Arturo Reghini (12 November 1878 – 1 July 1946) was an Italian mathematician, philosopher and esotericist.

Biography

Arturo Reghini was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

on 12 November 1878. In 1898, he became a member of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

for which he founded a section in Rome. In 1903, he published in Palermo the first books of the editorial series named ''Biblioteca Teosofica'' (Theosophical Library) and later ''Biblioteca filosofica''). In the same year, he was initiated in the Memphis' rite, a Masonic spiritual path that is derived by the ancient Egyptians and in Italy is uniquely practised in Palermo. In 1907, he was admitted to the regular

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the S ...

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

" Lucifero" in

, affiliated to the

Grand Orient of Italy The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) ( it, Grande Oriente d'Italia) is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy fr ...

. Subsequently, Reghini adhered for a short period to the

Martinism Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his state of material privation from his divine source, and the process of his return, called 'Reintegration'. As a mystical traditio ...

Gérard Encausse Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse (July 13, 1865 – 25 October 1916), whose esotericism, esoteric pseudonyms were Papus and Tau Vincent, was a French people, French physician, hypnotist, and popularizer of occultism, who founded the modern mar ...

and started to report the errors of the lawyer and Grand Master Sacchi about his administration of the Italian Freemasonry, also confuting his publications. In 1907, Amedeo Rocco Armentano introduced Reghini to the knowledge of the

Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the ancient Greek colony of Kroton, ...

. In 1912, Reghini was in directorate of the Italian Freemasonry (in Italian: ''Supremo Consiglio Universale'' of the '' Rito filosofico italiano'') from which he resigned in 1940 with a strongly negative judgement about the national brotherhood. In 1921, he was initiated to the 33rd and highest degree of the Scottish Rite. Then he was elected as effective member of the Supremo Consiglio d'Italia of which he became the Great Commendor and the General Secretary. In 1925, Reghini signed the internal decree No 245 related to its termination. On May 19, the Italian Parliament had approved the law of reform for the freedom of association, banning the masonic lodges out of the country. Reghini edited the journals ''Atanór'' (1924) and ''Ignis'' (1925) devoted to initiate studies, covering topics such as

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

, Hebrew

Cabalism A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. Th ...

and the

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Alessandro Cagliostro Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (, ; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795) was the alias of the Italian occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (; in French usually referred to as Joseph Balsamo). Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician ...

. A circle of esotericists formed around these journals and adopted the name '' Gruppo di Ur''. The group's members included

Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, esotericist, and radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocratic, masculine, traditionalist, heroic, and defiant ...

and the anthroposophists Giovanni Colazza and Giovanni Antonio Colonna di Cesarò. From 1927 to 1928 the group published the monthly journal ''UR''. Reghini fell out with Evola and the ''Ur'' group in 1928; a major reason was Reghini's support for Freemasonry, which was not in line with the direction the journal had taken. Reghini left the editorial board and ''UR'' was discontinued. It was briefly replaced in 1929 by a journal named ''Krur'', without Reghini's involvement. Reghini was opposed to Christianity, which he associated with

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the "Age of Reas ...

and

egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

, and sought to establish a form of modern Paganism he called "''magia colta''", "cultured magic", which he drew from

Hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are containe ...

and

Platonism Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at l ...

. A critic of democracy and an advocate for the ancient Roman aristocracy, Reghini welcomed the rise of Italian Fascism, which he associated with the ancient world. He wrote in ''Atanór'' in 1924 that he had anticipated the emergence of such a regime in Italy 15 years prior. From the second half of the 1920s, he wrote critically about

clerical fascism Clerical fascism (also clero-fascism or clerico-fascism) is an ideology that combines the political and economic doctrines of fascism with clericalism. The term has been used to describe organizations and movements that combine religious elements ...

and the increasing fascist hostility towards non-Catholic religious views. He adopted an ironic writing style associated with the anti-clericalism of the era before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

. Reghini died in Budrio on 1 July 1946.

Legacy

Reghini was an important influence on Evola during the years 1924 to 1930. He introduced Evola to the major texts on

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

, which became the basis for Evola's book ''The Hermetic Tradition'' (1931). It was also through Reghini that Evola came in contact with

René Guénon René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as ''Abdalwâhid Yahiâ'' (; ''ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā'') was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having writte ...

, whose

Traditionalism Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to: Religion * Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group * Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th–c ...

would have a profound impact on his thinking. Reghini's journals and the works of the ''Ur'' group have influenced the development of Italic-Roman neopaganism and

Roman polytheistic reconstructionism Revivals of the ancient Roman polytheistic religion have occurred in several forms in modern times. Seeking to revive traditional Roman cults and mores, they have been known under various names including cultus deorum Romanorum (worship of the R ...

Bibliography

* ''Le parole sacre e di passo dei primi tre gradi ed il massimo mistero massonico'', Atanor, Rome, 1922. * ''Per la restituzione della geometria pitagorica'' (1935); new edition Il Basilisco, Genoa, 1988, which also includes ''I numeri sacri nella tradizione pitagorica''; new title ''Numeri sacri e geometria pitagorica.'' * ''Il fascio littorio, ovvero il simbolismo duodecimale e il fascio etrusco'' (1935); new edition Il Basilisco, Genoa, 1980. * ''Dei Numeri pitagorici (Libri sette)'' (1940) – Prologo – Associazione culturale Ignis, 2004. * ''Dei Numeri Pitagorici (Libri sette)'' – Parte Prima – Volume Primo – Dell'equazione indeterminata di secondo grado con due incognite – Archè/pizeta, 2006. * ''Dei Numeri Pitagorici (Libri sette)'' – Parte Prima – Volume Secondo – Delle soluzioni primitive dell'equazione di tipo Pell ''x''² − ''Dy''² = ''B'' e del loro numero – Archè/pizeta, 2012. * ''Dizionario Filologico'', ("Associazione culturale Ignis"), 2008. * ''Cagliostro'', ("Associazione culturale Ignis"), 2007. * ''Considerazioni sul Rituale dell'apprendista libero muratore'', Phoenix, Genoa, 1978. * ''Paganesimo, Pitagorismo, Massoneria'', Mantinea, Furnari (Messina), 1986. * ''Per la restituzione della Massoneria Pitagorica Italiana'', introduction by Vinicio Serino, Raffaelli Editore, Rimini, 2005, * ''La Tradizione Pitagorica Massonica'', Fratelli Melita Editori, Genoa, 1988, * ''Trascendenza di Spazio e Tempo'', "Mondo Occulto", Napoli, 1926, reprint Libreria Ed. ASEQ 2010. Selected translations with introductions and annotations: *''De occulta philosophia'' by

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (; ; 14 September 1486 – 18 February 1535) was a German polymath, physician, legal scholar, soldier, theologian, and occult writer. Agrippa's '' Three Books of Occult Philosophy'' published in 1533 dre ...

(Alberto Fidi, Milan, 1926; two volumes); reprinted by Edizioni Mediterranee and I Dioscuri, Genoa, 1988. *''Le Roi du Monde'' by

(Alberto Fidi editore, Milan, 1927).

Biography

Legacy

Bibliography

References

Further reading