Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his materialistic state of being, deprived of his own, divine source, and the process of his eventual (if not inevitable) return, called 'Reintegration'.
- Wikipedia
Saint-Martin outlined his philosophy in several books , using the pen name of "The Unknown Philosopher". These include:
- Ecce Homo
- Of Errors and Truth, 1775
- The Man of Desire
- The New Man
- Man, His True Nature & Ministry
- Aphorisms and Maxims.
- The Spiritual Ministry of Man.
- Ten Prayers.
- The Red Book.
- Theosophic Correspondence.
- Natural Table of the Correspondences between God, Man and the Universe, 1782
“Central and foundational to Martinism and the Traditional Martinist Order is La Voie Cardiaque, The Way of the Heart. Far from being emotional or sentimental, this is one of the most widespread spiritual paths on the planet, embraced by countless spiritualities. And it is effective. The Way of the Heart is part of what some scholars call the Sophia Tradition. Sophia, or Wisdom, has many meanings. One of these is the Gnostic Myth of Sophia, in which she is an Aeon, emanated from the One, who falls from grace and is one of the ways that the material world is created. But that is not the Sophia that we will be dealing with in this study, although there are connections to our Sophia. The Sophia of the Way of the Heart is a feminine image of the Divine. One of her earliest appearances is in Plato’s Protagoras, where Wisdom is one of the four cardinal virtues. Of course, her name is part of the whole field of philosophy, which means love of Wisdom.” - Martinism: The Way of the Heart, Steven Armstrong
“Broadly speaking, the Sophia Tradition in the West is known as Theosophy (Divine Wisdom). It has parallels in practically all world spiritual traditions as we will soon see. Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, whose teachings and approaches are transmitted in the Traditional Martinist Order, was a major theosophist in eighteenth century France. He held Jacob Boehme as his “second teacher,” and learned German so that he could translate his works into French. One of the treasures carried on in the Martinist Order is the primary practice of the Divine Wisdom Tradition: The Prayer of the Heart.”
- Martinism: The Way of the Heart, Steven Armstrong