Johan Georg Gichtel(1628-1710)

There is no more fitting surname for Gichtel than the one of "Unknown Theosopher", but his contemporaries called him: the Theosopher of Amsterdam. He is unknown, not so much for his biography, the most well documented one of the classical Theosophers, but for the persistance of the authors of later centuries to copy, plagiate his remarquable works and correspondance. One significant exception to this practice is the modern Theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater who used one of Gichtel's drowings from Theosophia Practica, in his work over the chakras. 

Born in Ratisbon (Germany) in 1628, Gichtel studied Law at Stratsburg and became a layer in his native town. At the age of 26, Gichtel meets with the leaders of the Evangelic Missionary Movement and under the influence of this movement, sends letters to the representatives of the Lutherian Church in all of Europe and participates, in 1664, to the redaction of the advertissement submitted to the Corpus Evangelicum in Ratisbone. Over a period of ten years Gichtel constantly writes to the authorities of the churches to denounce abuses. Finally, he is arrested and sent to jail for thirteen weeks as a criminal. Due to the intervention of a friend of his father, he escaped capital punishment, for an accusation of anabaptism, but is bannished ad vitam aeternam from Ratisbonne and from the State of Bavaria and all his belongings are confiscated. 

As most of the free spirits of his time, Gichtel decides to travel to Amsterdam, the capitol of the freedom of thoughts. On his way, Gichtel managed to get himself jailed for a second time in the city of Zwolle, where he took the defense of Breckling, the Lutherian minister of Zwolle condemned for his advanced ideas on education and social christianity, independant from all ecclesiastic institution. Gichtel is severely punished: he is exposed on the town's pilori and publically slaped in the face with his own writings, by the town executor. He is also bannished from the City of Zwolle and the Province of Overijsel for 25 years. 

Gichtel finally arrived in Amsterdam in 1668 and remained in the city until his death in 1710. During the 42 years of his life in Amsterdam, Gichtel produced several treatises on Theosophy and more than 4000 pages of correspondance. Very friendly and very well organized, he leads a simple life: cutting wood in the morning for the exercise, handeling his mail early in the morning, taking care of his own home and household with surprising dexterity. He remains in the hart of the city, leaving his house only ones or twice a year for a short work in nature. He leads a lonely life, no even visiting the famous Pierre Yvon, living at the other side of the same canal where his house is located. He is entirely occupied by his inner life. He prays, write, studies Theosophy and in particular the works of Jacob

Boehme, receives the visit of Wisdom, exercises the priesthood according to Melchisedech, and refuses to exercise any profane profession.

Gichtel's Theosophy. 

1.) Cosmogony. 

The cosmogony of Gichtel is influenced by Boeme's Three Principles and Seven Qualities or Forms. But Gichtel emphasises the "Fourth Principle, from which God opposes Himself to reflect Himself, to see Himself and by this to become more conscient of Himself with the purpose of realising Himself in a later stage." This Fourth Principle carries several names: "Sophia, the Divine Wisdom, the Eternal Virgin, the Eternal Wisdom of God". In a letter dated april 4th 1699, Gichtel carefully describes the eight degrees of action and of revelation of the Divine Sophia. In all his work Gichtel tries to define the role of Wisdom in the divine nature of God, as the mirror of God. In his vue, the created world is the image of the pure, divine world. In this mirror, God plays with the ideas of creation. All creatures are thus the reflection of those ideas. So Adam is born androgyne, Eva being the reflection of the Divine Sophia, and also of Christ, the new Adam, is also born endrogyne. Gichtel will rarely describe the wisdom in Christ as Love, but speaks of: "the Blood and Body of Christ, that I traditionally call Sophia" or some other time: "the Body-Energy, the Blood and Body essential to Christ, our dear Sophia.". As such, Gistel's theosophical work remains the most precise what regards the feminine aspect of Divinity and of Creation. Later in the Secret Doctrine, Mrs Blavatky will take some basic ideas from Gichtel in her commentary over the universal Father-Mother, but as customary with the authors of the Theosophical Society, will not give any credit to the Theosopher of Amsterdam. 

2.) The Brotherhood of Men and the Reintegration. 

The entire community of men is contained in a new, invisible Church, the primitive and collective reflection of the Deity. As such, all men participate to the process of the development of Consciousness. The stages of return to the Perfection or Reintegration are: the Man of Darkness (symbolized by the drawing included in the Chakras) - the Man reborn and the inner (or perfect) Man. Altough Gichtel considers that all men are brothers, the way to Reintegration described by him is the prefecting of the individual, or the traditional path of personal salvation. 

3.) Latent Powers in Man. 

Gichtel's view to the potential development of hidden powers in man is limited to the faculty of vision of the invisible in a world of duality: mainly the perception of

Sophia and of the dark forces. The main virtue to be cultivated is the power of the will. The intellect, the emotions are components of the mortal part of man, and therefore cannot contribute to his elevation. The kingdom of God is hidden in the depth of the soul. The power of man will grow in proprtion with the strength of the Fire of the Soul (Kundalini). The participation of the soul to the mystical wedding of Christ and Sophia can give man unlimitted Stength as the expression of the Eternal Life.