Joséphin Péladan facts for kids
Joséphin Péladan (born March 28, 1858, in Lyon, died June 27, 1918, in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French writer and a member of a group called the Rosicrucians. Later, he briefly joined another group called the Martinist order, led by Papus. His father was a journalist who wrote about prophecies and had his own special ideas about Rosicrucianism and Catholicism. Joséphin Péladan started the Salon de la Rose + Croix, a special art show for artists, writers, and musicians who shared his artistic ideas, especially those called Symbolists.
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Who Was Joséphin Péladan?
Early Life and Interests
Péladan grew up in Lyon, France, in a very religious Roman Catholic family. He went to schools run by Jesuits in Avignon and Nîmes. After he didn't pass his high school exams, Péladan moved to Paris. There, he became a writer and critic who wrote about books and art. His older brother, Adrien, also studied alchemy and hidden knowledge.
Péladan was a very active part of the "French Occult Revival," a time when many people in France became interested in magic and secret traditions. He greatly influenced French and Belgian Symbolist art. However, he was often seen as strange and bossy, so many people made fun of him during his life. He was quickly forgotten after he died young from eating bad shellfish.
Starting His Career
In 1882, Péladan came to Paris. Arsene Houssaye gave him a job at his art magazine, L'Artiste. In 1884, Péladan published his first novel, Le vice suprême. This book became very popular right away because people in France were becoming interested in spirituality and mystery again. The novel was printed many times.
Péladan's novel Le vice suprême and his later books were full of Rosicrucian and occult (hidden knowledge) themes. He often shared plans for his future books in the back of his published ones. After reading Péladan's first novel, the French poet Stanislas de Guaita became interested in hidden knowledge. They wrote many letters to each other before finally meeting in Paris.
Péladan was somewhat influenced by the teachings of Eliphas Lévi. But his main ideas came from the Rosicrucian group in Toulouse, which his brother Adrien had introduced him to. This group focused on doing good in the world and aiming for high spiritual goals. Péladan brought de Guaita into his group. Soon after, de Guaita shared his idea of creating a special school that would combine and bring back old spiritual orders. After meeting Gérard Encausse, de Guaita convinced Péladan that they should work together on this project.
Encausse, who used the name "Papus," was a doctor and expert in hidden knowledge from France, born in Spain. He had written books about magic, Kabbalah, and the Tarot. In 1888, these three men started the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Cross (O.K.R.C.).
Working with Other Occultists
Among other things, the O.K.R.C. taught a special kind of Kabbalah. This was a mystical way of understanding the Hebrew Bible and divine nature. Other members of the group added ideas from Martinism, Masonic groups, and Theosophy. The order also gave exams and offered special degrees in hidden knowledge topics. De Guaita had a very large private library filled with books on spiritual topics, magic, and "hidden sciences." People at the time called him the "Prince of the Rosicrucians" because he knew so much about Rosicrucian ideas.
By the 1890s, De Guaita, Papus, and Péladan started to disagree more and more about their plans and beliefs. De Guaita and Papus lost Péladan's support. Péladan then left to start his own group that matched his vision better. In June 1890, Péladan created a group called the Ordre du Temple de la Rose + Croix, which was somewhat like a Catholic order. He named himself the Grand Master and set up an open structure with three levels: Squire, Knight, and Commander. Members could serve based on their skills: through arts and sciences, through a changed version of the Catholic faith, or through a more spiritual connection with the Holy Spirit. Péladan dreamed of a worldwide network of members using their best talents to help humanity.
His Own Order and Art Shows
The Ordre du Temple de la Rose + Croix became Péladan's way to share his beliefs about how spirituality and ideals should be part of art. As an art critic, Péladan had often spoken out against the popular art styles in France. These included styles approved by the official art academy and the Impressionists.
He believed that art with hidden spiritual messages and symbols could help people become more spiritually aware. He wrote his main book, L'art idéaliste et mystique: Doctrine de l'ordre et du salon annuel des Roses-Croix (1894), to explain his ideas and vision. He later added to this in Amphithéâtre des Sciences Mortes, a series of seven spiritual guidebooks for regular readers who wanted to learn and grow on their own.
Through his order, Péladan organized six art shows between 1892 and 1897. These were called the Salons de la Rose + Croix. They featured Symbolist artists and other new French artists, writers, and musicians. The Salons were very popular with the news and the public. However, they didn't quite change French art as much as Péladan had hoped. Still, Péladan had a strong impact on many famous writers, like August Strindberg and Ezra Pound, and on literature and poetry in Latin America. His spiritual ideas were also used by other spiritual movements in the 20th century, sometimes with credit and sometimes without.
Péladan used the special name Sâr Mérodack until about 1900. At that time, he became disappointed that people didn't understand his vision, and he quietly stopped using the name. People at the time made fun of Péladan for pretending to be a Babylonian Mage and claiming the title was passed down in his family. However, he explained in his writings that choosing this name and identifying with Merodack (the Babylonian god Marduk) was part of his spiritual training system. In this system, one tries to become their highest ideal.
Péladan's Writings
Péladan wrote over a hundred books, novels, and plays. They were all connected in a detailed way to reach readers from all walks of life. His novels are seen as symbolic works meant to spark a spiritual awakening in the reader. His non-fiction books about hidden knowledge are like handbooks for learning and growing on your own.
- Le Vice suprême, novel, 1884
- Curieuse, 1885
- Femmes honnêtes!, 1885
- L'Initiation sentimentale, 1887
- Istar, 1888
- A coeur perdu, 1888
- Coeur en peine, 1890
- Comment on devient mage, 1891
- L'androgyne, 1891
- La gynandre, 1891
- La Typhonia, 1892
- Le panthée, 1892
- La queste du Graal - proses lyriques de l'éthopée - la décadence latine; published "au salon de la Rose+Croix" (1892)
- Comment on devient fée, 1893
- Le théâtre complet de Wagner: les XI opéras scène par scène avec notes biographiques et critiques, 1894
- L'art idéaliste et mystique: doctrine de l'ordre et du salon annuel des Rose + Croix , 1894
- Babylone, tragedy, 1895
- Mélusine, 1895
- Le dernier Bourbon, tragedy, 1895
- Le livre du sceptre: politics, 1895
- La Prométhéide : trilogie d'Eschyle en quatre tableaux, 1895
- Le Prince de Byzance, tragedy, 1896
- Le prochain conclave; instructions aux cardinaux, [1897]
- Œdipe et le Sphinx, tragedy in prose, 1903
- Sémiramis, tragédie en prose, 1904
- La Dernière Leçon de Léonard de Vinci, essay, 1904
- La Clé de Rabelais, 1905
- De Parsifal à don Quichotte, essay, 1906
- La Doctrine de Dante, 1908
- La philosophie de Léonard de Vinci d'après ses manuscrits, essay, 1910 (rééd. Stalker, 2007)
- De l'Androgyne. Théorie plastique, essay 1910
See also
In Spanish: Joséphin Péladan para niños
- Stanislas de Guaita
- Joseph-Antoine Boullan
- Henri Antoine Jules-Bois
- Joris K. Huysmans
