Ιf culture is the sum total of a society’s search for meaning and outward expression of that impulse, then the most meaningful purpose I can find in researching it is to make it relevant to the ongoing process of cultural evolution, and especially to people involved in driving it forward.
Péladan in English? (*upd)
A very frequent question I receive through this website is whether there are any English translations of Péladan’s work, and it is increasingly appearing as a search term in my stat count as well. The answer is, to the best of my knowledge, that apart from the play “St Francis of Assisi” (available free online…
Redeeming the “Dreyfus of Literature”
How are we to understand who he really was, and what he really achieved, if, as we shall discover, the legend is largely a libel?
Ask the man. He left us clues.
A lost path where the mandrakes sing
On a lost path where the mandrakes sing, I wanted to spend the night – their naked feet disturbed the ferns – unreal beings!
They gave their name in a plaintive voice:
“Oh Sina!”
“Cyllene, hé!”
“Vo, Kypris!”
“Orphéa, hé!”
And the four phantoms often turned their heads towards a young black man following in prayer.
Photos and portraits of Péladan
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.439125512804110.92236.439116706138324&type=3
Frontispieces to Péladan’s books
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.439130136136981.92241.439116706138324&type=3
Sémiramis, 1904
Péladan’s play, Sémiramis, performed in Nimes, 1904. [box](Opening lines to Sémiramis, spoken by Naram-Sin) “This dawn is the apogee of Assyria; a unique moment in history, when the universe is silent, fearful and reserved, before the blazing star of a city at its zenith. Soon, an immense clamour of joy will resound, springing from the Assyrian…
Posters for Péladan’s Salons
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.439130426136952.92242.439116706138324&type=3
Symbolist Gallery
A selection of paintings by artists who worked alongside Péladan and exhibited at his Salons. This section will be added to as time allows. Float your mouse over the images to read the descriptions, or click to enlarge and browse through the images. If you’re on Facebook, then why not “Like” the Péladan page and receive updates…
An Artistic Aside
After almost two and a half years of research and drafting, I’m now at a point where I am comfortable enough with Péladan’s ideas to begin that series, and the first two paintings, Shamash and Sin, based on his Comment on Devient Mage (1892), are now complete, with the rest of the series planned out.
Musings on Academic Esotericism (moved)
This post does not relate directly to Péladan, although it is indirectly related to my study of him, as theoretical and methodological issues within the field of Western Esotericism naturally impact my approach to my topic. In it, I raise some thoughts and concerns about the current trajectory of the field, musing on the purpose…
Sympathy for the Devil (incl. translated excerpts from Péladan)
It’s been another long period of hard work, and I’ve briefly come up for air before tackling the core chapters of my thesis that will present Péladan’s cosmology and the most significant symbolic motifs and techniques through which he deployed it. The more I get to grips with his works, the more fascinated I must…