Editing Ariosophy (section)

==Overview==
The ideology regarding the [[Aryan race]] (in the sense of [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-Europeans]]), runic symbols, the [[swastika]], and sometimes [[occult]]ism are important elements of Ariosophy. By 1899 at the earliest or by 1900 at the latest, esoteric notions entered Guido von List's thoughts.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|pp=51–52}}</ref> In April 1903, he sent his manuscript, proposing what Goodrick-Clarke calls a "monumental pseudoscience" concerning the ancient German faith, to the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|p=41}}</ref> onwards. These Ariosophic ideas (together with, and influenced by, [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]]) contributed significantly to an [[Esotericism in Germany and Austria|occult counterculture]] in Germany and Austria. A historic interest in this topic has stemmed from the ideological relationship between Ariosophy and [[Nazism]], and it is obvious in such book titles as:
*''[[The Occult Roots of Nazism]]'' by [[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]]
*''Der Mann, der Hitler die Ideen gab'' (''The Man Who Gave Hitler His Ideas''), [[Wilfried Daim]]'s biography of Lanz von Liebenfels

However, Goodrick-Clarke's comprehensive study finds little evidence of direct influence, except in the case of the highly idiosyncratic ancient-German mythos that was elaborated by the "clairvoyant" ''[[SS]]-[[Brigadeführer]]'' [[Karl Maria Wiligut]],{{refn|In November 1924, Wiligut was committed to the Salzburg mental asylum and declared insane. "The full report on his mental condition referred to his violence at home, including threats to kill his wife, grandiose projects, eccentric behaviour, and occult interests, before diagnosing a history of [[schizophrenia]] involving megalomaniac and paranoid delusions. A Salzburg court ruled that he was incompetent to administer his own affairs on the basis of this medical evidence".<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|p=182}}</ref> The case is fully described in Mund's (1982) biography. Throughout his confinement and after his release in 1927, Wiligut continued his ancient-Germanic pretensions. He retired from the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] on 28 August 1939 after his psychiatric history, previously a closely guarded secret, became an embarrassment to Himmler.|group=Note}} of which the practical consequences were, first, the incorporation of Wiligut's symbolism into the ceremonies of an elite circle within the SS; and, secondly, the official censure of those occultists and runic magicians whom Wiligut stigmatized as heretics, which may have persuaded [[Heinrich Himmler]] to order the internment of several of them.{{refn|The cases of three Listian occultists – Kummer, Lauterer and Marby – are discussed below. In 1938 Wiligut's recommendations were also decisive in securing the official disapproval of the Italian esotericist [[Julius Evola]].<ref>{{harvnb|Flowers|Moynihan|2007|p=59}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|p=190}}</ref>|group=Note}} The most notable other case is Himmler's ''[[Ahnenerbe]]''. (For the debate on the direct relations to Nazi ideology, see [[Religious aspects of Nazism]].) Goodrick-Clarke examines what evidence there is for influences on Hitler and other Nazis, but he concludes that "Ariosophy is a symptom of rather than an influence in the way that it anticipated Nazism".<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|pp=192–202}}</ref>

==='Ariosophic' writers and organisations===
While a broad definition of the term 'Ariosophy' is useful for some purposes, various of the later authors, including Ellegaard Ellerbek, [[Philipp Stauff]] and Günther Kirchoff, can more exactly be described as cultivating the Armanism of List.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|p=155}}</ref> In a less broad approach, one could also treat ''rune occultism'' separately. Although the Armanen runes go back to List, [[Rudolf John Gorsleben]] distinguished himself from other ''völkisch'' writers by making the esoteric importance of the runes central to his world view. Goodrick-Clarke therefore refers to the doctrine of Kummer and Gorsleben and his followers as rune occultism, a description that also fits the eclectic work of [[Karl Spiesberger]]. Highly practical{{Explain|date=January 2020}} systems of rune occultism, influenced mainly by List, were developed by [[Friedrich Bernhard Marby]] and [[Siegfried Adolf Kummer]].<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|1985|pp=160–62}}</ref> Also worthy of mention are [[Peryt Shou]], the occult novelist; [[A. Frank Glahn]], noted more for his [[pendulum]] [[dowsing]]; [[Rudolf von Sebottendorff]] and Walter Nauhaus, who built up the [[Thule Society]]; and Karl Maria Wiligut, who was the most notable [[Religious aspects of Nazism|occultist working for the SS]].

Organisations include: the ''Guido von List Society'', the ''High Armanen Order'', the Lumen Club, the ''Ordo Novi Templi'', the ''Germanenorden'' (in which a schism occurred) and the Thule Society.