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Verlag Geheimes Wissen

Geschichte Freimaurischer Systeme – Chistian von Nettelbladt (1879/2016)

I ran into this title in the catalogue of the Austrian publisher Geheimes Wissen. The full title of the book is (translated): “History of Freemasonic Systems in England, France and Germany”. It was first published in 1879. When I ordered the book I thought it was older. “Br. Freiherr C.D.F.W. von Nettelbladt” (1779-1843) wrote a history of Freemasonry in this version worth 800+ pages in two volumes.

The reason the book caught my interest was that I do not know all that much about the history of the varried Masonic landscape in Germany. Moreover, the book deals with both “regular” and “irregular” Freemasonry.

The book is extremely dry. It is almost as if you are reading 800 pages of minutes. The author does indeed provide a general history of Freemasonry, more specifically deals with France and Germany and writes about interesting developments such as the Strikte Observanz, Der Eklektische Bund, Die Afrikanischen Bauherren, the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer, Friedrich Schöder (1744-1816) and his system and about the Großloge Royal York and he did so not too longer after several of such organisations rose or perished, but his book is a tough read. Quoting correspondence and other histories, referring to frictions, he rarely says anything about interesting subjects such as what rituals and degrees were worked, why, where they came from, etc.

The book is mostly interesting for people who are interested in the organisational histories of the organisations mentioned above and less so for people like myself, who want to learn more about the way these organisations worked. There are almost no images. The author obviously did have access to a lot of material, also rituals and here and there refers to imaginary on tracing boards or elements from the rituals, but too little in my opinion.

The book presents massive walls of texts with hardly any alineas or sub-chapters, neither is there an index which allows you to look for something specific. There are gigantic chapters about the Strikte Observanz that are split into different periods, but that is as structured as you get it. Things get a bit better in the second volume and only the relatively short chapter about the Grand Lodge Royal York comes somewhat in the direction of what I was hoping for.

Generally speaking you see an everlasting struggle with ‘high degrees’ (of which Von Nettelbladt did not think highly), skip or keep. Also the influence of the Strikte Observanz has been massive also on the various other Grand Lodges that there were in these days. The Strikte Observanz tried to create a ‘super Grand Lodge’ but this was not realised before the system was dismantled after the Convent of Willhelmsbad of 1782. Many years later there actually would be such a ‘super Grand Lodge’.

Dry Masonic history. A classic one and easily available.

2016 Verlag Geheimes Wissen, ISBN 3903045950

Die Pansophie Der Hermetischen Bruderschaft Vom Rosenkreuz – Heinrich Tränker (2021)

The first of the six Pansophia issues does appear to have texts of the society itself. Here it calls itself the “Hermetic Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross”. “Collegium Pansophicum” is another one.

The about 130 pages are filled with rather pomp texts. Perhaps my German is not good enough, but most of the time I have little clue what the author is trying to say. It seems to be a boasting of what the new Pansophy (‘all-wisdom’) can bring to human kind without saying too much what the philosophy entails. The group puts itself in line with the classical Rosicrucians who emerged around 1614 and who reemerged around 1920.

The book has an interesting thought here and there, but I cannot say that I learned much about what the philosophy or teachings the group had.

2021 Verlag Geheimes Wissen, isbn 3903302473

Kleines Mystisch-Magisches Bilderbüchlein – Heinrich Tränker (2021)

Sixth, and last, of six volumes of the Pansophia magazine of the German Pansophical Society. These magazines were published in the 1920’ies and have been reprinted by the Austrian publishing house Geheimes Wissen.

It is a “little, mythical-magical image book”. I thought/hoped that it was the society made a collection within their themes of interest. Instead, it is a republication of Daniel Stoltzius von Stoltzenberg’s Chymisches Lustgärtlein from 1624 (1) with an introduction.

In that introduction “Garuda” says that this is the clearest Alchemical text. I think I rather agree with Alexander Roob who says that the book contains beautiful engravings, but Stoltzius’ poems are hardly enlightening.

Indeed, there are images each accompanied by a poem. Some of the images were unfamiliar to me, many I know from Roob’s collection. It is amusing to read through this “Bilderbüchlein”, but it is not quite the: “A. B. C. Students of the Fraternity of the Rose Cross” that is promised.

(1) Can be found online (accessed 23/4/2024)

Das Lehrsystem des Ordens der Gold- und Rosenkreuzer – Bernhard Beyer (1923/2008)

I was curious if I could find any material of the German ‘extra-Masonic’ order of the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer (1757-1787). Just like when I was doing the same for Fraternitas Saturni I found my way to the Austrian publisher Geheimes Wissen (‘secret knowledge’). I thought that Pansophia was perhaps a publication of the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer and that the publisher republished it. That is not the case though.

It appears that in the 1920’ies in Germany there was a “neo Rosicrucian” movement (according to the German Wikipedia) called “Pansophische Gesellschaft”. Between 1923 and 1925 they published six volumes of a periodical called Pansophia, Urquellen Inneren Lebens (‘Pansophia, primal sources of inner life’). The third volume of which contains material of the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer.

The author / compiler of this work went to different Masonic archives to gather material of the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer. This material is ordered by the nine degrees that the order had. Beyer did not manage to gather a complete archive. Of some degrees he found ritual texts, of other degrees only secondary material. He was not able to consult the famous Kloss archive in Den Haag which also contains Gold- und Rosenkreuzer material.

Beyer starts with giving some background to the material. Even though the order was not founded by Freemasons, it was initially intended to be a system for ‘higher degrees’, so only Master Masons could apply. Later the “Juniores” degree was added which is basically a summery of the three “craft” degrees of Freemasonry. Of the first degrees you get (snippets of) the rituals with educational texts and Beyer’s elucidations. It is not always clear what text is of Beyer and what of the material that he gathered.

The Gold- und Rosenkreuzer different substantially from ‘Freemasonry proper’. The first degree has three tracing boards for example. Several of the rituals need more rooms than what is common in Freemasonry. Almost needless to say, but the texts are much more esoteric than your ‘average’ Masonic ritual. There are interesting alchemical texts, also what appear to be instructions for practical Alchemy. There is a bit of Kabbalah. But mostly, many texts are mostly procedural and rather dull. Detailed descriptions of what and how a table should be set, requirements, etc.

The book contains several images, some in colour and all the way at the back, there is a fold-out page. Oddly enough none of the images are anything as elaborate as the famous Geheime Figuren which are also supposed to be from the same group and published around the same time. Perhaps the present title was internal material and for the Geheime Figuren they set out to make a better looking publication for a larger audience.

All in all the publication gives a fair insight into the working of the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer. In the German language by the way.

2008 Geheimes Wissen, isbn 3902705027

Alchemie – Frater Daniel (2009)

Six years ago I was looking to see if the Saturn Gnosis periodical of the German group Fraternitas Saturni is available somewhere. I found the Austrian publisher Geheimes Wissen (‘secret knowledge’) and bought a book with the first five issues. Now I was looking for material of the Gold- und Rosencreutzer and I again came to this publisher (review forthcoming). Seeing what other titles they have, my eye fell on this little booklet which is also a Fraternitas Saturni publication.

For some reason, Geheimes Wissen does not mention when a text was originally published. Fraternitas Saturni had its heyday in their early days after 1926, but Guido Wolther (“Frater” or “Meister” Daniel) was Grand Master between 1963 and 1966, so this little booklet is most likely from around that time.

The booklet has less than 50 pages and even though I have read a book or two about Alchemy, it is a tough read. The author seems to balance between theoretical and practical Alchemy, more leaning towards the practical side. There are quite a few drawings that do not seem to be (all) based on existing Alchemical diagrams and the descriptions and instructions are not much like anything I read before. Perhaps they fit into the larger teachings of the Fraternitas Saturni.

I cannot say that I learned a lot about Alchemy or the Fraternitas Saturni reading this little book, so I suppose I largely lack the background and/or I do not belong to the intended audience.

2009 Verlag Geheimes Wissen, isbn 9783902705068

Saturn Gnosis band 1-5 (2008)

When I was reading Flowers’ book about the Fraternitas Saturni I was curious if the mentioned publications would still be available. This proved to be very well so. Both “Saturn Gnosis” and “Blätter Für Angewandte Okkulte Lebenskunst” are available in reprint. The first five issues of “Saturn Gnosis” from the publisher “Verlag Geheimes Wissen” (along with other Fraternitas Saturni material), the rest (further “Saturn Gnosis” and “Blätter) from the publishing house of a follow-up of the original order. The Amazon link under the cover goes to a limited first edition, but the book can still be ordered from the earlier mentioned Verlag Geheimes Wissen.

The first five issues were published between 1928 and 1930, were first reprinted in 1992 and have been available for the general public since 2008. The publication is a little odd. Each issue contains fairly long essays that are fairly general and therefor seem to aim at the general audience rather than the order’s membership. Then each issue ends with “Logenmitteilungen” (‘lodge announcements’) listing new members (under pseudonym), who went to another grade, etc. That sounds much like an internal publication. Also there are a few texts directed to members.

The interested contemporary reader will not learn too much about the organisation from this book. The grade system is explained in one article, but besides a handful of references to rituals, there is little here that will teach you much about the workings of the Saturn brotherhood (that also contained women by the way). Perhaps this is for the better, since almost a century after the original publications, there are texts here that can still be of interest to the esotericist of today.

The essays are of varied content, but there is a lot of astrology to be found within the pages of this book. Astrology seems to have been one of the backgrounds of the order. The people behind it were of the opinion that around 1950 we would go from “the ages of Piscus” to “the age of Aquarius”. When, why and what does would mean can be found in more than one text, but the order took it that they were the first esoteric order of the new age.

Other astrological essays are about famous esotericists such as Paracelsus, Agrippa of Nettesheim and Eliphas Levi. Johannes Vehlow uses known information to cast a horoscope and then these elements to test his horoscope, so when we know what day a person was born, a rough chart can be calculated and then by using facts from the lives of the men, Vehlow calculates what time a person was born for example. That combined makes a horoscope which on its turn says something about the character, life and even outer appearance of the person to expand the biography.

The very first essay is a complex esoteric mathematical text (the “metamathematics” that are mentioned in another text?) which is so hard to follow that I had low hopes for the rest. Most texts are (somewhat) easier to digest. Some have a heavy Theosophical leaning, some are interesting esoteric musings, some are less interesting.

As you may remember from my review of Flowers’ book, there are also links to Aleister Crowley and his religion of Thelema. “Master Therion” indeed also has a few texts within these pages, he is referred to a few times and the Fraternitas’ version of the Thelematic motto is often mentioned, but I do not know Crowley well enough to be able to say if more influences are to be found in this book.

All in all the first first five issues of “Saturn Gnosis” made a nice read and I guess other people with esoteric interest would enjoy this book too.

2008 Verlag Geheimes Wissen, isbn 9783902646569