IN THE GNOSTIC MASS, one of the "Saints" is Friedrich Nietzsche. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born 15 October 1844 e.v.at Rochen near Lutzen in the Prussian province of Saxony. His father and grandfather were both Protestant ministers, and his mother and paternal grandmother were pastors' daughters.

His early influenceswere Schopenhauer and Wagner. Indeed, his 'accidental discovery' of a copy of Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Idea changed his life and instead of pursuing a career in Theology he took on Philology. By the time he was 25, he met Wagner, went to Switzerland to teach, and his relationship with Wagner began. Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy got him condemned from the education establishment.

Eventually he broke away from Wagner. His writing career developed from that point. He died on 25 August 1900 e.v.

That is the general biography distilled into a couple of paragraphs. But... what is the reason for his being included in the Saints Collect in the Gnostic Mass?

Traditionally, philosophers like Nietzsche are classified as dark, negative atheists. Yet we see in his philosophy the following points:

1. The idea of "educators."

2. The idea of the True Self, the seeking of which brings one into contact with the "Overman" -- the creation of the Superman.

3. The rejection of God -- that is to say, of the negative god conceived by the Judaeo- Christian mindset, the mean monotheist. Not the rejection of a Supreme Deity. In fact, in Nietzsche we see the affirmation of a Supreme Deity.

4. The Harmony of Opposites -- Equilibrium, a virtue of the Superman, is to be found in the enjoyment of all experiences. Transcendence of dualities. By so doing, one experiences the Totality.

5. The notion of Power versus Greater Power. The relinquishing of attachment to implied Power, like material ego-game power, political power, and so on; and the aspiration to Cosmic Power, Creative Power, Divine Power, which is greater.

6. Eternal recurrence. This is not only "history repeats itself" -- but the idea of transmigration or reincarnation. The same groups of "great men" or Supermen(and women, by the way) keep being born and reborn throughout the generations.

This is similar to the Johannite concept of renewed avatars.

So, far from being the dark harbinger of woe, the inspiration for master-race ideology, Nietzsche was a pre-Crowleyan Thelemite. We have no proof that he was connected in any way with any of the groups in the Authentic Tradition. He was, however, associated with Wagner, and Wagner was associated with Edward Bulwer-Lytton, (or so we can surmise, since Wagner's first opera was the latter's Rienzi, staged in Paris) who was a member of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light in Paris (or so the folk-lore has it), which also counted among its members Eliphas Levi, Kenneth Mackenzie, and Pascal Beverly Randolph, and allegedly had connections to members of the Prieure de Sion. [We must admit that we have had to rely on sources like Ellic Howe and H. Spencer Lewis, and Francis King for most of this, so the real story might be something altogether different!]

Wagner was also associated with "Mad King Ludwig" of Bavaria, who built re-enactments of Wagner's operas at his palaces. And Wagner, Nietzsche, and Ludwig were in contact with each other for a time. Perhaps all of these people were associated in an as-yet undiscovered order. And, of course, in Theodor Reuss' own writing on Parsifal, he claimed to have been a student of Wagner at the time of the staging of the premiere of his final opera, the Ring of the Nibelungen.

Whatever the case may be, we recognize in Saint Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche a carry - over of the Gnosis, without calling itself Gnostic, and a precursor to Thelema.

We do not see the dark, master-race, fascistic teachings which are said to have inspired the men who influenced Hitler and National Socialism. It is said that it was Professor Hans F. K. Günther who read into Nietzsche Master Race ideals, and Günther had an influence on the Nazis, before he was repatriated in the United States, in Florida, after World War II, and spread his ideas under the cloak of "Americanism." For an idea of what we mean, see Günther's The Religious Attitudes of the Indo-Europeans, his bibliography in that work, and Kaufmann's NIETZSCHE: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist, pp. 292-3:

"The Nazis derived their racial doctrines from Dr. Hans F. K. Günther, who in turn made no secret of his reliance on Plato's Republic, Gobineau, Chamberlain, Georges Vacher de Lapouge, Madison Grant, and Lothrop Stoddard. Nor should one ignore the influence of the racial policies followed in large parts of the United States upon the Nazi's actions both in Germany and other countries. [Kaufmann footnote: Cf. Günther, Platon als Hüter des Lebens: Platons Zucht- und Erziehungsgedanken und deren Bedeutung für die Gegenwart (1928) and Rassenkunde Europas (3rd. rev. ed., 1929) in which Madison Grant's The Passing of the Great Race or the Racial Basis of European History (4th ed., 1923) and Lothrop Stoddard's The Rising Tide of Color against White World Supremacy (1919), The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Underman (1924), Racial Realities in Europe (1925), and Social Classes in Post-War Europe (1925) are cited frequently and prominently. Günther also applauds President Harding's <OUR NOTE: Harding was a Freemason.> reference to Stoddard's The Rising Tide of Color in a speech on Oct. 26, 1921, and the American immigration laws 'which are designed to promote the desired North-West European immigration, to check the undesired South and East European immigration, while immigration from Asia, as well as that of human beings of inferior quality, is prohibited altogether.]" -- Kaufmann, Third Revised Edition, 1968 e.v., pp. 292-3.

We do not see "nihilistic", negative atheism, or any of the things the people who have not read and understood but criticized all the same.

In Crowley, we see analogies to the six points mentioned above.

1. "Secret Chiefs", Saints of the Esoteric Tradition, Spiritual Mentors, Spiritual Ancestors.

2. The aspiration towards discovery of the True Will, to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.

3. The rejection of the negative "Big-Daddy" God. The realization of the spark of the Eternal Supreme Deity that is in all things.

4. The Harmony of Opposites -- LAShTAL, the insistence that all acts must be equal. Experience of all things. Equanimity. [Which, these days, is considered by the sheep of the world to be evil when practised by individuals, but normal business policy when directed towards employees, or people who owe money, or marks (prospects).]

5. The Annihilation of the "self", the affirmation of the "SELF". Throwing away all, including one's aspirations, crossing the "abyss", learning who one really is, not merely what one is assumed to be. In this is greater power, for one learns about the nature of causality itself. This pertains to the real meaning of the law of Karma, not the "bad karma--good karma" guilt-trip merry-go-round.

6. Eternal recurrence -- reincarnation. The acquisition of the Magical Memory.

These concepts are all covered sufficiently in Magick in Theory and Practice.

For a good general introduction, we recommend:

NIETZSCHE: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist, by Walter Kaufmann. The Viking Portable Nietzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann.

For the typical negative, but semi-initiated point of view, see:

The Spear of Destiny, by Trevor Ravenscroft, Samuel Weiser Inc.

[also... critiques of the philosophy in the wake of the Columbine tragedy, as well as in the wake of the Leopold-Loeb murder trial. ]

For Crowley's system, see:

Magick in Theory and Practice, Dover Publications, and other editions.

Magick Without Tears, edited by Israel Regardie, Falcon Press.

Also highly recommended, and not off the subject is the excellent little book, but packed with a lot of information on the dualities that exist within the Great Order, Secret Cipher of the UFOnauts, by Allen H. Greenfield. It is unfortunately out of print, and the author has informed us that it shall not be reissued, so grab a copy where you can find it.

FINALLY, while this writing may be considered pedestrian by the purists, by the "philosophers", we should mention that our target audience is not necessarily a completely materialistic, rationalist audience. There are more people in existence than merely atheists and agnostics. True, it might be debatable whether or not that is a big shame.

Our spiritual model is not one that endorses one particular set of beliefs, "per-se" -- the ultimate end of spirituality really is one where one no longer needs to be worshipping this god or that, or following this or that worn out old dogma. When we use the term Saint, also, we are following the pattern set forth by Crowley. Indeed, there should be no stigma amongst the agnostic and atheist crowd for our usage of such terms. It just goes to show that people are still superstitious, especially when they claim to be otherwise. The typical atheist is every bit as superstitious as a tent-meeting Protestant, or a Catholic, for that matter, collecting bottles of holy water on their European holiday!

For us, our saints are what makes up our world view. We do not slavishly worship them with genuflections and saint cards. No, we become them every chance we get.

We should, however, take it as a compliment when we get people nagging us about some little point or another, or whether or not we must have read Nietzsche. The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth Life! Harr!!!! The Christians to the Lions!

However, when one compares the writing presented here with the reams of utter bunk that have been offered by others with a "mystical" or "occult" orientation, one will have to come to only one possible conclusion: This short study towers above all the others, period. End of sentence.

-- HKT.

Vulture Oak Retreat, 6 January 1998 e.v., with some minor comments made on 19 September 2000 e.v.

This is a work-in-progress.

Original Material Contents Copyright ©1997-2003 e.v., Jonathan Sellers