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Pagan Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and OthersKarl von Eckartshausen
Written and compiled by George Knowles
One of the greatest influences on theological and philosophical thought of the 18th century was the writings of a little known author called ‘Karl von Eckartshausen’. Popular during his own time he was a prolific writer of books, papers and articles covering such subjects as the Sciences, fine Art, Drama, Politics, Religion and History, though over time many of these have been forgotten. He is perhaps best known in esoteric circles for his writings about Magic, Alchemy and the properties of Numbers, of which his most influential book was "The Cloud upon the Sanctuary". This was the book that influenced such people as Arthur Edward Waite (indeed it was Waite who wrote the introduction to its current printing) and other members of the "Order of the Golden Dawn", most particularly the infamous Aleister Crowley.
Eckartshausen
was born in a Bavarian castle called Haimbhausen on the 28th June
1752. He was the illegitimate son
of Count Carl of Haimbhausen and his union with the daughter of his estate
overseer, Marie Anne Eckhart. His
mother died during childbirth, and because of his illegitimacy, he would later
be unable to take the Count’s name and title.
In his mother’s honour, the Count therefore joined her name to his and
called him Eckartshausen, but the stigma of his birth would always remain with
him. Because of this, his father used all his power and prestige to help and support his son, and took great pains to ensure he received the best of educations. Eckartshausen’s early life seems to have been filled with melancholy, and at the age of seven is said to have experienced dreams of a prophetic and mystical nature, as well as having visions. This led him to a tendency to withdraw from the world at large and seek solitude, a characteristic that endeared him to his family and friends. Despite this early reticence, he was destined for a career of some public importance. He was first educated at the college of Munich, and in 1770 entered the University of Ingolstadt for the study of Philosophy and Law. Taught by a mainly Jesuit faculty, Eckartshausen excelled in all his studies and finished four years later with University honours and a Doctors Degree of Divinity. His father then procured for him an honorary position as Aulic Advisor and Councilor to the supreme court of the emperor, the Bavarian Prince Elector, Karl Theodor. In 1777, Eckartshausen was admitted to the Academy of Sciences in Munich, and applied himself to further academic studies in natural sciences. While there he developed a friendship with the academy’s Director of History, Ferdinand von Sterzinger. Like himself, Sterzinger was interested in the hidden meanings of Magic, Alchemy and Phenomena. Together they undertook a series of physical and alchemical experiments, the results of which would influence the rest of Eckartshausen’s life and work. His position to high office was confirmed in 1779, when he was appointed to a salaried post as Censor of the Library at Munich. As censor, he specialized in Criminology and was charged with the revision of Laws and Literature. His work helped to shape his ideals and influenced him greatly, so much so that he became a defender of the weak and suppressed. That same year he married a lady called Genoveva Quiquérez about whose origins are unknown. Sadly the marriage was short lived, for she died of unknown causes just two years later. After her death in 1781, he married again. This time to Gabriela von Wolter, daughter of Johann Anton von Wolter, the personal doctor to the Prince Elector, and director of the Medical faculty at the University. Soon afterwards a baby daughter was born, named Sophia Teresia Gabriela. In 1784 he was promoted again and raised to the affluent office of Keeper of the Archives of the Electoral House, a position especially conferred upon him by the Prince Elector. His early rise to such high office and affluence, caused him many enemies among those less fortunate, but his favour and closeness with the Prince Elector protected him. Despite his dissenters and high office, privately, Eckartshausen remained a man of virtue and high integrity, and donated much of his wealth to the poor and needy. His work as
censor and archivist, to which he devoted much of his time, also allowed him to
read and study widely. He was a
prolific writer and authored well over a hundred articles, producing such varied
papers as: The practical and
systematic organization of the Principal Archives in general, The Moral
Teachings for the Bavarian Citizen, Concerning the Source of Crimes and the
Possibility of Prevention and Music of the Eyes or the Harmony of Colours.
At the same time he also took an interest in theatre and wrote a number
of plays and drama’s, the most popular of which was called:
‘The Prejudice of Birth’. A religious man, Eckartshausen he was profoundly interested in metaphysical, theosophical and religious though, and in 1788, published a major work entitled: Magic: Principles of Higher Knowledge. His other major works included: God is the Purest Love – 1790 (perhaps his most popular book at the time, said to have reached sixty editions when published in Germany, as well as being translated into Latin and most other European languages), Mystic Nights - 1791, and The Most Important Hieroglyphs for the Human Heart – 1796. Many of these works are now forgotten and reside on dusty shelves in old museums and libraries, occasionally taken down and dusted for the interest of academics.
Eckartshausen died on the 13th May 1803 after a painful illness, and while most of his writings have now been forgotten, he left a lasting legacy, which still remains and inspires us today. Just before his death he published ‘The Cloud upon the Sanctuary – 1802’. A.E. Waite in his introduction to the current edition describes it as: “The crowning production of his intellectual life”:
“The Cloud upon the Sanctuary has, I believe, always remained in the memory of a few, and is destined still to survive, for it carries with it a message of deep significance to all those who look beneath the body of religious doctrine for the one principle of life which energizes the whole organism”.
End
Sources: Introduction to The Cloud upon the Sanctuary - by A.E. Waite Plus
numerous websites to many to mention
First published on the 04th March 2007, 18:22:05 © George Knowles
Best
wishes and Blessed Be
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Site Contents - Links to all Pages
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Correspondence Tables:
Incense / Candles / Colours / Magickal Days / Stones and Gems / Elements and Elementals
Traditions:
Traditions Part 1 - Alexandrian Wicca / Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) / Ár Ndraíocht Féin (ADF) / Blue Star Wicca / British Traditional (Druidic Witchcraft) / Celtic Wicca / Ceremonial Magic / Chaos Magic / Church and School of Wicca / Circle Sanctuary / Covenant of the Goddess (COG) / Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) / Cyber Wicca / Dianic Wicca / Eclectic Wicca / Feri Wicca /
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Other things of interest:
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Resources / What's a spell? /
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- Pentacle / Marks
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/ Part 2 / Part
3 / A
history of the Malleus Maleficarum: includes: Pope
Innocent VIII /
The
papal Bull /
The
Malleus Maleficarum /
An extract from the Malleus Maleficarum
/ The letter of approbation
/ Johann
Nider’s Formicarius /
Jacob
Sprenger /
Heinrich Kramer /
Stefano Infessura
/ Montague Summers /
The Waldenses
/ The Albigenses
/
The Hussites / The
Native American Sun Dance
/ Shielding (Occult
and Psychic Protection) /
Sabbats and Festivals:
The Sabbats in History and Mythology / Samhain (October 31st) / Yule (December 21st) / Imbolc (February 2nd) / Ostara (March 21st) / Beltane (April 30th) / Litha (June 21st) / Lammas/Lughnasadh (August 1st) / Mabon (September 21st)
Rituals contributed by Crone:
Samhain / Yule / Imbolc / Ostara / Beltane / Litha / Lammas / Mabon
Tools:
Tools of a Witch / The Besom (Broom) / Poppets and Dolls / Pendulums / Cauldron Magick / Mirror Gazing
Animals:
Animals in Witchcraft (The Witches Familiar and Totem Animals) / Antelope / Bats / Crow / Fox / Frog and Toads / Goat / Honeybee / Kangaroo / Lion / Owl / Phoenix / Rabbits and Hares / Raven / Robin Redbreast / Sheep / Spider / Squirrel / Swans / Unicorn / Wild Boar / Wolf / Serpent / Pig / Stag / Horse / Mouse / Cat / Rats / Unicorn
Trees:
In Worship of Trees - Myths, Lore and the Celtic Tree Calendar. For descriptions and correspondences of the thirteen sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft see the following: Birch / Rowan / Ash / Alder / Willow / Hawthorn / Oak / Holly / Hazel / Vine / Ivy / Reed / Elder
Sacred Sites:
Mystical Sacred Sites - Stonehenge / Glastonbury Tor / Malta - The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni / Avebury / Cerne Abbas - The Chalk Giant / Ireland - Newgrange /
Rocks and Stones:
Stones - History, Myths and Lore
Articles contributed by Patricia Jean Martin:
Apophyllite / Amber / Amethyst / Aquamarine / Aragonite / Aventurine / Black Tourmaline / Bloodstone / Calcite / Carnelian / Celestite / Citrine / Chrysanthemum Stone / Diamond / Emerald / Fluorite / Garnet / Hematite / Herkimer Diamond / Labradorite / Lapis Lazuli / Malachite / Moonstone / Obsidian / Opal / Pyrite / Quartz (Rock Crystal) / Rose Quartz / Ruby / Selenite / Seraphinite / Silver and Gold / Smoky Quartz / Sodalite / Sunstone / Thunderegg / Tree Agate / Zebra Marble
Wisdom and Inspiration:
Knowledge vs Wisdom by Ardriana Cahill / I Talk to the Trees / Awakening / The Witch in You / A Tale of the Woods / I have a Dream by Martin Luther King /
Articles and Stories about Witchcraft:
Murdered by Witchcraft / The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / A Battleship, U-boat, and a Witch / The Troll-Tear (A story for Children) / Goody Hawkins - The Wise Goodwife / The Story of Jack-O-Lantern / The Murder of the Hammersmith Ghost / Josephine Gray (The Infamous Black Widow) / The Two Brothers - Light and Dark
Old Masters of Academia:
Pliny the Elder / Hesiod / Pythagoras
Biographies
A "Who's Who" of Witches, Pagans and other associated People (Ancient, Past and Present)
(Departed Pagan Pioneers, Founders, Elders and Others)
Pagan
Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others
Abramelin the Mage / Agrippa / Aidan A Kelly / Albertus Magnus - “Albert the Great” / Aleister Crowley - “The Great Beast” / Alex Sanders - “King of the Witches” / Alison Harlow / Allan Bennett - the Ven. Ananda Metteyya / Allan Kardec (Spiritism) / Alphonsus de Spina / Amber K / Ann Moura / Anna Franklin / Anodea Judith / Anton Szandor LaVey / Arnold Crowther / Arthur Edward Waite / Austin Osman Spare / Balthasar Bekker / Biddy Early / Barbara Vickers / Bridget Cleary - The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / Carl " Llewellyn" Weschcke / Cecil Hugh Williamson / Charles Godfrey Leland / Charles Walton / Christopher Penczak / Christina Oakley Harrington / Cornelius Loos / Damh the Bard - "Dave Smith" / Dion Fortune / Dolores Aschroft-Nowicki / Donald Michael Kraig / Doreen Valiente / Dorothy Morrison / Dr. John Dee & Edward Kelly / Dr. Leo Louis Martello / Edain McCoy / Edward Fitch / Eleanor Ray Bone - “Matriarch of British Witchcraft” / Eliphas Levi / Ernest Thompson Seton / Ernest Westlake / Fiona Horne / Frederick McLaren Adams - Feraferia / Friedrich von Spee / Francis Barrett / Gavin and Yvonne Frost and the School and Church of Wicca / Gerald B. Gardner - The father of contemporary Witchcraft / Gwydion Pendderwen / Hans Holzer / Helen Duncan / Herman Slater - Horrible Herman / Heinrich Kramer / Isaac Bonewits / Israel Regardie / Ivo Domínguez Jr. / Jack Whiteside Parsons - Rocket Science and Magick / James "Cunning" Murrell - The Master of Witches / Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone / Jean Bodin / Jessie Wicker Bell - “Lady Sheba” / Johann Weyer / Johannes Junius - "The Burgomaster of Bamberg" / Johann Georg Fuchs von Dornheim - the “Hexenbrenner” (witch burner) / John Belham-Payne / John George Hohman - "Pow-wow" / John Gerard / John Gordon Hargrave and the Kibbo Kith Kindred / John Michael Greer / John Score / Joseph “Bearwalker” Wilson / Joseph John Campbell / Karl von Eckartshausen / Lady Gwen Thompson - and "The Rede of the Wiccae" / Laurie Cabot - "the Official Witch of Salem" / Lewis Spence / Lodovico Maria Sinistrari / Ludwig Lavater / Madeline Montalban and the Order of the Morning Star / Margaret Alice Murray / Margot Adler / Michael Howard and the UK "Cauldron Magazine" / Margaret St. Clair - the “Sign of the Labrys” / Marie Laveau - " the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans" / Marion Weinstein / Martin Antoine Del Rio / Matthew Hopkins - “The Witch-Finder General” / Max Ehrmann and the "Desiderata" / Michael A. Aquino - and The Temple of Set / Monique Wilson / Montague Summers / Nicholas Culpeper / Nicholas Remy / M. R. Sellars / Mrs. Maud Grieve - "A Modern Herbal" / Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Morning Glory / Old Dorothy Clutterbuck / Old George Pickingill / Olivia Durdin-Robertson - co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis / Paddy Slade / Pamela Colman-Smith / Paracelsus / Patricia Crowther / Patricia Monaghan / Patricia “Trish” Telesco / Paul Foster Case and the “Builders of the Adytum” mystery school / Peter Binsfeld / Philip Heselton / Raven Grimassi / Raymond Buckland / Reginald Scot / Richard Baxter / Robert Cochrane / Robert ‘von Ranke’ Graves and the "The White Goddess" / Rosaleen Norton - “The Witch of Kings Cross” / Rossell Hope Robbins / Ross Nichols and the " Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids" (OBOD) / Rudolf Steiner / Sabrina Underwood - "The Ink Witch" / Scott Cunningham / Selena Fox - founder of "Circle Sanctuary" / Silver Ravenwolf / Sir Francis Dashwood / Sir James George Frazer and the " The Golden Bough" / S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” / Starhawk / Stewart Farrar / Sybil Leek / Ted Andrews / The Mather Family - (includes: Richard Mather, Increase Mather and Cotton Mather ) / Thomas Ady / T. Thorn Coyle / Vera Chapman / Victor & Cora Anderson and the " Feri Tradition" / Vivianne Crowley / Walter Brown Gibson / Walter Ernest Butler / William Butler Yeats / Zsuzsanna Budapest /
Many of the above biographies are briefs and far from complete. If you know about any of these individuals and can help with additional information, please contact me privately at my email address below. Many thanks for reading :-)
"FAIR USE NOTICE"While I have taken due care and diligence to credit all sources where possible, this website may contain copyrighted material which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. My use of making such material available here is done so in my efforts to advance our understanding of religious discrimination, the environmental and social justice issues etc. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this website for purposes of your own then you must obtain permission from the relevant copyright owner yourself.Any queries please contact me at email - George@controverscial.com
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