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Rodrigo Borgia - Pope Alexander VI February 12, 2009 @ 7:32 a.m.
When I first read the 6th and 7th collection thoroughly, I was
confused to find all these references to the magic of Alexander. I
originally thought it was talking about Alexander the Great, who as
far as I know doesn't have any special magical lore attached to him
other than his legendary character, deeds, and religious lore.
Reading through the Black Raven the other day and trying to make
sense out of the Latin introduction, Joe's footnotes alerted me to
the fact that the Alexander spoken of was actually Rodrigo Borgia -
the Pope Alexander VI - and that he had a reputation for powerful
black magic.
A week or so ago, I was talking with my spirit friend Duke Agares of
the Goetic 72, and he told me something very disturbing. He said that
in medieval Europe, the clergy actually used to sell human souls to
the underworld in exchange for temporal power and might. At first I
wondered if this was just a symbolic way of expressing the spiritual
betrayal of the Catholic church. But I remember now reading in
Barbara Hand Clow's book on the Nine Dimensions that dark alchemists
within the church not only enslaved and abused the telluric elemental
spirits, but actually utilized the magic inherent in blood to
manipulate the masses via the rituals of communion. It seemed very
far-fetched to me at the time, but now a very scary picture is
beginning to emerge of just how debased things got during the dark
ages, and even how they culminated during the Renaissance.
I asked another friend about all this - this time a human one. He is
a fellow magician, a very powerful psychic, and also a high priest of
the Order of Melchizedek. He confirmed what Agares had told me and
said that it was probably done under the Borgias. I had never heard
their name outside of an art history class. I asked if maybe he meant
the Medicis, who were scandalous even though they were great patrons
of the arts. He told me the Borgias were much, much worse, and that
not only Rodrigo but his daughter Lucrecia had rooms filled with the
implements of black magic.
I just finished reading the wikipedia article on Pope Alexander VI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_VI . There wasn't any
occult references that I could find, but there were a few very
interesting facts that raised flags for me. One was that Borgia was
actually the name of his mother's family, and that he adopted that
name when his maternal uncle became a pope (Calixtus III).
His predecessor died in 1492, the same year Columbus discovered the
island of Hispaniola (Now Haiti and the Dominican Republic). And
Aleister Crowley, the "Great Beast 666", claimed to have been
Alexander VI in a previous life.
Some other quotes that stuck out from the article:
*"Borgia was elected on 11 August 1492, assuming the name of
Alexander VI. Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, later to become Pope
Leo X, sharply criticized the election and warned of dire things to
come:
'Now we are in the power of a wolf, the most rapacious perhaps that
this world has ever seen. And if we do not flee, he will inevitably
devour us all.'"
*"It has been noted that the crimes of Alexander VI are similar in
nature to those of other Renaissance princes, with the one exception
being his position in the Church. As De Maistre said in his work Du
Pape, 'The latter are forgiven nothing, because everything is
expected from them, wherefore the vices lightly passed over in a
Louis XIV become most offensive and scandalous in an Alexander VI.'"
*"The administration Pope Alexander VI created to replace the despots
of Romagna drew the admiration of political theorist Niccol�
Machiavelli...The contemporary politician and author... wrote in 1513
his book of power politics 'The Prince', in which he refers to
Alexander VI as a successful politician."
*"Barnabe Barnes' 1606 play The Devil's Charter, performed at the
Globe by the King's Men, dramatizes the life of Pope Alexander VI and
his daughter Lucretia Borgia. In Barnes' play Alexander sells his
soul to the devil in exchange for the papacy. Lucretia binds, gags,
and stabs her husband onstage and later dies poisoned by her own
cosmetics."
*"The famous cup of Borgia, a golden cup with a hidden area storing
the poison so it could be mixed with the wine, is often mentioned as
the family's favorite murdering method, and it has been the base for
many legendary and science fiction stories, including Agatha
Christie's short story 'The Apples of Hesperides' published in the
1947 collection 'The Labours of Hercules'."
*"Alexander VI, allegedly a marrano [ethnic Spanish Jew forced by
threat of exile or death to convert to Christianity] according to
papal rival Giuliano della Rovere, distinguished himself by his
relatively benign treatment of Jews. After the 1492 expulsion of Jews
from Spain, some 9,000 famished Iberian Jews arrived at the borders
of the Papal States. Alexander welcomed them into Rome, declaring
that they were "permitted to lead their life, free from interference
from Christians, to continue in their own rites, to gain wealth, and
to enjoy many other privileges." He similarly allowed the immigration
of Jews expelled from Portugal in 1497 and from Provence in 1498."
*The entire section on his death is stunning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_VI#Death
Dr. Faust was also said to have died a similarly gruesome death.
Abraham Von Wurms also makes similar references to the macabre deaths
of satanic magicians in his 'Book of Abramelin'. It seems to be
common for those who practice the darkest arts to die very horribly.
As a high cleric during the Renaissance, Borgia would have had access
to all sorts of hermetic and kabbalistic documents. The Kabbalah
might have been all the more familiar to him if he came from a Jewish
family. And then, if we are to believe the 6th and 7th collection, he
not only derived the secrets of Mosaic magic, but also that of Dr.
Faust.
A related article on the Borgia family makes an interesting reference:
"The Third Man (1949) offers a famous quote, penned by Orson Welles
for his character Harry Lime, in which he says: "Remember what the
fella said: in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare,
terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo,
Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had
brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what
did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
It got me thinking about how these men that are considered the
epitomes of evil - Borgia, Hitler, Stalin, even Bush perhaps - do not
come to power unless there is a great demand for them. The times and
the people not only create these kinds of evil men, but elect them to
high office. Given everything that was going on, its no wonder that
Borgia was made pope and acted the way he did. Its a disturbing way
to contemplate the existence of evil.
I would like to learn more about this man and any other material and
thoughts you guys could share or recommend would be most welcome.
Mario Puzo of "The Godfather" fame wrote a novel about the Borgias
called "The Family". Necronomicon Simon also has a book out on "Papal
Magic". I'm looking forward to reading those, and anything else you
all could share with me would be very appreciated.
"Details in the Fabric" - May 31, 2009
Not So Quick Questions - April 6, 2009
The Morning Stars - Lords of the 15 - April 9, 2009
Sincerity and Faith in Magic - April 10, 2009
Not So Quick Questions (2) - April 14, 2009
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