René Guénon, 1886–1951
1,202 words
Translated by Greg Johnson
Editor’s Note:
This essay and the one that follows are presented in commemoration of René Guénon’s birth on November 15, 1886.
On January 7th, 1951, the Frenchman René Guénon, one of the principal representatives of Traditional thought in the 20th century, died in Cairo. Read more …
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René Guénon (1886–1951) was a French metaphysician, writer, and editor who was largely responsible for laying the metaphysical groundwork for the Traditionalist or Perennialist school of thought in the early twentieth century. Read more …
603 words
Translated by Greg Johnson
Czech translation of this translation here
What are we fighting for? Every political soldier has to raise this question. Contradictory as it might seem, we are inclined to answer that we fight for Tradition and Revolution. Read more …
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After being blown away by director Christopher Nolan’s Inception, I decided to give his Batman Begins (2005) another chance. The first time I saw this film, I did not like it. Not one bit. I must have been distracted, because this time I loved it. Nolan breaks with the campy style of earlier Batman films, focusing on character development and motivations, which makes Batman Begins and its sequel The Dark Knight both psychologically dark and intellectually and emotionally compelling.
Julius Evola
1,040 words
Translated by Greg Johnson
“I translated from German, at the request of the publisher Longanesi . . . Oswald Spengler’s vast and celebrated work The Decline of the West. That gave me the opportunity to specify, in an introduction, the meaning and the limits of this work which, in its time, had been world-famous.” These words begin a series of critical paragraphs on Spengler in Julius Evola’s The Path of Cinnabar (p. 177).
3,586 words
Julius Evola
Metaphysics of War:
Battle, Victory, and Death in the World of Tradition
Arktos, 2010
paperback: $20
Italian Traditionalist Julius Evola (1898–1974) needs little introduction to the readers of Counter-Currents. Read more …
Aleister Crowley, 1875–1947
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Part 2 of 2. Read Part 1 here.
The Thelemic State
The form of Thelemic government is vaguely outlined in Liber Legis, suggesting the type of corporatism: “Let it be the state of manyhood bound and loathing: thou has no right but to do what thou will.”[1] Contrary to the anarchistic or nihilistic interpretation often given Thelema’s “do what thou wilt,” Crowley defined the Thelemic state as a free association for the common good. Read more …
No, it is not Winston Churchill. It is somebody far less evil.
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Part 1 of 2. Read Part 2 here.
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), who styled himself the “Great Beast 666,” is an enduring presence both in the occult subculture and contemporary popular culture. He is hailed by some as a philosopher, magician, and prophet. He is condemned by others as a depraved egomaniac. But, for the most part, he is merely consumed for his shock value and diverting eccentricities.
1,338 words
Translated by Greg Johnson
Part 3 of 3. Part I: here. Part II: here.
Chandala Figures of Decadence
The existential crisis that began around the middle of the 18th century led to nihilism, quite judiciously defined by Nietzsche as an “exhaustion of life,” as a “devaluation of the highest values,” which is often expressed by a frantic agitation and the inability to really enjoy leisure, an agitation that accelerates the process of exhaustion.
1,410 words
Translated by Greg Johnson
Part 1 of 3
Before getting to the quick of the subject, I would like to make three preliminary remarks:
I hesitated to accept your invitation to speak on the figure of the dandy, for this sort of issue is not my main subject of interest.
