French-Spanish occultist, famed for his “Systematic Treatise on Occult Science,” “Reincarnation” and “The Divinatorot Tarot.” Papus became a Mason, a Rosicrucian and a renowned authority on the Kaballah and the Tarot. Although he spent most of his life heavily involved in the world of the occult, Papus, a pseudonym that means “physician,” also studied medicine at the University of Paris and received his degree in 1894. He set up a successful medical practice in Rue Rodin.
Born Gérard (Anaclet Vincent) Encausse, he was the son of a French chemist, M. Louis Encausse, and a Spanish mother of gypsy descent, Mme. Irene Perez. His family moved to Paris when he was four years old, and he spent a great deal of time there studying at the Bibliothèque Nationale. Shortly after Madame Blavatsky formed the Theosophical Society in 1884-85, he became a member, but he disliked the group’s emphasis on Eastern occultism and soon resigned. In 1888, Papus, along with his first teacher, Marquis Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre, and Marquis Stanislas de Guaita helped found the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Croix.
On 5/12-15/1891, he attended a famous pistol duel between writer Jules Bois, and de Guaita, who had taken offense at something Bois had written. All three were involved in occult organizations and felt that their adversaries were aligned with the “dark forces.” The so-called “magical war” was fraught with what Bois felt were sinister influences, particularly after his carriage collapsed twice on the way to the dueling ground. The dispute was carried on by Papus, who later faced Bois in a second duel, this time with sabers. Though he was slightly injured, the two eventually became friends.
Papus visited Russia in 1901, 1905 and 1906, where he served Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra as a physician and occult consultant. In October 1905, after allegedly conjuring the spirit of Alexander III, he warned the Tsar that his downfall would come at the hands of revolutionaries, and on several occasions, he warned them against the influence of Rasputin.
During World War I, he served in the French Army medical corps where he contracted tuberculosis which led to his death in Paris on 10/25/1916.