|
Franz Bardonث (December 1, 1909 - July 10, 1958). Born in Opava in Czech Republic. Bardon was both a stage magician and student and teacher of Hermetics. During World War II Bardon was at one point held in a concentration camp for refusing to participate in Nazi Mysticism. Bardon was rescued by Russian soldiers who raided the camp. Bardon continued his work in the fields of Hermetics until 1958 when he was arrested and imprisoned in Brno Czechoslovakia. Bardon died in 1958 after consuming bacon which caused his death of pancreatitis. He is best known for his three volumes on Hermetic magic. These volumes are Initiation Into Hermetics, The Practice of Magical Evocation and The Key to the True Quabbalah . Additionally there was a fourth work attributed to him by the title of Frabato the Magician, supposed to be a disguised autobiography. Though the book lists its author as Bardon, it was actually written by his secretary, Otti Votavova. While some elements of the story are factual, the majority of the book was written as an Occult Novel with much embellishment on the part of Votavova. Bardon's works are most notable for their simplicity, their relatively small theoretical sections, and heavy emphasis on practice with many exercises. Many consider him to have written the best training programs of any magician of the 20th century. They were written with the intention of allowing students who wished to practice magic the means to do so if they could not study under a teacher (which Bardon recommended if possible).
|
