THE WORKS OF GUIDO VON LIST

- The Early Period

Before his mystical "initiation" in 1902 and the subsequent publication of Das Geheimnis der Runen, Guido von lIst had, with the notable exception of Der Unbesiegbare, mainly confiend himself to journalistic and fiction work. His journalism, however, covered a wide range of material. Much of it was concerned with the local antiquities and natural and man-made wonders of the Austrian countryside. But there was also the occasional foray into actual religious or magical ideas, as in "Gotterdammerung" (1893), *26 "Von der Wuotanspriesterschaft" (1893), *27 "Die deutsche Mythologie im Rahmen eines Kalenderjahres" (1894), *28 "Der deutsche Zauberglaube in Bauwesen" (1895), *29 and "Mephistopheles" (1895). *30 These, as well as the natural-mystical assumptions that underlie his interpretations of ancient and natural phenomena, would seem to indicate that a fairly sophisticated system of mystical thinking had been developed by List throughout these early years.

Of course, the major part of List's energies before 1902 were spent in the production of neo-romantic fiction and verse. In this period, basically that between 1888 and 1903, when the last of his major fiction was published, there are essentially two phases.

The first of these, between 1888 and 1895, might be called his novelistic phase. During this time he produced three major novels (including his earlier work Carnuntum ) and two major epic-dramatic poems.

Carnuntum, his first novel was set in the time of the Germanic invasions across the Roman limes in the late fourth century C.E. Historically, Carnuntum was overrun in 374 C.E. by the Quadi, a Germanic tribe. It is an explicit feature of List's historical vision that modern Austria south and west of the Danube was an Urheimat, a primeval homeland, of the Germanic peoples, and that with such ancient invasions the Germans were merely reclaiming territories lost to Roman forces of occupation. *31

Jung Diethers Heimkehr (1894) is set in the same geographical area in the fifth century. It relates the story of a young Markomanni-Quadi warrior who is forced to convert to Christianity (in the hated Roman culture) but who eventually returns to the faith of his fathers - Wuotanism - once he realises the essence of "Christianism." In the same year, Der Wala Erweckung appeared, but apparently it was not performed until 3 November 1895 . In 1895 there also appeared the skaldic sacral drama Walkurenweihe. The year 1895 also saw List's most succesful work of fiction, Pipara: Die Germanin im Casarenpurur (Pipara: the Germanic Woman in the purple of the Caesars). This two-volume work recounts the legendary rise of a Germanic slave to the position of empress in the late third century C.E.

Probably as a result of his marriage in 1899 to the actress Anna Witteck, List devoted his literary efforts almost exclusively to drama between that year and the year of his final fiction publications, 1903. These included Konig Vannius (1899), Sommer-Sonnwend-Feuerzauber (1901), and Das Goldstuck (1903).

The year 1903 also saw the publication of List's Kunstmarchen anthology: Alraunenmaren: Kultur-historische Novellen un Dichtungen aus germanischer Vorzeit (Mandrake-Tales: Cultural-historical Novellas and Poetry from Germanic Prehistory). In this volume List presented original tales and poetry chronologically arranged from the "age of the gods" to the present (in the symbolically autobiographical " Eine Zauernacht, " which recounts his inner experience on that famous visit to Carnuntum in the summer of 1875).

- The Later Period

The spiritual watershed year was, of course, 1902. But it was not until 1908 that the first volume of his eight books of "investigations" appeared. Six of these were published by the Guido von list Society itself in the series called the Guido-von-List-Bucherei (GvLB); the two exceptions were first published by Adolf Burdeke in Switzerland and Leipzig .

Das Geheimnis der Runen (The Secret of the Runes; GvLB no. 1, 1908), the work translated here, is both a brief summary of the intellectual world of List, as realised in the years between 1902 and 1908, and an introduction to the rest of his work. The runes became the cornerstone of List's ideology, and no other work so clearly and simply outlines his ideas on them.

Die Armanenschaft der Ario-Germanen (The Armanism of the Aryo-Germanic People; GvLB nos. 2a-2b, 1908 and 1911) is a two-volume set that outlines the great principles of Armanism, its social history and organisation, as well as its cosmological conceptions. The second volume also contains the most pointed use of contemporary racist ideology that List would publish in this series.

Die Rita der Ario-Germanen (The Rita of the Aryo-Germanic People, GvLB no. 3, 1908) represents a mystical delineation of Germanic law, in the cosmic as well as the political realm. The term rita os obviously borrowed from Sanskrit rta or rita, “cosmic order.” This work also contains a fairly detailed account of the “Holy Feme” (or “Vehme”) as it was understood by contemporary volkish occultists.

Dir Namen der Volkerstamme Germaniens und deren Deutung (The Names of the Tribes of the People of Germania and their Interpretation; GvLB no. 4, 1909) represents the application of List's mystical theories concerning Kala (see p.77ff.) to the many tribal names of the Germanic peoples which have survived in Roman histories, etc.

Die Religion der Ario-Germanen in ihrer Esoterik und Exoterik (The Religion of the Aryo-Germanic People in its Esoteric and Exoteric Aspects; 1909 or 1910) is a discussion of the Armanic theories of astrological lore, theology, and numerology.

Die Bilderschrift der Ario-Germanen: Ario-Germanische Hierogyphik (The Pictographic Script of the Aryo-Germanic People: Aryo-Germanic Hieroglyphics; GvLB no. 5, 1910) is one o fList's most unique and fascinating mystical explorations. In this volume he interprets all sorts of graphic signs and symbols – including runes, sigils, and symbolic animals – and then applies his theories to the esoteric symbolism of heraldry. This is the most sophisticated delineation of ideas first presented in The Secret of the Runes (see p. 81ff. of the present text).

Die Unbergang vom Wuotanismus zum Christentum (The Transition from Wuotanism to Christianity; 1911) is connected with a central theme in List's thinking: the (more or less) smooth transition between the pagan and Christian religions. This theory (many elements of which are perfectly legitimate) allows for the pagan reinterpretation of Christian customs, festivals, names, and so forth, based on the idea that these tribes were originally heathen (Wuotanist) features that only received a Christian veneer. Thus the pagan ways have, according to List, survived the centuries more or less intact, and are only in need of correct reinterpretation in order to make them living Wuotanist realities again.

It was three more years before List's next, and most comprehensive, study appeared. Die Ursprache der Ario-Germanen in ihre Mysteriensprache (The Primal Language of the Aryo-Germanic People and their Mystery Language; GvLB no. 6, 1914) is the encyclopediac presentation of List's complex linguistic theories, based on Kala. This work actually represents the raising of the tradition known as “folk etymology“ to the level of an arcane science comparable to cabalistic number theories. (See P. 69ff. below for a sample of these techniques.)

The disruptions caused by the Great War caused an indefinite delay in the publication of List's last volume of investigations, which was to be entitled Armanismus und Kabbala. In fact, by the time the Master died in 1919 the manuscript had still not been prepared for publication, and so it was never made public. Some rumours have it that the work was stolen, others that it was merely kept secret by members of the HAO. This was to be List's great work of magical correspondences. It would have also further developed the mystical history of the way in which, according to List, Armanen- wisdom found its way into Judaic mysticism and Renaissance humanism. *32

The works of Guido von List continued to be printed, and the Society flourished until the late 1930's, when it fell under the general suppressions exercised by the National Socialist regime of “Greater Germany.” Of course, List's works we read, studied, and collected by the Germanophilic Nazis – most of the copies of List's works to be found in academic libraries in America bear the stamp of the Reichsfuhrer SS Bucherei and /or that of the Ahnenerbe. (For further information on the Ahnenerbe, see fn 50.) It would seem that after the contents of these libraries were confiscated and sent to America they were subsequently distributed among American (especially “Ivy League”) universities.