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JOSEPHIN PELADAN

B

LES FILS DES ETOILES

Tradition, Hierarchy, and the Ideal

MILKO BOGARD

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JOSEPHIN PEL AD AN

LES FILS DES ETOILES Tradition, Hierarchy, and the Ideal

MILKO BOGARD

]

© Milko Bogard ~ LES FILS DES ETOILES - 2019

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Sceau de L’Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal

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Note by the author : Part o f the authors percentage welfare organizations

(30%) o f this book goes to a number o f animal

To my 3 whippets Murphy, Doire* & Dorcha for we can learn much of our animals! “Tiocfaidh ar la” * pronounced “Derry”

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CONTENTS CHAPTER I ROSE+CROIX, TEMPLARS AND CATHOLICISM 1850 LES ROSICRUC1ENS DE TOULOUSE ~ LOUIS CHARLES EDOUARD DE LAPASSE [1792-1867] ~ VICOM TE EDOUARD DE LAPASSE, W ITHIN THE W ORLD OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES, SOCIETIES AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS ~ FIRMIN BOISSIN [SIMON BRUGAL], THE SUPPOSED LINEAGES OF THE ROSE+CROIX de TOULOUSE ~ LA LOGE M AQONNIQUE TOULOUSAINE LA SAGESSE ~ LOUIS ADRIEN PELADAN [18151890] AND THE TEM PLAR ORDER OF GENOUDE [p. 5- 47]

CHAPTER II THE MAGUS AND THE CRUCIFIED ROSE INTRODUCTION ~ 1891 L ’ORDRE DE LA ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE ET ESTHETIQUE DU TEM PLE ET DU GRAAL ~ JOSEPHIN AIM E PELADAN [1858-1918] ~ 1888 L ’ORDRE KABBALISTIQUE DE LA ROSE-CROIX - 1 8 9 1 L ’ORDRE DE LA ROSE-CROIX DU TEM PLE ET DU GRAAL - SAR MERODACK, THE MAGUS OF PARIS - L ’ORDRE LAIQUE DE LA ROSE+CROIX DU TEM PLE ET DU GRAAL - 1892 LE PREM IER SALON DE LA ROSE+CROIX - 1893 LE SECOND SALON DE LA ROSE+CROIX ~ 1894-1897 LES SALONS DE LA ROSE+CROIX ~ THE SUCCESSORS OF THE ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE [p. 48-71]

CHAPTER III SAR MERODACK AND THE MYSTICAL SPHINX THE DOCTRINES AND DEGREES OF L ’ORDRE DE LA ROSECROIX CATHOLIQUE ET ESTHETIQUE - THE DEGREES OF THE CATHOLIC ROSE+CROSS ORDER - CATHOLIC OCCULTISM ? ~ M AGIC - THE ANDROGYN - THE ANDROGYN & THE MYSTICAL SPHINX - FAIRIES AND VIRGINS - ASTROLOGY ~ JOSEPHIN PELADAN: HIS REPENT [72-91] Appendix I ERIK SATIE AND “LA ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE” A p p e n d i x II JOSEPHIN PELADAN HIS BOOKS AND STUDIES

CHAPTER IV THE DREAM OF AN AESTHETIC RENAISSANCE IN BELGIUM PELADAN'S M OVEM ENT IN BELGIUM - ART AS AN INITIATORY RITE, THE PHILOSOPHY OF JOSEPHIN PELADAN ~ 1890 LODGE KVM RIS ~ THE INFLUENCE OF THE ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE & ORDRE KABBALISTIQUE ON LODGE KVMRIS ~ JEAN DELVILLE, THE ARTIST AND THE ESOTERIC ~ DELVILLE AND PELADAN ~ DELVILLE AND THEOSOPHY - DELVILLE AND THE OCCULT - PROM ETHEUS ~ CLOSING W ORD [p. 92-122] 5

A p p e n d i x III DELVILLE AND PELADAN’S SALONS DE LA ROSE+CROIX 1892-1895 A p p e n d i x IV LES TRESORS DE SATAN

CHAPTER V 1923 ORDO AUREAE & ROSAE CRUCIS INTRODUCTION ~ THE GATHERINGS AT THE HOTEL RAVENSTEIN ~ 1923 ORDO AUREAE & ROSAE CRUCIS ~ ROSECROIX ORDER SIGIL ~ 1927 ORDRE HERMETISTE TETRAM EGISTE ET M YSTIQUE ~ ORDO 1NITIATORUM LIBORIUM PYTHAGORAE ~ O.A.R.C. AND O.H.T.M. AFTER 1951 [p. 123-140]

CHAPTER VI 1956 ORDO ROSAE AUREAE (O.R.A.) M ARTIN ERLER AND A.M .O.R.C. ~ MARTIN ERLER AND EMILE DANTINNE ~ 1956 DER PYTHAGOREISCHE INITIATENORDEN VON DER GOLDENEN ROSE [p. 141-148] Appendix V GUSTAV MEYRINK VIVO “ICH LEBE” [p. 149-165] BIBLIOGRAPHY [p. 167-172]

© Milko Bogard ~ LES FILS DES ETOILES ~ 2019

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Sar Merodack Josephin A'ime Peladan [1858-1918]

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PROLOGUE TO CHAPTER ONE « Par mon pere, le chevalier Adrien Peladan, affilie des 1840 a la neotemplerie des Genoude, des Lourdoueix - qui cinquante annees tint la plume au clair pour TEglise, contre les parpaillots, pour le Roy contre la canaille - j ’appartiens a la suite de Hugues des Parens Par mon frere, le docteur Peladan qui etait avec Simon Brugal, de la derniere branche des Rose+Croix, dite de Toulouse, comme les Aroux, les d ’Orient, les vicomte de Lapasse - et qui pratiqua la medicine occulte, sans remuneration —je procede de Rosencreuz. » Josephin Peladan, “Comment on devient un Mage” p. 18 - Chamuel edit., Paris 1892

The text quoted here is from the 1892 edition of “Comment on deviant Mage” of one of the most influential occultists of the French Occult Revival of the 19th century, Josephin Peladan, the main subject of this book. Together with Stanislas de Guaita he founded the “Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose+Croix in 1888. Josephin Peladan also was one of the twelve original members of the "Supreme Conseil dc L'Ordre Martiniste" that was established in 1891. In that same year of 1891 he established the “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal”. The establishment of Peladan’s Order, the “RoseCroix Catholique” in short, and the various “Salons de la Rose+Croix” that were organized under its banner are the starting point of Chapter II. Josephin Peladan claimed to be in possession of a Templar lineage and especially of a Rosicrucian lineage which he allegedly received from his brother, who was a member of the so-called “Rose+Croix de Toulouse”. The legitimacy of Peladan’s “Rose-Croix Catholique” is derived from both lineages, a Templar and a Rosicrucian one. This is where the 1892 quote from Peladan’s “Comment on deviant un Mage” comes in... In this text Josephin claims to be in possession of a Templar lineage by his father, Louis Adrien Peladan [Le Chevalier Adrien Peladan], and of a Rosicrucian lineage by his brother, Dr. Adrien Peladan. Chapter I examines the backgrounds and origins of these lineages as well as the parties involved. As in the words of Sar Merodack Josephin Ai'me Peladan: “I proceed from Rosencreuz”

CHAPTER I ROSE+CROIX, TEMPLARS AND CATHOLICISM 1850 LES ROSICRUCIENS DE TOULOUSE “The Rosicrucians of Toulouse” ... It is said that there existed a Rosicrucian circle in the city of Toulouse in France of the 1850s. Many references are made by prominent Rosicrucians at the beginning of the 20th century to the “Rosicrucian Order of Toulouse”. For example, Emile Dantinne states in his book “L'Oevre et la Pensee de Peladan - La Philosophic Rosicrucienne” [1948]: “Doctor Peladan, his (1) elder brother, eagerly tried to complete his philosophical education. He pushed it towards the mysterious roads o f the Occult. He was introduced by Firmin Boissin and the Viscount de Lapasse to the Toulouse Hermeticists; he had commented on the Zohar, Hahnemann, Simon Brugal (?), he had discoveredFabre d' Olivet... ” 1)

“his” refers to Josephin Peladan (1859-1918). His elder brother was Adrien Peladan (1844-1885), one of the first French homeopaths. According to Adrien it was the Viscount de Lapasse who founded a “Rosicrucian Order” in 1850. It is claimed that Josephin could convince Stanislas de Guiata (1861-1897) to continue this Order, the continuation of Lapasse's R+C Order would be known as the “ORDRE KABBALISTIQUE DE LA ROSE+CROIX”, founded in 1888 in Paris, France (but it was de Guiata who approached Peladan with regard to the foundation of a Kabbalistic Order, and not the other way round). BTW This claim is questioned by many sources...

The “ROSE+CROIX DE TOULOUSE” was easily incorporated by its adherents in the authentic esoteric and alchemical tradition of the South of France, le Midi, which dates back to the Middle Ages. It is said that some of Toulouse’s highly formal learned societies and academies were impregnated with Hermeticism. One such example is the “Compagnie des mainteneurs du Gay Savoir”, founded in 1323 and placed under the patronage of the quasi-mythical Clemence Isaure. Various sources have maintained that Clemence Isaure never actually existed. Gerard de Sede states in “Guide de la France mysterieuse” [©2005] that she’s a symbolic character, “a female cosmological principle”. In the 17111 century the ‘Compagnie’ developed into the “Academie des Jeux Floraux” [more on this later in this chapter]. The South of France has always been a hotbed of mystical- and occult Orders and brotherhoods. In the Haute-Garonne region alone, the area around Toulouse, there existed about circa 130 Orders and brotherhood organizations between 1830 and 1848, a period known as the “Monarchy de Julliet” [July Monarchy], Hermetic and Alchemical initiatory Orders such as “Illumines d’Avignon”, “Rite Primitif de Narbonne” and Pasqually’s “Elus Cohen” were established during the 18th century in this region. The Rosicrucians of Toulouse started their activities on fertile ground in a region where the ancient Hermetic Languedoc tradition had always been present. 9

Returning to our story, there were three key players involved in the possible creation and development of a Rosicrucian Order, or better a Rosicrucian circle, in the South of France of the 1850s: Louis Charles Edouard de Lapasse [1792-1867] Firmin Boissin, a.k.a. Simon Bmgal [1835-1893] Dr. Adrien Peladan [1844-1885]. Louis Adrien Peladan [1815-1890] is the father of Adrien and Josephin. It is known that he was a member of the “ORDER OF THE TEMPLE” headed by the abbot A.E. de Genoude in 1840. Vicomte Louis Charles Edouard de Lapasse is a central figure in the history of the Rosicrucian Order in the south of France. Emile Dantinne, one of the co-founders of the F.U.D.O.S.I. and Imperator [“Sar Hieronymus”] of the European section of the Rosicrucian Order of this federation of mystical Orders and societies, was presumably initiated into a lineage which dates back to the days of the Viscount de Lapasse. I have to underline that there's no official documented evidence for this line of succession. All we know for sure is that Emile Dantinne was the alleged successor of the Belgian branch of Josephin Peladan's Order L’ORDRE DE LA ROSE-CROIX CATHOLIQUE ET ESTHETIQUE DU TEMPLE ET DU GRAAL [see Chapters II, III]. Josephin Peladan founded his own Order after he left the ORDRE KABBALISTIQUE DE LA ROSE-CROIX [Kabbalistic Order of the Rose+Cross, OKR+C], due to a disagreement with Stanislas de Guaita which resulted into the so-called “La Guerre des Deux Roses”, the “War of the two Roses” [see Chapter VII “F.U.D.O.S.I. 1934-1951”]. His elder brother, Adrien Peladan, personally knew the Viscount de Lapasse. They were both physicians. Dr. Adrien Peladan was a homeopath, as a matter of fact he was the first homeopath of his country and an associate of dr. Samuel Hahnemann [1755-1843]. Hahnemann created a system of alternative medicine called Homeopathy.

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LOUIS CHARLES EDOUARD DE LAPASSE [1792-1867] The Lapasse family, of Spanish origin, belonged to the nobility dating back to the 11th century under the dominion of the Counts of Foix in France. A count named Fernand de Resseguier published a book in 1869, entitled “Eloge de M. le Vicomte de Lapasse” [“Eulogy for the Viscount de Lapasse”], in which Fernand de Resseguier retraces the history of the Lapasse family. “The Lapasse family was one o f the best in our regions. The renown it acquired in our southern provinces, and particularly in the court o f the Counts o f Foix, was eminently chivalrous. The Lapasse family, originally from Spain, had, since the year 1090, been vassals and companions to this noble Foix family, whose valour has left so many memories in our regions, and whose Court, during the Middle Ages, together with those o f the Counts o f Toulouse and the Viscounts o f Bearn, constituted the center o f all political and social movement in our South during the Middle Ages. The crusades, the war o f Albigeois and the occupation o f the Gidenne by the English, these three aspects o f our local life in the Middle Ages, as well as the war-like descents into Italy and Spain, always showed the Lapasse family in the forefront, defending the interest o f their sovereign by the sword on the battlefields or with words in the councils. They were to be seen at the battles o f Ravenne, Pavie, Cerisoles. They were sometimes in Aragon or Tunis, in the Holy Land or Flanders, and everywhere they remained faithful to an unchanging tradition, and they lived and died in the service o f the Foix family. And later, when the country regained the crown and when, through successive inheritances, Foix, Bearn and Navarre were incorporated into the French unity, the Lapasse family remained in their mother country and the various branches o f their family showed a remarkable attachment to the province which had been their cradle. ” Comte Fernand de Resseguier, “Eloge de M. le Vicomte de Lapasse” (transl. Sar Asunta, “LeLarge files”)

During the French Revolution the Lapasse family, being of nobility, were on the blacklist of the revolutionaries but the family survived the socalled “revolutionary committees”. The Viscount de Lapasse, a former law student in Toulouse, was introduced in 1815 by his mother to his uncle, Marquis d'Osmond, who was the ambassador to Louis XVIII in London, England. His career in England quickly advanced and in the year 1818 he already worked for the Duke of Richelieu, who was the Prime Minister of the King at the time. In the following years he would be stationed as Prime Secretary at the French embassy in Hannover, Germany; in Bern, 11

Switzerland and finally in Naples, Italy [1826-1827]. His stay in Italy is of major importance to his education in Occultism and alternative medical science. He allegedly came into contact with the “SCHOOL OF SALERNO” somewhere between 1825 and 1830, Resseguier writes about this topic: “The School o f Salerne, having lost its splendour, was fo r him a permitted school. He was seen seeking famous practitioners, isolating himself and sometimes meeting in monasteries. Asking in the dusty libraries o f the Abbeys o f LaCava, Mont Cassin and Montreal for the treasures contained in their charters; and, if it is to believed, it was in these monasteries that he collected his valuable and secret medical information which was later to form the basis o f the health system he created. ” Marcel Roggemans, “Les Rosicruciens de Toulouse” ©1999

Firmin Boissin, a.k.a. Simon Brugal [which was his penname], states that de Lapasse had met a certain Prince Balbiani of Palermo at the “School of Salerne” [“Reginem Sanitatis Salernitatum”, a medieval monastery]. Boissin states that this information was given to him by Lapasse personally. According to Firmin Boissin, Prince Balbiani was a partner of Giuseppe Balsamo, who’s better known as Cagliostro. The viscount de Lapasse and prince Balbiani allegedly spent a lot of time together discussing Occultism, Hermeticism, and other related topics. Balbiani advised de Lapasse to study the Kabbala and Alchemy. According to Firmin Boissin, prince Balbiani was a “Rose+Croix” and was the initiator of de Lapasse [source: “Excentriques disparus”, Simon Brugal, p.75-76, 1890], Apparently, Balbiani always carried a small crystal bottle filled with an unknown liquid, which is said to have belonged to an old hermit who lived nearby the city of Palermo, Sicily. Simon Brugal states in his book “Excentriques disparus” on page 77: “The bottle was personally blessed by Pope Benoit XIV at the time of his life. It is important to know that the Pope excommunicated the Freemasons, these enemies of the Church and the Crown, but he never condemned in these countries the alchemists, brothers of the Rosicrucian brotherhood.” “Excentriques disparus”, Simon Brugal [Firmin Boissin], 1890

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The whole story regarding de Lapasse's friendship with prince Balbiani was only known to Lapasse's circle of friends from Toulouse. It is quite possible that the “Rose+Croix” philosophy was introduced in the Toulouse area by way of Balbiani. But, as in every mystery, some questions are left unanswered. For instance, a) In Italy the house of Balbiani is complete unknown within the nobility. Researchers and scholars therefore suspect an esoteric meaning behind the title of “prince”. At the time the title of “prince” was assigned to Freemasons of the 18th Degree who were initiated into the degree of “Sovereign Prince of the Rose+Croix”. Some of the Rosicrucian Lodges were (and are) in fact Masonic Chapters reserved for 18th degree Masons. Both the “Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite” and the “Antient and Primitive Rite of MemphisMisrai'm” recognize the so-called “Rosicrucian Chapters” [15th degree up to the 18th degree] within their Rite (2). b) But “Prince” Balbiani has always denied that he was in fact a Mason. Both Balbiani and Simon Brugal (Finnin Boissin) claimed that the “Rose+Croix” had nothing to do with Freemasonry. Again, Simon Brugal states on page 76 of his book “Excentriques disparus” that “this prince passed for a “Rose+Croix” in Italy, and, with his title, many believed he was a Mason. This was a mistake, and he told de Lapasse one day: “The “francmaconnerie” [French Freemasonry) gave one of its degrees the denomination of “Rose+Croix”. The vulgar will confirse the Masons with the brothers of the Rose-Croix [Societas Fratemitas Rosae-Crucis], an institution which dates back to the 15th century”.

2)

In spite of the statements made by Simon Brugal (Boissin) regarding the “Rosicrucian authority” of “prince” Balbiani, we should call our attention to the use of the term “Rose-Croix” in the French language. “.... the Hermetic Degree which to the present day has exercised the greatest influence upon the higher grades of Freemasonry is that of the Rose Croix. This name was given to it by the French. We must notice that in the French language no distinction has ever been made between Rosenkreutzer and Rose Croix. French writers have always translated the Rosenkreutzer of the German and the Rosicrucians of the English by their own words Rose Croix, and to this fact is due an error of some importance.” ~ Source: Clegg, p. 375 and Mackay, p. 354 in their “Masonic History”. As for the original “Rose+Croix” Mackey writes on p. 356: “But the original Rose Croix, most probably first introduced to notice by Prince Charles Edward, the ‘Young Pretender’, in the primordial Chapter which he established in 1747 at Arras in France, was a purely Christian, if not a Catholic Degree.” 13

Count de Resseguier states in his writings [“Eloge de M. le Vicomte de Lapasse”] that the Viscount de Lapasse returned to Sicily in 1840 to continue his research on alternative medical science. When he left for Sicily he suffered from a disease and when he returned to France he was completely recovered from his sickness. His recovery must have made a big impression on Edouard de Lapasse, because from this time on he devoted almost all of his time to the Occult medical sciences. In 1842 de Lapasse returned to Toulouse. In 1852 de Lapasse registers himself as a student at the faculty of medical science of Paris. Shortly hereafter he started a practice as a physician in Toulouse. It is said that de Lapasse cured numerous patients and most of the times for free. He was “famous” for his treatments of migraine, epilepsy, hysteria etc. Simon Brugal [Firmin Boissin] states that Edouard de Lapasse soon came into contact with another well known physician at the times who lived in Nimes, Dr. Adrien Peladan (1844-1885). It puzzles me what Simon Brugal means with “soon”, considering the year of birth of Adrien Peladan which was 1844! [More on this later in this chapter]

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VICOMTE EDOUARD DE LAPASSE - WITHIN THE WORLD OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES, SOCIETIES AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS In 1834, after he returned from his first visit to Italy, he joined the SOCIETE ARCHEOLOGIQUE DU MIDI DE LA FRANCE at Toulouse, an archeological society which still exists today. In 1863 he became the Secretary-General of the society. He was also a member of the SOCIETE AGRICULTURE DE LA HAUTE-GARONNE. In 1864 de Lapasse represented the “Societe Archeologique” at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Edouard De Lapasse also invested as one of the first archeologists in the archeological side of Kamac, at the Celtic coastal region (3) of France, the region of Bretagne [Brittany, Breizh]. 3)

The Celtic culture of Ancient Europe is still alive today in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, parts of Cornwall, and Bretagne

In 1865 de Lapasse was chosen as councilor of the town-council of Toulouse. Finally, in the year of his death, he became a member of the COMPAGNIE DES JEUX FLORAUX. Edouard De Lapasse died on October 7, 1867. The history of the COMPAGNIE DES JEUX FLORAUX goes back to the days of the wandering Troubadours. In the Western Mystery Tradition the Troubadours are linked to the “Grailmovement” [the Grail-mystery was brought all over Europe by these Troubadours], the Templar Tradition, the teachings of such Gnostic sects as the Manicheans, the Tradition of the Druids etc. Whatever one believes, the movement of the Troubadours existed in the dark ages of medieval Europe, a period when the old traces of the various Pagan tradition were still alive, when the Knights Templar were still under the protection of the Pope and when the Cathars [or Albigensians] still practiced their faith [until the last resistance group of the Catharmovement at Montsegur were slaughtered in 1244]. LA COMPAGNIE DES JEUX FLORAUX was founded in 1323 under the name [in the Occitan language] SOBREGIA COMPANHIA DELS VII TROBADORS DE TOLOSA which later developed into the CONSISTORI DEL GAI SALTER. Occitan was historically the main language spoken in Southern France. Another French source, Amaud Estoile in his book “Josephin Peladan et la Rose+Croix de Toulouse” [©2010], presents the following French name “La Compagnie des mainteneurs du Gay Savoir”. Allegedly, the original Order was placed under the patronage of the mythical Clemence Isaure. As stated at the beginning of this chapter, several scholars have maintained that she never existed and that ‘Clemence Isaure’ is merely a symbol of a female cosmological principle. [“Guide de la France mysterieuse” ©2005], Since 15

the 14th century the Virgin Mary is referred to as “Dame Clemence”. Gerard de Sede furthermore claims in “Guide de la France mysterieuse” that ‘Isaure’ symbolizes the “Golden Isis”, Isis aurea. Toulouse and its nearby districts is the region of the Albigenses and Cathars, the 12th and 13th century heretical neo-Manichean [Christian] sects. This region lies in the South of France with its mystical connections to such icons as the Black Virgin [Isis], Mary Magdalene and the Knights Templar. None the less, new biographies of the quasi-legendary Clemence Isaure still appear from time to time ... “La Compagnie des mainteneurs du Gay Savoir” was founded by seven Troubadours to keep the tradition of “courtly lyricism” alive. The councilor of the Company at the time, a Guilhelm Molinier, founded a literary society called LAS LEYS dAMORS in 1356. The society is allegedly the oldest literary society in the western world. Today, they still celebrate their annual anniversary on the 3rd of May. This tradition dates back to the year 1527. In 1694 the Company was officially recognized by Louis XIV as a Royal Society and was renamed into the ACADEMIE DES JEUX FLORAUX. The Academie still exists today and works in a close co-operation with the “Societe Archeologique du Midi de la France”. Both societies are devoted to the study of the Celtic Tradition. Both organizations influenced L’abbe Jean-Jacques-Henri Boudet in his book “La vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennesles-Bains” [“The true Celtic Language & the Cromlec'h of Rennes-lesBains”], published in 1886. The abbot Henri Boudet [1837-1915] was the spiritual father of the abbot Francois-Berenger Sauniere (1852-1917), the legendary priest of Rennes-le-Chateau. The manuscript was again published in 1978 with a preface written by Pierre Plantard de SaintClair, Grandmaster at the time of the highly controversial “PRIEURE DE SION” [Priory of Sion or Order of Sion; the order is considered a sham in France], In the 19th century, orthodox Catholics like Archbishop David dAstros, Count Guillam -Isidore de Montbel, and Baron Gabriel de Belcastel were all members of the “Compagnie des Jeux Floraux”. The Baron Gabriel de Belcastel later turns up as a possible initiator of Harvey Spencer Lewis, founder of the AMORC Rosicrucian order. (4)

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4)

Harvey Spencer Lewis in his “History of the Rosicrucian Order”: These instructions (for the establishment of the Rosicrucian order in the United States) were signed by the Comte Bellcastle-Ligne, secretary of the international council and the Venerable Lasalle, the well-known writer of many historical Rosicrucian documents and Grand Master of the Order Rosae Crucis, or Rose Croix of France.” [transl. from Dutch] Note: Mr. Lewis refers to Baron Gabriel de Belcastel as the Comte Bellcastle-Ligne. As I stated in “In the Shadow of the Cathedral of Souls” [AMORC 1915-1990], it is unlikely that Lewis was initiated by the Count. Lewis confesses in the Illuminatus exemptus monographs of the 12th degree, the teachings of AMORC, that he received an astral-only initiation near Toulouse at the time instead of a physical initiation. The real Gabriel de Belcastel was a doctor in the medical science, he published a book titled: “Le iles Canaries et le vallee d'Orotava, au point vue hygienique et medical”.

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FIRMIN BOISSIN [SIMON BRUGAL], THE SUPPOSED LINEAGES OF THE ROSE+CROIX DE TOULOUSE Edouard de Lapasse is said to have established or led a Rosicrucian order or circle in the 1850s. Well-known French researchers like Serge Caillet [a high dignitary of Memphis-Misrai'm] and Gerard Galtier conducted a comprehensive research on this matter. Next to Caillet and Galtier, several varying sources refer to Edouard de Lapasse as being involved in a Rosicrucian body of some sort. An example of such an information source comes from the Grand Lodge of France of the Co-Masonic Order “Le Droit Humain”. In an article entitled “GENESE DU ROSICRUCIANISME” the author, Francis Esp., “quotes” Edouard de Lapasse with the following statement: “There exists a more mysterious science which was taught by the RoseCroix, a secret organization which exists in our days with only a few followers. These followers o f the Order state that the secret is located in all places and all things, that it is not the gold o f the vulgar, that their quintessence is the subtle soul o f all that has a form and a substance. “ (transl. from French) According to Francis Esp. “the works of de Lapasse are related to the tradition of the Rosicrucian alchemists (5) 5) Rosicrucian Alchemy; the philosophy of “Inner Alchemy” which uses the natural forces of the body, a philosophy we can find in the alchemical works of such followers of the Rosicrucian tradition as Robert Fludd, Michael Maier, Elias Ashmole, K. von Eckartshausen, J.P. van Helmont, Thomas Vaughan, H. Kunrath etc.

A much-quoted source is the aforementioned “L'oevre et la Pensee de Peladan- La Philosophie Rosicrucienne”, written and published in 1948 by Emile Dantinne [Sar Hieronymus], of which we spoke in the beginning of this chapter. The primary sources of information in the possible creation of a Rosicrucian circle in Toulouse are the three key players, Edouard de Lapasse, Firmin Boissin and the brothers Peladan, Adrien and Josephin. Unfortunately, there’s no documented evidence available provided by outside sources which can confirm, substantiate or support their claims and statements. The question if the Vicomte Louis Charles Edouard de Lapasse indeed created or led a Rosicrucian group or circle around the 1850s remains open and unanswered. There are no literary sources available within the “Bibliotheque municipale de Toulouse“ which confirms this thesis.

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FIRMIN BOISSIN [1835-1893] Sar Peladan [Josephin] clearly states at the end of the introduction of “Comment on devient Mage” [1892] that Firmin Boissin [Simon Brugal] was a “Commandeur de la Rose+Croix et du Temple”. Fie was the Prior of the Temple of the last branch of the Rose+Croix of Toulouse which included a council consisting of 14 members. Josephin Peladan states in the manuscript: “To members o f our Order and to all intellectuals, it is with great sorrow that we announce the passing away in God our Commander and Prior o f Toulouse, Firmin Boissin. In him, we leave lost our most senior member: he was knighted as a Rose+Croix o f the last branch o f the Traditional Order, that o f Toulouse ” Transl.; Sar Asunta

It is noticeable that the title of Grand Master is not mentioned in relation to the Rose+Croix of Toulouse. Firmin Boissin is referred to as, respectively, ‘Rose+Croix’, ‘Commander’, ‘Prior’ and ‘Dean’ by Josephin Peladan in his initiation for the masses, “Comment on devient Mage” [“Flow to become a Mage” (or Fairy), 1892], From all the information available concerning the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse” a picture emerges of a small circle of like-minded people instead of a [para]Masonic-like organization. The so-called “Rosicrucians de Toulouse”, if ever existed, was a loose group of men with a specific interest in Herbal or Spagyric Alchemy and medicine. A group of a ‘Rosicrucian nature’ without rituals, degrees or a group hierarchy. Firmin Boissin was also a member of a kind of Kabbalistic school called L’lNSTITUT d’ETUDES CABALISTIQUES. There are some interesting names among the Institute's memberlist; Jules Doinel, founder of the Gnostic Church of France, and Leo Taxil [Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pages , 1854-1907], anti-clericalist and journalist. Leo Taxil is famous for his fabrication of the highly secret Masonic “Order of the Palladium” about which he wrote. In the end it turned out to be a monumental joke at the expense of1the Church. The Palladium would have practised “devil worship, murder and other brutalities of an erotic nature.” [Stephen Dafoe ©2008] Another interesting character was Louis Lechartier [1853-1912], Lechartier allegedly belonged to the 'Rosicrucians of Toulouse’ and collaborated in the so-called Taxil hoax [Freemasonry & Devil Worship, “Le Diable au XIXe siecle” 1895]. It is interesting to know that Louis Lechartier owned a 'Magical Square' [Qaema] which, according to Lechartier, possessed the key of all occult knowledge. In this connection 19

it is of interest to mention that the French Order LA FRATERNITE DES POLAIRES used an oracle-technique, which allegedly descended from the Rosicmcians. When Louis Lechartier died in 1912 his complete archives were bought by strangers. A copy of the 'Magical Square' could be found in the “Bibliotheque Nationale” at Paris, until the copy disappeared... THE SUPPOSED LINEAGES OF THE ROSE+CROIX DE TOULOUSE In Josephin Peladan’s “Comment on devient Mage” of 1892, It is maintained that Josephin’s elder brother, Dr. Adrien Peladan, was initiated into the Order of the Rose+Croix in 1858 by Firmin Boissin. If Peladan ever was initiated, it seems rather unlikely that the initiation actually was received at the age of fourteen. French author Gerard Galtier speculates that “ 1858” as the year of Adrien Peladan’s initiation must have been merely a slip of the pen or, more probable, a misprint. As noted on the previous page, Firmin Boissin is described as “Prior and Dean” but not as a Grand Master. Galtier suggests that Firmin Boissin could have been appointed as a “Grand Conservateur” [conservator] of the group. If Adrien Peladan would have been initiated in 1878 - which would make much more sense given the year of his birth (6) - Boissin would have been the sole living member of the original group after Adrien’s death in 1885. As speculated previously, it appears as if the word “Grand Master” does not turn up in conjunction with the Toulouse Rosicrucians. This group of like-minded peers of whom Josephin Peladan talks in his books and to which he refers as Rose+Croix, “La Rose+Croix de Toulouse”, all had the following in common: These men were Ultra-Royalists, ardent Catholics, Herbal- or Spagyric Alchemists, Students o f Occult Medicine and healing the sickfo r free

6)

Especially when we take into account that Edouard de Lapasse, the alleged founder of the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse”, had passed away one year earlier in 1877

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Their activities in Spagyric Alchemy and Occult medicine, combined with being followers of a spiritual cleansed form of Catholicism [neoGnostic Christianity], bear some resemblance with the original Rose+Croix of the Rosicrucian Manifestos of the early 17th century. According to the “Fama Fratemitatis”, the first of the three Rosicrucian Manifestos published in 1614 in Kassel, initiation meant all the above things but it emphasizes most of all that the R+C should heal the sick... For free. Gratis. A Rosicrucian was a member of the true spiritual church, the invisible “House of the Holy Spirit”. The original Rose+Croix had nothing in common with the Rosicrucians of the various para-Masonic organizations. The original Rose+Croix of which the Manifestos speak, were “received” into the Order, they were chosen. Each brother had to choose a successor. As it is stated in the Fama on p.73 “Every Brother should look about for a worthy person who, after his decease, might succeed him.” The Rosicrucians of the Manifestos were a Brotherhood. There was no membership. “To become a Rosicrucian is to become a brother among brethren.” In “Essai sur la conservation de la vie” [Victor Mason, Paris 1860], Edouard de Lapasse states that the Rose+Croix called one another amongst themselves ‘Edelphes’: "L'ORIGINAL ROSE CROIXSE SONTAPPELESENTRE EUXEDELPHES” In a rare Paracelsian work entitled “Le Demonsterium” by Roch le Baillif [1577-1578], the ‘Edelphus’ is described as one whose “medical judgment was closely based on the elements of nature.” The methods were based on the theories of Paracelsus and the Paracelsian methods of healing. There was a French physician and alchemist called David de Planis Campy [ 1589-c. 1644] who was also known as D a vid L ’Edelphe [David de Planis Campy dit L ’Edelphe]. David L’Edelphe was a follower of Paracelsus and an alchemist devoted to rejuvenation. He allegedly sought the universal medicine, the Azoth of Alchemy. As mentioned previously, the resemblances between de methods and ethics of the Vicomte de Lapasse and that of the Rose+Croix of the “Fama Fratemitatis” appear to be coincidences. However, it is known that Edouard de Lapasse always had been intrigued by the Rose+Croix of the Fama. He had familiarized himself with the works attributed to alchemists such as Paracelsus, Francois-Mercure van Helmont, Pierre-Jean Fabre, Robert Fludd, Adam Haslmayr as well as many other exponents of the secret art of Alchemy. Many of these men where devoted advocates of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. When he was a medical student at the Sorbonne in Paris he 21

had access to an extraordinary library of thousands of works on Alchemy, Hermeticism, Magic, Occult medicine etc. that belonged to a certain Comte d’ Ouches. The Comte had apparently studied Magnetism under the Abbe Jose Custodio de Faria [1755-1819], According to Eliphas Levi, one of the three faces of the “Count of Monte Christo” of Alexandre Dumas was modelled after the Abbe Custodio de Faria [“Histoire de la Magie”, 1859]. Edouard de Lapasse is said to have been particularly intrigued by the alchemist, astrologer, diplomat, theologian and doctor of medicine Arnauld de Villeneuve aka Arnaldus de Villa Nova [1235-1411], Amauld de Villeneuve is considered by some scholars as “the greatest medical personality of the Middle Ages”. It is known that he journeyed between Montpellier and Sicily as he was a teacher at the then famous medical school of Montpellier. In 1843-1844, the Vicomte de Lapasse followed the footsteps of Villeneuve visiting the schools of Montpellier and Salerno near the city of Naples, Italy. It is clear that Edouard de Lapasse was a an ardent believer and practitioner of the Rosicrucian principles as expressed in the original Manifestos of 1614-1617AD. The main source of a supposed Rosicrucian succession of the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse” is Firmin Boissin. In his publication of “Excentriques Dispams” [1890], written under his pen name “Simon Brugal”, he claims a lineage derived from the Sicillian alchemist Prince Balbiani. The Sicillian Prince Balbiani is said to have been a pupil of Cagliostro. It is furthermore stated that, while in Germany, the Vicomte de Lapasse had met in Bavaria a group of disciples of Baron Karl von Eckartshausen. Allegedly, on the recommendation of this Bavarian group Edouard de Lapasse was directed to Palermo in 1831 to meet this Prince Balbiani. Simon Brugal, “Visionnaire et Illumine” [1869], “Excentriques Disparus” [1890]

This means that the following lineage allegedly exists: [Cagliostro], Balbiani, Viscount de Lapasse, Firmin Boissin, Adrien Peladan, Josephin Peladan, and finally Emile Dantinne, who would later reorganize Peladan's Order into the ROSE CROIX UNIVERSELLE / ORDO AUREAE & ROSAE CRUCIS. Emile Dantinne was the Imperator of this Rosicrucian order and when the F.U.D.O.S.I. was founded in 1934, he was also chosen as the Imperator for Europe. Besides, it's possible that de Lapasse was not involved in any esoteric organization at all. Other sources claim that de Lapasse, the supposed original founder, had been initiated into a lineage that was derived from the famous Count Cagliostro. It is more than probable that part of this lineage is in fact based on the information that is derived from Gerard Galtier’s 22

“Maconneric Egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neo-Chevalerie” that was published in 1989 [de Lapasse, Aroux, Boissin, Adrien Peladan, Josephin Peladan]. The assumed link between Balbiani and Cagliostro is debatable simply because Balbiani denounced Freemasonry. Cagliostro, on the other hand, used Freemasonry as his teaching structure... Count Alessandro Cagliostro [Joseph Balsamo] [1743-1795?] Baron de Sangro, father of (?) Prince Balbiani de Palermo [1761-1840] Charles-Hyppolyte de Paravey [1787-1871] Viscount Louis Charles Edouard de Lapasse [1792-1867] Eugene Aroux [1793-1859] - Paul Lacuria [1806-1890](7) - Simon Brugal [Firmin Boissin] [1835-1893] Dr. Adrien Peladan [1844-1885] Sar Merodack Josephin Ai'me Peladan [1858-1918] Gary de Lacroze [1865- ], Emile Dantinne [1884-1969] 7)

L ’Abbe Paul Lacuria is the odd one here. Lacuria is mentioned in relation to Eliphas Levi and the so-called “L’hypothetique filiation Anglaise” by the Martinist Robert Ambelain [1907-1997]. The -translated- “English filiation hypothesis” refers to the Rosicrucian initiation Eliphas Levi supposedly received from Edward BulwerLytton and that was transferred to, among others, Peladan [R. Ambelain “MartinismHistory&Doctrine”, ©1946],

French historian and Freemason (8) Jean-Pierre Laurant, together with Victor Nguyen, suggests the following filiation in “Les Peladan” [Laussanne, l’Age d’ Homme ©1990]: Vicomte de Lapasse, Arcade d’Orient Vial, le Docteur Adrien Peladan, Josephin Peladan 8)

Former Grand Master from 1973 to 1975 of the Masonic Lodge “L'Union des Peuples” [1973-75] of the “Grande Loge Nationale Frangaise”, G.N.L.F.

The strangely named Arcade d’Orient Vial [1790-1877] is specifically named in Josephin Peladan’s statement regarding his lineal authority in “Comment on devient Mage”. When he speaks about his brother Adrien he says that his brother was “with Simon Brugal [Firmin Boissin], of the last branch of the Rose+Croix, said of Toulouse, as les Aroux’, ‘les d’Orient’, ‘les Vicomte de Lapasse’. ‘Aroux’ and ‘d’Orient’ are, of course, Eugene Aroux [1793-1859] and Arcade d’Orient Vial [17901877], Arcade d’Orient Vial was an ardent Catholic and a legitimist [royalist]. Nevertheless, his attitude towards his religion and its Church was ambiguous, which is typical of all of the Toulousian Rose+Croix. His ambiguity towards Catholicism is reflected in many of the works of this scholar. Being a successful jeweller in Paris, he privately studied 23

history, theology, physical sciences and various languages [Latin, Greek, English]. In his philosophical study of nature and the physical universe [the precursor of natural science that was called ‘Natural philosophy’] he was strongly influenced by a neo-Platonic philosophy. Over the course of his life he became a vegetarian. Allegedly, Arcade d’Orient Vial also possessed the gift of prophecy. It is told, for instance, that Vial prophesied the fall of the Ottoman empire and the return of the Jewish people to Palestine. Another interesting name is that of Charles-Hyppolyte de Paravey [17871871], What is most striking is that the name of Charles de Paravey is not mentioned by either Josephin Peladan or Firmin Boissin as one of the members of the Toulousian Rose+Croix circle. And, as stated previously, Peladan and Boissin are the sole sources for the existence of a Rosicrucian circle in Toulouse at the latter half of the 19th century. Nevertheless, Charles de Paravey is mentioned by Gerard Galtier [“Maponnerie Egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neo-Chevalerie” ©1989] because he was very influential on Josephin Peladan, he was held in high esteem by Vicomte Edouard de Lapasse, “who quotes his work in Essai sur la conservation de la vie”, and he belonged to that same current of esoteric Catholicism. Allegedly, he was acquainted with Louis Adrien Peladan [1815-1890], the father of the brothers Peladan and became one of the teachers of Dr. Adrien Peladan, encouraging him to study oriental history since his teens. Charles de Paravey was particularly interested in the fields of Astronomy, ancient hieroglyphic writing, universal symbolism, mythologies etc. As for Josephin Peladan, Sar Merodack, Charles de Paravey is said to have influenced the Sar’s cosmogonic vision. Paravey allegedly holds an important place in the history of traditions in the 19th century. His most successful work, “Essai sur l'origine unique et hieroglyphique des chiffres et des lettres de tous les peoples” [Paris 1826], in which he seeks to demonstrate that there existed a primordial tradition which originated in ancient Assyria [situated within the Tigris-Euphrates river system, the cradle of civilization] from which all the civilizations originated. Many of the aforementioned personalities were ardent believers of the Catholic faith and royalists, the so-called “Legitimistes” [legitimists] (9). The author Rene Witzhard states that the ideas of these characters “were based on the idealism of knighthood, which were found in the Templar Order” [“Un Maponnerie entre Drapeaux Noirs et Cardinaux Blancs” ©2000]. Another French author, Patrick Ferte [“Arsene Lupin- Superieur Inconnu”, ©1992], maintains that Eugene Aroux [1793-1859] initiated 24

Louis Adrien Peladan [1815-1890] into a Templar Order. Louis Adrien Peladan is, of course, the father of Adrien and Josephin Peladan. Eugene Aroux is said to have been associated with Alexandre Du Mege. Patrick Ferte furthermore asserts that the high grade Scottish Rite lodge of “La Sagesse” originated from one of Du Mege’s Masonic high grade Orders, “Le Vieille Bru”, which he allegedly refounded in 1805. Patrick Ferte agrees with Witzhard that “La Sagesse” was the breeding place for the later Catholic Rose Cross of Toulouse.

9)

The French “Legitimistes” are royalists supporting the Bourbon dynasty which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution, the 2nd French Revolution. Following the movement of Ultra-royalists of 1814, the Legitimists came to form one of the three main counter-revolutionary right-wing factions in France, the other two were the Orleanists and the Bonapartists. The Legitimists rejected the claim of the July Monarchy [1830-1848] which deposed the Bourbon dynasty for King Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, head of the more liberal Orleanist branch.

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LA LOGE MA^ONNIQUE TOULOUSAINE LA SAGESSE Various sources [e.g. Gerard Galtier, Rene Witzhard, Jean-Pierre Laurant, Patrick Ferte] maintain that the core of the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse” consisted of members from a former Masonic Lodge from Toulouse called Lodge LA SAGESSE [Wisdom], In general, it is asserted that the “Rose+Croix of Toulouse” originated from “La Sagesse” which does not reflect the truth completely. This circle of Hermetic Christians referred to as “RC de Toulouse” consisted of men originating from various groups and circles of which the defunct Masonic Lodge “La Sagesse” apparently supplied the majority of the candidates. The Toulousian Rosicrucian circle allegedly originated from groups such as; “L’Academie des Jeux Floraux”, “AA [Associatio Amicorum]”, “Legitimistes”, “Rose Croix”, “La Sagesse”. Politics [Legitimistes], Religion [AA Clericale], Philosophy, Occult spirituality [RC] and Art [Academie des Jeux Floraux] have all played their part in the establishment and development of this Toulouse circle of Hermetic Christians. But, as stated previously, the majority of the [for want of a better word] membership came from LA LOGE MACONNIQUE LA SAGESSE from the Orient of Toulouse. The Masonic Lodge “La Sagesse” lost many of its Legitimist members after the 1848 February Revolution. LA SAGESSE was founded in 1757 and belonged to the “Grand Orient de France” since 1773 [The GOdF schismed from the “Grande Loge de France” that had been established in 1728]. Whilst reading some of the historical documents I came across a reference to the “Respectable Ecossaise la SAGESSE”, the Scottish Lodge “La Sagesse”, dated circa 1774. “La Sagesse” was one of the few Toulousian lodges which survived the French Revolution of 1789, together with “Les Coeurs reunis”, “La Franpaise Saint-Joseph des Arts” and “les Vrais Amis reunis”. It is after the revolution that the “Maponnerie d'Ancien Regime” [Masonry of the Old Regime] started to evolve in the shadows of the revolution, a political form of Masonry which supported the House of Bourbon, in other words, a royalist and pro-Catholic branch, the “Legitimistes”. After the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte in France, LA SAGESSE consisted mainly of these so-called [in English] Legitimists; Ultraroyalists with Catholic traditionalistic values who supported Henry V, Comte de Chambord [1820-1883] and his grandfather Charles X (10). This Lodge was the only Legitimist one in an environment where the “brethren” were mostly Orleanists [followers of the reigning king, Louis Philippe], 26

In 1833 there was the “affaire La Sagesse” where seven Masonic Lodges urged the Grand Orient to take sanctions against their Ultra-Royalist “brothers”. The charges were dismissed by the GOdF. That “La Sagesse” consisted mainly of Ultra-royalists seems rather unlikely for a Lodge belonging to LE GRAND ORIENT DE FRANCE which nowadays is generally considered “to be the mother lodge of traditional Liberal, or Continental Freemasonry.” It is known that during the turbulent first half of the 19th century, the GOdF always supported the governing powers in place, whether it be the Bonapartists, the “Legitimistes” [House of Bourbon] or the more liberal Orleanists [Louis Philippe I]. Until 1848 it was possible to be a royalist and a Freemason since at that time the Grand Orient of France never stopped supporting the ruling power in place. Gerard Galtier maintains in his “Maconnerie egyptienne, RoseCroix et neo-chevalerie” [©1989] that during the July Monarchy [18301848] the lodge “La Sagesse”, which was known for its love of the Regimes a hauts-grades «philosophiques», became the den of some of the city’s Carlists [Spanish Legitimist movement]. The “Hauts Grades maqonniques”, the Masonic High Degrees, of which Gerard Galtier speaks are the degrees of the “Philosophical Scottish Rite” [“Rite Ecossais Philosophique”] of which the aforementioned Alexandre Du Mege was a member. We shall speak of Chevalier Du Mege later. After researching this Masonic lodge, LA SAGESSE, one will probably come to the conclusion that it seems as if there existed two versions of “La Sagesse”. The description of the main sources on the lodge’s history provide a picture of a Masonic Lodge which was a Legitimist Lodge, of traditionalists and ultra-Catholics, that supported a heir to the throne of the Bourbon family that was announced by the prophecies of Nostradamus, Orval, and all the mystics of the time. The various prophecies are referring to the rise of a Great Monarch; “He will be the supporter o f the true church and the papacy. His name will be Henri. He will be French or at least o f French ancestry”. More on LA SAGESSE at the end of this sub-chapter. All I will say for now is that the lodge LA SAGESSE of 1757, the year of its foundation, had nothing in common with the Lodge of the “Legitimistes” [c. 18301848]...

10) Charles X [1757-1836] was the last of the French rulers from the senior branch of the House of Bourbon [1824-1830]

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“TAtelier leplus respecte de Toulouse, le conservatoire de I ’orthodoxie et le Templeprivilegie de I ’A rtRoyal” historian Paul Pistre on the Masonic Lodge “La Sagesse”

The above depicted quote from Paul Pistre [“Les Francs-Macons a Toulouse” ©2002] translates to “The most respected Lodge of Toulouse, the guardian of the orthodoxy and a privileged Temple of the Royal Art, “La Loge Maconnique La Sagesse”. .. But what has to be remembered is that it was a civil cultural non-profit organization that united all the Legitimists and ultra-Catholics of the region at the time... LA ACADEMIE DES JEUX FLORAUX. The foundation history of the Academie has already been told on page 11 of this chapter, established in 1323 [“Company of the VII Troubadours of Tolosa”] after which it received its current name in 1694. The “Academie des Jeux Floraux” [Floral Games] promotes poetry, in all its forms, and literature. The so-called ‘Mainteneurs’[maintainers] are presiding over the Academy, they are in charge of keeping alive the tradition. Some of the more interesting names I have come across who were part of the leadership of the “Academie des Jeux Floraux”:

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Alexandre DU MEGE [1780-1862], Scholar, archaeologist, historian and Freemason. Together with the Marquis de Castellane, co-founder of the “Societe Archeologique du Midi de la France” at Toulouse, member of the “Ancienne Academie Celtique’ and of the “Societe Royale des Antiquaires de France”. Alexandre Du Mege (11) was an ardent propagator of a form of Hermetic Freemasonry that is known as Egyptian Masonry. He became a ‘Mainteneur’ in 1836. Charles Casimir Du GABE [1799-1874], Former Grand Master of LA SAGESSE and a ‘Legitimiste’; member of the “Congregation de llmmaculee Conception”. Du Gabe became a ‘Mainteneur’ in 1834. Le Baron Gabriel LACOSTE de BELCASTEL [1821-1891], A Member of the “Sacre Coeur de Paray le Monial”. He became a ‘Mainteneur’ in 1858. The Baron Gabriel de Belcastel was an uncle of Joseph de Belcastel [1860-1942], who’s linked by the Rosicrucian Order AMORC to its founder, Harvey Spencer Lewis [1883-1939]. Dorn Marie-Joseph Antoine du BOURG. Historian of “L’Ordre de Malte” [Order of Malta], Dom Antoine du Bourg became a ‘Mainteneur’ in 1890. Le Vicomte Louis Charles Edouard DE LAPASSE [1792-1867]. The alleged founder of the ROSE+CROIX DE TOULOUSE. He possibly knew the Chevalier Louis-Adrien Peladan through Antoine-Eugene de Genoude and baron Jacques-Honore de Lourdoueix of their 28

Templary organization, both being friends of de Lapasse. He became a ‘Mainteneur’ in 1867. Firmin BOISSIN [1835-1893], Editor-in-chief of “Le Messager de Toulouse”, author [pen name “Simon Brugal”] and, according to Josephin Peladan, “last of the Rose+Croix of Toulouse”. He was a member of various chivalric Catholic Orders, such as the Spanish “Orden de Isabel la Catolica”. Firmin Boissin became a ‘Mainteneur’ in 1887. It is said that Firmin Boissin had also been a member of “l’Ordre Pythagoricien des Nicotiniaques” [of which we’ll come back in the last chapter of this book]. 11) Alexandre DU MEGE, a famous archeologist, was one of the co-founders of the “Societe Archeologique du Midi de la France” at Toulouse. According to Maurice Caillet, in an article called “Un rite maqonnique inedit a Toulouse et Auch en 1806“ [published in “Bulletin de la Societe archeologique du Gers” in 1959], Du Mege was one of the founders of an Egyptian Rite. In 1806 he founded LES AMIS DU DESERT in Toulouse, the Mother Lodge [“La Souveraine Pyramide”] of this Egyptian rite. The rite expanded in the Toulouse area with lodges at Montauban and Auch. The Grand Orient of France refers to this rite as LA SOUVERAINE PYRAMIDE DES AMIS DU DESERT. Alexandre Du Mege was also a member of the Masonic Lodge “Napoleomagne” which was established in 1805 or 1806 in Toulouse by General Chabron. In 1814 [or 1815] it changed its name to “La L... la Concorde”. Members of “Napoleomagne” re-established the Jacobite Scottish “Ecossais fideles” [“Rite Ecossais Philosophique”], allegedly brought to Toulouse in 1747 by George Lockhart, aide-de-camp to Prince Charles Edward Stuart, “Stewart claimant to the English throne after 1766.” The “Ecossais fideles” is also known as “le Rite de la Vieille-Bru”. In 1809 Alexandre Du Mege became the ‘Grand Chancelier’ of the “Camp des Grands Chevaliers de PAigle Blanc et Noir du Rite Ecossais Philosophique” and was also a member of its side Order, “Vieille-Bru”. The rite consisted of 9 degrees divided into three chapters. JM Ragon in "Rites et Rituels" says about this second Chapter: "The second includes four degrees, referred to as the Elect. Its system is Templar." Its authenticity was rejected by the Grand Orient de France in 1812.

Among the ‘Mainteneurs’ [maintainers] of the “Academie des Jeux Floraux” during the period 1830-1900 were Egyptian- and Scottish Rite Masons, Rosicrucians, Catholics and ‘Legitimistes’. From the 16th century dates a ceremonial of which most elements still subsist nowadays. “Every year on May 3 the ‘Mainteneurs des Jeux Floraux’ went on pilgrimage to the altar o f the Black Madonna o f I'Eglise de Notre Dame de la Daurade ’’ “Les Societes Secretes et l’enigme des Deux Rennes aux XIX° ET XX° siecles” FrancMaconnerie [see Bibliography]

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The aforementioned source maintains that excavations have established that the [black] Madonna shrine was built over a ruined temple of a Pagan deity... Minerva or Isis. In itself, this is nothing special or unique. As I have stated in my book “The Dawning of the Kneph” [The Egyptian Influence on Rosicrucianism ©2018]; “In the European churches, Roman statues of Isis with her child Harpocrates on her lap went on being venerated for a long time as images of the Virgin and Child” [p.118]. To put it very simple, during the first couple of centuries of the common era the Isis cult slowly transferred into the cult of Mary. Of course, this is a very simplified explanation of the Isis theory in relation to the yearly ceremonial pilgrimage to the “Eglise de Notre Dame de la Daurade.” The “Academie des Jeux Floraux” of today mentions the ceremony on their current website. The current Academy refers to the 1st of April as the date of the actual ceremony, which is the day of the “Semonce” [Sermon] on which the members of the College “have to pay the feast”. They respond that they, the College of the Academy [‘Mainteneurs’], “will do their duty”. On May the 3rd the ‘flowers’ [in gold, silver etc.] are distributed to the Masters of Poetry. The flowers are deposited at the church of Notre Dame de la Daurade [‘Our Lady of the Sea Bream’] from which they are “brought to the Capitol in procession”. As for the date of the ceremony, May 3, refers to the first known poetry contest in 1324. The first awarded poem was a poem written “in honour of the Virgin”...

L .’. DE LA SAGESSE

ORIENT DE TOULOUSE

The Masonic Years 5757 [Left] to 5856 [Right] 1757 to 1856

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« LA SAGESSE and the Proclamation o f the Second Republic [1848-1852] » As previously said a couple of pages ago, in 1848 the Masonic Lodge LA SAGESSE vanished into Masonic history, or so it is believed. 1848, the year the Second Republic was proclaimed. The Lodge seemed to have lost its Legitimist character. As explained previously, “until 1848 it was possible to be a royalist and a Freemason since at that time the Grand Orient of France never stopped supporting the ruling power in place.” In 1848 the Monarchy of Louis-Philippe was overthrown and the Second Republic was proclaimed. Not much is known why “La Sagesse” supposedly became ‘inactive’, except that this was a period in French history when Socialism started to develop its ideas and the opposition against the church started to grow in society. Another possible factor was the change of policy within the “Grand Orient de France”. The period after 1850 under the regime of Napoleon III [1852-1870] saw the Legitimists once again cast out of active political life... And when in 1883 the Comte de Chambord died, the Legitimists lost their pretender to the throne of France and a prophecy unfulfilled. As for LA SAGESSE, at the top of this page there is a Masonic commemorative coin depicted [front & back] that was issued by the “Loge de LA SAGESSE” at the Orient of Toulouse. At the back of the coin the Masonic year 5856 can be found in the centre of the Triangle. The Masonic year 5856 is the year 1856 of the Gregorian calendar. Clarification, the code stands for the so-called ‘vulgar’ Year of Masonry: “The World began on year 1 equal to 4000BC”. Further explanation can be found in the creation accounts in the Book of Genesis of the Bible. A simple conclusion: The Masonic Lodge “La Sagesse” was still active in 1856 in the French city of Toulouse, eight years after the Second Republic was proclaimed on the place de la Bastille. If the sources maintain that “La Sagesse” became inactive in 1848 does this mean that the above depicted commemorative coin originated from a different Toulousian Masonic Lodge? Or, as pointed out before, is it possible that there existed two versions of the same Masonic Lodge? I stumbled upon a piece of text in my notes that somewhat clarifies the issue. Towards 1850, fo r a reason that remains to be clarified, the fundamentally ultra-Catholic and legitimist character o f “La Sagesse” loses its virulence. The Lodge disappears or, at least, is democratized and secret Legitimist societies renounce their activism. 31

“The Lodge disappears or, at least, is democratized”, in other words, “La Sagesse” did not went dormant in 1848 and continued its activities as a Lodge, albeit somewhat changed... It is obvious that there was a period in the history of L.’. DE LA SAGESSE that this lodge was controlled by the Legitimists, especially during the period 1830-1848. After the Second Republic was proclaimed in 1848, the Legitimists lost their influence in the Lodge and left the Masonic Order in droves. There’s not much information regarding how the Legitimists took over the leadership of “La Sagesse” The following information is mostly derived from Gerard Galtier’s “Maconnerie egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neo-chevalerie” [©1989]. One of the first known fervent Legitimists who joined Lodge LA SAGESSE was Louis-Marie-Fortune Olivie. He became a member in 1819 and a Venerable Master in 1827. According to Gerard Galtier, after Olivie became a “Venerable” in 1827 he somehow managed to change the political course in 1831 with the help of the “Freres Ragourd et Courtis” [G. Galtier], This change of course marked a crucial turning point in the history of the rite. One of the consequences of Olivie’s move was that the former Grand Master Colonel Dupuis left the Lodge, together with the majority of the long time members. It turns out that the old time members of “La Sagesse”, including Dupuis, abandoned their membership due to the growing importance of political issues within the lodge. An anonymous source maintains that “L a Sagesse" was the nam e o f a ‘som ew hat irregular M asonic L o d g e ’. A m o n g its m em bers were (supposedly) m em bers o f the H autpoul fa m ily ”. This text clearly refers to

the period 1830-1848, when “La Sagesse” was under the leadership of the “Legitimistes”. When Colonel Dupuis and the rest of the membership had left, only Olivie, Ragourd and Courtis were affiliated to the original lodge from the days under the leadership of Colonel Dupuis. We are in fact dealing with a totally different Lodge. New members entered the Masonic Lodge, starting with several eminent leaders of the Legitimist movement from Toulouse. The most well-known were the lawyer Charles Casimir Du Gabe [1799-1874], who became a member in 1831, and le general m arquis Charles d'Hautpoul whose membership dated from 1834 [G. Galtier]. Charles d’Hautpoul was a former army officer in Napoleon’s Egypt campaign, a Knight of the “Order of Malta”, former mayor of Toulouse [1815-1818] and leader of the “Legitimistes”(12). Both men, Du Gabe and d’Hautpoul, were Grand Masters of LA SAGESSE and were also the founders of “l’Agence Legitimiste pour l’lnsurrection Espagnole”, an organization which provided uncompromising support and financial aid to the Carlist exiles, the Spanish Legitimist movement. 32

As stated at the beginning of this sub-chapter, many of the Carlists which had fled and lived in the Toulouse area found harbour in “La Sagesse”. Other prominent “Legitimistes” that joined the Masonic Lodge of LA SAGESSE were Christophe Du Bourg [1846] and Eugene and Theobald d’Hautpoul [1847], respectively son and nephew of Charles d’Hautpoul [G. Galtier], Charles d’Hautpoul is also mentioned in relationship with another secret Legitimist society during the reign of Louis-Philippe which was known as 'TAffiliation Catholique". He was a council member of "TAffiliation Catholique de Toulouse" from 1840 to 1847. This group was allegedly established in 1831 with the help of Joseph de Villele. Apparently, 'TAffiliation Catholique de Toulouse" indirectly descended from the “Societe des Amis de FOrdre”, another secret Ultra-royalist and Catholic group that was active at the time in France. Allegedly, 'TAffiliation Catholique" was organized as a kind of parallel organization from the “Chevaliers de la Legimite et de la Fidelite”, which was a sub­ organization from the “Societe des Amis de FOrdre” [divided in two groups, Chevaliers de la L egim ite - and - C hevaliers de la F idelite ]. One of the sources [“Les Societes Secretes et Fenigme des Deux Rennes aux XIX° ET XX° siecles”] mentions the involvement of “ C hevalier Loins A drien P E L A D A N (pere de Josephine ... le Sar), l ’A bbe A ntoine-E ugene de G E N O U D E et le B aron Jacques H onore de L O U R D O U E IX ”, all

convinced Legitimists, in the establishment of ’TAffiliation Catholique de Toulouse". And it seems the circle comes round again. Louis Adrien Peladan, father of Josephin Peladan, Antoine-Eugene de Genoude and the Baron Jacques Honore de Lourdoueix, three names closely associated with the subject of this book, Josephin Peladan and the “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” ... 12)

All of the members of the Hautpoul family [de Seyres branch] descended from the ancient and famous “famille des Hautpoul, Chevaliers-barons d’Hautpoul” from Rennes [-le-Chateau], The Hautpoul family is said to have been passionately involved in esotericism and Freemasonry, and one can read for example in “Le Tableau de la premiere loge du Rite Primitif en France” [1790] that a Count d’Hautpoul, Chevalier de devotion of the “Order of Malta”, bom and residing at the chateau d’Hautpoul [-Felines] near Saint Pons, had been an initiate of the “Rite Primitif’ [Loge des Philadelphes de Narbonne] in 1789. It is from this last branch, d’Hautpoul-Felines, where the popular and famous general Armand d’Hautpoul descended from who was the teacher [preceptor] of the Comte de Chambord [Gerard Galtier “Maponnerie egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neo-chevalerie” ©1989].

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Naturally, the whole history of the Masonic Lodge LA SAGESSE and its connections to various secret ultra-royalist, Catholic and pseudo-mystical organizations is much more complex and bigger than what is portrayed in this chapter. But the emphasis of this chapter lies predominantly on the circle of men which supposedly formed the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse” and its possible connection to Josephin Peladan and his “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” [also called “Ordre de la Rose-Croix du Temple et du Graal”]. So finally, to sum up, a conclusion is drawn with regard to the main findings of this chapter [so far] “I ’E sse n c e D iv in e des F reres de la R o se+ C ro ix ” “At a party in 1839 at the home o f the Countess Albanes, in the presence o f amongst others Charles Nodier, Baron Brice de Beauregard and the poet Adolphe Dumas, the Viscount de Lapasse presented to the assembled guests a crystal pocket flask filled with a liquid to which he referred as the ‘Divine Essence o f the Brethren o f the Rose+Cross ”

In a nutshell; The R ose+ C roix de Toulouse ~ a P rovisional Conclusion

Did the Rose+Cross Order of Toulouse really exist? I’m afraid this is a question that has no simple answer. But what we do know is that the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse” was not a regular fraternal initiatory Order or mystical brotherhood. There was no Lodge system with rituals and ceremonies, there were no degrees and there was no organizational structure. Another subject of debate is the lack of “credible sources”. The majority of the sources are in one way or another associated with Josephin Peladan and his “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal”. For obvious reasons, not the most credible sources if you ask me. No further information available. What did the Viscount Edouard de Lapasse actually establish in 1850? Most of the more established sources maintain that Edouard de Lapasse formed a loose circle of likeminded individuals with a specific interest in Herbal or Spagyric Alchemy and medicine. A group of a ‘Rosicrucian nature’ without rituals, degrees or group hierarchy. On top of that it is claimed that these men were ardent Catholics, albeit with an ambiguous attitude towards their religion. Most of them adhered a form of neoGnostic Christianity.

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What’s the verdict on the possible connection between the Rosicrucians of Toulouse and the Masonic Lodge LA SAGESSE? To keep the answer simple and brief, ‘membership’ overlapped with a number of Catholic and Ultra-royalist organisations that were steeped in the ancient Hermetic Languedoc tradition, as well as [possibly] with the Masonic Lodge LA SAGESSE and the “Academie des Jeux Floraux”. Do we know the names of the ‘members’ of the Rose+Cross Order of Toulouse? The names of respectively E do u a rd de Lapasse, A drien P eladan , Firm in B oissin, doctor Phegor{?), E ugene A roitx and A rcade d ’O rient are mentioned by Firmin Boissin and Josephin Peladan. Gerard Galtier [“Magonncrie egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neochevalerie”©1989] claims to have discovered at least three other names through his research for his book: Texerau de Lesserie [student of Lapasse in Hermetic studies], F erdinant R ouget [Hermetist, occultist], Dr. Louis-A ntoine M ontesquiouLaboulbene [1803-1896], It is said that Texerau de Lesserie and Dr. Montesquiou-Laboulbene were students of the Vicomte de Lapasse with whom he practised Operative Alchemy. In my personal notes the name of Louis Lechartier is mentioned, who allegedly collaborated in the Taxil hoax [see pp. 13-14], Some sources also maintain that the abbe L acuria as well as the C hevalier de P aravey, admired by both Adrien and Josephin Peladan during their youth, were at least indirectly involved in the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse”. And, returning to our previous question, how many of these men were member of LA SAGESSE? Certainly not the four men mentioned by Boissin and Josephin Peladan. As for the remaining three names: no further information available ...

“L egitim ist activism, ultra-C atholicism , esoteric traditions fu n d a m en ta lly linked to the O ccitan E arth w ill m ake that the O rder o f the R ose-C ross o f 'Toidouse w ill constitute a new occult circle intended to p ro m o te the accession to the throne o f "Roy de Blois", the "Chyren" o f N ostradam us ... restorer o f the true fa ith . ”

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LOUIS ADRIEN PELADAN [1815-1890] AND THE TEMPLAR ORDER OF LOURDOUEIX

GENOUDE

AND

“By my father, the Chevalier Adrien Peladan, affiliated to the neo-Templary of Genoude, of Lourdouex since 1840 - who for 50 years held the pen to the light for the Church against the ‘parpaillots’ [Protestants], for the king against the rabble - I belong to Hugues des Paiens [of the 12th century Knights Templar], By my brother, Dr. Peladan, who was with Simon Brugal [Firmin Boissin], of the last branch of the Rose+Croix, said of Toulouse, Like [the] Aroux, [the] d’Orient, [the] Viscomte de Lapasse - and who practiced occult medicine, without remuneration - 1 proceed from Rosencreuz” Josephin Peladan - “Comment on devient Mage” 1892

In his book “Comment on devient Mage”, published in 1892, the Sar makes claim to be in possession of a Templar lineage by his father and especially of a Rosicrucian filiation by his brother, who had been a member of the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse”. The alleged filiation was used by Josephin Peladan in 1891 to establish the “Ordre de la RoseCroix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal”. The neoTemplar filiation Peladan refers to was allegedly derived from the Templar Order of Abbe Antoine-Eugene de GENOUDE [1792-1849] and Baron Jacques Honore de LOURDOUEIX [1787-1860]. Although both A-E de Genoude and J.H. de Lourdoueix were Catholic Legitimists like the Rosicrucians, there was nevertheless no cooperation between the Toulousian Templars and Rosicrucians. In the 12th volume of the “La Decadence Latine: Ethopee” [a series of 21 Volumes published between 1884 and 1925] the question is raised why the [last] Rose+Croix did not join the Templars? The answer, presented in a conversation between two characters of the book, is that “The R ose+ C roix w ere Gnostics, Alchem ists. Their search f o r truth w o rried the literal a n d strict fo r m o f C atholicism a n d the Templars. The two currents co u ld only m erge into the hands o f a G rand M aster capable o f equitable balancing Rosicrucian liberties a n d the individualism that inspires them a n d the obligations o f the Tem plar tradition. ” Josephin Peladan - “La Decadence Latine: Ethopee” XII - “Le dernier Bourbon” [Chamuel, 1895]

Louis Adrien PELADAN had been affiliated to the “neo-Templary of Genoude and Lourdoueix” since 1840, as Josephin Peladan claims in his book “Comment on devient Mage”. It has been claimed (13) that this neo-Templar Order was somehow affiliated to the “l’Ordre du Temple” that was founded in 1804 by Bemard-Raymond Fabre-Palaprat [17731839]. In 1812 Fabre-Palaprat also founded the Gnostic-Christian “Johannite Church” which received its full name in 1828, “l’Eglise Johannite des Chretiens Primitifs” [I’ll get back to this subject in 36

Chapters III and IV], Louis Adrien Peladan [the father] is also mentioned in the official bulletin of the Order (14), “La Croix du Temple”. In a special edition on the history of the “Ordre du Temple” [1965, p.20] the author Jean Wittmer states that in 1840 Louis Adrien Peladan, in the company of Genoude and Lourdoueix, was admitted to the “Ordre du Temple” in Toulouse. There’s only one problem with both these claims, the “l’Ordre du Temple” [also known as “l’Ordre d’Orient”] were Bonapartists or supported the more liberal Orleanists whereas the Templar branch of Genoude consisted purely of conservative “Legitimistes”. Another fact is that the names of Genoude, Lourdoueix and Peladan did not appear in the official records of the “Archives national” of the “Order of the Temple”. Moreover, Fabre-Palaprat’s “Ordre du Temple” had no “Commanderie” [Templar lodge] in the city of Toulouse in the year of Louis Adrien Peladan’s alleged admission to the Order. Despite the claims of the OMSTH [“Order of the Temple”], it is more than likely that the Templar Order of Genoude and Lourdoueix was not affiliated to the original “Ordre du Temple” of Bernard-Raymond Fabre-Palaprat. So the question remains, who were the “neo-Templars of Genoude and Lourdoueix”?

The claim was made by the “Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jerusalem”. The OSMTJ is the continuation of Fabre-Palaprat’s “Ordre du Temple”. Josephin Peladan is officially listed by the OSMTJ as regent of the “Ordre du Temple” between 1892 and 1894. Josephin Pdladan is listed as the successor of doctor Angelo M. Vernois. Allegedly, the Order had troubles choosing a successor for Josephin Peladan and at the end of 1894 the regency was handed over to the “Secretariat International des Templiers” which had its seat in Brussels, Belgium, until 1934. As we will see in Chapters III and IV, the esoteric Lodge K.VMRIS in Brussels was the centre of the activities of this Templar group in Belgium. KVMRIS was affiliated to Peladan’s “Ordre de la Rose-Croix du Temple et du Graal” as well as to Papus’ “Groupe Independant d'Etudes Esoteriques ” [“L’Ordre Martinste”]. 14) The “Ordre du Temple” is known since 1853 as “ORDO SUPREMUS MILITARIS TEMPLI HIEROSOLYMITANI [OSMTH] or “Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jerusalem”. 13)

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According to Gerard Galtier, in his book “Maqonnerie egyptienne, RoseCroix et neo-chevalerie” [©1989], it is much more plausible that the neoTemplar Order of Genoude and Lourdoueix was in fact an organization that was linked to one of the many secret Legitimist groups that were active at the time in the Toulouse area. These organisations, as described in this chapter, consisted of ultra-royalist Catholic traditionalists - being side-lined from political power by the Republic - cooperating in secret groups built on the model of the Chivalrous Orders. Simply put, Their members were royalists and traditional Catholics who felt lost after the last revolution in France. Their ideas were based on the idealism of Templar knighthood. Their leaders believed in primordial hierarchies, a traditional lineage of sacred rulers, or as Josephin Peladan explained it, these men believed in “Tradition, Hierarchy, and the Ideal.” Peladan used the term “Hierophanie” for it, m anifestation du sacre - the manifestation of the divine [lived by man], THE CATHOLIC & ROYALIST SECRET SOCIETIES OF THE BOURBON RESTORATION At the end of the previous subchapter on the Masonic Lodge “La Sagesse”, I spoke about the General Marquis Charles d'Hautpoul and his involvement in the "Affiliation Catholique". Politics, religion and mysticism were deeply entwined in groups such as “FAffiliation Catholique”, an association which is labelled by French sources as belonging to the “Societes Secrets Legitimistes” or “Societes Secrets Catholiques et Royalistes”. These were turbulent times for France; the French Revolution, the reign of Napoleon, the White Terror and the Bourbon Restoration... “P olitical p a rties sa w substantial changes o f alignm ent a n d m em bership under the Restoration. The C ham ber o f D eputies oscillated betw een repressive ultra-royalist p h a se s a n d p ro g ressive liberal phases. ” Frederick Artz, “France under the Bourbon Restoration, 1814-1830”, 1931

All of these parties remained fearful of the “cheap multitude”, that is to say, common people. When Louis-Philippe ascended the throne after the July Revolution of 1830 [“Monarchie de Juillet”], his reign marked the shift to national sovereignty. The upcoming industrial revolution gave rise to the industrial bourgeoisie which started to flourish during the reign of the Orleanist king Louis-Philippe. The industrial bourgeoisie were Orleanists and the political antagonists of the pro-aristocratic Ultra­ royalists. Before the French Revolution of 1789 the power and wealth of the country had been almost exclusively in the hands of the aristocracy and the clergy. On top of that, the aristocracy also enjoyed the [often] inherited status of social prestige. After the 1789 Revolution everything 38

changed as the bourgeois took the power. Wealth, privileges, social status and titles, all taken away. Immediately after the fall of Napoleon an attempt at restoration began and the aristocracy hoped to regain power again. It is against this background in which these secret Legitimist groups were vaguely taking shape. Disappointed, embittered and frustrated, the French aristocracy turned towards religion, mysticism and the occult sciences. More or less secret associations began to emerge. “The nostalgia o f the p a st g en era ted a stro n g interest in the M iddle Ages, so despised by the century o f enlightenm ent, they f e l l in love with the G othic w hich h a d been denigrated so much. The novels o f the A rthurian cycle were reinterpreted as w ere the legends o f the Grail, even hagiography (15) h a d his supporters. ” Paolo Lucarelli, “Introduzione a II Mistero delle Cattedrali di Fulcanelli”, Roma ©2005

The paragraph of Mr. Lucarelli here above quoted clarifies the emergence and success of [neo-] Templarism at the first half of the 19th century. So-called authentic charters and more or less well-constructed documents emerged from a dark past that supported various claims of reconstitution or initiatory links with the original Order. As noted before, the Haute-Garonne region, the area around Toulouse, was a hotbed of esoteric activity. The [probable] origin of the neo-Templar Order of Genoude and Lourdoueix goes back to the year 1801 when a Catholic organization called the CONGREGATION DE LA TRES SAINTE VIERGE [Congregation of the Blessed Virgin Mary] was established by a Jesuit priest, Father Jean-Baptiste Bordier-Delpuits. Originally founded in Rome in 1560, the Congregation was devoted to the cult of the Virgin. But this French branch was first of all more of a meeting place where the most ardent and reactionary aristocrats could gather in secret. 15) writings about the lives of holy people such as saints

One of its members, le Comte de Bertier [Anne Ferdinand Louis de Bertier de Sauvigny, 1782-1864] co-founded the Ultra-royalist and Catholic nationalistic L’ORDRE DES CHEVALIERS DE LA FOI [Knights of Faith]. Initially, they wanted to found a secular Knightly Order such as that of the “Ordre de Saint-Jean de Jerusalem”(16). But this Knightly Order had a different agenda and was more engaged in politics. The Order, founded in 1810, had a Masonic organizational structure and was comprised of five degrees: 1° Associe de Charite 2° Ecuyer 3° Chevalier 4° Chevalier Hospitalier 5° Chevalier de la Foi 39

Members were initiated from the third degree onwards, the initiation ceremonies were only intended for the Chivalrous Degrees, 3°- 5°. Only the members of the highest degree, “5° Chevalier de la Foi”, were aware of the extent of the Order and its political and religious objectives.

/ / /

/ /

j

f

f

C h ev a lie rs \ d e la \ F oi \

C h evaliers H o s p ita lie rs C h ev a lie rs E cuyers

\ \ \ \

A ssocies d e C h a rite

\

Degree Structure of L’ORDRE DES CHEVALIERS DE LA FOI

also known as “Association des Bannieres”

The Order was lead by a high council, “Le Conseil Superieur”, which consisted of nine members, some of whom held the title of Grand Master. In the latter days of the Order, the “Chevaliers de la Foi” disbanded in 1826, members of the C onseil Superieur were politically active in the French Parliament. The Order operated at the centre of three circles of power and influence; “Le Conseil Superieur” [active in Parliament], the “Senechaux” [the military divisions that served directly under Charles X], and the “Bannieres” [the cells that were active in the D epartem ents of the country]. On a sidenote, following the return of Louis XVIII to power, “p eo p le su sp ected o f having ties with the governm ents o f the F rench R evolution or o f N apoleon su ffered arrest. Several hundred were killed by angry mobs, or executed after a q u ick trial a t a drum hea d court-m artial. ” Gwynn Lewis, “The White Terror of 1815 in the Department of Gard: CounterRevolution, Continuity and the Individual”, “Past & Present”, N° 58, Feb. 1973

This campaign, which occurred in France in 1815, became known as the “Second White Terror”. It is generally known that the “Ordre des Chevaliers de la Foi” [“Knights of Faith”] took part in the campaign against the enemies of King Louis XVIII, the Revolutionaries and Bonapartists. The first years following the “White Terror” were a period 40

of agony in France which, for instance, heavily affected Freemasonry. Napoleon’s downfall also entailed, to a great extent, the fall of Freemasonry [more on this at the end of this chapter], 16)

“Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem”, also known as “Knights Hospitaller”, “Ordo Sancti Johannis Hospitalis Hierosolymitani”

According to some sources, among which the Italian alchemist Paolo Lucarelli [1940-2005], at the end of 1830 the Knights of Faith [“Chevaliers de la Foi”] generated a network of secret societies, all acting with the aim of regaining [political] power. French author Gerard Galtier (17) acknowledges Lucarelli’s assertion. In addition to Lucarelli, Gerard Galtier maintains that it was the Count Ferdinand de Bertier de Sauvigny, co-founder of the “Chevaliers de la Foi”, who was ‘authorized’ by Charles X and the Duchess de Berry, who were exiled in England at the time, to establish and organize this network. This network of secret societies was directed by LA SOCIETE DES AMIS DE L’ORDRE, an Order organized along the lines of the military and chivalry and which reminded of both the “Ordre des Chevaliers de la Foi” and the “Institut philanthropique”(18). “Je donne m on am e a Dieu, m on corps au Roi, j e p ro m ets de m 'em ployer de tous m es m oyens a cooperer au retablissem ent de la legitim ite en F rance... ” ~ Excerpt taken from the Oath of the Knights of Legitimacy from 1832 -

“La Societe des Amis de FOrdre” divided its most active members into two organizations; CHEVALIERS DE LA LEGITIMITE and the CHEVALIERS DE LA FIDELITE. Gerard Galtier states that a police report [Haute Garonne region] from 1832 offered a few lines of information on both groups. The latter, the “Chevaliers de la Fidelite”, was “only com m itted through the pen, their actions or m oney ” to reach its goal, the downfall of the July Monarchy and the return of the Bourbon King. The “Chevaliers de la Legitimite” was the more military faction of the Knights, active in all the comers of the country where and when needed “to p ro vid e arm s a n d am m unition. ” Like Freemasonry, these groups used also ‘modes of recognition’; passwords and handshakes. The Society also used codes in their official newspaper, “La Quotidienne”, in order to transmit the orders to the principal leaders of the association all over the country.

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“I sw ear to d efen d the Rom an C atholic A postolic religion to the death; I sw ear to im m ediately execute a ll the orders that w ill be sent to m e by m y superiors; to this e n d I sw ear to preserve, even in the fa c e o fju stice, the m ost absolute secret on everything that has relationship with the Affiliation, voting f o r the p u n ish m en t o f traitors i f I violate m y oath. ” ~ Oath upon entering the “Affiliation Catholique” ~

L’AFFILIATION CATHOLIQUE DE TOULOUSE The “Chevaliers de la Legitimite et de la Fidelite” were represented in big numbers in Toulouse, where they were led by Leopold de Rigaud. However, an effort to establish an autonomous organization resulted in the creation of L’AFFILIATION CATHOLIQUE which Leopold de Rigaud founded in 1831 together with Joseph de Villele [1773-1854], a several times French Prime Minister. “L’Affiliation Catholique” is the Legitimist association in which Louis Adrien Peladan, l’Abbe AntoineEugene de Genoude and Baron Jacques Honore de Lourdoueix were supposedly involved. Gerard Galtier cites an excerpt from the novel “Le dernier Bourbon” [1895] by Josephin Peladan in which the author, Josephin Peladan, evokes the “neo-Templerie de Genoude et Lourdoueix” which he presents as an Legitimist and Catholic organization well structured, “this in contrast to the ecumenism of the Rose+Cross which is individualistic”, thus Josephin Peladan. What Peladan says about the neo-Templary of Genoude and Lourdoueix shows that the Order “is a continuation o f the K nights o f B E R TIE R a n d the G rand P riory o f VILLELE. ” [G. Galtier, transl. from “Maponnerie egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neo-chevalerie” p. 112]. The “Knights of Bertier” refers, of course, to the “Ordre des Chevaliers de la Foi” and the “Grand Priory of Villele” to the “Affiliation Catholique”. Gerard Galtier, bom in 1949, is a Doctor in Linguistics and a graduate in the history of religion. Mr. Galtier is the author of “Maconncrie egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neochevalerie”. This 1989 publication still stands as a standard work on Egyptian Freemasonry and contemporary occult and mystical Orders and Societies [Rosicrucian-, neo-Templar- and the Hermetic-tradition], 18) “L ’Institut philantropique” was a royalist secret society which united in 1796 a number of small secret organizations that were active in the south west of France, notably in Toulouse and Bordeaux. The structure and organization of the association was used as a blueprint by succeeding secret organizations such as the “Chevaliers de la Foi” etc. The “Institut philanthropique” was established during the final years of the French Revolution [1789-1799], France was governed at the time by “Le Directoire”, a five-member committee that governed the country from 1795 to 1799 when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte.

17)

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In 1883, after the death of Comte de Chambord, grandson of Charles X, the Legitimist party of Toulouse broke up. The majority of the former Legitimists followed the Comte Adhemar, others, the so-called “Blancs Espagne” joined Joseph Du Bourg who followed the Comte di Montezon, Don Juan d’Espagne. And finally, there were some that decided to support “la cause Naundorffiste”, the Naundorff cause. Karl Wilhelm Naundorff [1785? - 1845] "was one o f the m ore stubborn o f m ore than thirty m en who claim ed to be L ouis XVII. ” The Naundorff cause is of interest here due to the fact that Naundorff, or better “la cause Naundorffiste”, will later turn up in Chapter V on the Belgian RoseCross Order “Ordo Aureae Rosae Crucis” of Emile Dantinne [18841969] who was an ardent Naundorff supporter.

CATHOLIC & ROYALIST SECRET SOCIETIES OF TOULOUSE Les Legitimiste de Toulouse

1800-1854 CONGREGATION DE LA TRES SAINTE VIERGE Paris 1801, Toulouse 1807

L’ORDRE DES CHEVALIERS DE LA FOI Comte de Bertier de Sauvigny 1810

LA SOCIETE DES AMIS DE L’ORDRE Comte de Bertier de Sauvigny 1830 CHEVALIERS DE LA LEGIMITE

I

CHEVALIERS DE LA FIDELITE

► L’AFFILIATION CATHOLIQUE < Leopold de Rigaud - Joseph de Villele 1831

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“THE NEO-TEMPLARY OF GENOUDE AND LOURDOUEIX IS A CONTINUATION OF THE KNIGHTS OF BERTIER DE SAUVIGNY AND THE GRAND PRIORY OF VILLELE” Gerard Galtier “Magonnerie egyptienne, Rose-Croix et neo-chevalerie” ©1989 p.l 12

But what about Louis Adrien Peladan, 1’Abbe Antoine-Eugene de Genoude and Baron Jacques Honore de Lourdoueix and their alleged involvement into the “Affiliation Catholique”? According to various French sources they were involved in the foundation of the CERCLE DU DROIT NATIONAL and the SOCIETE d’ALIZIER, both Ultra-royalist associations. These organizations were probable aligned to the “Affiliation Catholique”. Allegedly, both societies were especially successful in the French department of Gard down in the South. And to be honest, except for their involvement in the influential and successful Legitimist newspaper “La Gazette de France” there is not that much that connects Peladan, Genoude and Lourdoueix in a straight line to the secret associations that are mentioned in this sub-chapter. Most of the sources maintain that the so-called “neo-Templary of Genoude and Lourdoueix” was possibly organized in a similar fashion to the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse”; thus, it is more than probable that Lapasse’s Order was an unorganized loose circle of likeminded individuals, in other words - there was no Order in the strictest sense of the word. On the other hand, all the Legitimist societies mentioned on these pages were, without exception, all well-organized. We have also seen that it is rather unlikely that the neo-Templarist movement of Genoude and Loudoueix was affiliated in some way or another to “l’Ordre du Temple” of Bemard-Raymond Fabre-Palaprat due to its political agenda. The majority of the information that we have concerning the “neo-Templerie des Genoude et des Lourdoueix” are references and quotations from Josephin Peladan, the principle figure of this book and the man who claimed the Templar lineage, a claim not substantiated by any evidence.

“A cco rding to Josephin Peladan, F irm in Boissin was a lineage holder o f a tradition w hich transm itted the secret tradition o f the Cathars, the Troubadours a n d the “M assenie du S aint G raal ”, the H ouse o f the H o ly Grail. ”

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LOUIS ADRIEN PELADAN [1815-1890] Finally, I’m going to conclude this sub-chapter with some thoughts, quotes, and facts from the life of Josephin Peladan’s father, Louis Adrien Peladan, and the influence he wielded over his son, “Le Sar Merodack”, Josephin Aime Peladan.(19) Also added is an additional text with information on Louis Adrien Peladan’s elder son, Dr.Adrien Peladan, who was a major influence in Josephin Peladan’s life and who passed on much of his Occult knowledge to his younger brother.

Louis Adrien Peladan was a fervent defender of the Roman-Catholic Church and the fundamental doctrine of its teachings. Furthermore, he believed that the French Dynasty [the French King] was the only dignified authority, completely independent with regard to the population of France. This view was very common in the 19th century, especially in France, and acted as a counterpoise against the results of the French revolution with its increasing thoughts of anti-clericalism. Adrien wrote many articles upon the subject. He propagated a restoration of the Christian ethics and the restoration of a Christian society. His religious beliefs were fundamentalist. For one of his publications, “Histoire de Jesus Christ d'apres la science”, Adrien was awarded by Pope Pius XI with the title “Knight of the Order of Saint Sylvestre”. From that time on he always would sign his letters with “Chevalier” [Knight], He defended the Holy scripture and was a follower of the literary myths of the nations. He researched the traditions of the East (India), America, and especially Ancient Greece. He researched the myths regarding the Virgin Mary and the evolution of the cross outside the Christian world. The ideas of his father on the restoration of a Christian society are reflected in Josephin Peladan’s work. Like with all of us Josephin was a product of his upbringing, as simplified and cliche as that may be. The crux of Josephin Peladan’s philosophy lies in the constant struggle on how to navigate between “heresy a n d o rth o d o xy”. The ideas of the “Rose+Croix de Toulouse” were heretical to the church. The Rosicrucians were“Gnostics, Alchemists. Their search for truth worried the literal and strict form of Catholicism and the Templars.”, as Josephin Peladan states in 1895 in one of the volumes of “La Decadence Latine: Ethopee” [vol. XII, “Le dernier Bourbon”].

19) The title of “Sar” stands for “King” in the Assyrian language, according to Oswald Wirth - other sources maintain that “Sar” stands for “Son of the Sun” in the Chaldean language

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Dr. ADRIEN PELADAN [1844-1885] Rosicrucianism was considered heresy and it was his brother Adrien of whom it is said that he initiated Josephin Aime Peladan into Hermeticism. Adrien Peladan f il s (20) was an erudite on matters of the esoteric and the occult. He left a huge collection of esoteric works to his brother Josephin. Dr. Adrien Peladan, as noted before, was a physician and one of the first French homeopaths and an associate of dr. Samuel Hahnemann, who created a system of alternative medicine that is called Homeopathy. Adrien Peladan finished his study at the Faculty of Medicine at Montpellier in 1865. In 1875, at the age of 31, Adrien founded the journal “L’Homeopathie des families et des Medecins”. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, according to the Belgian successor of Josephin Peladan’s Rose+Croix movement Emile Dantinne, Adrien was introduced by Firmin Boissin and the Viscount de Lapasse to the Toulouse Hermeticists. Dr. Adrien Peladan and the Viscount de Lapasse were both physicians and homeopaths. Josephin Peladan always maintained that he received his Rosicrucian affiliation from Adrien, his elder brother. Adrien was also a writer but he never experienced the success that his younger brother enjoyed. One of his most curious publications was a treatise titled “Traitement homeopathique de la spermatorrhee, de la prostatorrhee et de l'hypersecretion des glandes vulvo-vaginales”, published in 1869. Peladan's treatise describes the process of ejaculation in every possible way, masturbation and degenerated sexual behaviour and its negative effect on men's intelligence. Besides magnetism Adrien was also engaged in Astrology, Palmistry, Demonology, and what Adrien called “la haute science magique de l'ame universelle” (transl. “The science of high magic of the universal heart”). Josephin Peladan later always referred to his brother Adrien as an adept “in the tradition o f m en like H einrich K uehnrath a n d R aym ond L u ll”. Throughout his lifetime Josephin always asserted that his brother was a Rosicrucian. Josephin maintained that the original Rosicrucian Order was dissolved in 1890 and that the “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal”, established in 1891, was the continuation of the original Order. But then again, he was known for his pretentious statements [combined with a flamboyant lifestyle], 20) Louis-Adrien Peladan is often adressed to as ‘Adrien Peladan’ while ‘Adrien’ is also the Christian name of his eldest son. To avoid any confusion between the two man, father and son, both men are addressed from time to time in the writings of various sources respectively as Adrien Peladan pere and Adrien Peladan Jits.

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EPILOGUE TO CHAPTER ONE In 1891, at the age of thirty-three, Josephin Aime Peladan established the “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal”, in short “L’Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique”, [R+C+C], an Order which propagated a doctrine in which the ideals of Tradition, Hierarchy, and Idealism stood central. Josephin Peladan saw scientific materialism as the primary cause of the decadence of French culture. He felt that it encouraged the democratization and secularization of society and the taste for naturalism in the arts, trends he hated. In keeping with his Rosicrucian philosophy of occult science, formulated in his critical essays and promulgated in his artistic salons, he proposed instead a hierarchical and traditional ideology which he hoped would bring French culture back to the ideal state for him. As stated previously, his elder brother, Adrien Peladan, had a major influence on Josephin’s esoteric development. It was his brother who owned a huge collection of esoteric works, a collection which was also inherited by Josephin Peladan after his brother died in 1885. Emile Dantinne, Josephin Peladan’s successor in Belgium, maintains that Josephin’s understanding of various occult traditions was anything but superficial, as it is stated in Dantinne’s book “L’OEuvre et la pensee de Peladan, la philosophic rosicrucienne” [1948], Dantinne furthermore states that Josephin was introduced by his brother to such texts as the seminal work of Jewish mysticism, “The Zohar”, and “La Langue Hebraique restituee et le veritable sens des mots Hebreux”(21) by French philosopher, linguist, and occultist Antoine Fabre d’Olivet [1767-1825], Adrien allegedly also introduced his brother to the Kabbalah. From his father, Louis-Adrien Peladan, or P eladan p e re, Josephin seems to have inherited his traditional values and Catholic principles. It is generally believed that Josephin Peladan acquired his zeal for mysticism and Catholicism from his father. Indeed, ideas such as the restoration of a Christian society as propagated in Josephin’s work were clearly inspired by the ideas of his father. But I nevertheless think that his brother, A drien fils , had far more influence on Josephin’s development as an esoterist and mystic as his father ever had. Both brothers were brought up with this traditionalist world view based on Catholic principles in an era of fast social and economic evolution. In half a century France experienced three revolutions. Josephin Peladan saw the influence of secularism and its supporting philosophy of scientific materialism as the primary cause for the degeneration of French society and its decadence. The influences 21) “The Hebraic Tongue Restored: And the True Meaning of the Hebrew Words ReEstablished” Fabre d’Olivet, 1815 47

and pressures brought on by 18th century Enlightenment and the ongoing Industrial Revolution disintegrated society in the eyes of Josephin Peladan. Throughout Europe conservative monarchies were threatened as middle and working class people attempted to establish new governments that allowed the common man a voice in government function. My research on the “neo-Templary of Genoude and Lourdoueix” did not provide much interesting information about the supposed mysticism of this particular Templar movement. The emphasis is on the political and sociological factors of these groups. As we have seen, these Templar groups were especially active and successful during the Restoration [1814-1830], As stated in this chapter » “These (Legitim ist) organisations consisted o f ultra-royalist C atholic traditionalists - being side-lined fro m p o litic a l p o w e r by the R epublic cooperating in secret groups built on the m odel o f the Chivalrous Orders. Sim ply put, their m em bers w ere royalists a n d traditional C atholics who f e l t lost after the last revolution in France. Their ideas w ere b ased on the idealism o f Tem plar knighthood. Their leaders believed in p rim o rd ia l hierarchies, a traditional lineage o f sa c re d rulers, or as Josephin Peladan explained it, these m en believed in “Tradition, H ierarchy, a n d the Ideal. ”

Under the Ancien Regime all the power was in the hands of the nobility and royalty; 98% of the French people, the so-called ‘commoners’ -the [urban] bourgeoisie and the [rural] peasants- were not represented in the civil government and administration of the country. All this, although slowly, would change after the French Revolution of 1789. After the final demise of Napoleon in 1815, the aforementioned Bourbon Restoration began. Although France returned to a monarchy, the king had some limits in his power due to the fact that the new Bourbon regime was a constitutional monarchy, unlike the absolutist Ancien Regime. The constitution guaranteed a bicameral legislature comprised of two houses, the Chamber of peers and the [elected] Chamber of Deputies. Still, “all parties remained fearful of the common people.” Although the Chamber of Deputies officially represented the interests of the people, most deputies feared the "cheap multitude". As a matter of fact, the majority of the Chamber of Deputies feared everything - innovations, socialism, even “simple measures, such as the extension of voting rights”. Many Republicans, Liberals and Socialists could be found within the ranks of Freemasonry. But the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte also caused to a large extent that of French Freemasonry. The following excerpt from “Napoleon & Empire” explains that when »

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“L ouis X V III w as returned to pow er, a n d during the subsequent White Terror, p e o p le su sp ected o f having ties with the governm ent o f the F rench R evolution or N apoleon — including the m ilitary a n d F reem asons - s a w their arm ies a n d lodges decim ated by the "Knights o f F a ith ’’ (O rdre des Chevaliers des Foi), led by G eneral A m edee W illot de Gramprez, a Freem ason h im s e lf D uke E lie D ecazes, P refect o f P olice a n d a m em ber o f the Suprem e C ouncil o f France, was hardly able to lim it attacks against the Freem asons. The F reem asons w o u ld later, like m any p u b lic fig u res, capitalize on p o litic a l opportunism . B u t they w ould have to w ait until the S eco n d E m pire and, m ore importantly, the T hird Republic, before F reem asonry w o u ld know a se co n d "golden age" in France. ” A. Bouchon & Didier Grau “Napoleon & Empire”, Freemasonry under the French First Empire ©2008-2019

It is made clear in this chapter that many of these so-called Occitanian Templar Orders were a cover for politically active Legitimist groups, of which some even included armed units [Chevaliers des Foi, Chevaliers de la Legitimite], The anti-monarchists, republicans and pro­ revolutionaries, united themselves in organizations such as the CHARBONNERIE and the PHILADELPHES. The principle political parties during the Restoration were the Ultra­ royalists [led by the aristocracy], the ‘Doctrinaires’ [or ‘Constitutionnels’, Liberal royalists], the Liberal Left, and the Republicans. The rich industrial bourgeoisie were Orleanists who were, of course, the political antagonists of the pro-aristocratic Ultra-royalists who were supporting the Bourbons. Of course, the political situation in the post-Revolution era was much more complex than it is portrayed here. To stick to the subject under discussion, I can't get too deep into the political nitty-gritty of the post-Revolutionary era in France. But I want to emphasize here that politics and the esoteric were closely linked (22), something which is often overlooked nowadays. And men like Josephin Peladan were very passionate and dedicated about their cause and ambitions. Josephin Peladan came from a strong Legitimist background. His father was an ardent Catholic and Ultra-royalist and was very active as a journalist in various newspapers, among which “La Gazette de France”, a very successful Legitimist newspaper at the time of which Peladan p ere became its chief-editor in 1849. In an article of “The Union” that appeared in January 1866, his father, Louis-Adrien Peladan, was even seen as the successor of Joseph de Maistre [1754-1821], a keyfigure of the Counter-Enlightenment. Josephin Peladan collaborated with some of the greatest Occultists of the modem era; with Papus he established the Martinist Order, with Stanislas de Guaita the Kabbalistic 49

Order of the Rose+Cross, He belonged to one of the most fertile authors and effective propagandists of the French Occult Revival of the Fin-deSiecle, a group to which the author and Martinist Victor-Emile Michelet referred as "les compagnons de la hierophanie". Josephin Peladan was a man with a mission. As I have stated earlier on, in his view the rising influence of secularism and materialism were degenerating French society at the time. And, as it is stated on a previous page “in keeping with his Rosicrucian philosophy of occult science, formulated in his critical essays and promulgated in his artistic salons, he proposed instead a hierarchical and traditional ideology which he hoped would bring French culture back to the ideal state for him.” His main goal was the spiritualization of society, a nation reunified with the Divine. His central concept to reach this goal was Art - the artist as Initiate. All this will be explained in the following chapters...

“Artist, you’re a Priest... Artist, you’re a King... Artist, you’re a Magician...” Josephin Peladan, 1892

22) The multiple connections of French occultism to broader cultural and social concerns, a few examples of French esoterists with links to politics or socio-political concepts: Saint-Yves d’ Alveydre & the Martinists and their concept of Synarchy, Schwaller de Lubicz and “Les Veilleurs”, Pierre Plantard and his “Alpha Galates”, supposed Right wing members [Jean-Pierre Giudicelli, Christian Bouchet] of Remi Boyer’s “Groupe de Thebes”...

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Brother Johannes Prophecy Originally published in Le Figaro of September 10lh and 17th, 1914 edited by Josephin Peladan

“It appeared in many English and foreign newspapers, but I quote it here exactly as it stands in the Occult Review for October, 1914... “In 1913 or 1914 a g rea t E uropean W ar w ill break out. G erm any w ill be torn com pletely to pieces, but n ot before the G erm ans have p e n e tra ted into the heart o f France, w hence they w ill be fo r c e d back to the fu rth e r banks o f the Rhine. A n arrogant m an w ill see his fa m ily tree cut in splinters a n d tram pled upon by a ll the world. G reat battles w ill take p la c e on A u g u st 15th a n d Septem ber 15th. A t that tim e the P ope w ill die a n d live again, a n d becom e stronger than ever. P o la n d w ill g e t back her rights. ” “We have nothing m ore than M. P e la d a n ’s assurance that he fo u n d it am o n g his f a th e r ’s p a p ers after the death o f the latter, w hich took p la ce in 1890. I t is fu rth e r sta te d that the p ro p h ecy was given to M. A drien P eladan, pere, by a P rem onstratensian m onk o f S. M ichel de Trigolet, near Tarascon (om inous name), w ho in his turn h a d received it fr o m an A b b e ” Donat, a learned priest, who d ied at an advanced age at Beaucaire. F o r all this, however, w e have no evidence except the declaration o f M. Josephin A im e P eladan... ” Excerpt taken from “WAR & THE PROPHETS” (Notes on certain popular predictions current in this latter age) by Herbert Thurston, SJ London, Bum & Gates LTD. 28 Orchard Street, W. 1915

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PROLOGUE TO CHAPTER II

L’ORDRE DE LA ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE ET ESTHETIQUE DU TEMPLE ET DU GRAAL

INTRODUCTION The coming chapters are centred around the history of Peladan’s “Rose+Croix Catholique”, its Belgian ties through Lodge KVMRIS, the life and work of Belgian master painter and initiate Jean Delville and the question “how did the successors of Peladan ended up?” What was the core of Peladan’s Rosicrucian philosophy? Who were the Belgian disciples of Peladan and where did they go after the demise of the R+C+C. These are a few of the questions that I ’ll try to answer in the coming pages of this book. As we will see, the “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” of Josephin Peladan aimed at the restoration of the “Worship of an Ideal with Tradition as its base and Beauty for its means”, as Peladan formulated it. And art was a platform for this restoration. Peladan was also convinced that the Catholic Church was a repository of knowledge that it had itself forgotten. It is maintained that he established the R+C+C after he’d repeatedly tried to find a hearing within the Catholic Church and its leaders. The “Rose+Croix Catholique” manifested itself principally through its art exhibitions. These exhibitions became known as “Les Salons de la Rose+Croix” ... “All is rotten, all is finished, Decadence is cracking and shaking the Latin foundations...Wretched Modernists, your journey into the void is fatal... You might close down the Church, but the Museum? The Louvre will rule is ever Notre-Dame be destroyed.”

Josephin Peladan [1892] 52

CHAPTER II THE MAGUS AND THE CRUCIFIED ROSE L’ORDRE DE LA ROSE-CROIX CATHOLIQUE ET ESTHETIQUE DU TEMPLE ET DU GRAAL [1891] “L’Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” was founded on August the 23rd, 1891 by Josephin Peladan [1859-1918], together with the Comte Leonce de Larmandie [18511921], Gary de Lacroze [1865- ...], Elemir Bourges [1852-1915] and Antoine de la Rochefoucauld [1862-1959], Although this organization was placed under the triple banner of the Rosicrucian fraternity, the Knights Templar and the Grail Mysteries, the group founded by Peladan was not exactly an initiatory Order in the conventional meaning of the term. It was more of an intellectual elite-Order intended for RomanCatholics and artists. Its main objective was the realization of the Works of Charity, in order to prepare the advent, the coming, of the Holy Spirit. Its goal was to restore “the Worship of an Ideal with the Tradition as its base and Beauty for its means”. In the eyes of Josephin Peladan, the beauty expressed in the works of Art can lead mankind towards God. As Christian Rebisse states in his essay “Histoire du Rosicrucianisme des origines jusqu'a nos jours” [Revue Rose Croix A.M.O.R.C.-France ©1998]: “Pour lui, Tart a done une mission divine, et Toeuvre parfaite est celle qui est capable d’elever Tame”, freely translated in English: “For Peladan Art has thus a divine mission, it is a work of perfection [Art] which is able to raise the heart.” According to Christian Rebisse, the activities of the R+C+C [Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique] were in its entirety devoted to the organization of art-expositions [“Les Salons de la Rose-Croix”], plays and evenings dedicated to the Fine Arts. Other sources indicate at the existence of a certain doctrine within the R+C+C. But where did Peladan come from, and where did Peladan get his knowledge from?

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JOSEPHIN AIME PELADAN [1858-1918] Peladan was born in 1858 in Lyon in the south-east of France. His family moved to Nimes around 1873. It is stated that the young Peladan spent much of his time in the local library where he became acquainted with the works of authors, poets and dramatists such as Shakespeare, Pierre Corneille, Racine, Dumas, Hugo, and also of Byron, Sand, Schiller, Balzac and Gerard de Nerval. “H e devoted h im se lf to ph ilo so p h y a n d noticed that K a n t a n d H eg el only co p ied the w orks o f certain F rench authors w hile Schelling h a d derived his philosophy fr o m G iordano Bruno. A fte r the F rench were defeated by the G erm ans in the F ranco-P russian War o f 1870, m any o f the F rench lo o ked down upon their neighbours a n d Peladan w as no exception in this regard. H e w o u ld develop a life-long aversion against Germany, with the exception o f R ich a rd Wagner. ” Teio Meedendorp, “Sar Merodack Josephin Peladan en het ideaal van de kunst” [original text, in Dutch] Kunstlicht 21 ©2000

His father, Louis-Adrien Peladan, was a Legitimist [French Monarchists, followers of the House of Bourbon] and an ardent defender of Catholicism [see “Les Rosicruciens de Toulouse”]. His elder brother, Adrien Peladan [1844-1885], was a major influence on the development of Josephin Peladan’s ideas and personal philosophy. Josephin Peladan would call him later on in his life a sage in the tradition of Raimundus Lullius and Heinrich Kiihnrath. Adrien was connected to the “Rosicruciens de Toulouse”, a loose group of Hermeticists in the Toulouse area that was active around circa 1860. One of these Hermeticists was the Viscount de Lapasse. De Lapasse was well acquinted with Alexandre Dumege [1780-1862], one of the instigators of Egyptian Freemasonry in the Toulouse area at the beginning of the 19th century. Josephin Peladan claimed that Firmin Boissin [Simon Brugal, 1835-1893] was the last Commander of this Hermetic group [see Chapter I]. Then, in 1881, Peladan decided to move to Paris where he would develop himself into 1) an art critic, and 2) a novelist. During the first years of his stay in Paris, Peladan foremostly presents himself as an art-critic. In 1881 he starts to publish articles in e.g. the weekly catholic review “Le Foyer lllustre”. He openly attacked all forms of modem art, especially Impressionism [Manet, Courbet] and comes to the conclusion that ‘real Art’ always includes religion. “The works of Art are always religious, even when they’re painted by the profane and unbelievers” Peladan, “Le Materialisme dans l'Art”, “le Foyer illustre”, August 21, 1881

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In the eyes of Josephin Peladan the true masters of Art were the Italian painters of the renaissance, especially Leonardo da Vinci. With regard to the contemporary art of his days, Josephin Peladan made a positive exception for such painters as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes [824-1898], Gustave Moreau [1826-1898], and Felicien Rops [1833-1898]. Peladan referred to these three painters as the ‘Kabbalistic Triangle of Great Art’: at the apex, Rops [the intense artist], and at the base Puvis de Chavannes [the harmonious]) and Moreau [the subtle artist]. It was Felicien Rops who had illustrated Barby d’Aurevilly’s “Les Diaboliques” and who would illustrate Peladan’s “Le Vice Supreme”. “Perversity covers the world with her dark wings and the modernity in art can only be the expression of this perversity” J. Peladan, “Les Maitres contemporains: Felicien Rops”, in: La Jeune Belgique, IV, 1884-1885

In 1884 Josephin Peladan’s novel “Le Vice Supreme” is published. The key-character of the book is Merodack, an initiate who wants to put his knowledge at the service of a supreme ideal, the conversion of his female opponent, Leonora d’Este. Leonora symbolizes the morally decaying Latin civilization. The esoteric knowledge which was digested in this novel by Peladan allegedly descended from Pierre Christian’s “L’Histoire de la Magie et du monde sumaturel”. Pierre Christian was a friend and neighbour of Eliphas Levi [1810-1875] who had benefitted from the talks he had with Levi on the subject of occultism. Christian [Jean Baptiste Pitois] also was the assistant of Charles Nodier, Chief Librarian at the famous “Bibliotheque de 1'Arsenal” [Library] in Paris. In 1860 Christian published “L’Histoire de la Magie”, a comprehensive work devoted to the occult sciences. Peladan’s novel, “Le Vice Supreme”, with a eulogistic foreword from J.A. Barby d’Aurevilly (1), was an instant success. In the epilogue of “Le Vice Supreme”, Merodack, the priest Alta and their mutual friend the Kabbalist Sichem come to the conclusion, that it appears that the world will perish through perversion and that it awaits a ‘mental terror’. 1)

Jules Amedee Barby d’Aurevilly [1808-1889]: French writer, critic, aristocrat and monarchist. “He favored Balzac, early admired Baudelaire, and harshly criticized naturalism” [Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edit. ©2001]. His most famous work is Les Diaboliques, published for the first time in 1874 [“hallucinatory tales with a satanic motif’]. “We write lascivious, we live in chastity” states Barby d’Aurevilly in his preface of Les Diaboliques. Peladan was strongly influenced by the style of Barby d’Aurevilly. In showing corruption and perversion in all its intensity, as Barby d’Aurevilly does in Les Diaboliques, the definition of ‘Good’ is emphasized a recipe that inspired Peladan in his novels.

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"Je n ’oublierai p a s ceci: que j e dots a votre livre d ’avoir entrepris l ’etude de la science herm etique" Stanislas de Guaita, “Letter to Josephin Peladan” - November 15lh, 1884 ©1952 E. Bertholet & E. Dantinne

The three delegates of - respectively - the Hermetic Arts, the Catholic Church and the Zohar, draw with a piece of chalk on a black board in flaming letters the following words: FINIS LATINORUM. One of Peladan’s admirers is 23 years-old Stanislas de Guaita [1861-1897], Stanislas De Guaita starts to correspond with Josephin Peladan and a friendship is started. It is Peladan’s novel “Le Vice Supreme” which provided the impulse for Stanislas de Guaita to undertake the study of the Hermetic sciences [see excerpt “Letter to Josephin Peladan” from 1884 at the top page]. In 1885 Adrien Peladan, Josephin’s brother, dies. The earlier mentioned Firmin Boissin, editor and managing director of “Le Messager de Toulouse”, wrote an article announcing Adrien’s death in which Boissin presented Adrien Peladan as a Rose-Croix. Josephin Peladan introduced Stanislas de Guaita to Firmin Boissin after which de Guaita starts to correspond with Boissin. When Stanislas de Guaita receives a particular letter or writing from Boissin, Stanislas de Guaita starts to sign his letters adding the initials ‘R+C’ to his name. He also starts to refer to Josephin Peladan as ‘my dear brother’ [“mon cher Frere”]. French author Christian Rebisse [Christian Bernard of AMORC] states that it may have been possible that Boissin had accepted Stanislas de Guaita into the “Rosicrucian Brotherhood de Toulouse”. Rebisse also states that from that moment on, things fell into its place...

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1888 L’ORDRE KABBALISTIQUE DE LA ROSE-CROIX Many of the Parisian occultists were members of Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society at the time. The society’s emphasis on theory and its oriental orientation resulted in a general disappointment among those members who were attracted by the mysteries of the Occidental Tradition. In England, for instance, these needs were fulfilled in 1888, when the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” was founded. In that same year Papus [Gerard Encausse, 1865-1916] published his “Traite Elementaire de Science Occulte” in France. Just like his English contemporaries of the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn”, Dr. William Wynn Westcott, S.L. MacGregor Mathers and Dr. William Robert Woodman, Papus wanted to restore the Western Mystery Tradition. Papus wanted to create an organization in which Occultism was approached as a science and which equalled the level of science as taught in the western Universities. Under Papus’ direction, various socalled research-centres for Occult Sciences’ were developed. Under the auspices of this project the review “LTnitiation” was born in October 1888. This French collective that is generally known as “Les Compagnons de la Heirophonie”, wanted to raise a new temple of which the cornerstone consisted of the Rosicmcian- and the Martinist Order [see Milko Bogard, “History of the Martinist Order”]. Josephin Peladan and Stanislas de Guaita both belonged to this informative inner circle of occultists that became known as “Les Compagnons de la Heirophonie” and which consisted of Spiritualists, Martinists, Theosophists etc. Christian Rebisse [“Histoire du Rosicrucianisme des origines jusqu'a nos jours” ©1998] states that Peladan and de Guaita decided to join Papus’ movement, “and whereas the Rosicrucian fraternity falls asleep in Toulouse, they decided to renovate it.” ‘‘Three yea rs ago, the ancient R osicrucian O rder was about to die out (de G uaita in 1890), when two direct heirs o f this m ajestic tradition decided to renovate it, by strengthening it on new bases. ” Stanislas de Guaita, “Essais de sciences maudites - 1 - Au seuil du Mystere”, Paris 1890, Georges Carre, p. 158.

The above-mentioned statement was made by Stanislas de Guaita in 1890 in which he referred to the foundation in 1888 of the “Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Croix”, L’ORDRE KABBALISTIQUE DE LA ROSE-CROIX. The OKR+C was headed by the "Conseil des douze”, the Supreme Council which consisted of 12 members of which six had to be remain unknown, in case the OKR+C dissolved. Among those who, at one time or another, were members of the Supreme Council were: 57

Stanislas de Guaita, Josephin Peladan, Papus, A. Gabrol, Henry Thorion, F-CH Barlet, Julien Lejay, Oswald Wirth, Augustin Chaboseau, VictorEmile Michelet, Sedir, Paul Adam and Marc Haven. [See Milko Bogard “FUDOSI Orders & Societies ~ 1888 OKR+C” ©2002]

The majority of the membership of the OKR+C were Martinists of “L’Ordre Martiniste”. As a matter of fact, the OKR+C is said to have only accepted Martinists. The Christian Kabbalistic Order referred to Heinrich Khunrath’s ’’Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae” [1595, “The Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom”], a classic of Alchemy, in which the spirit of Rosicrucian philosophy is conveyed. “The K abbalistic O rder o f the R ose-C ross honours E liphas Levi, Fabre d ' Olivet, H oene Wronsky, Jakob Bohm e,Sw edenborg, M artines de Pasqually, Louis-C laude de Saint M artin. A synthesis w as fo rm e d betw een science a n d fa ith thanks to esotericism. ” PAPUS - L’lnitiation 1889

Stanislas de Guaita lived in retirement in his apartment on the Avenue Trudaine and left the organization of the Order to Papus. Peladan soon came in conflict with Papus’ ideas. Josephin Peladan wanted the OKR+C only to be accessible for selected initiates and did not agree on the Masonic aspect that Papus wanted to implement into the Order. Peladan also reproached Papus for confusing occultism with esoterism. He was not alone in this conflict. There were other dignitaries of the Order like L’abbe Alta [Calixte Melinge, 1842-1933], who was a ‘professeur’ at Papus’ “L’ecole des Sciences Hermetiques”, the School of Hermetic Sciences [see ‘History of the Martinist Order’] and Maurice Barres, a strict Catholic, who were also among the critics. Peladan’s intension was 58

to rebuild and rectify the Roman-Catholic tradition, a tradition the OKR+C viewed as being on par with the other great religions. Also, his Rosicrucian rhetoric was a mere “extension of authentic Catholic doctrine” [A. Ross, “The Occult Roots of Modernism”, The New Yorker ©2017], a doctrine which the Church had neglected. In an article he wrote for “LTnitiation” [June 1890], Peladan openly provoked the OKR+C. He allegedly announced the birth of a new order, “Le Tiers-Ordre Intellectuel de la Rose-Croix”. Josephin Peladan stated that the order was not a complete schism because he would continue his participation in the OKR+C acting as the “Legat Catholique Romain”, a title which he invented for himself. As I ’ve written in my essay on the OKR+C, Josephin Peladan shortly hereafter founded ‘the Second Temple of the Rose-Croix’, “L’Association de l’Ordre du Temple de la RoseCroix” and finally, in 1891, the “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” that was established on August 23, 1891.

NOTE: According to Robert Ambelain (“Templiers et Rose-Croix” 1953) the lineage of the OKR+C descended from Abbe Lacuna, who'd passed it on to Adrien Peladan. Lacuria allegedly received this lineage from Eliphas Levi, who - supposedly- had been initiated into a Rosicrucian Order in England by E.G. Bulwer-Lytton.

“Art, this initiatory rite to w hich only the p red estin ed sh o u ld be admitted, is being turned into a com m onplace to su it the crowd. ” -

Josephin Aime Peladan -

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1891 L’ORDRE DE LA ROSE-CROIX DU TEMPLE ET DU GRAAL On February 17, 1891, Josephin Peladan announced the rupture in a letter addressed to Papus which was later published in the April-issue of “L’Initiation”. His first novel, “Le Vice Supreme”, already provided a draft of the Catholic Order of the Rose-Cross. In June 1891, Josephin Aime Peladan presented himself as Grand Master of the new Order, under the name of Sar Merodack Peladan. The foundation of the new Order was announced in the form of several articles placed in the French daily morning newspaper “Le Figaro” which gave the Order a broad publicity. This publicity deeply irritated Papus and his associates who denounced the schism of Peladan. “On August 5, 1891, the Supreme Council of the Rose-Croix of the OKR+C officially announced the expulsion of Josephin Peladan from the Council.” [M. Bogard “FUDOSI Orders & Societies: 1888 ~ L’Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose-Croix”]. Most of the original members of Papus’ Martinist Order, including the OKR+C, were loyal to the organization and its leaders. As I’ve already stated, Peladan’s “Rose-Croix Catholique” was not an initiatory order in the conventional meaning of the term and was not presented as such. Josephin Peladan defined the Order as a “Brotherhood of intellectual charity, devoted to the achievement of the Works of Mercy according to the Holy Spirit, to increase its Glory and to prepare its Reign.” - Constitution de la Rose-Croix, le Temple et le Graal - Paris, 1893, article 1, p. 21.

As stated at the beginning of this book, ‘tradition’ [Doctrine] and ‘beauty’ [Art] were key-principles for Peladan. Beauty expressed through Art can lead mankind towards Divinity [God], according to the new Rosicrucian Grand Master. For Peladan, Art has a divine mission and the activities of “L ’Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” was devoted to the organization of exhibitions and “evenings dedicated to the fine Arts”. In the mean time he’d already published seven parts of “La Decadence latine, ethopee” [‘Moral Studies’], his novel cycle of 21 parts [three series of seven] of which “Le Vice Supreme” was the first publication. Peladan would also publish a second, seven-part study of esoteric works, entitled “Amphitheatre des sciences Mortes” [Amphitheatre of dead sciences]. Through his eccentric appearance Josephin Peladan became a well-known society figure in Paris. He was a living advertisement for his own work, something which also worked against him. Josephin Peladan stated that his ‘act’ was part of a process to which he referred as ‘automagnification’ [selfenhancement], Despite the opposition he received, Peladan was convinced that he was a pioneer of a new religion. This new religion had 60

to take shape through his efforts within the world of Art. Josephin Aime Peladan headed a movement, instead of an Order, which tried to merge Rosicrucianism with Catholicism. “His movement was a literary- and aesthetic movement. He organized exhibitions of mystical Art and theatre-productions of the Ancient Mysteries” H.’.Fiducius “Orden Rosacruz del Templo Y del Santo Grial” ©1999

SAR MERODACK, THE MAGUS OF PARIS As mentioned previously, Josephin Peladan presented himself as Grand Master of the R+C+C under the name of Sar Merodack Peladan. Peladan had used the name ‘Merodack’ for the first time in 1884 as the name of the leading figure -an initiate- of his first novel, “Le Vice Supreme”. Merodack [or Marduk] is the Chaldean God associated to Jupiter. He adopted the Assyrian king’s title ‘Sar’ as the title for his Grandmastership. This title was later introduced within the F.U.D.O.S.I., a federation of autonomous mystical orders and societies [Martinist Order, AMORC, OA+RC/Ordre Pythagoricien etc.J that was founded in 1934 in Brussels [Belgium], where it was granted only to the highest initiates of the federation. The title ‘Sar’ is still granted today within certain Martinist groups, e.g. within “L’Ordre Martiniste et Synarchique”. As for the name ‘Merodack’, it was the writer Leon Bloy [1846-1917] who pointed out to Peladan that there once existed a Babylonian king named “Merodach Baladan”, a king that is named in the Old Testament [Isaiah 39, Kings II 20], Leon Bloy suspected that Peladan had adopted the name from the Bible, but Peladan claimed he even didn’t know that the name appears in the Bible. Nevertheless, he took advantage of this information by stating that the name ‘Peladan’ was derived from the Chaldean ‘Baladan’, which allegedly means ‘BelAdam’, son of the God ‘Bel’. T. Meedendorp — “Sar Merodack Josephin Peladan en het ideaal van de kunst” Kunstlicht21 ©2000

Other sources indicate that the title ‘Sar’ is an amalgamation of-Sa- and -R’- which stands for ‘Son of Ra’ [Sa= ‘son’ - R’= Ra/Re]. “In the tradition of Mesopotamia the words ‘UZU’, ‘SAR’, and ‘KI’ can be translated as ‘Matter’, ‘Connection’, and ‘Place’ or ‘Earth’. The expression DUR-AN-KI means something like a “connection between Heaven & Earth” in which the word ‘Sar’ is a kind of mediator. He is, so to speak, the go-between, the High Priest, who becomes the centre of the AXIS MUNDI, the axis of the world, where ‘Below’ expresses ‘Chaos’ and ‘Above’ the Cosmic. “Le mythe de l’eternel retour” - Mircea Eliade, ©1969

61

f

According to Marcel Roggemans from Belgium, there’s a much more plausible explanation for the use of the title 'Sar' by Peladan. An explanation can be found in his personal letters and work. For instance, Chapter 24 of “Le Vice Supreme” is entitled “S. A. R. monscigncur lc prince de Courtenay”. Roggemans states that the abbreviation ‘S.A.R.’ stands for “Son Altessc Royale”.

Another explanation is given in the book “Toulouse: Capitale mystique” [Paris, L’Adret ©1985], written by Jean-Claude Danis. The author, xxxli wittingly or unwittingly, applied a kabbalistic method called ‘Notaricon’ __________________________ by forming a sentence from a word by making the letters of the word Sceau du Graal, 1893 ‘Merodack’, in this case the initial Deuxieme Salon de la Rose Croix letters of the word. First he altered the actual order of the separate letters of the name Merodack which e.g. resulted in the following abbreviation: OAEMDCRK. The initial letters stand for “Ordre Ancien Et Mystique De Christian Rosen+Kreuz”. Another example: AEMODRCK which results in “Ancien Et Mystique Ordre De (la) Rose+Croix Kabbalistique”. In conclusion, one final combination: OCAEMDRK“Ordre Catholique Ancien Et Mystique De Rosen+Kreuz”. Marcel Roggemans states that a combination of both theories, the 2nd and 3rd, could lead to the conclusion that Sar Merodack stands for “Sont Altesse Royale - Ancien Et Mystique Ordre De (la) Rose+Croix Kabbalistique”.

62

L’ORDRE LAIQUE DE LA ROSE+CROIX DU TEMPLE ET DU GRAAL The foundation-document [l’acte de fondation de la Societe: no. 9256] of the “Order of the Rose+Croix, the Temple and the Grail” was signed in 1891 by Josephin Peladan, Comte Leonce de Larmandie, Emile Gary de Lacroze, Elemir Bourges, and le Comte Antoine de la Rochefoucauld. This document was in fact a manifest of the “Rose+Croix du Temple et du Graal” with 28 guidelines for the artists that would take part in the first major event of the Order, the so-called “Salon [& Theatre] de la Rose+Croix”. The Salon de la Rose+Croix was in fact Peladan’s own version of the Symbolist expositions that were already organized by the independent Belgian art society “Les XX” [Societe des Vingt]. Their first exhibition of Symbolist painters took place in 1884 at Brussels. The driving forces behind these events were Octave Maus and Edmond Picard, who were also involved with the progressive art-magazine “L’Art modem”. Josephin Peladan had published some articles in “L’Art modern” and knew both Maus and Picard personally. Octave Maus and Edmond Picard organized these exhibitions from 1884 to 1894, all dedicated to the painters of the Symbolist movement. It was at one of these exhibitions that Josephin Peladan discovered the Belgian painter Fernand Khnopff [1858-1921] who would replace Felicien Rops as illustrator of his novels. “Inspired by “Les Vingtistes” [Les XX] Peladan decided to set up his own drawing-room, the Salon de la Rose+Croix, which was organized six times - between 1892 and 1897“ T. Meedendorp - “Sar Merodack Josephin Peladan en het ideaal van de kunst” ©2000

~ TH E SY M B O L IST S ~ “I believe only in w hat I do not see" GUSTA VE M O R E A U [1826-1898] Based on dreams and the power o f the imagination, the Symbolist Movement adopted the definition proposed by the poet Jean Moreas: "To clothe the idea in perceptible form ." Symbolism was born in France and Belgium in the 1880s, fuelled by the Symbolist literary movement (Baudelaire/Mallarme) ~ArtMagick~

The Manifest of 1891 [“Rules of de Salon de la Rose+Croix”] stated that the purpose of the Order was the restoration of the Cult of the Ideal in all its splendour and grandeur. “Realism ought to be destroyed” was a statement made by Peladan who envisioned the creation of a school of idealistic Art. As for the exhibition, the manifest published a list of requirements for the subjects and topics to meet. For instance, historical events [Delaroche], patriotic and military themes [Messonier] were not accepted as topics of a work of Art that was to be exhibited at the first 63

Salon de la Rose+Croix. The list continued: No contemporary topics, portraits, rustic scenes, no landscapes [except in the fashion of Nicolas Poussin, e.g. “Et In Arcadia Ego”], no seascapes, humoristic topics, picturesque orientalism, animals, sports and still lives. The Manifest proclaimed the somewhat occultist ideals of Art of the Order, accepting works dealing directly or indirectly with “Catholicism and Mysticism, Legend, Myth, Allegory, the Dream, the Paraphrase of great poetry, and finally all Lyricism...” The Order made an exception for the sublime classical Renaissance nude-paintings of such artists as Leonardo and Primaticcio [School of Fontainebleau], These guidelines applied to the art of painting, drawing, as well as sculpture. T. Meedendorp - “Sar Merodack Josephin Peladan en het ideaal van de kunst” Kunstlicht21 ©2000

Josephin Peladan stated that it was his aim “to tear love out of the western soul and replace it with the love of Beauty, the love of the Idea, the love of mystery.” He also emphasized the international character of the forthcoming exhibition(s) by stating that the word ‘international’ had no actual meaning for the Order. Of course, the use of the word ‘Catholique’ in the name of the Order [Ordre de la Rose+Croix Catholique] (2) already implied the universal character of the Order. 2)

The actual meaning of the word ‘Catholic’ is universal and comes from the Greek words ‘Kata’ [according to] and ‘Holos’ [the whole]. It is stated that the Order used the word ‘Catholique’ in this manner [Universal], According to various sources this is the reason that Emile Dantinne [see “Ordo Aureau & Rosae Crucis”; Dantinne was one of the successors of Peladan] would change the name ‘R+C Catholique’ into the ‘Rose+Croix Universelle’ [Dantinne’s R+C Order] to avoid any misunderstanding. Nevertheless, both men, Peladan as well as Dantinne, were ardent followers of the ‘true’ Catholic faith, as practised by “the noble, esoteric and magical tradition of the church of the Middle Ages”, as quoted from the words of Alexandra-David Neel, [1868-1969], author, opera singer, explorer, Theosophist, Mason & Buddhist, of whom it is said that she became involved with Peladan around circa 1895. The combination of Mysticism and the Arts, especially in music and theatre, must have had an irresistible attraction for the singer & mystic that Alexandra-David Neel was. Btw. Alexandra was the first Western woman ever who visited Lhasa, Tibet’s Forbidden City, in 1924.

It was not demanded that the participating artists had to be loyal to the doctrines of the Order. The Postscript of Peladan’s manifest mentioned that, “according to magical law”, the Order prohibited exposing the work of female artists [although at least five women exhibited “under pseudonyms”]. It is generally known that Peladan showed an extraordinary distrust of women. This, of course, also reflected in the doctrines of Josephin Peladan [more on this later]. 64

With regard to the participating artists in the first Salon de la Rose+Croix, Peladan experienced some disappointments. For instance, the three painters he’d referred to before as ‘The Kabbalistic Triangle of Great Art”, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Gustave Moreau, and Felicien Rops, were not present at the first exposition of the Salon de la Rose+Croix. Peladan allegedly fell out with Rops in 1888, and because of this quarrel Rops was not invited. Puvis de Chavannes and Moreau thanked for the honour and sent some of their apprentices. Some of the English Pre-Rafaelites Josephin Peladan admired so much did also not attend the exposition. Despite these disappointments Peladan achieved to gather an interesting group of artists who would exhibit their works at the first Salon de la Rose+Croix, held in 1892 at the famous ‘Galerie Durand-Ruel’ in Paris.

“Artist, you’re a Priest... Artist, you’re a King... Artist, you’re a Magician...” Geste Esthetique. Catalogue du Salon de la Rose + Croix, 1892

65

1892 LE PREMIER SALON DE LA ROSE+CROIX The first edition of the Salon de la Rose+Croix was held from March 10 to April 10, 1892 at the ‘Galerie Durand-Ruel’ at the rue Le Peletier in Paris. The exhibition was centred around the works of the Symbolists. The Symbolist-movement, influenced by the ideas of Swedenborg, Milton etc., were heading out to become the mystics of Art. And it was Josephin Peladan who’d proclaimed himself as the mentor of the movement. The Salons de la Rose+Croix would go down in history as the pinnacle of the events of the movement; Peladan created a stage for the Symbolists which gave them a high international profile. The artists were selected by a special committee of the Order, whose members carried the title ‘Magnifiques’ [The magnificent]. The committee consisted amongst others of: Le Comte Antoine de la Rochefoucauld, who was the financier of the exhibition. The count carried the title “Archonte de la Rose + Croix”, also: Grand Prieur [head of all provinces] Le Comte Leonce de Larmandie, “Commandeur de Geburah”, who was the historian of the movement Elemir Bourges, a writer and journalist. His book “La N ef’ [published in two parts, in 1904 and 1922] is heavily influenced by the ideas and concepts of Josephin Peladan. Saint-Pol Roux, known as “Le Magnifique”; Breton poet and one of the most extraordinary figures of the whole Symbolist movement who was later intensely admired by the Surrealists. His collection of works entitled “Ideorealisme” is, just like Bourges’ “La N ef’, larded with Peladan’s Rosicrucian philosophy. Note: Saint-Pol Roux denied having known Peladan. Gary de Lacroze, “Commandeur de Tiphereth”. Christopher McIntosh [“Eliphas Levi & the Occult Revival”, Rider 2nd edit. ©1975] refers to Gary de Lacroze as Peladan's second in command in 1892, carrying the title of “Arch Warden of the Province of Paris”. The original Constitutions of the Order stated that the “Prieur” [Prior] is the head of a province. The above mentioned register is derived from Christian Rebisse’s article “Les Salons de la Rose+Croix” [“Actualite de l’Histoire mysterieuse” ©2001], added with extra information. The various sources refer to the above depicted group of men as being the leaders of the Rose+Croix Catholique R+C+C. The title ‘Septenant of the R+C+C’ [Septet] is often used within this context. The Salon de la Rose+Croix was conceived and presented by Sar Merodack Peladan as ‘Geste esthetique’, “a synthesis of the visual Arts, literature and music in the spirit of Richard Wagner, 66

whomPeladan venerated, andechoing the ‘chansons de geste’ of medievalliterature”. Literallytranslated, ‘geste esthetique’ means ‘aesthetic gesture’.

H ....

The “Ordre de la Rose+Croix Catholique” caused a sensation with the first edition of the Salon de la Rose+Croix. Labelled as ‘Geste esthetique’ and ‘Acta Rosae Crucis’, guests were greeted with the prelude from Wagner’s “Parsival” as they entered the exhibition. The event was inaugurated with ceremonial music especially composed by Erik Satie, the “Sonneries de la Rose + Croix” [see Chapter III, Appendix I], and the exhibition rooms were festooned with flowers and fragrant with incense. The “Salon Parisien” of 1892 would probably be considered a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ in

Tj today’s art landscape. It is said that f g ^ j l the success of the exhibition was ’■L ^ _ J assured by the popularity of Peladan’s novels and by a vigorous press campaign which included all the important French newspapers. “As many as two thousand invitations were sent to the press”. Remy de Gourmont, in his column of “Le Mercure de France”, qualified the Salon de la Rose+Croix as being the “great artistic event of the year”. Le tout Paris is present at the two days of inauguration. It is said that there were more than 22,000 visitors [22,600] at the grand opening of the exhibition. Sixty-three artists were represented and approx, two hundred-and-fifty works of Art were exhibited [the catalogue contains 250 works]. The exhibiting artists included the Baron de Rosenkrantz, Alexandre Seon, Carlos Schwabe [who designed the poster for the 1st exhibition], Marquest de Vasselot, Berengier, Luc-Olivier Merzon [who designed the French banknotes for 50 and 100 Francs] Marcellin Desboutins, Emile Fabry, Andre des Gachons, Moreau-Neret, Felix Oudart, Armand Point, Pierre Rambaud, Fernand Khnopff [Peladan’s first Belgian disciple. He regarded Khnopff as ‘a Master’] , Adolphe La Lyre, Jean Delville [‘le Consul de la Rose-Croix’ in Belgium], Alphonse Osbert, Jan Toorop, fP w

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67

Ferdinand Hodler [whose “Les Las de vivre” was one of the highlights for the public], Emile Bernard [friend of Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin], Charles Filiger, Felix Valloton, Flenri Martin, Edmond AmanJean [designer of the poster of the 2nd exhibition of 1893], George de Feure, and Eugene Grasset [successful illustrator and propagator of the ‘Art Nouveau’]. At night the attention was shifted to the other Arts. The Salon continued in the evenings with music and theatre, the “Soirees de la Rose+Croix”. The evenings featured concerts of composers like Cesar Franck, Richard Wagner, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Vincent d’lndy and the previously mentioned Erik Satie [1866-1925]. It was the Chaldean Magus himself, Josephin Peladan, who presented lectures on Art & Mysticism. As for the subject ‘Art’, Peladan wanted to restore the original function of a play in the theatre; the manifestation of a ‘Ritual Drama’ or ‘Mystery Play’. According to Peladan, the most remarkable example of a ritual drama were the “Eleusinian Mysteries” or “Rites of Eleusis” of ancient Greece. Josephin Peladan wrote a number of plays: “Le Prince de Byzance” [1896], “Babylone” [1895], ”La Prometheide”, ’’CEdipe et le Sphinx et Semiramis”," [his most succesful one] and “Le Fils des Etoiles”, accompanied by music composed by Satie. “Le Prince de Byzance” and “Babylone" were based on Wagner's 'esoteric philosophy' [“I believe that through Art all men are saved”, Richard Wagner 1813-1883], Among the artists were the devoted ‘Peladiens’ Khnopff and Jean Delville [1867-1953] from Belgium who contributed to almost all of the Rosicrucian art-shows. Peladan’s most important French disciples who contributed to the first Salon were Alexandre Seon [1855-1917], Alphonse Osbert [1857-1939] and Armand Point [1861-1932], Despite the huge success of the premier Salon de la Rose+Croix, Peladan also experienced a set-back. Comte Antoine de La Rochefoucauld [18621960] was the co-organizer of the event. The count was an artist himself and he was the financier of the first Salon de la Rose+Croix. The Comte de la Rochefoucauld had invited some of his friends to exhibit their works at the Rosicrucian art-show. Emile Bernard [1868-1941], Charles Filiger [1863-1928] and Felix Valloton [1865-1925], artists which descended from the schools from ‘Pont-Aven’ and the ‘Nabis’, a style which was not favoured by Peladan. For instance, Bernard’s contribution, entitled “Christus in Gethsemane”, was not at all appreciated by the Sar. He considered it to be a blasphemous work, which went totally against Peladien’s principles. The personal 68

contributions of the Comte de la Rochefoucauld to the composition of the exhibition were seen as “the worst pictorial idiocies” by Peladan [“La Rose Croix, organe trimestrielle de l'Ordre”, Paris 1893], Josephin Peladan dismissed the count from his position as “Archonte de la Rose + Croix” within the Order, after which the Comte de La Rochefoucauld left the Order, taking his money with him. Josephin Peladan legally dissolved his Order with a publication in “Les petites affiches”. : — ......."" Ml

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Peladan's trilogy of tragedies of the Greek Aeschlyus : 'Prometheus, Bearer of Fire'- ‘Prometheus Delivered' and 'Prometheus Enchanted’. Peladan claimed to have discovered the first two plays that were allegedly missing Blason de l'Ordre Lai'c de la Rose-Croix du Temple et du Graal, design by Merintier (1895) .

“Sous le Tau, la Croix Grecque, la Croix Latine, devant le Graal, le Beauseant et la Rose Crucifere ” 69

1893 LE SECOND SALON DE LA ROSE+CROIX “Under the Tau, the Greek Cross, the Latin Cross, before the Grail, the Standard and the Crucified Rose”. This is the opening line of the announcement of the second Salon de la Rose+Croix which would take place in March and April 1893 at the Central Dome of the “Palais du Champs-de-Mars” in Paris, that had been built for the Paris World Fair of 1889. As stated in Peladan’s own words: “La deuxieme geste esthetique aura lieu en mars et avril 1893...” The committee, who’s members carried the title of ‘Magnifiques’, consisted this time, besides Josephin Peladan, of Comte Leonce de Larmandie, Elemir Bourges, Gary de Lacroze, Benedictus, Bihn Grallon (3), Sin and Adar [The Sons of BEL] (4) and “les Sept Inconnus”, the seven unknown ones. 3) 4)

Bihn Grallon is a character in Peladan's Le Panthee, a poor cabaret pianist. It is possible that this was Satie, (see appendix) Sin and Adar, the Sons of BEL —the local Deity of Nipflru [modem Nifferas]. This information is derived from “Assyrian-Babylonian Months and their Regents” by W. Mnss-Arnolt and is taken from the “Journal of Biblical Literature” that was published in 1892

On page 42 of the document “Constitutions de l’Ordre La Rose + Croix le Temple et le Graal“ [Paris, 1893], Peladan presents a summary of the forthcoming events. Under the header of “Le Theatre de la Rose+Croix” two plays are listed, amongst others, ‘Le Mystere du Graal’ “avec la musique de Notre Commandeur Benedictus”. Furthermore, Peladan reveals the plan to found a theatre school - “Ecole d’Art theatral”- which he wanted to establish in order to revive the ancient art of the Mystery plays. He also had plans for a ‘choral society’ devoted to choral-music and the foundation of an exclusive quartet devoted to the music of Beethoven. This information can be found under the header “Acta Rosae Crucis - Templi Spiritus Sancti” in the aforementioned document, page 41-43. The success of the first Salon de la Rose+Croix was never again achieved. The Salon de la Rose+Croix was organized six times until 1897. The final one is organized in the prestigious gallery ‘George-Petit’. Most of the 193 artists which participated came from France, Belgium, and Switzerland. Besides the artists already mentioned, others included Edgard Maxence, George Minne, Gaetano Previati, George Roualt, Antoine Bourdelle, Eugene Delacroix etc.

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Each of the ‘Salon de la Rose+Croix’ was placed under the auspices of a Chaldean Deity: 1892 - Salon de la Rose+Croix under theauspiceso f : Samas (Sun) 1893 - Salon de la Rose+Croix under theauspicesof: Nergal (Mars) 1894 - Salon de la Rose+Croix under the auspices of: Merodack (Jupiter) 1895 - Salon de la Rose+Croix under theauspicesof: Nebo (Mercury) 1896 - Salon de la Rose+Croix under theauspicesof: Ishtar (Venus) 1897 - Salon de la Rose+Croix under theauspicesof: Sin (Moon)

Le Deuxieme Salon de la Rose+Croix de la Rose+Croix Palais du Champs-de-Mars, (7Carrondissement) March 28- April 30, 1893 [Poster: E. Aman-Jean]

Le Cinquieme Salon de la Rose+Croix 20 March 1896

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1894 - 1897 LES SALONS DE LA ROSE+CROIX Another four exhibitions were successively organized in the following years with varying degrees of success. The Salons of 1894 and 1895 were held at the “Galerie des artistes contemporains” at the rue de la Paix in Paris. In 1896 the group hosted the 5th Salon de la Rose+Croix in the “Salle des Arts Reunion” at the Rue de l'Opera. In December 1897, after the sixth ‘Salon de la Rose+Croix’, Josephin Peladan [Sar Merodack] disbanded the ‘Ordre de la Rose+Croix du Temple et du GraaP as it is stated by various French sources. The disbandment of the ‘Rose+Croix Catholique’ was put into words in Peladan’s “Je rends les armes”, [giving up my weapons]: “The formula of Art that I defended is now everywhere accepted, and why would one remember the guide that showed the ford, once the river has been crossed”. The final Salon that was hosted by the Peladan group at the “Galerie Georges Petit” received 15,000 visitors at the inauguration of the 6th Salon de la Rose+Croix. Nevertheless, disappointment, mutual disputes, lack of recognition [and money], and a general opposition he’d received from the authorities seemed to have been Peladan’s motive to disband the Rose+Croix movement. O f all the Salons, the first received the best response from the media. La Sixieme Salon de la Rose+Croix

SBl

The Salons that would follow did not elicit a similar response from the press as the first edition. According to Christophc Bcaufils [“.Josephin Peladan: E ssai sur une m aladie du lyrism e ” ©1993], the last % :m p editions saw an overall decline in both the size of the events and the quality of .A IP lI the artwork. Financial backers were hard J B E m BF; to find and over time Peladan’s motivation also declined. Despite the popularity of the Salons de la Rose+Croix, Josephin Peladan failed to succeed in revolutionizing French art. A revolution in art where the Cult of the Ideal stood at the apex of the pyramid and which would result in a new movement of idealistic Art was not succeeded. Regarding the authorities, it is said that they were not at all pleased with the success of Peladan’s activities. It seems that Peladan and his organization received a lot of opposition from the authorities " Q g fP ^ ifflx jjpWpp ' t '' K M *

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during the organization of the various exhibitions. For instance, the managing director of public buildings of the city of Paris, a certain Mr. Jules Comte, saw to it personally that there was no option available for the housing of one of Peladan’s activities. Curiously, the Symbolist art movement started to lose a lot of its influence after the demise of the Salons de la Rose+Croix. Despite its demise, most of the artists would not deviate that much from the ‘edicts of Peladan’ in their further career. Peladan would continue his literary activities until his death in 1918. He wrote approx, ninety volumes: novels, plays, and studies on Art, occultism and mysticism. He published numerous articles and three of his works would receive official recognition by the French Academy. He also gave numerous public lecturers in France and abroad. Among the members of the R+C+C, “Rose+Croix Catholique”, were artists and occultists. Some of the most prominent members were: Felicien Victor Joseph Rops [1833-1898], Jean Delville [1867-1953], Erik A. L. Satie* [1866-1925], Leonce de Larmandie, Gary de Lacroze, Elemir Bourges, Jan Toorop, Richard Roland Holst, Antoine de la Rochefoucauld, Saint-Pol Roux [1861-1940, Jules Bois [1868-1943 ), Emma Calve, Georges "Count Israel" Monti, Maurice Barres, Clement de Saint-Marcq, Francis Vurgey, Nicolas Brossel.... * It is claimed by various sources that, through Satie, another great French composer was a member of the R+C+C, namely Claude Debussy.

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THE SUCCESSORS OF THE ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE In 1907 the review ‘Entretiens Idealistes’, founded a year previously in 1906 by Paul Vulliaud [an admirer of Peladan], organized an exhibition entitled “l'Exposition des peintres et sculpteurs idealists”, designed after the ‘Salons’. Out of this one-off event the “Confrerie de la Rosace” [Brotherhood of the Rosary] was born. This group, headed by the painter Jacques Brasilier [‘Frere Angel’, 1883-1965], was founded in March 1908. Allegedly, the Brotherhood hardly gathered more than four disciples with whom they organized three exhibitions; the first one in May 1908, the second in May 1911, and the final one in October 1912. Brasilier published a periodical, named “Lcs Feuillets de la Rosace”, later re-baptised “Feuillets des Dunes, organe de la Rosace”. The ‘Confrerie de la Rosace’ went donnant after the final exhibition of 1912. Peladan never showed any interest in this group. But one of Peladan’s main voices in his transatlantic artistic and esoteric movement, Belgian painter Jean Delville, still cooperated with the Catholic esoterists of the “Confrerie de la Rosace”. The painter Alexandre Seon is said to also have had links to the “Confrerie de la R+C”. Confrerie de la Rosace Rose+Croix Catholique c o s m e tic «se s* rosace .

Geste Esthetique

It is claimed that one of the original members of the “Rose+Croix Catholique”, namely Gary de Lacroze, also continued a branch of the “Ordre dc la Rose-Croix Catholique”. In 1920 ihc Martinist Victor1 Emile Michelet founded the “Association des amis dc Peladan”, a study-groi p devoted to the works of Josephin Peladan. This circle w IM fllliF consisted of Madame J. Peladan, Paul Marteau, Gabriel Boissy, Albert de Pouvourville, G. L. Tautain, Edouard Willermoz, Maurice Venoize en Maurice .. Gaillard. In 1923, one of the successors of “*“'•* *'* “ ****■ •-**-*Peladan, Emile Dantinne, founded the “Ordo _____________________ Aureae & Rosas Crucis” [see Chapter V], Emile Dantinne was one of the regular visitors of a loose circle of Belgian followers of Josephin Peladan. This group met at the hotel Ravenstein in Brussels, Belgium, at the turn of the 20th century . In 1904, Emile Dantinne had met Peladan at the hotel Ravenstein where the latter gave one of his lectures. Allegedly, the Brussels group was a continuation of the artistic circle “Pour l’Art” that was established in

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1892 by Jean Delville and the journalist Raymond Nyst [see Chapter III]. The Brussels art circle is said to have represented the “Catholic Order of the Rosy-Cross of the Temple and the Grail” in Belgium. As was the Martinist Lodge KVMRIS. TODAY, the French branch of A.M.O.R.C. continues this tradition with their version of the Salons de la Rose+Croix. The exhibitions are held at the AMORC Cultural Centre in Paris, and is open to the public [the premises are known as “Espace Saint-Martin”]. In the recent past there have been several artistic events and projects that were clearly influenced by the Salons de la Rose+Croix. One such example was a project that was started in 1971 in Vancouver, Canada. Gregg Simpson and David W. Harris founded the “Divine Order of the Lodge”. Ritual theatre, collage, painting and poetry were the main pursuits, carried out as a modem version of the Salon de la Rose+Croix "The Surrealists were the 20th century precursors they f e l t closest to, along with occult traditions, alchem y, m ythology (especially N ordic) a n d neo-pagan p h ilo so p h y ."

The D.O.L. was the basis of other projects, such as the exhibition “Canadian West-Coast Hermetics” and the “Isle of Avalon Society”, a ritual theatre group. The Lodge also launched a periodical, “Lodgisticks” [1972-76]. The Symbolist movement would have a great influence on Expressionism, Surrealism and on Art Nouveau. Josephin Peladan promoted a Symbolist art that was rooted in occultism and mysticism. Some sources describe the movement in a more general sense as “a revival of some mystical tendencies in the Romantic tradition” [e.g. William Blake, Caspar David Friedrich, Eugene Delacroix, Henri Fuseli, John Martin], Symbolism in [visual] art is distinct from the other arts [literature, theatre, music] although all were similar in many aspects. It’s more of a philosophy than a specific style and that is what binds the various art forms. “If God speaks by the beauty of masterpieces, if Church is no longer administered only by republican prelates, the artist will be the priest of the future, the museum will become a temple ...” The Salon de la R ose + Croix was the “fir s t attem pt at a (sem i-)internationalist religion o f m odern a rt an aesthetic order with P eladan as high p r ie s t”. John Bramble “Modernism and the Occult” ©2015

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CHAPTER III THE CHALDEAN MAGUS AND THE MYSTICAL SPHINX INTRODUCTION The books and numerous publications of Josephin Peladan on the subject of esotericism present a comprehensive picture of his views on occultism and mysticism. There was no actual Order curriculum of teachings and practises within the R+C+C. As we have seen in Chapter I, the “Rose+Croix Catholique” was more of a brotherhood of artists than an initiatory society. To get an overall picture of his occult beliefs, I also used bits and pieces of information derived from quotes, anecdotes and remarks stemming from people who personally knew Peladan [e.g. Alexandra David-Neel, Erik Satie, Jean Delville, Jan Toorop, Emile Dantinne]. Naturally, the books published on the subject by Peladan are indispensable. Another valuable source for the realisation for this chapter was the Dutch edition of “La spiritualite de la Rose-Croix: histoire, tradition et valeur” by Jean-Pierre Baynard [1998] and a second-hand copy of “Eliphas Levi and the French occult revival” by Christopher McIntosh [1972],

THE DOCTRINES AND DEGREES OF L’ORDRE DE LA ROSE-CROIX CATHOLIQUE ET ESTHETIQUE In the constitution of the Order Peladan defined the “Rose+Croix Catholique” above all as a “Brotherhood of intellectual charity”. Like so many other French occult groups and organizations at the time, the “Rose+Croix Catholique” anticipated at the 'coming of the Paraclete', the coming of the Holy Spirit. Josephin Peladan promoted the esoteric aspect within Catholicism and was especially interested in John's Gospel. He was convinced that the medieval Catholic Church was a repository of knowledge that it had itself forgotten. “He genuinely wished a return to 'the noble, esoteric and magical tradition' of the church of the Middle Ages” B. and M. Foster “Forbidden Journey: The life of Alexandra David-Neel” ©1989

“O ccultism a n d religion supplem ent each other, the adept has to a v o id the vulgar a n d m ediocrity ”

As stated earlier on in this text, much of Peladan's esoteric knowledge, which was e.g. digested in his novel “Le Vice Supreme”[1884], allegedly descended from “L’Histoire de la Magie et du monde sumaturel” [1860], written by a disciple of Eliphas Levi, Pierre Christian. Of course, the writings of Eliphas Levi himself were also a source of inspiration for Peladan. But his biggest influence were his father and brother, 76

respectively Louis-Adrien Peladan and Adrien Peladan [1844-1885], whom Josephin considered to be “a sage in the tradition of Raimundus Lullius and Heinrich Kiihnrath”. When Stanislas de Guaita met Josephin Peladan after he'd read “Le Vice Supreme”, he became Peladan's pupil 'in occult matters'. In the various publications of Josephin Peladan [books and articles] on this subject, Peladan wrote extensively on Kabbalah, High Magic, Astrology, Magnetism, Tarot (1) etc. 1)

There exists a method of Tarot divination (5-card Tarot spread) which is attributed to Josephin Peladan. According to various tarot sources Peladan orally transmitted his method to Stanislas de Guaita. Oswald Wirth received the material from Stanislas de Guaita and published it in his 1927 Tarot-classic “Le Tarot des imagiers du moyen-age”

Josephin Peladan was strongly opposed against spiritualism or “spiritism”, which was very popular in those days. He also had a dislike for Freemasonry. The following quote comes from Alexandra DavidNeel [1868-1969], the opera singer, writer, feminist, traveller, Buddhist and member of several 'secret societies' [Thcosophic Society, CoMasonry], who'd met Peladan on several occasions at the end of 1890s. She was a singer/actress at the time and it is claimed that she had hoped for a part in one of his plays (2). Alexandra describes Peladan's Rosicrucian movement at the time as follows: “The movement, profoundly reactionary, was antithetical to democracy and the French Revolution; it professed loathing for Masons, Protestants, and Jews.” B. and M. Foster “Forbidden Journey: The life of Alexandra David-Neel” ©1989

This reactionary attitude towards 'democracy', Freemasonry and Jews, was also the attitude of one of Peladan's successors, Emile Dantinne (see “ 1934-1951 F.U.D.O.S.I.”). 2)

Alexandra David-Neel was a member of a Belgian Theosophic circle which was frequented by such Symbolist painters as Jean Delville, Fernand Khnopff, Emile Fabry, and Albert Ciamberlani.

Josephin Peladan considered the modem society of his time as a corrupted and perverted society, a world that was deserted by God [see Chapter I]. Western [Latin] civilization was doomed to perish under the influence of growing materialism and the progressing secularization. And, like most of the conservatives of his time, he blamed this on Freemasomy and the Jews. One has to remember that France had experienced several revolutions and revolts in a period of less than a 77

century [French Revolution, the 2nd White Terror, July Revolution, Revolution of 1848]. European Society underwent a social reconstruction, Liberalism and Socialism were on the rise. The industrial revolution had created new social classes and these classes had started to rear their heads. The three main political currents dominating France in the 19th century were the Ultra-Royalist or Monarchists [Conservatives], the revolutionaries and the Bonapartists. As we have seen in Chapter I, Peladan's father was a fervent Monarchist and Catholic and his ideas were highly influential on Josephin's personal growth and development as a young man. It is clear that Josephin was an idealist. He searched for an ideal that was not limited by nature. His interest in, and knowledge of, occultism [via his brother Adrien] combined with his love for art had made Peladan an overnight success in the artistic community of Paris. His articles were published by the leading art-journals and newspapers at the time; “La Plume”, “Le Mercure de France”, “La Gazette artistique”, “Studio”, and the most important, “L’Artiste”, the most prominent French art-joumal of its time. The journal published the work of authors such as Baudelaire and J.K. Huysmans [“La Bas”]. These writers considered their work an attempt to save themselves from decay, madness and selfdestruction. James Webb, in his book “The Occult Underground: The Dawn of the New Age and The Occult Establishment” [©1976], divides these artists, particularly the authors, into two camps - aesthetes and “poetes maudites” [‘accursed poets’, after a book of the leading author of the Symbolists, Paul Verlaine], “Both reacted against the naturalism of established art. Aesthetes searched for an ideal beauty beyond the limits of nature. Poetes maudites sought to plumb the depths of experience in their search for wisdom, and I do mean depths.” [Webb ©1976] According to Peladan, art is bom from an act of faith and it dies from doubt and scepticism. “It was the artist’s mission to combine art with ' ideal', art and 'God', by impressing the moral decadence of humanity to the public”. T. Meedendorp - Sar Merodack Josephin Peladan en het ideaal van de kunst Kunstlicht21 ©2000

Josephin Peladan had taken this concept from Barby d'Aurevilly. In showing perversion and corruption in all its intensity, the definition of 'Good' is emphasized. Peladan's aim was “to tear love out of the western soul and replace it with the love of Beauty, the love of the Idea, the love of mystery.” With regard to love for women, it is stated that Peladan had developed an ambiguous image over the years, but more on this later. The following text, written by Josephin Peladan, reflects his thoughts on art and the artist quite clearly. It is also an excellent example of his 78

stilted usage of language for which he was often criticized and even ridiculed. It is taken from the “Gestc Esthetique”, the catalogue of Le Salon de la Rose + Croix, 1892. A rtist, y o u are a priest. A rt is the g rea t m ystery, a n d i f y o u r endeavouring leads to a m asterpiece, then a ray o f the divine shines dow n as i f on an altar. O true p resen ce o f the divinity, y o u who shine to us fro m the sublim e names: Vinci, M ichelangelo, Beethoven, W agner A rtist, y o u are a king. A rt is the true kingdom. I f y o u r h a n d has draw n a p e rfe c t line, the cherubim them selves com e dow n fro m heaven a n d see them selves in it as i f in a mirror. Spiritual drawing, soulful line, f ille d fo rm , y o u give p h ysica l shape to our dreams: Sam othrace a n d St. John, Sixtina a n d Cenacolo, Parsifal, N inth Sym phony, Notre-D am e. A rtist, y o u are a m agician. A rt is the great m iracle a n d offers p r o o f o f im m ortality. Who still doubts? G iotto touched the w ounds o f St. Francis, the Virgin appeared to F ra Angelico, a n d Rem brandt p r o v e d the raising o f Lazarus. A bsolute refutation o f all p edantic sophistries: M oses is doubted, but then M ichelangelo com es; Jesus is not recognized, but then L eonardo comes. E verything is profaned, but im m utable holy art continues to pray. O ineffable, highly serene sublim ity, alw ays radiant holy grail, m onstrance, a n d relic, invincible banner, alm ighty art, art-god, I revere y o u on m y knees, y o u last ray fr o m above shining dow n on our decay... ”

According to Christopher McIntosh, in his book “Eliphas Levi & the French Occult Revival44 [©1972], Peladan envisaged his Order “as a nucleus from which would emerge a whole set of religious, moral and aesthetic values” [C. McIntosh, ©1972], Although Peladan’s activities in the field of art, drama and music were “carried out with considerable effectiveness” [McIntosh], in the end he considered himself as a failure. “In an archaic terminology, totally incompatible in a country of universal suffrage and laicism, I have literally preached in a dead language”. These words were written by Josephin Peladan and were addressed to Gabriel Boissy (3) towards the end of his public experiments in 'Rosicrucianism', the ’Salons de la Rose+Croix’... 3)

Jean-Pierre Bayard, in his book “La spiritualite de la Rose-Croix histoire, tradition et valeur”, states that Gabriel Boissy was an adept of the 'Rosicrucian Order'. Bayard also states that Peladan considered Boissy as a worthy successor of the Rosicrucian tradition. All that I know for certain about Gabriel Boissy is that he was one of the members of the Peladan study-circle Association des amis de Peladan, founded in 1920.

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THE DEGREES OF THE CATHOLIC ROSE+CROSS ORDER The “Ordre de la Rose+Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” consisted of 3 Degrees: 1° ECUYER 'Shield-Bearer', the degree of the 'Servants of Work' 2° CHEVALIER - 'Knight' 3° COMMANDEUR - 'Commander' The degrees were assigned to the Kabbalistic Sephiroth. For instance, Comte Leonce de Larmandie carried the title 'Commandeur de Gebura' and Gary de Lacroze carried the title 'Commandeur de Tiphereth'. Each degree demanded a vow: 1° Ecuyer - vow of 'Perfection' 2° Chevalier - vow of 'Loyalty' 3° Commandeur - vow of'Obedience' A candidate for initiation had to appear before the Grand Master, Sar Merodack Peladan, who asked him the following ten questions: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)

“Who are you” “What is your void” “To what is your will tend” “How do you realize yourself’ “By what force” “Declare your attractions and repulsions” “Define your glory” “State the hierarchy of Beings” “Name happiness” “Name sorrow”

Constitutions Rosae Crucis Templi et Spiritus Sancti Ordinis p.28

“A transm itted Initiation secret is o f no use -

Josephin Peladan (1858-1918)-

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Allegedly, the candidates for initiation and membership swore by their “eternal life” to “seek, admire and love beauty through the means of art and mystery”. The Catholic Rose-Cross Order adopted Leonardo Da Vinci as patron of the Rose+Croix, Dante Alighieri as patron of the Templars, and finally, Joseph of Arimathea, as patron of the Grail. Emile Dantinne, in his book “L’CEuvre et la pensee de Peladan, la philosophic rosicrucienne” [1948], reports that a neophyte took the oath of the 1st Degree in the name of Leonardo Da Vinci, those who were received into the 2nd Degree took the oath in the name of Dante Alighieri, and those who were received into the Degree of Commander, the 3rd Degree, took the oath in the name of Saint John and the Holy Spirit [note: Saint John refers to Saint-John the Baptist], In the book “Forbidden Journey: The Life of Alexandra David- Neel”, written by Barbara and Michael Foster, Alexandra describes the Catholic Rose-Cross Order as follows: “A lexandra w rote that P eladan was no charlatan but learned in the W estern occult tradition. H e genuinely w ished a return to 'the noble, esoteric a n d m agical tradition' o f the church o f the M iddle Ages. F ailing to im press the Pope, he fo u n d e d his own order along m ystical lines. H e revived the ancient Syrian rite a n d p ro c la im e d h im se lf 'Sar'. H is style w as elegant, a n d he a n d his fo llo w ers d ressed in elaborate robes w hile p erfo rm in g endless cerem onies o f w hich he w as the G rand M aster. ”

The Catholic Rose+Cross Order offered three directions to its members. After a member had been initiated as a Neophyte, a member personally selected one of the three paths that were offered by the R+C+C: The Path of the Rose+Croix - A rt a n d Science, Robe: red & black The Path of the Temple - The W ord o f Jesus, White Robe, Red Cross The Path of the Grail - W orshipping the P resence during Eucharist, Blue Robe

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r— m— | .....|

*'"■ Sj^rani

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SAR MERODACK, THE MAGUS OF PARIS JOSEPHIN AIME PELADAN [1858-1918]

“P eladan w as m ore fa sc in a te d by the aesthetic aspects o f occultism, but I d o n ’t think he w as deeply involved in it. ” - A posting on the Yahoo-alt.magick E-group -

CATHOLIC OCCULTISM ? To what extend did occultism influence Peladan's 'teachings'? Did occultism form part of the Order's curriculum? The first answer is quite simple, because much of his philosophy and concepts were based on the 'Arts'. The second one is not that easy to answer. The Catholic RoseCross Order was founded along mystical lines, as it is stated, and an 'Order-curriculum' [in the form of teachings and practises attached to each degree] was, allegedly, not present. In his numerous monographs and treatises he wrote, a personal view on occult matters and teachings that had been developed over time by Peladan can be easily recognized. One such example is his book “Comment on Devient Mage“ and “Comment on Devient Fee”, respectively written for men and women [1892] as a work which could be subtitled as “Initiation for the Masses”. There are also indications that Peladan left instmctions to his pupils of 'a practical nature'. We'll take a closer look at some of the main concepts and theories that were developed by Josephin Peladan, in order to get a better understanding of his views and beliefs.

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MAGIC Peladan, in his book “Comment on devient mage” [Paris, 1892 p. 135], defines magic as “the art of sublimation of man”. Peladan also stated that “happiness raised to the level of an ideal, freed from the negative aspects of oneself and of things... is the sole triumph of this world”? [J. Peladan, “Traite des antinomies”, Paris, 1901, p. 112]. The sublimation of man, of human nature, “freed from the negative aspects of oneself and of things”, of matter [material things]. Peladan speaks about happiness raised to the level of an ideal. His original and main goal was to restore 'the worship of an ideal'. And it was through 'beauty', as expressed in the works of art, that this 'ideal' had to be established. And through this 'beauty', this bliss, mankind could be led towards God, art as the initiator. To put it simple, Peladan understood by magic the adoration of beauty by the heart. This included the total repudiation of “the ugliness of modem civilization”. He referred to the art as 'la haute science magique de Tame universelle' [the high science of Magic of the Universal Soul], “The work of art is a fugue: nature supplies its motif; the soul of the artist creates the rest.” [Josephin Peladan]

jo s e p h in j S

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peladan

"La Decadence Latine - ethopee La Gynandre, 1891

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THE ANDROGYN and archetype who reunites the two sexes - is the^ symbol^ of Primordial

[Mercury] union of heaven and earth concept and theory of this archetype did not concern itself only with the 'wholeness and fusion of both sexes, the supreme expression of unity and sources, also “with a superabundance of erotic possibilities . According to

Wilde, Theophile Gautier, Swinburne etc. Apparently, in Peladan's view, the Androgyn is the incarnated Perfected Man, but not in the spiritual sense, but in the sensual. The sensual perfection is reached by the active presence of the two sexes in one. In one of his writings he describes the Androgyn as a 13 years-old feminine young man, named Samas, the name of the Chaldean God of the Sun. The Androgyn does not doubt about his gender, the Androgyn has the appearance of a man but with the characterization of a female spirit. It is “the perfect combination of the voluptuousness and intelligence, of the active and contemplative faculties.” As a matter of fact, Peladan's Androgyn as an “ideal esthetique” placed the beauty of the figure above the beauty of a woman. This theory of the Androgyn of Peladan contributed to all kind of speculations on his practises and teachings. For instance, his system “has been described as 'erotic Catholism-cum-magic'.” [J. Sellers, “Antiquities of the Illuminati” ©1997-2001] But, as Peladan noted, over the ages sexuality has been degenerated, love has been corrupted and materialism has triumphed. Josephin Peladan stated that the presence of the Androgyn is divine, balanced, asexual, in other words: it appears that the Androgyn is “unfitted for this worldly theatre”. Seen through our eyes Peladan's version of the Androgyn is a perverted character, but the Androgyn is asexual, divine, balanced, so how can this being be a pervert? The difficulty in understanding Peladan's theory stems from his writings in which he maintains ambiguity in its relation towards the subject. For Peladan the Androgyn was of great importance for the study of the ancient doctrines and works of the past. Peladan wrote, at least, two books on the subject, namely “L'Androgyne/ La Gynandre” [1891] and “de L'Androgyne” [1910], Peladan's theory of the Androgyn allegedly influenced many of the symbolist-artists. For instance, in the work of such painters as Fernand Khnopff, Puvis de Chavannes and Odilon Redon, the Androgyn is a returning subject.

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THE ANDROGYN & THE MYSTICAL SPHINX In the course of the 19th century the Sphinx became identified in art with the 'transcendental', the 'ideal' or 'beauty', as the essence of mysticism and religion, the supreme symbol of the mystery of nature [Edouard Schure, “Les Grand Inities” 1889], Within the “Catholic Rose-Cross Order” the Sphinx became the symbol of the [exalted esoteric] ideal of beauty, the Sphinx as the personification of art. The real artist is instinctively attracted towards 'Beauty'. According to Peladan, this attraction is the remainder of a lost harmony [primordial man]. The 'mystical' Sphinx was depicted as Androgyn [male and female] or genderless [above the sexes], a figure that represents the harmonious, spiritual union of the masculine [spirit/active] and feminine [matter/passive] in ONE being. In Josephin Peladan’s book “De L'Androgyne”, published in 1910, the author gives a description of the importance and the meaning of the Androgyn in ancient civilizations [Egypt, Chaldea, and Greece]. Josephin Peladan refers to the Egyptian Sphinx as the Androgynosphinx. He furthermore states that the Sphinx represents [transl.] “humanity which puts its faith in the resurrection, as expressed with each dawn.”

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'distrust' of women, as Alexandra David-Neel once remarked. It is also

considered women inferior to men, a belief that was grounded on Kabbalistic magical laws caused by Adam’s sin. The sin of the Biblical Adam caused the detachment of the branch of Malkuth from the Sephirotic Tree of Life [Dantinne, “L’CEuvre et la pensee de Peladan”]. 4)

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post-script Constitution de ia Rose-Croix, le Temple et le Graal - Paris, 1893 85

This caused the rupture between mankind and the Divine and a separation of the original Androgyn which resulted in the birth of man and woman. Man’s Soul consisted of three elements: Nephesh [Instinct], Ruach [Spirit], and Neschamah [Soul], In Peladan’s vision a woman only possessed two elements of the human Soul and lacked the Neschama, its immortal essence. The following exceipt is taken from “The Life of Alexandra DavidNeel” by Barbara and Michael Foster (Harper & Row publ., ©1987) and illustrates Peladan's (magical) view of women: “Their p la ce was as servants or virgins to be deflowered. Alternatively, they m ight through instruction becom e fa iries. They m ust learn to make their bodies light in order to flo a t, to grasp objects alm ost w ithout touching them. A s she w atched a f a t Flem ish w om an go through these exercises, A lexandra w ondered, 'How m any p o rcelain cups w o u ld be the p rice o f this lesson? ”

The method Alexandra refers to is published in Peladan's “Comment on devient Fee”, published in 1892 and which forms part of “Amphitheatre des sciences mortes”, a study in seven parts. On page 56 of the “Constitutions de la Rose-Croix, Le Temple et le Graal” the “Amphitheatre des sciences mortes” is described as the “restitution of Chaldean magic, adapted for the contemporary world.” [transl.] The “Amphitheatre...” is divided in three sections: 1) Ethique - Comment on devient Mage 1891 2) Erotique - Comment on devient Fee 1892 , and 3) Esthetique - Comment on devient Artiste - in preparation 1894. “Erotique: Comment on devient Fee” - 'How to become a fairy', a method of instruction in two modes. Josephin Peladan refers here to Beatrice [Dante's Beatrice] and Hypathia [Neoplatonic philosopher] as a symbol of the perfect woman. Asceticism and transcendental sexuality are the keywords. Peladan refers to this method as a long lost female initiation-method. As mentioned earlier, Alexandra David-Neel was well known to Peladan and his intimates. Alexandra, a struggling opera singer/actress at the time, hoping for a part in one of Peladan's plays, started to frequent the Sar's inner circle. Alexandra stated that women “might become fairies through instruction”. In other words, in Peladan's reasoning women could spiritually not develop any further than Elemental? After all, a woman did not have a Neschamah [Soul], Sexual abstinence is a central theme in Peladan's later novels. “Through abstinence and abstinence only, man is enabled to impregnate his own genius.” Josephin's brother, Adrien Peladan, already published in 1869 a 86

curious treatise on homeopathy, “Traitement homeopathique de la spermatorrhee, de la prostatorrhee et de l'hypersecretion des glandes vulvo-vaginales”, in which Adrien deals with the question of gender in connection with sexuality. It is a treatise on various forms of ejaculation, masturbation, deviant sexual behaviour and their effects on the human brain. Dr. Adrien Peladan states that there's an antagonism between brain-activity and sexuality which results in a magnetic attraction between men and women, seeing that the positive pool of a man is situated in his sexual organ and that of a woman in her brains. Adrien speaks about all sorts of negative consequences of the attraction between the genders and therefore propagates sexual abstinence. This theory in which women are superfluous for man's salvation can also be found [to a certain point] in the writings of other 19th and 20th century occultists, such as Chevalier de Saint-Marcq, Theodor Reuss, Amoldo KrummHeller, Aleister Crowley etc. Of special interest here is the work of the 'Chevalier' Clement de Saint-Marcq, who published a treatise in 1906 entitled “L 'Eucharistie” [its essence being “only sperm contains the Logos”]. In 1910, a sequal was published entitled “Les Raisons de l'Eucharistie”. His work is of special interest here because 'Chevalier de Saint-Marcq' was a member of the Rose+Croix Catholique. He was a member of the Belgian lodge KVMRIS, directed by Francis Vurgey and Nicolas Brossel [see Chapter IV], both followers of Josephin Peladan. In 1892 Peladan had received the regency of the French “Ordre du Temple” [which incorporated “L' Eglise Johannites des Cretiens Primitif’, a Johannite Church), founded in 1804 by Fabre-Palaprat [1773-1838], Allegedly, the regency was given to Peladan by surviving Belgian members of the Neo-Templar Order who allegedly continued the Johannite Church of “l’Ordre du Temple”. “l’Ordre du Temple” had been disbanded in the 1850s by Vemois, the Grand Master of the “Ordre du Temple”. But, as we know, Peladan was much more interested in his Rosicrucian activities and in 1884 the “Ordre du Temple” came under the direction of an ‘International Secretariat’, led by Brossels and Vurgey of Lodge KVMRIS at Brussels. When one analyses the works of Josephin Peladan, and also that of Chevalier de Saint-Marcq, one will probably come to the conclusion that their work is deeply steeped in Gnosticism. The embracing of immorality and sin to experience the decaying of the world, after which the initiate rises as the phoenix from the ashes, is a Gnostic doctrine and lies at the base of Josephin Peladan's work and theories. It is stated that the Gnostic elements which influenced the works of the likes of Josephin Peladan, Clement de Saint-Marcq etc. were part of the doctrine of the Johannite Church “L' Eglise Johannites des Cretiens Primitif’. More investigation in this direction is needed.... 87

ASTROLOGY Alexandra's eye-account proves that Peladan indeed directed certain magical instructions to his followers. It's also known that Josephin Peladan also applied certain divination methods with regard to e.g. Astrology, Tarot etc. He laid great stress on Astrology in his works in which he made frequent allusion to the doctrine of 'Signatures’. In his “Comment on devient Mage” [1891] a section is included on the different planetary types of human beings, in which Josephin Peladan gives advice to make use of one’s planetary abilities. In accordance with the Hermetic axiom 'As above, so below', Peladan states that all earthly things have their celestial counterparts. Astrology came into vogue in France after the publication in 1887 of a book entitled “Les Mysteres de l'Horoscope” by Eugene Jacob. Jacob, who's better known as Ely Star, was a famous French astrologer and a member of the Ahathoor Temple of S.L. MacGregor Mathers of the “Alpha et Omega” Order in Paris [Golden Dawn], Christopher McIntosh states that Ely's book “taught an onomatic Cabalistic Astrology, similar to that of Paul Christian [JeanBaptiste Pitois]”. On page 57 of the Constitutions de la Rose-Croix [“Amphitheatre des sciences mortes”] Peladan speaks about the 'Methode Kaldeenne'. Under the header 'Astrology' the following description is given: The Seven Planetary Types: Chaldean method for divination, the knowledge of the variations [the earlier mentioned 'Signatures'] prophecy on the fate of marriages according to the Chaldean planetary system. The text continues with the announcement of a series of publications on Astrology: I The Seven Planetary Types of the female II The Seven Planetary Types for the male, malevolent and beneficial The Question arises whether Josephin Peladan actually taught Chaldean Astrology (5) or adapted some aspects of Chaldean Magic into modem Astrology, thus creating a personal method of Astrology. Once again, the question is left unanswered. 5)

Chaldean Astrology: It is in Chaldea that the charting patterns of the planets began. It is stated that the first tables of planetary motion, the Ephemeridae, were constructed in Chaldea. It was apparent to them that although the planets had their own individual movement they behaved in coherent cycles (L. Laurence- “Early concepts of heavenly influences”). Chaldean Astrology recognized seven sacred planets and applied the use of the 'Science of Numbers'. The placement of the earth in the chart is of special significance, together with the superimposition of the Sun and the Moon in the order of the planets. The Chaldean Order of Planets corresponds with the order of planets on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life in relation to the descent of the Lightning Flash

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As explained previously, Josephin Peladan had intensively studied the works of Fabre d’Olivet, Eliphas Levi and his disciple Pierre Christian. Together with his brother Adrien, Levi and Pierre Christian had a profound influence on Peladan. It could be argued that much of his theories are a blend of Hermeticism [although it is maintained that he had a very limited knowledge of the original sources] and a form of mystical Catholicism with a Chaldean overtone added to it. The graphical presentation of much of the publications of the “Rose+Croix Catholique” contained Chaldean figures and symbols. It is generally known that Peladan was well-read. His youth was spent in the local library where he became acquainted with the works of all kinds of novelists, playwrights, poets, philosophers, esotericists etc. I wonder if Josephin Peladan was familiar with the work of Francois Lenormant. Lenormant wrote a standard-work on Chaldean Magic in 1877 which was, and still is, one of the few books really dealing with the topic of magic at the dawn of civilization: “La Magie chez les Chaldeensis” [the English translation was entitled “Chaldean Magic: its origin and Development”]. Another possible influence, although it's a far shot, might have been the work of the Gnostic Basilides, who belonged to the Alexandrian school of Gnosticism. It is known that Basilides studied and practised Chaldean astrology, next to Egyptian Hermeticism, Persian philosophy and Oriental occultism. It is stated that his doctrines intertwined early Christianity and pagan mysteries. As stated earlier on, Peladan's theories and doctrines are steeped in Gnosticism. Once again, more investigation in this direction is needed...

“O N ature, indulgent M other, fo rg iv e ! Open y o u r arm s to the son, p ro d ig a l a n d weary. I have attem pted to tear asunder the veil y o u have h u n g to conceal fr o m us the p a in o f life, a n d I have been w ounded by the mystery. . . . OEdipus, h a lfw a y to fin d in g the w o rd o f the enigm a , y o u n g Faust, regretting already the sim ple life, the life o f the heart, I com e back to y o u repentant, reconciled, O g entle deceiver! ” - Invocation of Sar Peladan (transl. Joseph Conrad)

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Josephin Peladan's doctrines are a curious mixture of occultism and Catholic dogmas. His philosophies were an attempt to tie up his own theories with the doctrines of the Catholic Church. As Christopher McIntosh states in “Eliphas Levi and the French Occult Revival”, Peladan's Rosicrucianism “sought to establish a nucleus from which emanated a whole set of religious, moral and aesthetic values.” Reacting against the agnostic scepticism of the age, he devoted all his energy to the mission of returning the Divine Mystery to the world through the fine arts. His movement was “profoundly reactionary, antithetical to democracy and the French Revolution.” [Forbidden Journey: The Fife of Alexandra David-Neel] Peladan believed in astrology, in the spirits of the elements, in elves. He did not accept Spiritualism or reincarnation. According to Peladan, “each Soul develops itself at the time of passing over to other spheres or realms”. In an article which was published in the Martinist journal “F'Initiation” of June 1890 he stated: “I could not take occultism with me to Mass, and I refuse to rub shoulders with Spiritualism, Masonry or Buddhism.” He wrote the article in connection with his departure from the “Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose+Croix”. The article criticized the new developments within the OKR+C, such as the interest of its members in topics such as Freemasonry [Oswald Wirth and Papus], Buddhism etc. Josephin Peladan was an aesthete, with beauty as an ideal and art as it means. In Peladan's eyes, the true artist was a spiritual teacher and a prophet. In his work “L 'Art Idealiste & Mystique” of 1894 he published the guidelines for the artist [transl.: C. McIntosh]: “The w ork sh o u ld be conceived in our ow n image, as m an was created in the im age o f Elohim ; that is to say, it sh o u ld be conceived on three p lanes: plastic, organic, intellectual. The artist sh o u ld begin w ith the abstraction o f his subject, he w ill im agine the So u l m ost consistent with this abstract pla n e; fin a lly he w ill choose the fo rm m ost characteristic o f this soul. ”

“L es em otions du livre, les em otions du Louvre, les em otions de Bayreuth, ju sq u 'a l 'extase ”

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JOSEPHIN PELADAN: HIS REPENT After Peladan disbanded “L'Ordre de la Rose+Croix du Temple et du Graal” in December 1897, he travelled through Egypt and the Holy land. In 1899, Peladan visited Jerusalem where he made an “astonishing discovery”. According to contemporary eulogist Rene-Georges Aubrun, “he made a discovery so astonishing that at any other era it would have shaken the Catholic world to its foundations; he rediscovered the authentic tomb of Jesus in THE MOSQUE OF OMAR.” He also stated that, at the occasion, the Franciscans [he apparently stayed with the Catholic Franciscan Order during his visit to Jerusalem] had tried to murder him. Meanwhile, Peladan endured the 'trial of the Four Elements' at which he miraculously did not perish from dryness [Earth], thirst [Water], storm [Air] nor burning [Fire], He claimed that the Great Sphinx at Gizeh had revealed to him that the process of Automagnification had come to an end. Josephin Peladan became more modest, he no longer made use of the title 'Sar' and his grandiose appearance, with his eccentric costumes and habits, was a thing of the past. His influence ultimately limited itself to a small circle of disciples. This circle had almost no contact with the former Sar in his later years. His mission had failed .... Josephin Peladan was considered an amateur by the artists, a fraud by the occultists, and a magician by the writers. Forgotten by the public, he nevertheless stayed loyal to his beliefs. He continued lecturing in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. His books were published from time to time. Josephin Aime Peladan died from food-poisoning in 1918 at the age of sixty. According to Josephin Peladan, when he stood before the Sphinx at Gizeh, the supreme symbol of the Mystery of Nature, he cried out: “HAVE I PROFANED THE ROSE CROSS” He underwent a powerful and humbling experience, an awakening and realization when the Sphinx ‘answered’ “Y o u a r e g u ilty b e c a u se y o u d id n ’t f i n d th e tru e e x p re s s io n o f y o u r p u r p o s e ... Y ou to o k m e n f o r D e m o n s a n d o p e r a te d a c c o r d in g to P rid e. You h a v e d is o b e y e d T ra d itio n ” Sasha Chaitow, “Who was Josephin Peladan” paper presented at the 2011 3rdESWE Conference University of Szeged Hungary July 2-4, 2011 91

Appendix I

ERIK SATIE [1866-1925] AND LA ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE Erik Satie was a member of the R+C+C. Satie became interested in Peladan's work after he had read Peladan's “Le Vice Supreme”. A classic of decadent literature with its depictions of the ultimate depravation, in which princesses, holy men and magicians perform all manner of perversions in order to purify their sinful souls. Satie then met Josephin Peladan in the spring of 1890. It turns out that Peladan’s teachings on the identity of art and religion were most appealing to Satie. In 1891, Satie is mentioned as the composer and conductor of the Rosicrucian Order. Satie left the “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” in 1895 [other sources state that Satie left in 1893], He was introduced to the mystical strains of Gregorian and plainsong. In 1892, Satie wrote the music for a ballet, 'Uspud', a mystical work which unfolds around the theme of the Crucifixion. The mystical number 3 - the symbol of perfection in the union of opposites [reflected in Peladan's Androgyn, the Alchemical Mercury] is e.g. prominently present through the use of triplets in Satie's third Rosicrucian piece from 1892, “Sonneriens de la Rose+Croix”. The triplets, or triads, are constantly circling around the tritone. In the Middle Ages, and later, this tritone - as used by Satie - was known as the 'Diabolus in musica' and therefore forbidden in church music. The haunting atmosphere this tritone creates was about the worst discord imaginable [created by the ‘Augmented fourth’, being half way between the most common pure intervals, the 'Diabolus in musica'] Of course, in the case of Satie the tritone purely referred to the mystical number 3. The pieces that Erik Satie wrote for the Order included: “Preludes from Le Fils des Etoiles“ [1891] le r Acte: la Vocation (La nuit de Kaldee) - En blanc et immobile - 2e Acte: LTnitation (La salle basse du Grand Temple) - Dans la tete 3e Acte: L ' Incanation “Leitm otiv de Panthee“ [ 1891 ] or: “Prem ier pensee Rose+Croix” presumably also identical to the “Marche antique pour la Rose+Croix” that is said to have been perform ed at a Rosicrucian soiree, composed by one Bihn Grallon , a character in Peladan's Le Panthee, a poor cabaret pianist m uch like Satie. “Sonneries de la Rose + Croix: Air de l'Ordre” [1892] - Satie's third and last real Rosicrucian piece, 3 fanfares for trumpets and harps: A ir de l'O rdre - A ir du Grand M aitre [Le Sar Josephin Peladan], Air du Grand Prieur [Le Comte Antoine de la Rochefoucauld, Peladan's financial backer]

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“Preludes” [1892] Fete donnee par des Chevaliers - Normands en l'H onneur d 'une jeune - Demoiselle [XI Siecle] - Prelude d'Eginhard 1 er Prelude du Nazareen - 2e Prelude du Nazareen “M esse des Pauvres” (1895) Satie also wrote some incidental music for Jules Bois’ Rosicrucian drama: “Prelude pour la porte heroique du ciel” [1894], composed for a Drama “esoterique” by Jules Bois.

Some of these compositions were written for Peladan’s plays, like “Le Prince de Byzance [Hymne pour le Salut Drapeau]” and “Le Fils des etoiles”. Satie distanced himself of Peladan’s Order because he felt that he was constantly pursued by the title of the musical forerunner of the disciples of the “Rose+Croixe Catholique”, which caused him “a lot of worry and many troubles. If I have to be somebody’s pupil, then I think I can say that it would be of myself alone, especially since I believe that Monsieur Peladan, despite his wealth of knowledge, will not be able to gain any disciples at all, neither in music nor painting nor in other things.”, as Satie stated in an interview with the Parisian literary periodical “Gil Bias” [1879-1938], After his break with the Rosicrucians, Erik Satie created his own church of which he was its only member: ’Eglise Metropolitaine d’Art de Jesus Conducteur'. ” Satie self-published an “official” manifesto, a church journal, that functioned primarily as a soapbox upon which to rant against music critics.”

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Appendix II

Josephin Peladan's oevre consists of approx, ninety volumes of novels, plays and studies. He furthermore published numerous articles of which three would receive official recognition by the French Academy. Subjoined are a few titles of Peladan's most well-known books and studies, various of these titles are still available [in French] - “Le Vice supreme” (publ. 1884) - “Demiere Leqon de Leonard de Vinci a son Academie de Milan, 1499/precedee d'une etude sur le maitre” - “La Queste du G raal: proses lyriques de l'ethopee “La decadence latine” - “Femmes honnetes (2e serie)” - “L'Initiation sentimentale/ La decadence latine (III)” - “Istar/ La decadence latine, ethopee V “ (1888) - “La cle de Rabelais” - “Autour du peche/par Miss sarah” - “Le voeu de la Renaissance” - “L'Art idealiste et mystique : doctrine de l'Ordre et du salon annuel des Roses-croix” - “l'Art ochlocratique: Salons de 1882 et 1883 Josephin Peladan; avec une lettre de Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly” - “Oedipe et le Sphinx” - “Amphitheatre des sciences mortes: Comment on devient Mage” (1892) “Comment on devient fee erotique” (1893) “Comment on devient artiste” (1894) - “la science de l'amour” - “les amants de pise” (1912) - “les devotes d'Avignon” (1922 - “Un coeur en peine” - “La Gynandre/ La decadence latine” (1891) - “La doctrine de Dante” (1908) - “A coeur perdu” (1887) - “La Cle Perdu” - “L'Androgyne” (1891) - “De 1'Androgyne” (1910) - “De Parsival a Don Quichotte” (1906) - “Introduction aux sciences occultes” (1902)

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K A L O PRO S O P I A The art o f transformation o f personality through a life lived as a work o f art Josephin Peladan

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CHAPTER IV THE DREAM OF AN AESTHETIC RENAISSANCE IN BELGIUM PELADAN'S MOVEMENT IN BELGIUM The Rose-Croix of Peladan had created a significant, theoretical influence on Belgian painters. As we saw in Chapter II, already in the 1880s Peladan embraced such painters as Gustave Moreau, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, and the Belgian Baudelairian artist Felicien Rops [18331898], painters to whom Josephin Peladan referred as his ‘Kabbalistic Triangle of Great Art'. Although it seems that Rops never really took Peladan that seriously. In the 1880s Felicien Rops was the illustrator of Peladan’s novels but was later replaced by Fernand Khnopff [18581921], another Belgian painter. As stated in Chapter II, Peladan created the idea of the “Salons de la Rose+Croix” when he had visited one of the Symbolist expositions of the independent Belgian art society “Les XX”, also known as “Societe des Vingf ’ or “Les V in g fO th e r styles were also represented on the exhibitions of “Les XX”. Music and literature were as important as visual art at their exhibitions, a concept which inspired Peladan in his creation of the “Salons de la Rose+Croix”. Both Felicien Rops and Fernand Khnopff were members of “Les XX”. The first exhibition of “Les XX” was held in 1884 at Brussels, eight years before the first Salon de la Rose-Croix was organized. The driving forces behind these events were Octave Maus and Edmond Picard. It was at one of these exhibitions that Peladan discovered Fernand Khnopff. Many of the Symbolist artists and writers sought an alternative to the excesses of materialism and positivism. This alternative was mysticism and occultism. And it was Brussels that had become one of the leading centres of Symbolist art and literature at the time. And it looks as if Josephin Peladan and the Symbolist movement were made for each other: “M agic w as to be the tool to m ake their dream s becom e reality; visual im ages w ere seen as m agical talismans, a n d p o em s were co m p a red to incantations. O ccultism f ille d m any needs, p ro vid in g a sense o f participation in a universal com m unity as w ell as an elite circle o f initiates, a n d a contact with eternal truths in an era o f ra p id change. ” © Jeffrey Howe “-on Symbolism-”

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ART AS AN INITIATORY RITE, THE PHILOSOPHY OF JOSEPHIN PELADAN The Symbolists wanted to become the mystics of art and “it was Josephin Peladan who’d proclaimed himself as the mentor of the movement.” And so it happened that Belgian artists such as Fernand Khnopff, Emile Fabry, and Jean Delville were among the artists that exhibited their works at the first Salon de la Rose-Croix of 1892. Fernand Khnopff was Josephin Peladan's first Belgian disciple and Peladan always referred to Khnopff as 'Master'. Peladan referred to Jean Delville as “Le premier Consul de la Rose-Croix a Belgique”, the representative of Peladan's Rosicrucian branch in Belgium [more on this later]. In reality the Belgian 'Rosicrucian branch' was not a coherent esoteric circle that was solely devoted to the teachings of Josephin Peladan, on the contrary, the 'Belgian Rosicrucians' of Peladan were a loose circle of like-minded artists and esoterists. Some of these men were Theosophists and Martinists, others free-thinkers and even Freemasons. For instance, Belgian writer Ray Nyst stated that the first Theosophical circle of Belgium was created within his salon. This circle was allegedly frequented by the majority of Symbolist painters such as Emile Fabry, Khnopff, Delville, and Albert Ciamberlani. “This circle likely began in the early 1890s since it cou n ted am ong its m em bers A lexandra D avid-N eel, spiritualist, writer, than g reat traveller, who h a d been initiated to theosophy on June 7, 1892. ” Sebastien Clerbois - A la recherche d'une forme-pensee...

As we'll see later, many of the Belgian artists that were involved with Peladan later turned towards the “Theosophical Society”. At the end of the 1890s Theosophy became a major influence within Belgian esoteric circles. This was also felt within the Martinist lodges of Belgium. The first recorded witness to the influence of Blavatsky’s Theosophy within the Belgian Martinist lodges is Marc Haven of the Supreme Council of the “Martinist Order” in Paris. In a letter written in 1899 Marc Haven wrote that he deplored the leaning towards Theosophy of the Martinist lodges in Belgium [Andre/ Beaufils: “Papus, biographie” ©1995] One of these lodges was the famous Belgian Martinist lodge of Brussels, lodge KVMRIS. Milko Bogard, “History of the Martinist Order- 1891 Supreme Conseil de l'Ordre Martiniste” & “History of the French Gnostic Church- Ecclesia Gnostica”

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1890 LODGE KVMRIS [Brussels, Belgium] The first Martinist lodges in Belgium were established in the 1890s. The Brussels lodge was named after a Celtic tribe, Lodge KVMRIS, and was established on July 25th, 1890. It carried the motto “JHVH” and used the Trident of Paracelsus as its lodge symbol. Officially, the lodge was established as the Brussels branch of the French “Groupe Independant d’Etudes Esoteriques”, G.I.D.E.E. [G.I.E.E.] under the presidency of the art critic Francis Vurgey, a personal friend of Stanislas de Guaita. The G.I.D.E.E. was founded by Papus only a few months earlier in 1889 to promote studies into esotericism and Hermeticism. Some sources described the G.I.D.E.E. as a sort of ‘Occult University’. Two other Lodges represented the G.I.D.E.E. in Belgium. Next to Lodge KVMRIS there was Lodge VISCVM in Antwerp that was established in 1892. Some years later Lodge POLLUX was established in Liege [Luik], Soon after its foundation in July 1890, the KVMRIS branch became affiliated with the “Societe Magnetique de France”. In June 1892 “Le Voile d'Isis” announced the affiliation with “Le Cercle d'etudes physiques de Gand” [Gent], In its second year of existence, the Group had been affiliated to several scientific societies in the country and abroad. The “Groupe Independant d’Etudes Esoteriques” offered classes on Kabbalah, Alchemy, Hermeticism, Astrology, Telepathy, Numerology, Magnetism etc. The organization of the first lectures on various subjects, the “conferences medicales, mathematiques, philosophiques, historiques, sociales, litteraires et artistiques”, were announced in the G.I.D.E.E. review “Le Voile d’Isis” on March 11, 1891. A study section [section d'etudes] was created which met every two weeks and reviewed the works of the principal authors of ancient and modem occultism. The section was called “Section Fabre” after Antoine Fabre d’Olivet [17671825], a French author, philosopher and esoteric metaphysician. The lodge also included a “Section Practique” which was led by Henri Nizet 98

who had been appointed as head of this section by Francis Vurgey. In the official report of 1891, Vurgey payed tribute to the quality of the experiments conducted by Nizet and reported the following activities: "We have re a d im portant m em oirs on the theories o f spirituality, the Pentateuch, the Talmud, theories o f the ‘E cole de N a n c y ’ a n d the ‘E cole de la S a lp etrie re ’ (1), etc. The novels La-bas, by J.-K. H uysm ans a n d Suggestion, by H. Nizet, have been the subject o f literary criticism. " 1)

The schools of Nancy and Salpetriere are the two great schools of the Golden Age of Hypnosis in France (1882-1892)

In 1893 new study sections were created, namely “Section Iod” that was led by J. Weill, and “Section Ram”, led by a certain Lijau. The former organized classes on the theoretical Kabbalah, the latter on the “approachment of theoretical problems...” (?) Not much is known about these studies except that they fell under the “Section Fabre”. It is known furthermore that these study subjects were elaborated by the painter and art-critic Jules du Jardin with the help of the comments of the “Golden Verses of Pythagoras” by Fabre d’Olivet, From the beginning onwards the KVMRIS branch always emphasized its autonomy and independence from the G.I.D.E.E. But for the leadership in Paris the main purpose of the G.I.D.E.E. was to serve as an “Outer court for a greater and higher Initiatic Order”. One of the higher Orders was, ovf course, the “Ordre Martiniste” [see: “The Martinist Order” Milko Bogard ©2003]. The Martinist movement, headed by Papus at the time, also incorporated such Orders as the “Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose+Croix”, founded in 1888 by Stanislas de Guaita and Josephin Peladan. In 1891 Papus and de Guaita openly declared war on Peladan's then recently founded Catholic Rose-Cross Order and disbanded Peladan from the “Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose+Croix” [OKR+C]. Both orders fought each other in public for several years, a period which became known as “La Guerre des deux roses”, the War of the two Roses. As a consequence, the KVMRIS branch found themselves caught up in the middle of the controversy between the two parties. Francis Vurgey, who allegedly chose the side of Peladan, was also the general leader of Papus’ movement in Belgium. This meant for the members of Lodge KVMRIS that both the Martinist Order as well as the “L’Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal” were ‘represented’ somehow in the lessons and classes of the Brussels Lodge. It seemed at first as if this 'war' did not have a direct impact on the Belgian branch in Brussels. But this eventually turned out not to be entirely correct. According to Sebastien Clerbois, in his article “A la recherche d'une 99

forme-pensee...”, lodge KVMRIS held a special position within the “Ordre Martiniste”. The aim of Lodge KVMRIS that was pursued by the leadership was to work absolutely independent from the G.I.D.E.E./O.M [Ordre Martiniste] of Paris, meaning “not to propagate the Martinist doctrine and theories but to initiate esoteric studies”. Naturally, the distance taken by Vurgey with respect to the Order in Paris was not well received by the Supreme Council of the Martinist Order in France. What distinguished the Brussels Lodge from the other G.I.D.E.E. lodges is that from the beginning art played a major role within the activities of the lodge. "Members belong as much to the world of letters and the arts than to that of pure science”, as stated by the Flamish painter Edgar Baes in his article on Lodge KVMRIS in the review “La Revue Beige” that was published in April 1891. For instance, the creation of a special art section within the lodge, the “section plastique” is unique among all the affiliated G.I.D.E.E. lodges. The lodge started to attract artists from the Symbolist movement at a period when the first “Salon de la Rose+Croix” of Josephin Peladan and his “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique” was only at a draft stage. The leadership of the lodge wanted to create and promote an “art esoterique national”, a Belgian esoteric art movement. Papus, being aware of the influence of Peladan in Belgium and the importance of the issue of esotericism in art for the KVMRIS branch, does not hesitate to make a toast to his rival Josephin Peladan during a visit to Brussels in May 1892, a month after the first “Salon de la Rose+Croix” in Paris. Nevertheless, the success and the direction taken by Francis Vurgey and the KVMRIS branch were quickly considered a potential threat by the leadership of the “Groupe Independant d’Etudes Esoteriques”. Vurgey's affinities with Peladan are among the recurring sources of conflict between the general delegate of KVMRIS and the President of the G.I.D.E.E., Papus. As early as May 1892, Papus started to make measures to ensure better control of the activities carried out in the G.I.D.E.E. lodges abroad. Here the story becomes contradictory to the previous passage. Allegedly, the agenda of Lodge KVMRIS was regularly published in “Le Voile d’lsis” to serve as an example for the other G.I.D.E.E. branches. The headquarters in Paris emphasized two of its most notable qualities - “The harmonic application of the hierarchy and the collective organization of work.” In 1893 “Le Conseil kymrique” was founded. But the KVMRIS branch distanced themselves even further from the leadership in Paris when Vurgey dissociated the lodge from the Martinist Order in June 1893; In the Martinist review “LTnitiation” of August 1893 it is said that Vurgey strongly emphasized the independence 100

of KVMRIS by refusing Papus’ Martinist Degrees of Initiation. In 1894 the situation degenerated even more when Francis Vurgey was forced to handed over his presidency to the Chevalier de Selliers-de Morainville. Vurgey’s resignation was published in the Martinist review “L'Initiation” of August 1894. It is claimed by various sources that Lodge KVMRIS would disband “a few months later”. Another source, Dr. M. Pasi, alleges that the “Branche metropolitaine de Belgique” [Lodge KVMRIS] “was dissolved between the end of 1895 and the beginning of 1896.” Marco Pasi - “The Knight of Spermatophagy: Penetrating the Mysteries of Georges Le Clement de Saint-Marco” ©2008

« L 'annee p resen te est dom inee p a r un f a it de la p lu s haute im portance qui en resum e toute I'activite: I'installation definitive du G roupe en I'ancien hotel des dues de C leves-Ravenstein »

Le Voile d'Isis, Mercredi 28 novembre 1894, p. 1-3 In January 1894 the lodge moved to a new address. The quoted text here above reported the definitive installation of the group in the former hotel of the Dukes of Cleves-Ravenstein in the review “Le Voile d’Isis” of November 1894. The headquarters at 3 rue Ravenstein,would simply become known as the “Hotel Ravenstein”. The premises of the former hotel is situated in the centre of Brussels, near the the monumental Centre for Fine Arts [“Palais des Beaux-Arts”], and was originally built at the turn of the 16th century. Originally, the headquarters of Lodge KVMRIS was at 25 rue Joncker [note: name of the street is in fact “Dejoncker”] which was the address of its president at the time, Francis Vurgey. During this period sections of the lodge that held regular sessions, such as the “Section Fabre”, were organized on a different location. The bi-monthly Lodge meetings were held in the premises at 16, rue de Namur in Brussels. The new premises at the rue Ravenstein consisted of various study rooms, a reading room and smoking lounge, an extensive library, a conference hall etc. The sources maintain that Lodge KVMRIS fell apart either “a few months” after Vurgey stepped down as president or somewhere at the turn of “ 1895/1896”. The aforementioned Marco Pasi [a professor in the History of Hermetic Philosophy and founder member of the ESS WE, “European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism”] asserts in his essay “The Knight of Spermatophagy...” [published in “Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism” by W. Hanegraaff and J.J. Kripal ” ©2008] that the history of the Brussels Lodge falls apart into two separate histories: 101

“The nam e o f this group has been repeatedly associated with that o f Le C lem ent a n d has acq u ired a k in d o f m ythical status. W hat has been m issed by m ost authors so f a r is that the history o f K um ris fa lls apart into two separate periods, a n d that L e C lem ent h im se lf appears to be the only (indirect) link betw een the two. ” Marco Pasi - “The Knight of Spermatophagy: Penetrating the Mysteries of Georges Le Clement de Saint-Marco”

As stated in the quoted text above, Dr. Pasi states on p. 375 of “Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism” (Hanegraaff, Kripal ©2008) that the name of Lodge KVMRIS “has been repeatedly associated with that of Le Clement and has acquired a kind of mythical status.” Pasi’s claim is mainly based, as far as I can tell, on two articles that reproduced lectures that were given by a certain “Georges Michael” at the Hotel Ravenstein. “Michael” was the ‘mystical nomen’ of Georges Clement de Saint-Marc [1865-1956], Clement de Saint-Marc and the Symbolist painter Jean Delville were both members of Lodge KVMRIS. “The p resen ce o f D elville a n d M ichael at K V M R IS is attested by two articles that m ention lectures given by M ichael a t the B elgian branch. The first, p u b lish e d in January 1895, reproduces the conference given by M ichael, under the title "The m ysteries o f the om nipotence" in D e c .1 8 9 4 ” The second conference dates from March 1898. Pasi continues by stating, (quote) “We can affirm with this certainty that this conference w as given to K V M R IS thanks to its location. In 1894, the lodge fin a lly se ttle d in a new p rem ises in the center o f Brussels, the fo rm e r duke's hotel C leves-Ravenstein. ”

It turns out that Clement de Saint-Marc was mainly involved with the Martinist Lodge in Antwerp, Lodge VISCVM, of which he became its president around circa 1896.(2) Some sources have suggested in the recent past that Clement de SaintMarc played a leading role in the Brussels branch [and as so often with these claims, it is often indisputably copied by the various historians and researchers], Marco Pasi continues (quote): “A ro u n d the sa m e tim e that K um ris disappeared fro m the scene, P apus a p p o in ted L e C lem ent as his g en era l delegate f o r B elgium f o r the G IEE* a n d the M artinist Order. Clearly, L e C le m e n t’s qualities as leader o f Vis cum h a d im pressed Papus. A t his relatively y o u n g age, he now fo u n d h im s e lf h ea d o f the w hole P apusian m ovem ent f o r Belgium . H ow ever, L e C lem ent d id not m aintain this p o sitio n o f leadership f o r a long time, fo r 102

in F ebruary 1898 the p o sitio n o f general delegate was transferred to som eone else, p ro b a b ly Jules Fievet, ” Marco Pasi - “The Knight of Spermatophagy: Penetrating the Mysteries of Georges Le Clement de Saint-Marco”

Francis Yurgey was the official general delegate for Belgium of the Martinist Order and its affiliated organizations until his was forced to resign in 1894. “A ro u n d the sam e tim e that K um ris disappeared fro m the scene, P apus appointed L e C lem ent as his general delegate f o r Belgium f o r the G IEE* a n d the M artinist Order. ” [Dr. Marco Pasi]

Clement de Saint-Marc did not maintain his position as president for a long time, he decided to put all his effort in establishing a Spiritualist movement in Belgium, in 1905 he became president of the “Federation Spirite Nationale Beige”. Dr. Pasi states that “a history o f the seco n d K um ris rem ains to be w ritten a n d is m ade pa rticu la rly difficult by the scarcity o f relevant p rim a ry sources. ” What actually happened after the demise of the KVMRIS branch, besides the fact that many of its members joined the Theosophical Society, remains unclear. As for the hotel Ravcnstein, it is known that there were still lectures given at the premises at 3 rue Ravenstein. It is known, for instance, that years after the demise of his Rose+Cross Order, Peladan still visited Brussels on a regular basis to deliver lectures. One of his disciples was Emile Dantinne [1884-1969]. It is Dantinne who claims in his book “L’Oeuvre et la Pensee de Peladan" [1948] that he met Josephin Peladan in 1904 at the hotel Ravenstein, where the latter delivered a lecture. Dantinne also claimed that at the beginning of the 20th century there were “Rosicrucian gatherings” held at the rue Ravenstein [see Chapter V], As far as I know, the name “KVMRIS” has never been mentioned in relation to these gatherings (3). More on this later...

2)

3)

Lodge VISCVM was established in Antwerp in 1892 and was led by G. de Rosport who died in 1895. He was replaced by his father who passed away a year later. The direction of the lodge was then passed on to Georges Clement de Saint-Marc. Dantinne, in his own words, “restored the Rosicrucian Order that died with Peladan” when he founded the “Ordo Aureae & Rosae Crucis” in 1923 in Belgium [see Chapter V].

* GIEE is the abbreviation of “Groupe Independant d’Etudes Esoteriques”. In this chapter I use the abbreviation G.I.D.E.E. because I have been using this abbreviation in all my written work

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THE INFLUENCE OF THE ROSE+CROIX CATHOLIQUE & ORDRE KABBALISTIQUE ON LODGE KVMRIS According to Sebastien Clerbois, two symbolist exhibitions were held in 1892 and 1894 under the auspices of lodge KVMRIS. What is of interest here is that, because of the lack of impact of the ‘War of the two Roses’ on the Belgian Symbolists and occultists, the works of these Symbolists “were frequently inspired by the two doctrines in a united manner” [Clerbois], He continues by claiming that in general, Josephin Peladan is recognized for influencing these artists through his theory of the Androgyn, while Papus' Martinist- and OKR+C Order had a more pragmatic influence on the Symbolist painters. “Jules de Jardin, E dgar Baes, a n d art critic F rancis Vurgey fo rm u la te d an aesthetic b a sed on num erological theories p u t fo rw a r d by the lodge o f Kvm ris, o f w hich they w ere mem bers. The g o a l was, in creating a series o f criteria linked by a subtle network, or connections, to inspire painters to m ake the corpus o f art support the expression o f the invisible that the C abalists thought co u ld be d efin ed by scholars o f m athem atic theory. ” Sebastien Clerbois “A la recherche Theosophie...”

d'une forme-pensee, L’influence de la

The author states that the two doctrines, the doctrine of Peladan's Androgyn and the numerological theories as taught by the leaders of lodge KVMRIS, were often associated with Symbolist works. Sebastien Clerbois gives the following example of the two doctrines united in one work. “The triptych Isolation [1891—94] by F ern a n d K h n o p ff is a g o o d example, as iconographically it sym bolizes P eladan's androgyne, and, fro m a fo rm a l p o in t o f view, its use o f the triptych [the num ber 3 signifies perfection, the central scene signifies the unity o f opposites] a n d o f colours [a progression fro m w hite to blue, the colour o f spirituality] links the w ork with the num erological theories o f Papus. ”

Sebastien Clerbois states that the work of Fernand Khnopff is based on the theories of Francis Vurgey, director of the KVMRIS lodge. “Vurgey w a n ted to create an encom passing w ork o f art entitled P a n ta x e ’, b a sed on a triple creation, the num ber 3 being, in num erology, the sym bol o f perfection in the union o f opposites. Vurgey en tru sted the m usical aspect o f his w ork to Jules M assenet a n d the p la stic construction to F ern a n d K hnopff, o f whom he requested a tripartite com position, w hich explains the use o f the triptych f o r ‘L 'Iso le m e n t’. Too constrained fro m a theoretical p o in t o f view, the w ork w as never finished. ”

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Clerbois claims that these numerological theories were derived exclusively from the work of Papus by Vurgey [it seems as if Clerbois is not aware of the fact that Vurgey was also a disciple of the Catholic Rose+Cross], Although I'm certain that Papus endorsed these theories, this numerological doctrine was not reserved exclusively for the Martinist Order/ OKR+C. Especially the emphasis on the number 3, the symbol of perfection in the union of opposites, was of great importance to Peladan, [or to any other occidental occultist and mystic for that matter], notably in connection with the Androgyn. The use of the number 3 is also emphatically present in the compositions that Erik Satie wrote for Peladan's Rosicrucian Order. And it is known that Satie wrote his Rosicrucian works with Peladan's theories in mind. For instance, in Satie's third and last real Rosicrucian piece, “Sonneries de la Rose + Croix: Air de l'Ordre - Air du Grand Maitre - Air du Grand Prieur”, the mystical number 3, in the form of triplets/ triads, is prominently present throughout the composition. The use of themes and occult theories were also prominently present with another Belgian disciple of Josephin Peladan, namely Jean Delville.

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JEAN DELVILLE, THE ARTIST AND THE ESOTERIC Jean Delville [1867-1953], Belgian painter, illustrator, writer and master of esoteric symbolism. Jean Delville was bom in Louvain [Leuven] in 1867. Delville is often referred to as the head and representative of the Brussels branch of the Rosicmcian revival. He was a member of Peladan's Catholic Rose-Cross Order. In his writings Peladan, who held Delville up in great respect, actually referred to Jean Delville as the first Consul of the Rose-Cross in Belgium, “le premier Consul de la RoseCroix en Belgique”. According to his granddaughter Miriam Delville, Jean Delville was primarily a seeker, someone who searched all his life for perfection. When he met the Sar in his early twenties in Paris, around 1877 or 1888, Delville started to increase his interest in the occult. According to some sources, Barbey d’Aurevilly and Villiers de l’lsleAdam (4) were two other great influences on the work of Jean Delville. 4)

Comte de Villiers de l’lsle-Adam (1838-1889), poet, mystic and dramatist, friend of Baudelaire and Richard Wagner. A strong defender of traditional Catholicism and descendent of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem who, in 1464, obtained from Charles V the concession of the isle of Malta for his Order, henceforth the Order of the Knights of Malta. Whether or not he was actually a Cabbalist, questions of magic began, at an early age, to preoccupy him, and, from the first wild experiment of “Isis” to the deliberate summing up of “Axel”, the occult world finds its way into most of his pages. Fundamentally, the belief of Villiers is the belief common to all Eastern mystics. ’’Know, once for all, that there is for thee no other universe than that conception thereof which is reflected at the bottom of thy thoughts.” [A.Symons]

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1896- 1898 Jean Delville's 'Salons d'Art Idealiste'

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DELVILLE AND PELADAN “In his late teens and early twenties, he painted landscapes and depictions of the poor. Then Delville turned from social problems to esotericism and spiritual philosophy” Lynda Harris “Painting, Spirituality and the Esoteric” ©2002

Josephin Peladan, the eccentric descendent of the priestly Magi, became the first teacher of the young artist as Jean Delville decided to move to Paris where he continued his search for the ideal. He became a devoted Peladien. Between 1892 and 1895 Delville exhibited paintings at the Salons de la Rose-Croix and arranged the performances of Peladan's tragedies in Brussels. In 1895, Delville painted the portrait of Peladan as a Rosicrucian Grand Master. In 1892 Jean Delville, together with Emile Fabry and Xavier Mellery, became one of the founders of the exhibition society “Pour l'Art”', a circle which regrouped the so-called Idealists. Allegedly, Delville’s growing interest in Idealist art “led him to instigate a succession from L’Essor”, a moderate exhibition society which exhibited from 1876 to 1891 and from which “Les XX” also sprang. It is also possible that this circle received a positive feedback and help from the earlier-mentioned so-called 'Theosophical circle' that is mentioned by Ray Nyst. Allegedly, “Pour l'Art” would hold its first exhibition in 1892 in Brussels. Allegedly, Josephin Peladan came from Paris to lecture at this exhibition. “In his p refa ce to the fir s t catalogue (Brussels, 1892), D elville declared that no w ork co u ld truly be ca lled a rt i f it d id not com bine three absolutes: spiritual beauty, p la stic beauty a n d technical beauty. ”

This doctrine of the 'three absolutes' is clearly derived from Peladan's teachings. Josephin Peladan developed this theory as a guideline for the true artist. These guidelines were published in 1894 in “L 'Art Idealiste & Mystique”. Emile Dantinne, one of the successors of Peladan, states in his book “L’Oeuvre et la Pensee de Peladan” [1948] that the Belgian Rosicrucian Salons [exhibitions] were held at an old hotel that belonged to one of Peladan's disciples in Brussels, Edmond Picard. Picard was, as mentioned earlier on in this chapter, one of the driving forces behind 'Les XX'. Dantinne refers to Picard's hotel as “la Maison d’Art, l’ancien hotel d’Edmond Picard” at the “Avenue de la Toison d’Or.” According to Dantinne, a Belgian branch of the Catholic Rose-Cross was founded at the third Rosicrucian exhibition that was held in Brussels in 1894. The members allegedly gathered together under the leadership of Jean Delville at the Ravenstein hotel. [Dantinne apparently refers here to the exhibitions held by “Pour L’art” as ‘Rosicrucian exhibitions’?]

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According to Dantinne, Peladan's most famous Belgian disciples were Edmond Picard, Raymond Nyst, Jose Hennebicq, and Georges M. Baltus. After 1895, Delville dissociated from Peladan, although he remained true to many of Peladan's esoteric and occult concepts. These theories and concepts were implemented in Delville's own philosophy, which he called 'Idealism'. In 1895 Delville published his occult and 'Idealist' views in “Dialogue entre nous”, a text which united Peladan's Rosicrucian concepts with certain theosophical doctrines. In imitation of Josephin Peladan's Parisian “Salons de la Rose+Croix”, Delville started to organize his own Idealist exhibitions in Belgium, the “Salons de l'Art Idealiste”. The Salons de l'Art Idealiste [1896-1898] “continued the grand tradition of idealistic art” [Delville]. According to Jean Delville, this tradition traced back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. It seems that Delville actually used the rules as put forward in the Constitution of Peladan’s movement [Manifest of 1891] that defined the conditions and regulations of the exhibited paintings. Delville showed at the Salons de l'Art Idealiste some of his best works; the “Treasures of Satan”, painted in 1895, and his most famous work - according to the critics and experts his masterpiece - “Plato's Academy”, painted in 1898, “where, in an ideal landscape, languorous androgynes are g ro u p ed around P lato to fo r m a very rhythm ical com position. Its am biguity a ro u sed som e reservations, but the overall im pression was o f serene beauty. ” ArtMagick

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'U nderstood in its m etaphysical sense, B eauty is one o f the m anifestations o f the A bsolute Being. E m anating fro m the harm onious rays o f the D ivine plan, it crosses the intellectual p la n e to shine once again across the natural plane, w here it darkens into m a tter.' -

Jean Delville 1899 -

DELVILLE AND THEOSOPHY In 1899, one year after the final Salon de l'Art Idealiste, Delville met Edouard Schure [1841-1929], who was another major influence on Delville and his ideas. Schure was a member of the Theosophical Society [which he quit in 1886, only to return to it in 1907] and developed his spiritual conceptions “in conjunction with the great love of his life, Marguerite Albana Mignaty.” His concepts were published in a highly influential book entitled “Les Grands Inities”, [“The Great Initiates, a study of the Secret Histoiy of Religions”], published in 1889. “Les Grands Inities” recounts the lives of the great prophets and the various mystery traditions of ancient times. The volume includes the following prophets and mysteries: Thoth-Hermes and the M ysteries o f Isis and Osiris ; Krishna and the Doctrine o f the Initiates ; M oses and the Patriarchs o f the Desert (inch Sepher Bereshit, M agie and Theurgie) ; Orpheus and the M ysteries o f Dionysus ; Plato and the M ysteries o f Eleusis ; Pythagoras - the M ystery o f Delphi ; the Hindu Rama and the origin o f the Ram ; Jesus and the Mission o f Christ

“Les grands inities” is still in print today, a work in which the influence of French occultists such as Fabre d'Olivet and Saint-Yves d'Alveydre is recognizable. Edouard Schure demonstrates with “The Great Initiates” that through all the traditions moved the impulse of the eternal tradition. Schure was also a close friend of Rudolf Steiner. At the time Delville met Schure, he just launched the publication of a Symbolist magazine entitled “La Lumiere” which appeared in 1899-1900. The magazine adopted a “Theosophical editorial policy”, in other words: this magazine became the Belgian journal of the Theosophists [led by Annie Besant at the time]. The “Theosophical Society”, in short ‘TS’, became the most important esoteric organization in Belgium and its membership increased rapidly. It is reported that the TS had a branch in Charleroi in 1894. By 1897-1898 there were already branches in Auvers, Liege (Luik) and Brussels. This branch is also referred to as the 'White Order of Brussels', its seal being a shining, white star. 109

“T h eo sophicalpublications m ultiplied; after ‘L a lum iere ’ cam e ‘L e p e tit m e ssa g e r’, p u b lish e d fro m 1901 to 1908; ‘E n a r t ’, p u b lish e d fro m 1904 to 1906; a n d ‘T h eo so p h ie’, issued fro m 1905 to 1909. The B elgian branches o f the T heosophical Society organized them selves on the heels o f this grow th. ” Sebastien Clerbois A la recherche dune forme-pensee

The Theosophical Society was very successful in Belgium around the turn of the century. The Belgian branch of the whole French MartinistRosicrucian movement had its headquarters at Brussels, the earliermentioned lodge KVMRIS. This Lodge officially represented the “Groupe Independant d'Etudes Esoterique”, G.I.D.E.E. This “school of occult sciences” was established by Papus. It was an outer branch of “L’Ordre Martiniste”. Papus described this branch as the “outer court for a greater and higher Initiatic Order, comprising their recruits from this outer and predominantly theosophically oriented association” "The Balzac of the Occult and the Russian Sphinx”, Robert M. Cokinis ©1998

This Lodge was very active and successful until Francis Vurgey, who was also a member of Peladan's Order, resigned his leadership position. At the time of his resignation the movement had 3 lodges in Belgium, next to KVMRIS there was VISCVM at Antwerp and POLLUX at Liege. After the resignation of Vurgey, the Brussels Lodge was closed down and most of its former members joined the Theosophical Society. Around the turn of the century, Jean Delville was initiated into Freemasonry. It is stated that he received his first degree in -or circa1900 at the Masonic Lodge AMIS PHILANTHROPES in Brussels, Belgium. During his artistic career, Jean Delville founded many groups of co­ operating artists. One of the most interesting was a group of Theosophical artists which Jean Delville united in Brussels around 1905 and which consisted of several Symbolists, such as Russian musician Aleksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin [1872-1915] and the Swiss sculptor Auguste de Niederhausern [1863-1913], Skryabin [or ‘Scriabin’] and Delville studied together a Theosophie publication entitled “Thoughtforms” by Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbetter [1901], Both artists dreamt of creating “an all-encompassing work of art that would combine colours, shapes, and sounds” [Sebastien Clerbois], The goal of this collaboration was to produce an initiatory work of art that would resonate, from an esoteric point of view, with the arcane, “thanks to a network of correspondences between the elements of the oeuvre.” Of course the idea was not new. “Throughout the nineteenth century—from 110

Goethe to Richard Wagner, Charles Baudelaire, and Arthur Rimbaud intellectuals had imagined a general system of correspondences between sounds, colours, and shapes.” This concept of correspondences between colours, shapes and sounds has always formed part of the mystery tradition. Today, various Initiatory Orders practise some kind of system which involves Sound and Colour, organizations such as, for instance, P. F. Case’s B.O.T.A. and “Fraternitas LVX Occulta” practise the so-called “Colour & Sound meditations”. Aleksandr Skryabin returned in 1909 to his homeland and the project of both Delville and Skryabin was never fully realized. Nevertheless, Skryabin's 1909 composition, “Promethee, poeme du feu op. 60”, for which Delville designed the poster, is in fact a 'light symphony’. “H istorical sources p ro v e that the com poser sup p o sed the use o f a colour keyboard, an instrum ent that h a d been constructed in 1895 by the B ritish scientist Wallace R im ington. I t is also know n that Skryabin p o ssesse d the synaesthetic ability to associate the hearing o f a certain so u n d with a certain colour. Thus he m ade his ow n scale o f colours w here each p itc h in the circle o f fifth s is represented by its own, specific colour. ” Luce - A realisation of Alexander Skryabin's Poem of Fire (internet)

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J. DELVILLE : Title page of the original edition of Promethee

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Between 1909 and 1913 Jean Delville was Secretary of the Central branch of the Theosophical Society in Belgium. Its journal was entitled “Revue Theosophique Beige” which began publication in April 1909. In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, Jean Delville and his family went into voluntary exile in England. He founded a journal, entitled “Belgian Art in Exile” and created a Masonic lodge. This Lodge, “La Loge Albert N °l”, reunited Belgian Masons in exile living in England. He also became an ardent follower of Krishnamurti. Back in Brussels after the War, he created the “Groupe d'Art Monumental”. Until 1937 Delville was the director of the “Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts” in Brussels. Like Peladan, Delville considered Catholicism to be in harmony with magical laws: “The external forms of devotion concealed occult truths. Delville considered the true artist to be an initiate who would present images which would teach and transform human nature; Artists were to become priests and prophets.” J. Howe ~ “Jean Delville: Belgian Symbolist” ~

Delville felt himself completely devoted to one mission; the return of the Divine Mystery to the world through art and poetry. At the end of his life, despite all of his work and ability, Jean Delville was almost completely forgotten by the art-world [which, in m y opinion, says more o f the art-w orld than it does o f D e lv ille ’s art]. He died in Brussels [Forest, Vorst] in 1955. DELVILLE AND THE OCCULT Jean Delville wrote frequently about esoteric and spiritual subjects. His ideas and theories can be found in several of his books that were published during his lifetime such as: “Dialogue entre nous” [Dialogue among Ourselves, Cabbalistic, Occult, and Idealist Arguments, Bruges/Brugge, 1895], “La Mission de l'art” [Brussels, 1900], in this book Delville defends a messianic ideal and the redemptive quality of [idealist] art. It is asserted that there were three movements that seem to have had a particularly strong effect on the development of Delville's ideas. 1] the Rosicrucianism of Josephin Peladan. 2] the ideas and theories of Edouard Schure 3] the Theosophical Society, including the ideas of Krishnamurti Delville's ideas were also expressed through his paintings and poetry. According to Lynda Harris [“Jean Delville: Painting, Spirituality, and the Esoteric”], one of the recurring themes in many of his works is the evolution of the human soul, “achieved through initiation and reincarnation” [L. Harris, Quest Magazine June ©2002]. According to 112

Harris, Delville's ideas on initiation were influenced by Edouard Schure and later by Theosophy, although she adds to this assumption that Delville was probably introduced to the subject by Peladan. She continues by asking the question: “Did Delville participate in initiation ceremonies himself? “ Well, it is likely that the members of Peladan's “Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique” performed ceremonies. We know for instance, that Josephin Peladan and his followers performed ‘Rosicrucian ceremonies’ in which Peladan acted as 'Master of the Lodge'. The source for this claim is Alexandra David-Neel [see Chapters II and III], Delville studied under Peladan while living in Paris, so it is possible that Delville indeed did participate. Besides, we know for certain that Delville was an initiated Master Mason. Jean Delville was a Freemason of the lodge LES AMIS PHILANTHROPES in Bmssels. Originally, this lodge also initiated into the higher degrees of the “Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite”. As stated previously, Jean Delville also founded a Masonic Lodge in England during the war to reunite the Belgian Masons in exile. What attracted Delville to become a member of LES AMIS PHILANTROPES? It is one of the leading and one of the oldest lodges of Belgium, as it was founded under the impulse of French officers in 1797. Allegedly, in 1894, the lodge did split up and the liberal Masons henceforth held their meetings at “Les Amis Philanthropes sans numero” while the conservative- and more spiritually inclined members gathered together at “Les Amis Philanthropes N °2”'. Both lodges (2) belonged to the same obedience, the “Grand Orient of Belgium”. In view of his background it is more than likely that Jean Delville became a member of LES AMIS PHILANTROPES N °2. Eugene Felicien Albert (comte) Goblet d’Alviella [1845-1925] was a member of this lodge. Count Goblet d'Alviella was also the Grand Master of the Grand Orient and Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the “Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite” of Belgium. Goblet d'Alviella published numerous works on religion and esoterism during his lifetime, among which “Eulisinia: De quelques problemes relatifs aux Mysteres d’Eulisis” [1903] and his most wellknown book, “La migration des symboles” [1894], 5)

At the present day lodge LES AMIS PHILANTROPES consists of 'Les Amis Philanthropes numero 2 Alpha', 'Les Amis Philanthropes numero 2 Omega', 'Les Amis Philanthropes numero 3' and 'Les Amis Philanthropes numero 4'. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Edmond Picard, driving force behind 'Les XX' and organizer of the 3rd Rosicrucian exhibition in Brussels, was also a member of this lodge. Picard allegedly was a member of the liberal lodge. Felicien Rops, the Belgian painter and illustrator of some of Peladan's works, was also a Freemason Andries Van den Abeele “De kinderen van Hiram” ©1991 113

“I t is necessary to sp ea k clearly a n d p recisely o f the civilizing m ission o f art... I t is also necessary to sp ea k o f the m oral effect w hich a w ork o f art p ro d u ces on people, on the public, the m oralizing strength o f Art, [w hich is] m ore salutary, m ore p a cifyin g than that o f Politics. ” Jean Delville, La Mission de l'Art *, Brussels, 1900

Another recurring theme in his work is the concept of the Astral Light. Jean Delville considered the visible reality as a symbol - a human being exists in three planes: 1. The physical: realm of facts 2. The astral : realm of laws, the spiritual world 3. The divine : realm of causes In many of the scenes painted by Deville we often encounter radiant streams engulfing human souls, ethereal beings and other creatures. It is asserted by the sources that these streams are depictions of the astral light. Lynda Harris states in “Painting, Spirituality and the Esoteric”, “In his ‘D ialogue entre nous ’, D elville described the astral light as an invisible, universal m atrix that surrounds everything in the universe, including the stars a n d the animal, vegetable, a n d m ineral kingdom s. It also saturates a n d surrounds the souls o f hum an beings a n d engenders their rebirth in new bodies. ” Lynda Harris, “Painting, Spirituality and the Esoteric” ©2002

Jean Delville used different colours for the astral light, colours that corresponded to the level of the 'light' [It was Eliphas Levi who'd already divided the astral light into a lower and higher form]. In the material realm the colours vary from predominantly red to orange. For the higher levels of the astral light Delville used colours which vary from purple to white, or gold. Regarding the symbolism of the colours as used by Delville, Jeffery Howe, an expert on Belgian art, has the following to say. Howe states that Jean Delville's use of the colour blue in the painting “The God-Man” [“L'Homme Dieu”, c.1900] symbolizes spirituality, “just as red was a symbol of materialism and sensualism in “The Treasures of Satan” [“Les Tresors de Satan”, 1895], “The God-Man” and “The Treasures of Satan” are complementary, “in that they represent the poles of human destiny.” As for the subject of colour symbolism, these interpretations of colours, as depicted in Delville's paintings, are the interpretations of Howe and Harris, not Delville's. It seems that Jean Delville almost never discussed his pictures. The above discussed paintings date from the 1890s. As mentioned before, Jean Delville, together with the composer Aleksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin, studied the then-existing theories of correspondences between colours, shapes, emotions, and sounds. Both men studied the writings of Pere Castel and a 114

book called “Thought-Forms” [“Les Formes-Pensees”, Paris: Publications Theosophiques, 1905], written by Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater. Besant and Leadbeater belonged to the “Theosophical Society” of FI.S. Olcott that was located at Adyar, India [Besant became Olcott's successor in 1907], In the 1905 publication of “Thought-Forms”, the writers [both clairvoyants] presented the different shapes and colours of thoughts as they change. The book has numerous illustrations and colour plates. Several of these plates present examples of abstract and coloured shades which correspond to musical themes. These examples left Delville and Skryabin great liberty in their interpretations. Pere Castel (Louis Bertrand Caste 1), a 18th century eminent mathematician, published a work in 1720 that was entitled “La Musique en Couleurs”. “Castel's writings cover a wide range of thoughts and he appears to be as much interested in aesthetics and philosophy as he was in mathematics and geometry.” “Colour Music; the Ail of Light”, World Research Foundation

In 1763, Pere Castel published “Esprits Saillies et Singularites du Pere Castel”, probably his best general theory of colour-music. As far as we know, it was Castel who had proclaimed the very idea of “viewing” music for the first time in the world. One of his followers, British scientist Alexander Wallace Rimington, constructed the first colourkeyboard in 1895. In 1911 Rimington published “Colour-Music: The Art of Mobile Colour”. There are sources which claim that Skryabin used Castel's system, but, according to the author I. Vanechkina, “it is know n that his frie n d s brought him a book on the light organ in English, w ritten p ossibly, by his contem porary Rim ington, fo llo w e r o f Castel, but he [Skryabin] rejected it. ”

Vanechkina claims that Castel's theory was a mere system of analogies between colour and sound. Skryabin's system was based on Theosophical ideas and his own intuition. It is stated that the composer possessed the “synaesthetic ability to associate the hearing of a certain sound with a certain colour.” [Luce: “Skryabin's Poem of Fire”] It is generally asserted that Skryabin eventually made his own scale of colours. I have found no further references to the possible involvement of Jean Delville. What we know is that both men studied the then-existing theories of colour and tone and collaborated in developing ideas for future works of art that would encompass all our senses. For instance, Skryabin's “Promethee, poeme du feu” [op. 60 for piano solo, large orchestra and choir] was originally written as a score of a performance that, amongst others, involved Jean Delville's 1907 painting “Promethee” [Prometheus]. To what extend Jean Delville was involved in developing 115

the colour- and tone scales is not known to me. As mentioned before, both artists dreamed of creating an ultimate work of art which was, unfortunately, never [actually] realized (6). “The correspondence between vision and audition fitted into Skryabin's (and Delville's) esoteric view of the cosmos as a holistic, secretive entity, of which all different aspects are merely symbols of the unique reality behind.” “Colour Music; the Art of Light”, World Research Foundation

In the 1920s several other tone-colour systems were developed. For instance, in 1924 EDWARD MARYON published his system MARCOTONE :”The Science of Tone-Colour”. Around that same period HARVEY SPENCER LEWIS developed his colour-music device [colour-organ] LUXATONE. “Its p rim a ry use was to dem onstrate the Cosm ic K eyb o a rd as taught by A M O R C that there are octaves o f m anifestation a n d that each m usical note has a harm onic correspondence to a specific colour in a higher octave ” M. Nowicki

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In 1909 Skryabin returned to Russia. He continued working on his ultimate work of art, a Gesamtkunstwerk, which was entitled “MYSTERIUM”. Because of his sudden death in 1915 this immense work was never actually finished. “This sevenday-long megawork would be performed at the foothills of the Himalayas in India, after which the world would dissolve in bliss. Bells suspended from clouds would summon spectators. Sunrises would be preludes and sunsets codas. Flames would erupt in shafts of light and sheets of fire. Perfumes appropriate to the music would change and pervade the air”

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