The Legacy of Franz Bardon

"Franz who?" you may say. Admittedly, the name Franz Bardon may draw blank stares from most people compared to the name recall of personalities such as Albert Einstein or Mahatma Gandhi. Franz Bardon's reknown is mostly confined to a specific audience. Ask any occult student about Franz Bardon and chances are he/she would at least have heard about him.

In the occult community, Franz Bardon is best known for three books on Hermetic magic that have become occult classics: Initiation into Hermetics (IIH), The Practice of Magical Evocation (PME) and The Key to the True Quabbalah (KTQ). These three books represent the revelation of the first three cards of the Tarot, and are practical manuals on different aspects of magical development and universal esoteric laws. IIH lays the foundation by presenting a practical course of magical development divided into ten steps. PME builds upon the skills learned in the first book and instructs the student how to evoke different spirit beings. KTQ deals with the science of the divine word.

Another book, Frabato the Magician, is widely regarded as the spiritual autobiography of Franz Bardon (Frabato was the stage name of Bardon when he was doing magical shows in Germany). It is set in Dresden, Germany in the 1930s and details Bardon's encounters with a black lodge as well as the events that would serve as the foundation for writing the three books he is most known for. Franz Bardon gave the general outline of events and his long-time student and secretary Otti Votavova fleshed it out in the form of a novel after Bardon's death. This has led some to question the veracity of some of the events portrayed in the novel. It's often suggested to read Frabato the Magician first, but in my case I happened to read it last and it didn't detract from my appreciation of the whole series.

Other complimentary titles include Questions and Answers, a collection of Franz Bardon's answers to the most common questions asked by his direct students, and Memories of Franz Bardon, which contains the reminisces of Lumir Bardon (Franz Bardon's son) and Dr. M.K. (one of Bardon's direct students) about Franz Bardon's everyday life and spiritual work. I hope to acquire a copy of Memories of Franz Bardon soon.

So, just who was Franz Bardon? Based on the different accounts that I've read, it seems his story lies somewhere between history and legend. Franz Bardon was born on December 1, 1909 in the town of Opava, Austrian Silesia in what is now part of the Czech Republic. Later in life, Franz Bardon was arrested after running afoul of the Communist government supposedly because of his healing practice and the three books on Hermetics he had published. He died on July 10, 1958 while under police custody.

Franz Bardon's father Victor was said to be a Christian mystic who was able to progress to the point of developing clairvoyance. Victor prayed fervently that a guru (teacher) be sent to him to further his progress. Thereafter, it is said that the spirit of a very advanced Hermetic adept agreed to enter the body of then 14 year old (some accounts say 16 year old) Franz Bardon. Victor Bardon, being clairvoyant, was aware of the change that happened and recognized that his prayers had been answered.

If this sounds too fanciful, take note that the concept of a "walk in" is not as rare as one might think. T. Lobsang Rampa is supposed to be a walk in, taking over the body of Cyril Hoskin when his original Tibetan body became too worn out to continue his mission. Jesus Christ is also said to be a walk in, the Great Christ Spirit entering the body just before the start of his public ministry.

Why a walk in? Why not just incarnate normally? It is said that when incarnating in the usual way, memory is wiped and a lot of time and effort would be taken up just for the soul to regain all that knowledge before being able to start his/her mission. Supposedly, among the Great Hierarchy, a walk in is only done when there is a great mission that needs to be accomplished in a short amount of time. Of course, the soul of the original body has to be willing to vacate it and the writings say that the incoming spirit must bear the karma of the original soul (this would certainly serve as a motivator for the soul being asked to vacate).

Whatever side of this story you choose to believe, after the supposed change, Franz Bardon became a very exceptional student and displayed more knowledge than he was supposed to have. Many cannot explain how Franz Bardon was able to acquire such an authoritative and practical knowledge of magic, since no one can recall nor are there records of Franz Bardon studying under a teacher or being part of an occult society. This hasn't stopped a lot of speculation, though.

The 1930s in Germany saw the start of a crackdown on everything to do with the occult as the Nazi Party took over. Many say that the true motivation for this crackdown was so that the highest echelons of the Nazi Party could consolidate all occult power and knowledge among themselves. It's a historical fact that Hitler and other high ranking members of the Nazi Party were part of the Vril Society and the Thule Society, both recognized occult societies.

As World War II broke out, this crackdown on the occult extended to the occupied parts of Europe. Franz Bardon instructed all his students to burn all correspondence with him that had to do with magic and to lie low. One student didn't follow instructions, leading to their discovery and resulting in the arrest of both the student and Franz Bardon. They were asked to reveal their magical secrets and to help the Nazis win the war through occult means. Franz Bardon refused, leading both to be tortured horribly. At this point, the student supposedly uttered a kabbalistic formula that paralyzed the torturers, but once the effects wore off the student was shot and killed.

The Nazi torturers visited all sorts of horrors upon Franz Bardon, such as operating on him without anesthesia. Towards the end of the war, Bardon was sentenced to die but accounts say that on the morning of his execution Allied bombs hit the concentration camp he was in. In the confusion, he was able to escape along with other Soviet prisoners who helped him. Other accounts say that Soviet soldiers liberated the camp.

After the war, Franz Bardon became reknown as both a healer and Hermetic practitioner and teacher. It was also during this time period that he wrote those three legendary books. Initiation into Hermetics and The Practice of Magical Evocation both came out in 1956, one after the other. His last book, The Key to the True Quabbalah came out in 1957. Rumor has it that there were unpublished manuscripts revealing the fourth and fifth Tarot cards, but these were lost along with the rest of Bardon's magical possessions when the Communist government confiscated them upon his arrest.

What makes Franz Bardon's books different from other occult literature? If you've read enough esoteric works (historical or contemporary), they are often couched in obscure symbolism, contain incomplete information, or both. Franz Bardon's books, on the other hand, are literally complete practical manuals for magical development, without the flowery words or symbolisms. They are divided into theory and practice sections, so that the student will gain an understanding of what is expected and what is to be accomplished. Furthermore, they are structured so that even someone who has a job and family can practice them.

Although it is always ideal to study under a guru, Bardon's books do make it possible for someone to start the practice alone. Which doesn't mean that one shouldn't read between the lines, because there are as many lessons there as the ones that are printed out, but the veiling of these hidden treasures does not make the practical course incomplete. This is just my opinion, but for me no other series of books before or since can claim to have the same thoroughness and authority as Bardon's works when it comes to presenting a safe course of magical instruction and development.

If Bardon's books are so complete, why aren't all occult students practicing his system? Probably for the same reason why not everyone is a dentist. Some people prefer Wicca while others prefer shamanism and so on. It makes the world a richer place and that shouldn't be an issue. But more than just preference, one thing about Bardon's system is that it requires a large amount of patience, discipline and perseverance.

Practitioners of Bardon's system have stated that to get from IIH Step 1 to Step 10 can take anywhere from 10 years to 30 years. There is no Harry Potteresque spell you can just pick up and cast straight out of the book. You're not just learning a system, you're adopting a way of life. That alone would screen out a lot of potential practitioners, and just as well because it also serves as a safety device for such a publicly available magical system (you can buy the books at National Bookstore or Power Books for Php500 each, and if you're lucky they'll have the whole set; otherwise you'll need to visit several branches to complete the series but that's still quite doable). But even if one had no intention of getting into the practice of Bardon's system, it would still be of benefit to read Bardon's books even as magical treatises alone, because they do offer a lot of insights about magic and spiritual development.

Just how much benefit is there in simply reading Bardon's books? To give you an idea, all of Bardon's books being sold in the Philippines (except Memories of Franz Bardon, which is a recent release) are printed with permission by IIS Publishing, Inc. This is the publishing arm of the Institute of Inner Studies (IIS), the organization founded by Master Choa Kok Sui for research into the inner sciences. In Arhatic Yoga, there is an official list of recommended reading. Although Bardon's books are not in that list, the fact that they are published by the IIS automatically makes them recommended reading, because Master Choa did not have titles published lightly. That alone tells me a lot about the importance of Bardon's works.

In fact, one's knowledge of pranic healing, especially if one reads all of Master Choa's books, will help one make sense of a lot of Bardon's concepts and vice versa. Those who have taken the GMCKS Kriyashakti course will recognize one technique that can be found in Bardon's system.

Bardon's works have impacted the occult world in more ways than even most esoteric students realize. For instance, worldwide there are many groups that are making towerbusters, cloudbusters and similar derivatives. The key technology powering these devices is orgonite, which is supposed to absorb negative energy and transmute it into positive energy. Orgonite is made by combining resin and metal shavings, often with the addition of a crystal inside. In the IIH, Bardon describes a solid fluid condenser made from a mix of resin and metal. He says he learned this from the alchemists of old, but the fact that it is mentioned in one of his books and then orgonite now forms the basis of the orgonite movement is quite significant.

Before we move on, when Bardon says "fluid" he does not attach the same meaning to it as we would to "liquid." To prevent confusion, simply substitute "fluid" to "energy" so that "fluid condensers" are actually "energy condensers."

One other contemporary technology right now is radionics. Although radionics is typically traced to Albert Abrams (1863-1924), in Frabato the Magician there is an account of a black lodge using a device called the tepaphone, once to kill off one of its members and the other time in an attempt to kill Franz Bardon. As described in the novel, the mechanics of how the tepaphone operates is similar in principle to how modern radionics machines operate. In fact, the story of the tepaphone had inspired modern radionics pioneers such as Charles Cosimano (more popularly known in radionics circles as "Uncle Chuckie").

I attribute the flowering of my interest in esotericism to my introduction to pranic healing in 2008. It was in that time period that I collected Franz Bardon's books. But it turns out that 2008 wasn't the first time I had encountered Franz Bardon's work.

Back in the summer of 1994 (which in the Philippines is from March to May), I was in a summer practicum class where members of our class were farmed out to different local corporations so that we could have on the job training and experience and then meet in class once a week to discuss our experiences. It was a required class for the college course I was taking.

I was assigned to a company that had its offices in Makati City. The first day was just orientation, so we were sent home early. I was supposed to meet my dad after "work" in a nearby mall but since it was still early he wasn't there yet (and this was the time before texting and mobile internet). So I decided to pass the time in National Bookstore and happened upon the book Initiation Into Hermetics, which I bought.

Those were hectic times for me, so I didn't get to read much of the book and didn't even take too much note of the author. I was only able to read the first few pages and I remember getting into the section describing the soul mirror before my mom chanced upon me reading it. Since this was the first half of the 1990s, it wasn't that long ago since the "Dungeons & Dragons is Satanic" brouhaha and my mom was pretty much in that mindset then. Anyway, I put the book down, planning to read it again when I had the time but a few days later when I was looking for it, the book was nowhere to be found. Presumably, my mom picked up the book while I wasn't home and threw it away. I didn't know what I had lost so it was really no big deal for me.

Fast forward to 2009 when I lost my copies of Franz Bardon's books (as well as a host of others) to Typhoon Ondoy. However, one of my friends who happened to be working for IIS Publishing then, graciously gave me replacement copies of IIH, PME and KTQ. These were old stocks with the old book cover designs, which is why there were just gathering dust in the warehouse and why my friend was able to give them to me.

It was only a little later when I started reading them again that I recognized the old book cover of IIH as the same one on the copy I had bought back in 1994. You may ask why I didn't recognize IIH sooner when I bought the series again in 2008, and the reason is that the latest editions have totally different book covers, and as I said back in 1994 I was only able to barely read it before I lost the book so I hadn't absorbed the material enough to recognize it if I saw it again.

I guess in 1994 it still wasn't the right time for me to have that information. But it's interesting how the circle has turned. I am continually amazed as I go back to the books and focus on a section I only glazed over in a previous reading, only to discover something new about it.

I have heard accounts that say the books written by Franz Bardon were released a few hundred years too early. Be that as it may, his teachings have exerted a great influence in the occult world whether we realize it or not. This influence has helped different groups in uplifting the conditions of humanity and the world in their own little way. If only for this, Franz Bardon has already managed to fulfill his mission.

More than that, taken as a whole Franz Bardon's books on Hermetics provide the sincere seeker with the opportunity to develop the tools by which one may become a better Divine Servant. So whether one is a casual scholar or a serious student, and however one may view the accounts of his life, these books can easily be recognized as truly priceless legacies of that great adept called Franz Bardon.