The «Julius Evola» PVC patch

Julius Evola (1898–1974) was an Italian philosopher, esotericist, and social theorist. He’s often described as one of the 20th century’s most influential traditionalist thinkers. His work bridges metaphysics, Hermeticism, Eastern mysticism, and radical right-wing political thought.

• Born: Rome, Italy

• Died: 1974, Rome

• Background: Served as an artillery officer in WWI; later became active in avant-garde art (Dadaism) before turning to philosophy and esotericism.

• Influences: René Guénon, Nietzsche, Meister Eckhart, Buddhism, Hermetic and alchemical traditions.

Core Philosophical Ideas

1. Tradition (with a capital T)

Evola saw “Tradition” not as custom, but as a metaphysical principle — a timeless source of sacred order linking man to the divine. He contrasted this with modernity, which he viewed as a spiritual decline and inversion of natural hierarchies.

2. The Revolt Against the Modern World

In his most famous book (1934), Evola presents history as a cyclical degeneration: The Golden Age (spiritual, hierarchical) → declines through Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages (materialistic, egalitarian). He identifies the modern world as the Kali Yuga, or Dark Age, of decay and chaos.

3. Hierarchy and Warrior Aristocracy

Evola glorified the warrior-aristocrat, the ksatriya or knightly type, as the highest expression of masculine, transcendent authority. He rejected both bourgeois materialism and populist democracy, favoring spiritual aristocracy over economic or numerical power.

4. Initiation and Esotericism

Evola’s metaphysics was rooted in initiation — the process of awakening latent divine potential. He drew from Tantra, Buddhism, Hermeticism, and Western occult traditions, aiming at transcendence through inner detachment and “ascesis of action.”

5. Politics and Modernity

Though he briefly supported aspects of Italian Fascism and German National Socialism, he considered them spiritually superficial. He hoped to infuse them with a metaphysical, heroic, and hierarchical worldview — but ultimately saw even Fascism as too modern and materialistic.