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Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen

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Gary Lachman has provided what will stand as a definitive guide to the Occult's real and imagined political agendas and alleged mechanizations. From the attempted geopolitical Rosicrucian inspired government of Frederick V of the Palatinate, an event first documented in depth by Dame Frances Yates in her "The Rosicrucian Enlightenment", to the various esoteric agendas borne out by parties in the French Revolution, to a brief bias free history of Freemasonry and dispelling much of the nonsense and rubbish that has been written about Adam Weishaupt & the Illuminati. All against a historical background of how these various esoteric agendas influenced not only politics but its impact on societies as well. This is social history at its most thought provoking.

Like all of Lachman's works, this is both scholarly and approachable with a style and pace equal to any political thriller on the market today. Rich in detail with a calvacade of portraits of individuals who made their mark in the western esoteric tradition. Lachman clearly pays homage to researchers that have gone before in exploring similar terrain, including Christopher McIntosh and the late James Webb.

I must also recognize Quest Books, the publishing wing of the Theosophical Society in America. For too long they published the staid and rather tame canon of Theosophical literature and its stable of writers. With this work and Mr. Lachman's previous Quest book, "In Search of P.D. Ouspensky", as well as other recent titles, Quest has rescued itself from the oblivion of mundane metaphysical comfortability.

This work concludes with a concise and brilliant overview of Geunonian inspired Traditionalism, leading one to conclude with Sinclair Lewis, "When Fascism comes...it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." Or add the religious symbol of your choice in lieu of the cross. Each new Gary Lachman book is a cause for provocative study and reading pleasure among psychonauts, students of history and the esoteric. Highly recommended.

_Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen_, published in 2008 by Quest Books, by occult researcher and former performer with the rock group Blondie, Gary Lachman, is a fascinating account of the role of the occult in political movements from the reformation till the modern day. Lachman who is heavily indebted to the work of James Webb (who coined the term "illuminated politics") argues that occult politics need not be fundamentally "fascist", a charge frequently leveled against it, but has actually been involved in various movements of both the left and the right. Lachman considers the primary role of Tradition in occult politics and the opposition of much of it to the modern world. Relying heavily on Webb's book _The Occult Establishment_, Lachman traces out the role of various occultists and their political interests through history as well as their involvement in various revolutions including the American, French, and Russian, and their involvement in Fascism and Nazism. This book offers a fascinating examination of the role that occultists have played in politics and uncovers much hidden material relating to the darker sides of the human condition in the modern world.

This book begins with an Introduction entitled "Hidden Superiors and the Retreat from the Modern World". Here, Lachman considers the role of "illuminated politics" as it relates to the modern world. Lachman considers the arguments of Umberto Eco, author of _Foucault's Pendulum_, concerning occultism and fascism, as well as the occultist opposition to modernity and the longing for Tradition. Lachman explains the "cosmic state" as well as the movement of occult politics from progressive to reactionary. The first chapter of this book is entitled "Rosicrucian Dawn" and explains the role of the Rosicrucians in occult politics. There is much debate surrounding the origins of the Rosicrucian order and whether or not they really existed. Lachman explains the role of the semi-mythical Christian Rosenkreutz, the "Invisibles", the role of Lutheranism on the Rosicrucians, the role of Campanella and Andreae, and the role of Frederick and Elizabeth as the Bohemian rulers admired by the Rosicrucians. The second chapter is entitled "Invisible Colleges" and considers the role of Rosicrucian and utopian literature. This chapter discusses such topics as the dystopia of John Comenius, the utopian motifs of Andreae, the reality of the Rosicrucians, Campanella's _City of the Sun_, esoteric writing mentioning the role of secret codes in the thinking of the neoconservative philosopher Leo Strauss, Maier and Fludd, and the English connection and the birth of the Royal Society and the growth of modern science. The third chapter is entitled "Masonic Movements" and considers the role of the freemasons in political history as well as the allegations made against them by anti-masonic sources that they constitute a secret society plotting against worldly governments. This chapter discusses the origins of the freemasons mentioning the important role of the Knights Templar, the transition of masonry from operative to speculative masonry with a focus on esoteric speculations, the "Scottish connection", and the politics of the masons and their role in the American and French revolutions. Lachman also discusses the role of "unknown superiors" which was to play an important role in later occult developments and Jacobite freemasonry. The fourth chapter is entitled "Erotic Esoteric Revolutions" and discusses the role of "holy sinning" and the role of eroticism and sexuality in the various revolutionary movements and heresies. This chapter discusses in particular the role of Zinzendorf as well as the Swedish seer Swedenborg and the Moravians. The chapter ends with a discussion of the "Wars of Independence" noting the role of freemasons and occultists in the American Revolution. The fifth chapter is entitled "Illuminations" and discusses the role of the freemasons in the French Revolution and the Bavarian Illuminati. This chapter examines such topics as the role of the freemasons behind the French Revolution, conservative philosophers including T. E. Hulme's distinction between classic and romantic and Eric Voegelin's understanding of gnosis, the masonic right including a discussion of Count Joseph de Maistre (freemason and traditionalist Catholic), the Bavarian Illuminati of Adam Weishaupt and various conspiracy theories regarding them including those of Abbe Barruel and John Robison, as well as the role of mesmerism and its relationship to freemasonry, the role of Saint-Martin, and the role of Cagliostro. The sixth chapter is entitled "Spirits Rebellious" and discusses several topics including the emerging role of spiritism and its relation to progressive politics. This chapter discusses the egregore (or the "watcher"), the writings of Bulwer-Lytton, the role of popular occultism, Eliphas Levi, and the role of spiritism mentioning the Fox sisters and the role of the radical feminist Victoria Woodhull (known as Mrs. Satan). The seventh chapter is entitled "Journeys to the East" and discusses the role of the Theosophy of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and the role that the East and in particular India played on its development. This chapter discusses the role of Theosophy, the race question, the secret doctrine, the role of Annie Besant in promoting home rule for India, and the role of Russian philosophy mentioning individuals such as Vladimir Soloviev. The eighth chapter is entitled "Kings of the World on the Mountains of Truth" and discusses the role of the various legends concerning the Mountains of Truth and the King of the World. This chapter discusses such topics as the Mountain of Truth and the birth of the counter-culture, cosmic consciousness and various consciousness expanding components of the developing counter-culture which eventually grew into a 1960s movement in the United States, the role of supermen in the ideas of Nietzsche, Orage, and Shaw, the occult underground mentioning the role of Ossendowski and his travels in the East, the importance of Agharti, Shamballah, and Nicholas Roerich the Russian occultist, the role of Henry Wallace and various politican intrigues of Roerich, and the role of synarchy in the esotericism of Saint-Yves d'Alvedrye. The ninth chapter is entitled "Reactions" and discusses the role of the occult in various right wing movements. This chapter discusses the "Jewish Question" as it arose for d'Alvedrye, the role of Papus, the importance of the aristocracy and the spiritual elite for the occultists, the nature of synarchy and how synarchy developed into a movement, and the role of Traditionalist Rene Guenon and his enmity towards the modern world and desire for a new spiritual elite. The tenth chapter is entitled "Dark Sides" and discusses the role of occultism on the political right. This chapter includes a discussion of the esoteric Egyptologist Rene Schwaller de Lubicz and the role of anti-Semitism and right wing politics in his thinking including mention of his own group of spiritual elite "the Watchers", the role of Vivian Postel du Mas and Rudolf Hess, Nazism and the occult including mention of the role of Hyperborea and Ultima Thule, Rudolf von Sebottendorf, and the Thule Society, and finally a discussion of the case of Carl Jung and his supposed relationship to Nazism. The eleventh chapter is entitled "Archangels of Our Darker Nature". This chapter discusses the role of LSD and the 1960s, the Italian rightist Baron Julius Evola and his role as traditionalist and enemy of the modern world as well as his tentative support for fascism, and the role of Romanian scholar of religions Mircea Eliade and his problematic involvement with Romanian fascism. The twelfth chapter is entitled "New World Orders" and discusses the modern American Christian right. Unfortunately, Lachman seems to link a largely degenerate American Protestant right to fascism and claims that the mass marketed _Left Behind_ books and widespread belief in the Rapture constitute a return to "illuminated politics". I find this claim particularly absurd in light of the fact that such books are largely the product of a consumerist and decadent culture that Lachman claims they oppose. Further, Lachman seems to bow towards the idols of today's political correctness without recognizing the threat such political correctness poses itself. That is why his conclusions in this chapter remain problematic for me. Overall, however I find much of what Lachman has to say to be interesting regarding the role of the occult in politics.

This book offers an interesting account of the role of the occult in shaping political movements of both the left and the right. The book includes a good discussion of those who opposed the modern world and opted for tradition against the nostrums offered by today's modernists. The book includes much fascinating material on little known occultist figures who are certainly worth investigating for the interested reader.

"The larger the mass in movement, the stronger the effect of irrational impulses, the more powerfully the soul's innermost currents begin to roar... the instinctive forces are reinforced under the influence of comrades striving for the the same good." - Rudolf Bode

The occult and its societies have dropped away from accepted scientific method and society starting with the advent of Cartesian dualism and its influx throughout modern history signified by the Enlightenment, separating superstition and the spiritual from the material. Yet, while this occlusion of the spiritual grew there have been many behind the scenes of political movements that either secretly or openly engaged with the spirit world. Esoteric historian Gary Lachman has pieced together a comprehensive survey of the modern intertwining of the occult and the political in his latest book, Politics and the Occult.

Lachman begins his recounting of occult political influence by recounting the mysteries of the Rosicrucians and the many with influence over kings, queens and monarchical society that identified with Rosicrucian ideas. When the pamphlets from the Fraternity of the Rosy Cross hit Germany in 1614, it began the modern concept of the secret society, a group that may be in or outside of the nation's government aiming to have political influence and espousing illuminated politics. Illuminated politics being a political approach that has a religious complexion and obeys a transcendental scale of values.

Perhaps the most historically notorious connections between the occult and politics are through the legacy of the Masons. The primary vitriol against the Freemasons being inspired by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion published in Russia in 1905 which has since been debunked but remains the fuel for many right wing hate groups to this day. Linking the Freemasons to the Jews and communism, the Protocols inspired people from Hitler to American Conspiracy Theorist James Shelby Downard. Perhaps the most obvious links between the Freemasons and political systems are through their symbolisms in the Great Seal of the United States and on the US currency. But more subtle links between the US and Freemasonry may have existed, Lachman discusses that many European Freemasons saw the concepts of brotherhood, tolerance and the rights of man becoming real, Freemasonic generals chose to take special care that the US became independent from Britain.

The occult groups most feared and invoked by conspiracy theorists like William Cooper (who is responsible for much of the conspiracy theory mindset of the last 20 years), focus on a coming New World Order enacted through the political influence of a swath of secret societies but none more responsible than the Illuminati. The Illuminati were founded in Germany on May 1st, 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, a law professor who aimed to accelerate the adoption of Enlightenment ideals like science and atheism. What made the society strange were the means to its end, the use of occultism, religious belief and hierarchy to reach these goals. Weishaupt networked this group through various Masonic lodges in Europe aiming to remove princes and nations from the face of the earth so that, "the human race should attain its highest perfection, the capacity to judge itself." Eventually the society collapsed after Masonic lodges distanced themselves from Weishaupt's aims after Bavaria made all secret societies illegal in 1784.

I found the most fascinating part of the book to be the discussion of 19th-century occultist Saint-Yves d'Alveydre. After claiming to partake in astral travel to learn the secrets of Agartha, a secret city at the center of the earth, Saint Yves developed the concept of synarchy, the opposite of anarchy, the establishment of complete and total government, a government that functioned like the human body that divided its people to function like the human body. Saint-Yves' visions were detailed in his published work but were immediately retracted after their publication. He kept one copy and the printer secretly held another. Why he destroyed them we may never know. Speculation may lead you to think that he revealed a secret world before the inhabitants wanted him to.

Growing from the concept of synarchy came Rudolph Steiner's Threefoldness, the idea that since human bodies are composed of feeling, thinking and willing. Feeling being the breathing, circulation and heartbeat; Willing consisting of the metabolism and the limbs; Thinking being the head and nerve communications. The goal being the production of free individuals that were in a society supporting spiritual growth.

When most think occult politics, they think the overblown claims of Nazi Occultism and the Thule Society. To name a few, stories of Nazi mystic and dark rituals inspired the video game series Castle Wolfenstein and the comic book hero Hellboy. Some claims go so far to say that the entire Hitler led atrocities were undertaken to produce mass blood sacrifices that would open portals to other dark dimensions, dimensions which UFOs and the grey aliens emerged from. Lachman debunks these fantastical claims by laying down the actual (and much less colorful) history of the Thule society. The most surprising dark revelation for me had nothing to do with Nazi's, it was that shamanistic scholar Eliade was connected with political violence in his home country of Romania.

Lachman closes the book with some of his own thoughts on "illuminated politics" in the current years. His concerns about American Fascism are not overblown or misplaced. When the majority of a country is expecting a rapture or deliverance from above, its desires could be easily manipulated by overzealous demagogues. With an economic downturn in the US looking more prolonged by the day, most signs of recovery ignore the masses of unemployed. When a society is desperate it may look to any alternative that combines religion with political solutions. The far-right is continually laughable but has gained eerie power as exemplified by the recent resignation of Obama's Green Jobs Adviser Van Jones and the backlash against Obama's school address. Combine these concerns with Jacques Vallée's warnings of a UFO cult becoming a major religion and the next 20 years could be very interesting.

So now, I'm excited to read more about the occult influences on society and specifically on the United States... which is timely because after reading Mitch Horowitz's essay on Ouija I discovered he just wrote a book on the Occult in America! Hooray!

This review originally appeared on The Magical Buffet website on 12/4/08.

I'm given many books and products to review. I'm not swimming in them, but at this point, I've had my share of emails from publicists and delightful packages of goodies sent my way. Yet nothing could prepare me for the email I received from Quest Books asking me to review "Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen" by Gary Lachman. That's right music fans, Gary Lachman, also known as Gary Valentine, bassist for the to die for band Blondie. What was this emotion I was experiencing? Could it be giddiness? Yes, I'm embarrassed to say, I was "as happy as a school girl".

It took awhile to get into the book. Not because it wasn't engaging, but because I kept sitting there thinking to myself, I'm one person removed from Gary Valentine! How cool am I? Once I finally pushed past the girlish giggles and congratulatory pats on my back, I came to a startling and delightful realization. Lachman has got game. (For the record, I have very little game, just enough to recognize the fact that Lachman has it.) "Politics and the Occult" isn't pop culture fluff, and it's not a rehashing of the ever popular Hitler and the occult genre, it's a fascinating, thoroughly researched, and entertainingly presented look at the subtle influence that occult movements have on societies.

In fact, Lachman himself says in the introduction, "So as not to disappoint a reader who is expecting a different sort of book, I should point out what this book isn't about, a practice most publishers frown on, but which I feel may be appropriate here. It isn't, for example, an expose of secret societies whose occult machinations are behind the political movements of today. Nor is it a rummaging through the occult closets of famous politicians in order to uncover some hermetic skeletons. (That Ronald Reagan, for example, employed an astrologer may be an interesting bit of gossip, but it tells us little about the nature of occult politics. Likewise, the fact that Aleister Crowley, probably the most famous magician of modern times, wrote pro-German propaganda during World War I tells us more about Crowley than it does about politics.) It's also not about any conspiracy to infiltrate earthly governments involving UFOs, although it is true that in 1960, aliens took an interest in US politics and backed a candidate for the presidency. I've also not focused on occult politics in the sense of the politics of special interest groups, for instance, how neo-pagans fit into contemporary society or the relationship between wicca and some forms of contemporary feminism. These and no doubt other, equally deserving elements are missing from my study, and I look forward to being enlightened about them by interested readers."

What's left, you may be asking? Lots. A few favorites of mine were the discussion of the link between spiritualism and the women's rights movement that includes an introduction to Victoria Woodhull, an interesting section about Jung culminating with the his time as "Agent 488" helping the Office of Strategic Services by making psychological assessments of Nazi leaders, and a mind blowing look at the occult movements at work during the French Revolution.

Personally, I plan on reading this book again. This time with a notebook and pen at my side to make note of all the people I want to learn more about and the many books that I'm now chomping at the bit to read. Add to that I now feel compelled to read all the other books Lachman has written that I just learned about, and well, I'm never going to have time to read all those "Hellblazer" comics that are sitting by my sofa.

A highly readable wide-ranging tour through Western occult movements and the politics they have been associated with and, on occasion, influenced, from the late 1500s through the present day U.S. Lachman knows what is interesting about the subject and tosses in the right odd details. There is a whole lot of really fun stuff in here. If you care to follow any of the threads Lachman unwinds, the book is thoroughly sourced. I have been happily following those threads for months.Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen

Clearly an incredible amount of research and thought went into this book, but despite its dense and intricate subject matter, it's extremely readable and entertaining. Lachman brings (back) to life a broad cast of historical characters and their times. Despite the potential to completely damn or dismiss some of the more potentially disreputable characters, Lachman tends to be careful and fair in his presentation, pointing out the good and the bad. He also sheds light on some more renowned figures, demonstrating that in the flare of youth, many great men toyed with ideas that are not, shall we say, politically correct. But rather than turning the book into a silly expose that would convey only half-truths, Lachman opts for balance, thereby creating a richer tapestry. Enlightening and fascinating stuff.

It is unfair that celebrities with easy access to a publisher get to set the tone on this vitally important subject, while knowledgeable figures in the background will never be heard. The cover up of all cover ups lurks here unmentionably absent from this account. Lachman's placid treatment missing the whole event is an unwitting coverup of the dark history of fascist/nazi occultism lurking in the background to Blavatsky et al., esoteric buddhist and other sufistic genocidal fascists, still unrepentantly in the existence behind assorted New Age guru fronts. However the real agents here are from the early twentieth century. The horror is both hard-to-impossible to research and certainly not welcome news to Theosophical publishers. Beside Blavatsky another side line figure would be Gurdjieff who was involved in his own occult shenanigans, and who as an intelligence agent knew more than he let on about the emergent fascism/nazism of his generation. Gurdjieffian reactionary anti-modernism wishing to sabotage democracy is one of the few outward manifestations of something deeper that has never entered public consciousness.
In fairness, Lachman is no doubt proceeding with shallow public histories such as they are and remains a good hearted semi-leftist (good for that) ignorant of the reality.
The usual notions of esoteric leftists manipulating the French Revolution is mostly nonsense: the rise of modern liberties and democracies belongs to a larger historical dynamic than the crotchety reactionary nose to the ground of New Age fascists.
This zone is a crime scene, and the enquiry wishes to determine the occult politics of the Holocaust and the controllers of Hitler. Nothing less The figure Rajneesh gave some hints, but the issues remain murky, and may never be clarified.

Occult designs against modernity are rife here. Cf. World History and the Eonic Effect for the larger dimension of the dynamics of democracy in history. This dynamic is a higher power than that of the flanks of gurudom.
The antagonism of so many New Age shadow figures to the reality of modern political freedom makes the New Age guru game a dangerous passage for simple liberals.
We need a new New Age movement of intelligent modernity.

Lachman finished the book before the 2008 election, but he warns about the possibility of a recurrence of "spiritual authoritarian theocracies." Yet, in seeing a threat only from the political right, he demonstrates a common and potentially disasterous blind spot.

Who's the messianic leader and inspirational speaker whose circular emblem is seen everywhere, who seeks unprecedented government control over every aspect of your life and health and every corner of the economy, who takes advantage of every misfortune to grab more power, who takes advantage of racial bogotry to demonize his opponents?

It's Freedom vs. authoritarianism and cultishness, and anyone who wants more powerful government--for whatever reason: spiritual, "compassionate," whatever--is in the second camp.

This book should have been titled, "Politics and the Occult: A History Edited by the Theosophical Society of America." Since Quest Books is an arm of said Society, any objective credibility this study may have had is put immediately into question by the editing and review process that occurs during the Theosophical publishing process. The author would have done far better to have published with an independent or academic publisher. Not only should his plethora of footnotes have been treated with more stringent attention to accuracy and detail, but also a more professional index might have been employed to help the reader through the morass (literally). Further, Lachman's far left political ramblings in Last Words also might have been dissected and examined by a more critical eye. I do find it very interesting, however, that the nontaxed Theosophical Publishing House chose a photo of the American White House to be placed on the cover. Was this an advertising ploy taking advantage of the presidential election year, or was it a not-so-subtle attempt to declare their political leanings? Hello IRS. Should the author wish to continue along his path of research, he might do well to consider a sequel to this tome entitled, "The Politics of Cults", with a large, attractive photo of the Theosophical Society in Wheaton, IL on the cover.