Alexander von Bernus
Poet, alchemist and spagyricist
Early years Alexander von Bernus was born on February 6, 1880. He spent the first four years of his life in Manchester; probably the reason for his later passion for the English Romanticists. Even as a child he gained profound experience in the spiritual world. As an eight-year-old he writes:
„I know that the dead are alive,
I sense they are around us.
When they move along the cloisters,
it's like a cool wind.
I know that the dead are alive,
Yet they are all blind to it.“
Stift Neuburg Alexander von Bernus spent most of his youth at Stift Neuburg am Neckar near Heidelberg, which he inherited in 1908. This abbey had always been a cultural attraction. Rudolf Steiner, Stefan George and other representatives of spiritual greatness had been frequent visitors. In 1926 he sold the monastery to the Benedictine abbey of Beuron, which had built it in the 12th century.
Time in Schwabing The young Alexander went to Munich in 1902 and studied German literature of the Middle Ages and Romanticism until the summer term of 1905. At the age of 22 he took over the management of the magazine "Die Freistatt". Renowned writers, who made Munich's Schwabing famous at the turn of the century, wrote for it. Thus he had longstanding friendly relations with Rainer Maria Rilke, Stefan Zweig, Thomas Mann and Herrmann Hesse.
The German author Klaus Mann (1906-1949) wrote: "The House of Bernus was closely related to Rudolf Steiner; nevertheless, the Baron and Mrs. Imogen were more than average anthroposophists. Being highly educated, with imagination and a poetic vein, they were far from developing a conceited, sectarian attitude. They remained true mystics, and they were followers of a determined and established secret doctrine."
Friendship with Rudolf Steiner Alexander von Bernus first met Rudolf Steiner in Munich in 1910. The mutual sympathy developed into a deep and stimulating friendship until the death of Rudolf Steiner in 1925. Rudolf Steiner had published numerous articles in the quarterly "Das Reich", published by Alexander von Bernus.
Laboratory SOLUNA Alexander von Bernus felt strongly connected to romanticism, with its efforts to restore the lost unity of the world. This aroused his interest in alchemical philosophy: he developed the manufacturing specifications and formulations for SOLUNA remedies. In 1921 he founded the Laboratory SOLUNA.
Alexander von Bernus on his continuous search and his vibrant creativity:
"Being on the lookout and permanently moving on from what we find; the constant feeling of being drawn towards something has nothing to do with a bad conscience, but merely with the eternal restlessness, which is perhaps the best part of us. Whether this be the restlessness towards God or the restlessness towards the world: it is all about the restlessness. Most of those who ever felt it or still feel it, experience it during the few years of their adolescence, and when these are over, the restlessness has vanished. Then they become citizens. A citizen is a human without restlessness."
Alexander von Bernus was a poet, alchemist, spagyricist and free spirit. Committed to his immense creative power, his spiritual greatness is reflected in about 160 literary works and the SOLUNA remedies. He died at the age of 85 on March 6, 1965.
