Peryt Shou (legal name Albert Christian Georg
örgSchultz) (22 April 1873 – 24 October 1953) was a German
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 ...
,
pagan revivalist and
theosophist. He is mentioned briefly by Goodrick-Clarke (''
The Occult Roots of Nazism'', 1985: 165) as a writer of novels with occult themes and a significant figure in the post-
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
German occult movement. During
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, he apparently went without being persecuted.
Biography
Shou was born the son of an innkeeper in
Kröslin near
Wolgast in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
. He studied in Berlin and devoted himself to poetry, painting and eventually the secret sciences. During the course of his career he authored some forty books, most of which have been forgotten and lost in obscurity. However, he remains one of the most important
esotericists of 20th-century Germany. This is mainly because his works, although obscure, were nevertheless extremely influential on other German occultists of the day. His writings are known to have influenced
Walter Nauhaus, the co-founder of the
Thule Society (Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 143).
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
, while in Berlin showing his paintings, wrote in his diary for 11 February 1932: "
Krumm-Heller ">Krumm-Heller.html" ;"title="Krumm-Heller">Krumm-Heller here with Peryt Shou".
Yoga
Shou was an early yoga teacher who taught ''Praktische Mantramistik'' (practical mantracism) as an occult practice to unblock powers of ''Vokalatem'' (vocal breath).
[Maas, Philipp André; Preisendanz, Karin. (2018). ''Yoga in Transformation: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives''. Vienna University Press. p. 519. ] This consisted of chanting specific combinations of syllables. Shou argued that
mantra
A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
s were an important part of his yoga system that also involved controlled breathing and visualisation techniques. As an occultist, Shou used "mantracistic prayers" to allegedly develop extrasensory abilities such as mind control and telepathy.
Selected publications
*''The Edda as Key to the Coming Age'' (1920, translated in 2004)
"The Edda as Key to the Coming Age – Peryt Shou, translated by Stephen E. Flowers"
scriptus.gydja.com. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
*''Yoga als Weg zur ewigen Jugend'' (1924)
See also
* Ariosophy
* Nazi occultism
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shou, Peryt
1873 births
1953 deaths
20th-century astrologers
Adherents of Germanic neopaganism
German modern pagans
Germanic mysticism
German astrologers
German occult writers
German Theosophists
Modern pagan writers
Yoga teachers