the University of Texas and has gone on to teach a series of

distinguished collegiate courses in that field. Just as systematically

he has personally experimented with the various esoteric arts and
sciences he has investigated, and is not the least apologetic for
having done so. He is quitely recognized as an authority within
several prestigious initiatory environments, and has been a mentor
and counselor to a good many occult authorities whose names are
more widely publicized than his own. The Secrets of Fire and Ice
He undertook this particular book because the Fraternitas Saturni A Historical Supplement to the Text
seemed to him both significant and unappreciated as an occult (1995)
phenomenon. At first glance it appears to be little more than an early
O.T.O. clone which was a bit more reluctant to be devoured by The text of Fire and Ice was almost fifteen years in the making.
Aleister Crowley than its better known predecessor. Certainly its It was in the mid-1970s that I first learned of the Fraternitas
emphasis upon a sexual interpretation of magic stems from the O.T.O. Saturni— from articles written in Richard Cavendish's Encyclopedia
Yet, as Flowers points out, the Fraternitas Saturni diverged from the of the Unexplained. There I read of a "monumental compendium" of FS
O.T.O in one very meaningful respect. For Saturnine, magic was a materials which had been published by a certain German professor
means of transcending a naturally-ordered existence— not of ritual named Adolf Hemberger. The book bore the suitably academic title:
obliteration of the self within it. By this simple affirmation the Organizations-formen, Rituale, Lehren und magische Thematik der
Fraternitas Saturni removed itself from the Right-Hand Path and freimauerischen und freimauerartigen Bunde im deutschen
placed itself squarely on the Via Sinistra, whose distinctive feature Sprachraum Mitteleuropas, Te/l I: Der mystisch-magische Orden
is rejection of the universe as it is perceived to be structured. Fraternitas Saturni. The idea of such a lodge fascinated me, as I
Nevertheless the fraternity failed to successfully negotiate the hoped for a more "original" form of the kind of magic and mysticism
Black Brick Road, relying as it did upon a natural mechanism of the found among the Golden Dawn materials or the ideas of Aleister
body — sex — to catalyze its Workings. In an appendix to this book Crowley. I would search through inter-library loan lists for years to
Flowers explores this delicate subject with more insight and candor try to find this text— to no avail.
than have ever graced far more turgid writings on the subject— In the spring of 1982 I enrolled in a seminar at the University of
including those of the Fraternitas Saturni itself. Per Flowers' Gottingen in Germany entitled: Probleme im Okkultismus: Agrippa—
analysis, one can see how so many would-be sex magicians have "Problems in Occultism (topic) Agrippa." Only in Germany could one
charged like lemmings into this alluring ocean. If they then vanish get a course like that! In any event, the professor who led the
beneath the surface with a grunt and a squeal, should one be seminar was Helmut Mbller, noted scholar of the occult. Through him
surprised? I gained access to the text of the study by Hemberger the title of
You will enjoy this book. You will also learn a great deal from it. It which had started me on my journey toward the Saturnian mysteries.
is written by someone who knows his stuff, on a subject that is Besides this text, other Saturnian materials came to light during my
directly relevant to the major occult issues of our time. Let us all stay in Germany. Some were being published at the time by a small
pester the author to write more books like it. sectarian press, while others came through more private channels.
It was also while I was in Germany that I attended some of the
rituals of the Armanen Orden, which my researches led me to
conclude were greatly influenced by the ritual methods practiced by
the FS. (This was no doubt due to the fact that the Grand Master of
the Armanen Orden was himself a member of the Brotherhood.) I
mention this because, although I was never an initiate of the FS, my
participation in the rites of the Armanen Orden did, I believe, give
me some practical and experiential insight into the workings of the
FS Lodge.
Originally the book had the academic sounding title: "The Magical
Order FRATERNITAS SATURNI: The History, Doctrines and Rituals of a
Modern German Occult Lodge." This would eventually be changed to
Fire and Ice for marketing reasons. It is a factor, often not
12
understood by many, that publishers usually have final say on things
 It is unlikely that I will ever again devote the time necessary to
such as the title of a book, its cover design and jacket designs, as produce another complete book-length manuscript on the Fraternitas
well as advertising copy for the book. Saturni. However, not long after the publication of Fire and Ice I came
One of the other chief misconceptions about this book stems from into possession of literally thousands of pages of documentary
the fact that I am not, nor have I ever been, a member or initiate of evidence for the FS in addition to the materials I had previously
the FS. The book was written from a purely scholarly perspective gathered as reflected in the documentation of Fire and Ice. This came
using as many original documents as possible to come to a coherent in the form of a set of Blatter fur angewandte okkulte Lebenskunst
and sympathetically objective interpretation of the data at hand. To published from 1950 to 1963. If there is a demand, I will perhaps
do this I had to use the perspectives I had gained in other initiatory produce more of these shorter studies in the philosophy and practices
environments. This is true of any scholar or writer on obscure and of the FS.
difficult topics such as this one represents. We all have our Some "Crowley fans" were shocked and registered their sense of
prejudices and points of view, absolute objectivity is an outrage at the addition to the Thelemite motto: Compassionless
impossibility. So it comes down to a matter of selecting one's Love," after the now familiar "Do what thou wilt shall be the Whole
viewpoints in order to open the mind of the reader to new of the Law, Love is the Law, Love under Will..." Some of these had
possibilities rather than selecting viewpoints that will close the obviously not read 11:21:
mind. A book written on the FS by a Baptist minister would, I should
expect, close the mind, whereas one of my initiatory bent might be We have nothing with the outcast and unlit; let them die in their misery. For they
more likely to point in sympathetic directions. I can report that no feel not. Compassion is the vice of kings: stamp down the wretched & the weak:
member of the FS has complained about my interpretations and this is the law of the strong: this is our law and the joy of the world. Think not o
king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shall not die, but live.
viewpoints— and I am well acquainted with a number of high initiates
in the Brotherhood.
Here the intelligence which dictated the Book of the Law instructs
It took two years for Fire and Ice to be published— and this was at
in the character of Compassionless Love. (Undoubtedly as the
a time when Llewellyn was usually turning books around from the
intelligence had read Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra.) It also
manuscript stage to a completed book in the bookstores in a matter
seems that the intelligence was very familiar with the Holy Bible, as
of about six months. The reason for this delay was the disturbing
it repeats the words of the Serpent to Eve... Nequaquam morte
contents of the book. Much of this hinged on the "S-word," yes, you
moriemini.
guessed it: S-A-T-A-N.
Clearly the recent history of the domestic social policies of the
Ultimately it became necessary to remove some 14 instances of
United States of America shows the virulent and destructive power
the dread name "Satan-" or "Lucifer" (and even the name "Anton
of compassion. Small evils are magnified to overwhelming evils
LaVey— apparently the equivalent of "Satan") from the text. Most of
through the application of compassion.
these instan-ces occur in chapter 4 of the book. Other changes were
Another complaint of some readers of Fire and Ice is that it
also required.
includes data written from a "Setian" perspective. The original text
Now it should be made clear that here again, I am not a promoter
included much more of this type of perspective, but some of it was
of the ideas that were originally contained in the manuscript of Fire
deleted at the publisher's insistence. To this charge I must plead
and Ice— and that to my own way of thinking I do not consider myself
guilty as charged. The reason for this is simple, and I offer it here as
to have been then, or to be now, a "Satanist." I became a member of
an example of how meaningful works of scholarship are actually
the Temple of Set in February of 1984, and continue to be a member
created. (This is usually an unconscious process as practiced by most
of that organization. The Temple of Set is a Left-Hand Path Initiatory
scholars, but I have given up unconsciousness in such regards.)
organization. (It is perhaps most fully described in Lords of the Left-
Scholars, interpreters and commun-icators of various data must of
Hand Path.)
necessity work through certain models of understanding which they
The disturbing quality of Fire and Ice even extended to the cover-
have developed within themselves— these are their theories of
art: Often the cover art for Llewellyn publications, beginning in the
interpretation. These theories act as lenses through which the
1980s, could be criticized for being too "hokey" or "namby-pamby."
data is observed and ultimately interpreted in a meaningful way. For
Such could be said of the cover of Rune Might and certainly of
me that lens was to a great extent the Left-Hand Path philosophy of
Northern Magic, but not of Nine Doors of Midgard, and certainly not of
the Temple of Set. I found that there was much in common between
Fire and Ice. I even got reports that members of the Llewellyn staff
the philosophies of the FS and the T/S. The accuracy of that lens can
were "frightened" by the cover art of Fire and Ice. (My complements
be measured by reading Appendix A of this work.
to the artist!)
It should be noted by all who find the FS material fascinating, and
These stories perhaps give some insight into the reasons behind
who would perhaps like to get involved with the FS, that the Order is
the book's ultimate fate...
 the structure found in Crowley's system. The synthesis of polar
an entirely German-speaking one and that fluency in that language is opposites is a much stronger theme in Satumian teachings than it is
an absolute prerequisite for membership. It is also only active in the in the writings of other "Western occult schools." And it is perhaps
central European geographical area. here that the structural link with the Northern Tradition is strongest.
Personally one of the most gratifying things about the text of Fire From the theories of the "heretical" astrophysicist Hans Horbiger
and Ice is the fact that in 1993 it was translated into German and (1860-1931) Gregorius gleaned a doctrine of the cosmic tension
published by Edition Ananael as Feuer und Eis: Die magischen Lehren between centripetal and centrifugal forces— between the forces of
des deutschen Geheimordens Fraternitas Batumi. It has now become repulsion/expansion and attraction/contraction. The center of the
the standard general introduction to the order in Germany, Austria cosmos is symbolized by the center of the sun, while the outer limits
and Switzerland. of it is embodied in the orbit of the planet Saturn. (In ancient
Here follow two appendices to the book Fire and Ice. Appendix A is astronomy/ astrology Saturn was the outermost planet as the others
a study of the left-hand path character of the order and Appendix B is were not visible.)
the original, and never-before-printed, preface to Fire and Ice Saturnian teachings place a primary emphasis on darkness.
written in 1988 by Michael A. Aquino, High Priest of the Temple of Darkness is said to precede light and to provide a matrix for the
Set. manifestation of the light: Without darkness there is no light! The
"dualism" of the FS is not one that seeks to destroy one pole in favor
Appendix A of the other, but rather it seeks to go beyond the polarities through
The FS as a Left-Hand Path Order experience of both extremes.
For Gregorius the New Aeon was to be as much determined by the
Because an open and frank discussion of the role of Satan in the transition into the much anticipated Age of Aquarius as by the
doctrines of the FS were prohibited in order to preserve public Equinox of the Gods perceived by the Beast. In traditional medieval
sensibilities, I thought I would include some of it in this supplement astrology the zodiacal sign of Aquarius is ruled by the planetary
intended for a more select readership. I draw material for this force of Saturn. In modern forms the planet Uranus is given primary
appendix from the unpublished manuscript of Lords of the Left-Hand rulership over that sign.
Path and from two essays by Gregorius entitled "Mephistopheles Oder Gregorius begins his essay on "Mephistopheles oder Luzifer?" with
Luzifer?" from the April 1953 edition of Blatter fur angewandte a fascinating discussion of the origins of the name "Mephistopheles,"
okkulte Lebenskunst (pp. 1-7) and "Der Mensch in seiner hochsten which is naturally of great interest to Germans due to the fact that
Erkenntnisreife" (Humanity in its Fullest Intellectual Maturity) the demonic figure in Faust by the greatest German man of letters,
printed in the May, 1961 issue of that same journal. Neither of these Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, bore that name. Indeed, it is not just a
articles were available to me at the time of the original writing of "made up name"— it appears in a number of actual magical grimoires
Fire and Ice. dating from the time of the historical Faust. Mephistopheles is
In the manuscript Lords of the Left-Hand Path I define the left- usually interpreted as a Greek word meaning "He who does not love
hand path as follows: the light." An alternate, but more doubtful, theory connects it with
the Hebrew words mephir "destroyer," and tophel "liar." This seems
...[T]he left-hand path is ... the path of non-union with the objective universe. It is less likely as there is no plausible syntax to connect these isolated
the way of isolating consciousness within the subjective universe and, in a state of self-
nouns into an actual name. Most interestingly, however, Gregorius
imposed psychic solitude, refining the soul or psyche to ever more perfect levels. The
objective universe is then made to harmonize itself with the will of the individual psyche mentions the name of a Roman female "demon," or malevolent spirit,
instead of the other way around. Where the right-hand path is (Geocentric (or certainly named "Mefitis." The Roman historian Tacitus mentions that in the
alleocentric— "other-centered"), the left-hand path is psychecentric, or soul/self- second battle of Cremona, a city in northern Italy embroiled in a civil
centered. Those within the left-hand path may argue over the nature of this self/ego/soul,
war around 69-70 CE, the city was sacked and burned and that "...only
but that the individual is the epicenter of the path itself seems undisputed. An eternal
separation of the individual intelligence from the objective universe is sought in the left- the temple of Mefitis outside the city walls remained standing,
hand path. This amounts to an immortality of the independent self consciousness moving defended by its position or the power of its divinity." (Histories Book
within the objective universe and interacting with it at will. lll:33) It is noted that Mefitis is a goddess of pestilential vapors
placated in many parts of Italy. Gregorius further notes that
To begin with, let us review some ideas about the Saturnian view subterranean deities, such as Mefitis, were most usually placated
of the cosmos— the world-order. The cosmological doctrine of the with human sacrifices which were conducted in conjunction with
FS— or its Cosmosophy — is based on dualities and the interplay of sexual orgies. Mefitis, and demonesses like her, it seems, desired
dualities: light and darkness, inner and outer, male and female. To male counterparts to complete a sexual polarity. Gregorius
some extent this echoes Crowley's "monistic dualism" and his speculates that the name Mephistopheles is actually derived from a
polarity between Hadit and Nuit— but in some respects it goes beyond
phrase meaning "the Lover of Mefitis": Mefitis-o-philos. This appears
as far-fetched as the supposed Hebrew etymology of the word, ich bin ein Teil des Teils, der anfangs alles war,
however. ein Teil der Finsternis, die sich das Licht gebar
Whatever the origin or meaning of the name Mephistopheles, the
interpretation of the name is clearly linked to darkness and to the I am a part of the part, that was in the beginning everything,
telluric or chthonic realms below the Earth— it is the Demonium of a part of the darkness, that gave birth to the light...
the Earth, or Earth-Spirit as reflected in Goethe's Faust. This Faust I: 1349-50
connection is greatly clarified by the Italic lore concerning the
demoness Mefitis. This Demonium of the Earth is the most direct link This idea perfectly reflects the Saturnian concept that the
to the power zone of Saturn, according to Gregorius. Darkness is primary and precedes the Light, and is therefore
The Saturnian initiate must go down into the depths of darkness in necessary to the existence of the Light. There is no Light without
order to rise to the heights of the Saturnian sphere— here we find Darkness. This is true in the cosmic order— but it is just as true in
echoes of Nietzsche's famous formula represented in the first the lives of individual initiates.
sections of Also Sprach Zarathustra that one must "go under" In "Der Mensch in seiner hochsten Erkenntnisreife" (Humanity in its
(untergehen) in order to become the over-man (Ubermensch). Fullest Intellectual Maturity) delivered at the Easter Lodge of the FS
Obviously the FS doctrine of the nature and character of Satan is in 1961, Gregorius discussed the nature of humanity— and again he
drawn from a structural understanding of the cosmos based on a returns to the model of polarization. As an individual being Gregorius
"polarian" model— that everything is polarized with "positive" and sees the human as an entity caught between two opposing poles of
negative" ends of a pole. Furthermore, the FS philosophy, or life or creativity and death or destruction, or between knowledge and
cosmosophy, makes use of an idea perhaps most clearly expressed in ignorance. But, of course, Gregorius does not see these as "good"
the Buddhistic schools of Madhyamika ("Middle-way") and the versus "evil." He sees both poles as necessary to the evolution or
Vajrayana ("Thunderbolt-Vehicle") which use versions of the formula: initiation of the individual. However, as the FS philosophy has it, only
maya = nirvana. Philosophically the Madhyamika school claimed that an elite part of humanity will ever be able to see beyond the dualities
in fact there was no difference between maya and nirvana— both were or be able to make practical use of both poles of reality for the
equally void (sunyata) or alternately that the phenomenal world evolution of the self.
(maya) exists only in the mind of the perceiver. Thus, if maya = Ignorance, or "Agnosis," (German Nichtwissen), when recognized as
nirvana then indulgence in the phenomenal world can lead to the such by the potential initiate, is a true spur to real knowledge or
world of bliss. Maya is used to attain nirvana. In practical terms this understanding. Here we are reminded of the declaration of the oracle
opens the way to antinomianism. "Profane" things are made "pure" as at Delphi that Socrates was the wisest of men in all Greece because
an exercise of the mind. he claimed "to know nothing." All knowledge begins with an
assumption of ignorance. But the ignorance is like a great weight on
According to the law of polarization the negative principle has absolutely the same the spirit and soul— only the strong will be able to use this
value as the positive and the opposition of forces is necessary and a basic condition for life resistance to enlightenment for the purpose of self-transformation.
in every phase of the manifestation of life as a maintenance of force. So the negative
Luciferian principle is therefore not only of a divine origin, but it is also just as
The all-pervasive ignorance of the masses is a testing mechanism.
necessary as the Chrestos-principle as a balancing factor. ... The masses incapable of true Knowledge (gnosis) become prisoners of
Lucifer, the great Light-Bearer for humanity, who liberates the ego-centric power of unconsciousness where external god-forms are projected in order to
the Solar-Logos with his own power, can function as a factor for salvation for individuals allay the humans' fear of having to doubt. The Saturnian elite,
who understand it spiritually just as well as the Chrestos-principle of the Sun ... however, recognize that they are their own gods— they must be for
Therefore to pursue the Cult of Saturn is to grasp the higher octave of this Demiurge, to
realize the Luciferian principle which lies within it as a spiritual and divine power, and there simply are no others. Gregorius writes that the Saturnian
consciously to harmonize this in the service of the Solar-Logos. initiate "should elevate himself upon the pedestal of a god-like
Blatter April 1953, p. 6 entity, despite his profound knowledge that there is no personal God—
just as there is no Devil."( p. 4)
Lucifer is then the higher octave of the Saturnian planetary Despite the insistence upon the initiated individual as the true
sphere, while Satan is the lower octave. The octaves are cosmic measurement of the divine, certain apparently objective figures of
principles, and exist beyond characterizations of "good" and "evil." god-like dimensions play a part in the Saturnian cosmology. These
They simply are. They exist as harmonics. Each is necessary to the apparent divinities are, however, not gods in the traditional sense.
entirety of the Saturnian sphere, but neither defines the sphere They are either objective concrete phenomena or psychogonic
completely. They are each pars pro toto— parts of a whole. projections of individual or collective human minds.
On some level this polarized cosmology was understood by Goethe,
as he has Mephistopheles identify himself as:
 To the former category belong entities such as Saturnus — the "gold." Standard western magical symbolism ascribes lead to Saturn
creative agency, or demiurge, of the cosmos as well as Lucifer and and gold to the Sun. This is the initiatory application of the
Satana/s— the so-called higher and lower octaves of the Satumian Cosmosophical doctrines of polarization.
planetary sphere. To the latter category belongs the GOTOS, the The chief function of the Brotherhood itself in this process for
egregore of the Fraternitas Saturni. This entity has been built up the individual is that the group builds and maintains a constant bond
through the ages as a result of Saturnian magical work by individual with the Saturnian sphere in the form of the egregore GOTOS. The
magicians and the FS as a whole. The Grand Master of the order egregore is the product of concentrated collective thought forms
stands in a special relationship with this entity as it is identified built up throughout the years by the FS. The bond with this egregore
with the 33° of the order— the Gradus Ordinis Templi Orientis Saturni both aids in the "re-polarization" of the individual toward the
(G.O.T.O.S.). Saturnian sphere and provides energy for bringing about practical
The archetypes such as Satumus and Lucifer become models for magical ends.
the evolution of the magician. They are the patterns of existence in Because the FS has as one of its main teachings that the world is
the objective universe which initiates use to shape their own paths passing into a so-called Aquarian-Uranian Age a fairly developed
of transformation. But the entities that are the pure products of picture of the envisioned future emerges. It only bears a fleeting
human will are utilized as tools for the creation of certain magical resemblance to the much publicized "Age of Aquarius" made popular
effects. The GOTOS holds together and empowers the FS in a general in the 1960s and 1970s. The astrological sign Aquarius is
way and lends its power to individual members who know the keys to traditionally ruled by Saturn with his dark and distant aspects. Only
gaining access to that power. The creation of such egregores or in more modern times, with the discovery of the planets outside the
psychogones (entities generated by the agency of the human psyche or orbit of Saturn, was Aquarius assigned to the planet Uranus.
will) is a common magical technique in the FS even on a much smaller This Aquarian-Uranian Age, ruled by Saturn, will be one in which a
scale. spiritual elite will be increasingly powerful. But because the
The structural framework of initiation in the Fraternitas Saturni
initiatory process of this Saturnian spiritual elite takes place on a
is provided by the 33 degrees based on the system of the Ancient and
very individualized basis, cooperation or fellowship between and
Accepted Scottish Rite. This becomes a vast training curriculum for among initiates will be a great challenge. This is part of the
the acquisition of magical skills and techniques. This progress is significance of the Brotherhood of Saturn itself. The individuals seek
seen as a continuum through the 33 degrees with no annihilation of
solitude for their spiritual development, but the physical basis
the self being a part of it. needed to sustain the spiritual solitude requires social cooperation.
The path of Saturn is constantly being called one that is both
One unrealized, yet definite part of the Saturnian vision was the
lonely and fraught with danger and suffering— all of which is taken
establishment of a "monastery" for initiates. This monastery would
on as a matter of self-determined volition. The role of antinomianism
serve as an educational center (and vacation site) for most members
in the FS curriculum is significant. Not only is there an emphasis on
of the order, while it would be staffed by a group of high grade
dark and foreboding images and experiences, which is meant to weed
initiates who would live there. The monastery would provide the kind
out those unfit for Saturnian initiation, but there is also the common
of physical and spiritual isolation conducive to Saturnian initiation.
training principle of going against the grain of the initiate's natural
Obviously there is nothing "evil" about the doctrines of the FS.
inclinations. For example, if the person is naturally oriented toward
However, at the same time the Brotherhood, because it was able in
intellectual and analytical pursuits, that person might be directed to
its early years to remain outside the public spotlight, was not
emphasize emotive and intuitive methods in training.
particularly shy about addressing the true nature and character of
The magical methodology created by Gregorius for the FS
entities such as Satan and Lucifer in an initiatory context. By so
hinges on experience and knowledge— the experience of the Saturnian
doing they discovered for themselves the powerful role these
life and of the sacraments of the Brotherhood and knowledge of the
entities can and do play in the transformation of individuals through
Saturnian "Cosmosophy" or wisdom concerning the cosmic order. magical technologies. It perhaps seems a shame that more people are
Solitude is cultivated so as to isolate the true subject of the not willing at least to hear about these alternate forms of
transformation— the individual self. The transformational process spirituality— but on the other hand the fact is that widespread
follows along a path defined by the thirty-three degrees leading from acceptance of such ideas is simply not possible.
Earth to the core of the Saturnian sphere. In that sphere, according to
Saturnian Cosmosophy, is the true reality of the Solar-Logos. The Sun
is the polar opposite of Saturn. But because the core on one extreme
contains the essence of its opposite, the path to Saturn is the surest
path to the Sun. In this way the alchemical "lead" is transformed into

8
 Appendix B withstand the emergent Powers of Darkness and banish them again to
Preface to Fire and Ice the Outer Spheres.
- by - Today, a half-century later, the world has not yet recovered from
Michael A. Aquino that experience. Tolkien's Mordor is still felt to harbor the ghosts of
Germany is the most disturbing place in the world. Sauron and Morgoth beneath its affable Gemutlichkeit. Germany
Other nations, other cultures have their folklore, their remains divided in two; like Siegfried's blade it is thought to be much
superstitions, their sacred groves and magical mountains. Tourists in less dangerous that way. Authors and screenwriters know that
England may imagine primeval Rites of Spring at Stonehenge, while German villains are easily the most diabolical, and if you add a dash
visitors to Egypt or Mexico gaze at the towering pyramids in ecstatic of the supernatural to their menace— as in Raiders of the Lost Ark —
awe of their age and grandeur. Pilgrims to Mecca adore a sacred rock an exquisitely frightful combination results.
covered in silk, while in Rome the faithful seek the favor of St. Peter The roots of contemporary Western occultism are also to be found
by kissing the foot of his statue. in the swirling Nacht und Nebel of Germany. The Freemasons, Vehm,
But all these sites, relics, and curios are tacitly assigned to a role Rosicrucians, Ariosophists, Thule Gesellschaft, and Illuminati all
apart from what modern civilization smugly defines as reality. sprang from its enchanted soil. Even the famous Hermetic Order of
Perhaps they were indeed real to an ancient civilization, or even to the Golden Dawn, that most British of occult fraternities, seduced
our own grandparents. In this technological era of computers and aspirants with claims of its German origins. When Reichsfuhrer—SS
space shuttles, however, they are dismissed as mere baubles for the Heinrich Himmler constructed Black Magical ritual chambers in
commercial titillation of tourists or religious fanatics. Westphalia's Wewelsburg Castle as the Mittelpunkt der Welt, he was
In Germany this reassuring distinction does not exist. merely formalizing what occultists had known all along: that here
Sail down the Rhine and you pass castles erected in the mists of was the wellspring of what some call knowledge and others, less
prehistory by gods, giants, or daamons, close by cliffs from whose boldly, call evil.
heights phantom sirens enticed mariners to their doom; the river So why, amid the flood of books on contemporary occultism, has so
itself gleams with a golden hoard which brought about the ruin of the little been written about the esoteric influence of Germany?
ancient world of the gods and inaugurated that of mankind in its The answer is obvious, yet itself so controversial that it is rarely
place. Wander through the Teutoburger Forest to the Externsteine, openly acknowledged. German occultism leads too quickly into
that stark, haunted cairn which fixes the heavens in their place. In forbidden realms such as racial differences, social Darwinism,
the vastness of Thuringia gaze upon the Kyffhauser mountain wherein unhallowed prehistoric civilizations and Judaso-Christianity's
the Emperor Barbarossa slumbers, awaiting the call of his ancient corruption of the human soul. Few are the authors and publishers who
warriors to lead them again across the frozen wastes to Kharkov. dare tread such dangerous ground, even fortified with suitably pious
Enter Munich's Frauenkirche cathedral across the flagstones wherein disclaimers. As for the self-professed pagans of today's Age of
the impression of the Devil's cloven foot burns to this day. Stroll Aquarius, nestled in gentle fantasies of candles and crystals, they
through the bustling capital of Bonn amidst gleaming skyscrapers and are among the first to cry for suppression of That which lies beyond,
polished Mercedes limousines— then raise your eyes to behold on a fearing that an aroused, hysterical public would savage them as
distant crag the baleful ruins of Drachenfels, the fearsome dragon- cruelly as it would genuine disciples of the Black Arts.
castle of hushed and unholy legend. In Germany the spectres of Stephen Flowers has dared to open the gate which was not to be
nameless things glide silently among the living, and that which ought opened. In a series of books under the nom de plume of Edred
never to be is only too real.
Thorsson, he has already unveiled the mysteries of the Runes, that
And so this nation has been instinctively feared by the rest of the most mysterious of magical mechanisms, and has rescued Guido von
world far beyond whatever military or economic power it has held at List's classical treatise on that subject from the obscurity in which
any particular time. When Mussolini dressed his Fasci di it has languished for almost a century. Now in the present work he
Combattimento in black-and-silver uniforms, observers dismissed it has turned his attention to the Fraternitas Saturni. Why has he done
as comic and theatrical. When the same colors appeared on Nazi this? And why for that matter should anyone care about this
Germany's Schutzstaffel, however, it wasn't in the least amusing. particular institution?
Rather it heralded precisely what Germany's neighbors had dreaded Books on occultism are generally written either by passionate
for so long: the reawakening of ancient sorceries allied with modern pretenders frantic for self-advertisement, or by historians equally
science— Siegfried's enchanted sword reforged in the furnaces of the anxious to disassociate themselves from the bewildering absurdities
Krupps. Against the rest of the Axis, World War II was just another they describe. Stephen Flowers, fortunately for the reader, labors
war. But against Germany it was a holy crusade against a
under neither hindrance. The meticulous and methodical scholar, he
metaphysical horror beyond mere politics— a desperate campaign to
received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Germanic Studies from

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the University of Texas and has gone on to teach a series of
distinguished collegiate courses in that field. Just as systematically
he has personally experimented with the various esoteric arts and
sciences he has investigated, and is not the least apologetic for
having done so. He is quitely recognized as an authority within
several prestigious initiatory environments, and has been a mentor
and counselor to a good many occult authorities whose names are
more widely publicized than his own.
He undertook this particular book because the Fraternitas Saturni
seemed to him both significant and unappreciated as an occult
phenomenon. At first glance it appears to be little more than an early
O.T.O. clone which was a bit more reluctant to be devoured by
Aleister Crowley than its better known predecessor. Certainly its
emphasis upon a sexual interpretation of magic stems from the O.T.O.
Yet, as Flowers points out, the Fraternitas Saturni diverged from the
O.T.O in one very meaningful respect. For Saturnine, magic was a
means of transcending a naturally-ordered existence— not of ritual
obliteration of the self within it. By this simple affirmation the
Fraternitas Saturni removed itself from the Right-Hand Path and
placed itself squarely on the Via Sinistra, whose distinctive feature
is rejection of the universe as it is perceived to be structured.
Nevertheless the fraternity failed to successfully negotiate the
Black Brick Road, relying as it did upon a natural mechanism of the
body — sex — to catalyze its Workings. In an appendix to this book
Flowers explores this delicate subject with more insight and candor
than have ever graced far more turgid writings on the subject—
including those of the Fraternitas Saturni itself. Per Flowers'
analysis, one can see how so many would-be sex magicians have
charged like lemmings into this alluring ocean. If they then vanish
beneath the surface with a grunt and a squeal, should one be
surprised?
You will enjoy this book. You will also learn a great deal from it. It
is written by someone who knows his stuff, on a subject that is
directly relevant to the major occult issues of our time. Let us all
pester the author to write more books like it.

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