Archive for the ‘Pagan History’ Category

Laissez les bon temps rouler

  Mardi Gras has come to mean many things in contemporary society: a celebration of excess, a sinful party, pure decadence prior to an austere period of fasting, etc.. But let us briefly look at it for what it really is: the closest mainstream celebration to those practiced in the ancient world.

  By this I do not refer to what Mardi Gras may or may not stand for, I refer more directly to how it is celebrated. Be it the famous North American Mardi Gras of New Orleans, the wild Carnivale of Brazil, or one of the parties of continental Europe: the festivities center on a decorative parade featuring costumed, often masked participants who throw offerings out to the crowd. This format is echoed time and time again through history, though Mardi Gras and perhaps nominally the Thanksgiving Parades are modern societies closest remnants of it. The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia would parade their gods through the city in lavish displays which culminated in a large feast and concerts for the entire population. The Greeks and Romans would celebrate their religious holidays and military triumphs with decadent exhibits, veiled dancers, and costumed or masked participants.

  The idea of the ‘mask’ is of particular anthropological and magickal significance in ancient and modern societies. The use of mask in ritual is believed to be one of the most ancient knowable elements of these long-forgotten and mysterious events. The painted masks, carved wooden masks, and animal hide masks of the documented hunter-gatherer societies of the past two hundred+ years are strong indicators of its ancient use. As are certain elements of Upper Paleolithic cave art, which depict mixtures of animal and man which could be masked ritual-goers. The psychology of the ‘mask’ is telling in this regard. The mask creates a concept of mystery, of anonymity. It makes the wearer something ‘Other’ than themselves. Be this the animals of the wild, a representative of something Divine, or merely something outside of known society –it creates a visual disparity which is somehow recognized at our most basest and primal level of understanding. This masked person is not the same as the unmasked person. And in that change we see something metaphysical.

  The use of the mask in festivities has continued throughout the ages, from our primeval origins to the present day and its associations with Mardi Gras. Most notably, the idea of the mask is associated with the grand masquerade ball of continental Europe. These masquerades were often high society events celebrating anything from a noble’s birthday to the anniversary of the city and beyond. They, like modern Mardi Gras, were periods of relaxed social customs, particularly with regards to the role of the female in society. Unfortunately this has perhaps led to some negative connotations, at least for modern Mardi Gras, but such over-excess should not completely defame the permitted excess of the event.

  The parade and its associated pageantry were joyous occasions of community and a wide-spread appreciation of life and its good things. They could be adapted toward any specific religious event. And while the its modern primary incarnation as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday does indeed celebrate a very specific Christian ideology, the joy of life or joie de vivre of the event should not be diminished because of this doctrine. Any such celebration should be embraced by the Neo-pagan and Wiccan communities et al, for they are celebrations of the good things in life ~ a message that speaks to all.

  Happy Mardi Gras everybody! Laissez les bon temps rouler!! (Let the good times roll!)

  That’s right. It’s here… The dreaded Valentine’s Day. You’re either trying to find the perfect gift for your significant other (and anxiously awaiting what they’re getting for you!) or else lamenting your singlehood on a day that just can’t resist pointing it out to you. It’s the day to brush up on erotic magick, investigate love spells, and delve deeply into the romantic [Check out last V-Day’s Blog on Ancient Greek & Roman Love Magick!].

  From the chalky sweetheart candies to the constant barrage of red, white, and pink: love and love magick are all around you on Valentines Day…or at least they’re supposed to be. If anything, I think that Valentine’s Day has gotten a little too specific over the years. Romantic love is all fine and dandy, but there’s more than one kind of love in the world. The ancient Greeks believed that there were five types of love: agape (pure abstract love), eros (passionate, erotic love), philia (philosophical love or devotion to causes), storge (familial love), and xenia(hospitality and generosity as love) Thanks to the passing fancy of courtly romance in the European Medieval period (and the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare), Valentine’s Day has been associated with only one of the Greek types of love: eros , or passionate, erotic love. Why can’t it, indeed why shouldn’t it include the others?

  Other February love festivals around the world and throughout time have celebrated love in a variety of different ways. The Zoroastrian Sepandarmaz of late February celebrates the love one has for the nurturing earth as well as the love one has for those who have nurtured you over the years (parents, teachers, friends, etc). The name of the festival comes from an antique Persian dialect (Avestan) and references a feminine divine aspect of the ancient creator god Ahura Mazda. In Romania, the traditional festival of Dragobete is a spring festival (Feb 24) associated with the ideas of the nesting and mating of birds and the revival of nature from the winter. Snow collected during Dragobete is a powerful addition to love and health potions. Like Valentines Day, Sepandarmaz and Dragobete involve the giving of gifts between couples or those who hope to be couples, but they also incorporate elements of universal loves beyond the romantic. The ancient Roman Lupercalia was a festival of sacrifice to the spring, to youth, and commitment to one’s relationships conveyed particularly by a celebration in honor of the marriage of the divine couple of Jupiter and Juno. And it too incorporated elements of romantic love as well as love beyond that singular, albeit amazing category.

  And while these festivals might seem far away and foreign to you, think about how you’ve celebrated Valentine’s Day throughout your own life. You certainly probably included multiple types of love into the Valentine’s Day of your youth. In the good ole elementary school days, everyone in my class sent out cartoon coated paper cards and bits of candy to everyone else. Certainly that qualifies as an expression of xenia . Although I will admit, I do recall a lot of drama regarding who got what labels on their candy hearts; the best ‘Cutie Pies’ and ‘I Dig You’ being reserved for my best friends and playground crushes. I also distinctly recall making big doily accented Valentines for my mother and other members of my family. Carefully coating them in macaroni and glitter as if it were the most prized of presents I would be giving them. That’s a whole lotta storge right there. Why, as we’ve gotten older has love become more individualized? What about our society has conformed our love into a little tightly packed box reserved for only one person. Love magick is believed by many to be one of the most powerful forces around. Focused between two people it is an innately special and intimate reward. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t love beyond that special bond. The heart is ceaseless in its capacity to love, and while that love could and should be projected along different paths and in different forms, you don’t have to stop at just one kind of love on this impending holiday. Love for the world and for those others whom you cherish in it can also be celebrated on Valentine’s Day, the only day we, in the western world, truly celebrate the integral concept of LOVE. We give thanks on Mothers and Fathers Days, we celebrate Family on Thanksgiving: but at no other time in the Gregorian calendar do we actively celebrate such a beautifully abstract and complex notion as love as we do on Valentine’s Day.

  Valentine’s Day is a day of love. Whether we project love to just one person, or to our friends or to society at large, we are projecting it. With every paper heart, or cupid cookie; with every ‘Be Mine’ and rose bouquet, love is being sent out into the world. Positive thoughts and energy are zinging through the cosmos as a result. Whether you buy into the pop culture and merchandise, it is a day of immense positive power in the world. Celebrate it accordingly. Send some love out into the world and be loved in return. Bake some cookies for your office, send flowers to your grandmother or favorite cousin, make Valentines cards with and for the other mom’s in your soccer carpool. And yes, if there’s a significant other in the picture ~ not only should they get some sexy candles in the bedroom, and the best labeled candy hearts in the bag, remember that they are getting the best present of all: You and your love in return.

Shop the mists for love and life gifts ~ the 14th may have passed, but there’s an entire year of living and giving to be had ahead of you!

Magickal Traditions Hidden In the Mundane

  It’s really rather pleasantly shocking how many customs with pagan or magickal roots are tucked amongst the seemingly Christian holiday season cheer. Indeed the entire premise of the Christmas holiday is deeply indebted to the ancient polytheistic festivals which could never quite be stamped out. And with mainstream Christmas upon us, I thought we might take a quick look at the continuing magickal trends you might not have noticed going on today and indeed throughout the holiday season and into the New Year ahead.

  This Christmas, the story of the birth of the Christian semi-god Jesus Christ will be reenacted in churches and schools all over the world as part of the Nativity play. But did you know that this classic tale is actually a re-working of an even older myth concerning the Eastern deity Mithras, who also had a birthday on December 25th? The Apostle Paul, who’s version of the birth of Christ is the most heavily relied upon for the traditional Christmas story, hailed from Ephesus- a center of worship for Mithras in the later Roman Empire. His writing was highly influenced by his surroundings and thus incorporated several of the elements of the Mithras cult and birth story into his telling; including both the idea of the virgin birth and visit of the three wise men to his birth site (in a cave vs. a stable). Indeed it is likely that the early church fathers cast Jesus’s birthday in the winter to take advantage of the pre- pagan winter festivities in the first place.

  The Eastern Star associated with the Nativity story, and its derivative decorative value over the holidays is likewise an element of older cults which was refashioned to suit monotheistic needs. Intriguingly, some of its greatest usage is attached to ancient mother goddess cults, including that of the goddess Asherah: the oft forgotten wife of the god Yahweh ~ the original version of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim God celebrated on Christmas. Many other nature symbols, like snowflakes and poinsettias, which are also associated with the holidays were likewise used in older pagan cults. None more so than mistletoe. Added into the Christmas mythos through its Germanic and Norse usage during winter festivals, it is linked inevitably to the Norse gods through its appearance in the myth of Baldr, the dying god of Viking myth. Following a prophecy detailing Baldr’s impending death, his mother extracts promises from all of the plants and creatures of the world but forgets about the lowly mistletoe tucked up in the oak trees. And so when the mistletoe is unwittingly tricked into stinging Baldr at the behest of the trickster god Loki, the sting is fatal and Baldr is committed to the Afterlife until the end of the world (Ragnarok) when he will emerge to lead the new world order. The theme of the dying god appears over and over again throughout world mythology, indeed the story of Jesus Christ itself represents a ‘dying god’ myth. The re-use of mistletoe as part of the Christmas festival is therefore most fitting indeed.

  Also stemming from northern European pagan traditions are the Yule log and Christmas ornaments. The giant Yule log was traditionally chosen to be burned on the Winter Solstice, the darkest and longest night of the year. The cheerful fire of the long burning log was intended to ward off the evil spirits that lurked in the dark. Families would gather together on this dark night both in fear of the darkness and in celebration of the upcoming new year ahead. The winter holidays were highly important in the pre-scientific world. In a time where you cannot fathom the astrological and natural reasoning behind the turning of the seasons, when all the plants die and the weather gets bad ~ you want to do everything you can to encourage a better season to come round.


  Christmas ornaments, however, are perhaps the most gory of modern holiday traditions. Rumor has it that Germanic warriors would hang the heads and saddle gear of conquered foes on trees near their residence as trophies of their battle. These dark prizes eventually transitioned into more metaphorical baubles which in turn were placed on the first famous Christmas trees popularized by the Germanic Prince Albert at the court of Queen Victoria in nineteenth century England. Decorated vegetation was not however limited to Northern European traditions, decorated boughs of a variety of plants were common features of ancient Roman and Greek festivals, and were intended to both encourage the future bounty of the crops and protect the house from evil spirits.

  Other household holiday decorations possess further overlooked magickal significance. Have you ever noticed how many anthropomorphic figures there are around Christmastime? Gingerbread men, snowmen, figurines of angels, the nativity characters and Santa and his crew: there are hundreds of thousands of little simulacra of people associated with the holidays. And while such representations of humanity may seem commonplace in today’s society, for thousands of years and indeed still in some cultures such things were and are forboden. From the ancient so-called Venus figurines of prehistoric Europe to the statues of the classical world, the recreation of the human form was considered sacred and powerful. Perhaps the most well known remnant of this concept are the voodoo dolls of Santeria and other Afro-Caribbean traditions. Their Christmas cousins may be just as powerful. From the helpful elf who watches over children’s good behavior to the angels atop the tree: these personifications of the human soul and spirit are no less powerful if one chooses to believe in them.

  And finally, let us consider the concept of the infamous Santa Claus himself. The story of Santa is ripe with magickal elements. Ultimately, he is a semi-deity who lives in a magickal dimension on the northern fringes of the human world accompanied by a bevy of miraculous toy-making beings and flying creatures. And though the tradition of Santa is not very old in and of itself, the idea of powerful house spirits who bear gifts and good fortune goes back to the very beginning of time in almost every culture. In some cultures, particularly in Eastern Europe and Japan, these house spirits are still widely venerated in the modern world.

  Ultimately, though Christmas is a monotheistic holiday. Its modern celebration is chock full of symbolism and traditions which hearken back to earlier times and brighter pagan customs. One needs only look closer to find them and celebrate their wonder.

  Over the past week, millions of Potter fans bravely bid farewell to the final film of one of the most-record breaking franchises ever created. The new greatest story ever told, the legend of Harry Potter touched the world: defying age-barriers, nationalities, and religious conventions (Beach & Wilner 2002; Black 2003; Radigan 2001). It encouraged generations of children believed lost to the digital age to pick up books and read again. It encouraged them to use their imagination and believe in something more than the mundane. And most importantly in the context of this discussion, it challenged the world’s preconception of magick and magickal societies: evoking an unprecedented era of awareness and tolerance for occult paths.

  You may not have even realized that such a quiet revolution occurred, or even how extremely significant it is from an anthropological perspective. Yes, the past century has been a springboard for magickal faiths to take root, but never have magickal communities been as mainstream as they are at the moment. Numerous other supernatural pop culture venues from the classics like So I Married a Witch, Bewitched, and Bell Book and Candle to the more recent Charmed, laid significant groundwork for magickal tolerance. But it was Harry Potter who dashed boldly down the path they had laid out, entertainingly making the masses positively aware of the magickal cultures which have hitherto fore had to lurk in the shadows of typical every day society.

  Centuries ago, the word ‘witch’ was a condemnation. Twenty years ago, claiming the title ‘witch’ would still have the neighbors worried. But in the present day, the word ‘witch’ conjures up a multitude of more pleasant images and associations to the everyday laymen than ever before. And much of this shift is due to the ever-present popularity and acceptance of Harry Potter. Magickal terminology, once only known to those few in the world population engaged in occult studies is now commonplace. Again, courtesy in large part to Harry Potter ~whose familiar use of words like ‘charm,’ ‘divination,’ and ‘griffin’ (to name just a few) has increased the vocabulary of millions. Children grow up appreciating the idea of magick and the possibility of sorcery, rather than fearing it. They come to learn of the balance between light and dark not from dogmatic condemnations of the church, but from the saga of Harry. Children no longer dress as the witch- hag as a scary Halloween costume. Instead they dress as witch scholars: as students of the magickal school Hogwarts ~hoping to be trained in the magickal arts. Indeed, Harry Potter has encouraged not just positive awareness of the occult, but positive awareness of learning in general (Beaton 2006).

  No, admittedly Harry Potter has not accurately explored the magickal world of real-life Witches, Wiccans, Druids, or Neo-Pagans and their brethren. But the mythical magickal world it did explore provided a safe fantasy backdrop for mankind to begin to understand the purpose and functions of magick. Or at least to start believing in it, outside of the realm of superstition which has plagued the occult arts for millennia. Indeed those instances of right-wing disapproval from Christian conservatives and Muslim states ultimately only validated the idea of a belief in magick. For it was the type of sorcery practiced in the pages of Harry Potter, not the existence of magick itself which was at the heart of the majority of these debates (DeMitchell & Carney 2005; Hill 1999; Hill 2001; Kruk 2005). Harry Potter ushered in a new, more open age of man and womankind. One where the mysterious ‘other’ which magick has long represented is not feared and hidden away or dismissed as unbelievable, but is instead something in the public eye and which is accepted by all but the remaining, and ever decreasing number of conservative groups who ignorantly equate magickal practice with devil-worship.

  The shifting morals and scientific explorations of our time allow for tolerant investigation into questions of the mind, physics, and the natural world which have long been relegated to the realm of myth and defined as magick. Science, by any other name, is magick that has been more thoroughly explored than ever before (indeed, this was a much emphasized facet of the other magickal blockbuster of this summer: Paramount’s Thor). As we learned last week in Witches of Antiquity: The Magick of Alchemy ~ the initial Scientific Revolution was the result of magickal investigation and the two are intrinsically tied together. The only thing that has changed is the understanding of the terminology: which skeptically divided science from magick as it attempted to commonsensically divorce science from religion.

  The word ‘witch,’ too, has come a long way and meant many things throughout its usage. But with the worldwide familiarity of Harry Potter and the general acceptance for the witchcraft practiced therein, ‘Witch’ is no longer a word associated with fear and loathing. Now is a remarkable time to claim the title of witch, for it is the first in which it is culturally accepted and encouraged. And while some may worry that such openness may be dangerous to their craft, consider this: Harry Potter stringently emphasizes the idea of a magickal education before one can practice magick. It urges against the uninitiated blundering in or anyone ever taking up the Dark Arts. J.K. Rowling subtly points out that knowledge is power ~ Hermione (pictured at left) is proof positive of this ~ and is necessary before one delves deeper into magickal endeavors. And so while perhaps mainstream magick may mean that there are many more practitioners, they have already been cautioned via Harry Potter against ignorant use of magick; of following the darker paths; and they have been instructed to learn as much as they can. And really, are these not among some of the best tips which can be given to beginner witches?

Do you feel that Harry Potter positively or negatively impacted the real magickal community?

Are you a Potter fan? How do you feel about the new, latest and last movie in the saga?

Partial Bibliography

Beach, S.A. and Willner, E.H., 2002. The Power of Harry Potter: the Impact of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Books on Young Readers. World Literature Today. 76(1), 102-106.

Beaton, T., 2006. Taking Time: Harry Potter as a Context for Interdisciplinary Studies. The English Journal 95(3), 100-103.

Black, S., 2003. Harry Potter: A Prescription for just about Anyone. Journal of Adult and Adolescent Literacy 46(7), 540-544.

Carney, J.J. and DeMitchell, T.A. 2005. Harry Potter and the Public Library. Phi Delta Kappan 87(2).

Hill, R., 2001. Potter’s Darker Side. Fortnight. 401, 22-23.

Hill, N., 1999. Harry Potter and Other Evils, or How to Read from the Right. The Personalist Forum 15(2), 413-423.

Kruk, R., 2005. Harry Potter in the Gulf: Contemporary Islam and the Occult. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 32(1), 47-73.

Radigan, W.M., 2001. Connecting the Generations: Memory, Magic, and Harry Potter. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 44(8).

  At its most basic level: alchemy is a philosophy. It advocates the idea that things are changeable. That they are transmutable from one form to another: from base to gold, solid to liquid, young to old and back again. During the Renaissance and Enlightenment, when the practice of alchemy was at its peak; alchemy came to be applied not just to natural elements such as metals, but to nature and people as well. For several centuries, ‘Alchemy’ became the category under which magickal transformations were shelved. Alchemy was both an early form of science and a continuing form of practical magick. Indeed, the work of the alchemists of the 16th -18th centuries formed both the basis for the modern study of chemistry, as well as the foundation of traditional high magick as we know it today. The studies perpetuated by these same alchemists also continued the tradition of philosophic, mathematical, and supernatural studies of the Pythagoreans and practitioners of Qabbalah who had tread the same transcendental pathways over the previous centuries. Despite the pseudo-scientific reputation that alchemy often receives in modern pop culture, it is a very real and very important part of the magickal traditions which are carried on today by all esoteric forms of worship categorized under the ‘New Age’ umbrella.

  Alchemy is by no means a unified discipline. There is not codified set of facts which one would learn in order to become an alchemist. Alchemy was more a spiritual and educational pursuit than it was a strict science of any uniform kind.

  True, alchemists gleaned their knowledge from studying the works of their predecessors and being mentored by them. True, also, that some universities included forms of alchemy amongst their curriculum. Brotherhoods of scholars interested in esoteric learning formed, and among their subjects was alchemy. But despite these forms of learning, none of these men and women were necessarily learning the same curriculum. Even with the advent of the printing press, not all the books on alchemy were disseminated by each alchemist, nor were all the branches of alchemy studied by every practitioner. Each alchemist had his own agenda: using alchemy variously to heal, to make gold, or to find youth. Alchemy was an intellectual movement that walked in different spheres of life, spanning the society of its times. By the Seventeenth century, it connected the fraudulent drunk on the streets with the scholars of the university; the highest echelons of late Renaissance society at the royal court with the witch on the pyre: all with a common philosophical idea which worked towards a variety of their purposes.

  Indeed, alchemy operated much like the study of magick today perpetuates itself. Witches, wiccans, and pagans alike are deeply devoted to a pursuit of learning esoteric knowledge, but not everyone from each path chooses to learn the same thing. It is ultimately a personal quest, a search for knowledge in order to achieve a personal transformation.

Alchemy as a Science

  Before we delve deeper into the more easily recognized esoteric accolades of this lost art: let us look at the more scientific side of alchemy, of alchemy as a system of trial and error which was propagated in the universities of the time and by some of its greatest academics. Alchemy was a precursor to the science which we recognize today as fact. And though science may seem the antithesis of magick, they are really just part and parcel of the same thing.

  Initially, alchemical knowledge was collected informally and without passing through the conventional educational institutions which had sprung up in Europe since the Dark Ages. Paracelsus, sometimes considered the greatest alchemist of the Renaissance, never completed his university studies. He collected his alchemist’s secrets by travelling and observing folk remedies he combined with metallurgical practices. But with science’s new interest in the idea of a scientific method, which alchemy was already utilizing: alchemy became employed by some of the greatest minds of the time, at some of the greatest of the universities. In fact, the two great libraries, the Bodleian at Oxford and the Ashmolean at Cambridge respectively, were based off of the alchemical collections of Duke Humphrey and Elias Ashmole. Even the great Sir Isaac Newton is considered an alchemist for his research into ancient Egyptian hermeticists and through later connections made by alchemical groups like the Rosicrucians. But he also saw the science in alchemy and used some aspects of his laboratories at Cambridge University to study it. Sir Fancis Bacon is likewise called an alchemist for his association with esoteric societies, like the Rosicrucians and Freemasons and his literary endeavor The Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln’s Inn, which he wrote in honor of the marriage between Frederick V of the Rhineland Palatinate and Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, who, incidentally were all also wrapped up in alchemical studies of very differing kinds. Bacon’s works set up the Baconian method that we today know vernacularly as the aforementioned ‘scientific method.’ Robert Boyle, the father of modern chemistry, began his education as an alchemist; though did not continue to teach alchemy once he himself became a professor.

  Outside of England, particularly in the Northern and Central areas of mainland Europe, alchemy was also finding a niche among scholars. The Danish antiquarian Doctor Ole Worm was given papal permission to collect so-called oddities, which came to include various texts and items of a magickal nature, later inspiring H.P. Lovecraft to include him in his twentieth century work Necronomicron. Some were not so lucky in support for the new science, like Theodore Zwinger, ~a professor of medicine at the University of Basel was penalized by the University for inclusions in his teachings work done by Paracelsus. But unlike the University of Basel, others, like the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. championed alchemy and supported multiple alchemists on its faculty and taught alchemical methodology in its classes on chemistry and anatomy.

  The leading doctors, the mathematicians and physicists of the day; all studied the ratios of alchemy and its history out of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The scientific method alchemy had long been unintentionally advocating became recognized as the basis for all modern experimentation and creation. The study of alchemy in schools or independently by professors of these schools working outside their professional capacity helped shape the minds of generations of men and women, leading up to the modern science of today.

Alchemy & The Witch Hunts

  Despite this flourishing of alchemy among academia, it was a subject best approached with care. By the sixteenth century, some elements of alchemy’s esoteric studies had unfortunately come to be associated with the dark arts of witch craft and sorcery. The logic of the Burning Times decreed that how else would these men and women know the secrets of the universe unless the devil himself had whispered them into alchemist’s ears? Alchemists devised erudite languages and metaphors to transcribe their secrets in, ones they hoped that would not create alarm among their witch hunting neighbors. But they were not always successful and some alchemists were branded witches and sorcerers for their naïve scholarly endeavors. And many were persecuted alongside the wisewomen, innocents, and political victims who fell prey to the Witch Trials or Burning Times of the 16th and 17th centuries. Bookmakers who published grimores of alchemy were particularly susceptible and often had to move towns to avoid an uprising against their shops.

  The mighty Catholic Church was particularly skeptical of the new alchemical sciences that were springing up. For they threatened previously held notions of God and man and their relationship to the universe, which in turn threatened the church’s power. And if alchemists weren’t careful to make provisions for the Church’s scrutiny, they faced severe consequences. Sir Isaac Newton cleverly combined church sanctioned theology with his science, for instance, to explain his theory of gravity, Newton wrote, “Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done.” He justified his science in the eyes of the church, but others were not so clever or else refused to concede. The scholar Giordano Bruno was sentenced to burn at the stake for refusing to recant his alchemy-based theories regarding ideas about the transmutation of the soul and the transubstantiation of the Catholic Mass. He was charged with the practices of divination and witchcraft, both of which had technically been outlawed under church law since the ratification of church doctrine at the Council of Nicea in the 4th century in continuation of earlier Roman laws. However, until the Burning Times, few cases were executed under such charges.

  While many of the alchemists charged for witchcraft during the Burning Times may never have actually practiced direct magickal acts (only studied magickal/scientific topics), others most likely did engage in acts some might call Dark Arts. Giordano Bruno and his one-time mentor the British royal advisor John Dee may have darker and more occult areas of alchemy. Often these pursuits focused on communication between the spirits and bordered on necromancy. Dee was at one point kicked out of Prague by Pope Sixtus V for committing acts of black magic in the city.

  Along with these Dark Arts and the politically motivated Church persecution, alchemy earned an even worse reputation from the slew of fraudulent schemers who pretended to be alchemists to con people out of money and goods. These faux-alchemists would practice simple chemical tricks, rigged to make it appear they could produce gold out of charcoal or other such feats to trick wealthy and gullible lords out of money. This was such a widespread stigma of the day that Dante Aligheri immortalized it in his social commentary of the day, The Divine Comedy, by placing the alchemists on the tenth level of Hell in his Inferno.

Alchemy in Power

  Despite the stigma attached to alchemy, there are many historical instances of European princes, kings, and queens participating and encouraging alchemy from both ends of the spectrum (i.e. as a science and as magic). Many rulers had alchemists as their advisors or as their doctors. Johann Friedrich Helvetius was the personal physician to William of Orange of the Netherlands, Johann Joachim Becher to Leopold I of Austria, Ole Worm to the skeptic Holy Roman Emperor Christian IV, and his predecessor Rudolph II went through a whole series of doctors with an alchemy sideline. Rudolph also utilized alchemists as his advisors, most notably, that king among alchemists, Michael Maier. Maier also spent some time at the court of James I of England. Queen Elizabeth II depended on her spy John Dee. And according to the social commentary inherent in the theatre of the day, James I of England (VI of Scotland) kept three alchemist witches as military advisors. These ‘advisors’ and James’ interest in the occult were included in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Holinshead histories.

  Some rulers went beyond their advice and medical attention and are suspected by historians of studying alchemy themselves. The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I personally ransacked a Benedictine archive in Rome looking for an ancient treatise on alchemy believed to be hidden within. Queen Barbara, the wife of Sigismund Vasa III of Poland is accused by history of being not only an alchemist, but a witch. James I of England and Rudolf II of Hungary delved deep into the arcane as rulers and alchemists. James I of England wrote his own Daemonologie in 1597, a witch-hunter’s guide written by a man perhaps too close to his subject to be perfectly free of the taint of magick. He was careful to lightly persecute others in his realm suspected of witchcraft and the like to avoid church persecution himself (though as leader of the aforementioned church, it was easy to get away with). The Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II set up a veritable playland for alchemists and other scientists of the day, which included an observatory, various labs, and libraries of grimoires. He himself was said to participate in alchemical experiments and work closely within the commune of scholars he had collected. His personal goal was to find the Philosopher’s Stone, a stone which, once created, would continue to spill forth an elixir of youth and the ability to turn things into gold.

  We cannot really know today just how much the alchemists and the philosophy of alchemy had on the rulers of this time period, or of how much their appreciation of what this arcane subject influenced their judgments and rulings over their respective countries. Nor can we really know what was known by the public at the time regarding the alchemy activities related above, or if they would have even wanted to know. All of these leaders made allowances for church dogma in order to avoid persecution. But were they actually religious beyond this façade? It is difficult for the historian to know or even to judge correctly. Regardless, we can at least state that alchemy must have had at least some influence over them.

  The history of alchemy is representative of a myriad of magickal movements and motivations. It is symbolic of both the persecution of magick and the championship of it. It represents both the veracity of knowledge gained and of the deception man is capable of using such knowledge for. It embodies the advancement of the human mind and the human race, of our wonder for the mysterious, and our quest to discover and control the laws of nature and the gods. The use of alchemy, pseudo-science that it may be considered now, encouraged the growth of other sciences still seen as legitimate. It inspired advancements in other fields, seeing the growth of library science in the modern age, and was the muse for multiple works of widely regarded literature. It was a profound step on man and woman-kind’s journey towards enlightenment. And it and its alchemists should not be forgotten. For we today are their descendents. The research scientists in labs, the doctors, pharmacists and nurses in their hospitals, the astronomers looking up at the night sky, the chefs in their kitchen, the students at their books: in our desire to learn something more, we are all alchemists.

  Want to learn more about historical magickal movements and the witches behind them? Keep your eyes peeled for History of Witches in the Western World, a new class from the College of the Sacred Mists on the Witches of Antiquity. Coming later this year!

Partial Bibliography

Cobb, C. & Goldwhite, H. 1995. Creations of Fire: Chemistry’s Lively History from Alchemy to the Atomic Age. New York: Plenum Press.

Fernando, D. 1998. Alchemy: An Illustrated A-Z. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Moran, B.T. 2005. Distilling Knowledge: Alchemy, Chemistry, and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rice University. The Galileo Project.

Note: Image at top is William Fettes Douglas’ The Alchemist (1853).

  Christians vs. Pagans. Need there be an on-going battle, or is there a middle road? It is a controversial subject for both sides of the fence. Christianity’s monotheistic focus and conservatism denies the power of paganism. And pagans, persecuted by the Church for centuries, are suspicious of the tenets of a faith which would deny them. It is a stand-off that has held for millennia.

  Christopaganism: An Inclusive Path by Joyce & River Higginbotham explores these two seemingly opposing religions and offers up a blended tradition to follow. Well organized, and full of competent historical detail (especially given that neither of the fabulous Higginbottom’s are historians), Christopaganism is an excellent starting point towards understanding the way the two faiths can work together.

  It is an especially useful text for those just beginning their investigations into pagan traditions and who are seeking a solid set of guidelines to follow and inspire them. The book’s instructional format and workbook assignments teach constructively and encourage open-minded thought and reflection on aspects of both religious cultures and one’s own personal spiritual development.

  As an introductory guide that allows readers to dip their toes in pagan culture without straying too far from Christianity, it is also an excellent choice for relatives and friends of pagans confused or scared by pagan traditions. Though written by lecturers entrenched in paganism, it presents its smooth blend of faiths in a method palatable to Christian mentalities. And it may well help assuage and open the minds of those Christian fundamentalists in your life: easing their concerns through a wider understanding of both traditions and their interactions. Indeed, compared to several other erudite and scholarly texts on the subject of the intermingling of Christianity and paganism, past and present, the lighter Christopaganism is arguably the best and most engaging introduction to the subject.

  However, if you are already familiar with the tenets of Christianity, the traditions of paganism, and the historical and philosophical intermingling of the two, this book might seem a bit simplistic. Though an excellent introduction and practical guidebook, its definitions of Christian and pagan practices are often simplistic and conveniently standardized to suit their arguments. Many of the gaps in doctrine which separate Christianity and paganism are glossed over in favor of unification theories. And its history lesson is basic at best, and rather generalized, particularly with regards to addressing the formation of Christianity from within a pagan culture. Readers seeking more of this history or a more complex understanding of the actual interplay between Christianity and paganism are better off with one of the more scholastic texts, like the classic Pagans & Christians by Robin Lane Fox.

  Christopaganism is a book which traverses personal pathways rather than these more general edifications. It is well-written, concise guide to a complicated path. Perfect for beginners and for inspiring open-mindedness in staunch believers on both sides of the fence. Christopaganism is a voice for tolerance and peace between two long-standing opponents. It speaks of a promise of hopeful and fulfilling compromise: a valuable lesson, especially in divided times like the present.

Check out Christopaganism
and other inter-faith texts in the Sacred Mists Library Shoppe!!