Gérard Encausse

"Papus" redirects here. For other uses, seePapus (disambiguation).

Papus

Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse(13 July 1865 – 25 October 1916), whoseesotericpseudonyms werePapusandTau Vincent,was aFrenchphysician,hypnotist,and popularizer ofoccultism,who founded the modernMartinist Order.

Early life

Gerard Encausse was born inA Coruña,Galicia,Spainon 13 July 1865 of a Spanish mother and a French father, Louis Encausse, achemist.His family moved toPariswhen he was four years old, and he received his education there.

As a young man, Encausse spent a great deal of time at theBibliothèque Nationalestudying theKabbalah,occulttarot,magicandalchemy,and the writings ofEliphas Lévi.He joined the FrenchTheosophical Societyshortly after it was founded byMadame Blavatskyin 1884–1885, but he resigned soon after joining because he disliked the Society's emphasis onEastern occultism.

Career

Overview

In 1888, he co-founded his own group, theKabbalistic Order of the Rose-Croix.That same year, he and his friend Lucien Chamuel founded theLibrarie du Merveilleuxand its monthly revueL'Initiation,which remained in publication until 1914.

Encausse was also a member of theHermetic Brotherhood of Lightand theHermetic Order of the Golden Dawntemple in Paris, as well asMemphis-Misraimand probably other esoteric orparamasonicorganizations, as well as being an author of several occult books. Outside of his paramasonic and Martinist activities he was also a spiritual student of the French spiritualist healer,Anthelme Nizier Philippe,"Maître Philippe de Lyon".

Despite his heavy involvement in occultism and occultist groups, Encausse managed to find time to pursue more conventional academic studies at theUniversity of Paris.He received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1894 upon submitting a dissertation on Philosophical Anatomy. He opened a clinic in the rue Rodin which was quite successful.

Encausse visited Russia three times, in 1901, 1905, and 1906, servingTsar Nicholas IIandTsarina Alexandraboth as physician and occult consultant. It has been incorrectly claimed that in October 1905, he conjured up the spirit of Alexander III (father of Tsar Nicholas), who prophesied that the Tsar would meet his downfall at the hands of revolutionaries. Encausse's followers allege that he informed the Tsar that he would be able to magically avert Alexander's prophesy so long as Encausse was alive. Nicholas kept his hold on the throne of Russia until 141 days after Papus' death.

Although Encausse seems to have served the Tsar and Tsarina in what was essentially the capacity of a mediumistic spiritual advisor, he was later curiously concerned about their heavy reliance on occultism to assist them in deciding questions of government. During their later correspondence, he warned them a number of times against the influence ofRasputin.

Involvement and influences

Lévi, Tarot, and the Kabbalah

Encausse's early readings in tarot and the lore of the Kabbalah in translation was inspired by the occult writings ofÉliphas Lévi,whose translation of theNuctemeronofApollonius of Tyana"printed as a supplement toDogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie(1855), provided Encausse with hispen name."Papus" is the name of a Genius of the First Hour in theNuctemeron,and is translated in the text as "physician."

1888 Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Croix

Although Encausse claimed as his "spiritual master" the mysterious magician and healer known as "le Maitre Philippe" (Philippe Nizier), his first actual teacher in the intellectual aspects of occultism was the marquisJoseph Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre(1842 - 1910). Saint-Yves had inherited the papers of one of the great founders of French occultism,Antoine Fabre d'Olivet(1762 - 1825), and it was probably Saint-Yves who introduced Papus to the marquisStanislas de Guaita(1861 - 1897).

In 1888, Encausse and de Guaita joined withJoséphin PéladanandOswald Wirthto found theRosicrucianKabbalistic Order of the Rose-Cross.

1891 l'Ordre Martiniste

In 1891, Encausse claimed to have come into the possession of the original papers ofMartinez Paschalis, or de Pasqually(c. 1700-1774), and therewith founded an Order ofMartinistscalled l'Ordre des Supérieurs Inconnus. He claimed to have been given authority in the Rite of Saint-Martin by his friend Henri Vicomte de Laage, who claimed that his maternal grandfather had been initiated into the order by Saint-Martin himself, and who had attempted to revive the order in 1887. The Martinist Order was to become a primary focus for Encausse, and continues today as one of his most enduring legacies.

1893-1895 Bishop of l'Église Gnostique de France

In 1893, Encausse was consecrated a bishop of l'Église Gnostique de FrancebyJules Doinel,who had founded this Church as an attempt to revive theCatharreligion in 1890. In 1895, Doinel abdicated as Primate of the French Gnostic Church, leaving control of the Church to a synod of three of his former bishops, one of whom was Encausse.

1895 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

In March 1895, Encausse joined theAhathoor Templeof theHermetic Order of the Golden Dawnin Paris.

1901 Anti-Semitic writings

In October 1901 Encausse collaborated with Jean Carrère in producing a series of articles in theÉcho de Parisunder the pseudonymNiet( "no" in Russian). In the articlesSergei WitteandPyotr Rachkovskywere attacked, and it was suggested that there was a sinister financial syndicate trying to disrupt the Franco-Russian alliance. Encausse and Carrère predicted that this syndicate was aJewish conspiracy,and theanti-Semiticnature of these articles, compounded by Encausse's known connection to the Tsar of Russia, may have contributed to the allegation that Papus was the author who forgedThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

1908 - 1913 Encausse, Reuss and paramasonry

Encausse never became a regularFreemason.Despite this, he organized what was announced as an "International Masonic Conference" in Paris on 24 June 1908, and at this conference he first metTheodor Reuss,and the two men apparently exchanged patents:

Reuss elevated Encausse as X° ofOrdo Templi Orientisas well as giving him license to establish a "Supreme Grand Council General of the Unified Rites of Ancient and Primitive Masonry for the Grand Orient of France and its Dependencies at Paris." For his part, Encausse assisted Reuss in the formation ofEcclesia Gnostica Catholicaas a child of l'Église Gnostique de France, thus forming the E.G.C. within the tradition of French neo-gnosticism.

WhenJohn Yarkerdied in 1913, Encausse was elected as his successor to the office of Grand Hierophant (international head) of the Antient and Primitive Rite of Memphis and Mizraim.

Death

WhenWorld War Ibroke out, Encausse joined the French army medical corps. While working in a military hospital, he contracted tuberculosis and died inParison 25 October 1916, at the age of 51.

Bibliography

This is a partial list of written works of Papus (Gérard Encausse) include works in French:

• L'Occultisme Contemporain,1887.[1]fromGallica
• Le Tarot des Bohémiens,1889.
• L'Occultisme,1890.
• Traité méthodique de Science Occulte,1891.PDF scansfromGoogle Books
• La Science Des Mages,1892.PDF scansfromGallica
• Anarchie, Indolence et Synarchie,1894.PDF scansfromGallica
• Le Diable et l'Occultisme.1895.
• Traité Méthodique de La Magie Pratique,1898.PDF scansfromGallica
• La Kabbale,1903.
• Le Tarot Divinatoire,1909.PDF scansfromInternet Archive
• Papus (1958).The Tarot of the Bohemians: Absolute Key to Occult Science.A.E. Waite (translation to English),Gertrude Moakley(introduction). Arcanum Books.

With Jean Carrère

• Niet (Gérard Encausse and Jean Carrère),La Russie Aujourd'hui.1902.

Publications (translated in English)

• The Tarot of the Bohemians,translated by A. P. Morton, London, George Redway 1896
• The Divinatory Arts,The Three Luminaries, 2020.
• Notebooks of the Order,The Three Luminaries, 2020.
• Inauguration of the Martinist Lodge Velléda,The Three Luminaries, 2020.

See also

• Martinism
• Members of Ordo Templi Orientis

External links

• Media related toPapusat Wikimedia Commons
• T. Apiryon,Docteur Gérard Encausse
• Complete bibliography of the writings of Papus(in French).