JuliusEvola.NET
Main views in his own words
postModernity
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if there ever was a civilization of slaves on a grand scale
the one in which we are living is it
no traditional civilization ever saw such great masses of people
condemned to perform shallow
impersonal
automatic jobs
in the contemporary slave system the counterparts of figures
such as lords or enlightened rulers
are nowhere to be found
this slavery is imposed subtly
through the tyranny of the economic factor
and through the absurd structures of a more or less collectivized society
and since the modern view of life
in its materialism
has taken away from the single individual
any possibility of bestowing on his destiny
a transfiguring element
and seeing in it a sign and a symbol
contemporary slavery should therefore be reckoned
as one of the gloomiest and most desperate kinds of all times
it is not a surprise
that in the masses of modern slaves
the obscure forces of world subversion
have found an easy
obtuse instrument
to pursue their goals
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what is really needed
is not to toss back and forth in a bed of agony
but to awaken and get up
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in order for this to happen
it is necessary to leave the deceptive and magical "circle"
and be able to conceive something else
to acquire new eyes and new ears
in order to perceive things
that have become invisible and mute with the passing of time
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it is only by going back to the meanings and the visions
that existed before the establishment of the causes of the present civilization
that it is possible to achieve an absolute reference point
and at the same time to find a strong defense
and an unbreakable line of resistance
for those who
despite everything
will still be standing
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the only thing that matters today
is the activity of those who can "ride the wave"
and remain firm in their principles
unmoved by any concessions
and indifferent to the fevers
the convulsions
the superstitions
and the prostitutions
that characterize modern generations
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the only thing that matters
is the silent endurance
of a few
whose impassible presence as "stone guests"
helps to create
new relationships
new distances
new values
and helps to construct a pole
that
although it will certainly not prevent this world
inhabited by the distracted and restless
from being what it is
will still help to transmit to someone
the sensation of the truth
- a sensation that could become for them
the principle of
a liberating crisis
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it is a real test
in order for it to be complete in its resolve
it is necessary to meet the following conditions
all the bridges are to be cut
no support found
and no returns possible
also
the only way out must be forward
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by opposition to the earthly way
inspired by utilitarianism or by greed
we ariya
go the heavenly way of those who act
without concern for the consequences
and for the sake of the action itself
and who transform every action into a rite
and into an "offering"
thus our action is like a fire
that generates light
and in which the matter of the act itself
is consumed and purified
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in our view
the degree to which the act is freed from matter
detached from greed and passion
and made self-sufficient
defines the hierarchy of activities
and consequently the hierarchy of the various social organisms
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it is typical of a heroic vocation
to face the greatest wave
knowing that two destinies lie ahead
that of those who will die with the dissolution of the modern world
and that of those who will find themselves in the main and regal stream of the new current
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men of the primordial tradition
we cannot be otherwise than we are
this is our life
this is our being
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we are followers of the discipline
that is practiced by those
who are gods among men
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JuliusEvola.NET
ariya essence
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in man
in addition to the physical body
there are essentially three entities or principles
each endowed with its own character and destiny
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the first principle corresponds to the conscious "I" typical of the waking state
which arose with the body and was formed in parallel with its biological
development
this is the ordinary personality
the second principle was called "demon"
"manes"
"lar"
and even "double"
the third and last principle corresponds to what proceeds from the first entity after
death
for most people
it is the "shadow"
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as long as a person belongs to "nature"
the ultimate foundation of a human being is the daemon or "demon"
in this context the term does not have the evil connotation christianity bestowed
upon it
when man is considered from a naturalistic point of view
the demon
could be defined as the deep force that originally produced consciousness in the
finite form that is the body in which it lives during its residence in the visible world
this force eventually remains "behind" the individual
in the preconscious and in the subconscious dimensions
as the foundation of organic processes and subtle relations with the environment
other beings
and with past and future destiny
these relations usually elude any direct perception
the single individuals of a group appear as various incarnations or emanations of
this demon or totem
which is the "spirit" pulsating in their blood
they live in it and it lives in them
though transcending them
just as the matrix transcends the particular forms it produces out of its own
substance
the seat of the lares is underground
they are in custody of a female principle
mania
who is the mater larum
at the death of the body an ordinary person usually loses his or her personality
which was an illusory thing even while that person was alive
the person is then reduced to a shadow that is itself destined to be dissolved after
a more or less lengthy period culminating in what was called "the second death"
the essential vital principles of the deceased return to the totem
which is a primordial
perenial
and inexhaustible matter
life will again proceed from this matter and assume other individual forms
all of which are subject to the same destiny
this teaching concerns the naturalistic order
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there is
however
a second teaching relating to a higher order and a different
more privileged
aristocratic
and sacred solution to the problem of survival after death
it is possible to establish a connection here with the ideas concerning those
ancestors who
through their "victory"
bestowed a sacred legacy upon the ensuing patrician generations that reenact and
renew the rite
the "heroes" or demigods to whom the higher castes and the noble families of
traditional antiquity traced their lineage were beings who at death
(unlike most people or unlike those who had been defeated in the trials of the
afterlife)
did not emanate a "shadow" or the larva of an ego that was eventually destined to
die anyway
instead
they were beings who had achieved the self-subsistent
transcendent
and incorruptible life of a "god"
they were those who "had overcome the second death"
this was possible because they had more or less directly imposed upon their own
vital force that change of nature
the transcendent meaning of "sacrifice"
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to establish ambiguous promiscuities that make individuals more vulnerable to the
powers on which they depend as natural beings
thus allowing the center of their being to fall deeper and deeper into the collective
and into the prepersonal dimensions and to "placate" or to propitiate certain
infernal influences
granting them their wish to become incarnated in the souls and in the world of
men
this is the essence of an inferior cult that is only an extension of the way of being
of those who have no cult and no rite at all
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to free human beings from the dominion of the totems
to strengthen them
to address them to the fulfillment of a spiritual form and a limit
and to bring them in an invisible way to the line of influences capable of creating a
destiny of heroic and liberating immortality
this was the task of the aristocratic cult
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one would look in vain for "religion" in the original forms of the world of tradition
what characterizes the primordial times is not "animism"
the idea that an "anima" is the foundation of the general representation of the
divine and of the various forces at work in the universe
but rather the idea or perception of pure powers
adequately represented by the roman view of the numen
the numen
unlike the notion of deus
as it later came to be understood
is not a being or a person
but a sheer power that is capable of producing effects
of acting
and of manifesting itself
the sense of the real presence of such powers
or numina
as something simultaneously transcendent and yet immanent
marvelous yet fearful
constituted the substance of the original experience of the "sacred"
even though more conditioned points of view were not excluded from exotericism
those traditional forms reserved for the common people
"inner doctrines" were characterized by the teaching that the personal forms of
deities
variously objectified
are only symbols of superrational and superhuman ways of being
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the center consisted in the real and living presence of these states within an elite
or in the ideal of their realization through what in tibet is called the "direct path"
and which generally corresponds to initiation conceived as an ontological change
of nature
the rite was a "divine technique"
a determining action upon invisible forces and inner states
thus
the law of action reigned supreme
but the law of action is also the law of freedom
no bond can be spiritually imposed on beings who neither hope nor fear
but rather act
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when the efficacy of the rite disappeared
man was motivated to give a mythological individuality to those forces with which
he had previously dealt according to simple relationships of technique or which
at most
he had conceived under the species of symbols
later on man conceived these forces in his own image
thus limiting human possibilities
he saw in them personal beings who were more powerful than he was
and who were to be addressed with humility
faith
hope
and fear
not only to receive protection and success
but also liberation and salus
(in its double meaning of health and salvation)
the hyperrealistic world that was substantiated with pure and sheer action was
replaced with a subreal and confused world of emotions
imagination
hopes
and fears
this world became increasingly "human" and powerless as it followed various
stages of the general involution and alteration of the primordial tradition
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the division of individuals into castes or into equivalent groups according to their
nature and to the different rank of activities they exercise with regard to pure
spirituality
constitutes the essence of the primordial legislation and of the social order
according to "justice"
the activities of the slaves or workers were subordinated to the activities of the
bourgeoisie
higher up in the hierarchy we find the warrior nobility
and finally the representatives of the spiritual authority and power
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after the race of beings who are by nature more than human beings became
extinct
this fourfold division became a threefold division when nobility was thought to
encompass both the warrior and the spiritual dimensions and practiced in those
areas in which residues of this original situation existed
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the castes
more than defining social groups
defined functions and typical ways of being and acting
a hierarchy was not a device of the human will but a law of nature and as
impersonal a physical law as that according to which a lighter fluid floats on top of
a denser fluid
unless an upsetting factor intervenes
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the castes corresponded to different powers of the soul and to particular virtues
the rulers
the warriors
and the workers
corresponded respectively to the spirit and to the head
to the animus and to the chest
and to the faculty of desire and to the lower organs of the body regulating sex and
the functions of excretion
in this way
the external order and hierarchy correspond to an inner order and hierarchy
according to "justice"
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excluding the idea that birth is a casual event
it can be said that birth does not determine nature
but that nature determines birth
more specifically
a person is endowed with a certain spirit by virtue of being born in a given caste
but at the same time
one is born in a specific caste because one possesses
transcendentally
a given spirit
hence
the differences between the castes
far from being artificial
unfair
and arbitrary
were just the reflexion and the confirmation of a preexisting
deeper
and more intimate inequality
they represented a higher application of the principle suum cuique (to each his
own)
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the castes represented the natural "place" of the earthly convergence of
analogous wills and vocations
also
the regular and closed hereditary transmission forged a homogeneous group
sharing favorable organic
vitalistic
and even psychic proclivities in view of the regular development on the part of
single individuals of the aforesaid prenatal determinations or dispositions on the
plane of human existence
the individual did not "receive" from the caste his own nature
rather
the caste afforded him the opportunity to recognize or remember his own nature
and prenatal will
while at the same time presenting him with a kind of occult heritage related to the
blood so that he would be able to realize the latter in a harmonious way
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the characteristics
the functions
and the duties of the caste constituted the traces for the regular development of
one's possibilities in the context of an organic social system
in the higher castes
initiation completed this process by awakening and inducing in the single
individual certain influences that were already oriented in a supernatural direction
the ius of the single individual
namely
those prerogatives and distinct rights inherent to each of these traditional
articulations
not only allowed this transcendental will to be in harmony with a congenial human
heredity
but also allowed everybody to find in the social organism a condition that really
corresponded to their own nature and to their deepest attitudes
such a condition was protected against any confusion and prevarication
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it is true that much can be "achieved" in a lifetime
but "achievements" mean absolutely nothing from a higher point of view
(from a point of view that knows that the progressive decay of the organism will
eventually push one into nothingness)
when they do not actualize the preexisting will that is the reason for a specific
birth
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faithfulness is the second cornerstone of every traditional organization
in addition to the rite and an elite that embodies transcendence
this is the force that
as a magnet
establishes contacts
creates a psychic atmosphere
stabilizes the social structure
and determines a system of coordination and gravitation between the individual
elements and the center
this fluid
is rooted in freedom and in the spiritual spontaneity of the personality
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this is also why
in any civilization of a traditional type
unity and hierarchy were able to coexist with a high degree of independence
freedom
and self-expression
especially in typically aryan civilizations
there were long periods of time in which a remarkable degree of pluralism existed
within every state or city
families
stocks
and gentes made up many small-scale states and powers that enjoyed autonomy
to a large degree
they were subsumed in an ideal and organic unity
though they possessed everything they needed for their material and spiritual life
a cult
a law
a land
and a militia
tradition
the common origin
and the common race
(not just the race of the body
but the race of the spirit)
were the only foundations of a superior organization that was capable of
developing into the form of the empire
especially when the original group of forces spread into a larger space when it
needed to be organized and unified
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the "sacred" was a light that shone not only on what today are the profane
sciences
arts
and professions
but on trades and various material activities as well
by virtue of the analogical correspondences existing between the various planes
the sciences
activities
and skills of the lower plane could traditionally be considered as symbols of a
higher nature and thus help to communicate the meaning hidden in the latter
since it was already present in the former
even though in a potential form
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the notion of "nature" did not correspond merely to the world of bodies and of
visible forms
but on the contrary
it corresponded essentially to part of an invisible reality
the ancients had a sense of a dark netherworld
populated by obscure and ambiguous forces of every kind
that was opposed to the superrational and sidereal brightness of a higher region
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when the inner strength of a fides is no longer present
then every activity is defined according to its purely material aspect
also
equally worthy paths are replaced with an effect-driven differentiation dictated by
the type of activity being performed
hence
the sense of intermediary forms of social organization
such as ancient slavery
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as paradoxical as it may first appear in the context of those civilizations that
largely employed the institution of slavery
it was work that characterized the condition of a slave
and not vice versa
in other words
when the activity in the lower strata of the social hierarchy was no longer
supported by a spiritual meaning
and when instead of an "action" there was only "work"
then the material criterion was destined to take over and those activities related to
matter and connected to the material needs of life were destined to appear as
degrading and as unworthy of any free human being
therefore "work" came to be seen as something that only a slave would engage in
and it became almost a sentence
likewise
the only dharma possible for a slave was work
the ancient world did not despise labor because it practiced slavery and because
those who worked were slaves
on the contrary
since it despised labor
it despised the slave
since those who "worked" could not be anything but slaves
the traditional world willed slavery into being and it differentiated
instituted
and regulated into a separated social class the mass of those people whose way of
being could only be expressed through work
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in antiquity
the vanquished were often assigned the functions of slaves
was this barbarian-style materialism
yes and no
once more
we should not forget the truth that permeated the traditional world
nothing happens on this earth that is not the symbol and the parallel effect of
spiritual events
since between spirit and reality
hence
power too
allegedly there was an intimate relationship
as a particular consequence of this truth
winning or losing were never considered as mere coincidences
there still remains today among primitive populations the ancient belief that the
person afflicted by misfortunes is always a guilty person
the outcomes of every struggle and every war are always mystical signs
or the results of a "divine judgment"
and therefore capable of revealing or unfolding a human destiny
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JuliusEvola.NET
ariya war
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the physical combat aspect of the trial
if it had to occur
is only the materialistic transposition of some higher meaning
and it must be related to the general view of "divine judgments"
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on the one hand
the pariah is a person without a caste
the one who has "lapsed" or who has eluded the "form" by being powerless before
it
thus returning to the infernal world
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the ascetic
on the other hand
is a being above the caste
one who becomes free from the form by renouncing the illusory center of human
individuality
he turns toward the principle from which every "form" proceeds
not by faithfulness to his own nature and by participation in the hierarchy
but by a direct action
these beings
should not be expected to follow a human dharma
just as one who is trying to kindle a fire ultimately does not care what kind of wood
is being employed
as long as it is capable of producing fire and light
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the requirement for the regal dignity consists in the control of the manas
(the inner and transcendent root of the five senses)
which is also a requirement for the successful practice of asceticism
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asceticism occupies an ideal intermediary state between the plane of direct
olympian
and initiatory regality and the plane of rite and of dharma
asceticism also presents two features or qualifications that from a broader
perspective may be considered as qualifications of the same traditional spirit
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the first aspect of the ascetic path is action
understood as heroic action
the second aspect is asceticism in the technical sense of the word
especially with reference to the path of contemplation
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action and knowledge are two fundamental human faculties
in both domains it is possible to accomplish an integration capable of removing
human limitations
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the asceticism of contemplation consists of the integration of the knowing faculty
(achieved through detachment from sensible reality)
with the neutralization of individual rationalizing faculties and with the progressive
stripping of the nucleus of consciousness
which thus becomes "free from conditionings" and subtracts itself from the
limitation and from the necessity of any determination
whether real or virtual
once all the dross and obstructions are removed
participation in the overworld takes place in the form of a vision or an
enlightenment
as the peak of the ascetical path
this point also represents at the same time the beginning of a truly continuous
progressive ascent that realizes states of being truly superior to the human
condition
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the essential ideals of the ascetical path are the universal as knowledge and
knowledge as liberation
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the ascetical detachment typical of the contemplative path implies "renunciation"
in this regard
it is necessary to prevent the misunderstanding occasioned by some inferior forms
of asceticism
renunciation proceeds from a natural distaste for objects that are usually
attractive and yearned for
this distaste is motivated by the fact that one directly desires
or better
wills
something the world of conditioned experience cannot grant
in this case
what leads to renunciation is the natural nobility of one's desire rather than an
external intervention aimed at slowing down
mortifying
and inhibiting the faculty of desire in a vulgar nature
after all
the emotional phase
even in its purest and noblest forms
is only found at the introductory levels in higher forms of asceticism
in later stages
it is consumed by the intellectual fire and by the arid splendor of pure
contemplation
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one reaches a peak in respect to which "god" himself
(always according to his theistic view)
appears as something ephemeral
that is
as a transcendent and uncreated peak of the self without which "god" himself
could not exist
all the typical images of the religious consciousness are swallowed up by a reality
that is an absolute
pure possession
and that in its simplicity cannot help but to appear terrifying to any finite being
we find a solar symbol
before this barren and absolute substance
"god" appears as the moon next to the sun
the divine light in comparison with the radiance of this substance pales
just as the sun's light outshines the moon's
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contemplation in the classical idea was often regarded as the most pure form of
activity
it had its object and goal in itself and did not need "anything else" in order to be
implemented
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while in contemplative asceticism we find a mostly inner process in which the
theme of detachment and the direct orientation toward transcendence are
predominant
in the second case
(namely
the path of action)
we have an immanent process aimed at awakening the deepest forces of the
human being and at bringing them to the limit
thus causing a superlife to spring from life itself in a context of absolute intensity
this is the heroic life
the nature of such a realization causes it to present simultaneously an outer and
an inner
a visible and an invisible aspect
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conversely
pure contemplative asceticism may also lie entirely in a domain that is not
connected to the external world by something tangible
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when the two poles of the ascetical path are not separated and neither one
becomes the "dominating" trait of a particular type of civilization
but on the contrary
both poles are present and joined together
then the ascetical element feeds in an invisible way the forces of "centrality" and
"stability" of a traditional organism
while the heroic element enjoys a greater relationship with the dynamism and the
force animating its structures
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considering that in the traditional view of the world every reality was a symbol and
every action a ritual
the same was true in the case of war
since war could take on a sacred character
"holy war" and "the path to god" became one and the same thing
the persian-aryan tradition and also the hellenic world
saw in material warfare the reflection of a perennial cosmic struggle between the
spiritual olympian-uranian element of the cosmos on the one hand
and the titanic
demonic-feminine unrestrained elements of chaos on the other hand
according to the aztec and nahua races
the highest seat of immortality
the "house of the sun" or the "house of huitzilopochtli"
was reserved not only for sovereigns but for heroes as well
as far as ordinary people were concerned
they were believed to slowly fade away in a place analogous to the hellenic hades
according to the nordic races
no sacrifice was thought to bear more supernatural fruits than the one celebrated
by the hero who falls on the battlefield
by means of a heroic death the warrior shifted from the plane of the material
earthly war to the plane of struggle of a transcendent and universal character
the host of heroes were believed to constitute the so-called wildes heer
the mounted stormtroopers led by odin to fight against the ragna-rokkr
the "twilight of the gods" that has been approaching for a very long time
the nordic view of the wildes heer corresponds to the iranian view of mithras
the "sleepless warrior"
who at the head of the fravashi leads the fight against the enemies of the aryan
religion
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originally
orthodox islam conceived a unitary form of asceticism
that which is connected to the jihad or "holy war"
essentially inheritance of the persian tradition
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the "greater holy war" is the struggle of man's higher principle against everything
that is merely human in him
against his inferior nature and against chaotic impulses and all sorts of material
attachments
this is expressly outlined in a text of aryan warrior wisdom
"know him therefore who is above reason
and let his peace give thee peace
be a warrior and kill desire
the powerful enemy of the soul"
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in the world of traditional warrior asceticism the "lesser holy war"
namely
the external war
is indicated and even prescribed as the means to wage this "greater holy war"
in this order of ideas action exercises the rigorous function and task of a sacrificial
and purifying ritual
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obviously the spiritual orientation and the "right intention"
that is
the one toward transcendence
("heaven"
"paradise" and so on)
are presupposed as the foundations of jihad
lest war lose its sacred character and degenerate into a wild affair in which true
heroism is replaced with reckless abandonment and what counts are the
unleashed impulses of the animalistic nature
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in the instance of real death in battle
we find the equivalent of the mors triumphalis found in classical traditions
those who have experienced the "greater holy war" during the "lesser holy war"
have awakened a power that most likely will help them overcome the crisis of
death
this power
having already liberated them from the "enemy" and from the "infidel"
will help them avoid the fate of hades
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it is possible
however
to go through death and conquer
as well as achieve
the superlife and to ascend to the "heavenly realm" while being alive
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the islamic formulation of the heroic doctrine corresponds to that formulated in
the bhagavadgita
in which the same meanings are expressed in a purer way
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the doctrine of liberation through pure action
which is expounded in this text
is declared to be "solar" in origin and is believed to have been communicated by
the founder of the present cycle to dynasties of sacred kings
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krsna and arjuna
who represent respectively the self and the empirical ego
or personality and individuality
or the unconditioned atman and the living soul
climbed into the same chariot
which is the vehicle of being
considered in its manifested state
as arjuna fights on
krsna drives the chariot without becoming involved in the action
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°
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.
.
the piety that keeps the warrior arjuna from going to battle against his enemies
since he recognizes among them his own relatives and teachers
is characterized by the bhagavadgita as "lifeless dejection"
the text adds
"strong men do not know despair
for that wins neither heaven nor earth"
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
arjuna represents a warrior version of the "awakened one"
arjuna also ascended a "mountain"
(in the himalayas)
to practice asceticism and to achieve superior warrior skills
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the purity of this type of action
which must be willed for its own sake
is also celebrated in clear terms
"prepare for war with peace in thy soul
be in peace in pleasure and pain
in gain and in loss
in victory or in the loss of a battle
in this peace there is no sin"
in other words
you will not stray from the supernatural direction by fulfilling your dharma as a
warrior
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the relationship between war and "the path to god" is present in the gita too
though the metaphysical rather than the ethical aspect is more heavily stressed
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the warrior reproduces somewhat the deity's transcendence
the consciousness of the irreality of what can be lost or caused to be lost as
ephemeral life and as mortal body
(the equivalent of the islamic view that life is just a sport and a pastime)
is associated with the knowledge of that aspect of the divine according to which
this aspect is an absolute power before which every conditioned existence
appears as a negation
this power becomes naked and dazzled in a terrible theophany precisely in the act
of destruction
in the act that "negates the negation"
in the whirlwind that sweeps away every finite life
either destroying it or making it arise again in a transhuman state
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the power capable of producing the heroic realization is clearly defined
the values are overturned
death becomes a witness to life
and the destructive power of time displays the indomitable nature hidden inside
what is subject to time and death
krsna
"I am all-powerful time which destroys all things
and I have come here to slay these men
even if thou dost not fight
all the warriors facing thee shall die
arise therefore
win thy glory
conquer thy enemies
and enjoy thy kingdom
through fate of their own karma I have doomed them to die
be thou merely the means of my work
tremble not
fight and slay them
thou shalt conquer thy enemies in battle"
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in this way we find again the identification of war with "the path to god"
the warrior evokes in himself the transcendent power of destruction
he takes it on
becomes transfigured in it and free
thus breaking loose from all human bonds
life is like a bow and the soul like an arrow
the target being aimed at is the Supreme Spirit
this is the metaphysical justification of war and the transformation of the lesser
into the greater holy war
it also sheds further light on the meaning of the traditions concerning the
transformation
in the course of the battle
of a warrior or a king into a god
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
what we find is the general theme of war being justified as a reflection of the
transcendent war waged by "form" against chaos and the forces of the inferior
nature that accompany it
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
we find a convergence of the inner and outer dimensions
in the holy war the individual was afforded the experience of a meta-individual
action
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the teaming up of warriors for a purpose higher than their own race
national interests
or territorial and political concerns was an external expression of the overcoming
of all particularities
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in reality
if the universality connected with the asceticism of the pure spiritual authority is
the condition for an invisible traditional unity that exists over and above any
political division within the body of a unitary civilization informed by the cosmic
and by the eternal
and when this universality is added to "universality as action"
-then we arrive at the supreme ideal of the empire
an ideal whose unity is both visible and invisible
material and political
as well as spiritual
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
heroic asceticism and the untameability of the warrior vocation strengthened by a
supernatural direction are the necessary instruments that allow the inner unity to
be analogically reflected in the outer unity
namely
in the social body represented by many peoples that are organized and unified by
the same one great conquering stock
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
modern civilization has brought
in terms of war
a change of level
from the warrior
society has shifted to the type of the mere "soldier" that is found in association
with the removal of all transcendent elements in the idea of fighting
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
to fight on "the path to god" has been characterized as "medieval" fanaticism
conversely
it has been characterized as a most sacred cause to fight for "patriotic" and
"nationalistic" ideals and for other myths that in our contemporary era have
eventually been unmasked and shown to be the instruments of irrational
materialistic
and destructive forces
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
when "country" was mentioned
this rallying cry often concealed the plans of annexation and oppression and the
interests of monopolistic industries
all talk of "heroism" was done by those who accompanied soldiers to the train
stations
soldiers went to the front to experience war as something else
namely
as a crisis that all too often did not turn out to be an authentic and heroic
transfiguration of the personality
but rather the regression of the individual to a plane of savage instincts
"reflexes"
and reactions that retain very little of the human by virtue of being below and not
above humanity
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
hypocritical rhetoric
the great ideas of "humanity"
"democracy"
and "the right of a people to self-determination"
have been mobilized
from an external point of view
the heroic ideal has now been lowered to the figure of the policeman because the
new "crusades" have not been able to find a better flag to rally around than that of
the "struggle against the aggressor"
from an inner point of view
beyond all this rhetoric
what proved to be decisive was the brute
cynical will to power of obscure
international
capitalist
and collectivist powers
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
at the same time "science" has promoted an extreme mechanization and
technologization of war
so much so that today war is not a matter of man against man but of machines
against man
rational systems of mass extermination are being employed
(through indiscriminate air raids
atomic weapons
and chemical warfare)
that leave no hope and no way out
such systems could once have been devised only to exterminate germs and
insects
in contrast to "medieval superstitions" that refer to a "holy war"
what our contemporaries consider sacred and worthy of the actual "progress of
civilization" is the fact that millions of human beings
taken away en masse from their occupations and vocations
(which are totally alien to the military vocation)
and literally turned into what military jargon refers to as "cannon fodder"
will die in such events
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
these processes may change polarity and the most destructive aspects of modern
technological war may condition a superior type of man
beyond the patriotic and "idealist" rhetoric as well as beyond humanitarianism and
antimilitarism
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the middle ages awaited the hero of the grail
so that the head of the holy roman empire could become an image or a
manifestation of the universal ruler
so that all the forces could receive a new power
so that a real solar order could be formed
so that the invisible emperor could also be the manifest one
for about a century and a half
the entire knightly west lived intensely the myth of the court of king arthur and his
knights seeking the grail
this awakening of a heroic tradition connected to a universal imperial idea was
destined to arouse inimical forces and lead to a clash with catholicism
the true reason why the church became such a staunch antagonist of the empire
was the instinctive perception of the true nature of the force gaining momentum
behind the external forms of the knightly spirit and the ghibeline ideal
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the order of the knights templar approached more than others the type of "the
spiritual chivalry of the grail"
moreover
its inner doctrine had an initiatory character
for this reason it was singled out and severely repressed by the alliance of the
representatives of the two princes whom the order ideally transcended
namely
the pope and his ally
philip the fair
a secularized
profane
and despotic king who hated the aristocracy
whatever the "real" motives behind the destruction of the templars were
they are of little or no account
in such cases
these motives are always occasional
they only help to set in motion the forces needed to implement a design
the directing intelligence of which is to be found on a much deeper plane
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
templar chivalry was characteristically an order in which fighting and especially
"holy war" were regarded as a path of asceticism and liberation
externally
it embraced christianity
but in its highest mystery
which was restricted to an inner circle
it went beyond the christian religion
rejecting the worship of christ
a false prophet
-- a very ordinary man who died because of his own mistakes
and the main limitations of a devotional type
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the crusades
in which the templars and in general the ghibeline chivalry played a fundamental
role
in many respects created a supratraditional bridge between west and east
the crusading knighthood ended up confronting a facsimile of itself
namely
warriors who abided by corresponding ethics
chivalrous customs
ideals of a "holy war"
and initiatory currents
thus the templars were the christian equivalent of the arab order of the ishmaelites
who likewise regarded themselves as the "guardians of the holy land"
(in an esoteric and symbolic sense)
and who had two hierarchies
one official and one secret
such an order
which had a double character
both warrior and religious
almost met the same fate as that of the templars
and for analogous reasons
its initiatory character and its upholding an esotericism that despised the literal
meaning of the sacred scriptures
templars and ishmaelites carried the same colors
(red and white)
cross and cloak the former
belt and garment the latter
this "secret understanding" never amounted to a military betrayal
considering that the templars were among the bravest
most faithful and warriorlike soldiers during all the crusades
that which rather corresponded to it was probably the expunging from the notion
of "holy war" of its materialistic and external aspect of war waged against the
"infidel" and of death for the "true" faith
and its restoration to its purest
most metaphysical meaning
according to this meaning
what really mattered was no longer a particular profession of faith
but the simple capacity to turn war into an ascetic preparation for the attainment
of immortality
on the muslim side
too
the ultimate meaning of the "holy war"
(jihad)
was not any different
this too was the true meaning of fighting according to the knights of the grail
to them it did not matter whether their opponent was a christian or a saracen
just as it did not matter whether their fight ended in victory or death
since fighting for them was an ascesis and a purification
with the exception of their "superordained" task of defending the "seat of the
grail" and blocking access to it
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
typical is the distortion behind the charge that the templars used to burn before
their idol the children that they begat in sin
all this probably amounted to a "baptism of fire"
namely
to a heroic-solar initiation that was administered to the neophytes who
according to a terminology common to all traditions
were regarded as the children of the masters
or as newborns
according to their second
spiritual birth
the rebirth was symbolized by a belt that had to be worn day and night
which every knight received and which had to be put on the idol
so that it may become impregnated with a special influence
the belt or cord was the mark of the initiates
just as in the indo-aryan orient it used to characterize the higher castes of the
"twice born"
the cord is also the symbol of the immaterial chain
the connection that invisibly joins together all those who have received the same
initiation
thus becoming the carriers of the same invisible influence
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
after the climax represented by the middle age
tradition goes underground everywhere
a cycle ends
the current of becoming leads further and further away from the "immobile lands"
or from the "island"
men and entire nations at this time precipitate into the most critical phase of that
which was traditionally referred to as the dark age
or kali yuga
in wolfram von eschenbach
percival appears to have been conceived as the last of those who succeeded to
become lords of the grail through the heroic path and not through divine right
after the advent of percival notice is sent to every land that the only person who
can achieve the grail is the one called by god and that the grail cannot be obtained
by fighting
it seems the equivalent of traditional prophecy concerning hesiod's iron age
the last or dark age
in which the heroic path is no longer available
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
everything in modern society tends to dampen the heroic sense of life
everything moves to the regulated and prudent community life of beings who are
constantly in need of something
and not self-sufficient
everything today tends to be reduced to the lower two of the four castes
upon which the rational and integral organization of ancient eastern societies was
based
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
having been suffocated
the heroic will seek other paths
other outlets beyond the network of practical interests
passions
and cravings that is becoming tighter everyday
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the deep nature of the spirit that perceives itself as infinite and free
always beyond itself
beyond all forms and greatness found in or outside itself
awakens and shines forth
in the indomitable will that asserts itself over fatigue
fear
and to the voice of the animal instinct of prudence and self-preservation
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
a true imperial tradition is not forged through particular interests
through a narrow-minded hegemony
or through "sacred selfishness"
such a tradition is formed only when a heroic vocation awakens as an irresistible
force from above and where it is animated by a will to keep on going
overcoming every material or rational obstacle
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
this
after all
is the secret of every type of conqueror
the great conquerors of the past have always perceived themselves as children of
destiny
as the bearers of a force that had to manifest itself and before which everything
else
(starting from their own selves
preferences
pleasures
and tranquility)
had to be sacrificed
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
this tradition leads us to comprehend the latent meaning of what can be called the
roman legionary spirit
these cohorts of men of iron
impassible
capable of any discipline
spread through the world without a reason and not even with a truly preordained
plan
but rather obeying a transcendent impulse
through conquest and through the universal realization they achieved for rome
they vaguely perceived a foreboding of that which is no longer human
of that aeternitas
(eternity)
that became directly connected with the ancient imperial roman symbol
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
likewise
surfaces the idea of a superior
incorporeal unity of the invisible front of all those who
despite all
fight in different parts of the world the same battle
lead the same revolt
and are the bearers of the same intangible tradition
these forces appear to be scattered and isolated in the world
and yet they are inexorably connected by a common essence that is meant to
preserve the absolute ideal of the imperium and to work for its return
this will occur after the cycle of this dark age closes
through an action that is both deep and not evident
in virtue of being a pure spiritual intensity unaffected by human restlessness
passions
lies
illusions
and divisions
.
.
.
JuliusEvola.NET
ariya lex
.
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Y
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the idea that the state derives its origin from the demos
and that the principle of its legitimacy and its foundation rests upon it
is an ideological perversion typical of the modern world
and essentially represents a regression
with this view we regress to
what was typical of naturalistic social forms
lacking an authentic spiritual chrism
according to the traditional view
on the contrary
the state was related to the people
just as the olympian and uranian principles
are related to the chthonic and "infernal" world
or as "idea"
"form"
are related to "matter"
"nature"
or as the luminous
masculine
differentiating
individualizing
and life-giving principle is related to the unsteady
promiscuous
and nocturnal feminine principle
between these two poles there is a deep tension
which in the traditional world was resolved in the sense of a transfiguration
and of the establishment of an order from above
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in the end
the demo's substance is always demonic
(in the ancient
non-christian
and amoral sense of the word)
it always requires a catharsis or a liberation before it can act as a force
and before it can favor the development of a differentiated and hierarchical order
of dignity over and beyond a naturalistic substratum
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the main principle upon which the differentiation between people and the
hierarchy of traditional castes is built has not been political or economical
but spiritual
and thus was developed an authentic system of participation as well as the
progressive stages of a conquest and a victory of the cosmos over chaos
the indo-aryan tradition knew a distinction that points to the duality of natures
the distinction between arya or dvija and the sudra
the former were the "nobles" or "the twice-born"
who represented the "divine" element
the latter were beings who belong to nature
and thus who represent the promiscuous substratum of the hierarchy that was
gradually overcome by the formative influence exercised within the higher castes
strictly speaking
this influence was the original meaning of the state and of the law within the world
of tradition
it had a meaning of supernatural "formation"
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
wherever an action takes place that is aimed at constituting life beyond the limits
of nature and of contingent and empirical existence
it is unavoidable that some forms not connected to the particular will manifest
themselves
the "formative process" always encounters resistance from matter
which in its determinations caused by time and space acts in a differentiating and
particularistic sense in relation to the effective historical application of the one
principle that in itself is superior and antecedent to these manifestations
once in a while it is possible to detect in certain historical institutions an esoteric
and universal core that transcends the specific geographical and historical
dimensions of said institutions
thus culminating in a unity of a higher kind
such are the imperial peaks of the world of tradition
ideally
one same line runs from the traditional idea of law and state to that of empire
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in the ancient persian tradition
a metaphysical view of the empire was formulated in terms of a reality unrelated to
space and time
there are two possibilities
on the one hand there is the ashavan
the pure
the "faithful" on earth and the blessed in heaven
the ashavan is exemplified by the members of three classes
the lords of the ritual and of fire
who exercise an invisible power over occult influences
the warriors
whose job is to fight against barbarians and impious people
and finally
those who work on the dry and arid land
whose job is a militia
since fertility is almost a victory that increases the mystical virtus of the aryan land
on the other hand
opposed to the ashavan
are the anashavan
the impure ones
those without a law
or those who oppose the principle of light
in this context
the empire as a traditional system governed by the "king of kings" corresponds to
what the principle of light has successfully snatched from the snares of the
principle of darkness
a similar idea is found in the legend according to which the emperor alexander the
great contained the onslaught of the peoples of gog and magog by building an
iron wall
these people may represent in this context the "demonic" element that in the
traditional hierarchies was successfully subjugated
one day these people will flood the earth in pursuit of conquest but they will
ultimately be challenged by figures who
will embody the archetype of the leaders of the holy roman empire
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in a traditional social order there must be somebody in whom the principle upon
which various institutions
legislations
and ethical and ritual regulations are based is truly active
this principle
though
must be an objective spiritual realization and not a simulacrum
in other words
what is required is an individual or an elite to assume the "pontifical" function of
lords and mediators of power from above
then even those who can only obey but who cannot adopt the law other than by
complying with the external authority and tradition are able intuitively to
know why they must obey
their obedience is not sterile because it allows them to participate effectively in
the power and in the light
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
a unitary authority has a stronger foundation in those cases
in which the race of the blood and the race of the spirit converge
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the notion of law has an intimate relationship with the notions of truth
reality
and stability inherent to "that which is"
thus
the world of the law and consequently of the state came to be equated with the
world of truth and of reality in the eminent sense of the word
as a natural consequence
traditional man either ignored or considered absurd the idea that one could talk
about laws and the obedience due them if the laws in question had a mere human
origin
whether individual or collective
every law
in order to be regarded as an objective law
had to have a "divine" character
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
truth
law
and justice ultimately appear as the manifestations of a metaphysical order
conceived as a reality that the state of truth and of justice in man has the power to
evoke in an objective way
in antiquity the overworld was conceived of as a reality in the higher sense of the
word
superior to the laws of nature and capable of manifesting itself in this world every
time one opened oneself to it without reservations and concern for one's self
in the next stage the individual entered into certain psychic states that were
destined to open the closed human "circuits" to wider "circuits"
and through which it was possible to generate unusual and apparently miraculous
effects
truth and reality
might and law
victory and justice formed one thing having the supernatural as their center of
gravity
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
once man's strength was thought to be on the same level as that of animals
that is
as the faculty of mechanical action in a being who is not at all connected to what
transcends him as an individual
once the ideas of truth
law
and justice were turned into abstractions or social conventions
once every perception of these "values" as objective and almost physical
apparitions of the supernatural amid the network of contingencies was lost
decisions with regard to what is true or right as well as matters of innocence and
guilt are left to the clamor of pettifoggers
the laborious promulgation of legal documents
the lengthy paragraphs of laws that are "equal for everybody" and made
omnipotent by secularized states and the plebeian masses who rule themselves
without kings and self-appointed rulers
discussions about "values" and righteousness are merely rhetorical
such rhetoric is employed through big words and a hypocritical declamation of
principles as a means in the service of an ugly will to power
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
there are two elements within the traditions of those civilizations or of those
castes characterized by a uranian chrism
the first element is a materialistic and a naturalistic one
it consists of the transmission of something related to blood and race
namely
a vital force that originates in the subterranean world together with the elementary
collective
and ancestral influences
the second element is "from above"
and it is conditioned by the transmission and by the uninterrupted performance of
rites that contain the secret of a certain transformation and domination realized
within the abovementioned vital substratum
the latter element is the higher legacy that confirms and develops the quality the
"divine forefather" has either established ex novo or attracted from another world
this quality originates the royal stock, the state, the city or the temple, and the
caste, the gens or the patrician family according to the supernatural dimension
that acts as a "form" shaping chaos
this is why the rites could appear to be "manifestations of the heavenly law"
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the ritual and sacral element was the foundation of the authority of both the higher
castes and of the father in the ancient patrician family
the term pater conveyed the idea of a spiritual authority as well as that of power
and majestic dignity
the state is an application on a larger scale of the same principle that in the
beginning constituted the patrician family
therefore the pater
though he was the military leader and the lord of justice of his relatives and slaves
in primis et ante omnia
was the person entrusted with performing those traditional rites and sacrifices
proper to every family
the rites and sacrifices that constituted its nonhuman legacy
this legacy
which emanated from the founding father
was represented by fire
the father was the virile priest in charge of tending to the sacred family fire
but he was also one who must have appeared like a "hero" to his children
relatives
and servants
or like the natural mediator of every efficacious relationship with the supernatural
or like the supreme vivifier of the mystical force of the ritual
which was present in the substance of fire
or like the incarnation of "order"
or like "he who leads us away from this world
to higher dimensions
into the world of the right action"
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
race
blood
hereditary purity of blood
these are merely "material" factors
a civilization in the true
traditional sense of the word
arises only when a supernatural and nonhuman force of a higher order
acts upon these factors
at the origin of every true civilization there lies a "divine" event
thus
no human or naturalistic factor can fully account for it
the adulteration and decline of civilizations is caused by an event of the same
order
though it acts in the opposite
degenerative sense
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the "blood" or "racial" factor plays a certain role not because it exists in the
"psyche"
(in the brain and in the opinions of an individual)
but in the deepest forces of life that various traditions experience and act upon as
typical formative energies
the blood registers the effects of this action
yet it provides through heredity a material that is preformed and refined so that
through several generations
realizations similar to the original ones may be prepared and developed in a
natural and spontaneous way
it is on this foundation
-and on this foundation onlythat
the traditional world often practiced the heredity of the castes and willed
endogamous laws
if we refer
however
to the indo-aryan tradition in which the caste system was the most rigorously
applied
simply to be born in a caste
though necessary
was not considered enough
it was necessary for the quality virtually conferred upon a person at birth to be
actualized by initiation
we should not lose sight of two factors being present
and never mistake the formative element for the element that is formed
nor the conditioning for the conditioned factor
both the higher castes and traditional aristocracies
as well as superior civilizations and races
(those that enjoy the same status that the consecrated castes enjoy vis-à-vis the
plebeian castes of the "children of the earth")
cannot be explained by blood
but through the blood
by something that goes beyond blood and that has a metabiological character
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the wheel also symbolizes the stream of becoming
the "wheel of generation"
its motionless center signifies the spiritual stability inherent in those who are not
affected by this stream and who can organize and subject to a higher principle the
energies and the activities connected to the inferior nature
then the lord or the spinner of the wheel
the archetype of the regal function of which various kings represent more or less
complete images
appears as the "lord of the law"
or the "lord of the wheel of the law"
hence the meaning of the concept of "revolution"
which is the motion occurring around an "unmoved mover"
though in our modern day and age it has become synonymous with subversion
.
.
.
JuliusEvola.NET
ariya fire & light
.
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the development of the physical and practical
aspect of knowledge in the traditional sciences
must naturally appear as limited
when compared and contrasted with modern sciences
the cause of this
however
was a correct and healthy hierarchy in which
the interests of traditional man were arranged
in other words
he did not give to the knowledge
of external and physical reality
more importance than it deserved or than was necessary
what mattered the most in a traditional science was the anagogic element
namely
the power to "lead to higher planes"
that was virtually present in the knowledge relative to a given domain of reality
this element is totally lacking today in modern profane sciences
the latter
in reality
may act and have acted exactly in the opposite direction
the worldview from which they originate
and on which they are based
is such as to affect human interiority in a dissolving and negative way
-in other words
they are centrifugal
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in fact
the traditional world never "deified" the natural or heavenly elements
but on the contrary
these elements were thought fit to convey divine forces in an analogical fashion
therefore
we can assume that the position of the sun in the course of the year was
primordially the center and the beginning of an organic system
(of which the calendar notation was just another aspect)
that established constant interferences and symbolical and magical
correspondences between man
cosmos
and supernatural reality
the two arches of the ascent and descent of the solar light during the year appear
to be the most apt to express the sacrificial meaning of death and rebirth
as well as the cycle constituted by the dark descending path and by the bright
ascending path
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
but in the course of the solar journey along the twelve points of the zodiac
one point in particular acquires a special meaning
and that is the critical one corresponding to the lowest point on the ellipsis
(winter solstice)
which marks the end of the descent
the beginning of the reascent
and the separation of the dark and bright periods
according to figurations formulated in remote prehistory
the "god-year" is portrayed in this context as the "axe" or as the "god-axe" who
splits in half the circular symbol of the year
(or other equivalent symbols)
from a spiritual perspective this marks the typically "triumphant" moment of
solarity and the beginning of a "new life" and of a new cycle
(natalis dii solis invicti)
this moment was represented in various myths as the victorious outcome of the
struggle of a solar hero against creatures manifesting the dark principle
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in the traditional view
moreover
time presented a magical aspect
since by virtue of the law of analogical correspondences every point of a cycle had
its own individuality
duration consisted in the periodical succession of manifestations typical of certain
influences and powers
it presented times that were favorable and unfavorable
auspicious and inauspicious
this is not "fatalism"
it rather expresses traditional man's constant intent to prolong and to integrate his
own strength with a nonhuman strength by discovering the times in which two
rhythms
(the human rhythm and the rhythm of natural powers)
by virtue of a law of syntony
--of a concordant action and of a certain correspondence between the physical
and the metaphysical dimensions--
are liable to become one thing
and thus cause invisible powers to act
in this way the qualitative view of time is confirmed
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
if traditionally
empirical time was measured by a transcendent time that did not contain events
but meanings
and if this essentially metahistorical time must be considered as the context in
which myths
heroes
and traditional gods lived and "acted"
--then an opposite shift acting "from below" must also be conceived
in other words
it is possible that some historically real events or people may have repeated and
dramatized a myth
incarnating metahistorical structures and symbols whether in part or entirely
whether consciously or unconsciously
thereupon
by virtue of this
these events or beings shift from one time to the other
becoming new expressions of preexisting realities
they belong to both times
they are characters and events that are simultaneously real and symbolical
and on this basis they can be transported from one period to another
before or after their real existence
as long as one is aware of the metahistorical element they represent
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
if traditional man had an experience of time essentially different from that of
modern man
it follows that analogous considerations must be made concerning the experience
of space
in the experience of traditional man
space is alive and saturated with all kinds of qualities and intensity
"in "divine"
or "sacred"
or "numinous"
we live and move and have our being"
may be employed to express what traditional man often saw instead of the space
of the moderns
which is ultimately an abstract and impersonal "place" filled with objects and
motions
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
space in antiquity has constantly provided the basis for the most characteristic
expressions of the metaphysical dimension
the heavenly and the earthly regions
high and low
the vertical and horizontal axis
left and right
were all categories that provided the material for a typical
highly significant
and universal symbolism
when we shift to the magical plane
every direction in space corresponded to given "influences" that were often
portrayed as supernatural beings or as spirits
this knowledge not only helped to establish important aspects of the augural
science and of geomancy
but also the doctrine of the sacred orientations in the rite and in the arrangement
of the temples
always in conformity with the law of analogies and with the possibility
afforded by this law
to extend the human and the visible element into the cosmic and invisible
dimension
in fact there was such a thing as a real
(that is
not arbitrary
but conformed to physical transpositions of metaphysical elements)
sacred geography that inspired the belief in "sacred" lands and cities
in the traditional centers of spiritual influence on earth
and also in environments consecrated so as to "vitalize" any action oriented to the
transcendence taking place within them
the space in which the traditional rite took place was a living
fatidic
magnetic space in which every gesture had a meaning and in which every sign
word
and action participated in a sense of ineluctability and of eternity
thus becoming transformed into a kind of decree of the invisible
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the "experience of nature"
as it is understood by modern man
namely
as a lyrical
subjectivist pathos awoken in the sentiments of the individual at the sight of
nature
was almost entirely absent in traditional man
before the high and snowy peaks
the silence of the woods
the flowing of the rivers
mysterious caves
and so on
traditional man did not have poetic and subjective impressions typical of a
romantic soul
but rather real sensations
--even though at times confused--
of the supernatural
of the powers
(numina)
that permeated those places
these sensations were translated into various images
in traditional man the power of the imagination was free
to a high degree
from the yoke of the physical senses
as it is nowadays in the state of sleep or through the use of drugs
this power was so disposed as to be able to perceive and translate into plastic
forms subtler impressions of the environment
which nonetheless were not arbitrary and subjective
the image arose out of necessity
independently from the I
as a symbol that effectively corresponds to a perception
primordial man
in addition to physical perception
also had a "psychic" or subtle perception of things and places
(corresponding to the "presences" found in them)
that was generated by a power of the imagination free from the physical senses
and responsible for determining in it corresponding symbolical dramatizations
for example
gods
demons
elementals
and spirits ruling over places and phenomena
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the basic relationship between the I and the not-I
has lately been characterized by a set and rigid separation
it appears that in the origins
the borders between I and not-I were potentially fluid and unstable
and in certain cases they could partially be removed
when that happened
either one of two possibilities could occur
the possibility of incursions of the not-I
(of "nature" in the sense of its elemental forces and its psychism)
into the I
or an incursion of the I into the not-I
the first possibility explains what have been called the perils of the soul
it is the idea that the unity and the autonomy of the person may be threatened and
affected by processes of possession and of obsession
the general presupposition for the efficacy of a body of magical procedures was
that the second possibility
which consists of the removal of the boundaries and of the ensuing incursions in
the opposite direction
(of the I into the not-I)
could take place
since the two possibilities shared the same basis
the advantages of the latter had as a counterpart the existential risks from the
former
we should remember that during the last times
following the progressive materialization of the I
both possibilities have disappeared
the active and positive
(magic)
possibility has disappeared everywhere but in few insignificant and marginal
residues
as far as the "perils of the soul" are concerned
those dangers have assumed a different form
which disguises them
modern man is open to the complexes of the "collective unconscious"
to emotive and irrational currents
to collective influences and to ideologies with consequences far more harmful and
deplorable than those found in other eras and deriving from different influences
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
from a traditional point of view
between man and his land
between blood and soil
there existed an intimate relationship of a living and psychic character
since a given area had a psychic individuality in addition to its geographic
individuality
those who were born in it were bound to be deeply affected by it
from a doctrinal point of view we must distinguish a double aspect in this state of
dependency
the former naturalistic
the latter supernaturalistic
which leads back to the distinction between "totemism" and the tradition of a
patrician blood that has been purified by an element from above
the former aspect concerns beings who do not go beyond empirical and ordinary
life
in these beings the collective predominates
both as a law of blood and stock and as a law of the soil
such a stage may be characterized by an almost communist
and at times even matriarchal social organization of the clan or of the tribe
what we find in it
however
is what in modern man has either become extinguished or has become
nationalistic or romantic rhetoric
namely
the organic and living sense of one's own land
which is a direct derivation of the qualitative experience of space in general
the second aspect of the traditional relationship between a man and his land is
very different
here we find the idea of a supernatural action that has permeated a given territory
with a supernatural influence by removing the demonic telluric element of the soil
and by imposing upon it a "triumphal" seal
thus reducing it to a mere substratum for the powers that transcend it
another characteristic expression lies in the fact that in every higher form of
tradition
private ownership of the land as private property was an aristocratic and sacred
privilege
the only people who could lay claim to the land were those who had rites in the
patrician sense
namely
those who are the living bearers of a divine element
for instance
in the nahua-aztec civilization
two distinct and even opposite types of property coexisted
one was an aristocratic
hereditary
and differentiated type
that was transmitted together with one’s family’s social status
the second was popular and plebeian
of a promiscuous type
like the russian mir
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in traditional nobility a mysterious relationship was established between the gods
or the heroes of a particular gens and that very land
it was through its numina and with a net accentuation of the meaning
(originally not only material)
of ownership and lordship that the gens was connected to its land
so much so that
due to a symbolical and possibly magical transposition
its limits were regarded as sacred
fatal
and protected by gods of order such as zeus and jupiter
these are almost the equivalent
on another plane
of the same inner limits of the noble caste and of the noble family
at this level the limits of the land
just like the spiritual limits of the castes
were not limits that enslaved but that preserved and freed
the same order of ideas is confirmed in the fact that in several traditional
civilizations
to settle in a new
unknown
or wild land and to take possession of it was regarded as an act of creation and as
an image of the primordial act whereby chaos was transformed into cosmos
in other words
it was not regarded as a mere human deed
but rather as an almost magical and ritual action believed to bestow on a land and
on a physical location a “form” by bathing such land in the sacred and by making it
living and real in a higher sense
thus
there are examples of the ritual of taking possession of lands and of territorial
conquests
as in the aryan celebration of a territory through the establishment in it of an altar
with fire
..
.
°
.
.
.
if in the ancient aryan law the firstborn was entitled to inherit the father’s property
and lands
-- often with the bond of inalienability --
the property belonged to him essentially because he was regarded as the one who
perpetuated the ritual of the family as the pontifex
and as the one whose responsibility it was to tend the sacred fire and not let it be
put out
since the fire was considered the body or life of the divine ancestor
the last traces of these values can be found in the feudal middle ages
even though during this time the right to property no longer belonged to the type
of the aristocrat of sacred origins who was surrounded only by equals or by
inferiors
as in the traditional forms of the origins found in the oldest constitution of the
german people
and even though an aristocratic warrior class came to own the right to the land
nevertheless
the counterpart of such a right was the capability of a superindividual
though not sacred
dedication
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
when the right to property ceases to be the privilege of the two higher castes and
shifts to the two lower castes
(the merchants and the serfs)
what de facto occurs is a virtual naturalistic regression
and therefore man's dependency on the "spirits of the land" is reestablished
in the case of the solar traditionalism of the lords of the soil
superior "presences" transformed these "spirits" into zones of favorable
influences and into "creative" and preserving limits
the land
which may also belong to a merchant
(the owner of the capitalist
bourgeois age may be regarded as the modern equivalent of the ancient merchant
caste)
or to a serf
(our modern worker)
is a desecrated land
in conformity with the interests typical of the two inferior castes
the land is only valued from an economic point of view and it is exploited as much
as possible
that being the case
it is natural to encounter other typical traits of a degeneration such as the
property increasingly shifts from the individual to the collectivity
parallel with the collapse of the aristocratic title to the lands and the economy
having become the main factor
what emerges first is nationalism
which is followed by socialism and finally by marxist communism
in other words
there is a return to the rule of the collective over the individual that reaffirms the
collectivist and promiscuous concept of property typical of inferior races as an
"overcoming" of private property and as nationalization
socialization
and proletarization of goods and of lands
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in traditional symbolism
the supernatural principle was conceived as "masculine" and the principle of
nature and of becoming as "feminine"
in hellenic terms the "one"
which is "in itself"
complete
and self-sufficient
is regarded as masculine
conversely
the dyad
the principle of differentiation and of "other-than-self"
and thus the principle of desire and of movement
is regarded as feminine
in hindu terms
the impassible spirit
(purusa)
is masculine
while prakrti
the active matrix of every conditioned form
is feminine
the far eastern tradition has expressed equivalent concepts through the cosmic
duality of yin and yang
whereby yang
the male principle
is associated with the "virtue of heaven"
and yin
the feminine principle
with the principle of the "earth"
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
when that which is naturally a self-subsistent principle succumbs to the law of that
which does not have its own principle in itself by giving in to the forces of "desire"
then it is appropriate to talk about a "fall"
nevertheless
it is possible to consider another possibility that runs counter to the direction of
the "fall"
and that is to establish the correct relationship between the two principles
this occurs when the feminine principle
whose force is centrifugal
does not turn to fleeting objects but rather to a "virile" stability in which she finds
a limit to her "restlessness"
stability is then transmitted to the feminine principle to the point of intimately
transfiguring all of its possibilities
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
these meanings constitute the foundation of the traditional teachings concerning
the human sexes
this norm obeys the principle of the caste system and it also emphasizes the two
cardinal tenets of dharma and of bhakti
or fides
self-subsistent nature and active dedication
if birth is not a matter of chance
then it is not a coincidence for a being to "awaken" to itself in the body of a man or
a woman
here too
the physical difference should be viewed as the equivalent of a spiritual difference
hence a being is a man or a woman in a physical way only because a being is
either masculine or feminine in a transcendental way
sexual differentiation
far from being an irrelevant factor in relation to the spirit
is the sign that points to a particular vocation and to a distinctive dharma
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
we know that every traditional civilization is based on the will to order and give
"form"
and that the traditional law is not oriented toward what is unqualified
equal
and indefinite
or in other words
toward that impersonal mix in which the various parts of the whole become
promiscuously or atomically similar
but rather intends these parts to be themselves and to express as perfectly as
possible their own typical nature
therefore
particularly with regard to the genders
man and woman are two different types
those who are born as men must realize themselves as men
while those who are born as women must realize themselves as women
overcoming any mixture and promiscuity of vocations
even in regard to the supernatural vocation
man and woman must both have their own distinctive paths to follow
which cannot be altered without them turning into contradictory and inorganic
ways of being
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
a woman realizes herself as such and even rises to the same level reached by a
man as warrior and ascetic only as lover and mother
these are bipartitions of the same ideal strain
just as there is an active heroism
there is also a passive heroism
there is a heroism of absolute affirmation and a heroism of absolute dedication
they can both be luminous and produce plenty of fruits
as far as overcoming human limitations and achieving liberation are concerned
when they are lived with purity and in the sense of an offering
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
to realize oneself in an increasingly resolute way according to these two distinct
and unmistakable directions
to reduce in a woman all that is masculine and in man everything that is feminine
and to strive to implement the archetypes of the "absolute man" and of the
"absolute woman"
-- this was the traditional law concerning the sexes
according to their different planes of existence
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
as far as the woman is concerned
there is true greatness in her when she is capable of giving without asking for
anything in return
when she is like a flame feeding itself
when she loves even more as the object of her love does not commit himself
does not open himself up
and even creates some distance
and finally
when the man is not perceived by her as her mere husband or lover
but as her lord
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
it is the task of tradition to create solid riverbeds
so that the chaotic currents of life may flow in the right direction
free are those people who
upon undertaking this traditional direction
do not experience it as a burden but rather develop it naturally and recognize
themselves in it so as to actualize through an inner élan the highest and most
"traditional" possibility of their own nature
the others
those who blindly follow the institutions and obey and live them without
understanding them are not what we may call "self-supported" beings
although devoid of light
their obedience virtually leads them beyond their limitations as individuals and
orients them in the same direction followed by those who are free
but for those who follow neither the spirit nor the form of the traditional riverbed
there is nothing but chaos
they are the lost
the "fallen" ones
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
we are facing
the constant and untrammeled increase of population in purely quantitative terms
the superior western races have been agonizing for many centuries and the
increasing growth in world population has the same meaning as the swarming of
worms on a decomposing organism or as the spreading of cancerous cells
cancer is an uncontrolled hypertrophy of a plasma that devours the normal
differentiated structures of an organism after subtracting itself from the
organism's regulating laws
this is the scenario facing the modern world
the regression and the decline of fecundating
(in the higher sense of the term)
forces and the forces that bear forms
parallels the unlimited proliferation of "matter"
of what is formless
of the masses
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
this phenomenon must be related to the relationship between men and women in
this day and age
since they affect the issue of procreation and its meaning
in this world the sexualization is incomplete
the superior and even transcendent dimensions of sex
have been lost
and this loss may affect the regimen of sexual unions and the possibilities offered
by them either as a pure erotic experience or in view of a procreation that may not
exhaust itself in a simple
opaque biological event
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
the world of tradition effectively knew a sexual sacrum and a magic of sex
what constantly transpires is the acknowledgment of sex as a creative and
primordial force
rather than as a generative power
in the woman
abyssal powers of passion and light
of danger and disintegration
were evoked
the chthonic power
-- namely
the earth --
lived in her while heaven lived in man
everything that is experienced by ordinary men in the form of peri-pheral
sensations and passional and corporeal impulses was assumed in an organic and
conscious way
generation was decreed and the being who was generated was willed as the "child
of duty"
namely
as one who must undertake and nourish the supernatural element of his stock and
the liberation of the ancestor
and who must receive and pass on to future generations strength
life
and stability
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
today
all this has become an inane fancy
men
instead of being in control of sex are controlled by it and wander about like
drunkards without having the least clue as to what takes place in the course of
their embraces
beyond and often against their own will
what comes into existence as a result of their intercourse is a new being who will
have no spiritual continuity
this being the case
it is no wonder the superior races are dying out before the ineluctable logic of
individualism
which especially in the so-called contemporary "higher classes"
has caused people to lose all desire to procreate
thus proliferation is concentrated in the lower social classes and in the inferior
races where the animal-like impulse is stronger than any rational calculation and
consideration
the unavoidable effects are a reversed selection and the ascent and the onslaught
of inferior elements against which the "race" of the superior castes and people
now exhausted and defeated
can do very little as a spiritually dominating element
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
just like the plebeian masses would have never been able to make their way into all
the domains of social life and of civilization if real kings and real aristocrats would
have been in power
likewise
in a society run by real men
woman would never have yearned for or even been capable of taking the path she
is following today
the periods in which women have reached autonomy and preeminence almost
always have coincided with epochs marked by manifest decadence in ancient
civilizations
the virility that is physical
phallic
muscular
and animal is lifeless and does not contain any creative germ in the superior sense
phallic man deceives himself by thinking that he dominates
the truth is that he is passive and is always susceptible to the subtler power of
women and to the feminine principle
the differentiation of the sexes is authentic and absolute only in the spirit
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
in all superior types of tradition
man has always been considered the bearer of the lineage of the uranian
solar principle
this principle transcends the mere "blood" principle
which is lost as soon as it converges into the feminine lineage
this principle is related to the same supernatural element
to the power that can "make the current ascend upward" and of which "victory"
"fortune"
and prosperity of a particular stock are usually the consequences
hence the symbolical association
typical of ancient traditional forms
of the male organ with ideas of resurrection
asceticism
and energies that confer the highest powers
.
.
.
°
.
.
.
as an echo of superior meanings found even among savage populations
we find expressed in clear terms the idea that only the initiate is a true male
and that initiation marks in an eminent way one's entrance into virility
this means that prior to initiation
the individuals
notwithstanding their physical appearance
"have not yet turned into men"
and even if they are old they belong to the same group of children and women and
are deprived of all the privileges of the clan's virile elites
when the superbiological element that is the center and the measure of true virility
is lost
people can call themselves men
but in reality they are just eunuchs and their paternity simply reflects the quality of
animals who
blinded by instinct
procreate randomly other animals
who in turn are mere vestiges of existence
.
.
.
°
.
.
.