The Golden One

Eros and the Mysteries of Love by Julius Evola

Posted on July 23, 2024

I have read Eros and the Mysteries of Love – The Metaphysics of Sex by our esteemed baron Julius Evola. As the title of the book suggests, Evola explores the higher dimensions of the union of man and woman. He refutes the merely material view of sex (i.e. the view that sex is only related to procreation and about primal desires). He also takes issue with the Freudian view of sex – which focuses on the Lower (damaged, faulty) aspects of it. Where Freud and other degenerates look ‘down‘ to study these matters, Evola looks ‘up‘ and presents the Higher aspects of it.

A Profound Quote

I first saw the following quote a few years ago – it resonated with me back then as well as now:

‘There can be no doubt that a woman who is perfectly woman is superior to a man who is imperfectly man, just as a farmer who is faithful to his land and performs his work perfectly is superior to a king who cannot do his own work.’

Julius Evola – Eros and the Mysteries of Love. Page 34.

Everyone striving to fulfil their unique role to the best of their abilities!

The Metaphysics of Sex

Evola notes the following in regard to the spiritual aspect of sex:

‘Here is the key to all the metaphysics of sex: “Through the Dyad towards the Unity.” Sexual love is the most universal form of man’s obscure search to eliminate for a short while, to existentially overcome the boundary between ego and non-ego, between self and non-self. Flesh and sex are the tools for an ecstatic approximation of the achievement of Unity.’

Julius Evola – Eros and the Mysteries of Love. Page 44.

Sex then, in this view, is not always about the animalistic urge to procreate, but rather to find a mystical union with the divine. Another similar interpretation could be that it is a way to escape loneliness – i.e. the sense of Self. On a similar note, I mention in Dauntless that the highest sensation of sex (i.e. being completely absorbed in the moment) is more or less impossible when under the influence of pornography (this is one among many reasons to not expose your mind to pornography).

Demeter & Aphrodite

Under the title of Woman as Mother and Woman as Lover, Evola presents two archetypes of women – Demeter (corresponding to the Mother) and Aphrodite (corresponding to the Lover).

‘The “mother” type seeks man for the child, whereas the “lover” type seeks him for the erotic experience by itself (in lower forms, for “pleasure”).’

Julius Evola – Eros and the Mysteries of Love. Page 158.

This insight is valuable when trying to attract a woman of the Demeter archetype. Create yourself into a man that a Demeter woman would see fit to have children with – become an Apollonian Patriarch! Simple yet profound advice.

Degenerate Pre-Aryan Practices

The author discusses various religio-magical sexual practices of Mediterranean antiquity (letting virgins be ritually despoiled in a temple setting, for example). Although he does not comment upon it in this work, I can only suppose that the Aryans (i.e. Indo-Europeans) would have found many of these practices repulsive. In other books, Evola juxtaposes the Olympian morality of the Aryans with the Chthonic morality of the pre-Aryan populations of the Mediterranean. These degenerate practices resurfaced in various contexts long after the Aryan invasions – Imperial Rome is, after all, known for its decaying morals.

Retention of Dragon’s Breath

In the chapter titled Sex in the Realm of Initiations and Magic, Evola discusses sex in various religious traditions (sex in the context of magic and rituals). A common theme among these cultures is the importance of ‘penetrating without emitting.’ He shares the following insight from Taoist doctrine:

‘He who enters strong and withdraws weak will perish even when he has had the best destiny.’

Yang-sing yen-ming lu, II, 13 a, b

To conclude, releasing one’s Dragon’s Breath is not recommended (even when being intimate with a woman) – unless, of course, the aim is to create life. Releasing one’s Dragon’s Breath without a woman is strictly prohibited for true disciples of our Neo-Mithraic endeavour.

A Profound Statement

Evola ends the book with the following profound statement:

‘With regard also to sex, the rediscovery of its primary and deepest meaning and the employment of its highest capabilities depend on the possibility of the reintegration of modern man and on his arising once more and betaking himself beyond the psychic and spiritual lowlands into which he has been led by the mirages of his material civilisation, for in this lowlands the meaning of being truly a man or woman is doomed to vanish. Sex will only serve to take him still further downward; furthermore, even apart from what concerns the masses, sex, being reduced to its content of mere sensation, will only be the misleading, obscure, and desperate alleviation of the existential disgust and anguish of him who has stumbled into a blind alley.’

Julius Evola – Eros and the Mysteries of Love. Page 276.

Alas, how right he was! It is, of course, our political goal to ban pornography and to reinstate healthy social codes that disable the soul-crushing promiscuity that is rampant today. Make sex sacred again!

Conclusion

Eros and the Mysteries of Love has 276 pages and is well worth a read for Evola Enjoyers. Even those who are previously unfamiliar with his work could gain new insights from reading it. His perspective on sex is so radically different from anything today that it serves as a good anti-dote to the current (faulty) view of sex. Good stuff!

The Fall of Spirituality by Julius Evola

Posted on July 8, 2024

I have read The Fall of Spirituality – The Corruption of Tradition in the Modern World by Julius Evola.

Evola’s Warning – Dark Forces

If I were to summarise the main point of the book in the most concise fashion possible, I would describe it as a warning. Evola’s critique of many of the spiritual trends of the time (the early 1900s, primarily) is that they concern themselves with the Lower regions of the metaphysical. Or, worse, that they ‘open the doors’ to the Lower regions and to the entities dwelling therein.

‘Neither the common man nor the “optimists” of today have any idea of the dark and impersonal forces that linger at the borders of the reality from which they have been excluded.’

Julius Evola – The Fall of Spirituality. Page 15.

I am paraphrasing a poster on X when I say that it is often the most spiritually inept who seek supernatural thrills – i.e. the Hippie who takes Ayahuasca (who knows what sort of entity might possess the unprepared?). I am in full agreement with Evola here. In fact, I have had a video planned for a while now in which I will also warn people to not engage with the occult without having adequate preparation.

To summarise another point Evola makes in the book, we could say that one can go either upward or downward (spiritually speaking) – his warning goes out to those who seek to go downward. In most of his other works, he elaborates on the path upward (the path of initiation – the Mithraic Mysteries, to name an example). This is at least how I interpreted Evola’s views on the matter. I will elaborate on this at length later on (most likely in a coming book).

Evola’s Praise of the Catholic Church

The Lower regions do indeed present dangers to the uninitiated. Evola actually praises the Catholic Church for having served as a protector in this regard – i.e. protecting people from themselves (from their own Lower regions). Evola criticises the Church in his other books – often for the fact that they close the doors to higher initiation. To conclude, the Catholic Church closes the doors leading downward as well as upward (I am simplifying here) – which is good because it hinders spiritually inept people from hurting themselves (i.e. engaging in the occult and becoming the target for demons, to use that terminology) and is bad because it hinders spiritually gifted people from pursuing magical aims. This is, again, my interpretation of Evola’s teachings.

‘Moreover, every saturation with “lower” influences, which is produced in life through these or other means, acting between the weft and weave of consciousness, is today more worrying than it has ever been, because our day almost entirely lacks the counterparts to those influences in an opposite sense; that is, effectively supernatural influences, which the great traditions knew how to invisibly attract and graft onto our intentions, thoughts, and actions.’

Julius Evola – The Fall of Spirituality. Page 16.

The passage above could be explained in the following way: too many demons, not enough angels to counteract the influence of the demons (to use that terminology). Again, the door must be opened upward but must be closed downward.

Critique of Psychoanalysis – Freud & Jung

In the chapter titled Critique of Psychoanalysis, Evola shares his views on Freud. He essentially critiques Freud for focusing on sex in its lowest and darkest aspects. Evola discusses sex in a higher sense elsewhere (I will review Evola’s Eros and the Mysteries of Love soon). On a personal note, I have always found the teachings of Freud to be uninteresting, I will not discredit his entire work as the thoughts of a degenerate, but I do not believe his work should hold the position it does today. Of greater interest is the work of Jung (which I must get further acquainted with). A while back, I asked my friend John Morgan, an authority on matters of Tradition, about Evola’s views on Jung, and he responded thus:

‘He rejected psychology as a modern, scientifically-based movement, first of all. But additionally, he rejected Jung since he attributed the gods and the myths to being archetypes of human consciousness, rather than something that exists outside of and superior to human consciousness — i.e., being real in their own right.’

John Morgan

Evola shares the following insight:

‘It is certain, in any case, that if we were to psychoanalyze psychoanalysis as a general phenomenon, at its bottom we would find a Schadenfreude, a malicious pleasure in demoralizing and contaminating, applied not only to others and to the spiritual world but also, in the general vision of life, to oneself – almost as if one of those autosadistic complexes of which we have already spoken was acting here under the guise of “science”. It could also be called the counterpart of the Darwinian myth: it manifests the same tendency, the same unconscious joy in being able to reduce the higher to the lower, the human to the animal and the primitive-savage, which manifests in the so-called theory of evolution.’

Julius Evola – The Fall of Spirituality. Page 59.

On a personal note, I do believe in evolution. I thought this quote was worth sharing because of how accurate it describes the attitude of many low-thumos individuals today – i.e. the ones finding joy in reducing the Higher to the Lower. Plenty of examples can be found – said low-thumos individuals often have matching political views (Liberal-Leftist).

Definition of Magic & Crowley First Principle

Evola presents the following definition of magic (or rather one type of magic):

‘It is the art of consciously activating and directing certain subtle energies, whose place and field of action is the domain that exists behind “form” – that which has both form in the psychic field and in an external reality governed by the laws of nature.’

Julius Evola – The Fall of Spirituality. Page 169.

This can be compared to Aleister Crowley’s definition ‘Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the Will.’ Speaking of which, Evola discusses Crowley in the book (actually in quite favourable terms). Most notably he discusses Crowley’s principle: ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law’. This principle does not mean that one should do whatever one wants, but rather that one’s purpose must be discovered and realised. I believe the confusion about his principle is due to the fact that he took a lot of drugs.

Evola on Theosophy

There is a joke about “Evola’s book on Theosophy” – stemming from the fact that a Leftist content creator was asked if he had read it, whereupon he responded in the affirmative. The one who asked the question then noted that Evola did, in fact, not write a book about Theosophy. Evola does, however, include a chapter on Theosophy in The Fall of Spirituality. As one might expect, Evola does not have much good to say about Theosophy (i.e. Madame Blavatsky’s spiritual school) – being too “New Agey” (my term and interpretation). I am not yet familiar enough with Blavatsky to comment further on the matter.

Conclusion

The Fall of Spirituality 194 pages. I must admit that it was quite hard to read – hard but interesting. It is probably easier to read for those who are better acquainted with the spiritual schools he is critiquing. I will most likely reread the book later on. I would not necessarily recommend the book for anyone new to Evola; I would rather recommend Meditations on the Peaks (review) in those cases. I can recommend the book for Evola Enjoyers, however!

The Runes by Alain de Benoist

Posted on July 4, 2024

I have read The Runes and the Origins of Writing by Alain de Benoist. As Enjoyers of my content will be aware, I am always on the search for more knowledge about the Runes. It might be worth pointing out that my interest in the Runes is mainly in regard to the psycho-magical – viewing them as just an alphabet is missing the point completely. Alain de Benoist is, alongside Guillaume Faye, the most important thinker of the French New Right. I have read some other works by de Benoist and always find his insights valuable. This book was no exception!

Religion & Magic

I must also point out that I am not alone in viewing the Runes as being primarily magical in their nature. The author discusses this in the book. In the chapter titled The Debate on ”Magic”, the author shares the following related insight:

‘The opposition between magic and religion, which is a characteristic of Judeo-Christian monotheism, isn’t present in European Paganism, and they were even said to have an “essential similarity.”’

Alain de Benoist – The Runes. Page 69.

On the same page, he goes on to share an insight from François-Xavier Dillmann. Dillman notes that, in most Indo-European civilisations, magic cannot be disassociated from all of the beliefs, representations, and religious rites – on the contrary, it is a prevalent component. Dillman also notes that Runic writing and Germanic writing is often one and the same. Pictured below: Birches and the Berkana Rune (related to Freya).

Discovered – Not Invented

In the chapter titled Odin and the “Divine Origins” of the Runes, the author shares the supremely beautiful passage from the Havamal in which Odin tells of how he took up the Runes. Recited by Yours Truly here:

He correctly identifies that the Runes were not invented, but discovered.

‘So, it is in that famous text that Scandinavian tradition attributes the discovery of the Runes to Odin. It should be emphasized that it’s a discovery, not an invention, because the text implies that the Runes existed prior to the story being told.’

Alain de Benoist – The Runes. Page 89.

Pictured below: The Raido Rune Poem.

Night & New

The author presents an interesting observation relating to numbers and the words for night and new in Indo-European languages. Examples for eight and night below:

• French: huit/nuit.
• German: acht/Nacht.
• English: eight/night.
• Italian: otto/notte.
• Spanish: ocho/noche.

And for nine and new:

• French: neuf/neuf.
• German: neun/neu.
• English: nine/new.
• Italian: nove/nuovo.
• Spanish: nueve/nuevo.

Odin hung for nights full nine on the tree before taking up the Runes. The number nine comes up in many other religious contexts as well. I do not usually find numerology particularly interesting, but I thought this numerologico-etymological observation was worth sharing. In regard to the Runes of the Elder Futhark, they are sorted into three aetts (ätter, clans, in Swedish) of eight. 3×8 = 24 Runes in total.

Jera & Janus

The author refers to Jean Haundry, who notes that the Jera Rune (Jera as in year) has the shape of Janus – the dual-faced Roman God who oversees the transitions between years. The name Janus also appears in the name of the month January.

The Sea Peoples

The Sea Peoples (the ones connected to the Bronze Age Collapse) are always interesting! Thus, I was delighted to find a few pages dedicated to them (they were discussed in relation to the origins of the alphabet). The author says the following:

‘The bas-reliefs of Medinet Haby describe with some degree of precision the attackers. They make them out to be tall, with a straight nose, often tattooed, but clean shaved and not circumcised.’

Alain de Benoist – The Runes. Page 149.

I can only speculate as to the origins of the mysterious Sea Peoples, but if I were to guess, I would say that they were a confederation of tribes high in Steppe Ancestry (i.e. Aryan/Indo-European blood). We will return to the Sea Peoples later on! Pictured below: The Spirit of a Sea People Chieftain has materialised.

Conclusion

The Runes and the Origins of Writing has 164 pages and is well worth reading for those interested in the Runes. It does not discuss the individual Runes, nor the magical nature of them. The book is more about the relation of the Runes to other writing systems. That said, the author (as shown above) emphasises the fact that the Runes are indeed magical.

I would also recommend Demigod Mentality (where I present each Rune and how to use their teachings and mysteries) as well as Rune Might (review) and Revival of the Runes (review) by Stephen E. Flowers.

Onwards!

The Knights Templar in the Golden Age of Spain by Juan García Atienza

Posted on June 22, 2024

I have read The Knights Templar in the Golden Age of Spain – Their Hidden History on the Iberian Peninsula by Juan García Atienza. As the title of the book suggests, it details the history of the Templar Order in Spain (i.e. the various Spanish kingdoms of the Middle Ages) and Portugal. It can be described as a history book with an esoteric touch.

Disclaimer and Correction

To my great lament, I detected a glaring falsehood in the introduction of the book. The author erroneously claims that the Moors were as Spanish as the Spaniards after a few centuries. This is, needless to say, a politically loaded comment. It is unfortunately not all too uncommon to see this sort of submissive display (to the politically correct establishment – for lack of a better term). The rest of the book is good, and I did not get the sense that the author tried to impose his own views (aside from perhaps when discussing the esoteric aspect of the Order).

Another correction: The author states that Julius Evola was the ‘personal magician’ of Mussolini. This was not the case. It is true, however, that Evola and his companions tried to influence Mussolini to embrace Roman Paganism. They were unsuccessful – Mussolini chose an alliance with the Catholic Church.

As for the Reconquista and identity in mediaeval Spain, it was always a religio-racial war between European (Spanish) Christians and Arab and Berber Muslims. Pictured below: Santiago Matamoros.

Templar Synarchy & Synchretism

The esoteric aspect of the Templar Order is a central theme of the book. The author gives plenty of attention to what he calls the synarchic plan of the Templars. In a footnote he defines synarchic as a government made up by various princes (each one administering a section of the state). Syncretism refers to the practice of incorporating various religious teachings in one’s faith (Templars learning about the Divine from Muslim mystics would be an example of this, for example). The author says the following:

‘It is beyond all doubt that the Templar Order structured its theocratic ideology by studying and assuming unorthodox principles. These included those they extracted from Eastern Christian sects and from the traditional structures that had been repeatedly denounced by the Roman Church as abominations. The spiritual world conceived by the Templars was made up of the very practices and ideas that in many cases served their accusers toward the end of the Order’s existence. They had laid out a blueprint for a universal theocracy in which any unorthodox Christian sects would have a place, as would a substantial part of the religious ideologies defended by Jews and Muslims.’

Juan García Atienza– The Knights Templar in the Golden Age of Spain. Page 94.

That the Templars were spiritual seekers is uncontroversial and something that I am fairly confident in agreeing with. The latter part of the quote, however, is something that I must look into further. Orthodox in the quote above does not refer to Orthodox Christianity (i.e. the Orthodox Church), but rather to what was seen as acceptable in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Another quote on the same topic:

‘They had educated at least one monarch – James I, the Conqueror – according to their values and the image of the political plan they had conceived. With an eye to total control, they partially controlled the strategy that, in theory, would lead to the conquest of the Jerusalemite Axis Mundi, the nucleus of their great synarchic enterprise. They maintained officious but very solid but very solid relations with qualified representatives of the great Mediterranean religions, who came to consider the Templars the firmest speakers to a mutual understanding that constituted the basis for that union on which would be built the dream of a universal theocratic government.’

Juan García Atienza– The Knights Templar in the Golden Age of Spain. Page 192.

The author goes on to note that Cathars could find a place in this vision as well. We will return to the epic story of James the Conqueror later on.

Templars and Cathars

As Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince noted in their The Templar Revelation (review), the Templars gave refuge to the Cathars who flew the onslaught of the French crusaders (of the Albigensian Crusade). The author of this book also emphasises this fact. He notes that the Templars in Iberia did their best to accept and hide Cathars in their strongholds. Moreover, the author notes that Aragorn, Catalonia, and Navarre were almost drawn into war with France over the Cathar situation. Furthermore, he notes that Cathars joined the military efforts of James I in conquering the Balearic Islands (including Mallorca). Much more can be said about this topic – and we will indeed return to this later on! Astute Enjoyers of my content will know that I have a particular interest in both the Templars and the Cathars.

Templar Momentum

You will hear me quote this passage later on, but I will share it now as well since I found it inspiring:

‘For the next nine years, the offensive was unstoppable, as if the Templars were in a hurry to conquer territories before the Almohad machine began advancing like a steamroller. In 1146 the plaza, Santarém, Leiría, and all of the territory surrounding the rivers Mondego and Tajo had been reconquered. In 1149, with the collaboration of English Crusaders (perhaps Templars), Lisbon was conquered. In all of the conquered territories the Templar Order accumulated churches, convents, and castles. Portuguese Templar Gualdim Pais distinguished himself as the hero of these military actions, and barely after achieving victory in Portugal, he left for the Holy Land to receive the initiation reserved for the highest eschelons of the Order.’

Juan García Atienza– The Knights Templar in the Golden Age of Spain. Page 81.

The Templar Order survived, in a way, in Portugal under the name of The Military Order of Christ. Pictured below: A Sensitive Young Man admiring a monument in Lisbon.

Conclusion

The book has 266 pages and contains plenty of valuable insights. Despite the aforementioned inaccurate statement in the introduction, I found it interesting and well worth reading. So, if you can see beyond that, I can recommend the book – especially since there are not so many books in English about mediaeval Spain. I will use the book as the main source for the next podcast episode (The Greatest Podcast comes out once a month – subscribe if you are not already!). Lastly, it must be noted that the book contains both an esoteric aspect (i.e. the theme of the Templar plan of synarchy) as well as purely historical one (i.e. describing events and developments in terms of realpolitik etc.).