History of Occultism (III). The Early Renaissance

15/08/2023

Coulianu (1987) and Daxelmüller (1993) agree that the Renaissance is not, as has been claimed, a rediscovery of Greco-Roman arts, but a rebirth of the occult, that is, a rebirth of classical and philosophical symbolism, even before the first ancient sculptures came to light. Indeed, it is a time of esoteric awakening, in the deepest sense of the word, an awakening of the spirit, dormant between wars, hunger and religion. Critical and scientific thoughts re-emerge, although many are crushed by ecclesiastical power. And the magical arts begin to be seen not as simple works of peasant widows who repair virgins or curse through gestures and herbs, but as superior knowledge that was hidden through universal symbols, and that reveals the infinite capacities of man as a spiritual being. A vision that the Inquisition will twist.

This First Renaissance, identified with the Quattrocento, is the era of the patronage of the Medici family and of Florentine Neoplatonism, which considered that the human being and the universe are a single living being in a perpetual relationship, and that universal harmony and balance must be sought. Theological revisions are carried out where paganism does not confront Christianity, but all divinities are cosmic forces and souls that, through rational knowledge, can lead the human being to the truth.

Magic in the Renaissance cannot be understood without the influence of two fundamental works: The Picatrix and the Corpus Hermeticum.

The Picatrix is a medieval work, a grimoire compiled at the School of Translators of Toledo for King Alfonso X the Wise. Although we know this, we do not have copies prior to the 15th century, probably because it was a book intended for the interests of the Spanish king and not an extended grimoire. The ideas of the Picatrix that will permeate Renaissance thought will be above all those of a Neoplatonic nature, that is, those in which man can improve until reaching union with the divine, as well as other ideas repeated at this time, for example, that the being has in his hand the capacity, through magic, to alter nature to obtain what he wants. This is clearly visible in astrology, since knowing the effects of the positions of the stars, the magician/astrologer can know when is the most propitious moment for what he wants to do.

The Corpus Hermeticum is a compilation and translation of sacred Greek Hermetic texts, which bring together the main ideas of Hermeticism: man as a microcosm, that all changes (including death) are transformations of energy, the body as an obstacle to the knowledge and evolution of the human soul, the permanence and immanence of God in nature... All this with clear applications to astrology, medicine or alchemy, where the Emerald Tablet will be the key text, together with the Poimandres, the first text of this corpus, where the figure of Hermes Trismegistus is presented.

Despite the general exposition, there is not a single philosophical, religious or esoteric current that defines all the personalities and works of the Renaissance and the centuries immediately after.

For this reason we prefer to also analyze some of the most relevant and well-known figures, to see in a summarized and orderly way the main ideas and approaches that characterized the beginnings of this era.

Esoteric art and literature in the early Renaissance

Dante Alighieri

The poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) belongs to the Trecento period, but few would hesitate to include him among the first Renaissance figures. Known without a doubt for his Divine Comedy, it was soon clear that within the religious aspect of his work there was knowledge acquired from the study of the Hebrew Kabbalah.

It is enough to note that the entire work is based on numerology, being intentionally divided into 3 books (Hell, Purgatory and Paradise), divided in turn into 33 cantos each; there are 9 levels of hell and there are 9 heavens, divided into 3 sectors each, there being 9 angelic hierarchies divided into 3 orders; The number 9, so divine, is associated with Beatrice, his love and guide... Etc.

Several scholars have also found among his verses what they consider alchemical reflections. The idea of purification by degrees or the three colours of the three heads of Lucifer. There are many who believe that Dante had a close connection with esoteric orders, such as the Templars, and that the endless pagan allegories in his work come from there.

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot (ca. 1450)

The first Tarot decks, known as Visconti-Sforza, appeared at this time, although no complete deck has been preserved, and they were still part of the game called trionfi (triumphs). They represented members of the Visconti and Sforza families, who commissioned them as a sign of luxury and prestige. There are many models, but the best preserved deck had 78 cards (we have 74), and is attributed to the painter Bonifacio Bembo, around the year 1450, in northern Italy. Because they had pagan symbols and representations, it is believed that this was the reason why the Church looked with suspicion on the tarocchi, even though the sources of the time assure that this type of deck was not used for gambling or other vice games. On the contrary, it is very likely that they were associated with memory exercises, that is, the method used by those who studied rhetoric to create associations and develop speeches.

There are several scholars who think that these trump cards could be based on the work Triumphs, by the poet Petrarch. It should also be noted that these first decks are the ones that will develop the repeated images of the arcana, although it must also be taken into account that they were cards designed for personal use that had written messages and other intentionally hidden messages, but that only their applicants or initiates would understand. Christian elements are mixed with novel and even heretical elements (the Popess). However, it is probable that among the aforementioned memory exercises there was also a spiritual path loaded with symbolism through pagan and hermetic myths, mixed with Christian virtues, which certainly bothered the Church on a doctrinal level.

The Mantegna Tarot

For a long time it was attributed to Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), a Renaissance artist with great advances in the study of perspective and anatomy. Some of his engravings were identified with the engravings of the "Mantegna" Tarot, and this was the case until the 19th century. Regardless of the true author, the Mantegna Tarot was important in the development of the tarot, mainly because it emerged with playful and didactic intentions, and also because its illustrations, in the manner of engraving and easy to reproduce and colour, promoted the printing of decks.

Its cards show the human hierarchies (from the beggar to the Pope), the arts (the muses and Apollo), the liberal arts, the geniuses or spirits of the world (light, sun, time and cosmos), the seven virtues, the seven celestial spheres, the fixed stars (also called the eighth sphere), and the two primordial causes, Mobile and Prime.

Sandro Boticelli (1445-1510)

Boticelli's works are known for their symbolism and the representation of mythological figures in a different way from the classical Roman presentations that would come later, after the archaeological discoveries. Primavera and the Birth of Venus are his most esoteric works and best known for it. There is a great influence from Neoplatonic philosophy and Ficino, who will be seen later. The works deserve in-depth analysis but we cannot do so in this article; brief summaries will suffice and in the future we will dedicate full articles to them.

Primavera must be read from right to left, it is represented three times in three different facets, representing Alma's steps (naked, escaping from the forest, then with seeds and flowers, and finally full Primavera-Love), and it shows the Three Graces as three virtues (chastity, beauty and pleasure), which look at each other indicating the orders of spiritual progression, overcoming the carnal. Eros points at them with his arrows. Mercury, finally, is the symbol of knowledge and initiation.

The Birth of Venus is not Venus-Aphrodite, but Venus the Mother Goddess, fertile, creative, over the primordial waters. The shell is a symbol of spiritual transformation. Flowers and colors symbolize various virtues. It can also be interpreted as the water element, the Zephyr blowing the wind element, the Hours dressed in flowers the earth element and Venus herself is fire, passion. Venus, femininity, is born from the testicles of Uranus, masculinity.

There are other works with esoteric symbolism, however, given the limited space of the article, it has been preferred to present known examples.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

Da Vinci is the absolute symbol of the Renaissance, the Genius of the Renaissance, a polymath. It is difficult to think that Leonardo was far from the esoteric thought of the time, since esoteric volumes from his library and personal relationships are known, and even more so with the already groundbreaking Last Supper, where there are a series of mysteries that can be believed to a greater or lesser extent, but other keys that have been clearly placed in the painting. For example, "hidden" we find the division of the 12 apostles into 4 groups of 3 people, following an astrological and alchemical pattern. Each apostle is related in his characteristics to a zodiac sign and a planet. In some way, Jesus is the Sun and at the same time there is a reference to the Macrocosm and the Microcosm. The reading of the painting in depth must be done in a specular way, that is, from right to left, as indicated by the direction of the light.

Other signs are more visible: the knot in the tablecloth, which for some is Da Vinci's signature (for the Italian vincolo), for others, the indication that there is a woman at the table; the threatening attitude of Peter with a knife, the fact that there are apostles (who believe themselves to be a self-portrait of Leonardo) who turn their backs on Jesus, that Judas does not appear separated from the rest, that the Chalice does not appear, nor does any character have a halo, etc.

It is not his only painting with an esoteric charge, but as in the case of Boticelli, it suffices as a well-known example.

Esoteric philosophy of the Early Renaissance.

Without a doubt, esotericism and thoughts from the Middle Ages, from authors such as Pietro d'Abano or Ramon Llull, influenced the way in which translations of Latin and Greek works were received, until then passed through the filters of Arabic studies, and not all translated literally. The rediscovery of the classical world is a rebirth that also provokes a rereading of the history of Europe beyond "Christian Europe", seeking a spiritual reconciliation between antiquity and Christianity that very rarely comes to fruition.

Gemisto Pletho (ca. 1360-1452)

Also called Pletho, he is one of the most important Byzantine figures of this time. A compiler of texts from classical antiquity and oriental ideas, in his closest circles he expressed his rejection of Christianity and his desire to recover Greek pagan religiosity, mixed with some Babylonian elements, such as the Magi (magicians-astrologers).

It is commonly considered that it was from him that Italian Renaissance men such as Ficino obtained the schemes of natural magic.

Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499)

Marsilio Ficino is one of the great figures who initiated the esoteric revival. Translator of many works from classical antiquity, and founder, with the help of Cosimo de Medici, of the Florentine Academy, his first translation was hermetic texts, where Hermes Trismegistus became a guiding figure to reach the Truth through occult knowledge. Similarly, ancient religious acts such as Chaldean astrology were searches for divine messages through Creation. He is also the precursor of the thought of Prisca theologia, or Ancient Theology, carrying out an analysis by which the theology of ancient religions guided the knowledge of a Supreme Being.

As far as magic is concerned, it was a path of knowledge, if the correct steps and laws were followed. Ficino's magic was a naturalistic magic, which allows the intellectual and spiritual improvement of the human being (in line with anthropocentric thought) and thus will continue to be a large part of the Renaissance. Ficino mixed Platonism with Christianity, focusing on the reality of things and at the same time on the search for purification and continuous improvement of man. On the other hand, Ficino's astrology was an astronomy governed by mathematics, and not determinant (since man enjoyed Freedom). He accepted magical talismans exclusively for their alchemical and medicinal relationship.

Rabbi Jonathan Alemanno (1435-1510)

A rabbi who was the tutor of Ficino's disciple, Pico Della Mirandola. A scholar of ancient philosophy, he was interested in Neoplatonism and was a teacher of Kabbalah. Alemanno considered that magic and spirituality should be the last step and goal of studies. He understood Kabbalah as divine magic.

Johannes Reuchlin (1455 – 1522)

One of the most important German humanists after Erasmus of Rotterdam, he was a philosopher and priest extremely interested in Jewish Kabbalah. His controversies were related to his confrontation with Johannes Pfefferkorn, a converted Jew who requested the burning of all Jewish religious works, which Reuchlin refused to do, and whose defense we have preserved (Augenspielen).

His interpretation of the Kabbalah ultimately has much of Christian Kabbalah, and more in its esoteric spiritual aspect than in its magical one. Even so, he deals with subjects such as angelology, demonology, the soul and reincarnation, as well as symbolic esotericisms, in relation to the thought of the classics, which he translated.

Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516)

Although he belongs to the German Renaissance, Johannes Trithemius was imbued for centuries in a wave of mysticism because his works were considered to deal with magic and spells. The work that earned him this fame was Stenography, with which he taught how to encrypt messages through multiple alphabets and numerical codes, but without any kind of magical intention on the part of the author, although this was believed afterwards. In fact, in his work De octo quaestionum, written in response to Emperor Maximilian I, who asked him eight questions of faith, it can be seen that he had a strong religious conviction. Stenography, however, was misunderstood and included in the Index of Prohibited Books.

It is true, however, that he was the founder of the Sodalitas Celtica, a "brotherhood" where astrology and numerology were studied, as well as mathematics and languages.

It is likely that the word magician was used as a synonym for wise man. However, there were many rumours about him, such as that he had a kind of spirit or guardian angel that inspired and helped him. Also, that the emperor had managed to visualise spirits of great deceased figures through his intercession.

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494)

A disciple and friend of Ficino, Pico della Mirandola continued Neoplatonic thought, but in the field of the occult arts he went a step further, as he openly stated that religion and magic were united and worked on the Jewish Kabbalah until he created the first models of Christian Kabbalah. However, in the field of astrology he was much more critical, as he did not consider any inclination possible if one fully believed in Free Will.

Pico made a place for himself in history above all for the exposition of his 900 theses on philosophy, theology, religion and magic, where he collected sentences and comments from ancient thinkers and from the Arab world. As some of these theses were branded as heresy, instead of eliminating or modifying them, Pico returned to proudly defend and explain how they were correct, which was seen as rebellion by the ecclesiastical forces.

For Pico, all nature had a good or positive part and a bad or negative part. Man could not be condemned for being inferior or sinful, when there were also ways to elevate his thought and nature, being a reflection of God. The same thing happened with magic, the problem was not magic itself, but the use that was made of it with the favor of demons or following divine designs. He valued natural magic as experimental research, that is, as a precursor to science. Among his most famous sayings, we find these, which summarise his thoughts very well: <<Magic is the noblest part of science>> and <<Nature does naturally what the magician does through his art>>

Pico would die of arsenic poisoning in the midst of a conflict of religious and political interests, during the time of Savonarola.

Renaissance Witchcraft

It is good to see great thinkers interested in the world of magic, however, we cannot think that "street magic" or popular magic, vulgar and incorrectly distinguished as witchcraft, had been relegated. On the contrary, since the 13th century heresy and witchcraft were persecuted by papal bull, and would continue to be so. The medieval Inquisition was established at this time as a tribunal and institution in its own right.

Although we distinguish magic from witchcraft, it would be more correct at this historical moment to distinguish heresy from witchcraft. In this way, the philosophical texts and ideas that we have seen would be considered by the Church as heretical, while witchcraft would be characterized by its relationship with demonic forces.

The existence of the Devil in this era is as indisputable as that of God. So pacts with the Devil are believed without question, and witchcraft can only be carried out with the help of the devil, totally ignoring any other form of popular or natural magic.

For example, Johannes Hartlieb (1410-1468) wrote a compendium of forbidden arts and superstitions, as well as works where he identified witches' herbs. In his work we find the first reference to witches anointing their brooms to fly.

Now, and not in the Middle Ages, the figure of the witch as a worshipper of Satan, her flights on brooms and her covens begin to take shape. They are no longer pagan rites or deviations from the Christian faith, but are seen as perversions and attacks on Christianity. This, together with the incipient divisions of the Church (as will be seen in the next article in the series) will be the perfect breeding ground for the development of religious hysteria, persecutions, and the writing of the deadly Malleus Malleficarum.

Pietro V. Carracedo Ahumada - pietrocarracedo@gmail.com