Fascism, Totalitarianism, and Magic

 "Temple of Set Reading List:

Category 14 - Fascism, Totalitarianism, and Magic" (8/22/88CE)

Reprinted from: _The Crystal Tablet of Set_

(c) Temple of Set 1989 CE

Weirdbase file version by TS permission

by Michael A. Aquino, Ipsissimus VI* Temple of Set

Electronic mail: MCI-Mail 278-4041

 

This is a very potent, controversial, and dangerous area of magic, whose 

implications are rarely examined, understood, or appreciated by the profane 

[which is just as well]. Much of the data concerning it derives from Nazi 

Germany, whose character as a state based upon magical rather than 

conventional principles goes a long way towards explaining the "peculiar" 

fascination which that episode continues to exert on students of history and 

political science. Many of the techniques pioneered or perfected by the 

Nazis continue to be used/abused - generally in a superficial and ignorant 

fashion - by every country of the world in one guise or another. The 

magician who can recognize and identify these techniques and the principles 

behind them can thus control or avoid their influence as desired.

14A. _The Mass Psychology of Fascism_ by Wilhelm Reich. NY: Simon & 

Schuster, 1970. (TS-3) MA: "The controversial Reich examined both the Nazi 

and the communist elements of Germany, found them wanting, and was roundly 

denounced by them in return. This book exposes their use of mass movements 

and mob psychology as a sexual substitute, and their repression of 

'innocent' sex as a deliberate political technique [compare #14E]. This 

manipulation of expression and repression is applied to other social 

phenomena as well - such as certain organized religious bodies. A lucid and 

hard-hitting study. A biographical profile of Reich is presented in #6N, 

Appendix 75 - 'The Frankenstein Legacy'."

14B. _The Occult and the Third Reich_ by Jean-Michel Angebert. NY: 

Macmillan, 1974. (TS-3) (OT-3) MA: "This book contains sections on the Grail 

(both Christian and pagan), traditions concerning Atlantis and ancient 

initiatory societies, the theories of Nietzsche and Wagner, Nazi mysticism, 

and the Catharist tradition. Well footnoted. The almost fantastic subject 

material tends to make the author's objectivity suspect, but on close 

examination his argument is grounded in responsible research. On the other 

hand Otto Rahn, the young German mystic whose theories are advanced in this 

book did not hold the alleged high rank in the SS, nor commit suicide 

because of politico/mystical reasons. He was an Unterscharfuehrer (sergeant) 

who killed himself after being expelled from the SS because of his sexual 

preferences."

14C. _The Grail Legend_ by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz. NY: G.P. 

Putnam's Sons, 1970. (TS-4) (OT-1) MA: "Another book for the C.G. Jung 

Foundation for Analytical Psychology [see also #19K], this impressive study 

treats all major historical versions of the Grail legend, identifies their 

common features, and evaluates their significance. The definitive work on 

the Grail. See also #6N, Appendix 36 - In Quest of the Unholy Grail."

14D. _The Spear of Destiny_ by Trevor Ravenscroft. NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 

1973. (TS-3) (OT-3) MA: "The chief merit of this book lies in its profile of 

the metaphysical and occult-society concepts and movements that influenced 

pre-Nazi and Nazi Germany. Read critically but thoughtfully. Since it is 

heavily footnoted to Theosophical Society (Blavatsky) and Anthrosophical 

Society (Steiner) sources, this book cannot be considered factually 

reliable."

14E. _1984_ by George Orwell. NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1949. (TS-3) MA: 

"Orwell's classic portrait of a 'negative utopia', with many features 

adapted from Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia - but also a satire of 

socialist trends in postwar Britain. Many features of Orwell's imaginary 

society may be increasingly applied to actual ones today. The shape of 

things to come?"

14F. _Mein Kampf_ by Adolf Hitler. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1943. 

(TS-5) (OT-3) MA: "Everyone knows that this is 'the most evil book ever 

written', but few have taken the time to actually read it, hence cannot 

really explain why. Further complicating the situation is Hitler's 

interspersion of political philosophy (interesting) with emotional tirades 

(not so interesting). Look for the discussions concerning the selection of 

leaders, control of the masses, and the justification for human social 

organization. You may be surprised at what you discover. Keep in mind that 

this book was written not as a historical memoir, but rather as a propaganda 

device to lend an image of philosophical substance and coherence to the 

still-fledgling and somewhat [due to Hitler's incarceration in prison at the 

time of MK's writing] disorganized Nazi Party. A far more revealing 'Hitler 

Memoir' is #14K."

14G. _Hitler: Legend, Myth, & Reality_ by Werner Maser. NY: Harper & Row, 

1971. (TS-3) MA: "As time passes, biographical profiles of Hitler become 

increasingly more objective. This is probably the most useful one currently 

in print, which Colin Wilson calls 'the most important document on Hitler so 

far published'. It is noteworthy for its focus on the man rather than on the 

political official [for the political official see #14H]. If you are going 

to take a look at Hitler's own writings and statements (#14F/K/L), read this 

first for perspective."

14H. _The War Path_ (NY: Viking, 1978) and Hitler's War (2 volumes) (NY: 

Viking, 1977) by David Irving. (TS-4) MA: "1933-39 (WP) and 1939-45 (HW) 

through Hitler's eyes. An impressive work of research that will show you 

peacetime Nazi Germany and World War II as you've never seen them before. 

Sound scholarship, objective evaluation."

14I. _The Bormann Brotherhood_ by William Stevenson. NY: Harcourt Brace 

Jovanovich, 1973. (TS-3) MA: "Around VI-VII the pursuit of underground Nazi-

survivalist organizations was all the rage, and there was a flurry of 

Bormannism, ODESSA films/novels, etc. This little book was sort of 

overwhelmed in the general stampede, but it didn't deserve to be. A cold, 

clear, fact-packed study of the post-World War II survival of the original 

Nazi hierarchy."

14J. _Three Faces of Fascism_ by Ernst Nolte. NY: Holt, Rinehart and 

Winston, 1963. (TS-4) MA: "This is a political science text analyzing 20th-

century fascist movements in France, Germany, and Italy. The observations 

concerning the metapolitical implications of the philosophy are among the 

most profound yet voiced. The analysis of the failure of the French movement 

is as instructive as that of the successes of the German and Italian 

movements. It is interesting to contrast Nolte's assessment of fascism with 

Hitler's [as set forth in #14F]."

14K. _Hitler's Secret Conversations 1941-1944_ by H.R. Trevor-Roper (Ed.). 

NY: Farrar, Straus and Young, 1953 [simultaneously published in England as 

_Hitler's Table Talk_ by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London]. (TS-5) (OT-3) MA: 

"Martin Bormann was sufficiently fascinated by Adolf Hitler's private 

conversational comments on various topics that he persuaded Hitler to allow 

them to be stenographically recorded. After 1945 the transcriptions were 

found among Bormann's private papers and were ultimately compiled and 

published by Professor Trevor-Roper (who also edited and published the final 

entries of Dr. Goebbels' diaries). Hitler's conversations cover an 

astonishingly broad spectrum of topics - organized religion, metaphysics, 

dogmatism, Voltaire, origins of the human race, aesthetics, Egyptian & Greek 

culture, Hoerbiger's cosmology, genius, philosophy of law, superstition, 

mental diseases, etc. An impressive look into the mind of an individual whom 

the postwar world has been conditioned to dismiss as a crude, criminal, and 

unintrospective thug. Read, then judge for yourself."

14L. _The Voice of Destruction_ by Hermann Rauschning. NY: G.P. Putnam's 

Sons, 1940. (TS-5) (OT-3) MA: "Rauschning was a regional party leader 

(Gauleiter) of the early Nazi Party who was a confidant of Hitler's during 

1932-34. At first so impressed with the F~hrer's private statements that he 

took extensive and immediate notes, he later took fright and bolted to 

Paris. In 1937-38 he wrote a theoretical condemnation of Nazism entitled The 

Revolution of Nihilism: Warning to the West (NY: Alliance Book Corporation, 

1939). It seemed so alarmist that few took it seriously - until World War II 

broke out. Then Rauschning was able to publish these transcripts and 

analyses of Hitler's conversations. Topics include: Aristocracy, Antichrist, 

barbarism, ethics of war, a new social order, the Human Solstice, Black & 

White Magic, and the mystical elements in Obersalzburg. Most of the material 

for Nazi occultism quoted and alluded to in #4B came from this book. It was 

generally regarded as so "weird" as to be spurious until after the war, when 

the #14K material came to light and substantiated it."

14M. _Hitler's Secret Sciences_ by Nigel Pennick. Suffolk: Neville Spearman, 

1981. (TS-4) (OT-1) MA: "The esoteric section of the German Nazi SS was not 

the Sicherheitsdienst [as alleged in #6L] but the Deutsche Ahnenerbe (German 

Ancestral Heritage Organization). Most histories of the SS concern 

themselves with the better-known organizations and activities of the Black 

Order, mentioning the Ahnenerbe only in passing. This is one of the first 

books to discuss it in any detail. Again there is a lot of #14B/C/D 

material, but it is all relevant and coherently organized. This is a concise 

(177 pages), fact-packed book bolstered by a strong bibliography of rare and 

unusual publications and periodicals. If you are seriously interested in the 

Ahnenerbe, and are fluent in highly-technical German, see Kater, Michael H., 

_Das 'Ahnenerbe' der SS 1935-1945: ein Betrag zur Kulturpolitik des Dritten 

Reiches_ (Stuttgart, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1974). [The complete 

archaeological, magical, and administrative records of the Ahnenerbe are 

contained on microfilm rolls #120-211, Microcopy T-580 (10-135-4) in the 

National Archives Building of the United States, Washington, D.C. These 

papers have never been sorted, indexed, and annotated in detail, but the 

Order of the Trapezoid has compiled a working index with brief annotations 

pending a more thorough study. Initiates of the Order who may be traveling 

to Washington and wish to examine that microfilm are invited to contact the 

Temple office for a copy of the index.] [See also #5H.]"

14N. _The Passing of the Great Race_ by Madison Grant. NY: Charles 

Scribner's Sons, 1916. (TS-5) MA: "You can still find #14F in print, because 

it's a good whipping-boy for sanctimonous finger-waggling. It is less easy 

to find the books from 'our side' that argued along similar lines. This is 

[was!] one of the more famous, and you may still uncover an occasional copy 

in the back room of a used-book store or in the darkest corners of obscure 

libraries. Grant was not exactly a nonentity or lunatic-fringe fanatic. He 

was Chairman of the New York Zoological Society, Trustee of the American 

Museum of Natural History, and a Councilor of the American Geographical 

Society. In this book [by a prominent publisher] he argues a forceful case 

for a European race history that would have done credit to Hitler and 

Rosenberg. The most interesting aspect of this book is that only a very few 

years ago it was accepted as a respectable contender in the 

academic/scientific community. After World War II it was, in Orwell's terms, 

guilty of Crimethink and thus condemned to be an Unperson. There is a lesson 

to be learned here concerning the durability and invulnerability of 

'established scientific fact' when it becomes politically or socially 

inconvenient. I hereby suggest that you make up your own mind as to whether 

the book is convincing. After all, I wouldn't want to get in trouble for 

even appearing to endorse it."

14O. _Race and Race History and Other Essays_ by Alfred Rosenberg (Robert 

Pois, Ed.). NY: Harper & Row (Harper Torchback #TB-1820), 1974. (TS-5) MA: 

"Extracts from the major race-history writings of the Nazis' 'official 

philosopher' - with a finger-waggling introduction, of course. It is O.K. 

for this book to be in print; it has the appropriate editorial condemnation. 

[See also #14S.]"

14P. _Geopolitics: The Struggle for Space and Power_ by Robert Strausz-Hupe. 

NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1942. (TS-4) MA: "The study of international 

relations on the basis of power politics is academically known as political 

realism (Realpolitik), and before reading #14P you might want to flip 

through the bible of this school, Hans Morgenthau's _Politics Among 

Nations_, for a general familiarity with its principles. In 1926 and 1928 

Oswald Spengler published his powerful indictment of contemporary Western 

civilization, _The Decline of the West_, and this made a great impression on 

a German General named Karl Haushofer. Haushofer became a professor who 

gained increasing fame in Germany as the master-theoretician of 

'Geopolitics', being a part-political, part-geographic, and part-mystical 

rationale for aggressive state expansionism. Haushofer was considered by 

many to be the evil genius behind Hitler's 'blood and soil' and 'living-

space' programs. He wrote no single, coherent text of his philosophy. This 

book was commissioned in order to explain Geopolitics to a still-

uncomprehending U.S. diplomatic community, and it does a good job. 

Geopolitical thinking was out of favor in the West until reintroduced by 

Henry Kissinger (a Morgenthau enthusiast), but it has always been the 

lynchpin of Eastern (Soviet/Chinese) foreign policy. Strausz-Hupe 

summarizes: 'World policy evolves towards several continental systems, and 

technology accentuates the strategic importance of large, contiguous areas. 

Thus the era of overseas empires and free world trade closes. If this 

reasoning is pushed to its absolute conclusion, the national state is also a 

thing of the past, and the future belongs to the giant state. Many nations 

will be locked in a few vast compartments. But in each of these one people, 

controlling a strategic area, will be master of the others.'"

14Q. _Wewelsburg 1933 bis 1945: SS Kult- und Terrorstaette_ by Prof. Dr. 

Karl Hueser. Paderborn: Verlag Bonifatius Druckerei, 1982 (German language 

edition only). (TS-5) (OT-5) MA: "The definitive documentary study of the 

role of the Wewelsburg Castle in the mythological and Black Magical 

practices of the SS. This is a historical, not an 'occult' publication; in 

the first few paragraphs it easily discounts the fanciful, ignorant accounts 

of the Wewelsburg such as appear in #14B/D/N/R, etc. Here is bedrock: 

bewildering to some, but a Gate to the Order of the Trapezoid."

14R. _Hitler: The Occult Messiah_ by Gerald Suster. NY: St. Martin's Press, 

1981. (TS-3) MA: "This is a short (200-page) hardcover book which brings 

together most if not all of the occult speculations concerning Nazi Germany, 

with a reasonable degree of footnoting. Hence it is included here as a good 

introductory survey of the field. Extensive quotations from Crowley and an 

'AEon of Horus' theme throughout the text expose the author's Thelemite 

bias."

14S. _The Myth of the Master Race: Alfred Rosenberg and Nazi Ideology_ by 

Robert Cecil. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1972. (TS-4) (OT-3) MA: "The best 

biography and critical analysis concerning Alfred Rosenberg, 'official 

philosopher' of the Nazi movement. Much of the material otherwise in 

existence concerning Rosenberg is suppressed by the Soviet Union, while 

previous Western biographies and editions of his memoirs were crudely edited 

to portray him as more of a monster than a human being, much less a 

philosopher. Nevertheless Cecil is no apologist for Rosenberg, bringing out 

his weaknesses as well as his strengths. This book also describes the 

ideological background and climate of Nazi Germany as a whole, and 

summarizes the main arguments of Rosenberg's _Myth of the Twentieth 

Century_. [A 1982 English translation by Vivian Bird of Rosenberg's _The 

Myth of the Twentieth Century: An Evaluation of the Spiritual-Intellectual 

Confrontations of our Age_ is available from Noontide Press, 1822-1/2 

Newport Blvd. #183, Costa Mesa, CA 92627, USA.][See also #14O.]"

14T. _Metapolitics from the Romantics to Hitler_ by Peter Viereck. NY: 

Alfred A. Knopf, 1941. (TS-4) (OT-1) MA: "This is quite simply the 

definitive history and analysis of the Germanic mystical and magical 

tradition as it has been applied to society and politics. No other political 

analysis of Nazi Germany compares with it, and an understanding of the Nazi 

phenomenon is impossible without it. Major sections deal with Romanticism, 

life-worship, Kultur, dynamism, Wagner, Chamberlain, Fichte, Hegel, 

Rosenberg, and Hitler."

14U. _For Freedom Destined: Mysteries of Man's Evolution in the Mythology of 

Wagner's "Ring" Operas and "Parsifal"_ by Franz E. Winkler. Garden City, NY: 

Waldorf Press, 1974. (TS-4) (OT-1) MA: "The definitive study of the magical 

and philosophical aspects of the _Ring_ and _Parsifal_ operas. From the 

book: 'When we think of the origin of man, we insist illogically on 

confusing the history of his purely biological being with the history of his 

spirit; the latter defies any attempt at investigation by methods we now 

call scientific. Darwin and his followers deal with the emergent evolution 

of visible man, while on the other hand religion and mythology deal with the 

evolution of his invisible soul. In his cycle of the _Ring_ and _Parsifal_, 

Wagner uses the magic power of music, words, and scenery to open man's heart 

to the history of the hidden essence of his own self, and to the changing 

forces that are active behind the sensory phenomena of man and Earth.'"

14V. _The True Believer_ by Eric Hoffer. NY: Harper & Row, 1951. (TS-3) (OT-

3) MA: "Hoffer's thoughtful study of the mind of the fanatic and of the 

various media through which such a mind attempts to fulfill itself - 

religious, political, or social. It is particularly instructive to compare 

Hoffer's theses with the experiences of Hitler, Himmler, and Rosenberg as 

treated elsewhere in this reading-list category. The book's strong point is 

Hoffer's famed common-sense, but this same feature is also its weak point, 

because it is obvious that Hoffer is not aware of [or does not understand] 

the principles discussed, for example, in #14T."

14W. _Astrology and the Third Reich_ by Ellic Howe. Wellingborough, 

Northamptonshire: Aquarian Press, 1984. (TS-3) (OT-3) MA: "A historical 

study of astrological beliefs in Western Europe since 1700, with special 

emphasis on German astrology during 1919-1930 and in Nazi Germany. A revised 

and expanded edition of Howe's earlier _Urania's Children_, this book also 

presents and critiques basic astrological theory and explores the Lesser 

Magical use of astrology as a psychological warfare device during World War 

II. Howe, in addition to being the author of #10F and a contributor to #4E, 

served in Britain's Political Warfare Executive during World War II."

14X. _The Occult Roots of Nazism: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany 

1890-1935_ by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: 

Aquarian Press, 1985. (TS-3) (OT-3) MA: "This new and very scholarly book 

fills a crucial need in the study of 20th-century Germanic occultism, namely 

a detailed and non-sensationalistic account of Guido von List's 

Armanenschaft, Joerg Lanz von Liebenfels' Order of New Templars, and Rudolf 

von Sebottendorff's Thule Gesellschaft. Also profiled is SS-Oberfuehrer Karl 

Wiligut, occult counselor to Heinrich Himmler and architect of such projects 

as the Wewelsburg restoration and the SS-Totenkopf ring. This book is a 

revised version of the author's doctoral thesis at Oxford."