Arcana Arcanorum: Cagliostro's Legacy

in Contemporary Magical Movenents

Massimo Introvigne
&dter for Stùdies on New Religioas

Alessandrodi Cagliostto (1743 ot 1749-1795) is the subj€ctofa qumber of historical

studics. Thcsc bave discussedhis identification with Giuseppc Balsamo, a Sicilian
wanted for a number of small crimeswho mysteriouslydisappearedbefore thc sudden
aplxaranceof a "Couut ofCagliostro"ia 1776(an identificationhc desperatcly dcnicd
to his death which, however,is now largely acceptedby historians), his involvement in
thc European politics just beforc tbe French Revolution, his processbefore thc Romc
Inqùisition in I 79I and his subsequentimpiisonmcnt i! the FortrcssofSan Lco, wherc
he died in 1795. There are, however, vcry few studios which discuss Cagliostro's
influcncc on subsequentmagical movemeotsthat flourishcd il the lgth and 20tb
centuries. This paper is aimed at tracing the shadow of Cagliostro ia the history of
modcrn occult societiesand groups, aad at showing how readhg Cagliostro could still
be of relevancefor cotrtemporaryoccultscholars.
What sense,exactly,doesit make to Ércad Caglioskotoday? Docs it makc sensc
becauscof historical curiosity, literary iotclest,or for thc promotion of tourism to
Italy? Or is Cagliostro, itr some sonse,still a cont€mporary figurc? HaDs Nintzel has
wlitten that th€!€ arc probably more personswho practicealcbernytoday-laboratory
alchemy, with stills and distillatioo-thao there werc duriag thc Middtc Ages.t
ParaphrasingNintzel, onc could also saythat the disciplesof Cagliostro-that is, thos€
p€rsonswho practiceritual forms inspired by thosehc \rrote oî collected----arrprobably
morc Àumeroustoday than theywereduring the life of the',Grao Cofto" (thc titlc he
assumedia the "Egyptian'' masonicrite he fouoded). This conclusioo,which can at firrt
strike ono as qìiito surprising is basedon thc small number of adthcntic disciplcs of
Cagliostro and practitioúers of his ',Egyptian,, rite duritg his lifc, comÍaied with thc
many more followers of the "new magical movemetrts,'i! out c€ntury,':aad on the fact
that the rituals practiced by many conîemporary magical movemctrtsarc inspi&d by,
whcn not literally copied from, the rituals of Cagliostro.
In order to detcrmine the impact of Cagliostro on contcrnporary magicaVcsotcric
rituals ooc must overcomeat leasttwo prcjudiccs. Studcntsof eightacnthcctrtury
Italiatr cultìrr€ have emphasized that the Italia! "Illuminismo" @nlighteamcnt)-
reminiscentof the Frenchword "Illuminisme,'-refcrsoot only to thc rationalirroof thc

@Syqgy. JorrDalofAhcÍDativcReligiooaodCt ltu'e 12 (192):1t7-1js

ll8 syzyg

"Philosqphers" but also to the occultism of thc "Illuminati." Thcs€ two asp€ctsofthe
word "Illuminismo," in ltaliaú, are ins€parablc:

B6ide the EnlighteDmeút, which was guided by reason aud proc.eedcdfrom

scicncc,there is thc mystical moverneot which searchesfor solùtiotrs to various
probleÍls h esotericcults, in miraclesand magic. And thesetwo movemeDtsnot
only walk side by side, but at times intersectand ofte4 ir fact, live and manifest
tbernselvesin the samc person.'

Ifscholars now largely recognizethis ambiguity, someofthem still distinguish between

the "charlataqs ri,/a Cagliostro" ard tho"RosicruciaN aud Spùitualistswho developed
their researcheswith great intellcctùal hooesty.'i The thesis that thcre is a mdical
separationbetw€eÀCagliosùoaod themor€"r€sp€ltable"or "Doblo"osotericism ofhis
timc is old and was largely proposed befoÈ the publicatioo i! the years 1906-1909of
the flrst importatrt abstractsfrom Cagliostro's Rituals of Eg1'ptianMasoatyby Matc
Haveo,aliasthemedicaldootorEmmaouelLalaado(1868-1926). Onecanperhapssee
sucha radical diffcrcace--as onc would saywith philosopher of sciencoImre Lakator-
in thc 'txtcrnal history" of thc occult s€ieoccs,and in thc differeut psychological
perspectivesaud the privatc lives of Cagliostro and othe! occùltists. But ù thc
"intemal" history of occùltism*the history, accordbg to Lakatos, which takes into
accoutrt the devglopment of a scieocewithout coosidcriag tho private lives of its
practitiooers-the prilciplcs and the rituals of the "aoble" Rosicrucians and of the
"charlatan" Cagliostro are ofteu impossible to distioguish, and thc circulation of
various ideas betweentbe diverse systens of magic was cooti.truoù$. From arother
perspectivc,the harshestcriticismsby onegroup or tradition againstanother within the
occult underworld are often cvidcncc that the first group is simply attemptitrg to
conc€althat it has, io fact, beeoinfluenced by the second. A contemporary Catholic
Archbishop, who is also a scholarspecializingin newrcligioos and magic, basexplained
the paradoxicalpresence of ao "occultistanti-occultism,""promotcdby tho exponeuts
of various magical aod esotcric movements, who preparc critical works which
denounce,and which disti-nguishbetweeo'white magic' (their own) and 'black magic'
(the magic practiced by thc othco) bctwee! 'initiatiol' (that they olIer to their
members) and 'couoter-initiatioo' (offcred by the competitior). Thcc is today a
flowering of this typ€ of litciature, whioh may provido interesting ioformation, but
which assumcsfrom thc beginning thc point of view ofa particular esotericcùrrelt or
of a ccrtai! magical movement, to bc able to criticize all of the others."'
Thc rcond prejudice, which is more subtlo,is found evcoin Marc Haven, who had
au authentic veneration for Cagliostro. Havcn wrot6 that tho trÀ,o"quarantitres"-or
magical retrcats of forty days in the systemof Cagliostro-"are a srnall part, tbc less
important, ofhis work."ó Marc Haven proposedaDirtcrprptation rnore mystical thau
magical of Cagliostro, to be uuderstood within tle frame of tle whole esotericcareer
of this Frroch dootor. Haven married the daughter of the healcr of Lyou, Nizier
Anthelrne Philippc, "Maîtrc Phi.lippe"(1849-1905). Philipp€, in !urn, was considered
 Arcana Aranorum I19

a re'caraation of cagriostro; but some msmbers of bis circrc

went furthcr. and
coosidcredboth Philippo and Cagliostro as,,rapparitions" or new
incamatioDsofJcrus
Christ.TPhìlippe,however,was a Christiau(althoughunorthodox)
healer,who came
to bclieve,with *spct to magic, that "thc writings about it arc
criminal and that thc
way of the mystic was preferablc because"thc gosp€lscotrtaitr
all of thc iaitiations.,,t
Other aùthors, without the complex motivatiots of Marc Havco,
remaia cqually
discoúcertedabout the ,'quarantines.;oqc concludcstùat they
coosistof ,,magical
practic€sandtheîap€uticcureswhich,whcnappliedrealistically,could
kill any humao
behg in the space of only a few days."' with r€spectto this quote
from profcssor
Carlo Francovich,oue of the most brilliant studentsof s€vetteetrth
catrturyItaliaa
FreemasoDry,it is useful to make referenccto tho malicious
coÍrfletrt of Francesco
Brunelli (1927-82),a medical doctor from perugia who was
a kcy figur€ in th. r€ccnt
historyof newmagicalmovemcntsin Italy.:

Those who do not have proper practical experiencc,have

oot gono through thc
same Joùmeys, aqd have qot followed thc same system
of catharsn and
purificatioo,reallydo not qualify to itrterpretdocumcnts,
symbolsand rites, At
this point it is necessaryto saya definitivegood-bye to thehistoriansand to thosc
who spnd their time ia libraries. They rnay 6o good at
working in the archives
atrdir pulliùg fonh the varioustreatises whicharclost aod fulr ofdust. rt rsgood
that thcy r€ceivehonors and prizrs, aad are awardedacademic
degrecsfor their
work, . . . but in the profane world, a wo d very diflcrent
from our ol*!! tfihat
caDîheseperrons say to us conclrriiùg the magic of alchemy
and conccrning the
quarantinesof Cagliostro?o

This is a typical perspectivefrom an insider io the occurt

uuderworld, and evidencesthe
rift which cxists betwcet those who viéw the rituals with
the cycs of historiaus, and
those who are alxious to "pr"actic4, and to follow thc prescriptions
of tàe aucieot
masters.But the distanc€caúúot be
ofcagriostro
make
se,,,"-""0.""
"":"."fj::l:"ooÎ;il::;:ffi 3::"ffir,i'r:
followed suchprescriptions-oary if onekeepsin mind
the total hi-storicalpicture ofthe
magical tradition in which Cagliostro was involvcd.
Cagliostro aevcr pretetrdcdthat
he was iaitiatiag an original work, and his declarations
that he mostly ,bopicd,,ancient
manùscnptr aÉ trùe--_€voÀiI not in a Ìitcral sensc_inasmuch
as tley indicaùc a
cousciousconnection with a magical traditioo which
thc Gran Cofto ccrtair y did not
invcnt.

The First Forty Days: From the Didactic

Ritual to Theurgy
Among the instrumelts of magic, the sword, as Cagliostro
knew, i-not only thc
symbol of strongwill which pulls power from the Gods,
but also of tho capacityto
distinguishand to discriminate,which is berievodto be
cruciarfor thc succcss
ofmost
magicalop€ratiors. This was the priacipalmeaningofthe
swordin, for cxamplc,tho
120 stzygy

magical systernofthe Golden Dawn." The la[guages, the codesand thc systsn of
symbols in cotrtemporary magical moverneotscomc from the most diverse sources:
from Greoceaod China, from $thagoras aud the Druids, ard sometimesoveo from
Christiauity and modcra science(whicb has Bot lackod thc capacity to fumish myth$
for thc iltroduction of new rites). Despitcthis gl€at varicty thcre ate certain sigdficant
oommoo elemeúts. Thcre is, for examplc, a vision of thc world shar€dby úost of the
new magical movements, which posits that tberc has beeu a fall from thc original
perfect condition iato the limited world ofmatter and death, and that humatr b€ings
may b€ rsirtegrated with thcir primitivc statc through techniquesknowa by initiates.
This schemeis fouud in Cagliostro: his most immediate antec€detrtwas Jacques
Martirez dc Pasqùally (1721-1774),tj,e famed author of .A Tteatiseoa Reittegraù'oa,
who however had lessfaith b magical tcchniques. Thcse techniqtcs, which at ftst
blush appeario a varicty ofways in tle maay newmagioalmovorncnts,can be roduccd
to common models aud categories. Iî is io this area that Cagliostro is particularly
important asa codifier, rather than for his work oo the ideolory ofrci.ategration, wherc
bedid trot qeate atrythingnew.
From the poiat ofview ofritìral, the two quarantineshad the most importaBt impact
on successive magical movgmeots. Tho sword of Cagliostro s€paratodtheurgical f.om
alchernicalútuals, codifying a distinction that remairs substatrtiallyunalteredin
contemporary movements, Cagliostro, as many have wdtten, has tratrsmitted to his
posteriry the Arcaaa Arcaaorum. This expression,which refers to the s€a.et.itùals
Fvealed at the end and sùmmit of the initiatory itiDeraryof a aurnbcr of ssoteric
groups, is ia rtality ambiguous. Tho oxpressionz4rcaaaAtcanorum cotraspords, itt
fact, to a trùmber of diffcr€Dt rituals, From this point of view the sword of Cagliostro
hasdivided-in thc senseof codifying-magical material that Cagliostro ccrtainly did
lot invent but which ho collectedduring his various wauderingsthloùghout the occult
communities in Europe during his life, Much of the material collected by Cagliostro
wasderivcdfrom the GermaoOrder ofthe GoldenRosy Crossaod probably from its
schism (or, accordirg to others, its inner circle) called the Order of the Iaitiated
Brethrenof Asia (or the Ordsr of the AsiaticBrcthren).The lattcr was foundedby the
Baron Hans Heinrich von Ecker-uqd-Eckhoffen(1750-1790)amoug a Jewish
commurity which wascbaracterizcdby tbe presenceofthe most cabalistic wings of the
Mossiaaicmovemeotsfounded by SabbataîZevi and Jacob Frank." It has bcen
deaied, in r€centstùdies,that the milieu ofNaples, wherc Cagliostro sp€nt someyea$,
in particularthe circleof PrinceRaimondodi Sangrodi SanSevero(1710-1771), was
effectivelyinvolved-as was assumedby previousscholars-in tle rituals of "sptitual
alchemy"ofthe Order of the GoldcnRosy Cross.'' Vy'ithoutenùeringinto thisdebate,
it is iotercsting to trote that Raimondo di Sangro in a lcttcî to the Baron Henri-
Théodorc Tschoudi (1724-1769),who was th€ q€ator itr Naplcs of thc masooic system
known asthe BlaziqgStar,claimedto k[ow how to utilizea s€crctcodethatwas used
in thc GermaoGoldeaRosy Cross.''
The first of tho îwo qualaatines of Cagliostro is a magical l€tleat of forty days
consisting of rituals ard praycrs. After thtty-thrce days otre commetrc€sto "erjoy the
 Arcana Afcanolllm tzr

favors ofvisible communications with the sevenprimcval aagelsatrd to ktrow th€ seals
and the numbers of the$èimmortal Ertities." Aftcr thc fortieth day one receivesthe
first "P€ùtagod, that is the virgin paper, on which tho primcval angclshavc placcd their
numbcn and seals,"togethc!with otherseven"sccondaryPentagons"on which "only
rrcommandsthe
oooofthe sevenangelshasplacedits seal." Through the Pentagonsotrc
immortals ir the trameof God" with the "effectto bhd or to command the aerial spiritg
and to cffectuatemanywondersand mimcles."15 Ttis coustitutesthe theurgicalritual;
his aim according to Cagliostro is to "obtaitr thc Peutagon and bccome morally
perfect." The immediatc atrtecedentsof this ritual are found io ths masonic systcm
utilizedby the BlazingStar ofTschoudi, and in rhs ritualsofthe Goldcn Rosy Cross;
the latterwererepublishedby the learnedmasooBernhardBcyerin the 1920's.r6
Cagliostro's rcferencesto angelsof various grades are fouad itr somc of thc most
impoltaot moderu Anglo-Saxon magical movemcuts. Thc Hermctic Ordcr of the
GoldenDawn, foundedin I888-among thoirtportant figur€sirtheliteraryworldwho
were mernberswere William Butler Yeats (who was also amoug its principal leaders),
Arthur Machen and Algemon Blackwood, not to mentio[ ths wifc of Oscar Wilde,
ConstanceMary--{erved as a breedingplacc for maoy founders of successive magical
movcmeots,from Aleistercîowley Dion to Fortune, Historians havc coocluded, with
persuasivearguments, that the "Cipher Manuscripf' which allegcdly provided the
"arcient" basis for the Golden Dawn mostly originated from the fantasy of its
founders.tt It is, however,undeoiablethat thereare aúalogiesbetweeútho "Cipher
Maouscript"ald the first quarantineofCagliostro,and this hascausodtbe hypothcsis
to reemergethat there could be a commor derivation for both the Goldcn Dawa and
Cagliostro from the Germatr Goldeo Rosy Cross,with which the aDalogiesal€ many
and lead one to exclude the possibility that it is simply coincidence." Naturally, if
Cagliostrodid not invetrttho cvocatiooof the"SevenPrimevalAngels"or ofthe "Holy
GuardiauAngel" it doesnot follow that theyvcre absolùtolyocw idcasof thc Goldcn
Rosy Crosswhich, for its palt, also usedmore a[cieút rituals. For tbo evocation of thc
"Holy Guardian Angel" ao importa[t antecedetrtis clrtainly the Book oîAbra-Mcli4
which is conservedin the Library ofthe Arséoal in Paris, and was republished il 1898
by the sameS.L. MacGregorMathers(185,1-1918) who wasooeof thc foundersof the
GoldenDawn. The book wasattribùtedto "AbrahamtheJew"whois asserted to havc
been botq in 1362." The t€xt, that aq expert such as AleisterCrowley considered
essentialfor all esotericritual, hasbeentranscribedia the presentform in the eightocnth
crntury, but was probably written in tho fifteeúth c€trtùry. The books making up thc
"forbiddea work of Comelius Agrippa"--{ùoted explicitly by Cagliostro iu thc ftr6t
quarantine-are also fiom the frfteenth century, but the origins of theurgy aud the
evocationofangelsa!e, ofcourse,muchmorc ancicnt.Theydateback to the fiftcetth
century, with the works ofPclagius, the hermit from Majorca wbosez{zacanúhas been
reccntly republished by Robert Arnadou'o; to the fourteeoth ccntury with Petcr of
Abano; to the fnst Cbristian celturies, withthe Onc]es oîtúe Chaldaeaas,whichwete
appareotlywritten by ooc JulianuscaÌledthe Chaldacusand by his sonwho was also
calledJulianusaud significantlynicknamedtbe Theurgist, A text sùchas Pclagius'
 t22 syzygy

Atacrisis@\tai!:smany thcurgical rituals similar to thosc ofCagliostro, and this is also

truc for a úumber of Renaissancerituals, where it is not always easyto distinguish, as
Walker hasproposed,betweenthe theurgical ritlals that are "spiritual" aod 'demooic'
in oature." If a distinction is possiblebetweendifferpnt theurgio ritùals, it should be
coútrected to thc numbcrofangclsthat oneissupposedto summon:oneonly (thcHoly
Guardiao Argel), seven(the number prcferred by Cagliostro) o! th€ s€veuty-twowhich
arc surrmotred through the seven talismans called "olympians" in the "sacred
Kabbalah," also called "angelic philosophy,'r wlúch \yas codified in Lyotr in the
s€vetrteetrthc!trtu.y by the hermetic doctor Lazare Meysonierz aod uti.lized in the
Order ofthe Elus Cobensof Martinezde Pasqually.
Apart from tbe cabalistic numerology of the angels, it is impodant to keep ir
miúd-itr order lot to bc confusedby the statedgoal of "ellectùatitg maúy woDd€rs
and miracles" which caq app€ar to be utilitariatr only-that theurgy (as the title itself
of the lust quaratrtineof Cagliostromentions)servesabovoall to "becomemorally
p€rfect." The archetypeof this processis the classicmodel of birth and death. It
iavolves, in this case,a processby which.one dies among the darknessin which he is
immerscd with thc majority of humanity, and is reboro i:rto a superior lifc. This
'rperfectioo" ca! bc accomplished hrst ofall asa resultofa ritual, wherethe sgnbolism
is preseotfrom the beginningbut is explaioodand illustratedin detailonly astheritual
progress€s.This is the model ofthe ceremouics of Cagliosîro's"EgyptiatrIn.lsoory,
which hasgivenriseto a groatvarietyof"Egyptian" masonicrites. In fact,today thcrc
exist at least te! rival masooic rites, either "regular" or irregular, for males only,
fcminine or mixed, that aro denomitrated"Egyptiao," or of Mcrnphis, or Misraìm (or
MemphiVMisraîm), with a particularly intricate development in Italy, itr Fraace, in
Belgiumaad iu Latin Amcrica. All owe somethingto Cagliostro,whoseritualshave
today a posterityof somcthousandspersons.The "Egyptian" rites,whosecomplex
history caoDot be r€counted berc,Bhave been proposed in combination with various
other esotedccunetrts,raùging from the Authroposophy of Rudolf Steioor(i'll a
combinationwhich is today preseatabovoall ir the German"Egyptiao"lodgcZu den
drtin Roseaan der Elbc ofHamburg) to the thoosophicalsystemofHeleoa Blavatsky,
Charlesr#ebsterLeadbeater(1874-1934) insertedin the verybeartof theTleosophical
Society a "Egyptian" masooic rite iavolvhg the maxfuium amount of discretioo. All
of thcserites owe to Cagliostromost if oot all of their rituals aod doctrines. Thc
Atcaaa, howe.var, havc disappeared from mauy cootemporary branchcs of lhe
Memphis-Misralm,substitutedby a purely didactic ritual. In reality, the rite of
Misraim-from which the rite of Memphiswasbasicallya schism,partially absorbed
whenthe ltaliau GeneralGiuseppeGaribaldiassumc.d thc role oflntcrnational Grand
Hierophant of both groups-was born in France through th€ work of the brothers
Bédarridc, at thc timc ofthe CongrcssofVienoa, as a purely cabalistic systern,without
tbe Arcaaa of Cafliostro (which arrived from Italy only somc yearslater).r
They were, at atry rate, lhe Arcaaa Arcaaontn, in a frnt meanttg of tho term,
iodicatilg the theurgical evocatioo of one or morc angcls throùgh tali$maos, seals,
p€ltagotrs, or othet tgchoiques. It would a ppeartlriatlhe Arcar1aA]yanotam Éyealed
 AÍcana Aîcanofum

to the highest degreos of tho various ordors (Martinist, Neo-templars, and the
'Egyptian" masonic rites of Misraìm and Mcmphis) prcsidcdovcr (all at the sametime)
by GastooeVctrtura(1906-1981) one ofthe leadingfiguresin rec€trtltaliaE esoterism,
(transcribodio the codo whioh was usedin the past by thc Italiao Navy), wcre prccisely
ofthis theurgicaltype,ovenif onocannotalsoexcludethe pmsence ofdiflerent,{rcara
connectedto the sccotld quarantile ofCagliostro rathcr thaD to the first. In the case
'todlcated
of Veatura, it appears that the expressiot Arcaaa also the ritual useof thc
bonesofonc's own ancestorsto "recallthcm to Iifo" aod to bemagicallyconaectcdto
their lineage(ia particula., to call forth tho aacestors'fromtho ashcsof thcir bones),
This is pcrhapsa further meaning ofthe cx ptessiot Arcana Arcaaazzr, still within the
theuîgical model takeD flom tho first quaranthe but with a special emphasison the
myth of palingeoesis.The ritùal useof thc aocestor,s bonesis, ol the other haad, not
unknown in maay shamanictraditioas. For Cagliostrothere exists a continuity
betwee! "Egyptian" masoory and theurgicalrites, ard the first-with all of its
ceremoniesand didactic rites-is nothing more than a prcparation, when not a
representation, ofths second.The useofmagicaltechniques-for cxample,the magic
of mirrors or cups of water, in which a young girl called,'dovc,,'or a youag boy,
watchess€rviugas a seer--doesnot represent, from the ey€sof Cagliostro,a c€ntial
discootinuityin his system.Thc initiateofthe "Egyptiatr,,rite, pltparcd by the rituals,
should be able to passto the magicaltechalqueswithoùt fccling any changeia tho
substanc& ofhis or her experience.
The magic of mirrors-in a form similar to that of Cagliostro-was furthor
cultivated,particulady in the Aúglo-Saxotrcoútext. Otr€ fiods such a systemin
FrederickHockley (1808-1885), a key figuretogetherwith his fricnd Captain Frarcis
Georgelrwia ( I 828-I 893) for the diffusion of the influenceof Cagliostro in thc English-
speakingworld. Irwin, aa importaat fìgurei:r the underworldof',fringe,'masonryand
occultism,was a membcr of thc SocieiasRosiclucianain Anglia (forcruanerof thc
Goldel Dawn) aúd was in such closerelatioús\yith the ghost of Cagliostrothat
KennethMackeazie(1833-1886) askedhiÍl to havethe Coutrt'sspirit checkthe entry
Cagliostrc in his noted masonic encyclopedia. Hockley and lrwin collaboratcd, in
additionto variousoccultveotures,ia thefouodationofa "BrotherhoodofLighf'that
is-to somc exteut-at the origin of a more famous occult society, the Hermetic
BrothcrhoodofLuxor, which,importedinto Fraocc,would ioflucocea seriesoffarnous
esoteîic masters, including René Guénoa. In tho materials of the Heroctic
BrotherhoodofLuxor (whichhasits own complexstory)therearc,together$.ithother
elemenls,notiotrsof magic involving tho miÍors whe!€thc influcnceof Cagliostrois
very visible. Hockley himselfusedmirrors to put himselfin cootact,through a s€er,
Emma Louisc Leigh, with aa etrtity that he calledthe .Crowned Angel.,' ìffhen Leigh
died in 1858,Hockley begansearchingfor a substitutc,aod initiatcdinto his magical
systemof mirrors a famous medium, Emma Hardingc Britten (1823-1899),a good
friendof MadameBlavatsky.Brittcnwill. ia fac! in 1875,beamongthefoundersofthc
TheosophicalSocicty.?'Yearslater, through chao:lelswhich are not clear,the same
magic of mirrors appearcdagait in the writingsof PascalBcverlyRaadolph (1825-
 syrygy

l8?5), an Americanmulatto who claimedto be a dcscendaotfrom thc royal family of

Madagascar,and who is more notedfor his furte.est ill sexmagic. Put under trial, he
was recognizcd by thc prosecutor himself to eljoy "a popularity as a writer of love,
neverbeforc accordedto any mau living or deadl--Ovidius, Michelet aad Aristotle ,o/
excepted."2o
Problemshave ariseowhen thc mirrors aod theurgy have beeoabaodoned in order
to borrow from Cagliostro only the teachingaod didactic aspectsof the Egyptian ritual'
This is the rpason for the lack of successaod for thc ultimatc demise of various
branchesof thc Mernphis aad Misraìm ritcs and of othcl alternativo Egyptiatr ritos,
which were fouod to be too long aod repetitive. Tbe admiratior for Cagliostro--add,
aswe have seen.thc useofcorùnol souroes-is found, however,in the Golden Dawn,
whoseritùalsw€r€o! thc contlary very bright. But, oD the other hand, the historyof
this order shows tbe co lict between thoso wbo wcro bappy to participate in a
primarily didactic ritual (even if it was so complcx as to require intens€ study of a
number ofhermetic and cabalisticwritings) and thosewho, oo the other hatrd, wanted
to "seesomethbg" il a theurgical rito. This is the maiu reasonfor the divisions and thc
schismswithin the Golden Dawn itself, which were originally caused-abovc and
beyood the problems of leadershipaod the furtbcr problems associatedwith Al€ister
Crowtey (1875-l947Fby the formation of "groupc" whicb attempted,outsidc tbe
rogular meethgs of the ordet, to perform theurgicalovocatiouswhich would havebeen
impossible il less discreet meetings. The more couservativo factioa of tbc Goldetr
Dawu-which was guided by the poet Yeats-\tas absolutely ollpos€d to these
"g1oups."' But th€ "groups"-with their theurgical ritùals----cootinued,with varying
success.From the magical movementsthat take their origin from thc Golden Dawn,
the Sooietyofloqe! Light of Dio! Fortune (Ps€ldotrymfor Violet Firth, 1890-1946)
offers us another cxarnpleoftho coatÉst within the samomagical oldcr betweeúmele
didactic rituals and stroager theurgical rituals. When Dion Fortune was accusedof
reducing thc movemoot's activities to the didactic rituals only-far removed fiom the
origiaal succcsses of ihe theurgical evocations-a group of followers, led by Christine
Hartley (1897-1985) andCharlesRichardFosterSeymour(1880-1943)' abaudooedher
to cstablishatrindepeúdetrt movemeut.Thc joumals cvocationsmade
ofthe theùrgical
by Hartley and Seymour-ir which gods, aocieutherocsaod angclsprtsent thernselvcs
il bright and impressivoscctres--constitute one of tho most notable testimoniesof
theurgical activities in oul c€atu.y.'
With Dion Fortuae-who had beena pupil of Freud aod was already amoag one
of thc highcst paid aoalystsin Londoa whea shewaslittlc more thao tweaty yearsold-
we havc onc of thc lust examples of the etrcountcf betwceD psychoatralysisand
thcurgicalteachings.Todaymanyexponentsofthemagicalmovemeots-who aremore
or lessinouenccd by Jung--io not have any dilficulty admittiog tlat thcir ovocations
ofgods and angclsbriog about, in reality,the "inner self,"or, perhape,tle "collcctive
unconscious"ofthe group. In rnostmodcra forms ofspiritualism,particularlyin tie
Califomiaochanneliqgpopularizedby ShirleyMcLaine,thesourcesofthe "channeled"
messagcalp often related to concaptsof cootomporarypsychology." The most
 A,rcanaAîanoÍum r25

extr€fie case-but at the sametime one of the most ilterestiog_was s€t forth in the
I 976 volume Coajuríag tlp Phiíp in which eight penons of the Toronto area decided
toqeatea fictitiouscharacter,"philip," and to attcmptto chaú.oel him, which theywere
successfulin doing after some period of time. It is iúportadt to note that this
experimeot\ras oot dotrewith the intentionof exposingchannelingas a fraud or an
illusion but, oo the cotrtrary, to preseùtit asa perfectlylcgitimate_aod therapeutically
ùs€fùl--{ncthodto eote! into contact,through a detemhed ritual, with the collectivc
uocotrscious.
This way of actingis more commonthan ooemight anticipate,evenin the complcx
and varied phenomenoo of the flying sauc€r cults. It has been observed that the
extraterrestrialswith whom theobservershave entercdintocoatact(in generalthrough
mediums,evenif at the begianingofmany groupsthereis a bclicf that the headof tho
$oup has becophysicallycontactedby thc "spacrbrothers")havethc role_which is
not too diflicult to guess-of secularized angcls.loAfter all, ovetrthe extr"at€rtestdals
come, litcrally, from the sky.
In thesedevclopments, hasCagliostrobcenabandoned?Oncshouldnot be too sure
that the itrterpretationsof the channeledor coajuredcntitiesas manifestatioosof an
inncr selfareof recentorigin, and only derivefrom the cncountc.botwectrmagic
and
psychoanalysis.One of the great ancestorsof cotrtemporaryoc.ùltism,
who in the
historyof tho oc.ult scienc€swould takea positiotrseclndoúly to Cagliostro,and who
wasalsoiDcootactwiththeNeapolitanoccultlrlilieù,wasEliphasLévi (pseudoaym
for
Alphonse-Louis Constant, 1810-1875). Coocerning his famous evocation
of
Apollonyusof Tiana in 1854in Londoo, Lévi wote: ,,MustI colclude from all
of this
that I havereallycalled,secnand touchedthc greatApollo ofTiana? I am
uot sucha
dreameror a simplemind to believeit.,, He coocludedthat,,the rcal efhcacyof the
magicalceremonies" consistsaboveall in the possibilityto cnterin contactwrth s€oet
ald hiddeadimensioúsofhumatr natùrc.rr
Cagliostro's pnesedcecan also be fouod in the world of flying saucers. One
recognizeseasily that this world had a significant aatcccdetrtin a volume
Dubrishediq
l9N, From ltdia to tbe Plaitct MaÉ. A Study iD a Caseof Somaambulint
with
by T!éodore Flournoy, a professorof psychologyat the Uoiversity of
Geneva." The book is a story of a psychictrip iato spaceby a medium usrng
thc
ps€udotr).mof ',HélèneSmith,,'whosereal narncwas CatherineElise Mueller.
This
volume,which c€ptùrcdtheatteqtioúofthe famouslanguagctheoryscholar
Ferdinand
dc Saussurebecauseof the characteristics of thc',Martian" languageofthe mediunl
iocludesa Vitgil-like characterwho guides"Hélèoc,'through hcr paradiseand
hcr hcll.
This is the spirit guide"Léopold,';and onesoondiscovers that',Léopold,,is noneother
thau Cagliostro. Io addition, EugeaioSiragusa(bom l9l9), ooe ofthemostfamous
European flying saucercontactees\rho is at the beginning of a oumber of
UFO cults.
ofteo metrtiotrsCagliostro and claims to bc his reincaroation(both, aftor
all, aîe
Sicilian).,'OnemaythinkthatthisissimplyanabuseofthenamcofCagliostro,and
m one resp€ctit c&rtainlyis. But for Cagliostrotheurgywas a method ,'to
become
morally perfectaùd to achievethereintegtatio!.,,With this iu mind, his systern
ofideas
 t26 syzyg

is trot too far from the coacept (cvenif today it is expressedin dilfcrent words) that
thc
"Holy GuardianAlgel" or tlc ,'Seven Aagels,,rrally represent a particularand sulxrior
stateofthe humatroature.

The Second Quarantiue: The Conquest of Immortality-

In the wodd of thc moderDItaliatr magical movemootswhich more directly claim a
rclation to Cagliostro, the medical doctor from perugia, FraúcescoBruoelli whom
we
alÉady mentiooed,has represented for maoy yearsaú altemativsin Ieadelshipto
Gastone Vetrturc. Trying to simplify his viewpoiut, which is c.ertainly much more
complicatod,onemay saythat the ,'Egyptian,'masooicrite over which Brunelli presided
givesmore importaaca to the secoDdquaraotiqc thaù to the first quarattrne, gvetr
if
bothesotericltaliatrmasters,BrunelliaodVentura,occupiedthemsclves with thewhole
of Cagliostro's systcm. For Bruoelli, the ritc of Misraim derivesfion
Cagiostro, and
tbe last degrccoftho rito is thc eighty-ointh (the niaeticth is purely au honorary
and au
admiaistrativc degrec)ia which ,,onereceivesan explanation ofthc techniqucs
by which
man is unified u/ith divinity throùgh tho ministr.y of the c€lcstial spirits.,,
Hcre oúc
should frnd the Arcana Arcanorum in the ,,Egyptian,, ritc, with the cotrs€qùetrce-
accorditrgto Brurclli, [hat

theA|aza Arcaaorum,whichalsoùtcludesesotericteachingson Ceoesisand

oa
rerntcgration,limit themselvesto the ,€,onic magic (seethe eighty-linth degree),
bùt do lot have atrythingto do with tlansmutativemagic. Tley conducrup
to
traosrnutatiotr, aod herc they stop..., -lhe Arcaza Arcaaorum aIld
Ca,)iostro
coqtgmporaneouslymake referenceto this part ofmagic and in particular
to ttrc
cotrtacts with tbe Aeotrs aod thc spidtr which have superscdcd mortality,
particularly with the seve! platretary spirits...themagic tua$mutation
does not
belong to the Araaa Atcazorum, even if it is foutrd in other
Darts of the
Egyptian rite of Cagliostro.x

Notic€ bow the quostiot of thc Arcaaa Arcarorum apr'l,arsto complicate

itsclf once
again. But it is Dot impossibleto clarifyit.
Thc sword of Cagliostro has separatedwith a clear cut the rituals of the first
forty
days from those of the secoad forty days: with th€ latt€r one attanpts
to ,,become
physically[no longermorarly]perfect."Artboughthe tcxt ofcagriostro's
quarantraes
in Manuscripr No. 245 oftha BibriotecaNazionareofRomc and the ono conserved
in
the Bibliothèquedu MuséeCalvet of Avignoo include somevadaots,li
thc second
quarantine of Cagliostlo iD both vct"sionsrequiresthat onc retire
to a plac€to ,,scrioùsly
fast." Oa theseventeenth day,one,'givesa smallsmissiooofblood,' aad i'beginsto takc
cerîai.Bwhitc drops, that one ca!trot explain of what they arc madc,"
hcreaslng the
doseuntil on the thirty-secoudday,wher, with,'anothcrsrnallemissior
ofblood,,,orc
"begins to take the first grain of Matetja.Hlm^,, The next day ,'a secoudgrain of
Materia hima *úl produce a strong fever of delirium and will cause
one to los€ his
 Arcana Arcanorum t27

skin,hair ard tooth." Afteî olher dtualsaod practices, on thc thirty-sixthday' thc last
grain oî Matería Prima "will causethe hairs, teeth and skin to grow back" until the
fortieth day whetr otre "retums home rejuveoatcdand perfectlyrecrcated.'s All of
thiswould probably seem,eved to admLersofCagliostro,an extrcmelybizarrePiactice
destinedaboveall to a seffatioÀ,aD attitude that wascertainlytypical of th€ Italiatr
magician. But in rcality this is oot thecase,As we havealreadyooted,Cagliostroi$to
be consideredhistorically with refercnc€to his immcdiate aútecedents-the Germao
Golden Rosy Cross-and all thc tituals of this group io turn should be considered
within thc history of a long magical traditioo. In the sccondquaratrtinc,all is trot
eotirelyclear,perbapsirr part becausethe samcritual can probably be interpretedat
variouslevelsofunderstandi[g. Cagliostîokoewboth formsof alchemymentionedby
the German Golden Rosy Closs, the "laboratory" alchemyand the "internal" or
"spiritual"alchemy(wherethe "laboratory''is the body of themagician).
A significant atrtecedeùtof Cagliostro'smethod of "becomingyoung again" is
cortained in the ThesaurusThesaurorum,a cornplexmanual usedby the Golden Rosy
Cross,which is dated 1580,but which is certainlymore recent.Undcr the titlc "How
One UsesMagic to ChangeOne'sNature aúd to BecomcYoung Again" there are
prtscriptioosvery similarto thoseofCagliostro,and at timesalrnostidcntical.t'
Apad from someu nderstandabledietetic variaots--Cagliostro suggcstsbreaking the
fast 'à/ithltaliao biscuitswhere thc Germaossùggestbecr-thc two rituals both describe
a magicalretreatof forty daysin very similartertns.The Germantext suggests taking
what it calls the Lapis Medicinalis Macroasmi, obtained throùgh an elaboratc
"laboratory" alchomythat may useearth aod dcw drops,but suggests ooe use"more
'Vhitc drops
easily-minwatcr."" At leastat a primary lcvel of understanding,thc
that onecantrotexplainofwhat they aremade"rnentionedby Cagliostroarethe rcsult
of a similar distillation. According to the Getmat Thcsautusit is trcc€ssaryto add a
"philosophcr'sstone"obtaitredfrom the alchemicaldistillationofooc's own blood;we
have found a similar refelenccto the blood in Cagliostto. Both Cagliostroand the
Tbesaurut also\rcfetto " gratnsof Materia-àzna.'' To determinewhat they consistsoíl
the hypotbesis,evenamong the specialists of Cagliostro,is trot unadmous, but they
refer to the distinctions(io the Golden Rosy Crossaad il similar organizationsin
Franceand Germany)betwecna "dry way" and a "wetway." The dry way, which was
c€rtainlypracticedlo the Colden Rosy Cross--coosisted of eating"graias"obtained
from urine and gold. The \r€t way consisted,on the other haúd, ofeating, in divcrsc
ways,thc lemen. It is certainthat Cagliostrotaughtthedry way. It is at leastprobable
that the wct way was also taught by him (and was includcdalso in the teachingsof
BaronTschoudy),sothat thosecotrdquamntinecanbcreadcootemporatreously at two
ievels. Onc could call thc first way ofreading the secondquarantino the "physical part"
of the Atcana Arcaaorurn, and the secondway a'rtraosmutation magic" superiorto thc
Arcaaa (tbis is the terminology choser by Brunelli). Or one could coosidet the
transrnùtationpmcticeof the internalalchemya part, and evetrthe highestpart ofthe
ArcanaArcanotum(thisis the terminologyusedin variousoccultordcrsin Franccand
inBelgium).The terminologycanbecoroeequivocalbut thesùbstaÀcodoes îot change.
 syzygy

Mary haveirterpreted the"physical regeueration"aspurely allegorioaland symbolio

But this effcctivcly meanstaking it out of its appropriate placc itr Cagliostro's syston
and,evea,readiagCagliostroby completelyleavi[gout hisantec€deuts. Bruoelliseems
to hav€ had good reason wheo, in one of his works agailst the "allegorical"
ilterpr€tation, he wrote that

Thc doctrino of physical leiltegratioú corrcspondsreally to the tlatrsrnutatiotr

practice . . . that was practiced, iú both the West atrd the East, by oumerous
iúitiates.Ody thosewho havethekey ofarcaD€uDderstaúding arepermittedto
comprehcnd how aod what arc iotended thc famous forty days. But for the
uodeistaùdiÀgto occurit is necessary to havethe keysboth ofthe less€rarcane
(which explains the wo!k) asd of the higher arcano (which explains the forty
days). But, in order to uÍderstatrdthe Arcales one should proviouslybave
practicrd ,'Eonic magic [i.c. i-o Bruoelli's language, theurgy], aad io order to
pncti@rr\aglo itis \ot €qoùgh to write bistorical books.

"Ultimately, as one sees,"coocludesBruoetlilihough hereit is more dilìicult ro agree

with him), "thilgs are more simplethar onewould bclicve."" It helpsto understand
that for Brunelli thg "lesse!Arcaoe" is a succession of operationsof sexualmagic
iutendcdto obtain the semento bc usedfor the "tÉtrsmutatioùmagic"separatodfrom
each other by lunar times, wbile iD the "higher Arcanc" periodic sexmagic operations
areseperatcdby timcswhich areastrologicallyboth solarandlunar. Tlese techniques
wer€ traasmitted to Brunelli by Luigi Petriocione,the "Imperatof'ofan orgaaization
called"Rosa+Croceltalica" (Italian Rosy+Cross)that derivedfrom thc Neapolitao
traditiou. Bruuellialsorcceivedvariousdocumetrts coqcorui]rgthe"Egyptian"traditioo
from Fraoce aud Belgium througb an importaút leade! of the Memphis-Misraîm,
Ambrogio Gerosa," which the latter obtaircd from various occult braoches whose
sourcescan ultimatelybe tlacedback to Cagliostro.
The "\r'ct" way aud the Arcana of sexual magic can appear particularly stmngc.
Howcver, Brunelli \ras qot iùcorect wheu hc arguedthat "trumcrousi[itiates still
practicc them even in our day." Eveo for this technique it may be useful to include a
brief excursior on the loog magical tradition which oo this point pr€c.ded----aÀd
explains-{agliostro aod his metbods
The purpose of ritual magio is oftoo ao attempt to gah irunortality, irl this case
through a "body of glory" obtained tbrough a processof "separation" (which is the
substanceofthe whole "inner alchemy") ofthe spiritual fiom thc material elcmeotsof
man. It is important to ootc that "material" or "mattef'aod the "body" are not
cAuivalelt termsiD the esoterictraditioú. Matter is a philosophical categorythat from
thc poiot of view of epistemology, is defned io opposition to thc spirit. From this
perspectivca large portion ofcsoteric thought cao be consideredthe exact overturtritrg
of materialism describd by Lenin in Materialisn atd Etnpiriocriticism, whc!€ matter
is also a philosophical catcgory. For Lenin matter was a posittvc category: extrcmo
Marrdst materialists, such as Bazarov, spokoof "Holy Matter" iDducitrg L€oio to take
 Arcana Arcanorum

morecautionin the 1920editionofhis book with rcsp€ctto thc first publicationof tho
work in 1908,'' For the esotedctladitiotr matter is a legative category, but it rcmaitrs
neverthelcss a philosophicalcategoryrathorthan an ernpiricalonc. Thc body, on thc
other hand, is in the csoterictraditioo a very complcxrealityincludingboth a "part of
light" aad a material part; the two must be scparatedand thc "pal oflight" mùst bo
liberatedthrough various techniques.For most esoteúctraditionsnot all men are
immortal. Oaly those who are successfulin separating the "part of light" from thc
wickod mixturc in which it is combined with thc matcrial part are able to createa "body
of glory" which will assure them immortality. In a seriesof comparative survsys,
Mircea Eliade has underlined the presencein many cultures of ao idcotification, or at
least"consubstaotiality,"betweetrspirit, the "part of light" ia man, aúd the semeo.
Hetrcea whole s€riesof techniquesare utilized for thc "s€paration" which conccntmte
on the semen.During sexualrelationsthe semenis rctainedthrough thc techoiquoof
coitusrescrvatus(sometimes called"karezza"in Anglo-Saxonversioús),o!, altcaately,
ifalready expendedit is "reinserted"into thebody, eitherdilutedinto a drink or elixt,
somctimestogetherwith feminineseoetions,and drao-k,or aspiratedfrom tho rose
(slortcd likc cocaine:a techniquewhich is, however,considereddaagerousby many).
In otherversioosstudiedby Eliade,the techniqucconsistsof mcditating-for example
experimentingwith diflerent colors of light--luring sexualintercourse.
The origin of thesetechniquesis uncedain. Theywereclearlypart of a secetIndo-
TibetaD taútric ritual, attested by ritual artifaots aod toxts suoh as Abhilavagupta's
Trideat of Wisdom. At the same time, one hnds parallel rituals i! ceftaill goostic
cercmonies, suchas thoseof the Fibiorites. rrVhcthcrtho ultimateorigin wasIraoiao,
lndian, or Gnostic(eoteringTantrismonly lately)wasa matterofcontroversybetween
Eliadeand thc ooted Italian indologistGiuseppeTucci,and is not, ultimately,part of
our theme." Similar techniques,particùlarlyfor the reteotioDofthc semeo,havc also
been found in China (where they are still pmctic€d in Taoist rnodasteries,despite
politicalcooditions)and may be evenmore aDcieot.'lIt is iD aDycas€certainthat we
are speakingof very ancientrituals that, in Eulop€, passfrom somegoosticscbools
throughthe alchcrnicand cabalisticcurens of the Middle Agesaod thc Retraissance
(wberemany alchemic texts can be read at two levels),until orc finds them again in
oclult oîgaùizations formcd and organized-above all in Germany-in thc seventeeoth
century. And this takesus back to Cagliostro.
Aftot Cag)iosto, erreoif wo do qot lack for followers of the "dry" way, it is above
all the "wet" way, ceoteredaround the sexualritual, which spreadsthtoughout the
occultunderworld,along threediverselines: a Frcnchlanguageline (associated with
the bighost,4rcaaaof sorneof the many branchesof the "Egyptian"rite of Memphis
aodMisraìm);an EnglishlaoguagelinewithHargraveJennings( l8l 7-1890)in England
and PascalBevcrly Randolph in the Udted Statcs;and an Italian languagclinc
followingthe succession ofvarious esotericcircles, particularlyin Naples.In this latter
line a previouslysecret"EgyptiaoOrder"manifestsitselfextemallyin the hrst decades
of our ccatury with thc Brotherhood of Miriam (or "Myriam") of Giuliaoo Krcrnmerz
(ps€udonymfor Ciro Formisano, 1861-1930), who left one of thc most completc
 130 syzyg

moden systcmsofsex magic. Both the Frcnch and English languageschools,through

a seriesof passages,also i:rlluenced Germaa groups such as tbe circlcs of Theodor
Reu$(1855-1923), anotberkey figurein modernsexmagic,who initiatcdboth Aleistor
Crowley aod Amoldo Krumm-Heller (187ó-1949)into the Ordo Templi Orientis
(O.T.O.),which had beenfouodcd by thc Austîiatr indùstrialistCarl Kcllner (1850-
1905).The latter,through its FraternitasRosicrucianaAntiqua (F.R.A.), brought this
Germatr lino to Latitr America, the oaly cortin€trt wherc it has a massfollowing in a
simplifred form origioatiag from the Gnostic Movemeot foùnded by an indepadeot
studentof Krumm-Heller,theColombianSanaèlAuDWeo!(I9I l-I978). The Gaostic
Movcment fouaded by Weor, which emphasizesa taatric tcchoique based on coitus
r€s€rvatus, countsamotrgits followers(dividediD thr€emaiÀbranchesby subsequent
schisms)sometoasof thousands(and which today hasa good followiag in Europe).
In the writings of Samaèl Auo Weor one finds, arnoag other things, Ief€i€trc€sto
Cagliostro.'
l[lilc one can say tlat at the cetrter of the esoteric orders fouqded by the above
perso[ages the ritual practiced is cotrtrected\yith sex magic, oue must be careful to
realizethat all ofthese modern esotericgroups havea largc number ofschisms,aod that
orgaúizatiooswith similar namesmay befollowiag rituals which arÉvery diJlcrent. For
cxamplc,amoagthe groupswhich reflectthe tcachingsof Giuliano Krcmmcrz(and of
which there sxist at least ube principal branchesin conflict with one arother)f' some
ofthe branchesexpressa particularinterestinthescxual-magic,Arrara whercasothers
rejectit altogether(conlìniugthemselves to the magicaltherapeutic',ritualsoflsis,'of
thc Brotherhoodof Miriam without followiogthe"ritualsof Osiris,'inwhich thesexual
magic is found),{ Thc sameis true for maay groups of the Masonic rites of Memphis
aod MisraÌn, which staytotally awayfrom theAtcaaa of theintemal alchemy.
Otr the othei haod, as ono bcgins to ùtrderstald the differeDt Arcaaa arLdthelt
impact on coútempolary esotericúovements, orc is struck by bow widespreadare tho
referencesto thc secoud quarantine of Cagliostro, which is interpreted p&cis€ly in
termsof ilrtemal alchemy.Thegoal is alwaysthe separatiooiD the human body ofthe
small divine spark Qtneum4 which accordi.ngto this logic is the equivalent of thc
semen) from the Eatter in which it has fallen. This separation permits the
(rc)constructioa of the "body of glory." According to Eliade: "rodemption signifies
esseDtiallythe liberation of this divine 'interio! matr' and his return to his rative
kingdom of light.'ó? Bruaelli explainsin a text which is reservedfor those who arrive
at the piuacle of his ordinaocos,the Zrler I Uao, that ,'whle the [Roman Catholid
Eucharistspeaksof the body and the blood of Christ, the solar ritc consistsof the
body and the blood ofthe God i! us." Here,if the rite is effrcacious, "if we reachthe
light ofthe sùothetrwe will eatthe sun.'"'You copulatewith yourself,thereforein you
will be bora the baby that will becomcaq adult and will becomethe ocw you-the n€w
matr with the body of glory." The initiate will obtaio the resùlt of ,,recup€ratinghis
originalcondition(hùmaoorsuperhumaootdivine),"not because ofextcmal help,but
"thanksîo himself,to the divioity in himselfthat must comeforth, thanksto the gold
which is ia bimself."{
 Arczna Aranorum l3l

we aaenow abre,after passingthrough theúextsof Franc€sco

Bruaeli, who is a kcy
figure in our history, to determiro the precise lcgacy
of the Arcaaa arcaoonat
(contaidtg rites that werewerecodified_not itrvcnted_by
Cagliostro) for thc various
coatempor"arymagical movements. It coasistsof thc following
realizing that there are
variousmeanirgsof the sameterms,aud that these
diffcrentmeaningsjreaay existed
ir Cagliostro and in his cttcle Arcaaa Atcalorummearrs.

(a) first of all, a theurgical systemofevocation,

utilizing various tecbarques,of
the Holy Guardian Angels or of a plurality of
angels1ia ooe variaùoq lhc
"Guardiao Arrgol,,evoked is the ancestor,the progenitor of
onc,slincage);

(b) it alsomeansa practiceoflaboratory alchemy,

in which dew dropc, blood,
gold aad urine arecombined;

(c) Iinally it meansa practiceofinner alchemy,

i.c. of sexmagic.

We havefollowedtogethertheshadowofCagliostro
and havesecnthc itflueoce,at
times indirect but more oftetr direct, whicb
he has exorci$ed.o ou-u"a or
divcîsc movemetrts. Evetr iî the rclr [.
"
ncverrheiesshavcsomethousaads;ffiT:"t"'il:T;.1,t"rîlfr*iT;l"ll
author, observethosemagicarmovements
from the point of view ofa Roirao cathorio
schoJar,cannot avoid beiag critical of their
worlJ view and pra"tJr. Ho*"u"a it
would bc insulficient criticism if one
conrrooted '.îJ#,:Hffìfr:r:::;
with
more
*". " r.*,
"i,,iL',X'*tÍfl
morality._lt is certail, and oot only in authors suchasCrowlcy, that thi is one aspcct
of our subjectmatter. But the most impoÉaDt
part of the .ituals of th€ Cagliostro
liaeageis somcthingclse.Itoonsistsofaforni
ofauto-redemptiooJ *lich_tl" -"gr"a
will of a person caphres his or her own
irbmortality, obt.io. et"roJ lifi und th.r"
becomessovercign and lord ovcr life and
over death, haviag th" o.*". *ian
îespectto tho same. It is this plet€Escof,,becorning "iC"a
like Godj io oot ooty
a figurative sense,that seernsto me to "ìit"ol "oo
be the ultimate significance, and the pnocipal
challenge,of Cagliostro. In this sense,his
legacyis still alive.
 t32 sy"yg

NOTES:

l . Sc. Haos Niotzcl, "Alcbcmy is Alivc and Wcll,i Gaasrir8 (Suruncr 1988), pp. ll-15. Oo
Csgliostro iogeocral thc bibliograpby is irurncnsc.A good staliog poidt is tbe cataloguc ofthc
l9E9 arhÀbitiooLc Cotutc dc Caglioslro,ditdby Bdúo Msty 0rs-Baur-dc-Proveocc I-cs
Amis du Priocc Noir, 1989). The csscDtialbibliogaphy is quotcd io thc crccllctrt cdiry
Agliostîoby R.A. iÙDaa;elLi9on(.ó.), Dictionaairc dc h Fnwtoapatzeìc,2rd ed., (Paris:
P.U.F. l9E7),pp. 183f.

Scc Massimo lohovigDc,I appdlo dcl maga I nuoui mouúacoti aagici dallo.tpi.iri.sno al
gaîaDisDo(l{ila.Doi Sùgarco, 1990).

C:rlo Francovic\ &oaa della Masooaia ia ltzlia dallc otigioi alla Rìuohtziorc fnze*
(Fircozd Lo Nuova ltslia, 1984)p. 29.

This is tbe thcsisof Vio ceozoFenooe,I profctì dcll'Ilhrzlinisîo. Lctntatnorfosidella ragioac

bcl t2rdo Sctt@Dto italiaao (Roma-Bari: Ll,tffzl.,1989), W.249.250. This work's valuc is
that it perfcctly gathcrs the duplicity ofltaliao EDlighrctrmcnt.

Moos. Giuscppc Casalc, (Arcbbishop of Fogda-Bovioo), 'I cattolici c la sfida dci aùovi
ltovirieati rbagici," C.rSrlar?4 XD(, 190,(Fcbruary l99l ), pp, I i I E,

6. Marc Havoq Lo Maîtrc ìaconaù Cagliostro. Efudc bictoriquc d dìtiquc *r la bzulc aagie,
2od cd. ealargcd, @aris: Pythagorc, 1932), p. 145.

7. fu,R.^. AgliosLo,p, la2.

t. Philippc Eocaussc,Le Maitte Philippc dc Lyoa. TltaurDahrrgcct iHaatncdcDìcu',l0th.j.

(Pdrisr &litioosTrlditioooelles,l9E5). Philippc Encaussc(who dicd in l9t4) was thc soo of
Gérard Eócaùssc(1E65-l9l O, ,/rbrPapus, who rccogoizcdio Philippc his nspiritual tcsche.."

9. Fraocovic\ .9oza della Massoaanb, p. 65.

10. Fraocesco Bruoclli, lnU egizj dc a Massoacria, Dclle stode c qualcbc @tnma,nto,it
Ritùali dci gndi sitÌlbolici dclla Masonaia di Manphis c Mirrrri4 cdiacdby Franccsco
Bruoelli,@oggia: Eastogi,1981),pp.2627.

I l. Scr Jcaa-PascalRuggiú, Lcs iluelt tuagiqù* de l'ME Hct 6étiqùe dela Goldoa Daw4
@aris: Télètcs,1990),p. 18.

12. Scc F.J. Molitor, I:Iìstoire d L'MtÉ dcs Frùl's dc Sainî han I'Evaagdiste dAsic ct
dEuro6, iA thc spPodir of A.thùr MaDdcl, L Metiè Mìlitaat oo Ia Fuìtc dù Gbdto.
EistoitcdcJacob Fmak at dutùonvaacat fr.aak;slc(Milaoo: Arché, 1989Ì Titus Maims,
 Atana Atanorum
'Aiiatbchco Brudcr' iD Pymont,'
"Carl Bochraaad uod dcr Uotcrgang dcs Ordcns dcr
Qt arùoî Comoatì Jarbucb 19tZ W.7l-107,

13. k y,Fèttoîc, I profetí dcll'ìllumiaismo,pp.2l6237.

14. Thc lettcr datcd Novcmber l4 1753is quoted in Clara Miccioclli, EDrb acò l1nno c lz
massoneÈa(Gcaova: ECIG, 1985),pp.38, 52. Thcalphabct corrcspoú& to tbat rcpodcd
aad discusscd by Bcmh.(ard) Bcyet, Das I'.bttystètn da Otda da CoId- ttDd
R aw*rcuzt, Q*ipzrgt Paosophie-Vcrlag,1925).

t5. This is thc tcrt ofMs.245 ia thc Bibliotccr Nazionalc di Rotna (thcic dÉ sorDcvariations
io th€ Frcich tcxts).

I 6. *. B. BÉyèî, Dts lzhrsystaù,

17, Tbis is tbc thcsis of El lic :irowc, The Magicitas of thc Goldcn Dawo. A Dooum@ary
History oîa Magical @er 1887-l923,2lr,d cd.,Wclliagborough (NorthatDptooshirc): Tbc
Aquarian Prcss,1985.

18. SccJ.-P.Ruggiu,l.csnltads mag4ucs,p,4.

t9. SccS.(aEucl) L.(iddcll) Maccrcgor Matbers, lóaBookoîtbc&adMaghofAbn-Mdia

tbc MagcQanldoo: Watkins, 1898).

20. Pélagits, LAoactìsc, dit€d by Robcd Amadoù, (Pa.ir: Cari3cript, l9t9).

21. SccD,P. Walkcr, Sprnifzaladd DaaoaìcMagic, hoa Fìcìao b AtipaaèIa,G'îoÍfeDs'úa

(Indiena): lJoivcrsity ofNotrc Damc Pr6s, 1975).

22, SccRcoé1r Forrsticr,Ia Fîanc-MaeonnqicoccttlligoaùXwlèsià|cd fNrtdaEhrs

dodas(Paris:Dorboo-Aioé,l92E),p. 232.

23. For a morc dctailcd descriptioo rec I1 appdlo dd mago, p9. 164173, wbcrcin I bavc
dcscribcd thc úosl sigdificaot dctails ofvarious Egyptiad rit€3 wbich, bccauscof spocc
li!ùitaliods, I bavc oot bccÀablc to dcscribc bcrÉ,

24. Scc Micbel Moocrcau, Lèt setcts bala&iques de la FtaooMagoaoaic ct 16 îit6 dc

Mitni:rD cl Madphis,(Paris: Axis Murdi, l9t9).

25. For dctails concerniog tbc H€rmctic Brothcrhod oîLttxor, * 11appcllo dd rtugo, pp.
2W204.

26, Ihc Ro* Cmst Neî, cJited by R. Swioburoc Clyncr, (Alleatown @eonsylwaaia):
PhiliosophicalPublishingCo.,l9l6), p. 135.
t34 syzyg

n. SeeGcorgcMillsHape\ Y6ts" GoldeaDswd, TbeIonùcDccoflbè Hemctic Otdu oîtbc

Goldca Dawd oa thc lìh and art of W.E. ycrlr Q.oodoo: Maqoillao, 19?4).

k Daa@s to tbcGods ThcMagical Raords ofCbarb *yztouraDd úristieEartlet

1937-193t editedby Alao Richardsoo,(Wcllingborough: TÈcAquarian Prcss,1985);and
thcfirst part (wbicb contaiB thc diary ofchristioc Hartlcy duritrg thc y€6.s l9,lGl942) of
Alao Ricbardsoo and Ge of'îHu$tes, Aac,icat Magicks fot a NewAge. Rituals Èom thc
MeîIiD Tcmpla TbeMagick of tbe Dragoo lSbg(St. Paul: Ll*cllyn, l9t9), pp.35-94.

29. For a broadcr padoranra s€c, Massimo Introvigoc, 'Il "chaooeliag": uoo spiritisno
$odcrDo?,* iD Masimo Inli.oviga! (A.) Ia spiritistto, (IruîDaDo Cfo.ioo): Elle Di Ci,
l9E9).

S€€lhc pcrtineot obscrvationsof Jcao-FraogoisMaycr, 'Il mcssaggiorcligioso dci dischi

volsoti," ia Massit[o lotrovigDe, Jcatr FraÀqois Maycr sod Eútesto z,s(,cÀiùì,I ouovi
mouimeatialigiosì. &ttccîislìaace ntoviatltig-,euroaoo(foriao): EU€Di Ci, lg0), pp.
30é31| aod Efnst B€oz Kosnìsbe Bfltdeîscb,slì. Die Plutaliuit deî Weltea, ZùÌ
Idccage*bìscbtc dcs Ufo-Glaubcdi Qrcibwg i.B.: Aururu Volag 1978). Concerning
'Philip" secIris Owcn ard Margrra
Spurout, Conjudag Up Pa*lìp, (Nal, Y ork: Harpr
& Ro'r,, 1976).

SccCbristophcr McIDt os,h,Elipbas l^évi aDdtbc lTatcb bult Rc/iw|, (I-oodon: Ridcr
aod Co., 192), p. 104.

Scc Théodorc Flor:moy, Dalle lodie al pianeta Mattc. 11@so Héldlc SDitb: dallo
spiritisao alla aatcita della psiaanalisi, [taliaD traoslatio! from origioal] (Milano:
Fcltriaclli, 1985).

Scc Filippo Boogiovanoi and Giorgio Boagiovanoi, Eugcaio Sìngus: il coattt.a.o,

(Palcrmo: Gianoooc,1989),

F . Bîtt tdli, I riti ceizi, pp, 4l-42.

Io aDticipation ofthc publication ofthcsc documcotsofAvigDoo by Robcrt Arnadou I havc

bc€d ablc to coDsult tbc fcminin. vf''sioù iî Statttls ct Rédancats dc la Logc nèrc
dbdoptioo dc Ia hautctna7onactie Egptiennè foadée pat lc Gnad Cophtc é I'A: dc
làrri mc., AvigDoo, Bibliothèque du Mùscc Calvct.

This is agaiú tbc Italiatr versioo of Ms. 245 in Romc.

37. lbaorus I'bcsauronm a Fftlcrnitatc Rosao d Aurao Cnrcìs Tctataeato ADDI

MDLWX UIalia[îfanslatiool, (Milaoo: AgaF, l9E9), pp. 123-124.

38. Ibid., p.47.

F . Bntadli, I rìti cgi{ p. 29.

 AtaaaAranonm 135

&. Cooc..úidg thcsc tnatt('rt É, Il apPdlo dcl @to,W.23l'2t3.

41. Scq with thclúrrodu.iioq\lú|ftrlirl.I*aio'Mataìalìnod Enpìtioaiticìnq ia Ope

,drq, [t.li.ú Tr.rslatiool @orne Editori Riuoiti aod Moeow: Èog€3t, !'d'), vol m'

42. fr*M. EliA&, Spiríto, lu@ è &bq io bultísnq tlttaomh o frodo attt'úaU' fhe.lian
Tratrrlatiool(FitlrE: Saaeooi,l9E2), pp. Ios-l'O(sith thÉrafcrcúcrstoibcTucci atticlcr
o! rhÈsubjcú).

43. SccCsthcidc Dcsp€sur ,Ianaondlcs dc la úìzcan'carè T.or'wd sbhbiolbiaiaè

@uíecaur: Potdés" 190). Io this papcr I bavc madc rdcrcocc for thc ttlod pod to Dalc
ritùalt. In aúciclt Chioa thcrc also caistoda ferioioc riturl sh.rcia tbc tttlotioa ofsanco
was rrplac.d by tbt 'bcùcadiúg of lhc rod dúgoo," rht iq t t!úliqÙc 'rfuGby
rErnrtrùatioo is atrcslcd. Scc,rba

44. Scc, for aanpfq Ss!ùaèl AùÀ Wcor, L Evc Iaoac Ebrs & iintt d votagî.ctal,
[FÉúch ttaoslatiool, (Mootrcalr Gaocsha, l9E4), P. 176.

45. I bavc dttctaptcd to reoostruct thc achisús of ttÉ Brothqhood of MirisD !trd of tbc
. Egyptiao d.r (toacrbci witb thc rclatd úJvlslÀ n appdlo ddtugo'pp,29&308'

46. k, ibid.,W.3OL3O5.

41. M. B)ia&, Spiito,lùe e wg p, 127.

4t. [FraocoscoBruocllif, &llcr T.Uoo. Sul]'O4nzio* Solstizìtlo Tnsnolatùit, o.p' ' i.d.'
ú. E ú. lq !.24 D. 3.