Difference between revisions of "Papus"
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[[File:Papus portrait by Deslandes.jpg|thumb|240px|alt=Oil portrait of Papus seated at a writing desk.|Papus, painted by Auguste-Émile Deslandes, probably 1899. Public domain.]] | [[File:Papus portrait by Deslandes.jpg|thumb|240px|alt=Oil portrait of Papus seated at a writing desk.|Papus, painted by Auguste-Émile Deslandes, probably 1899. Public domain.]] | ||
'''Papus''' was the pen name of '''Gérard Encausse''' (13 July 1865 – 25 October 1916), a French physician, occultist and organiser of the modern Martinist movement. He founded the journal ''L’Initiation'' in 1888 and later led a French Memphis-Misraïm organisation.<ref name="papus">[https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb119017481 Bibliothèque nationale de France, authority record for Gérard Encausse (1865–1916)].</ref><ref name="bricaud">[https://www.linitiation.eu/memphis-misraim/historique-de-memphis-misraim Jean Bricaud, historical notes on Memphis-Misraïm (1933), updated by Constant Chevillon (1938), reproduced by <i>L’Initiation</i> as “Historique de Memphis-Misraïm”; an account written by leaders of the rite].</ref> | '''Papus''' was the pen name of '''Gérard Encausse''' (13 July 1865 – 25 October 1916), a French physician, occultist and organiser of the modern Martinist movement. He founded the journal ''L’Initiation'' in 1888 and later led a French Memphis-Misraïm organisation.<ref name="papus">[https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb119017481 Bibliothèque nationale de France, authority record for Gérard Encausse (1865–1916)].</ref><ref name="bricaud">[https://www.linitiation.eu/memphis-misraim/historique-de-memphis-misraim Jean Bricaud, historical notes on Memphis-Misraïm (1933), updated by Constant Chevillon (1938), reproduced by <i>L’Initiation</i> as “Historique de Memphis-Misraïm”; an account written by leaders of the rite].</ref> | ||
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| + | ==Early interests== | ||
| + | Encausse was born at A Coruña in Spain to a French father and a Spanish mother and grew up in Paris. His reading of Louis Lucas and Éliphas Lévi accompanied his medical studies. He joined the Theosophical Society in 1887 but broke with it in 1890, objecting to the priority it gave to Eastern traditions. Christian Rebisse's account places this disagreement in the development of Papus's own programme of Western esoteric study.<ref>Christian Rebisse, [https://www.martiniste.org/papus-1865-1916/ “Papus (1865–1916)”], Ordre Martiniste Traditionnel.</ref> | ||
==Publishing and Martinism== | ==Publishing and Martinism== | ||
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In 1891 Papus and his associates established the first Supreme Council of the modern Martinist Order. ''L’Initiation'' provided a forum for occult philosophy, Masonic symbolism and related subjects, but the journal’s own history distinguishes it institutionally from the order.<ref name="review">[https://www.linitiation.eu/historique-de-la-revue <i>L’Initiation</i>, “Historique de la Revue”, account of the journal and the Martinist Order].</ref> | In 1891 Papus and his associates established the first Supreme Council of the modern Martinist Order. ''L’Initiation'' provided a forum for occult philosophy, Masonic symbolism and related subjects, but the journal’s own history distinguishes it institutionally from the order.<ref name="review">[https://www.linitiation.eu/historique-de-la-revue <i>L’Initiation</i>, “Historique de la Revue”, account of the journal and the Martinist Order].</ref> | ||
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| + | ==Music and analogy== | ||
| + | Papus collaborated with Delius on ''Anatomie et physiologie de l'orchestre'', published by Chamuel in Paris in 1894. The work also appeared in the September 1894 issue of ''L'Initiation''. It applied analogies between orchestral organisation, human anatomy and an esoteric account of creation.<ref>''L'Initiation'', [https://www.linitiation.eu/sommaires-complets-1888-2024/ancienne-serie-1888-a-1914/1894-1895-1896 contents for September 1894].</ref><ref name="mathews">Paul Mathews, “Anatomie et physiologie de l'orchestre by Delius and Papus: A Translation and Commentary”, ''Theoria'', 15 (2008), [https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc228354/m1/64/ p. 63], University of North Texas Digital Library.</ref> | ||
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| + | In his translation and commentary, Paul Mathews explains that the authors used Hermetic Kabbalah as a framework for interpreting the orchestra. They did not present an orchestra as a device for communication with supernatural beings. The collaboration is an example of Papus applying his method of correspondences to an artistic subject.<ref name="mathews" /> | ||
==Masonic activity== | ==Masonic activity== | ||
Latest revision as of 12:16, 1 October 2026
Papus was the pen name of Gérard Encausse (13 July 1865 – 25 October 1916), a French physician, occultist and organiser of the modern Martinist movement. He founded the journal L’Initiation in 1888 and later led a French Memphis-Misraïm organisation.[1][2]
Early interests
Encausse was born at A Coruña in Spain to a French father and a Spanish mother and grew up in Paris. His reading of Louis Lucas and Éliphas Lévi accompanied his medical studies. He joined the Theosophical Society in 1887 but broke with it in 1890, objecting to the priority it gave to Eastern traditions. Christian Rebisse's account places this disagreement in the development of Papus's own programme of Western esoteric study.[3]
Publishing and Martinism
Papus’s writings sought to bring several esoteric traditions into a common account. His early books included L’occultisme contemporain (1887) and Traité élémentaire de science occulte (1888). The BnF catalogue also records his writings on Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, the figure after whom Martinism takes its name.[4]
In 1891 Papus and his associates established the first Supreme Council of the modern Martinist Order. L’Initiation provided a forum for occult philosophy, Masonic symbolism and related subjects, but the journal’s own history distinguishes it institutionally from the order.[5]
Music and analogy
Papus collaborated with Delius on Anatomie et physiologie de l'orchestre, published by Chamuel in Paris in 1894. The work also appeared in the September 1894 issue of L'Initiation. It applied analogies between orchestral organisation, human anatomy and an esoteric account of creation.[6][7]
In his translation and commentary, Paul Mathews explains that the authors used Hermetic Kabbalah as a framework for interpreting the orchestra. They did not present an orchestra as a device for communication with supernatural beings. The collaboration is an example of Papus applying his method of correspondences to an artistic subject.[7]
Masonic activity
Papus organised an international Masonic conference in Paris in 1908. Howe and Möller’s study of Theodor Reuss records that the participants accepted a warrant from Reuss for a French body working the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis and Misraïm. This was outside the Grand Orient de France.[8]
Bricaud’s chronology names Papus as Grand Master under the charter of 24 June 1908, with Charles Détré (Teder) as deputy.[2] His Martinist leadership was a separate office.[8]
Reading Papus
His Martinésisme, Willermosisme, Martinisme et Franc-Maçonnerie (1899) sets out his interpretation of the relationships among those movements. It is a source for his own programme and historical claims, rather than an independent account of the order he helped establish.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ Bibliothèque nationale de France, authority record for Gérard Encausse (1865–1916).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jean Bricaud, historical notes on Memphis-Misraïm (1933), updated by Constant Chevillon (1938), reproduced by L’Initiation as “Historique de Memphis-Misraïm”; an account written by leaders of the rite.
- ↑ Christian Rebisse, “Papus (1865–1916)”, Ordre Martiniste Traditionnel.
- ↑ Bibliothèque nationale de France, works catalogued under Papus (1865–1916).
- ↑ L’Initiation, “Historique de la Revue”, account of the journal and the Martinist Order.
- ↑ L'Initiation, contents for September 1894.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Paul Mathews, “Anatomie et physiologie de l'orchestre by Delius and Papus: A Translation and Commentary”, Theoria, 15 (2008), p. 63, University of North Texas Digital Library.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ellic Howe and Helmut Möller, “Theodor Reuss”, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, transcription hosted by the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon; section on the 1908 Paris conference.
- ↑ Papus, Martinésisme, Willermosisme, Martinisme et Franc-Maçonnerie, 1899; historical text presented by L’Initiation.
Memphis-Misraïm: Overview · Misraïm · Memphis · History · Degrees and organisation · Egyptian symbolism · Organisations and recognition · Regalia and imagery · Sources and further reading
People: Bédarride brothers · Marconis de Nègre · John Yarker · Giuseppe Garibaldi · Papus · Jean Bricaud · Constant Chevillon · Robert Ambelain
Background: Hermeticism · Martinism · Masonic glossary · Comparison with related traditions