astral Traveling): the practice of "traveling" out of the physical body in the astral planes. It is the transference of consciousness from the physical to the astral body, in a way that the practitioner perceives and moves about on the astral plane in the "body of light," while the physical body remains inert. By using astral projection, the magician enters this world and interacts with angels, elementals, and other beings. Astral Projection in the Golden Dawn tradition can be described as a form of self-hypnosis which uses symbols as doorways in order to cause changes in consciousness. From these higher levels of consciousness, the magician often tries to see the underlying causes of things.
Atlantis: Atlantis presents a mystifying riddle. There are undoubtedly elements of its architecture and remnants of its civilization all around the globe. Yet it is inconceivable that any such global civilization ever existed.[wrong very conceivable DC]
The story of Atlantis begins quite literally with two of Plato's dialogues, Timaeus and Critias. These accounts are the only known written records which refer specifically to a lost civilization called Atlantis.
Archaeology got a “wake up” call in the mid-Victorian period. Most ruins were very well documented and explored in Georgian times, and the Victorians had meticulously documented the ancient world. The existence of “mythical” Troy had no place in that scheme – Troy was a literary convention invented by Homer. Then in 1871, a German Chemist and amateur archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann found an ancient city of northwest Asia Minor near the Dardanelles. Originally a Phrygian city dating from the Bronze Age, there was little doubt that it was the legendary site of the Trojan War and was captured and destroyed by Greek forces c. 1200 B.C.
This began a flurry of new archaeological activity as Archaeologists and students realized there was a great deal yet to be discovered about the ancient world. A new generation of archaeologists was fired by boyhood readings of Schliemann’s discovery which was widely publicized (somewhat along the lines of Ballard’s discovery of Titanic).
In 1898 Sir Arthur Evans discovered a vast palace site on Crete, which he fairly reasonably linked to King Minos. That the palace, and “Minoan” civilization were real was beyond doubt, and the ancient stories of Crete fell neatly into place with scientific fact.
Thus Atlantis remains a historic possibility – after all, was not Troy thought fictional? Schliemann and Evans both believed in Atlantis, and Schliemann spent a fair amount of money trying to find it. The classic “map” of Atlantis, developed from the description in Plato, originates with Schliemann. That Atlantis was a place of strange super science seems doubtful, but Atlantis may well have represented a civilization more advanced than the one which came immediately after it as the Greeks went through some periodic cycle of barbarism. Certainly the Greeks possessed great skills at calculation as shown by objects such as the Antikythera device, recovered in 1901, which is a sort of complex astronomical computer.
Atlantis was the domain of Poseidon, god of the sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a mortal woman, Cleito, he created a dwelling at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her.
Cleito gave birth to five sets of twin boys who became the first rulers of Atlantis. The island was divided among the brothers with the eldest, Atlas, first King of Atlantis, being given control over the central hill and surrounding areas.
At the top of the central hill, a temple was built to honor Poseidon which housed a giant gold statue of Poseidon riding a chariot pulled by winged horses. It was here that the rulers of Atlantis would come to discuss laws, pass judgments, and pay tribute to Poseidon..
To facilitate travel and trade, a water canal was cut through of the rings of land and water running south for 5.5 miles (~9 km) to the sea.
The city of Atlantis sat just outside the outer ring of water and spread across the plain covering a circle of 11 miles (1.7 km). This was a densely populated area where the majority of the population lived.
Beyond the city lay a fertile plain 330 miles (530 km) long and 110 miles (190 km) wide surrounded by another canal used to collect water from the rivers and streams of the mountains. The climate was such that two harvests were possible each year. One in the winter fed by the rains and one in the summer fed by irrigation from the canal.
Surrounding the plain to the north were mountains which soared to the skies. Villages, lakes, rivers, and meadows dotted the mountains.
Besides the harvests, the island provided all kinds of herbs, fruits, and nuts. An abundance of animals, including elephants, roamed the island.
For generations the Atlanteans lived simple, virtuous lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and power began to corrupt them. When Zeus saw the immorality of the Atlanteans he gathered the other gods to determine a suitable punishment.
Soon, in one violent surge it was gone. The island of Atlantis, its people, and its memory were swallowed by the sea.
Other ancient writers, like Diodorus, Pliny, and Virgil wrote about other “lost continents.” Probably the most common is Thule, a land the Greeks said existed before their time. They described Thule in the North Atlantic as warm and green surrounded by high mountains, known for breathtakingly beautiful women. The ancients agreed that the Hyperborean race was tall and in excellent physical condition, and some told of how they conquered the aging process and looked youthful in old age. They were sometimes described as vegetarians and fruitarians who lived in harmony with nature.
The primary modern resource for Atlantis is Ignatius Donnelly’s The Antediluvian World published in 1882. It is a compendium of every strange archaeological anomaly in the world, and many which are purely invented, and purports to “prove” the existence of Atlantis. Doubtless there are real gems of archaeology mired among the mass, but Donnelly’s …er hem…”uncritical” approach to his material leaves much to be desired. (GM Note - This material is, interestingly, the source of much of the “historic fact” repeated by late 20th century writers such as Charles Berlitz and Erich Von Dankien)
Atlantis is supposed to have perished in destruction, but the Thule legend is likely true – a remembrance of times of better weather on the Steppes of Russia, before the invasions that toppled the Mycenae Kings, and brought about centuries of chaos in Greece.
Other references like “Mu,” or “Lemuria” are probably modern. A French pseudo-scientist named Dr. Augustus le Plongeon and his wife spend years trying to prove that a “Queen Moo of Yucatan” founded a colony in Egypt, however their science was completely spurious, since it included the apparent ability to read a “Mayan” alphabet which they invented.
More recently The Problem of Atlantis by Lewis Spence was released in 1924, and between the turn of the century and the twenties a number of spiritualists and the like churned out masses of writing about Atlantis.
Lewis Spence, whose works on Atlantis were published in the 1920's, revived the popular fifteenth-century tradition of a rectangular continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific called Antilia. The legend of an “Atlantic Continent” is maintained by nearly all the Western European peoples, exemplified by Hy Breasil the Irish earthly paradise, which probably gave its name to the South American land discovered by the Spanish.
There is some suggestion that Christopher Columbus believed this theory, hoping to find Antilia on his westward course to the Indies.
The present traces of Antilia are claimed to be the Antilles Islands in the West Indies.
Spence modified this historical belief by suggesting that Antilia was a land bridge connecting Atlantis to the Americas. Placing Atlantis in its common spot, the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Spence envisioned refugees fleeing from the sinking Atlantis, over the land bridge of Antilia, and into the Yucatan Peninsula. "He traced the origins of the Maya culture to those uprooted early Atlanteans. To Spence, a Mexican Indian legend about the destruction of the old Toltec capital was a distorted memory of the Atlantis disaster"
Believing that western Europe was populated by successive waves of Atlanteans, Spence used the early paintings of the Cro-Magnons to argue that these non-Europeans had to come from the lost continent. Using proof that pointed to the existence of foreigners creating these paintings, Spence argued that these "invaders" were not large tribes of nomadic peoples, but instead were "small, organized hunting expeditions sent out from the highly civilized island"
To further prove that Europe was settled by these immigrants, he "puts the date of the catastrophe that overwhelmed Atlantis as 13,000 years ago at the earliest, which agrees very well with Plato's summary dating"
While Spence’s science is flawed, his basic thesis has an element of truth. Atlantis is an archaeological “problem” or rather the symbolic name for a much bigger problem. Throughout archaeology and history there are elements that do not fit, strange artifacts, and things that do not fit in with their culture or do not seem to be possible to explain except in the wildest terms of chance. From the strange device found near Antikythera to the most recent rumors from Baghdad that William König, a German archaeologist, has discovered strange 2000 year old cylinders in jars, which have the form and function of a “battery.” As a symbol of all these riddles “Atlantis” is as valid a name as any other.
Attwood, Mrs. : The author of a work entitled, A Suggestive Inquiry with the Hermetic Mystery, published anonymously, at London, in 1850. Owing to the circumstance that A was supposed to have revealed certain alchemical secrets, it was shortly afterwards withdrawn from circulation.
Baalberith: According to Wierius, a demon of the second order; master of the lnfernal Alliance. He is said to be secretary and keeper of the archives of Hell.
Babiagora: Certain lakes of a gloomy nature, which lie between Hungary and Poland, and in Romania, which have figured in various stories of witchcraft. Pools, such as these, are often used for purposes of divination, as by gazing down into clear water the mind is disposed to contemplation, often of a melancholy character.
Bagommedes: A knight mentioned by Gautier in the Conte du Graal. It is said that he was fastened to a tree by Kay and left hanging head downwards, until released by Perceval. On Bagommede's return to the court he challenged Kay, but was prevented by Arthur from slaying him.
Baian: son of Simeon, King of the Bulgarians, and a mighty magician, who could transform himself into a wolf whenever he desired. He could also adopt other shapes and render himself invisible. He is alluded to by Ninauld in his Lycanthropic (page 100).
Baitus, Jean Frangols: A learned Jesuit who died in 1743. In his Reply to the History of the Oracles of Fontenelle, published in Strasbourg in 1708, he affirmed that the oracles of the ancients were the work of demons from outside the creation, and that they were reduced to silence during the mission of Christ upon the earth.
Baltazo: One of the demons who possessed a young woman of Laon, Nicole Aubry, in the year 1566. He went to sup with her husband, under the pretext of freeing her from demon-possession, which he did not accomplish. It was observed that at supper he did not drink, which shows that demons are averse to water.
Baltus, Jean Francois: A Jesuit who died in 1743. In his Reply to the History of the Oracles of Fontenelle, published in Strasbourg in 1708, he affirmed that the oracles of the ancients were the work of demons, and that they were reduced to silence during the mission of Christ upon the earth.
Barnaud, Nicholas : A medical doctor of the sixteenth century who claimed to have discovered the Philosophers' Stone. He published a great number of short treatises on the subject of Alchemy, which are contained in the third volume of the Theatrurn Chiivicum of Zetzner, published at Strasburg, in 1659.
Barqu : A demon in whose keeping was the secret Philosophers stone.
Baquet : A large circular tub which entered largely into the treatment which D'Eslon, the friend and follower of Mesmer, prescribed for his patients. Puysegur tells us in his book Du Magnetisme Animal, that in the baquet were placed some bottles, arranged in a particular manner, and partly covered with water. It was fitted with a lid in which were several holes, through which passed iron rods connecting the patients, who sat round the contrivance, with the interior of the tub. The operator was armed with a shorter iron rod. While the patients waited for the symptoms of the magnetic treatment, someone played upon a pianoforte, a device which is frequently adopted at seances. The symptoms included violent convulsions, cries, laughter, and vomiting. This state they called the crisis and it was supposed to hasten the healing process. A commission appointed in 1784 by the French government through the Faculte de Medecine and the Société Royale de Médecine¸ reported that such practices were exceedingly dangerous and in nowise proved the existence of the magnetic fluid. Dr. Bell a "professor of animal magnetism": set up a similar institution in England in 1785, using a large oak baquet.
Bat:-There is an-Oriental belief that the bat is specially adapted to occult uses. In the Tyrol it is believed that the man who wears the left eye of a bat may become invisible, and in Hesse he who wears the heart of a bat bound to his arm with red thread will always be lucky at cards.
Baphomet: The goat-idol of the Templars (q.v.) and the deity of the sorcerers' Sabbath. According to Eliphas Levi, the name is composed of three abbreviations: Tem. olip. Ab, Templi oinnium hominum Pacis abhas, " the father of the temple 'of universal peace among men." Some authorities hold that the Baphomet was a monstrous head, others that it was a demon in the form of a goat.
An account of a veritable Baphometic idol is as follows: " A pantheistic and magical figure of the Absolute. The torch placed between the two horns, represents the equilbrating intelligence of the triad. The goat's head, which is synthetic, and unites some characteristics of the dog, bull, and ass, represents the exclusive responsibility of matter and the, expiation of bodily sins in the body. The hands are human, to exhibit the sanctity of labour; they make the sign of esotericism above and below, to impress mystery on initiates, and they point at two lunar crescents, the upper being white and the lower black, to explain the correspondences of good and evil, mercy and justice. The lower part of the body is veiled, portraying the mysteries of universal generation, which is expressed solely by the symbol of the caduceus. The belly of the goat is scaled, and should be colored green, the semicircle above should be blue; the plumage, reaching to the breast, should be of various hues. The goat has female breasts, and thus its only human characteristics, are, those of maternity and toil, otherwise the signs of redemption. On its forehead, between the horns and beneath the torch, is the sign of the microcosm, or the pentagram with one beam in the ascendant, symbol of human intelligence, which, placed, 'thus below the torch, makes the flame of the latter an image, of divine revelation.
This Pantheos should be seated on a cube, and its footstool should be a single ball, or a ball and a triangular stool." Wright (Narratives of Sorcery and Magic), writing on the Baphomet says:-" Another charge in the accusation of the Templars seems to have been to a great degree proved by the depositions of witnesses; the idol or head which they are said to have worshipped, but the real character or meaning of which we are totally unable to explain. Many Templars confessed to having seen this idol, but as they described it differently, we must suppose that it was not in all cases represented under the same form. Some said it was a frightful head, with long beard and sparkling eyes; others said it was a man's skull; some described it as having three.face.-; some said it was of wood, and others of metal; one witness described it as a painting (tabida Picta) representing the image a man (imago hominis) and said that when it was shown to him, he was ordered to ' adore Christ, his creator.' According to some it was a gilt figure, either of wood or metal; while others described it -as painted black and white.
According to another deposition, the idol had four feet, two before and two behind;` the one belonging to the order at Paris, was said to be a silver head, with two faces and a beard. The novices of the order were told always to regard this idol so their saviour. Deodatus Jaffet, a knight from the south of France, who had been received at Pedenat, deposed that the person who in his case performed the ceremonies of reception, showed him a head or idol of rock or crystal, and said, ' You must adore this as your saviour, and the saviour of the order of the Temple ' and that he was made to worship the idol, saying, ' Blessed be he who shall save my soul.' Cettus Ragonis, a knight received at Rome in a chamber of the palace of the Lateran, gave a somewhat similar account.
Many other witness s spoke of having seen these heads, which, however, were, perhaps, not, shown to everybody, for the greatest number of those who spoke op. this subject, said that they had heard speak of the head, but that they had never seen it themselves; and many of them declared their disbelief in its existence. A friar minor deposed in England that an English Templar had assured him that in that country the order had four principal idols, one at London, in the Sacristy of the Temple, another at Bristelham, a third at Brueria (Bruern in Lincolnshire), and a fourth beyond the Humber. " Some of the knights from the south added another circumstance in their confessions relating to this head.
A templar of Florence, declared that, in the secret meetings of the chapters, one brother said to the others, showing them the idol, ' Adore this head. This head is your God and your Mahomet.' Another, Gauserand de Montpesant, said that the idol was made in the figure of Baffomet (in fieram Baffomeli); and another, Raymond Rubei, described it as a crystal head, which was hanged opposite the Baphomet, and he adds, ' that he worshipped it by kissing its feet, and exclaiming Xalla, ' which he describes as ' a word of the Saracens ' (verbum Slalyacenoyum). This has been seized upon by some as a proof that the Templars had secretly embraced Mahometanism, as Baffomet or Baphoinet is evidently a corruption of Mahomet; but it must not be forgotten that the Christians of the West constantly used the word Mahomst in the mere signification of an idol, and that it was the desire of those who conducted the prosecution apinst the Templars to show their intimate intercourse with the Saracens. Others, especially Von Hammer, gave a Greek derivation of the word, and assumed it as a proof that gnosticism was the secret doctrine of the temple. . .
Baptism: It was said that at the witches' Sabbath children and toads were baptised with certain horrible rites. This was called the baptism of the devil. A babe might be drowned in a kettle of boiling water in mockery of the rite of baptism.
Baptism of the Line: A curious rite is performed on persons crossing the equator for the first time. The sailors who are to carry it out dress themselves in quaint costumes. The Father of the Line arrives in a cask, accompanied by a courier, a devil, a hairdresser, and a miller. The unfortunate passenger has his hair curled, is liberally sprinkled with flour, and then has water showered upon him, if he is not ducked. The origin of this custom is not known, nor is it quite clear what part the devil plays in it. It is said, however, that, it may be averted by tipping the sailors.
Barbarous Names: words and names of deities that are frequently used in medieval grimoires. These names often originated as deity names from ancient civilizations, which have been corrupted through scribal error. The word barbarous comes from the Greek word barbaros meaning "non-Greek, foreign." Many of the so called barbarous names originated as Greek versions of more ancient Hebrew, Egyptian, and Babylonian names. Modern magicians believe that through centuries of ritual use, these names have taken on a magical potency of their own, regardless of their origins.
Barbarossa, Frederick I: German King and Roman Emperor, son of Frederick of Swabia (d. 1147) and Judith, daughter of Henry the Black; born c. 1123; died 10 June, 1190. Connected maternally with the Guelphs, he seemed destined to effect a reconciliation between them and the Ghibellines. In 1146 he had already roused public attention by a determined and victorious war against Duke Conrad of Zähringen. On 4 March, 1152, after having been designated by Conrad III as his successor, he was elected German king, unopposed, and crowned at Aachen on 9 March. Taking Charles the Great as his ideal of a German emperor, Frederick determined to expand his supremacy to its utmost limits. This explains his ecclesiastical policy. With astonishing firmness his bold spirit pursued the aims it had once marked out for itself.
Though no scholar, Frederick surprises us by the clearness and cleverness of his speech, by his rapid comprehension and decision, and by his well-reasoned and logical policy. A born ruler, he considered it his duty to secure for his subjects the blessings of peace. The majesty of his personal appearance was combined with attractive kindliness. Though shrewd and calculating, he had at times fits of uncontrolled passion. However, he was sufficiently master of himself to restrain his anger if the object to be attained was endangered by an outburst. Such a man naturally excited the admiration and invited the confidence of his fellow-men.
The sense of national unity that grew out of the rivalries existing in the crusading armies found in him an ideal for its enthusiasm. In public opinion Frederick found the support which was lacking to his predecessors, Lothair and Conrad. The German people loved their king, who soon after his coronation visited the various parts of his realm and manfully exerted himself to establish internal peace. There was no reason why the secular princes of his empire should oppose the newly chosen king; his naturally conservative mind knew how to deal with existing forces. Of the princes, whose power was already approaching sovereignty, he demanded only respect for the existing order. He sought also to unite the interests of the German princes, especially those of the House of Guelph with the interests of the empire. The Gregorian, hierarchical party in Germany was in a state of complete dissolution. From the bishops Frederick had no reason to fear radical opposition to his policy towards the Church, dissatisfaction with the papal administration in Germany being then widespread. He succeeded in recovering the influence formerly exercised by the German king in the selection of bishops. Many powerful men were at that time to be found among the German clergy, prominent among them being the provost of Hildesheim, Rainald von Dassel, consecrated Archbishop of Cologne in May, 1156, and made chancellor of the empire. For eleven years he was the most faithful counsellor of Frederick. Rainald was a formidable opponent of the papacy; in him the bishop almost wholly disappears in the statesman. Similar to Frederick in character, he vigorously supported the antihierarchical policy of the emperor. Another prelate, also a stanch supporter of the king, was Wichmann, Archbishop of Magdeburg, more of a soldier than a bishop, and uncanonically promoted from the See of Zeitz to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Thus assisted by the various estates of the empire, Frederick sought to make the power of the crown as independent as possible. This he did by vigorously furthering the interests of his ancestral house. The administrators of his family property, the ministeriales, were not only managers of great estates, but at the same time an ever-ready body of warriors. The negotiations between the king and the pope concerning the appointment to the See of Magdeburg revealed for the first time a radical difference between the policies of the Church and the State. During these stormy controversies, forerunners of the approaching tempest, Frederick was strengthened in his views regarding the superiority of the royal over the papal power, chiefly through intercourse with the leading jurists of the University of Bologna. The conception of the dignity of the Roman emperor placed before him by these men confirmed him in his claims to the supremacy of the German kings over the Church, which he based upon the rights exercised by them during the Carlovingian period. The whole internal and external policy of Frederick was controlled by the idea of restoring the ancient imperium mundi. In Northern Italy, where many prosperous communes had acquired independence, the former imperial suzerainty had passed away. Frederick failed to see that in these cities a new political factor was developing, and underrated the powers of resistance of these free municipal republics. Concerned only with immediate advantages, he sought to recover the regalia (income from vacant sees and benefices), which the cities had gradually usurped, and to utilize them in persuing his imperial policy. The conduct of Frederick in Northern Italy and the mistaken concept of the relations between Church and State could not fail to bring about a conflict with the papacy. In this conflict for supremacy in Northern Italy, the pope was forced to prove that he was able to defend the position of equality with the king, which the papal see had acquired, and in this way to gain a complete victory over the emperor. The king, a deeply religious man, was, indeed, convinced that the secular and ecclesiastical power should cooperate with each other, but he made it clear that even the pope should respect in him the imperial lord. If Frederick became master of Italy, the pope would have to acknowledge this supremacy. In the beginning, it seemed probable that Frederick would triumph. The pope needed German help. Threatened by the Normans from without, he was not even secure in his own city, which governed itself through a senate elected by popular vote and tolerated the revolutionary Arnold of Brescia within its walls. It was in these circumstances that the Treaty of Constance was signed between the pope and the king (March, 1153). This treaty was aimed against the enemies of the pope both in Rome and Southern Italy. In return the pope promised to crown Frederick emperor and to help him against his enemies.
In October, 1154, Frederick began his march Romewards. Owing to the weakness of his army, the king did not succeed at this time in subjecting to his power Northern Italy and the rebellious city of Milan. In 1155 he went on with his army to Rome, where he met the newly elected Pope Adrian IV, who maintained himself in Rome with difficulty and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the German king. Frederick could not establish permanent order in Rome. The Treaty of Constance, promising the pope help against the Romans and Normans, was therefore not carried out. In On 18 June, 1155, after having delivered Arnold of Brescia into the pope's hands, Frederick was crowned as Roman emperor in spite of the opposition of the rebellious Romans. In Southern, as in Northern, Italy Frederick made little progress during this Italian expedition. During the years 1155-1158, Frederick reached the height of his power, and energetically safeguarded the tranquillity of his realm. The difficult Bavarian question, replete with imminent danger of war, was successfully settled; Henry Jasomirgott surrendered Bavaria to Henry the Lion and in return received Austria as an independent duchy, a step that was pregnant with consequences for the future of Germany. Frederick's policy was also successful along the eastern and western boundaries of his empire. His suzerainty in Burgundy was, in the main, re-established, after Frederick, with the consent of the Curia, had separated from Adela von Bohburg, and married Beatrice, the heiress of Burgundy. On his eastern frontier, he succeeded more and more in Germanizing and Christianizing the local tribes. In this respect, Henry the Lion was the chief pioneer of the future imperial policy. Frederick maintained amicable relations with Denmark, Poland, and Hungary. Impelled by his proud consciousness of authority, which found expression at the Diet of Würzburg (1157), Frederick undertook a second Italian campaign in 1158. In the meantime, conditions had changed in Italy; the pope, from being an opponent of the Normans, had become their ally. The friendly relations between the pope and emperor had suffered a shock after the Diet of Besançon (1157). On that occasion the papal legate had called the imperial dignity a benefice (beneficium) of the popes. The expression was ambiguous, since the Latin word beneficium might mean either a personal benefit or a feudal concession. There is no doubt, however, that theindignant German princes were right in understanding it to be an assertion of the superiority of the popes over the emperors. In sharp denial of this claim, Frederick defended his imperial sovereignty. The relations between pope and emperor became more strained. Pope Adrian was considering the excommunication of the emperor, when his death relieved the existing tension. Relying on his own resources, Frederick now began another campaign against the cities of Northern Italy. Milan succumbed after a short siege (7 Sept., 1158). At the Diet of Roncaglia the emperor undertook to define with precision the rights of the empire as against its subject rulers and cities, also to restore the earlier strong suzerainty by the appointment of imperial officials (podestà) in the North Italian cities. His intention was to establish peace, but the Lombards failed to understand this and openly rebelled. During his war with the city of Cremona occurred the disputed papal election of 1159. As supreme protector of Christendom, Frederick claimed the right to decide this quarrel. Of course, had he been able to enforce his claims it would have been a proof of the supremacy of the empire. The Synod of Pavia, assembled by Frederick in Feb., 1160, decided in favour of Victor IV. Thereupon, as Victor's protector, Frederick undertook to win over to the cause of this antipope the other rulers of Europe. Milan, in the meantime, had surrendered (March, 1162) and met with a fearful castigation.
The successes of the emperor excited the envy of the other European rulers. Pope Alexander III, animated with the spirit of Gregory VII, refused to acknowledge the imperial supremacy. Around the pope gathered all the enemies of Frederick. The universal papal power was destined to triumph over the idea of a universal imperial power. The Western rulers were determined to resist every attempt to re-establish the imperial hegemony in the West. Frederick was again left to his own resources and, after a short sojourn in Germany, undertook a new expedition to Italy (1163). For a time the death of the antipope, Victor IV, gave rise to hopes of a reconciliation between Frederick and Alexander III, but soon the emperor recognized another antipope, Paschal III. At the same time an anti-imperial alliance, the Lombard League, was formed by the cities of Verona, Vicenza, and Padua; it was joined by Venice, Constantinople, and Sicily. Internal troubles caused by the schism prevented the emperor from coping successfully with the famous League. Some of the German clergy, moreover, had espoused the cause of Alexander III, and Frederick was unable to overcome their opposition. Nevertheless, he again left Germany (1166), marched through the disaffected cities of Northern Italy, and accompanied by the antipope, entered Rome. There a deadly fever destroyed his army, while behind him the Lombard insurrection assumed more dangerous proportions. Lengthy negotiations followed, and the emperor again attempted to overthrow the coalition of the League and Pope Alexander (1174). The great battle of Legnano (29 May, 1176) destroyed the imperial hopes, and left Frederick willing to enter on negotiations for peace. The most important result of the ensuing treaty of Venice (1177) was the failure of the emperor to establish his supremacy over the pope; and in acknowledging the complete equality of Alexander, whom he now recognized as pope, Frederick confessed the defeat of the imperial pretensions.
While Frederick was fighting in Northern Italy, the head of the Guelphs, Henry the Lion, had refused to give him armed assistance. Now he openly rebelled against Frederick. The emperor overthrew Henry, and henceforth aimed at impeding the growth of his powerful vassals by dividing the dukedoms as much as possible. Bavaria, without Styria however, was at this time granted to the Guelph house of Wittelsbach, which act naturally revived the feud between the Houses of Guelph and Hohenstaufen.
The Treaty of Constance (25 June, 1183) between Frederick and the Lombards deprived the pope of his important ally, the combined cities of Northern Italy. Shortly afterwards, Frederick's son Henry married Constance, the Norman princess of Sicily. The papacy was now threatened both from the north and the south. Friendly relations between the pope and the emperor were also endangered by complaints about the exercise of the Jus spolii and the collection of the tithes by laymen. The coronation of Frederick's son Henry as King of Italy (27 Jan., 1186) led to an open rupture. The political weakness of the papacy was offset to some extent by the fact that Philipp von Heinsberg, Archbishop of Cologne and a powerful prince, became the champion of the pope. By skilful management and with the aid of a majority of the German bishops Frederick evaded the threatening peril. The death of Urban III and the election of Gregory VIII brought about a change in the dealings of the Curia with the empire, owing chiefly to the gloomy reports from the Holy Land.
At the Diet of Mainz in 1188, Frederick took the cross, and on 11 May, 1189, started for Palestine. On 10 June, 1190, he met with a sudden death while crossing the River Saleph in Asia Minor. German legend insists that Barbarossa will return to form a new German Empire, and in Germany Barbarossa's figure has stature similar to Arthur in Britain.
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