French occultism and Martinism
Papus
Gérard Encausse
Physician and occultist, and the central organiser of the French occult revival.
- Dates
- 1865 – 1916
- Dating
- documented dates
- Born
- A Coruña, Spain
- Died
- Paris
The life
With Augustin Chaboseau and others he helped construct the modern Martinist Order. He served medically during the First World War and died in 1916 after illness.
Place in the tradition
He presented occultism as an organised 'science' of correspondences and unseen forces, and that framing has never entirely gone away.
a note on the record
History and later legend
The Martinist Order claimed spiritual inheritance from Saint-Martin while being an actual initiatory organisation of the nineteenth century.
the written record
Principal works
-
1887
L'Occultisme contemporain
A survey of the contemporary occult revival.
-
1888
Traité élémentaire de science occulte
A hugely influential introductory manual presenting occultism as an organised science.
-
1889
The Tarot of the Bohemians
Le Tarot des Bohémiens
Integrates Tarot with Kabbalah, numerology and esoteric cosmology.