Louis Cattiaux (1904 – 1953) corresponded with James Chauvet (1885 – 1955)
Let us give the floor to the late Robert Amadou (1924 – 2006): «A discreet but distinguished esoteric seeker (more devoted to speculation than to practice, although he had benefited from a wonderful mystical experience), active in perfect sincerity, James Chauvet ended up as a winemaker at the Castel de Camblanes, more, or better, an esotericist than ever. (…) He wrote here and there, in confidence, initiation texts. He collaborated with the journal Le Goéland, where he notably interacted with Louis Cattiaux. (…) Théophile Briant called upon their joint collaboration to compose in his journal, a «Tribute to René Guénon». Furthermore, it was James Chauvet who, by having «The Message Rediscovered» sent to René Guénon, elicited an exceptionally favourable review from the latter and established an epistolary relationship with the author, who would have liked a preface for the future.»
Robert Amadou continues: «But James Chauvet is the man of one book, and one only: The Quest for the Holy Grail, an essay of major dialectics». He had participated in the attempt to reconstitute an Order of the Holy Grail, with his three physician friends, Octave Béliard, Léo Gaubert, and Auguste-Edouard Chauvet. The project did not come to fruition».
As early as 1921, James Chauvet spoke of the Order of the Holy Grail which aims to «promote the truth of Christ» that the Holy Grail entirely symbolizes, «a treasure that we must guard jealously». «The purpose of our order is the safeguarding of the Holy Grail – the intellectual and mystical knowledge of the truths contained therein». «The external aspect includes the outward radiance of the truths of Christ, through example, through artistic manifestations, literature, music, etc., through social works. The goal of the order is here very practical: to create active Christian people who will not fear to carry the Light of the Word in all domains». In the context of Christian esotericism, the idea was to create «knights of Christ». But this Order never came into being…
Later, in the 1930s, James Chauvet envisioned a «Society» of the Grail in Bordeaux, a «Centre for Traditional Studies». Noticing the intellectual decline of his time, this «Society» was established and proposed the study of Traditions, particularly that of Christianity.
«By this means, it hopes to place intelligence back within its universal lines and reconnect it to its living source, the primordial Tradition. Our call is directed to alert minds, of good will, eager to restore abandoned spiritual values, to the elite capable of acting according to the deep laws of being. Members are characterized by a spirit of work and by the realization of a profound intellectual life».
In the movement of James Chauvet, the poet and esotericist Milosz is encountered: they met in Bordeaux and Paris. Also present were Louis Charbonneau-Lassay, René Guénon, Probst-Biraben, Saint Yves d’Alveydre, a group like l’Estoile Internelle, magazines like Regnabit or Le Voile d’Isis.
After several years of epistolary exchanges, Louis Cattiaux would say that he showed a lot of patience towards his interlocutor to explain certain notions or points of doctrine; not being understood or followed enough, he eventually became weary and exasperated and seemingly ended this correspondence, suggesting that Emmanuel d’Hooghvorst take over…
For his work «The Message Rediscovered», Louis Cattiaux had written about James Chauvet a verse that was ultimately not retained: James the winemaker has a hard head, but his intention is pure. Will the Lord not open his mind a little so that it may be watered by the Holy Spirit? ‘He labels the wind and forgets the earth’.
