Heribert von Feilitzsch on Dr. Arnold Krumm-Heller and the Mexican Revolution, Plus a Note on "El Tatwametro"

One hundred years and counting since the explosion of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, treasures are still being pulled out of the dust of various archives, and narratives refashioned accordingly. The latest contribution should spark the interest of anyone who ponders the whys, wherefores and eye-crossing chaos of that tumult-- and the history of German-Mexican relations and of metaphysical religion: The essay by Heribert von Feiltzsch entitled "Medical Doctor, Occultist, Revolutionary, Spy: Arnold Krumm-Heller and the Mexican Revolution," which is included in the anthology edited by Roberto Cantú, Equestrian Rebels: Critical Perspectives on Mariano Azuela and the Novel of the Mexican Revolution (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016).

Little known as he may be at present, Dr. Krumm-Heller was a key figure in the Mexican Revolution, and in particular, for his role in the defeat of Pancho Villa. Why then have historians, with counted few exceptions, tended to overlook him? I would wager that it could be for one or more of three reasons: (1) lack of archival resources about Krumm-Heller and/or lack of access to those in German; (2) resistance to reconsidering enduring paradigms of the revolution; (3) resistance to considering the occult / metaphysical religion and

anyone connected with it. Indeed, Dr. Krumm-Heller, aka "Maestro Huiracocha," was a flamboyant enthusiast and a prolific author of esoterica, a Spiritist, a Mason, a Theosophist, and a leading figure in 20th century Rosicrucianism and the Ordo Templi Orientis.

For many historians, alas, it has been easier to dismiss such ideas and movements than to dig in and attempt to come to a broader understanding of their nature and context. I know from first-hand experience how challenging this can be: for my book on Manual espírita of 1911, the secret book by the leader of Mexico's 1910 Revolution, Francisco I. Madero, I had to read through a Himalaya of works that were at times for me--as I surmise they would be for most researchers of the Mexican Revolution-- discomfiting in the extreme. (I discuss this challenge at some length in my review of Strieber and Kripal's Super Natural.)

In his detailed and well documented article, von Feilitzsch has made a vital contribution not only to the literature on the Mexican Revolution but also to German-Mexican relations and the history of metaphysical religion. Those interested in the latter subject will recognize names of Dr. Krumm-Heller's teachers and mentors, among them, Madame Blavatsky, Papus, Franz Hartmann, and Rudolph Steiner. 

I am honored that von Feilitzsch cited my work on Madero's Spiritism, as well as some of my correspondence speculating about Madero's attitude towards Theosophy and the nature of Madero's relationship with Dr. Krumm-Heller. 

One thing that jumped out as new to me was von Feilitzsch's mention that Krumm-Heller "had his first training in esotericism through the French spiritist León Denis." Denis was one of the leaders of the Spiritist movement after Allan Kardec. Francisco I. Madero and his father, Francisco Madero, were the sponsors of the Spanish translation of Denis's book, Après la Mort (After Death). Since some historians erroneously claim that that translation was never published, I made this little video showing my copy of that title, Después de la muerte, which was indeed published in 1906. 


Related posts of interest:

>> Professor Roberto Cantú

>> Heribert von Feilitzsch's webpage and Mexican Revolution blog.

>> von Feilitzsch: "A Decision with Grave Consequences: Arnold Krumm-Heller and the Demise of Pancho Villa"

>> My review for Literal of von Feilitzsch's In Plain Sight: Felix A. Sommerfeld, Spymaster in Mexico, 1908-1914 (which mentions Dr Krumm-Heller)


>> Some of my blog posts on Dr Krumm-Heller:

More About the Mysterious Dr. Krumm-Heller and His Book Fur Freiheit und Recht (For Freedom and Justice)

Del Incienso a la Osmoterapia (From Incense to Osmoptherapy) by Arnoldo Krumm-Heller

Arnold Krumm-Heller (1876-1949) and Francisco I. Madero (1873-1913): Some Notes on Sources

A NOTE ON KRUMM-HELLER'S EL TATWAMETRO: LAS VIBRACIONES DEL ETER (The Tatwameter: Vibrations of the Ether)

Dr. Krumm-Heller prepared the draft of El Tatwametro in 1911-- when he was in Mexico with Madero-- although he did not publish it until 1926. The photos shown here are of my copy, a first edition from Barcelona. 

Here is my translation of the opening page:

THE TATWAMETER, VIBRATIONS OF THE ETHER
By Dr. Krumm-Heller

Upon receiving my initiation, my guru gave me detailed instructions about the tatwas and the tatwameter, but I was never able to find a way to publish them. Around the year 1912 in Mexico I read an article about this matter, by my friend Brandler-Pracht* of Berlin, and then I wrote a 
pamphlet about the practical application of the tatwas.

Five years later in Berlin we had some occult experiences together and Brandler-Pracht told me that he had published a larger work on this same subject. 

I have not been able to find a copy of of the latest edition, but it is likely that my book and Brandler-Pracht's are very similar, since they are based on material from the same source. At the end of this work there is something by that author.

But, what is tatwa?

It is the name the Hindus give to powers that are as mysterious as they are powerful.

For us westerners tatwas is the vibration of the ether.




*Karl Brandler-Pracht was the author of several works on the occult. The German National Library (Deutsche National Bibliotek) has a catalog of his books here. The book he wrote on the tatwas is Tattwische und astrale Einflüsse: ein Schlüssel zur prakischen Verwendung der it dem menschlichen Leben enverbundenen kosmischen Schwingungen, wodurch jedermann sein Geschick günstig beeinflussen kann. Here's my rough go at translating that mouthful: The Tatwas and Astral Influences: A Key to the Practical Use of the Cosmic Vibrations that are Intimately Connected to Human Life, Whereby Everone Can Influence Their Fate Favorably. As far as I can ascertain it was originally published in 1924.



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For those of you wondering what's up with my Far West Texas book and Marfa Mondays Podcasts, bless y'all, and stay tuned. Meanwhile, I invite you to listen in anytime to the 20 podcasts posted to date. The 21st podcast, an essay, has required a heap more background reading than I bargained for... To give you an idea of the complexity, should that be your cup of buffalo blood, check out my review of Hamalainen's The Comanche Empire.




>> YOUR COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME. WRITE TO ME HERE.

Reading Mexico: Recommended Reading for a Book Club 

of Extra Curious and Adventurous English-Language Book Club

Biographers International Interview:

A Strange Spark of the Mexican Revolution

On Writing About Mexico: Secrets and Surprises 

(UTEP Centennial Lecture)

More About the Mysterious Dr. Krumm-Heller and His Book, Für Freiheit und Recht (For Freedom and Justice)

My book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual is available in Kindle and days from being available in paperback. One of the main characters in this novelesque tome of nonfiction is Francisco I. Madero's personal doctor and fellow Spiritist-- and German spy-- Dr. Arnoldo Krumm-Heller. I have blogged about him previously here and here, and just the other day, historian Heribert von Feilitzsch posted a long piece about Krumm-Heller's  Für Freiheit und Recht. (For Freedom and Justice: My Adventures in the Mexican Civil War). 

Von Feilitzsch also recently blogged about Krumm-Heller's escapades in stirring up trouble along the US-Mexico border. 

(Take home point: Apart from playing an important role in the German and Latin American esoteric scene, Krumm-Heller was a far more important figure in the history of the Mexican Revolution than most historians recognize. He also had a lot to do with Pancho's Villa's defeat at Celaya.) 

If you're at all interested in Mexican history, von Feilitzsch's blog is well worth reading-- as is his riveting sleuthwork, In Plain Sight: Felix Sommerfeld, Spymaster in Mexico. 

(For those a little foggy on Mexican history: Francisco I. Madero, Mexico's "Apostle of Democracy," led the Revolution of 1910, took office as President of Mexico 1911, and was murdered in a coup d'etat led by General Victoriano Huerta in early 1913. Civil war then erupted, a Chinese puzzle of shifting alliances... in Krumm-Heller's view, Venustiano Carranza was the rightful heir to Madero's democratic government. Complicating matters was the outbreak of WWI in 1914; the German government, using agents such as Krumm-Heller, tried to foment trouble on the US-Mexico border in an attempt to keep the United States distracted. Important aside: the German strategy regarding Mexico was more than a little byzantine, and not all agreed on whatever it was.)

It took some hunting, but I did manage to find a pristine first edition of Krumm-Heller's Für Freiheit und Recht from an antiquarian bookdealer in Germany, but you, dear reader, can read the whole enchilada for free on archive.org. 

BIG FAT CAVEAT: it's chock full of full of swatistkas, alas, and this, of course, leads most readers to jump to end of the usual equation, Swatiska + German = Nazi. But the book was published back in 1916, before Hitler's Nationalist Social Party came to prominence, a time when the swastika-- an ancient symbol out of India-- did not carry the sinister connotations it does today. Krumm-Heller meant it to suggest German patriotism-- the book was aimed at getting the German government to recognize Carranza's in Mexico-- and auspiciousness. It is a symbol you can find in many Buddhist temples, by the way. 

Over on my webpage for my book, where I offer some resources for researchers, there's a link to the chapter about Francisco I. Madero by Krumm-Heller in the book Trilogía heróica, also published in 1916. As with Fur Freiheit und Recht, it is a work of propaganda in support of Carranza, whom Krumm-Heller considered the true heir to Madero. This is a very rare little book--more a pamphlet actually; as it does not have a spine. I aim to translate this chapter as soon as possible. In the meantime a quote (my translation from the Spanish):

"It is generally believed that Madero was a fanatical Spiritist whose wife was a medium who evoked the spirits to help him solve the difficult problems of governing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Madero was an illustrious Hermeticist, a distinguished Orientalist, a high initiate in esotericism, a highly respected Mason who, in the many moral trials to which he was subjected, demonstrated profound knowledge of the great philosophers, such as Kant, Spencer, and Shopenhauer, and he was the author of an unpublished book about that sacred book of the Buddhists, the Bhagavad-Gita."

More anon.

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Del Incienso a la Osmoterapia (From Incense to Osmotherapy) by Dr Arnoldo Krumm-Heller (President Madero's Personal Doctor)

The book by President Madero's
personal doctor,
Dr Arnoldo Krumm-Heller

So my Marfa Mondays Podcasting Project got temporarily hijacked. Resuming ASAP! There are 11 podcasts so far, and there will be 24. I have been off reading about the Mexican Revolution (well, that is relevant to Marfa, after all... as we shall see...) for the revised and expanded introduction to my translation of Francisco I. Madero's secret book of 1911, Spiritist Manual, which has turned into a book itself. And it will be out this fall in both English and Spanish. And ayyy I am still revising... Hope to have it done and off to the editor this week.

(Yes, that Madero, leader of the 1910 Revolution and President of Mexico 1911-1913.)

One of my revisions is incorporating the role of Dr Arnoldo Krumm-Heller,  aka Maestro Huiracocha, President Madero's personal doctor, German spy, artillery expert, homeopathist, and (...drum roll...) osmotherapist. I blogged about Dr Krumm-Heller last week here... (Hat tip to the recent and magnificently researched book by Heribert von Feilitzsch, In Plain Sight: Felix A Sommerfeld, German Spymaster in Mexico 1908-1914.)

Today, a little more about Dr. Krumm-Heller's osmotherapy, a kind of protoaromatherapy.

Dr Krumm-Heller

Fun factoid: Dr Krumm-Heller was practicing osmotherapy on the battlefields of the Mexican Revolution-- carrying around his vials of perfume to aid fallen soldiers. So though he did not publish his book, Del incienso a la osmoterapia (From Incense to Osmotherapy) until the 1930s, we do know he was practicing it while in Mexico with Madero, and in fact wrote the first draft of the book in Mexico at that time.

Herewith a few excerpts to give you a flavor of this most extraordinary work.

My translation:

God wish it that this book may come to the hands of an impartial scientific researcher, one free from all official dry and dogmatic ideas, but capable of appreciating the value of the sentiment and approach of progressive thinking. 

May the reader not overlook that, moreover, I have had access to the old archives of Mexico and all the historical documents on the now historic primitive peoples' science of the correlations. 

The Jewish synagogues of Spain had valuable libraries that ended up in the monasteries after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. There I had access to notable literary works on Mexico and Peru, and from which I extracted priceless material.

My translation:

The ancient uses in the Mayan mysteries prescribed as oblations not only butterflies but especially roses. We find identical uses in the gnostic church, where they burn roses on the altar and bring sick people there, to cure with them with their perfume.

In Latin America, sorcerers employ all possible substances as carriers of poisons; most frequently, ashes, other times salt and even soap. The victim receives a gift of a little bar of soap and not long afterwards, he falls ill from its use.

Meanwhile, the Indians also say that on the higher levels there are not only evil beings but also good ones. The bad ones show low and Satanic things, they incubate fetid emanations; as for the superior, divine and angelic beings, they love perfumes. When we adopt this way of seeing, we understand how much we have in our hands to draw close to these geniuses, both divine and diabolical, by giving one or another them their vital element, whether that is a agreeable smell or a foul odor. But it is necessary to utilize for each one only what is adequate.

More anon.

To be alerted when my book (revised and expanded edition of Madero's Spiritist Manual) is available, click here.

***UPDATE 2014 My book, Metaphysical Odyssey Into the Mexican Revolution, is now available***

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