Chapter five interrupts Guénon's biography to look at the development of political Traditionalism. 

• The chapter first considers the involvement of Rudolf von Sebettendorf in the foundation of the German Nazi Party. 
• It then turns to Julius Evola, the most important political Traditionalist, examining his development of Guénon's work and his involvement with Italian Fascism and German Nazism before and during the Second World War. 
• The chapter ends with a consideration of the group of Traditionalists in Romania before the Second World War, a group which combined political and spiritual interests and from which emerged Michel Vâlsan (1907-74, later an important Sufi in France) and Mircea Eliade (later an important scholar of religions in America).

Further reading

• Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935 . Wellingborough: Aquarian Press, 1985.
• Julius Evola
• The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way . 1926.
• Revolt Against the Modern World . 1934.
• Currently available works of Julius Evola

Suggested websites

• Thule-Gesellschaft (in German; currently dormant but may be interesting one day)
• Fondazione Julius Evola (in Italian)
• Eliade's publications in the Legionary press (in Romanian)

Other resources

• Additional notes to chapter 5
• Errata
• Addenda
• Four plates from Evola's Arte astratta: Posizione teorica, 10 poemi, 4 composizioni (Rome: P. Maglione & G. Strini, 1920). Also facsimile of the poems
• Other paintings by Julius Evola (Italian site, poor quality enlargements)
• Other paintings by Julius Evola (Russian site, good quality enlargements)