Franz Bardon is regarded by many as the greatest and most important Hermetic adept of the 20th century. A tireless worker for the light, Franz Bardon survived Hitler’s concentration camps but died a victim of Communist persecution in 1958. Franz Bardon left behind him four legendary books which have become acknowledged classics of occult literature. Initiation into Hermetics is the first and most important of Franz Bardon’s works and is rightly regarded as the cornerstone of his entire opus. In contrast to other books on the subject of magic, Franz Bardon focuses his attention on the practical training of mind, body, and soul necessary for all true magical attainment.

You might ask, “who was Franz Bardon?” For those who are not familiar with his work, suffice it to say that Bardon is considered to be one of the most important adepts of our age. According to Bardon himself, he was directed by Divine Providence to reveal to humanity the meaning behind the first four Major Arcana of the Tarot. While he fulfilled his mission, only his revelation of three of the Tarot cards were published and the fourth has been lost due to the twists of fate. The first card, the Magician, was revealed in “Initiation Into Hermetics” (IIH)^[2]; the second card, the High Priestess, was revealed in “The Practice of Magical Evocation” (PME)^[3]; and, the third card, the Empress, was revealed in “The Key to the True Quabbalah” (KTQ)^[4]. Only a small fragment of his revelation of the fourth card, the Emperor, remains and is found as an appendix to the book “Frabato”, titled “The Golden Book of Wisdom”^[5].