UR. Rivista di indirizzi per una scienza dell’Io
Ur was an Italian esoteric monthly founded in Rome in 1927 as the organ of the Gruppo di Ur, a circle bringing together several important representatives of Italian esotericism. Published by Tilopa under the subtitle Rivista di indirizzi per una scienza dell’Io, it was directed in its first year by Julius Evola, with contributions by figures including Arturo Reghini, Giulio Parise, Giovanni Colazza and others, who generally wrote under initiatic pseudonyms.
Rather than presenting esotericism primarily as a body of doctrines, Ur sought to develop what it called a “science of the I”, with particular emphasis on practical and experiential forms of spiritual and initiatory realisation. Its contents combined theoretical studies, accounts of inner experiences, ritual and magical instructions, commentaries and translations of texts drawn from a wide range of Western and Eastern traditions, including Hermetism, alchemy, Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism, Tantra and Buddhism.
Of particular relevance to Mithraic studies, the journal published in 1927 “Apathanatismos: Rituale mithriaco del ‘Gran Papiro Magico di Parigi’”, presented as the first direct Italian translation from the Greek of the ritual commonly known today as the Mithras Liturgy. The work appeared in Ur, year I, no. 4, pp. 89–120. Ur continued through 1928 and, following changes within the group, was succeeded in 1929 by Krur. Much of the material originally published in Ur and Krur was subsequently collected and republished under the title Introduzione alla magia.
Available on TNM
- Julius Evola, Giovanni Colazza, Giulio Parise & Arturo Reghini (1927–1928) “APATHANATISMOS” (Original Italian), pp. 89–120 · English translation.
