Renaissance magic
Jakob Böhme
A shoemaker with little formal education whose visionary account of God, nature and the emergence of opposites reshaped Christian theosophy.
- Dates
- 1575 – 1624
- Dating
- documented dates
- Born
- Görlitz region
- Died
- Görlitz
The life
He described visions in which the inner structure of nature and divinity opened before him. Local Lutheran authorities tried to silence him, but he continued to write.
Place in the tradition
His influence runs through Christian theosophy, Romanticism, Saint-Martin, occult philosophy and later German thought.
the written record
Principal works
-
written 1612; circulated in manuscript; first printed 1634, posthumous
Aurora
An unfinished visionary account of God, creation, nature and the emergence of opposites.
-
1619
The Three Principles of the Divine Essence
Develops his dynamic conception of divine manifestation and nature.
-
1621
The Signature of All Things
Perhaps his most directly esoteric book: visible nature contains signatures revealing invisible spiritual realities.