Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

PARACELSUS (c. 1490-1541)

Born at Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, his real name was Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, who was born in Einsieden, Switzerland. He changed this to Aureolus Paracelsus partly in order to show his superiority to Celsus.

After studying at Basel he became for a time the pupil of Tritheim, who introduced him to occultism. Afterwards he lectured on medicine but was dismissed from his post on account of his controversial views. More travels followed, until he died at Salzburg where he had enjoyed the friendship and protection of the archbishop.

Paracelsus is often described as the father of modem medicine although his theories - like his Esoteric speculation - owe a great deal to the misunderstandings/and superstitions of his age. The mainstay of his occult system was the Hermetic view that human life is inseparable from that of the universe (see HERMETIC TRADITION). From there Paracelsus went on to assert that the clay from which men are made, the limus terrae, was a compound of every chemical element in existence.

A difficult personality, he created controversy because of his wholesale condemnation of traditional science and medicine. He never obtained a secure academic position or permanent employment. His new concept of disease emphasised its causes to be external agents that attack the body, contrary to the traditional idea of disease as an internal upset of the balance of the body's humours (yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm). Therapy, according to Paracelsus, was to be directed against these agents of disease, and for this he advocated the use of chemicals rather than herbs, and alchemy became the means of preparing such chemicals. In this way Paracelsus changed the emphasis of the alchemical art from chasing the elusive elixir of life, or Philosopher's Stone, to making medicines.

Foremost among these chemicals were salt, sulphur and Mercury which in healthy people were bound together by Archaeus, a subtle force situated in the stomach. Paracelsus sought to heal his ailing patients by immersing them in mineral baths so as to make up for any deficiency in their chemical composition and encourage the Archaeus to function properly.

Of more interest are his views on the power of thought and the prevalence of the universal mind. He also has much of interest to say on the elemental kingdoms in his De nymphis, sylphis, pygmeis, et salamandris (see ELEMENTALS).

His death is commemorated on September 24th, and healing operations which invoke his assistance are performed by Ceremonial Magicians on that day.

see also: RITUAL or CEREMONIAL MAGIC

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc