Bardon’s 1958 Obituary

In quiet appreciation of the memory and sacrifices of the Master, here is a recent translation from the original German text that readers might be interested in (as usual, apologies in advance for any mistakes and omissions in the translation):

Bardon-Obituary 1958

The “Occult voice” (Okkulte Stimme) – the predecessor of “Esotera” – gave this response to Bardon’s death (beginning on page 7, the issue of 10th October, 1958):

From the life of a Great Magician by Eberhard Maria Körner

Franz Bardon, one of the few great magicians and adepts of our time, was recalled to a different dimension on the 10th July.

Initiates would have expected this change of plane as a duty and a not unfamiliar event. But many of his students and readers of his works may have been touched by this initially painful, surprising and inexplicable event.

For this search and for those interested in magic and who might perhaps want to address Bardon’s work in the future, I am permitted now to report more on the life and associations of this great magician, all of which is drawn from direct sources.

By way of introduction, I can outline the following description of his general activity:

Franz Bardon was best known during recent years to a wide audience of German occult circles through his magnificent works “The Way to true Initiation”, “The Practice of Magical Evocation” and “The key to the True Quabbalah”.

In these works, he revealed on behalf of Divine Providence, on whose service he always acted without reserve, for the first time in earthly history truths which until then were “hermetically sealed” ie. were secret. In these, he gives precise instructions on magical actions, as always in a mature manner.

He was also a magical researcher of high degree, because he opened up realms which were previously inaccessible even to some of the initiated.

He communicated with all 360 intelligences of the “Zone Girdling the Earth”, knew their names and properties, and published their sigils (invoking symbols). But he also knew about the intelligences of other zones, the Moon, Venus, Sun Spheres, etc. and wrote about them in detail.

High insiders, such as the Master-Therion-circle (“Meister-Therion-Kreis”), found through Bardon confirmation of precise theoretical knowledge about the structure and nature of the cosmic spheres, and furthermore Bardon opened the way for well-known physicists and mathematicians like de Witt to fully confirm in a scientific manner the truth of these vast new territories!

As far as I am allowed to say here, I will now give some insights in the life and private particulars of the Master:

Franz Bardon was born on the 1st December 1909 in Troppau (in Czech “Opava”). Troppau was also the earthly place to his passing on. On the 16th July 1958 his physical body was cremated there.

As he always had the ability to depart his earthly shell during his lifetime, a rapid destruction of the same seemed appropriate.

His life was a worthy sacrifice for a true adept, for he took no regard for himself from foreign karma, and he was given the gift and skill, as one of the few chosen ones, to really alleviate and change human suffering.

Bardon was chiefly a medical practitioner. To initiates he is also known as the leader of a powerful white lodge, tasked at the time with the fight against the notorious former “99-lodge” and its demonic goals.

At that time he traveled extensively and directed his insights to those in his talks who had the “ears to hear”.

During the Hitler regime Bardon suffered terribly, but escaped death because he had other missions to fulfill. Of his enormous skills Hitler himself and some of his contemporaries had been convinced. After the war he devoted himself exclusively to his healing work in his home town. But soon he was to become known throughout the country.

Bardon took only the most serious cases in treatment, which were, according to the view of other doctors “incurable”. But he healed! For example, 300 of the most seriously ill people from all over Czechoslovakia were his patients, suffering from epilepsy, mental illus, cancer, Lupus, tuberculosis, blood poisoning and similar cruel diseases. He could also regenerate internal organs, in one case growing a fresh lung, such “miracles” and more.

Bardon extended the life of the then President Benes, who had been ill with cancer on his death bed, by around three years more.

By this act Bardon also won the goodwill of the government of his country, and he then worked in Prague as a private consultant to high officials. He was tolerated due to his achievements and his magical work, for he was never shut down due to political interference. His practice in Troppau was not abandoned and he continued to treat the poor for free.

Bardon was aware of all of his incarnations. His last four incarnations on Earth are known of. His penultimate birthday was the 15th February 1677. Then, in this incarnation, he took with the consent of Divine Providence and the person concerned, the body of a young man and at the age of 18 years, in Germany, Bardon was known under the name “Frabato”.

He also possessed the “philosopher’s stone” and had perhaps the most perfect alchemical laboratory in the world. He was as at home in the astral plane as in the mental plane and could also act directly in Akasha, dissolving both time and space and “causal reality” (Ursachen schaffen) as is said in magic.

A lady, whose last incarnation was in Tibet (in her youth manufacturing Tibetan silverwork, whose proper preparation is still not known!) even then had Bardon as her master, and she sought and found him in the present.

Besides direct magical healing powers he used for special cases also spagyric (magnetic healing) elixirs. He concentrated in that way eg. the essence of 10 kilograms of certain herbs in a single drop of a drug. Such performance was probably unmatched by any healing magic so far! His magnetism was so strong that by mere concentration of his odic charge he could shatter a crystal mirror!

Franz Bardon was a kind man, of helpful, simple character, and he also displayed a sense of humor, and paternal strictness where necessary. To the uninitiated, as with every true Master, he never revealed his true mission, and he consistently rejected any cult of personality.

He accepted only a small number of personal students, but had always magical oversight of each of his serious followers and readers.

His works he wrote by explicit order of the Divine Providence. These three books reveal the secrets of first three “Tarot cards”. These each represent pages in the “Book of God”, that is, the entire divine hierarchy, which is symbolized in 72 cards!

Bardon knew however about all of these cards. For this fact will shed light on the true size of this man, because already the Master of the first three “Tarot cards“, that his present station is of a true adept, above space, time and causality.

It should be mentioned from the start that an attempt of some astrological interpretation of Bardon the magician would be wrongheaded, as he was the master of any Self-karma and thus able to overcome the effects of the horoscope. Being a Magician means being a ruler in voluntary compliance with Divine law!

The master himself described his life in novel form, entitled “Frabato”. This book is about to appear at the end of the year.

Here I would like to describe a personal experience: I had at that time the job of bringing the manuscript of this novel to Prague for correction. Since the project was rushed, obtaining an official permit in advance would have taken too long, and I trusted therefore on the magical protection of the manuscript by the Master. At the border all my travel companions (it was a tour group) were subjected to a general search. Every last corner of luggage and clothing were checked. The manuscript I had just put in my suitcase, only covered with my pajamas. Now, while all other cases literally were turned inside out, the young official said to me “it’s good” after I opened the lid only slightly!

This little episode may be a modest example of the possibilities in Bardon’s possession. Of course, I traveled as an ordinary tourist like the others and had no special powers.

During the last months of his earthly life were still heavy going for Bardon. At the behest of the Divine Providence, he still took up the karma of many people.

He was aware of his immanent departure, because with the revelation of the first three Tarot cards his earthly mission of this aeon was accomplished.

For he who lives and acts within the spirit of Bardon‘s works is rightly regarded as a pioneer in the dawn of the new era of synthesis, the appearance of Union with the Divine order.

Franz Bardon bowed to his recall, and passed over to those planes that constitute his true home. From there he continues to work, voluntary servant of his high mission, and is also still connected to his loyal friends, students and readers here.

One thing that does come across quite strongly is that Körner has the highest respect for Bardon, as “a true adept, above space, time and causality“, a “master of self karma […] in voluntary compliance with divine law“, but also from a more human side, that he was “a kind man, of helpful, simple character, and […] displayed a sense of humor, [who] consistently rejected any cult of personality“.

After the 50+ years that have elapsed since Bardon’s death, it can be difficult for modern readers to gain a sense of the accuracy of some of the common tales that we hear, and we can perhaps wonder whether they have sprung up over that period due to an element of embellishment or mythology. One of the interesting things for me about reading this contemporary article is that it gives us an idea of Bardon’s standing and the perception of his actions and activities during or near to the time he was alive, and so should be ‘closer to the mark’.

So far, I have not been able to discover further information on the scientist de Witt, who looked for scientific proof about the cosmic spheres, or of the possible identity of his supposed penultimate incarnation on the 15th February 1677 (aside from the rather dubious list of possible incarnations given by Otti Votavova in Frabato). Interestingly, Körner does mention the 99-Lodges, and this being prior to the publication of Frabato.

The “Master-Therion-circle” is it seems a reference to Aleister Crowley, a connection which is mentioned by a number of sources, but again I have not heard any specific details about the relationship between the two magicians.

This text was included in the 1990 German Aurora Verlag version of Frabato, it has not been included in any other version of Frabato I have come across. More recently, it was also included in Johannes Hohenstatten‘s “Das Leben des Franz Bardon”.

In addition to the usual sources, I would encourage those interested in a historical perspective of Franz Bardon’s life to read Frater Ramose’s excellent A Perspective on Franz Bardon.