The Path of Cinnabar: The Intellectual Autobiography of Julius Evola Paperback – 11 Jun. 2009

Almost every age produces its thinkers - but few produce thinkers who do not 'think to order' - in other words, whose minds do not simply follow the path laid out by society and surroundings. Even among such independent thinkers, few go beyond a specific field of study; even rarer are those whose horizons are not limited to their own culture. Thus an individual who breaks sharply with the prevailing opinions of his time and place, and masters and musters the knowledge of numerous fields and civilizations to develop, consolidate and defend his own Weltanschaaung, is more than a mere thinker; indeed, for such men, nothing less than the title of 'genius' does them justice. Such a man was Baron Julius Cesare Evola.The Path of Cinnabar is Baron Evola's intellectual autobiography - a personal review of his contributions in art, philosophy, spirituality, history and a number of other fields. Cinnabar, in Chinese alchemy, symbolizes yang, but the title may also be a reference to the final phase of the alchemical 'Great Work' - the reddening 'which consists of the reaffirmation of the virile sovereign nature' (page 120). The metaphor is apt, since the radical reactionary's works were, one and all, dedicated to upholding the transcendent, absolute, heroic principles of Tradition against the materialistic, superficial, transient character of the modern world.The tome consists of fifteen chapters, and an appendix that contains a number of post-war interviews of Baron Evola. The former are in approximately chronological order, but are thematic in nature, with separate chapters considering Idealism, paganism, Catholicism, Buddhism, racism, among other themes - all in relation to the perspective of Tradition. Arranging the chapters under different sections related to the main phases of the author's life would have assisted the reader greatly in obtaining some understanding of how the various parts constitute the whole; unfortunately, this was not done. Consequently, this book lacks the over-arching structure that characterizes Baron Evola's finest works, such as Revolt Against the Modern World, and The Doctrine of Awakening.The Path of Cinnabar is the first hand account of the struggle of a traditional man who found himself in the twentieth century. The author himself was acutely aware of his situation, stating 'Like a lost soldier, I have sought to join a departed army by my own means', - and his oeuvre can be understood as a set of instructions for others who seek to rejoin the ranks of Tradition. This intellectual autobiography is a summary and commentary on these instructions, as well as a valuable source of background information related to his works. Hence, the Path of Cinnabar is meant more for readers who are already familiar with the author's other writings rather than those who are encountering Evolian thought for the first time.The style of the book is narrative, albeit interspersed with critical argumentation and judgements; in contrast to the other works of the author, it contains a considerable amount of (often negative) commentary on his contemporaries. This is not altogether bad, since it provides a rare insight into the intense intellectual ferment that characterized inter-war Europe - an insight that is greatly facilitated by the concise, yet informative footnotes provided by the editor John B. Morgan. These notes provide a fascinating panorama of the last efflorescence of Occidental thought before the American occupation emasculated the European mind - a tragedy that continues to this day.A man who is born into an age that is not his own, will generally find himself selecting one of three main options: suicide, solitude, or struggle against the tide. Baron Evola nearly took the first alternative in his youth, but ultimately opted for the third, and never wavered from it. The Path of Cinnabar is his account of this lifetime of opposition to the modern world, and of the principles he championed in its stead: the tale of a kshatriya who chose to fight against hopeless odds, rather than lay down his arms.This is one the few books that can be judged by its cover.

Brilliant read for new Evola readers or die hard Evola fans

There's probably not a single author so often misunderstood as Evola. He's attributed a number of labels that are often unflattering or downright accusatory; but, none of them are really very true. Even in Italy, all kinds of rumors were spread about him, including that he was paralyzed from a tantric ritual gone wrong, and he accumulated a reputation as a kind of goose-stepping and evil black magician.Thus, this book is extremely valuable, especially as the political situation in the world continues to spiral out of control. There will be a lot of hot heats wishing to censor Evola's works on the grounds of spurious accusations about his beliefs and character -- but that would be a mistake. How could we possibly condemn a man whose excellent traditionalist analysis was cited by Jung?Here, Evola explains in certain terms what he was: An aristocrat, a spiritual Kshatriya following the initiatic path, not some kind of ardent party member. He takes us, in an impersonal way natural to him but foreign to most autobiographies, through his intellectual journey, from his service in the war after which he suffered from suicidal thoughts and depression, his Dadaist period -- which is confusing to many, how the reactionary who wrote "Magical Idealism" could be drawn to such a dissolutive and nihilistic form of art (it makes sense, I promise) -- then onto his time spent as a collaborator in Italy where he eked out a life of minor notoriety as a critic of the system from the right, which drew the ire of certain party-affiliate gangs who tried to have him killed. Here he illuminates some questions that tend to be opaque such as the degree to which he interacted with Mussolini (not very closely,) and his intentions behind assisting the party (to influence it in a traditionalist-reactionary direction, ultimately a failure that put him in a lot of danger.)He dedicates a chapter to his attempt to formulate a philosophical system based around magical initiation, his theory of the Absolute Individual. This is valuable for those who do not read Italian, as his Essays on Magical Idealism has yet to be translated in full. He believes his endeavor to philosophize initiation was a failure, but perhaps this section might be interesting if you're familiar with German Idealism and modern philosophy.Then he sheds light on his role in the occult UR Group and his interactions with Masonry, Theosophy, and Anthroposophy. He has a few words to say about what may have split the group apart, it's worth reading the articles he compiled under Introduction to Magic, the third volume of which is available this year.I've yet to get through the rest of the book but so far it's been very enlightening. I recommend this to anyone who wants to quickly understand who the heck Evola was and what he believed, it would go a long way to dispel the radioactive aura certain ill-informed polemicists have given him who would otherwise find some value in his traditionalist writings.

This is one of those IT books, a redactic autobiography that is more to do with Evola's activities than an ordinary autobiography, it was only meant to be published posthumously, which it is now. Talks about his world view and the impulses to write the various books he wrote.NOno. Not for the newcomer to Evola, but for those who cherish his aesthetic and penetrating view of all things traditional and esoteric, a must have.

gives one a very good overview of evola;s work, very objective, he talks about his writings from his earliest to this one, seems there is a bit to be translated also [ from the few he speaks of that i was unaware of ]

Ordered the hardcover version. The contents are good and what I expected, however the cover art for the book was an alternate cover art and not the one advertised.