Carl William Hansen (11 October 1872 – 3 August 1936) was a Danish dairy farmer, Luciferian, wandering bishop, and

occultist The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...

. Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and first initiated into

Martinism Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his materialistic state of being, deprived of his own, divine source, and the process of his eventual (if not inevitable) return, call ...

in 1898 by Alphonse Wallen, Hansen used the pseudonym Ben Kadosh to publish ''Den ny morgens gry: verdensbygmesterens genkomst'' ("The Dawn of a New Morning: The Return of the World's Master Builder") in 1906. Inspired by the French

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

movement and such writers as Carl Kohl, his major interests seem to have been

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

and

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

. Until 1905 he was in communication with Swedish playwright and

alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

.Welblund, Aage: Den sidste Guldmager og Kabbalist, Social-demokraten, 19 May 1946 (newspaperarticle), and Pedersen, Bjarne Salling + Madsen, Peder Byberg: Den Hellige Soen, 2006. Some of Hansen's occult ideas inspire the Neo-Luciferian Church today.The Neo-Luciferian Church . Retrieved on 30 October 2006 In September 1921,

Theodor Reuss Albert Karl Theodor Reuss (; June 28, 1855 – October 28, 1923), also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus, was a German tantra, tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo Templ ...

issued fringe masonic charters to Hansen for Gnostic Primas, Memphis & Misraim,

Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult secret society and hermetic magical organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Theodor Reuss, ...

, and the

Hermetic Brotherhood of Light The Hermetic Brotherhood of Light was a Fraternity that descended from the Fratres Lucis in the late 18th century (in turn, derived from the German Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross), and was the seed from which Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (' ...

.Lomholt, Sigurd: Vinkelfrimureriet : irregulære og bedrageriske Frimurer-Riter samt det danske Vinkelfrimureri's Historie i Nutiden. Copenhagen 1931. In 1923, he founded a Martinist lodge in Denmark, later dissolved and rebuilt as the lodge The Three Columns. This lodge formed part of ''The Danish Grand Orient'', chartered by

Joanny Bricaud Jean (or Joanny) Bricaud (11 February 1881, Neuville-sur-Ain, Ain – 24 February 1934), also known as Tau Jean II, was a French student of the occult and esoteric matters. Bricaud was heavily involved in the French neo-Gnostic movement. He was co ...

in Lyon as ''Grand Orient de la vraie et haute Maçonnerie ésoterique et gnostique du Danemark.'' The Danish Grand Orient worked until 1929 when it merged with the ''Grand Orient of Denmark and the North'' and formed ''The Grand Lodge of Denmark'', an irregular Masonic body. Biographies of Hansen have been written by Peder Byberg Madsen and Bjarne Salling Pedersen and included in the 2006 reissue of ''Den Ny Morgens Gry, Lucifer-Hiram, Verdensbygmesterens Genkomst''.

References

External links

"The Dawn of a New Morning: the Return of the World's Master-builder"
(2010 English translation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Carl William 1872 births 1936 deaths Danish Luciferians Danish male writers People from Copenhagen