The Hermetic Tradition: Symbols and Teachings of the Royal Art by Julius Evola

The Hermetic Tradition: Symbols and Teachings of the Royal Art Reviews

• 
  TR

  A fascinating and comprehensive primer on Hermetecism, perhaps the Western/Aryan 'Zen' (or better perhaps, Zen is a less dynamic, Oriental 'Hermeticism'). Evola, as always, writes with precision and erudition. Recommended for all interested in the esoteric, and especially those who think the east has a monopoly on detached spirituality and enlightenment.
  
  This should probably be read multiple times.
• 
  Jacob Aitken

  Short of it: the first half was quite good, but the second half was either incoherent or just plain wrong. Julius Evola correctly notes that the ancient teaching of alchemy wasn't simply about transmuting metals. It was about developing the soul (or ascending to higher realms). Using alchemical language, he offers a manual for purifying the soul.
  
  In the first half of the book he decodes numerous symbols. These discussions are often exhilarating and always exciting. They reveal a robust metaphysics which has strong affinities with Christianity and Torah/Prophets. For example, "chaos" simply means the realm of undifferentiated potentiality--prime matter. Saturn is heaviness, inertia. "The Tomb," infamous in Plato, notes the body By itself and apart from the animating spirit, it is dead matter, the flux of chaos. The hermeticist does not want to escape the body because it is bad, but to temporarily separate to reestablish a dominating and causal solar principle.
  
  All well and good. And then comes the second half. To be honest, I am not sure what he was getting at. And it's probably best I didn't.
• 
  Mario

  A complex and fascinating masterpiece from a master of the western tradition. If you're hoping to find a detailed manual for self initiation you will be disappointed, a crystal clear exposition and a philological approach to an immense body of sources sheds no light on the processes of western hermetic tradition, yet it's by far one of the best books about it. To be read at least twice.
• 
  Lucas

  I think a lot of the confusion in the second half of the book stems from Evola's overcomplication of the subject with the use of too many words, for a process that is really intuitive to anyone half-versed in spiritual alchemy. If only he put a little more faith in the readers ability to allow his words to reveal themselves to them, this section would be much more useful and easier to understand. But by overworking his definitions it kind of stiffens and somewhat kills his intent, and inadvertently creates blinds, and makes this section almost useless. Like how someone wants their words to be so perfect they spend so much time going back and editing and refining them until they lose all life they originally had. That being said there is still great material in this section, and I found it easier to digest by not overthinking parts that were less understandable, trying to keep the flow of Evola's thought process in tact, understanding the big picture rather than straining to figure out every little detail.
  The first half of the book however is absolutely Five Star material and I will be revisiting that part again in the future.
• 
  JA

  It's terse, it's dense, perhaps the translation could have been a bit simpler, but wow, what a unique perspective on the Royal Art and Western Esoterica. While most of the material on Alchemy and Hermetism is filtered through the eyes of Anglo-Britain, Evola gives the Southern European. Latinized perspective if I may be so bold. Be aware this is not a book on laboratory praxis, although it can inspire the lab alchemist, Evola instead encompasses the 'bigger picture' for the gentle reader, and indeed all roads lead to the Soul.
• 
  Christian

  Maybe the best of Evola. Few entirely unfounded historical aberrations, but a wealth of symbols, presented in an interesting, thought-provoking manner based on surprinsingly rich sourcematerial. The "practical" (although quite theoretical) second half is weaker, more rambling. You can see traces of his later "absolute individual" already, so tread carefully (since this is not the goal of alchemy, at least not in the sense he means it), but the exposition throughout the first part is priceless.
• 
  Kanaria

  It's decent, but i believe my critique relies on Hermetic symbolism moreso than this book itself. It felt like a lot of the symbolism was pulled from too many places/religion and not properly synergized to make a coherent picture. My standards were set a little high because i thought the picture was painted rather well with the tree chapter.
  
  The rest of it was mostly elemental and cosmological reductions. Just because water molds with everything doesn't mean everything had to be reduced to water/mercury. Regardless this book was decent and did it's job, but felt scattered in certain places. It did a fine job at the "lifecycle" of goign through the elements and stages of life though.
• 
  Eric

  A fascinating, although still obscure and infinitely unpackable look at Hermetico-Alchemical thought as a metaphysical system. The book invites multiple readings as the early crash course in Alchemical symbolism only really begins to do work later, and so a lot of revisiting is required to fully appreciate the explanations given earlier in the book as well as the usage of the symbols later in the work.
• 
  Jason

  The best introduction to alchemy available in English. Don't expect to understand it for a while.
• 
  Anja Weber

  Tradition and symbolism, Jung and lot of links with past..Interesting and provoking..
• 
  David

  This is not a book to be read but a work to be studied. Very interesting
• 
  no.stache.nietzsche

  This was a fairly tricky read. It isn't trying to be, but it the topic is dense and although the short, topical chapters were probably as approachable as possible without becoming quaint, they were still a struggle to read- at least on the first time through. We were pretty much entirely green to this topic upon picking up this text, but next time we will have much more context. The later chapters, and the second section generally, certainly went down easier, but the earlier portions were of course essential to set a vocabulary for dealing with this obstruse topic. This certainly wont be the only time we read this book.. but we're likely going to read all or most of Evola's other works before returning to it again.
• 
  Brian K.

  A book consisting of 2 parts, the first of which is designed to help the student grasp an understanding of the rich symbolism of the hermetic teachings. The second half is to help the student put into action what they've learned. This is a book that will serve as a resource for anyone that wants to continue to walk the path of the Alchemic Philosopher, and one that should reveal more to you each time you read it. Based on the language of the book ( translated text as well as an older way of communicating) combined with the hidden meaning of all that is contained within these pages, it can be a tough read at times but don't let that deter you from ingesting it's nutrients.
• 
  Will Jones

  A complex read; did not enjoy it as much as other books by Evola. Some parts were interesting; other parts felt like I was reading a horoscope. Most of it flew over my head, and I am not interested enough in alchemy to really study it. Not for casual reading. Surprising to see Nicholas Flamel and the Philosophers Stone mentioned quite a few times, which might be interesting to Harry Potter fans. Lots of footnotes; thoroughly researched.
• 
  Allen Svensson

  This was my introduction to Evola and I've got to say that he writes beautifully. This work does wonders in the way of semiotics and comparative myth. It also melds together well with the theosophists of his time, particularly Steiner, and his grand cosmogonic themes. The merit of what the hermeticists came to understand is undeniable, and persists as an invitation to those who still thirst for the metaphysical.
• 
  Marzio Fagioli

  If you had to choose one single book to learn about alchemy this one would be it.
  Just like other books of evola this is a beautifully structured and thorough study of alchemy and Hermeticism. As you would expect from a perennial philosopher, you will not only learn alchemy and Hermeticism but also small bits of information about other mystery schools and traditions.
• 
  Brendan

  Evola's study of alchemy is definitely geared toward an extremely scholastic audience. Nonetheless, his presentation is fantastic, erudite and incisive, with an eye to almost microscopic detail. I definitely plan on returning to this book again.
• 
  Ietrio

  A formulaic description of some rituals and symbols. Like school curricula, something you might need if you have to pass an exam about it. Otherwise, completely useless.
• 
  Strauss

  I’m sure that some people will get more out of this than I did. Not for me.
• 
  seismic

  Pretty interesting work on Alchemy, if you put aside his personal political views at least.
• 
  Set11

  simple yet efficient and throughout explanation of basics of alchemy
• 
  Aarón

  Fascinating stuff although it was not what I was looking for, I expected it to be focused more on the history part of it.
• 
  Chinmayee Kulkarni

  brilliantly informative. must return to complete my knowledge after getting a better grip on alchemical definitons
• 
  Sosen

  I read Evola's book The Fall of Spirituality, where he complained about a lot of spiritual movements in the world, and I liked that complaining. Then, I started to read this book, where he talks about his own spirituality, and I didn't like that as much as the complaining. Recommended for: You, because you were always too edgy for Harry Potter.
• 
  Mitchell26 McLaughlin

  I was looking for something Hermetic, while this was fully Alchemical.
• 
  Ever

  Fairly dense, but fascinating and worth studying.