Fulcanelli facts for kids
Fulcanelli was the name of a mysterious French alchemist and writer who lived in the 1920s. No one knows his real name, and his identity is still a secret. The name Fulcanelli might come from "Vulcan," the Roman god of fire, and "El," an old name for God. This could mean "Sacred Fire."
People are fascinated by Fulcanelli because so much about his life and writings is unknown. He also simply disappeared. It is said that he changed lead into gold not once, but twice! The first time was in 1922. He and his student, Eugène Canseliet, supposedly turned 100 grams of lead into gold. This happened in a lab in Sarcelles, France. They used a special "Projection Powder," also known as the Philosopher's Stone, which Fulcanelli had made.
The second time was in 1937 at a castle called Château de Léré. Fulcanelli reportedly changed 225 grams of lead into gold. He also supposedly turned 100 grams of silver into uranium. Scientists like a chemist, two physicists, and a geologist were said to be there. After this, Fulcanelli was never seen again.
Contents
Who Was Fulcanelli?
Fulcanelli was probably a French person who knew a lot about alchemy, architecture, art, science, and languages. He wrote two important books. They were published after he disappeared in 1926. He left his main book, Le Mystère des Cathédrales (The Mystery of the Cathedrals), with his only student, Eugène Canseliet. Only 300 copies of the first edition were printed in Paris.
Many people have guessed who Fulcanelli really was. Some think he might have been a famous French expert in hidden knowledge. Others believe he was part of an old royal family, the House of Valois. He might also have been a member of a secret group called the Frères d'Heliopolis (Brothers of Heliopolis). This group included Eugène Canseliet, Jean-Julien Champagne, and Jules Boucher.
Patrick Rivière, who was a student of Canseliet, thought Fulcanelli was actually Jules Violle. Violle was a well-known French physicist. A book from 1996 compared the writing of Jean-Julien Hubert Champagne and Fulcanelli. It showed that their writing styles were very similar.
By 1916, Fulcanelli had accepted Canseliet, who was only sixteen, as his first student. Later, in 1921, he taught the sons of Ferdinand de Lesseps. In 1922, he took on two more students: Jules Boucher and Gaston Sauvage. In 1925, Fulcanelli moved to a new address in Paris. It is said that he successfully changed common metals into gold there.
However, many reports from 1910 to 1940 suggest that Julien Champagne was the real author. Or perhaps he was inspired by the ideas of librarian Pierre Dujols. The name "Fulcanelli" first appeared around 1910. It was used by Jeanne-Emilie Baheux de Puysieux, the wife of sculptor Auguste Bartholdi.
In 1960, a popular book called The Morning of the Magicians was published. It was written by Pauwels and Bergier. This book made the mystery of Fulcanelli, the Master Alchemist, famous around the world.
Fulcanelli disappeared completely after World War II. No one could find him. In 1945, American military intelligence tried to find him. They wanted to know if he had information about German atomic energy research. But Jacques Bergier, who knew Fulcanelli, said he couldn't be found.
Fulcanelli's Warning
Walter Lang wrote that Fulcanelli contacted Jacques Bergier. Fulcanelli wanted to warn French atomic physicist André Helbronner about the danger of nuclear weapons. Fulcanelli said that these powerful weapons had been used before by humans. Sadly, Professor Helbronner and Constant Chevillon were killed by the Gestapo near the end of World War II.
The meeting between Jacques Bergier and Fulcanelli reportedly happened in June 1937. It took place in a laboratory in Paris. Here is what Fulcanelli supposedly told Bergier:
"You are very close to a big discovery, just like other scientists today. Please, be very careful. I warn you... Releasing nuclear power is easier than you think. The radioactivity made by humans can poison our planet's air very quickly, in just a few years. Also, atomic explosives can be made from tiny amounts of metal. They are powerful enough to destroy entire cities. I am telling you this for a fact: alchemists have known this for a very long time..."
Fulcanelli also said: "I won't try to prove what I'm about to say. But I ask you to tell Mr. Helbronner: certain shapes of very pure materials can release atomic forces. You don't need electricity or special vacuum tools. The secret of alchemy is this: there is a way to control matter and energy. This creates what modern scientists call 'a field of force.' This field helps the person observing it. It puts them in a special place to see the universe. From this place, they can see things usually hidden by time, space, matter, and energy. This is what we call the Great Work."
When Bergier asked about the Philosopher's Stone, Fulcanelli replied: "...the most important thing is not changing metals. It's about changing the person doing the experiment. This is an old secret that a few people rediscover every century. But sadly, only a few succeed..."
A Meeting in Spain
According to Canseliet, he met Fulcanelli one last time in 1953. This was years after Fulcanelli had disappeared. Canseliet went to Spain and was taken to a castle high in the mountains. There, he met his old teacher. Canseliet had known Fulcanelli as an old man in his 80s. But now, Fulcanelli looked younger and had changed physically. He looked like an androgynous creature, which Fulcanelli called "The Divine Androgyne." The meeting was short, and Fulcanelli disappeared again without a trace.
The Phonetic Cabala
Fulcanelli talked about something called the "Phonetic Cabala." This was his special way of using language. It used similar sounds and other symbolic tricks to give words deeper meanings. Fulcanelli said it was not the same as the Hebrew Kabbalah. He said his "Cabala" came from the Latin word caballus, meaning "horse," like the Horse of Troy.
His method was based on sounds and how words echo each other. It was not about numbers. It used the sounds and echoes of words to connect to "The Gay Science" and the words of ancient Greek gods spoken in sacred ancient Greek names. Walter Lang, who wrote an introduction to the English version of Fulcanelli's Le Mystère des Cathédrales, said that the main ideas of the Phonetic Cabala are explained in Fulcanelli's main book.
Fulcanelli's Books
Fulcanelli wrote two books:
- Le Mystère des Cathédrales (The Mystery of the Cathedrals), written in 1922 and published in Paris in 1926.
- Les Demeures Philosophales (Dwellings of the Philosophers), published in Paris in 1929.
These books are written in a difficult and scholarly way. They are full of Latin and Greek wordplay, alchemical symbols, and hidden meanings. They also use special language like Argot and Cant. This makes them hard for regular readers to understand.
A third book, Finis Gloriae Mundi (End of the World's Glory), was also supposedly being prepared. Fulcanelli left the notes for this book with his student, Canseliet, for a while. But Fulcanelli decided it was not the right time to publish it, so it never came out. A book with the same name, claiming Fulcanelli as the author, was published much later. However, it was shown to be a fake.
See also
In Spanish: Fulcanelli para niños
