The Hermetic Tradition by Julius Evola

I have just finished reading The Hermetic Tradition by Julius Evola. What a wonderful little book this is, filled with gems of information which provide a map for so many of the symbols, and particularly the alchemical symbols, which appear of tarot cards. It isn't written with tarot in mind. In fact tarot doesn't get a mention, but coming as it does, or alternatively influenced by it (hermeticism - the western mystery tradition), as it is, tarot understanding is enriched by this book

I have been playing with some alchemy symbolism in my slowly growing collection of paintings of the Major Arcana, and this has sent me into flights of creative fancy, I can't recommend it highly enough for the interested.

mythos

Yes, I've had that book for years, before I became interested in tarot (and that was almost 9 years ago). It's good, covering a few basis symbols of alchemy - the Royal Art - seen as an esoteric-mystical discipline. He takes the approach of explaining the symbols as discrete entities, rather than the whole process - but read together you can piece together a process, especially if you know a little about alchemy to start off with. Alchemy is fiendishly complicated! - or perhaps I should say - fiendishly obfuscated by most authors - that's why a clear-written book like Evola's is a gift.

BTW - strange guy, this Evola. Hated the modern world, was nostalgic for the Roman Empire and as a result gave Il Duce his support - until he realised that Mussolini was just a fraud. As a temperament, he reminds me of Plato - not very freedom-loving or democratic, but his love of elitist thought led him to write such books, without taking any account of fashion. He was also a yoga student, and this book is peppered with cross-fetilisations between Hermetic and Yogic thought.

I'll need to keep an eye out for this, it sounds interesting and helpful.

I first heard of Evola in Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century. It's a book about Traditionalism, the school of thought that Evola was working in. One of the things I found fascinating about Traditionalism was its overwhelming influence on religious studies in the universities. The other was that the very early roots of Traditionalism are found in the French occult movement, which is also important in the history of Tarot. Wirth and Papus appear briefly in the early parts of the book.

Having struggled through a pile of primary sources on alchemy, realising that it was necessary to read them symbolically, rather than literally; and having slogged through Jung and Alchemy etc ... to find this gem was like finding a key to open the door to the symbolism of which I had little understanding.

I knew he had written on Yoga and Buddhism, but I was unaware or his traditionalism. One wonders whether it was, psychologically (unconsciously?), driven by a desire to return to 'The Golden Age' (name any Golden Age you like LOL), that never really existed. In other words, one wonders whether he was an idealist living in a far from ideal world. I can relate to that!

mythos