Posts Tagged ‘Museology’

Faust and links

BY: Mark

Following a previous about the Praxis Magica Faustiana and the subsequent realization that I knew very little about Faust, both historically and in literature, I’ve been working on getting educated. It’s a humbling process that dovetails with some of my long-standing embarrassment about the focus of this site. I have wanted DARKLINE to be about esoterica and the strange occult world we live in, but I’m constantly faced with the fact that I know very little of these things. I suppose one should consider oneself a life-long student, but the depth of my ignorance is, well, exceedingly deep. The default solution has been to hunker down and do nothing, which serves no one, especially myself. It is time to shake off that fear, and get on with the enlightenment. The point isn’t to build a platform to display my erudition (which this clearly isn’t), but to provide a forum for discussion and learning. I just get to be the guy providing the general direction of the rubric.

To that end, here’s the current state of my Faust education.

If one is to believe Wikipedia, Goethe’s Faust has, as one of its inspirations, Jacob Bidermann’s play Cenodoxus, though without digging into the text, it is hard to say where the inspiration lies, as Cenodoxus appears to dance around the question of the price of secret knowledge rather than addressing it directly. Goethe’s Faust, even, does not appear to be as dark and as much as a morality tale as the myth that is burned in my brain–the random bits of literary mythology one picks up in course of an classical education. Faust, the man–notably one Dr. Johann Georg Faust–appears to have been a 16th charlatan of the classic sort: a racounteur, a traveling alchemist, a magician, and a scoundrel. Exactly the sort of man that would be a perfect source for the hubristic hero of the tragic plays.

Christopher Marlowe wrote a play about him within fifty or so years after he supposedly died, and I find it almost most interesting than the play itself that Marlowe wrote a play about a man’s pact with the Devil–a suspiciously Christian theme, and I’m hard pressed to think of a Shakespeare play which has a similar theme. Old Bill relied on much more pagan sources for his fantastical elements. Odd, don’t you think? Or was it simply a matter of Shakespeare knowing who his real audiences were and playing more readily to them?

Anyway, Faust the charlatan was purported to be sort of man who would have dabbled in the Black Arts, which makes the historical provenance of Praxis Magica Faustiana certainly easier to swallow. And given the subject material of the text, it follows that this could be source of that type of grimoire known as ‘Faustian.’

Dan Harms has posted a link to a digitized version of a 18th century German grimoire, which falls under the category of Faustian magic. Of course, the comments are insightful and filled with smart people talking all manner of things that will send you spiraling off into other corners of the occult world. Including Dan’s original commentary on the idea of the liber spirituum, the type of book that this MS. purports to be.

According to the commenters, the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek is a hothouse of Faustian magical documents. Who knew there were enough of these that a library could specialize in them? The digitization of the Liber Spirituum Potentissimorum is of exceptional quality, and it makes my fingers tingle as I look at it.

I suppose any magician who seeks knowledge from spirits is engaging in Faustian Magick, though I wonder about the veracity of that statement. Dee, Crowley, and so on sought to communicate with otherworldly creatures in order to gain knowledge. Was Faust, in the 16th century, the first one to do this? Or was his story simply the most readily available and comprehensible to the masses? There certainly had to be other seekers before Faust . . .

The Manic Energy of Libraries In Flux

BY: Mark

Llewellyn has recently posted an interview with Tess Whitehurst about her new book, Magical Housekeeping. While it’s mainly a PR piece promoting the book, she does mention how a home intrinsically mirrors the energy states of the inhabitants (and vice versa).

Recently I stumbled across John Ottinger’s query to the Blogosphere: How Do You Organize Your Library?

These two things came crashing together today as I’m working on making the office/library my working office. All–well, a full bookcase worth–of the occult books were on the north side of the room (my desk is against the east wall), and next to me were the fiction books. I realized I don’t need the fiction leering at me while I work, and so I decided to swap these two groups. As I was pulling books, I realized there were a couple other shelves of books that hadn’t been properly filed, and now was a good time to get everything organized.

An hour later, I’ve got another bookcase’s worth of books stacked on the floor, occult books on both walls, and the fiction stacked at the back of the room. My energy is scattered–no doubt of that–but the discoveries I’ve made. There’s been a lot of acquisitions over the last few years; now, hopefully, I’ll have some time to read them all.

In the meantime, I need to get these shelves organized. A dozen or so sticky notes dividing them into smaller categories is going to help for a bit, but some of these are going to confound pigeon-holing. Like they do.

And I need a lecturn/display stand for Jung’s The Red Book. It’s too tall for any shelf, and frankly, it begs to be left open to lure in the casual reader.

Esoteric Book Conference 2010

BY: Mark

The Esoteric Book Conference is returning for a second year, and the dates are September 18 & 19th at the Seattle Center. Billed as an opportunity for authors, students, artists, publishers, bookmakers, and mystic raconteurs to spend a weekend exploring the field of esotericism, it’s two days of occult-themed presentations, a book fair filled with all manner of interesting and rare books, and an evening of special entertainment.

Presenters this year are: David Beth, Debra Chesnut, Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule, Robert Fitzgerald, J. Daniel Gunther, Dale Pendell, Denny Sargent, and Caroline Wise. The website has further details about the actual presentations. Artists attending are Anima Nocturna, Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule, Daniel Schulke, Joseph Uccello, and Bryan Ward. Entertainment will be provided by the Master Musicians of Bukkake and Noko.

Vendors include Ajna Bound, Ars Obscura, Concrescent Press, Fulgur Limited, J. D. Holmes, Immanion Press, Night of Pan Books, Nightshade Magick, Ouroboros Press, Dale Pendell, Thompson Rare Books, and Wonderella.

I went last year, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I’m looking forward to handing out with all these people again this year, and a couple of those presses have a number of books I’m eager to check out.

Esoteric Book Conference home page

Christie’s to Auction Illustrated Manuscripts

BY: Mark

In July, Christie’s is going to auction Part I of The Arcana Collection: Exceptional Illuminated Manuscripts and Incunabula. Forty-eight lots, with an estimated worth of £11 million to £16 million.

As Art Daily mentions in their write-up of the announcement, illustrated manuscripts were prize possessions during the medieval period as they were more than just books; they were little art galleries, customized for their owners, and each one is an unique record of a time and place. Like time capsules of the way artists and their patrons saw themselves and their world.

A couple of lots made me wish I had a secret stash of cash money to throw down.

- An Italian manuscript Bible (late 13th century) that appears to have been used in a Dominican convent. The allure of this book is its borders of “diverting genre scenes and fantastical creations far from the routine religious illustrations that might be expected.” Theodoric Borgognoni’s death (c.1296) is marked in the Calendar, suggesting that he may have commissioned the manuscript. He was the Bishop of Cervia, and is remembered for being one of the most innovative surgeons in the medieval period. Christie’s estimates this book is worth somewhere between £2,500,000 to £3,500,000.

- A copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (valued at £220,000 to £260,000) is the copy once owned by Jean Grolier de Servières, a famed 15th-century bibliophile.

Atlas Obscura’s World-wide Equinox Celebration

BY: Mark

Atlas Obscura is celebrating March 20th by hosting a number of events around the world, all of them highlighting the Strange in your neighborhood. Check the full list of events, and if you’re in Seattle, Ourboros Press publisher, William Kiesel is presenting “Alligators and Alchemy in Cabinets of Curiosity” at the Ancient Grounds Cafe at 1pm.

There will be a brief slide show displaying some early examples of Curiosity Cabinets as well as some discussion as to the similarities shared with alchemical laboratories. All of this will take place is a cafe that is merely masquerading as a coffee house.

Ancient Grounds has a great deal of Native American masks, totem poles, tribal art, headdresses and other clothing, and other displays. And probably an alligator or two.