Magic and Science: Danger and Power In the early days of science, thinkers did not separate science from spirituality. Until the nineteenth century, scientists maintained a holistic worldview that comprehended every aspect of experience and knowledge. Copernicus revered Hermes Trismegistus, Tycho Brahe studied astrology, and Johann Kepler followed Pythagorean philosophy. Robert Boyle, […]
The Western Mystery Tradition The eight interconnected systems within the Western Mystery Tradition are: the ancient Mysteries, Neoplatonism, Hermetic philosophy, symbolic alchemy, Kabbalah, early and Renaissance magic, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry and related fraternal organizations. These eight systems all describe the story of the unfolding of the cosmos as a progressive degeneration of cosmic […]
PART II: A Brief History of the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati The European Womb In Part I of this lecture we made a general and all too incomplete survey of who joined the ranks of the Bavarian Illuminati. In Part II of this lecture we will make a […]
PART I: An Introduction to the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati Origins The original order of the Bavarian Illuminati was founded on the First of May in the year 1776. The founder of the order was Adam Weishaupt (1748 – 1830), who was raised by his godfather, […]
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Alchemy in Medieval Literature The alchemist of the Middle Ages was usually a professed Christian, often a monk or clergyman, who studied what he could of Hermetic alchemy, Greek philosophy, the Jewish Kabbalah, and his own native and foreign magic. The Great Work of the alchemist, in emulation of the “Great Architect,” was […]
The Vitruvian Tradition The liberal arts were based upon the Hellenistic education called enkyklios paideia, taught by fifth century BCE Sophists to the upper classes, and promoted by Roman luminaries like Cicero. The Classical Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80 BCE – 15 CE), who was raised in the early liberal arts tradition, […]
The Nestorians In the fifth century a Christian sect called the Nestorians, who followed Nestorius, a Patriarch of Constantinople, were declared heretical and broke with the established church. This sect migrated to Persia with Greek manuscripts and translated Greek texts to Syriac Aramaic, monopolizing medicine and incidentally bringing alchemical literature to […]
Alchemy Rising I found it strange that in my research I found no short, simple introduction to the first known alchemists in the Western world. A future blog article in Science Abbey (in progress) will address the rise of operative alchemy in context of the beginnings of ancient technology. What is interesting […]
The Dark Ages of Christian Europe This article is a short introduction to the relationship between magic, alchemy, science and religion. It takes just a very brief peek at the dark side of the Christian religion in regards freedom of thought and scientific advancement. The modern alchemist will note the holistic nature of […]
