UR Group was an Italian
esotericist association, founded around 1927 by intellectuals including
Julius Evola
Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian far-right philosopher and writer. Evola regarded his values as Traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist, Aristocracy, aristocratic, War, martial and Empire, im ...
,
Arturo Reghini and Giovanni Colazza for the study of
Traditionalism
Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to:
Religion
* Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group
* Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th-cen ...
and
Magic. They published monthly series of issues in ''UR'' (1927–28) and ''KRUR'' (1929) journals, reprinted in the three volumes of the book ''Introduzione alla Magia quale Scienza dell'Io''
'Introduction to Magic as Science of the Self''in 1955 and 1971.
[ Wouter J. Hanegraaff ed., ''Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism'', Brill, 2006, p. 743.]
History
The UR Group was founded by
Julius Evola
Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian far-right philosopher and writer. Evola regarded his values as Traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist, Aristocracy, aristocratic, War, martial and Empire, im ...
. His original purpose was to use
magical means in an attempt to influence
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
to abandon
populism
Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...
and instead create an
aristocratic
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
regime based on ancient Roman virtues. Among the first collaborators were the freemason
Arturo Reghini, follower of the
neo-Pythagoreanism of the
Rocco Armentano's "Schola Italica", his pupil Giulio Parise, and the
anthroposophist Giovanni Colazza, a disciple of
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...
, belonging to the tradition of
Christian esotericism.
They gathered various seekers devoted to
initiate asceticism, united by the sharing of similar
esoteric
Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...
studies, to revitalize the
perennial tradition of the ancient
sacred mysteries
Sacred mysteries are the areas of supernatural phenomena associated with a divinity or a religious belief and praxis. Sacred mysteries may be either:
# Religious beliefs, rituals or practices which are kept secret from the uninitiated.
# Belief ...
.
Julius Evola was the first editor of the magazine ''UR''. The size of the Group has remained hidden but it is estimated between twelve and fifteen people. Evola rapidly expanded his influence on the Group's magazine, to the point of ousting Arturo Reghini and his disciple Giulio Parise from the management at the end of 1928. Strong personal disagreements with Parise had in fact led to a split in the group itself, after which, in January 1929, Evola founded a new magazine called ''KRUR''.
Reghini's support for
Freemasonry
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
would prove a bone of contention for Evola, who accused him of wanting to put the magazine under the direct control of the
Grand Orient of Italy.
The UR Group declared itself independent of esoteric schools or tendencies formed in modern and contemporary times, referring, if anything, to a universal
Tradition
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...
prior to particular doctrinal forms. In addition to
Hermetists and
Kremmerzians, were also accepted within it some
Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and a significant component of
Steinerians, whose
anthroposophy
Anthroposophy is a spiritual new religious movementSources for 'new religious movement': which was founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensibl ...
undoubtedly inspires most of the members of the Group.
[Peter Staudenmaier (2014)]
''Between Occultism and Nazism: Anthroposophy and the Politics of Race in the Fascist Era'', p. 271
BRILL, 2014.
Operating branches of the Group were established in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and in other cities of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, the so-called "chains", based on common intentions and practices, mainly employing the
anthroposophical exercises taught by Steiner for spiritual development,
[ as well as techniques from ]Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, Tantric and rare Hermetic texts.
Name
The name of the group comes from the phonetic expression ''u-r'', existing in the Chaldean and in the Runic
Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see '' futhark'' vs ''runic alphabet''), native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were primarily used to represent a sound value (a ...
with the meaning of fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
and bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...
or ram
Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to:
* A male sheep
* Random-access memory, computer memory
* Ram Trucks, US, since 2009
** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans
** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks
Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
respectively, as well as a prefix "ur-" in German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
to indicate something primal, ancestral.
Magazines
In the magazines, expressions of the works within the Ur Group, the authors of the articles signed themselves with a pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
, because they preferred to spread their thought rather than advertise their own person. The magazine's director was Julius Evola as it appears on the 1927 cover; together with the "curators" Pietro Negri (alias Arturo Reghini) and Giulio Parise in the cover of 1928; again and only Evola in 1929, when the magazine's name was changed to ''KRUR''.[
Each of the three publication years corresponds to one of the three volumes of the work ''Introduction to Magic as Science of the Ego'' reprinted in 1955 and 1971.][
Several hermetic-alchemical texts such as the '' Turba philosophorum'', or Gichtel's ''Theosophia practica'' were published in the journals of ''UR'' and ''KRUR'', and others of a philosophical and ritual nature from various sources.
]
Members
The pseudonyms
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...
behind which the members of the Ur Group hid were partly revealed by the researches of Gianfranco de Turris, and Renato Del Ponte.[; cf. ]
Below a list of those who collaborated with the magazines of ''UR'' and ''KRUR'' (in brackets their symbolic name used to sign, according to the idea of 'active impersonality'):
* Giovanni Colazza (Leo, and possibly Breno and Krur), anthroposophist, direct disciple of Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...
.
* Giovanni Antonio Colonna Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
(Breno and Krur,[ or Arvo),] anthroposophist.
* Girolamo Comi (Gic), Catholic poet, friend of Arturo Onofri.
* Guido De Giorgio (Havismat), Catholic, first close to the thought of René Guénon
René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as Abdalwahid Yahia (; ), was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from esoterici ...
, then follower of Pius of Pietrelcina.
* Aniceto Del Massa (Sagittarius),[ friend and disciple of Arturo Reghini, ]Pythagorean
Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to:
Philosophy
* Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras
* Ne ...
, later anthroposophist.
* Julius Evola
Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian far-right philosopher and writer. Evola regarded his values as Traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist, Aristocracy, aristocratic, War, martial and Empire, im ...
(Agarda, Arvo, Ea, Iagla).
* Nicola Moscardelli (Sirio, Sirius),[ Catholic poet inspired by Onofri's poetics.
* ]Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo
Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo (2 March 1868 – 6 May 1937), known under the pen name ignis, was an Italian poet and playwright. He is best known for his play ''Rumon: Sacrae Romae Origines'', first performed in 1923.
Early life
Roggero Musmeci Fe ...
(Ignis), whose name does not appear in magazines, however.
* Arturo Onofri (Oso), poet, anthroposophist.
* Giulio Parise (Luce), Freemason
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
.
* Ercole Quadrelli (Abraxa, Tikaipos), Kremmerzian.
* Arturo Reghini (Pietro Negri, once Henìocos Àristos), Pythagorean and Freemason.
* Corallo Reginelli (Taurulus), first anthroposophist, then hermetist.
* Domenico Rudatis (Rud), mountaineer
Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...
and esotericist.
* Massimo Scaligero (Maximus), anthroposophist, direct disciple of Giovanni Colazza.
* Emilio Servadio (Es), psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...
, poet.
Other people, whose identity is unknown, signed with the pseudonyms of: Alba, Apro, Arom, Nilius, Primo Sole, Zam.
Another enigmatic name, Ekatlos, is attributable to a lady, or perhaps to Leone Caetani
Leone Caetani (September 12, 1869 – December 25, 1935), Duke of Sermoneta (also known as Prince Caetani), was an Italian scholar, politician, and historian of the Middle East.
Caetani is considered a pioneer in the application of the histori ...
.
In the magazine ''Krur'' also wrote Agnostus, behind which the French esotericist René Guénon
René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as Abdalwahid Yahia (; ), was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from esoterici ...
is probably hidden.
Works
English translations
*
*
*
See also
* Amedeo Rocco Armentano
* Hermeticism (poetry)
* Neopythagoreanism
Neopythagoreanism (or neo-Pythagoreanism) was a school of Hellenistic and Roman philosophy which revived Pythagorean doctrines. Neopythagoreanism was influenced by middle Platonism and in turn influenced Neoplatonism. It originated in the 1st c ...
* Roman Traditional Movement
The Roman Traditional Movement (, abbreviated MTR) is a Reconstructionist Roman religion, Roman-Italic neopagan organisation in Italy. It was founded in 1988 as a unification of several existing groups. Among the founders were , Renato Del Ponte a ...
* Urreligion
''Urreligion'' is a postulated "original" or "oldest" form of religious tradition (the German prefix expressing the idea of "original", "primal", "primitive", "elder", "primeval", or "'"). The concept contrasts with later organized religions ...
Notes
References
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*
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*
Further reading
*
(index)
*
*
*
*
External links
* Issues fro
''UR'' (1927)
''UR'' (1928)
an
''KRUR'' (1929)
reprinted in ''Introduzione alla magia'' (1971)
{{Authority control
1920s in Italy
1920s in modern paganism
Traditionalist School
Culture of Italy
Julius Evola
Magical organizations
Modern paganism in Italy
Secret societies in Italy