Podcast appearances and mentions of Robert Fludd

Hermann Ebbinghaus is remembered mostly for discovering the forgetting curve. Open any psychology textbook, any blog devoted to a flashcard app or any study-tips listicle, and you’ll find his name alongside a distinctive graph. Memory expert Tony Buzan called it the most important graph in the world. That’s because its iconic line shows memory plummeting within hours of learning something new, then flattening out over days. Countless discussions of how to reduce forgetting give you the same tidy recommendations. Usually they tell you to review your study materials at intervals, just at the point you’re starting to forget. That way, many authors promise, you’ll beat the curve. The problem, just one of many you’ll discover today, is this: Ebbinghaus didn’t discover the forgetting curve. He discovered his forgetting curve. He was one man, testing his own memory, on one kind of material, using one method. And although the forgetting curve is indeed one of the most repeatable and reproducible principles in the history of scientific studies, reproducibility in laboratory settings does not mean you’ll stop forgetting by using the conventional recommendations. Besides, here’s something almost no one else will tell you: The deepest principles the Ebbinghaus experiments revealed were already written down more than two thousand years earlier by Aristotle. You’ll find them in a short treatise that describes something remarkably close to using a Memory Palace in combination with the same kind of serial positioning Ebbinghaus described as a means for reducing forgetting. So today I’m going to cover a few aspects of the forgetting curve all serious users of memory techniques need to know. These are points I’ve been putting off writing about for a long time. However, a few emails and comments I’ve received over the past few years have convinced me that now is finally the time. Especially since I’ve spent decades memorizing poetry, scripture, mantras, complex terms, the names of people from various backgrounds and vocabulary and phrases in multiple languages. And I’ve done this all while teaching thousands of students to do the same. From where I sit as a practitioner, the forgetting curve is real, useful and badly misunderstood. But treated correctly, it’s an invitation to success. First, however, for the uninitiated, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about the definition of this term. That way, you’ll be able to discover your own curve and work on reducing its impact in your learning life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_qwUkfO65M   What Is the Forgetting Curve? In 1885, Ebbinghaus published Über das Gedächtnis (Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology). In this monumental work, he reported years of experiments he had run on a single subject: himself. He memorized lists of sinnlose Silben, the German term for nonsense syllables. These were consonant-vowel-consonant combinations like ZOF and KEB. After committing lists of such invented words, he then tested how much effort it took to relearn them after various delays. Notice two things. First, these were invented words. Nothing with any meaning. Second, pay attention to the word relearn. Ebbinghaus did not measure memory only by asking whether he could reproduce an entire list perfectly. He also measured what he called “savings” in the context of relearning. This study goes quite deep into the nuances and implications of this particular concept for memory. To get the concept in brief, suppose it initially took you 20 repetitions to learn something. If it took only 10 repetitions to relearn it later, some trace of the original learning clearly remained. Your inability to reproduce the information perfectly would not mean the memory had disappeared completely. Keep this idea of “savings” in mind. It matters more than the famous graph, and we’ll return to it when I show you what happened to a long Sanskrit mantra I intentionally abandoned for years. It also connects to some concepts in memory introduced by Richard Semon and studied more recently by Dr. Paul Garrett in relation to the role of fuzzy memory. Back to Ebbinghaus, the  result of his experiments is what we now call the forgetting curve. It shows how retention drops steeply at first, then the decline slows. He also documented what we now call the spacing effect. It describes how reviews distributed over time preserve more in long-term memory than the same number of reviews crammed together. All of what Ebbinghaus found replicates, so his science is not in question here. What’s in question is what you and I should actually do with his findings.  And that’s where things really start to get interesting. Ebbinghaus Was an Early n=1 Memorizer Notice what Ebbinghaus actually was: A practitioner running experiments on his own memory. In today’s language, he was doing n=1 self-experimentation. He had skin in the game, memorized real material with his own mind, and measured what happened. I took his actions as both a lesson and an inspiration. It’s just that rather than memorize nonsense (apart from a bit of Kurt Schwitters’ “Ursonate”), I’ve focused on applying memory techniques to Chinese, scripture, poetry and facts related to law school. But you will never see the results you can achieve by reading about Ebbinghaus. You’ll only see it by memorizing information yourself and paying attention to what happens next. Tony Buzan was great about splitting the difference during his ThinkBuzan seminars. He taught memory techniques, but also had participants draw their own graph of the forgetting curve. Here’s mine: In sum, reading about the forgetting curve while never memorizing anything is like reading about swimming while refusing to get wet. Is There Such a Thing As Too Much Scientific Literacy? Years ago, Harry Lorayne coached me on becoming a successful memory coach. I followed just about everything he said, except one thing. He said, “whatever you do, don’t tell ’em about the science.” The reason I ignored the advice is that: I’m very interested in memory science Studying it has helped me discover many powerful memory activities and brain exercises The only problem I’ve seen is that about a year ago, students of all ages started writing to me in the language of science at an increasing rate. And for many, the various terms and memory statistics available online have created anxiety and perfectionism I don’t think needs to exist. For example, a medical student taking the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass recently emailed multiple times with worries about whether his review schedule was set to properly combat the “decay function.” Now, obviously, the research on memory genuinely matters. I cite it often and terms like this can be useful for forming a solid practice with using mnemonics. But Lorayne’s warning has started to take on a strange and unexpected sense because something strange happens when the vocabulary of science replaces practice. After all, science is mostly there to describe, not proscribe. We can certainly use scientific findings to improve our practice, but it’s not helpful to let techniques that have been used happily for thousands of years become the source of anxiety thanks to scientific papers. Don’t Let These Terms Interfere With Your Memory Training It’s not only beginners with memory techniques or medical students who would tend towards scientific verbiage when contacting me. I regularly hear from people fluent in the terminology, sometimes with publications to their name. A published researcher wrote me recently and had thoroughly reasoned himself into genuine paradox. Amongst other things, he wanted to know what a trained mnemonist’s memory does “without any technique.” Now, you certainly can get a swimmer to demonstrate what a particular stroke looks like without the water. And in the context of memory training, the question can sound rigorous. But in my view, this kind of question suggests that the researcher has lost contact with the very thing he’s asking about. This is because someone with a trained memory can’t isolate a ‘raw baseline’ without risking cognitive paradox. I would have to reflect on my use of mnemonic methods while not using them. And since he immediately followed-up with a pseudo-scientific claim about photographic memory, I knew he was not taking Ebbinghaus’ n=1 practice as an example by actually using the techniques himself. After all, photographic memory has been thoroughly debunked and I’ve demonstrated many times over that it not only does not exist. The term itself makes zero sense. So this is where some nuance about the forgetting curve is very important to the serious user of memory techniques. No matter who you are, you need to make contact with actual remembering. Aristotle Described the Core Principle Two Thousand Years Ago Actually studying and practicing a wide variety of memory techniques will get you insight far more interesting and impactful than any psychology textbook could hope to provide. In De Memoria et Reminiscentia, Aristotle describes recollection as movement through an ordered series. At one point in the book, he uses a sequence like the letters of the alphabet and gives strikingly practical advice that deeply inspired what I call Recall Rehearsal. This is a form of spaced repetition applied specifically to the Memory Palace technique. As Aristotle puts it, if you forget something, don’t start over from the beginning. Start from the middle of the series and move outward from there. Richard Sorabji, in his landmark study Aristotle on Memory, admits that he doesn’t understand what Aristotle is talking about in this passage. That’s a courageous confession, as many scholars would just make something up or speculate. As a practitioner of memory techniques with decades of experience, I can tell you what I believe Aristotle is describing. It’s either: An alphabetically labeled Memory Palace An early description of serial positioning and spaced repetition Or a description that provided the inspiration for creating this kind of Memory Palace practice. It’s genuinely difficult to say which. But either way, the principle and how it reduces unwanted forgetting is unmistakable to anyone who has actually run the technique. In case you have never used a Memory Palace, it involves ordered locations, deliberate starting points, and strategic entry into the middle of a sequence as part of several spaced repetition patterns that establish substantial retention. Modern Practitioners Who Know How to Beat the Forgetting Curve  You can trace this practitioner lineage forward through Peter of Ravenna, Jacobus Publicius, Robert Fludd, Giordano Bruno, and in our own time, mnemonists like myself and Lynne Kelly (especially in her book, Memory Craft). Our combination of fieldwork and daily personal practice in particular sets the standard for studying these techniques. Certainly Frances Yates deserves credit for reviving scholarly interest in mnemonics through her book, The Art of Memory, but she acknowledged never practicing the techniques herself. Frankly, it shows. Her treatment of memory wheels, for example, creates the impression they were used as Memory Palaces, which is possible but unlikely. Practice changes what you can see in the Memory Palace books you read. Why does the Aristotle passage matter for the forgetting curve? Because his advice that you should “start from the middle” of a sequence of information you keep forgetting is serial positioning in action. And serial positioning is the key to defeating the curve. My Own Forgetting Curve, Observed in the Wild The reason I’ve never tried to reproduce Ebbinghaus’s experiment formally by memorizing nonsense is precisely because you see advice on how to beat the forgetting curve thousands of years before he conducted his research. That said, I have watched my own forgetting curve operate over years, and the observations I’ve made are instructive. For example, I worked daily with one long-form mantra built from a few dozen Sanskrit phrases for many years: the Song Celestial. Then I deliberately let it lapse with no rehearsal at all for approximately two years. I was not as deliberate as I could have been in terms of tracking like Ebbinghaus would have. But since the research is so heavily reproducible and we know why Memory Palaces work, I was happy to be casual about it. When I finally came back to this mantra, I was shocked by how much I could still recall. The forgetting curve had certainly caused some “decay.” But it was nothing like what Ebbinghaus’s graph would predict for material of that length after that much neglect. In Ebbinghaus’s own terms, the “savings” were enormous. And the relearning cost me a fraction of the original effort, because the trace was never gone. It was waiting for me. The question is, why? After all, I can’t sing songs I used to know by heart when I was a kid? Part of the answer is that I never stopped reciting the other three Sanskrit mantras I have memorized. They have very similar meanings, and in many cases, some of the same words. The meaning element in particular suggests that I partly benefitted from stronger retention due to what scientists call context dependence. Because I never left the realm of reciting Sanskrit entirely, that must explain the higher rate of retention. Compare this to my previous career as a Film Studies professor. I hardly watch movies anymore, let alone read theoretical books about them or lecture for weeks on end during a traditional university semester. The lack of context has accelerated the force of the forgetting curve and deskilled my chops as a film scholar. Memory Palaces: Structured Spaced Retrieval Systems That Beat Forgetting Apart from context-dependent memory benefits, another reason I could recall so much of a mantra despite not reciting it for years has to do with how I memorized it: using the Memory Palace technique. Not as a party trick, but as a structured spaced retrieval system. To learn more about how it works, check out my Complete Guide to the Memory Palace technique. In brief, the key is to place information tethered to associations along the stations of a Memory Palace and then practice Recall Rehearsal following patterns no software like Anki can guide you through. Titus Andronicus and Recall Rehearsal in Action My favorite demonstration where I show you Recall Rehearsal in action involves Shakespeare, specifically a passage from Titus Andronicus I memorized for my case study of how Anthony Hopkins memorizes his scripts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhjIkGu32CA I’ve retained the passage ever since running it through Recall Rehearsal with minimal repetition. Or better said, I repeat these lines often, but now it’s performance, not just recitation. But the interesting thing isn’t really that I can recite this passage. Anyone can chain words together through brute force rote learning and recite lines like these forward. The proof of the power of Recall Rehearsal is that I can recite the lines out of order: Jumping between sections Running lines in reverse Reciting the odd-numbered lines and then the even numbered lines It’s now probably my favorite demonstration because it makes the power of serial positioning visible. Even better: I’m not alone in enjoying the benefits of improved retention. Magnetic Memory Method Students Who Have Bent the Curve I’ve watched this play out in my students for years, and two cases capture it especially well. Jeannie Koh spent years learning Koine Greek using rote learning during years of what she said were filled with tears and pain. But after learning to encode with Memory Palaces, she found memorizing “much less painful, and much more enduring over time,” now recalling whole passages in that ancient language with an ease she says feels almost suspicious. Same brain, same language, two encoding methods, two completely different forgetting curves. She’s a one-person controlled experiment. For more success stories, including physicians who used these methods to retrieve high-volume, complex information under exam pressure months after encoding it, check out my testimonials page. The pattern is always the same: the forgetting curve is not destiny. So long as you’re using memory techniques optimally, you can resist it, if not beat it. Should You Reproduce Ebbinghaus’s Experiment? One problem I see time and again is that many people want the exact steps needed to measure their progress. Especially when they hear me discuss how rigorously I use journaling as part of my memory activities. I’m sorry, but the demand for “exact steps” is mostly a desire installed by content marketing. The truth is that there isn’t one exact path. There are several and the real lesson in Ebbinghaus’ story is that you need to get involved in creating your own. You can journal manually by simply memorizing real words or nonsense words. Note the dates, and test yourself over time. What matters is that you work inside projects that matter to you. Whether that’s language learning, poetry, mantras, scripture, use a memory journal to help you test what holds and what fades as you use memory techniques. If you’re competitive, you can study how memory athletes use journaling to sharpen their game. My podcast conversation with Johannes Mallow, in which he explains how journaling improved his competitive standing, will be useful in that regard. Often Forgetting Is Actually a Crisis of Commitment If there’s one thing I’ve noticed over the years, it’s that people often take on learning projects connected to lives they do not actually want. They study for a qualification because they believe they should, or to please a family member. As a result, they struggle to memorize information for a job they already suspect will make them miserable. Then they interpret their resistance as a defective memory, when the deeper problem is in fact a conflict of purpose. I’ve had to face this in my own law-school experiment. I could not know in advance exactly what studying law would involve or how well the field would suit me. The saving grace is that trying it has given me greater insight into what’s involved. But now that I’ve seen some of the field from within, I have to ask a different question: Just because I am a mnemonist who can memorize legal Latin quickly and an upcoming presentation I have to give does not mean I must continue pursuing every possible outcome associated with the degree. The ability to remember something does not prove that it deserves years of my life. As I know from my studies in polymathy, memory mastery must include the development of careful selection parameters. In other words, one of the best “meta level” ways to beat the forgetting curve is to decide whether the material deserves a place in your memory at all. If you’d like help picking what to memorize on top of using the Memory Palace technique and Recall Rehearsal, my new training “The System” can help you pick a first project you actually care about. Once you have a learning goal you love, keep a journal as you memorize. Not to reproduce a nineteenth-century experiment, but to watch yourself break the forgetting curve, one piece of info at a time.

This podcast is made possible by our listeners and viewers. If this show has brought you value, you can support it by becoming a member of The Way Forward, our platform designed to help you find the health and freedom community (people, practitioners, schools, farms, and more) near you. Your membership directly supports the podcast and the work we do.Science removed Aether, and it was one of the worst mistakes they could make.In this episode, I chat with Dr. Steven A. Young, a PhD-trained theoretical physicist, alchemist, and author of A Fool's Wisdom. He spent eight years inside the quantum framework before walking away from it.I asked him to explain why atomism is such a problem, and what he said about how nuclear physics experiments actually work changed how I think about the entire field. The "particles" are in the human mind; the data are waves.We get into CERN's Shiva statue and the Celtic deity it's named after, why Hiroshima and Nagasaki are thriving modern cities, what yellowcake really is, and why sulfur, not uranium, may be what's powering reactors.We also talk about Aether as the bridge between science and spirituality, alchemy as the operative wing of Christianity, and why the old world looks the way it does.You'll Learn:[0:00] Introduction[10:07] Every time someone says "quantum" they actually mean Aether[34:29] How they "prove" atoms exist by shooting light and measuring the scatter [56:10] Aether as the bridge between science and spirituality, and why they severed it[1:08:21] Thought forms create vortices in the Aether that sustain themselves indefinitely[1:18:17] Hiroshima isn't a wasteland, and what the bombs actually were[1:23:26] The yellowcake deception and why nuclear power is really just sulfur[1:49:50] Alchemy is the operative wing of Christianity and Jesus was the master[1:58:59] The millennial reign, Satan's little season, and why everything is inverted[2:09:49] How the four elements simplify health and why your body knows how to healRelated The Way Forward Episodes:Dismantling Scientism and Demystifying Alchemy featuring Dr. Steven Young | YouTubeThought, Light & The Liquid Language of God with Veda Austin | YouTubeThe Biggest Lies We Ever Bought About Earth, the Aether & the Universe | Dr. Robert Bennett | YouTubeChrist's Millennial Reign & Satan's Little Season with Paul Stobbs | YouTubeResources Mentioned:Hiroshima Revisited by Michael Palmer | BookCan You Catch a Cold? by Daniel Roytas | BookThe Red Lion by Maria Szepes | BookFind more from Dr. Steven:Dr. Steven A. Young | Linktree | WebsiteA Fool's Fruit Basket: The Full Collection | WebsiteA Fool's Wisdom by Dr. Steven A. Young | Book or AudiobookFind more from Alec:Alec Zeck | Instagram | XThe Way Forward | InstagramDonate to The Way Forward here.The Way Forward is Sponsored By:Want to grow your podcast but not sure what's actually working? Podigy helps me produce The Way Forward. Take their free assessment to get clear on your next move—and a chance to win a call with their founder.New Biology Clinic: Redefine Health from the Ground UpExperience tailored terrain-based health services with consults, livestreams, movement classes, and more. Use code THEWAYFORWARD (case sensitive) for $50 off activation.The Way Forward members get the $150 fee waived.Reconnect with the earth's natural charge and move naturally by using code FWRD10 for 10% off at Earth Runners.

This Sunday we welcome Ronnie Pontiac — author, researcher, and former assistant to Manly P. Hall — to explore the hidden history behind his latest book, The Rosicrucian Counterculture: The Origins and Influence of the Invisible Society. We trace the strange saga of Rosicrucianism from 17th‑century Germany to the courts of Rudolf II, through Descartes, Fludd, Dee, Ashmole, and the alchemist‑pirate Prince Rupert. We follow its underground influence on the English Revolution, early America, and even modern psychedelic and pop‑culture movements. What was the Invisible Society? Who shaped it? And why does its influence still echo today? A deep dive into esoteric history, hidden networks, and the counterculture that never really disappeared. Follow Ronnie here: https://www.youtube.com/@theronniepontiac/featured https://substack.com/@ronniepontiac https://www.facebook.com/ronnie.pontiac/ https://www.instagram.com/theronniepontiac/ https://ronniepontiac.medium.com/ _____________________________ Follow us here: https://allmylinks.com/the-amish-inquisition Sign up for the newsletter, join the community, follow us online, and most importantly share links!  Producer Credits for Ep 419:   Producers - Aliyah, Rhona Kesson, Mathew Chinn, Simon Mear, Allan Wilson _______________________________   Leave us a voicemail: 07562245894 Message us here....follow, like, subscribe and share. (comments, corrections, future topics etc). We read out iTunes reviews if you leave them. Website - http://www.theamishinquisition.com/ Join the Element server: https://matrix.to/#/%23the-amish-inquisition%3Amatrix.org Subscribe to the Newsletter: Drop us an email and let us know Get your Merch from: The Amish Loot Chest - https://teespring.com/en-GB/stores/amish-inquisition-loot-chest Email - theamishinquisition@gmail.com Buy us a Coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theamishguys Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/theamishinquisition Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/c-1347401 Twitter - https://twitter.com/amishinqpodcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/amish.inquisit.3 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theamishinquisition/?hl=en Bitchute - https://www.bitchute.com/channel/0fNMZAQctCme/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmv8ucrv5a2KpaRWyBWfBUA Find out how to become a Producer here - http://www.theamishinquisition.com/p/phil-1523918247/   Become a Producer! The Amish Inquisition is 100% supported by YOU.  NO Ads, NO Sponsorship, NO Paywalls. We really don't want to suckle at the teat of some faceless corporate overlord. But that is only avoidable with your help! Join your fellow producers by donating to The Amish Inquisition via the PayPal button on our website, simply donate whatever you think the show is worth to you. If you find the podcast valuable, please consider returning some value to us and help keep the show free and honest.

In this episode, I sit down with researcher, writer, and longtime esoteric insider... Ronnie Pontiac. We explore his latest book, 'The Rosicrucian Counterculture: The Origins and Influence of the Invisible Society'. We journey into the hidden current of Rosicrucianism flowing through the early modern world, examining how this mysterious “invisible society” shaped the lives and ideas of figures like John Dee, Robert Fludd, René Descartes, Elias Ashmole, and many others. Ronnie reveals how the esoteric court of Rudolf II became a crucible for magic, science, and prophecy, and how the ambitions of Frederick and Elizabeth helped spark the Thirty Years' War through a strange fusion of politics and occult vision. He also discusses how the Rosicrucians can be seen as the original counterculture, rooted in the Orphic traditions of ancient Greece and influencing generations of seekers, mystics, and visionaries ever since. As the episode continues, we explore the roots of the many expressions of the Rosicrucian energy, throughout various forms and times.We also dive into Ronnie's personal experiences studying with Manly P. Hall, including some remarkable insights he received about what he calls the Rosicrucian frequency and how these teachings operate as a living stream of consciousness rather than just a historical movement. Ronnie makes the case that Rosicrucianism was not merely a secret society but a transformative worldview that helped catalyze the shift from medieval consciousness into the modern age.From there, we explore how these underground ideas continue to echo today, shaping modern occult revivalism, pop culture symbolism, and even the psychedelic counterculture's ongoing quest for hidden knowledge and inner transformation. Drawing on his years working alongside Manly P. Hall, Ronnie offers a rare insider perspective on the enduring legacy of esoteric philosophy and the provocative question of whether invisible societies still help guide the evolution of human consciousness from behind the veil.Ronnie Pontiac Bio:Ronnie Pontiac worked as Manly P. Hall's research assistant, screener, and designated substitute lecturer for seven years. He has produced award-winning documentaries, and has written for Invisible College Magazine, Newtopia, Metapsychosis, Occult of Personality, and the original Reality Sandwich. In addition, he plays guitar for the experimental rock band Lucid Nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's always an honor to chat with Ronnie Pontiac when he arrives at the Virtual Alexandria. He'll discuss his new book, The Rosicrucian Counterculture: The Origins and Influence of the Invisible Society. We'll uncover the secretive origins and widespread legacy of an invisible society that first surfaced within the occult-heavy court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. We examine the significant impact of figures such as John Dee and Robert Fludd, assessing how their visions of universal reformation influenced the English Revolution and the eventual establishment of the American colonies. Finally, we examine how this “phoenix of counterculture” persists today, informing everything from the foundations of early science to the current psychedelic movement. Get the book:https://amzn.to/3ZLdF2d More on Ronnie: https://www.innertraditions.com/author/ronnie-pontiac Get The Occult Elvis: https://amzn.to/4jnTjE4 Virtual Alexandria Academy: https://thegodabovegod.com/virtual-alexandria-academy/ Gnostic Tarot Readings: https://thegodabovegod.com/gnostic-tarot-reading/ The Gnostic Tarot: https://www.makeplayingcards.com/sell/synkrasis Homepage: https://thegodabovegod.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aeonbyte AB Prime: https://thegodabovegod.com/members/subscription-levels/ Voice Over services: https://thegodabovegod.com/voice-talent/ Support with donation: https://buy.stripe.com/00g16Q8RK8D93mw288 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Incogni advertisement“Use code [YOUR-UNIQUE-CODE] at the linkbelow to get an exclusive 60% off an annualIncogni plan: https://incog-ni.com/your-unique-code”  Your URL is: https://incogni.com/earthancientsDestiny: Ronnie Pontiac, The Rosicrucian Counterculture (show notes)A cultural exploration of the esoteric movement and its historical impact and legacy• Examines the Rosicrucian involvement of figures like Rene Descartes, Robert Fludd, John Dee, Elias Ashmole, and the alchemist pirate Prince Rupert of the Rhine• Traces the saga of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, and his countercultural successors Frederick and Elizabeth, who triggered the Thirty Years' War• Shows how Rosicrucianism inspired the English Revolution and explores the Rosicrucianism of John Winthrop the Younger, Connecticut's founderSince the appearance of Rosicrucian manuscripts in 17th-century Germany, historians have questioned the authorship, intent, and significance of this esoteric movement. In this book, Ronnie Pontiac shows how Rosicrucianism's underground influence in the early-modern period continues to the present, providing the important historical context of this invisible society.Pontiac looks at the esoteric culture around Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and his court, including figures like John Dee, Tycho Brahe, and Rabbi Loew, the legendary creator of the Golem of Prague. Despite occultists' fascination with Rudolf 's successors, Frederick and Elizabeth, at the start of the Thirty Years' War—and Rosicrucian efforts to make Frederick the first Protestant Holy Roman Emperor—the esoteric renaissance in Bohemia was short-lived. However, this wasn't the end of Rosicrucianism.Pontiac explores the movement's impact on Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution as well as individuals such as Robert Fludd, René Descartes, Elias Ashmole, Moritz the Learned, Paracelsus, and William Shakespeare. He then details the movement's arrival in the New World, including the Rosicrucian activities of Connecticut's alchemist governor, John Winthrop the Younger. Looking to the present, Pontiac shows how both pop culture and the modern psychedelic counterculture are informed by Rosicrucian ideas, showing the enduring legacy of this esoteric movement.Ronnie Pontiac worked as Manly P. Hall's research assistant for seven years. A producer of award-winning documentaries, he is the author of American Metaphysical Religion and coauthor with Tamra Lucid of The Magic of the Orphic Hymns and the 10-part YouTube video series The Unobstructed Way.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/earth-ancients--2790919/support.

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Marty Leeds (Gnostic Academy) and Steven Young (Hedflux) have something in common: they're both fascinated and inspired by the 16th-17th century Alchemist, Robert Fludd. In this episode, we explore the natural philosophy, musical cosmology, and metaphysics and divine sciences of one of history's greatest minds. Some topics include the infinite and indivisible God, Jesus: the light of the mind, Fludd's beef with Johannes Kepler, and the History of the Macrocosm. In the Plus+ Extension we discuss action-at-a-distance healing and the intriguing "weapon salve," how and why "like affects like," Fludd the Kabbalist, defensive esoteric writing and the Devil, the Esoteric Christ, the Sun and the Mind, and the possibilities of a physical Philosopher's Stone, and much more. Join InnerVerse Plus+ for exclusive extended episodes!Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124547560Youtube: https://youtu.be/ep0IvvLaXOI GET TUNEDhttps://www.innerversepodcast.com/sound-healing EPISODE LINKSMarty Leeds: https://gnosticacademy.org/Steven Young: https://stevenyoung.uk/https://www.innerversepodcast.com/season-11/robert-fludd-marty-leeds-steven-young SUPPORT INNERVERSETippecanoe Herbs - Use INNERVERSE code at checkout - https://tippecanoeherbs.com/Check out the Spirit Whirled series, narrated by Chance - https://www.innerversepodcast.com/audiobooksLotusWei Flower Essences - https://www.lotuswei.com/innerverseBuy from Clive de Carle with this link to support InnerVerse with your purchase - https://clivedecarle.ositracker.com/197164/11489InnerVerse Merch - https://www.innerversemerch.comThe Aquacure AC50 (Use "innerverse" as a coupon code for a discount) - https://eagle-research.com/product/ac50TT TELEGRAM LINKShttps://t.me/innerversepodcasthttps://t.me/innerversepodcastchat InnerVerse intro theme by Conspiracy Music Guru - https://www.conspiracymusicguru.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

La música y el canto siempre han ocupado un lugar destacado en la tradición rosacruz. Hablaremos de Michael Maier, Robert Fludd, ls Rosacruz de Oro, Erik Satie y los temas utilizados en las corrientes modernas del rosacrucismo: "Secreto Eterno", "Ad Rosam per Crucem" y, recientemente, "In Rosis Veritas".

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Robert Fludd wrote some of the most specific memory improvement instruction manuals. Learn his key mnemonic tactics and how to use them now.

BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour: Memory Magic with the Ancients and Dr. Metivier! #MemoryMagic, #GrandpaBillWisdom, #MagneticMemory, #Dr.AnthonyMetivier, #Approved ,#HolisticLearning, Embarking on a captivating journey through the world of memory enhancement! Today, Grandpa Bill dives deep into the fascinating history of the Memory Palace, exploring the techniques of Renaissance scholar Robert Fludd. We then connect these ancient practices with the powerful Magnetic Memory Method, created by our two-time guest, Dr. Anthony Metivier. Learn how to harness the power of vivid imagery and spatial navigation to transform your memory and unlock your full potential for learning and success! Have you ever tried using a memory technique like the Memory Palace? If so, share your experience and what worked well for you. What are some areas of your life where you'd like to see significant memory improvement? How do you think the Magnetic Memory Method could help you achieve those goals? Share your thoughts and experiences on our voicemail message board! Encouraging our listeners to leave voicemails with their answers and any other questions they might have about the episode's topics at this show voicemail message board.. Holistic Health Secrets and Life-Sales Strategies with Grandpa Bill Nourish Your Soul, Boost Your Business: The BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour Experience Website: https://www.7kmetals.com/grandpabill Website:https://www.myctfo.com/index.html YouTube: Bill Holt@billholt8792 Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/bill.sales.524 Social Media:https://www.instagram.com/bradybrodyboy12/ Voicemail Message Board: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bhsales BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour Retired holistic health enthusiast, Grandpa Bill, shares his wisdom and experiences in the realms of health, wealth, and well-being. Join Grandpa Bill on his journey of holistic health and personal growth. With over 45 years of experience in the industry, he has a wealth of knowledge to share on topics ranging from nutrition and supplements, to meditation and spirituality. In his retirement, Grandpa Bill is dedicated to sharing his insights and helping others to achieve their full potential. He is an intuitive thinker, humorist, star seed, poetry fan, with a passion for history and coins. Hosted by Grandpa Bill, 45 year career now retired Disclaimer:This podcast site content is provided for informational purposes only, and does not intend to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. JOIN US EVERY TUESDAY AT 6 PM. EST. https://freedomsnap.org/Seth/ BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Virtual Mall Patriot Supply Link:  ⁠⁠https://mypatriotsupply.com/?rfsn=5615494.137cb6⁠⁠ Health Ranger Link: ⁠⁠https://www.healthrangerstore.com/?⁠⁠rfsn=301296.96452b2&utm_source=HR_Affiliate&utm_campaign=14708&utm_affiliate=301296⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Healer.com⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.HealerCBD.com/?ref=11⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bhsales/message

Grandpa Bill reviews: The practical application of Robert Fludd's memory techniques. Why You ABSOLUTELY MUST Learn The Masterful Memory Techniques of Robert Fludd Ready for more? Check out the "Chaos Memory Palace" of Giordano Bruno next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcM3VBdlIvc Creating your own Memory Palace: Guiding listeners through the steps of creating their personalized Memory Palace, using familiar spaces or natural environments. Applying the techniques: Offering practical examples of how to use the Memory Palace for different purposes, like remembering grocery lists, studying vocabulary, or even public speaking notes. Holistic memory enhancement: Discussing how combining the Memory Palace with healthy habits like a balanced diet, meditation, and regular exercise can holistically improve memory function. More info later at The BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour Podcast #Dr. Anthony Metivier,#Magnetic Memory Method,#Robert Fludd, Holistic Health Secrets and Life-Sales Strategies with Grandpa Bill Nourish Your Soul, Boost Your Business: The BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour Experience Website: https://www.7kmetals.com/grandpabill Website:https://www.myctfo.com/index.html YouTube: Bill Holt@billholt8792 Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/bill.sales.524 Social Media:https://www.instagram.com/bradybrodyboy12/ Voicemail Message Board: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bhsales BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Healing Hour Retired holistic health enthusiast, Grandpa Bill, shares his wisdom and experiences in the realms of health, wealth, and well-being. Join Grandpa Bill on his journey of holistic health and personal growth. With over 45 years of experience in the industry, he has a wealth of knowledge to share on topics ranging from nutrition and supplements, to meditation and spirituality. In his retirement, Grandpa Bill is dedicated to sharing his insights and helping others to achieve their full potential. He is an intuitive thinker, humorist, star seed, poetry fan, with a passion for history and coins. Hosted by Grandpa Bill, 45 year career now retired Disclaimer:This podcast site content is provided for informational purposes only, and does not intend to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. JOIN US EVERY TUESDAY AT 6PM. EST. https://freedomsnap.org/Seth/ BH Sales Kennel Kelp Holistic Virtual Mall Patriot Supply Link:  ⁠⁠https://mypatriotsupply.com/?rfsn=5615494.137cb6⁠⁠ Health Ranger Link: ⁠⁠https://www.healthrangerstore.com/?⁠⁠rfsn=301296.96452b2&utm_source=HR_Affiliate&utm_campaign=14708&utm_affiliate=301296⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Healer.com⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.HealerCBD.com/?ref=11⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bhsales/message

Our last figure of the English Renaissance undertakes daring investigations of chemistry, medicine, agriculture, and cosmology – and gets accused of magic and Rosicrucianism.

The second episode of ParaPower Mapping continues our investigation of The Secret History of MasSUSchusetts and kicks off a mini-series within the series, throughout which we will map the New England node of a transatlantic alchemical & Rosicrucian brotherhood that set the English colonization of America in motion, founded plantations & settlements patterned after alchemical "utopian" visions, and pushed for the colonies to institute slavery in the service of "economic development". Episode II includes: Protestant eschatological schemes of world domination; accompanying philosophies such as millenarianism and pansophism; the life of Jan Comenius; some basic Christian alchemical terminology; the archwizard John Dee, his plans for a Protestant British global empire, his Arthurian justifications for colonizing the New World, his influence on American alchemists like John Winthrop Jr., & his belief that his work was inspired by angels (perhaps he was wrong… and he was conversing with demons instead); the relationship between Francis Bacon & John Dee and their influence on Rosicrucianism; a discussion of the Rosicrucian manifestos Fama Fraternitatis, Confessio, & The Chymical Wedding; the Invisible College/ Royal Society; a ton of Rosicrucian Enlightenment figures, such as Isaac Newton, Elias Ashmole, Michael Maier, Samuel Hartlib & the Hartlib Circle, Sir Walter Raleigh, Edmund Spenser, Robert Boyle, Robert Fludd; the introduction of American alchemists like John Winthrop the Younger & George Starkey; the odyssey of Scottish alchemist Alexander Seton, who toured Europe performing the transmutation of metals into gold; the Rosicrucian royals Frederick & Elizabeth of Bohemia and their brief reign prior to the Thirty Years War; connections between Rosicrucianism and speculative Scottish Freemasonry; the Ancient & Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis (AMORC); a possible voyage to Massachusetts by the Scottish Sinclair family (who are connected to the Templars, Rosicrucianism, & Freemasonry) and a Venetian prince named Zeno; Puritan and Protestant practitioners of Cabala, alchemy, and magic; the prevalence of the occult in colonial New England and Puritan interpretations of Biblical magic; various judges of the Court of Oyer & Terminer from the Salem Trials & their connections to alchemy & witches; Col. Israel Stoughton, father-in-law of alchemist George Starkey, and his involvement in the Pequot War and the enslavement of Native Americans and connections to the slave-trading Endecott family; Cotton Mather's interests in astrology, bibliomancy, and Cabala; the Harvard alchemical curriculum and various Ivy League practitioners of alchemy; the Pequot War; John Winthrop Jr.'s alchemical plantation in Connecticut; a psychogeographic history of King's Chapel and the King's Chapel Burying Ground; the podcaster's uncanny experience photographing the tombstone of the Winthrop family tomb in the King's Chapel Burying Ground and a blue orb appearing; evidence from Levenda for a Massachusetts curse; the beginnings of a thesis of the alchemical transmutation of America into a land of unbridled profits for the capitalist ruling elite; etc.  Some of the texts cited in this episode:  | Dame Frances Yates - The Rosicrucian Enlightenment & The Occult in the Elizabethan Age | | Peter Levenda - Sinister Forces: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft | | Jason Louv - John Dee and the Empire of Angels | | Steven Sora - Rosicrucian America | | D. Michael Quinn - Early Mormonism and the Magic World View | | Lewis Putnam Turco - Satan's Scourge: A Narrative of the Age of Witchcraft in England & New England | | Walter H. Woodward - Prospero's America: John Winthrop Jr., Alchemy, and the Creation of New England Culture | Songs: | XTC - Human Alchemy | | Wheel of Fortune (Australia) - Theme from 1981 - 1985 | | Boldy James (Prod. Alchemist) - Pinto | | The Sugarcubes - Dear Plastic | | Cathedral - Alchemist of Sorrow |

Subconscious Realms Episode 181 - Eliphas Levi - Transcendental Magic - Hermes Risen - D.J Elliott. Ladies & Gentlemen, firstly apologies but my circumstances have changed a considerable amount & everything happens for a reason. Whilst constantly dodging the Deep State, I'll still find a way. On this Episode of Subconscious Realms we welcome back our Incredible Debbie for Eliphas Levi & Transcendental Magic

In this episode, we turn back the clock 170 years, and revisit what is perhaps THE great foundational text of magick of the 19th and 20th century - Transcendental Magick, by the French magus Éliphas Lévi. Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant (8 February 1810 – 31 May 1875), was a French esotericist, poet, and author of more than 20 books on magic, Kabbalah, alchemical studies, and occultism. He pursued an ecclesiastical career in the Catholic Church until, after great personal struggle, at the age of 26, he abandoned the Roman Catholic priesthood. At the age of 40, he began professing knowledge of the occult, and becoming a reputed ceremonial magician. The pen name "Éliphas Lévi", was a transliteration of his given names "Alphonse Louis" into the Hebrew. Levi gained renown as an original thinker and writer. His works attracted the attention of the heterogeneous ambiences of the era in Paris and London; from esotericists to artists of romantic or symbolist inspiration. He also expressed his independence by leaving the Masonic lodge of the "Great Orient", believing that it was a form of modern secularization, where knowledge of the original meanings of symbols and rituals was lost. "I ceased being a freemason, at once, because the Freemasons, excommunicated by the Pope, did not believe in tolerating Catholicism." Many authors influenced Levi's political, occultic and literary development, such as the French monarchist Joseph de Maistre, whom he quotes in many parts of his Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, Paracelsus, Robert Fludd, Swedenborg, Fabre d'Olivet, the Rosicrucians, Plato, Raymond Lull, and other esoterics. For more, check out Magick.Me, my online school for magick, meditation, and mysticism—see more at www.magick.me...!

Nuevo capítulo de El Libro Rojo, en el que charlo con Marta Piñol, Doctora en Historia del Arte y traductora para Ediciones Sans Soleil de la obra ‘Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed’, de Wouter J. Hanegraaff. Se trata de un estudio profundo para conocer la influencia del esoterismo y el hermetismo en nuestra cultura occidental, y el papel en todo ello de nombres tales como Platón, Plotino, Marsilio Ficino, Paracelso, Jakob Böhme o Robert Fludd.

Da Anguana Edizioni ci arriva "Formulario di Alta Magia" di Pierre Piobb, pseudonimo del Conte Pierre Vincenti, già traduttore di Robert Fludd e studioso di Nostradamus, un compendio serio e rigoroso delle Scienze Occulte. Per dubbi o curiosità seguiteci sui nostri social o acquistate sul nostro sito www.libreriailsigillo.it --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/libreria-il-sigillo/message

Bienvenidos de nuevo a esta pequeña obra que he dedicado a los cinco elementos. En mi particular interpretación podrá escuchar cinco micro relatos de unos 8 minutos escritos por un servidor y maravillosamente locutados por abriendo los ojos. Agua, tierra, aire, fuego y éter. Para explicar un poco de que va esto voy a utilizar un texto de Johnny McClue del 2015 escrito en la web Símbolos, mitos y arquetipos que dice así: “Con el número de elementos fundamentales hay una gran disparidad de criterios, y no sostiene la misma opinión la cultura tradicional de occidente, que la de oriente. En occidente se cree que los elementos fundamentales son cuatro y en numerosas culturas orientales se sostiene que son cinco. En nuestra humilde opinión, pensamos que es mejor tratar este tema por separado pues suele causar confusión. Así que con vuestro permiso, hoy trataremos la teoría de los 4 elementos fundamentales y un próximo día ya hablaremos sobre la de cinco. Los cuatro elementos fundamentales son: Fuego, Tierra, Aire y Agua. Estos 4 elementos desempeñan un papel fundamental en la explicación de la teoría "Microcosmos-Macrocosmos", pues son ellos los que hacen posible una visión completa con la que relacionar el microcosmos humano y el macrocosmos del universo. El autor de la tesis de los 4 elementos fue Empédocles. Más tarde Hipócrates la aplicó a su teoría de los 4 humores corporales y posteriormente Aristóteles la modificó considerablemente. Aristóteles resume todos a todos los elementos en una proto-materia a la que llamaba "Prima Materia" o también "Materia Prima". Es lo que mas tarde los alquimistas llamaron "Nuestro Caos" o también "Terrón Tenebroso", que se remonta a la caída de Lucifer y de Adán. Para Aristóteles la Prima Materia se asocia a las cuatro cualidades: seco, húmedo, frío y calor. Manipulando estas cualidades , se puede modificar la composición elemental de los materiales. Es el camino para llegar a la transmutación tan deseada por todo alquimista. Por esto el trabajo del alquimista se reduce a la inversión de los elementos. La materia de la piedra pasa de una naturaleza a otra, los elementos se extraen uno después del otro y así los dominan de forma alternativa. Según una ley de Pitágoras, el espectro total de posibilidades de este mundo está contenido en la cifra cuatro. El quinto elemento, ya sería aristotélico y se trataría de la famosa quinta esencia. Se trata de una esencia que solamente puede encontrarse en un empíreo divino y por este motivo no forma parte de los 4 elementos terrestres. El hombre desde su ignorancia ha ido prestando cada vez mas atención para saber como los 4 elementos se comportaban y entre si actuaban. Sus esfuerzos se centraron en averiguar cómo se transformaban y cómo se relacionaban con las 4 estaciones y los 4 temperamentos. Estas son las conclusiones a las que llegaron en la Edad Media: - Elemento Tierra - otoño - temperamento melancólico - Elemento Fuego - verano - temperamento colérico - Elemento Aire - primavera - temperamento sanguíneo - Elemento Agua - invierno - temperamento flemático Hay algunas tesis y teorías que dan a la Tierra propiedades muy diferentes a las de el Fuego, el Aire y el Agua. Uno de ellos es Robert Fludd que fue discípulo de Paracelso. Según esta tendencia el acto divino de la creación se representa como un proceso alquímico en el que Dios obtiene del caos tenebroso los 3 elementos primarios: luz, oscuridad y aguas espirituales. Son estas aguas el principio de los 4 elementos aristotélicos, de los cuales la tierra es el mas tosco y pesado. Esta primera tierra Fludd la compara con el sedimento que se deposita en el matraz durante la destilación alquímica. Por sorprendente que nos pueda parecer, Fludd utiliza el símil del matraz para que entendamos el porqué de nuestro sufrimiento y padecimiento en este mundo que habitamos: "No debe maravillarnos que nuestro planeta sea un valle de lágrimas, sabiendo que está hecho del sedimento de la creación, por el que ronda el diablo”. En los procesos de los alquimistas, el estado final e ideal de la materia se alcanza cuando los elementos se ordenan según su grado de consistencia. En el punto central tenemos en primer lugar al Fuego y alrededor de él se posiciona el Aire. El Aire es rodeado por el Agua y en último lugar la Tierra se posiciona rodeando al Agua. Ya en los primeros albores de la humanidad se afirmaba que todos los cuerpos estaban integrados por la combinación de los cuatro elementos fundamentales. Al Fuego lo llamaron materia radiante. La Tierra recibía el nombre de materia solida. El Aire era la materia gaseosa o etérea y el Agua se consideraba la materia liquida. Esta diferenciación fue tomada por la medicina y derivo en la división de los 4 temperamentos o humores que ya hemos visto anteriormente.” Espero que sean de su agrado mis cinco cuentos donde como eran hay una varias interpretaciones y varias capas dentro de lo que aparentemente son solo historias fabuladas. Les dejo ya con el primer relato y espero poder ver esta obra escrita en papel y con ilustraciones que la acerquen a todos los públicos. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Enlaces citados y música utilizados en el podcast: Los 4 elementos http://abajocomoarriba.blogspot.com/2015/05/los-4-elementos.html KATICA ILLÉNYI - Once Upon a Time in the West - Theremin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY7sXKGZl2w Agua Camarón de la isla y Paco de Lucia Como El Agua https://youtu.be/3KZyy8Oc1QA Tierra Madre Tierra - Macaco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZWryw2eFjI&t=59s Aire Canción del aire https://youtu.be/LPUIXPRtOeI Fuego The Cult - Fire Woman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g6h1vI4Xv0 Eter Inés Lolago - LAS ANTIGUAS (versión 2020) https://youtu.be/o6L0tIwUk_s

A mediados del siglo XVII el rosacrucismo estaba en plena ebullición. Tras la publicación de los manifiestos rosacruces, la Fama Fraternitatis y la Confessio Fraternitatis, en los años 1614 y 1615 respectivamente, los ideales de la Rosacruz se empezaron a difundir por toda Europa. En 1636 ocurre un hecho de particular relevancia: el joven Elias Ashmole, de 24 años edad, se desplaza de Gales a Londres y se convierte en discípulo del rosacruz Robert Fludd. Fludd había descubierto el rosacrucismo en el continente europeo, donde había visitado Francia, España, Italia y Alemania, y en esos lugares conoció a algunos de sus primeros referentes, y posiblemente también estuvo en contacto con los Hermanos Mayores de la Rosacruz. Sea como sea, Robert Fludd fue el puente entre el rosacrucismo centro-europeo con Inglaterra.

Sadamoto handles the final scenes with Shinji and Asuka with a great deal of respect, and all without straying too far from the plot of the anime. Skip plot summary @ 9:03 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com 055: Neon Genesis Evangelion vol. 13 Chapters 84 to 90, “Calling” and “Memories of Summer” By Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Translation by John Werry and Evan Galloway   Topics: Shinji x Asuka Existentialism, Is Rei god? Is Shinji God?   Other references: Guf (or the chamber of Guf) is depicted as an orb held by the combined Lilith and Rei, in both Judaic lore and in Evangelion it is a celestial body which houses all unborn souls and during third impact is where all the souls on earth return to. Confusingly Ristuko makes reference to Guf when she reveals the Dummy plug system (the Rei Clones), but due to circumstances in that mankind has no access to Guf, or there being no souls left in Guf, this means the Evas have adapted souls from others and that the Rei clones have no souls. [1]   Tree of life vs Tree of Knowledge (Fuyutsuki refers to the formation as both) There are many interpretations of this symbolic “tree” as it appears in a multitude of theological text. One being the tree that Adam and Eve ate from, however Evangelion takes the majority of its symbolism from Kabbalah and sacred geometry.   In the opening of the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, we first see the tree of life in Robert Fludd’s illustration and again as the Systema Sephiroticum, illustrated by Athanasius Kircher, which also appears in Gendo’s room. Within Kabbalah, the tree of life is a diagram called the Sefirot (Sephiroth), consisting of 10 nodules known as Sefira. It is a diagram representative of creationism. In End of Eva, before instrumentality is triggered, you may find Shinji is placed on the sixth nodule of the Sefirot. In a Kabbalisic interpretation of Genesis, Tifaret (or Tif’eret) is referenced when God is creating the world on “the fifth day” in the following passage:   "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. '" – Genesis 1:20 (English Revised Version)   This is because all nodules represent all of God’s utterances upon creating the world, the first being uttered on the first day, “Let there be light”- Genesis 1:3 (English Revised Version). “Tif’eret” or “Tifarah” means “Glory” or “beauty” in Hebrew, it symbolises compassion and beauty. It’s placement on the sefirot gives it more significance due to it representing mercy, justice, balance, giving and receiving. The image of the cross is also superimposed on the Tifaret, with Shinji in the centre, this gives a sacrificial meaning towards the scene. [2] [3]   “Malboge Fusion” Italian for evil ditch (referring to the destruction of NERV’s basement and formation of Lilith’s egg) Malboge is referred to as the eight circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno (the first part of The Divine Comedy by Italian poet Dante Alighieri) the Malboge word is plural, meaning “evil ditches”, which there are ten of, the first instance is in canto 18 of the divine comedy “There is a place in Hell called Malebolge, Wholly of stone and of an iron colour”. [4]   Synopsis: Shinji is able to get inside his Eva and save Asuka from the opposing Eva units. Meanwhile Ritsuko, desperate that the after-life doesn’t fall on Gendo’s terms, uses the help of the Magi system to blow up Adam and the entire base. In a twist of fate, it is her mother’s Artificial Intelligence that stops her from doing so. Ritsuko’s attempt at making a murder-suicide against Rei and Gendo fails.   During this time, Shinji is ambushed by the Evas and is provoked into awakening his own Eva as he syncs with it beyond the maximum threshold, this gives his Eva the properties of an Angel and allows Shinji and his Eva to become a pawn towards triggering a third impact. This advertently causes the lance of Longiness to be drawn out from the moon’s orbit and crucify Shinji’s Eva. The enemy Evas coordinate and trap Shinji.   Gendo attempts to fuse himself with Rei, Lilith and Adam, however Rei rejects Gendo and instead chooses Shinji to be the arbiter of the world. A dying Ritsuko manages to fatally shoot Gendo in the throat and tells him that he is a liar, that there was only one person he ever loved, and it was not herself.   Rei, having undergone her fusion with Adam and Lilith is now a macro-cosmic being, she beholds the crucified Shinji and his Eva unit, in doing so Shinji becomes a literal tree of life. The being formerly known as Rei is able to use Shinji’s new body to amass a single treasury of all earthly souls, but before she does so, she asks Shinji to show him his personal wishes, his thoughts and all that he truly is.   Sources:   https://wiki.evageeks.org/Guf   https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ten-sefirot-tiferet   https://wiki.evageeks.org/Tree_of_Life   http://www.fullbooks.com/Dante-s-Inferno2.html     Facebook - facebook.com/weappreciatemanga/ Instagram –  weappreciatemanga.co.uk   Twitter -   @RealJamesFitton Website – Weappreciatemanga.com Email – Weappreciatemanga@gmail.com

Ted Hand is public school teacher and independent scholar of Renaissance Magic. In this episode, he discusses the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and Atalanta Fugiens as influential Renaissance texts and the culture of images. Ted discusses in particular the concept of using these image-heavy texts as vehicles for esoteric or mystical play. He discusses in particular the Atalanta Fugiens as a multimedia text and the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili as almost an architectural handbook. This conversation ends up being a deep exploration of the historical culture of the imagination. We discuss alchemy, the Rosicrucians, early Freemasonry, Robert Fludd, Giulio Camillo, image magic, forbidden knowledge, the Art of Memory, and building a relationship with meaningful texts. One key bit in this episode is Ted’s explanation of why well-known Renaissance man and architect Leon Battisti Aberti was considered as a potential author of the Hypnerotomachia before scholars seemed to settle on Francisco Colonna. Along the way, Ted and I discuss different definitions and approaches to meditation in the history of Western esotericism, and we talk about the role of imagination and visions in meditative practice. This in particular might be one of the greatest lesson This episode is the second in a series on the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and serves to help introduce the audience to the thinking, culture, and scholarship around this remarkable book and its lasting effect on our culture. Check below for show notes and for Ted’s recommended reading list. Links @t3dy on Twitter Pico and Dick with Ted Hand (podcast) Joscelyn Godwin’s English translation of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Robert Dallington’s aborted English translation of 1592 (at Project Gutenberg) Scans of the 1499 first edition of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (at the Internet Archive) Atalanta Fugiens by Michael Maier (at the Internet Archive) Arnemancy’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Series Reading List Bilak, Donna. “Playful Humanism in Atalanta fugiens (1618)”. 2017. https://italianacademy.columbia.edu/paper/playful-humanism-atalanta-fugiens-1618 Cruz, Esteban Alejandro. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: Re-Discovering Antiquity Through The Dreams Of Poliphilus. 2006. Griggs, Tamara. “Promoting the past: The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili as antiquarian enterprise”. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/griggs/files/wordimage.pdf Russell, James, Charles. ‘Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory’: The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700. (2014). etheses.dur.ac.uk/10757/ Rogers, Dionysius. A Renaissance Seduction of Memory: Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia as Counter-Edification. Tufte, Edward. Beautiful Evidence. Warner, Marina. Fantastic Metamorphoses, Other Worlds: Ways of Telling the Self. https://en.chessbase.com/post/francesco-colonna-first-human-chess-reference (same website has the acrostic) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315117781_A_Dreamt_Feast_Culinary_Marvels_in_the_Hypnerotomachia_Poliphili (banquet in chapter nine, late medieval and early renaissance feasting practices) Hasler, Johann F.W. “Performative and Multimedia Aspects of Late-Renaissance Meditative Alchemy: The Case of Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens (1617)”, (Revista de Estudios Sociales. April, 2011). https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=3439874 Szonyi, György E. “Architectural Symbolism and Fantasy Landscapes in Alchemical and Occult Discourse: Revelatory Images”, in Emblems & Alchemy, Alison Adams, and Stanton J. Linden, (eds.), (Glasgow Emblem Studies, 1998). Bolzoni, Lina. “The Memory Theatre of Giulio Camillo: Alchemy, Rhetoric, and Deification in the Renaissance”, in Lux in Tenebris: The Visual and the Symbolic in Western Esotericism, (Brill, Aries Book Series, Volume: 23, 2018).

CHAPTER 1 One of the last true Renaissance men, physician, alchemist, and inventor Robert Fludd (1574-1637) wrote a series of books, filled with hundreds of detailed engravings, now recognized as the first fully illustrated encyclopedia. In this hardcover, highly illustrated reference, Joscelyn Godwin explains Fludd’s theories on the cosmos, man, and medicine. Buy the book here   CHAPTER 2 GREG'S CHOICE In each episode Greg Kaminsky, the creator of the great "Occult of Personality" podcast, presents again a book of his choice. "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." - Genesis 5:24. The Royal Arch of Enoch: The Impact of Masonic Ritual, Philosophy, and Symbolism documents an undiscovered historical anomaly: how a high degree Masonic Ritual, developed in France in the mid 1700s, included elements of the Book of Enoch which was considered lost until Freemason and traveler James Bruce returned to Europe with copies from Ethiopia in 1773.  Book details and purchase here Greg's Occult of Personality   Greg Kaminsky is a scholar of the Western esoteric tradition, with a graduate degree in Medieval Studies, focusing on Renaissance Cabala. Greg became an initiate in several traditions including Illuminism and Freemasonry. Greg is also host and producer of Occult of Personality, a highly regarded and long-running podcast. From her very early childhood on, Ursula Cserenyi‘s life was filled with spiritual experiences. Later she found the appropriate words in books. Occultism and esotericism have been a part of her life for more than 20 years. Her interests included Wicca, Theosophy, Ritual Magic, Thelema, Shamanism and other paths. Today she feels a strong connection with Josephine McCarthy’s Quareia work and Babalon, the Red Goddess. CHAPTER 3 The sheer diversity of popular magic connected with sacred wells and springs is remarkable. Inseparable from the ancient cults of saints and spirits of place, the natural springs and wellheads of the British Isles have come to be famed loci of healing, divination, and spiritual revelation. Some, possessing long traditions of votive and sacrificial offerings, have assumed powers of spirit-guardianship, or, indeed, divinities of water. Other such wells are the repositories of eldritch lore connected with the cult of the skull and the Holy Head. Additionally, bodies of magical practice have developed around some wells, serving a variety of magical purposes, including blessings and curses, healings and the dispensation of prophetic power. In almost every case, there is a specific magical relation between the waters as a medium of spirit, and the surrounding features of the land. The book is presented by Ursula Cserenyi.  Get the book here CHAPTER 4 For over 30 years Lon Milo DuQuette has written incisively about the tarot, magick, Qabalah, and divination and provided introductory material for the most renowned authors on these topics, such as Aleister Crowley, Israel Regardie, John Dee, Frater Achad, Rodney Orpheus, H. P. Lovecraft, Phyllis Seckler, John Michael Greer, Susan Montag, Donald Michael Kraig, and many others. Considered as a whole this collection of writings provides an invaluable introduction to many aspects and personalities of the occult and esoteric worlds by one of the foremost authorities on such arcane subjects. Collected here are Lon’s best writings, each crafted with an eye toward the importance and immortality of the work with his studied insight and scholarship, along with his renowned sense of humor.

On Thursday January 7th, 2016 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will celebrate the New Year by announcing the release of "Hermetic Yoga, Beyond the Middle Pillar, Volume One", on Amazon.com. Until this January the sale of this book has been offered only to Active and Associate Members of our Church and the O.T.A. at a special discount. Now we are offering it to the Magical community at large. Hermetic Yoga is somewhat controversial in its theoretical structure. It is a fully developed and extended version of the Golden Dawn's "Middle Pillar" system which is based on the downward progression of the Lightning Flash rather than the planetary letter assignments on the Paths on the Tree of Life. Citing Pythagoras, Robert Fludd, Jacob Boehme, Johann Gichtel, Rudolph von Sebottendorff and Manly Hall, this Rosicrucian version of the Western Interior Stars offers all the power and visionary magick of Eastern Tantric practice to those of us here in the West. So if you'd like to get inside yourself in a magical way and meet your Goddesses and Gods then tune in and we'll raise your dragon for the New Year!  

If you can't click on these links, visit our astonishinglegends.com.  Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural geological processes forming a sinkhole, plain and simple?  These are just some of the theories of what could be down in the infamous and mysterious "Money Pit" on Oak Island, Nova Scotia -- thought by many to be one of the greatest archeological mysteries of North America, and possibly the world. Background: Now that you've heard Parts 1 through 3 (hopefully!) covering the entire history and timeline of the Oak Island Money Pit, Part 4 covers most all of the theories out there of who could've built it, what they put down there and why. Tonight's Quote: "...I’ll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book." ~ Prospero, from William Shakespeare's (or Sir Francis Bacon's?) The Tempest; Act 5, Scene 1, Page 3 If you can't click on these links, visit our website. Apologies for this show being late, our computer died. In an effort to get it posted asap, we've published it even though we are still adding links to the show notes. Visit our webpage for this episode in a few hours for more links than you see listed below! Captain William Kidd The Knights Templar Pope Clement V The Kensington Runestone Nicolas Poussin The First Nations tribe of the Mi'kmaq of Canada's Atlantic Provinces A skeptical investigation of Oak Island by Joe Nickell Christian Rosenkreuz Rosicrucianism The pillars of Solomon's Temple, Boaz and Jachin Robert Fludd Lecture on Spiritual Alchemy and The Great Work Sir Francis Bacon Credits: Episode 021 - 'Oak Island Money Pit Part 4' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design , Special Thanks Tess Pfeifle  Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Ralph Lewis served as Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC from 1939 to 1987. In the reading of this article from the Rosicrucian Digest October 1956, he extols the courage and convictions of two great defenders of the Rosicrucians of the early 1600s—Robert Fludd of England and Michael Maier of Germany and explores Francis Bacon's […]

Paracelsian physician, hermeticist, early modern neo-platonist, theurgist, rosicrucian apologist, and golden-age alchemist. We've covered all the basics so you're ready for this guy.A show by podcastnik.com — visit the site for all projects and news. Visit HistoryofAlchemy.com for more background on the alchemists and concepts of this podcast. ☞ Check out our new show, Past Access! (YouTube Link) ☜ Twitter @Travis J Dow | @Podcastnik | @AlchemyPodcast — Facebook Podcastnik Page | Alchemy Podcast — Instagram @podcastnik Podcastnik YouTube | Podcastnik Audio Podcast ★ Support: PayPal | Patreon | Podcastnik Shop ★ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'Von den Verlorenen gerührt, die der Glaube nicht trug, erwachen die Trommeln im Fluss' is the title of each of two works, one painting and one floor installation. It is not uncommon for Kiefer to use the same titles again and again. This is because of his sustained commitment to certain themes that he pursues over many years. These two works represent two such themes in Kiefer's development and although they look very different as objects they are two sides of one key idea in his mature work. The horizon in Kiefer's work is always more than a landscape feature, it is highly charged symbolically. 'Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe' 1984-86 in the Gallery's collection includes a propeller which has the potential to fly over the horizon transcending the boundary between heaven and earth. In many of Kiefer's paintings and sculptures there are ladders, wings, rockets, Ziggurats, snakes and rainbows that all in some way suggest the idea of transcendence. The broken stairs in this work correspond to the broken propeller suggesting the dream of climbing above the horizon and yet it is a dream that is doomed to fail. This ambivalence towards transcendental aspiration is common to much art of the late twentieth century. For example Ken Unsworth's sculpture 'Rapture' 1994 in the Gallery's collection takes the form of a stairway to heaven frustrated when the stairs made of the keyboards of a grand piano arrive at the body of the piano which is stuffed with straw and will never sound the music of the spheres. The floor installation belongs to a body of works that reverse the passage between heaven and the earth. This is often represented by emanations from above sometimes in the form of poured lead attached to a painting or hanging in space like the finger of God. Many of Kiefer's recent works have more to do with the stars which according to the 16th century philosopher Robert Fludd each have their equivalent in a flower on the earth. Here we see a pile of glass plates that have fallen as a shower over piles of human hair (material human presence). Inscribed with one of 9000 star numbers, each piece of glass represents a heavenly intervention or emanation. Human hair is woven throughout the glass in a reference to the Egyptian Queen Berenice, who often appears in Kiefer’s works in the form of long locks of hair. Berenice was famous for her beauty and as an offering to the gods to bring her husband safely back from war, she cut her tresses and placed them on the temple altar. The Gods were so pleased with the offering that they took the hair into the sky where it became the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice’s hair). The constellation of Coma Berenices is centred between Canes Venatici to the north, Virgo to the south, Bootes on the east and Leo on the west border. The following text is taken from the 2005 exhibition literature when these works were first shown in London: Kiefer's elegiac oeuvre is based on a vast system of themes and references relating to the human condition, explored through a highly emotive use of material and medium. In his muscular artistic language, physical materiality and visual complexity are equal to the content itself, which ranges over sources as diverse as Teutonic mythology and history, alchemy, apocalypse, and belief. As corollary to this breadth of content, Kiefer employs an almost bewildering variety of materials including - in addition to the thick oil paint that is the base of all his large-scale works - dirt, lead, models, photographs, woodcuts, sand, straw and all manner of organic material. By adding 'real' materials to the illusionistic painted surface of his gigantic tableaux, he has invented a compelling 'third space' between painting and sculpture. Few contemporary artists match Kiefer's epic reach; the provocative and paradoxical nature of his work suggests that he embraces the notion of the modern artist who stands resolutely outside society, flaunting its histories, its taboos and its myths. By assimilating and utilizing the conventions and traditions of history painting, he goes beyond them, mingling viewpoints and presenting contradictory interpretations while emulating the genre's grandiloquence. Anselm Kiefer was born in 1945 in Donaueschingen. As a young artist in a Germany reeling from the after-shocks of the Second World War, he opted for a thoroughly and obviously indigenous art, of native subjects, values and symbols that contended with the fraught territory of German history and identity. In the late 1970s he started to make large, highly worked books that began with photographs staged in his studio, gradually gaining body through the application of lead, paint and other collage elements. These impressive objects indicated the way to the complex, process-oriented works of his mature period. In 1991 Kiefer left Germany, eventually settling in the south of France. In the same year he made an exhibition of paintings stacked randomly on top of each other as if discarded. This led to a hiatus in his art production that lasted more than three years. After this he began making new work with a wholly new subject matter, themes and references, dealing with central spiritual and philosophical concerns of our time. Over the past four decades, Kiefer has exhibited his work extensively throughout the world and is included in the world's most prestigious public and private collections.

'Von den Verlorenen gerührt, die der Glaube nicht trug, erwachen die Trommeln im Fluss' is the title of each of two works, one painting and one floor installation. It is not uncommon for Kiefer to use the same titles again and again. This is because of his sustained commitment to certain themes that he pursues over many years. These two works represent two such themes in Kiefer's development and although they look very different as objects they are two sides of one key idea in his mature work. The horizon in Kiefer's work is always more than a landscape feature, it is highly charged symbolically. 'Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe' 1984-86 in the Gallery's collection includes a propeller which has the potential to fly over the horizon transcending the boundary between heaven and earth. In many of Kiefer's paintings and sculptures there are ladders, wings, rockets, Ziggurats, snakes and rainbows that all in some way suggest the idea of transcendence. The broken stairs in 'Von den Verlorenen gerührt...' correspond to the broken propeller suggesting the dream of climbing above the horizon and yet it is a dream that is doomed to fail. This ambivalence towards transcendental aspiration is common to much art of the late twentieth century. For example Ken Unsworth's sculpture 'Rapture' 1994 in the Gallery's collection takes the form of a stairway to heaven frustrated when the stairs made of the keyboards of a grand piano arrive at the body of the piano which is stuffed with straw and will never sound the music of the spheres. The floor installation belongs to a body of works that reverse the passage between heaven and the earth. This is often represented by emanations from above sometimes in the form of poured lead attached to a painting or hanging in space like the finger of God. Many of Kiefer's recent works have more to do with the stars which according to the 16th century philosopher Robert Fludd each have their equivalent in a flower on the earth. Here we see a pile of glass plates that have fallen as a shower over piles of human hair (material human presence). Inscribed with one of 9000 star numbers, each piece of glass represents a heavenly intervention or emanation. Human hair is woven throughout the glass in a reference to the Egyptian Queen Berenice, who often appears in Kiefer’s works in the form of long locks of hair. Berenice was famous for her beauty and as an offering to the gods to bring her husband safely back from war, she cut her tresses and placed them on the temple altar. The Gods were so pleased with the offering that they took the hair into the sky where it became the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice’s hair). The constellation of Coma Berenices is centred between Canes Venatici to the north, Virgo to the south, Bootes on the east and Leo on the west border. The following text is taken from the 2005 exhibition literature when these works were first shown in London: Kiefer's elegiac oeuvre is based on a vast system of themes and references relating to the human condition, explored through a highly emotive use of material and medium. In his muscular artistic language, physical materiality and visual complexity are equal to the content itself, which ranges over sources as diverse as Teutonic mythology and history, alchemy, apocalypse, and belief. As corollary to this breadth of content, Kiefer employs an almost bewildering variety of materials including - in addition to the thick oil paint that is the base of all his large-scale works - dirt, lead, models, photographs, woodcuts, sand, straw and all manner of organic material. By adding 'real' materials to the illusionistic painted surface of his gigantic tableaux, he has invented a compelling 'third space' between painting and sculpture. Few contemporary artists match Kiefer's epic reach; the provocative and paradoxical nature of his work suggests that he embraces the notion of the modern artist who stands resolutely outside society, flaunting its histories, its taboos and its myths. By assimilating and utilizing the conventions and traditions of history painting, he goes beyond them, mingling viewpoints and presenting contradictory interpretations while emulating the genre's grandiloquence. Anselm Kiefer was born in 1945 in Donaueschingen. As a young artist in a Germany reeling from the after-shocks of the Second World War, he opted for a thoroughly and obviously indigenous art, of native subjects, values and symbols that contended with the fraught territory of German history and identity. In the late 1970s he started to make large, highly worked books that began with photographs staged in his studio, gradually gaining body through the application of lead, paint and other collage elements. These impressive objects indicated the way to the complex, process-oriented works of his mature period. In 1991 Kiefer left Germany, eventually settling in the south of France. In the same year he made an exhibition of paintings stacked randomly on top of each other as if discarded. This led to a hiatus in his art production that lasted more than three years. After this he began making new work with a wholly new subject matter, themes and references, dealing with central spiritual and philosophical concerns of our time. Over the past four decades, Kiefer has exhibited his work extensively throughout the world and is included in the world's most prestigious public and private collections.

'Von den Verlorenen gerührt, die der Glaube nicht trug, erwachen die Trommeln im Fluss' is the title of each of two works, one painting and one floor installation. It is not uncommon for Kiefer to use the same titles again and again. This is because of his sustained commitment to certain themes that he pursues over many years. These two works represent two such themes in Kiefer's development and although they look very different as objects they are two sides of one key idea in his mature work. The horizon in Kiefer's work is always more than a landscape feature, it is highly charged symbolically. 'Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe' 1984-86 in the Gallery's collection includes a propeller which has the potential to fly over the horizon transcending the boundary between heaven and earth. In many of Kiefer's paintings and sculptures there are ladders, wings, rockets, Ziggurats, snakes and rainbows that all in some way suggest the idea of transcendence. The broken stairs in 'Von den Verlorenen gerührt...' correspond to the broken propeller suggesting the dream of climbing above the horizon and yet it is a dream that is doomed to fail. This ambivalence towards transcendental aspiration is common to much art of the late twentieth century. For example Ken Unsworth's sculpture 'Rapture' 1994 in the Gallery's collection takes the form of a stairway to heaven frustrated when the stairs made of the keyboards of a grand piano arrive at the body of the piano which is stuffed with straw and will never sound the music of the spheres. The floor installation belongs to a body of works that reverse the passage between heaven and the earth. This is often represented by emanations from above sometimes in the form of poured lead attached to a painting or hanging in space like the finger of God. Many of Kiefer's recent works have more to do with the stars which according to the 16th century philosopher Robert Fludd each have their equivalent in a flower on the earth. Here we see a pile of glass plates that have fallen as a shower over piles of human hair (material human presence). Inscribed with one of 9000 star numbers, each piece of glass represents a heavenly intervention or emanation. Human hair is woven throughout the glass in a reference to the Egyptian Queen Berenice, who often appears in Kiefer’s works in the form of long locks of hair. Berenice was famous for her beauty and as an offering to the gods to bring her husband safely back from war, she cut her tresses and placed them on the temple altar. The Gods were so pleased with the offering that they took the hair into the sky where it became the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice’s hair). The constellation of Coma Berenices is centred between Canes Venatici to the north, Virgo to the south, Bootes on the east and Leo on the west border. The following text is taken from the 2005 exhibition literature when these works were first shown in London: Kiefer's elegiac oeuvre is based on a vast system of themes and references relating to the human condition, explored through a highly emotive use of material and medium. In his muscular artistic language, physical materiality and visual complexity are equal to the content itself, which ranges over sources as diverse as Teutonic mythology and history, alchemy, apocalypse, and belief. As corollary to this breadth of content, Kiefer employs an almost bewildering variety of materials including - in addition to the thick oil paint that is the base of all his large-scale works - dirt, lead, models, photographs, woodcuts, sand, straw and all manner of organic material. By adding 'real' materials to the illusionistic painted surface of his gigantic tableaux, he has invented a compelling 'third space' between painting and sculpture. Few contemporary artists match Kiefer's epic reach; the provocative and paradoxical nature of his work suggests that he embraces the notion of the modern artist who stands resolutely outside society, flaunting its histories, its taboos and its myths. By assimilating and utilizing the conventions and traditions of history painting, he goes beyond them, mingling viewpoints and presenting contradictory interpretations while emulating the genre's grandiloquence. Anselm Kiefer was born in 1945 in Donaueschingen. As a young artist in a Germany reeling from the after-shocks of the Second World War, he opted for a thoroughly and obviously indigenous art, of native subjects, values and symbols that contended with the fraught territory of German history and identity. In the late 1970s he started to make large, highly worked books that began with photographs staged in his studio, gradually gaining body through the application of lead, paint and other collage elements. These impressive objects indicated the way to the complex, process-oriented works of his mature period. In 1991 Kiefer left Germany, eventually settling in the south of France. In the same year he made an exhibition of paintings stacked randomly on top of each other as if discarded. This led to a hiatus in his art production that lasted more than three years. After this he began making new work with a wholly new subject matter, themes and references, dealing with central spiritual and philosophical concerns of our time. Over the past four decades, Kiefer has exhibited his work extensively throughout the world and is included in the world's most prestigious public and private collections.