Highly anticipated and certainly overdue, I am delighted to announce the publication of my book Son of Prometheus: The Life and Work of Joséphin Péladan by Theion Publishing.
Based on my doctoral thesis (University of Essex, 2014), this book is the first scholarly study of the life and work of Joséphin Péladan that succeeds in placing it in the context of the history of Western Esotericism while also providing a clear roadmap to the entirety of Péladan’s initiatory teachings and philosophy of the esoteric power of art. It features forewords from Dr Christopher McIntosh and Dr Per Faxneld, with nine original illustrations (see below) I created at the publisher’s request. Read the full description on the Theion website>>
Since publication the book has received strongly positive reviews in both specialist academic, esoteric and mainstream media, with major features in a leading Swedish newspaper, a Portuguese weekly, and a lengthy academic review in Gnostika journal (in German). Foolish Fish, a leading Youtuber concentrating on high quality esoteric books, gave it a glowing review (see below!)
Praise for Son of Prometheus
Previous studies of Péladan have failed to deliver a complete picture of the man and his achievements. Most art historians have little understanding of the esoteric and are even apt to be hostile towards esoteric interpretations of an artist. Scholars of esotericism, on the other hand, are often ignorant of art history. Sasha Chaitow is uniquely qualified to write this study, having a knowledge of art history as well as the esoteric context of Péladan’s work. She also has the insight that comes from being an artist herself. One of the great merits of the book is her very clear and detailed exposition of Péladan`s initiation system.
Dr Christopher McIntosh,
Not long ago the subject of Péladan would have been regarded as belonging to a minor side road in the history of art, esotericism or the Belle Epoque. Now, in an age when the arts are largely cut off from tradition and bereft of beauty or spiritual meaning, his message is perhaps more relevant than ever. In Sasha Chaitow he has at last found a biographer able to do him justice.
formerly Professor of History of Western Esotericism
at Exeter University (EXESESO)
Joséphin Péladan is one of those creative, original, and influential thinkers that deserves far more attention than he has so far received. Sasha Chaitow’s groundbreaking book, which is rooted in careful scholarship and insightful analysis, fills this lacuna in studies of Western esotericism. Whether you are interested in occult trajectories within modernism, fin-de-siècle esotericism, or Orientalist discourses during the French occult revival, you will profit from reading this lucid and engaging study of a truly fascinating thinker.
Dr Christopher Partridge,
Professor of Religious Studies
Lancaster University
The illustrations
I created nine original illustrations for this book along with designs for the covers of both editions and an additional illustration exclusive to the Auric Edition. The originals are exclusively available from Theion Publishing, together with a highly limited series of prints, with two additional series of hand-coloured editions. Each illustration is a symbolic “translation” of key concepts from Péladan’s teachings, encapsulated in visual form following his instructions for artists.
View the full gallery of illustrations with their explanations, and explore purchasing options here.
Extract from Son of Prometheus
From Chapter 2
…Péladan and de Guaïta spent 1887 developing their occult pursuits and circle; the latter more enthusiastically seeking after occult groups and contacts. Since early 1887 de Guaïta had frequented the meetings of Isis lodge of the Parisian branch of the Theosophical Society, where he was introduced to Gérard Encausse dit Papus (1842-1909) by Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre (1842-1909) in the same year. Papus had a grand vision of uniting all the occult orders into a single, unified system of esoteric studies, based on Martinism and structured according to the model of traditional education. He formed the Groupe independent d’etudes esoteriques,” soon renamed “Ecole Hermetique,” comprising a supreme council of twelve members, including Augustin Chaboseau, Stanislas de Guaïta, Chamuel, Paul Sedir (Yvon Leloup), Paul Adam, Maurice Barres, Jules Lejay, Mantiere, Charles Barlet (Albert Faucheux), Jacques Burget and Joséphin Péladan. This was an unusual compromise for Péladan, who “consented to a syncretism that was not to his liking, and though he joined the Martinist order founded by Papus, he showed a steady reserve.” In 1888, with Péladan ‘s reluctant support, de Guaïta also founded the Ordre Kabbalistique de Rose-Croix.
1888 was yet another eventful, and successful year for Péladan. At the invitation of author, journalist, art critic, and travel writer William Ritter (1867-1955), he visited Neuchâtel, and together they travelled to Bayreuth. It was this journey that truly introduced Péladan to Wagner; prior to this he had only contempt for him and maintained his doubts even while making the journey to Bayreuth, yet this visit was to provide the inspiration for the Rosicrucian Salons:
I heard Parsifal three times, and my zeal burned thrice, these were three illuminations. I conceived, in a flash, the foundation of the three orders of the Rose-Croix, of the Temple and the Grail, and resolved, as far as literary theatre was concerned, to become a disciple of Wagner.
While in Bayreuth, Péladan wrote the next novel in Décadence Latine; Istar, which reveals a large part of his cosmology, focusing both on the androgyne motif as well as his conception of the fallen angels as guiding spirits to mankind.
In the spring of 1889 Barbey d’Aurevilly, Péladan’s erstwhile mentor, was on his deathbed, being cared for by Léon Bloy and his secretary and housekeeper Louise Read, while Huysmans and other members of d’Aurevilly’s Sunday gatherings also spent much time with him during his final weeks. Péladan had quarreled with most of the members of this circle, Bloy and Huysmans in particular, despite their initial good relations. However, the situation deteriorated when Péladan took it upon himself to notify one of d’Aurevilly’s former mistresses of his state of health, and, uninvited, Mme de Bouglon arrived at d’Aurevilly’s home. This led to d’Aurevilly deteriorating further, possibly hastened his demise, and aroused the ire of the rest of his circle, resulting in Péladan being forbidden to visit during d’Aurevilly’s final days and a bitter set of public denouncements in La Plume in 1891.
The War of the Two Roses
The activities of the Rose-Croix Kabbalistique flourished, but the fault-lines between Péladan and the rest of the order, consisting of various ideological and doctrinal differences, became quickly apparent. Added to Péladan’s disapproval of various ideological aspects and occult practices, was his dislike of certain members of the order, with whom de Guaïta on the other hand, was particularly close: Oswald Wirth and Saint-Yves d’Alveydre among them. The latter inspired de Guaïta to the extent that he considered the establishment of synarchy to be the ultimate purpose of the order, and he attempted to persuade Péladan that d’Alveydre, who had also studied and developed Fabre d’Olivet’s work in detail, was a positive influence with much to offer. Nonetheless, to judge by Péladan’s later work, it appears that Péladan’s objections, far from being a simple matter of envy or egotism, were of a more ideological nature. On the one hand Péladan had outright rejected d’Olivet’s cosmology as completely irrelevant fiction, whereas it was the basis for much of d’Alveydre’s political theory. Secondly, for all his insistence on hierarchy and absolute obedience to the Pope, Péladan was in favour of individualism and the right to self-determination, as is made abundantly and consistently clear in all aspects of his work. Péladan seems to have smoothed over this particular disagreement with de Guaïta, but it was an uneasy truce soon to be broken.
In 1890 Péladan’s father died, and this seems to have been the turning point after which he took on an entirely different approach to his occult activities. This was the third death that Péladan was to mourn within the space of a year; first Barbey d’Aurevilly in April 1889, then author and politician Armand Hayem, a good friend of Péladan’s from d’Aurevilly’s circle, committed suicide a few months later. Péladan pays tribute to these lost friends in the hagiographical eulogy outlining Péladan père’s achievements, in which he also unleashes a bitter attack on the Catholic clergy whom he considered traitors to true Catholicism. The statements in the funeral oration mark a clear turning point in Péladan’s life, attitude and goals…
Read more and purchase the book here
Visit Sasha’s dedicated website on Péladan here
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