Jan Kefer (b.

Nový Bydžov Nový Bydžov (; ) is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,200 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mon ...

, 31 January 1906 – d. Flossenbürg, 3 December 1941) was a Czech astrologer,

hermeticist Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This system encompasses a ...

and publicist in the age between the two World Wars. He was the chairman of Universalia, a society of Czech hermeticists.

Biography

Jan Kefer was born in

, in 31 January 1906. Kefer's father was from

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. There is a legend that he was born blind, but in fact he only has had low vision in one eye in his childhood. In

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

he studied at the Archbishop Gymnasium in the classroom of famous mystic Jaroslav Ovečka. He became a novice at Strahov Monastery, but later left the order. He graduated from

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

with a degree in arts. Kefer practised

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 ...

kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of Magic (supernatural), magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories t ...

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

theurgy Theurgy (; from the Greek θεουργία ), also known as divine magic, is one of two major branches of the magical arts, Pierre A. Riffard, ''Dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme'', Paris: Payot, 1983, 340. the other being practical magic or thau ...

. He wrote many works about astrology and hermetism, and regularly discoursed on these themes in the Universalia Society. He also translated many meaningful books into

Czech language Czech ( ; ), historically known as Bohemian ( ; ), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 12 million people including second language speakers, it serves as the official language of the ...

, including Bardo Thödol or the books of

Eliphas Lévi Eliphaz is one of Esau's sons in the Bible. Eliphaz or Eliphas may also refer to: * Eliphaz (Job), another person in the Bible * Eliphaz Dow (1705–1755), first male executed in New Hampshire * Eliphaz Fay (1797–1854), fourth president of W ...

. Kefer worked as a librarian of the National Museum in Prague and later as a librarian of

Strahov Monastery Strahov Monastery () is a Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1143 by Jindřich Zdík, Bishop John of Prague, and Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia. It is located in Strahov, Prague, Czech Republic. History The founding of a monastery After his p ...

and in the library of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. He was longtime secretary and later president of the society of Czechoslovakian hermeticists, Universalia, and editor of ''Logos'' journal. Perhaps Kefer's most famous act was performing three magick rituals against

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, with the aim of killing him. He was arrested on 18 June 1941 by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, who offered him a place as Hitler's personal astrologist or participation in his astrological team, but he refused. Jan Kefer died in Flossenbürg concentration camp on 3 December 1941.

References

External links

List of source books about Jan Kefer in City Library of PraguePicture of Jan Kefer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kefer, Jan Czech astrologers 20th-century astrologers Hermeticists Occult writers 1941 deaths 1906 births People who died in Flossenbürg concentration camp Czech people who died in Nazi concentration camps Charles University alumni