29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
On The Road With Otto Rahn, March 19, 2008
This review is from: Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers (Paperback)
I found " Lucifer's Court " far more interesting reading then " Crusade Against the Grail ", Rahn's other book. Not that " Crusade Against The Grail " is not a good book on the subject - it is. However It is more of a straight history of the Cathars and the Grail. More objective. What I like about " Lucifer's Court " is it's more subjective style as a journal of Rahn's travels and insights. One feels like they are on the road with Rahn as he moves from Southern France to Italy, the Tyrol, through the Brenner Pass and beyond. It is a journey full of quaint side glances and romantic musings of people, places and things he encounters and learns of in his own journey's quest. It takes him along the ancient amber route to the north of Germany, Britian and on across the North Sea to Iceland. After reading this book I felt like I knew a great deal more about Rahn as the romantic human being he was. His personality and spirit comes through in this book. For years I have read extracts and quotes from his books and was sorry that they had never been accesible to English readers. Now they are and one can see how they were seminal books on the subjects he covers. All thanks to inner Traditions for making these books available in English for the first time.
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36 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Strange Little Book, April 20, 2008
This review is from: Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers (Paperback)
Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I'd read--let alone review--a book written by a member of the Nazi SS, even written while the author was on the SS pay roll.
But here we are.
There are two lines of thought that would advise against reading this book: either its contents promote anti-Semitism and/or publication of the book encourages the growing momentum of neo-Nazi historic revisionism. The latter is probably more insidious than the first in the sense that with each new generation Nazi crimes fade from collective memory, further into the past. For example, I posted an Amazon review that commented on Robert Eisenmen's The New Testament Code (highly recommended.) Eisenmen details the anti-Semitism contained in the New Testament. One person commented: "Anti-Semitism...isn't that something associated with the Nazis way back in World War II?" The reader was implying that anti-Semitism was something that only existed in the 1940's & confined to Germany!
Modern education has a lot to answer for...
I understand that the works of Richard Wagner are banned in Israel because of that influential composer's anti-Semitism (he was Hitler's favorite composer.) I wouldn't go that far, but then I'm not Jewish (and I really like RW's music.) However, if there was even the faintest whiff of anti-Semitism in LUCIFERS COURT, I would not have finished reading the book (I probably would have torn it into pieces)--let alone review it.
But I did.
There IS a virulent hatred expressed in this book--and it is aimed almost exclusively at the Roman Catholic Church. Author Rahn equates himself and his ancestors with the heretics who were persecuted by the Roman Church in that institutions' zeal to achieve universal religious conformity.
Rahn also equates heretics such as himself (a baptized Catholic) and the Cathars, for example, with the Luciferian tradition, the "Light Bearers." The SS saw themselves in this role and their insignia represented two lightening bolts of Thor. Lucifer is seen as a positive "Redeemer" and Pagan-Christ. Nazis saw him as a Savior of the ("Aryan") Race.
LUCIFER'S COURT is written in the format of a travel journal as the author investigates various "leads" in his quest for the Grail. Incidentally, it is not the Grail of Christian fable or contemporary lore--in fact, the main intent of LUCIFER'S COURT is to uncover the "real" Grail. In this journey the author reveals a store house of Pagan Germanic/Scandinavian/Norse tradition. In fact, as the book progresses, the allusions & metaphors become almost overwhelming & one must wonder how much is historically correct or the author's fantasy. This is a problem with metaphysical writing in general--one can so easily loose one's way in the endless trails of symbolism & metaphor.
Rahn is a talented writer & it has been said that he was the original inspiration for the character Indiana Jones. At times LUCIFER's COURT reminds me of the film The Ninth Gate with Johnny Depp. In the book there are images of mystic ruins, strange castles & misty landscapes. There is even a mysterious & benevolent Countess who is well versed in the occult & ancient lore. Both the movie & the book have Lucifer as the central image. Rahn reveals himself to be a sensitive, creative individual. It is almost inconceivable to imagine him hobnobbing with Himmler & the SS.
There are some people who think Rahn may have been murdered due to his sexual orientation, or objections to the brutal reality of the SS and the entire Nazi regime. After reading this book, I am convinced that he did, in fact, commit suicide. His passionate idealism could only collapse in on itself when finally forced to face the tyranny he was supporting. I think this was true of many people who were initially enthusiastic over Hitler.
Along these same lines, another facet of this book I found instructive was its revelation of the neo-Pagan/Occult/Astrology millieu that characterized the period of the early Nazi movement. Previously I had written off the neo-Pagan, rather tacky trappings of Nazism to be the "inspiration" of a few nuts like Himmler--now I understand that many people actually believed in such things, particularly the Aryan Root Race nonsense.
Madame Blavatsky too has a lot to answer for...
Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich
The Ninth Gate [Region 2]
Richard and Adolf: Did Richard Wagner Incite Adolf Hitler to Commit the Holocaust?
Hitler and the Occult
Hitler, the occult messiah
The Secret Doctrine
Visions of India: Fulfilment Theology, the Aryan Race Theory & the Work of British Protestant Missionaries in Victorian India (Studies in the, Bd)
Visions of India: Fulfilment Theology, the Aryan Race Theory & the Work of British Protestant Missionaries in Victorian India (Studies in the, Bd)
The Morning of the Magicians: Secret Societies, Conspiracies, and Vanished Civilizations
Astrology and the 3rd Reich
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not so evil as misinformed for our era - a goldmine., April 10, 2008
This review is from: Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers (Paperback)
"Lucifer's Court" comes with a warning that its insidious evil will require a very circumspect approach, but in our contemporary era (post - "Indiana Jones") it is not quite that bad, except perhaps for fundamentalist literalists of all stripes. This is a terrific reference source for those who wondered why German and French mythology seemingly doesn't exist, yet Norse, Roman, and Greek gods and sagas remain familiar. The writer is not particularly anti-semitic, and his observations provide many clues as to the basis for Germany's hideous descent into darkness that followed his suspicious death. It is, however, distinctly anti-Catholic and anti-Papist, with many valid reasons given for this point of view. The Journal of Psycho History often cites child abuse as being one of the major causes of German reactions against "filth", and French apathy at the rise of the Third Reich, but upon attaining a thorough understanding of "Lucifer's Court", it will become apparent that the Nazis were intent on removing Yaweh's influence over Europe, since it was (in Rahm's view)the Jewish and Christian repudiation of Lucifer (Lugh/Apollo, etc.) that led to the rise of the Church of Rome, and the resultant horrors of Pope Innocent III against the future Germanic peoples. It is important to remain aware that one does not need to agree in any way with Otto Rahm's opinions or research conclusions to gain a much broader understanding of European history, much of which had been greatly repressed until recently. It is also of note that the interpreter's footnotes are accurate and very valuable in pointing out flaws, details, and further research topics for those so inclined, particularly concerning the Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade. An excellent book, but not for the faint of heart, nor the bigot.
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