Paracelsus

Hailed by many as a forefather of modern medicine, the story of Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known to the world as Paracelsus- is one of hardship, stacked odds and wonder. While his contributions to medicine and health are being recognized more and more through the centuries, after his passing his legend and myth grew exponentially. A Titan of Magic certainly, on this episode we will be unpacking the vitriolic and brilliant Alchemical Doctor that is Paracelsus!

My guest for this episode is none other than Steve R! Steve has been an amazing supporter of the show as well as one of my favourite people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting since starting my Podcast. An active member of the WMiT? Discord community, his magical takes are some of my favourite and many of them have been mentioned on previous episodes of the show. Always good for a laugh and some amazing advice, Steve can be found on Twitter if you click the handsome chap below!

Show Notes

• Paracelsus: Essential Readings edited by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke – This is a pretty good place to start
• The Devil’s Doctor: Paracelsus and the World of Renaissance Magic and Science by Philip Ball
• Paracelsus: Medicine, Magic and Mission at the End of Time by Charles Webster – I’ve been told this is an excellent book and worth reading
• Paracelsus: An Alchemical Life by Bruce Moran – I quite enjoyed this Bio
• Paracelsus: Light of Europe. A brief history
• Paracelsus as a Reformer of Medicine
• Four Treatises of Paracelsus – Included here is the wonderful A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits
• Paracelsus: Selective Writings Edited by Jolande Jacobi
• Frater Acher is a contemporary Magician who has been a champion of the work and philosophy of Paracelsus – On the Foundations of Animistic Spirit Practice in Paracelsus’s Works – Paracelsus on the Role of Faith in Magic – Paracelsus’ Wisdom on the Ecosystem of Spirits – Paracelsus & Trithemius: Musings on a Bewitched Relationship – Be Sure to keep your eyes out for Frater Acher’s Paracelsian Trilogy
• The Sigil Magic of Paracelsus – ESOTERICA’s Dr. Sledge goes through the Archidoxes of Magic. Wonderful Video!
• The Monsters of Paracelsus
• Comte de Gabalis – This is a hugely influential text which more Magicians should know about as for a time the stories within were folded into many aspects of what we would call “Modern Magic” – Full Text
• Marriage with Elementals: From “Le Comte de Gabalis” to a Golden Dawn Ritual– Interesting
• Paracelsus and the Elementals
• Pseudo-Paracelsus – At the bottom of the page you can download a PDF of the Appendix which lists all of the works which were attributed to Paracelsus but were probably not written by him. Suffice to say, it is HUGE
• The Archidoxes of Magic or Of the Supreme Mysteries of Nature
• Arbatel: Concerning the Magic of Ancients: Original Sourcebook of Angel Magic Edited by Joseph H. Peterson
• Arbatel: Of the Magic of the Ancients
• Practical Arbatel: Conjuration of the Olympic Spirit – Sam takes ya through it!
• The Olympian Spirits
• Did Paracelsus develop Medical Chemistry out of Alchemy? Did any of his other work have any merit? – This is the Paper which I was a little ambivalent about
• Theophrastia Sancti: The Lion of the North Prophecy
• The Testament of Cyprian the Mage by Jake Stratton-Kent
• The Secrets of Alchemy by Lawrence Principe – As an introduction to Alchemy, this is very very good
• The Secret Teachers of the Western World by Gary Lachman – Gary covers Paracelsus briefly but succinctly here
• The Zurich Paracelsus Project
• Theatrum Paracelsicum – Tonnes of great stuff to check out
• Alchemy, Science, and Pseudoscience – The Modern Hermeticist
• Paracelsus: Essential Theoretical Writings
• Prophets of Doom – Hardcore History episode about the Münster Rebellion. A small slice of the kind of social/religious upheaval which occurred in 16th Century Europe