The Russian mystic, Valentin Tomberg, spent his youth immersing himself in the Hermetic tradition of pre-revolutionary Russian mysticism. At a young age, he was initiated into the esoteric school of G.O. Mebes which used the Tarot as a symbolic source of spiritual exercises and as a metaphysical key to understanding the fabric of reality.
Shortly thereafter, Tomberg discovered the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and quickly mastered them both at the level of intellect and experience. He quickly became something of a savant in Anthroposophy and was promoted to a leadership role in short order, teaching, lecturing, and writing about his spiritual insights and experiences to an increasingly devoted circle. His accelerated movement through the ranks in Anthroposophical circles was not without resistance, but this is another story.
But then, in his mid-40s, after decades of esoteric study and leadership in the Anthroposophical movement, Tomberg stunned his friends and admirers by converting to Catholicism. To many of his esoteric collaborators, this was the deepest betrayal imaginable. The Catholic church was the exoteric institution par excellence and emblematic of everything wrong with the life of the spirit—for was it not deeply committed to a doctrinal traditionalism and conservatism and adamantly opposed to new insights? Did it not persecute many mystics and occultists through the ages, and even in modern times resist the Anthroposophical movement? Was it not opposed to the spiritual freedom so necessary for occult research and development?
And yet, here was one of the brightest lights of occultism, a brilliant and experienced adept of multiple spiritual steams, converting to the Catholic faith. It was unthinkable. To this day, occultists debate the meaning of his conversion, at best downplaying its significance and at worst, denying it altogether.
The Church of Peter and the Church of John
Despite the controversy over his conversion, Tomberg quickly settled into a life of ordinary Catholic devotion. He prayed the rosary, he went to Mass regularly, he sent his son to a Catholic school (at his son’s request), and he meditated through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. He was especially devoted to the Christ in the Eucharist, and receiving communion, according to a close friend, was the profoundest and most moving spiritual experience for him. In short, after spending decades as an esotericist, Tomberg became a thoroughly ordinary and exoteric Christian.
Now, that is not to say that he gave up his esoteric interests or practices. He did not. Once one has known and experienced certain things, one cannot go back. Some things cannot be unlearned. Nevertheless, he turned toward and embraced exotericism in a move that was nearly unthinkable for someone as knowledgable in occultism as himself. What was he thinking? What was his purpose?
I believe Tomberg’s motives for converting to Catholicism were in some ways complex, but in other ways quite simple. First, as a Hermeticist, his work was always and everywhere to reconcile oppositions and resolve binaries—and spiritually speaking, one of the greatest binaries is the exoteric and the esoteric.
Put another way, the spirituality of ordinary Christians has traditionally been hostile and resistant to the occult; likewise, occultism has been disdainful and dismissive of the mundane spirituality of the masses. Ordinary Christians worship in churches on Sunday. Occultists practice their mysterious rites in secret societies and enclaves. Neither has traditionally had the slightest interest in reconciling. Mutual suspicion and even hatred have ordinarily prevailed.
And yet, Tomberg’s work was the work of Hermeticism which is the work of healing—of bringing together opposite poles through love. Having lived through the cataclysms of World War II, he knew the world was at a tipping point. Through spiritual insight, he could perceive great spiritual forces at work, both good and evil. He knew that humanity could evolve to a higher level, or it could succumb to the forces of death and degeneration, plunging into disaster and ruin.
Similarly, he also knew that esotericism was and always would be the domain of the few. For esotericism is by definition occult or secret. It is secret because it is a work of spiritual experience, and such experience could be dangerous to the uninitiated mind. A certain training and spiritual development are necessary to undertake occult work, and one could easily go astray. Nevertheless, Tomberg knew that esotericism—in his case, the spiritual stream of Christian Hermeticism—was potent and powerful. It could contribute a great deal to the ongoing evolution of humanity and heal the psychic and spiritual wounds ailing the world.
With these insights in mind, Tomberg set out to reconcile the deeply opposed worlds of esotericism and exotericism, which he called the Church of Peter and the Church of John.
Catholicism and Hermeticism
There is no question that, as unpopular as the fact may be, Catholicism is the most prominent and powerful form of Christianity. Protestantism is impotent to effect cultural change, splintered as it is into thousands of competing and contradictory sects. Eastern Orthodoxy, while in itself beautiful and with its own profound spiritual tradition, remains small. It is likewise ineffectual in transforming culture for it, too, is not really one church, but many autocephalous and autonomous churches that often compete over ancient canons and various jurisdictions.
Theological debates aside, Catholicism is unique in its power, prominence, and unified jurisdictional presence. Moreover, like it or not, there is no question that the pope is the representative of Christianity to the world. No one speaks with such authority or power on behalf of the world’s Christians. And finally, it is a historical fact that Catholicism both preserved the Greco-Roman civilization, and also built Europe into an incredibly rich and beautiful civilization in its own right. To the extent that one values European civilization, one must value Catholicism.
All of these facts are not theological but practical. One can debate the reality of transubstantiation or papal infallibility, but one cannot deny that Catholicism is an unparalleled culture-shaping force.
Now, Tomberg was on the side of the healing and continued evolution of humanity. The Moon in the tarot deck, the regression of humanity into ossified and primitive materialism, was what he was working against. How could he inject the hidden but healing and almost homeopathic potency of the Hermetic stream into the broader context of humanity? How could he tip the scales in favor of spirituality as opposed to cold materiality and evolutionary stagnation? He knew he must unite the spiritual potency of Hermeticism with the vast reach and culture-shaping power of Catholicism. He must bring together the Church of Peter and the Church of John.
The Ordinary and the Extraordinary
Meditations on the Tarot is unquestionably Tomberg’s magnum opus. And as I have written previously, one significant purpose of this work is to unite the exoteric and the esoteric, the ordinary and the extraordinary, the Church of Peter and the Church of John. To Catholics, Tomberg introduces innumerable esoteric principles that were previously unfamiliar. More importantly, he introduces Hermeticism as a series of spiritual exercises to aid in the evolution of consciousness. To Hermeticists, he introduces the practical spiritual value of traditional Catholic principles like ordinary and familiar prayers and the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Much more could be said about Tomberg’s work of reconciliation between the Church of Peter and the Church of John and his conversion to Catholicism. Suffice it to say, however, that Tomberg converted to Catholicism in all sincerity, and he embraced ordinary and traditional Catholic practices of prayer and devotion. He was not a cynical rebel or a revolutionary, but a devout believer in the Catholic faith. Nevertheless, he remained until his dying day a Hermeticist—someone with the burning and unquenchable desire for knowledge of total truth in all domains of experience. This is something he never abandoned, indeed could not.
I will conclude with Tomberg’s own words, which describe the feelings of his soul, from Meditations on the Tarot:
Monsieur Priest…I know the truths of salvation revealed and transmitted by the Holy Church are both necessary and sufficient for savlation, and I have no doubt whatever that they are true, and I strive to do my best to practise them; but I am unable to arrest the current of the river of thought which bears me towards mysteries that perhaps are meant only for saints—perhaps only for Angels—in any case, that I know without doubt are resevered for beings more worthy than me. Father, will you grant me absolution?
Come what may, I can only echo Jacob’s words:
I will not let you go until you have blessed me. (Genesis 32:26)
(Meditations on the Tarot, pg. 264).
Hi Raphael, Hoping you will reply to my August 15 post??!!
I have been carrying this question about Tomberg for many, many years. Thank you for this article. Can you go deeper into this, and how can one assist others in seeing/understanding Tomberg's mission, as well as live "comfortably" with the maligning her and it are often met with.