The Morning of the Magicians

''The Morning of the Magicians: Introduction to Fantastic Realism'' (french: Le Matin des magiciens) is a 1960 book by the journalists Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier. As the authors disclaim in their preface, the book is intended to challenge readers' viewpoints on historic events, whether they believe the explanations or not, but with the goal to give readers the opportunity to test their level of cognitive dissonance and critical thinking skills. The book is often referenced by conspiracy-theory enthusiasts and presents a collection of "raw material for speculation of the most outlandish order" by covering topics like cryptohistory, ufology, occultism in Nazism, alchemy, spiritual philosophy and Die Glocke. Written in French, ''Le Matin des magiciens'' was translated into English by Rollo Myers in 1963 under the title ''The Dawn of Magic'', and in 1964 released in the United States as ''The Morning of the Magicians'' (Stein and Day; paperback in 1968 by Avon Books). A German edition was published 1962 with the title ''Aufbruch ins dritte Jahrtausend'' (''Departure into the Third Millennium'').

''The Morning of the Magicians'' became a cult classic within the youth culture in France in the 1960s and the 1970s. Cautioned by the hostile reception by skeptic reviewers (notable among whom were the secular humanists Yves Galifret, Évry Schatzman and Jean-Claude Pecker from the Rationalist Union, who debunked the book in ''Le crépuscule des Magiciens'' (1965); "The Twilight of the Magicians"),
Pauwels and Bergier went on to pursue their interest in the paranormal in the magazine ''Planète'', dedicated to what they termed ''réalisme fantastique'' (fantastic realism). Both ''The Morning of the Magicians'' and the ''Planète'' magazine had considerable influence on the esotericism of the 1960s–1970s counterculture, heralding the popularization of New Age ideas.

Background

Pauwels and Bergier worked on the book over five years, compiling voluminous documentation incorporated into the Bibliothèque nationale de France as ''Fonds Pauwels'' in 2007. Heavily influenced by Charles Fort's work and ideas, the authors' primary aim was to arouse the curiosity of their readership, stating "Let us repeat that there will be a lot of silliness in our book, but this matters little if the book stirs up a few vocations and, to a certain degree, prepares broader tracks for research".

Influence

In a 2004 article for ''Skeptic'', the author Jason Colavito wrote that the book's tales of ancient astronauts predated Erich von Däniken's works on the topic, and that the ideas are so close to the fictional works of H. P. Lovecraft such as "The Call of Cthulhu" or ''At the Mountains of Madness'' (published in 1928 and 1931, respectively) that, according to Colavito, it is probable that Lovecraft's fiction directly inspired the book.

The fifth track on The Flaming Lips album '' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' is titled "In the Morning of the Magicians", referencing the novel.

Issues of Sources and Critical Thinking

The book has no bibliography or sources except for a few mentioned in the text. While some of the chapters and topics are intriguing, the reader must think critically. ''The Morning of the Magicians'' pulls the reader in with lesser-known topics but leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not they believe the information presented. The lack of sources makes it hard to determine what is real and what is not. Much of the information in ''The Morning of the Magicians'' cannot be confirmed or sourced. In the preface to the book, a quote reads: "But, so as not to weigh down the book too much, we have avoided a multiplicity of references, footnotes, and bibliographies" (Pauwels and Bergier, xxx). While ''The Morning of the Magicians'' is intriguing to read, it is not a reliable source of information. The most important thing one can do while reading this book is to undertake fact-checking and use critical thinking.

Criticism and Misrepresentation of Science

A subject that permeating the entire book is the perceived failures of science accompanied by misrepresentation of what science is and the nature and limits of the scientific method. The authors go as far as to claim that "science is not a technique", presumably referring to the scientific method, and instead claim that "science shows that nothing can be done", which presumably refers to pseudoscientific theories that have been disproven. The authors quote scientists (albeit lacking sources) who had created theories that were then disproven by real-life experimentation such as heavier-than-air flight, neglecting to mention that experimentation to attempt to disprove a theory is a regular occurrence that is accepted, if not encouraged, in the scientific community. Another trend is that Pauwels and Bergier lament that the scientific community do not study the spiritual world they believe to exist, despite science being only able to study material phenomena by the nature of the scientific method.

Critiques of Specific Topics

The Nine Unknown Men

Pauwels and Bergier advocate for the creation of an international council to review scientific information and dictate what is acceptable for mass consumption, citing scientific research with potentially destructive capabilities such as atomic weapons. They claim that Talbot Mundy's fictional novel ''The Nine Unknown'' about nine unknown men from India that safeguard information for the benefit of humanity is factual and use it as an "example" of successful scientific censorship. Pauwels and Bergier add information that is not in Mundy's original novel, such as that one of the Nine Unknown met Pope Sylvester II and that the group was founded by the Indian Emperor Ashoka.

The Golden Dawn

One of the topics is the history of the Golden Dawn. This group was founded in 1887 by three Freemasons: Wiliam Robert Woodman, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, and Wynn Westcottl It was founded as Hermetic secret society that delved into metaphysics and paranormal rituals. Throughout its history, the Golden Dawn has been involved with the philosophy of magic and ritual practices with the goal of individual spiritual enlightenment. With influence from Freemasonry, alchemy, and Enochian magic, the Golden Dawn sought higher levels of spirituality through practicing natural magic.

Pyramidology and Logical Fallacies

In ''The Morning of the Magicians'', Pauwels and Bergier engage in pyramidology and suggest that the Giza pyramid complex could not have been built by humans. The authors claim the construction of the pyramids would have been impossible for humans, asking, "how were these chipped stones weighing 22,046 pounds and more hoisted into place? ...in the nineteenth century we had the greatest difficulty transported two obelisks". On the next page, Pauwels and Bergier say "Did they perhaps intercept the Sun's light and convey it to the interior by some optical contrivance? No traces of lens of any kind have been found". It is apparent that Pauwels and Bergier use a logical fallacy in their skepticism regarding the use of interior lighting by ancient Egyptians. By asserting that no lenses have been found, they are implying that because there is no evidence of the lenses they must not exist, this is an appeal to ignorance fallacy. These two quotes are just some examples of how ''The Morning of the Magicians'' makes the reader question their own understanding of the topic at hand. In this case, the goal is to make the reader believe that there is no way the ancient Egyptians could have constructed such intricate and towering monuments unless they had help from a more advanced outside force.

Nazism

A large section of ''The Morning of the Magicians'' discusses Nazism, and the esoteric principles and teachings on which it allegedly was founded. As part of the Nazi pseudoscience, the rejection of Western science, and an accompanying anti-intellectual movement, a war of ideas emerged in Austria and Germany in which many alternative explanations to basic ideas in science (in physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography, etc.) arose. These included the Hollow Earth Theory, ''Welteislehre'' (literally "World Ice Doctrine", which Pauwels and Bergier refer to as "eternal ice theory"), and many others. This movement was not only a rejection of science and an alternative pursuit into understanding nature, but an attempt "to develop the hidden potentialities of man", and unite them with the cosmic forces at play in the universe. Additionally, the idea of the ''Übermensch'' was used as a way to promote the biological superiority of the Aryan race, an idea that is proposed by the authors as having mystical origins rather than representing the racism and antisemitism that was characteristic of the Nazis.

''Welteislehre'' (World Ice Doctrine)

The ''Welteislehre'' (World Ice Doctrine) "explained the cosmos which was in contradiction with official astronomy and mathematics, but corroborated by ancient mythology" and arose as a form of anti-Jewish science proposed by the Austrian engineer Hanns Hörbiger and his co-author Philipp Johann Heinrich Fauth. Describing objective science as a "pernicious invention", Hörbiger shared views with Adolf Hitler that he claimed only those who are "enlightened persons" or “prophets” (which both Hitler and Hörbiger were believed by their followers to be) should have access to his science. In opposition to modern science, it required "superior consciousness".

In World Ice Doctrine, Hörbiger proposed an alternative explanation for evolution (especially Darwinian theory). He claimed that the gravitational pull of the Moon altered the size of beings and also their intelligence, which he asserted gave rise to giants or demigods who represented the epitome of human development in history. Hörbiger also proposed an alternative explanation for cataclysmic events, which often were also the result of the Moon and its gravitational effect. Pauwels and Bergier claim that Hitler and Heirich Himmler's interest in World Ice Doctrine was consistent with the assertion that the Aryan race was the most intelligent and superior on Earth, representing the descendants of giants. World Ice Doctrine also asserted that the Jews and other minorities are "much further removed from animals than we are", identifying them as "the evolutionary byproduct" of a transitional period in which the Tertiary Moon had impacted the Earth and our own current Moon was not in orbit. Nazi doctrine asserted that the Aryan race had a cosmic responsibility to eradicate the Jews. This is why, when Hitler began losing the war, he ordered the extermination of as much life as he could in order to begin the final cataclysm of Earth. The result was the Holocaust. Evidence for World Ice Doctrine was often claimed to have been found archaeologically. For example, the ruins of the “Atlantis in the Andes" (the ruins of Tiwanaku) were thought to prove the existence of giants in the time of the second Moon (of which there have been four), or in Mexico where the Toltecs left behind sacred texts that describe the history of the Earth in a way that was asserted to fit with Hörbiger's theory. Hörbiger and Fauth cited various mythologies and religious texts, including the Bible, to confirm World Ice Doctrine.

References

External links

Collection of cover art from various editions

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morning of the Magicians
1960 non-fiction books
Books about conspiracy theories
Éditions Gallimard books
Forteana
French non-fiction books
Occult books
Works by Louis Pauwels
Occultism in Nazism