The Signature of All Things

Jacob Boehme wrote his masterwork following two series of illuminating visions; his insights span the religious, metaphysical and mystical, and fascinated scholars of his era.

Working as a shoemaker in 1600, Boehme’s early life was obscure – as a village cobbler, he was diligent but unremarkable. However a sudden series of visions, which Boehme chronicled in writing, changed his life profoundly. The local Lutheran pastor rebuffed the revelatory wisdom, urging the local councilmen to banish Boehme – a process prevented by the author’s good reputation. In any case, Boehme departed for the city; his writings soon gained attention, with many scholars fascinated by the depth of the humble shoemaker’s sacred wisdom.

Greatly influenced by Christian teachings and the life of Jesus, the book also proposes a range of explanations for the natural world. Reality and existence are perceived through a vividly spiritual and mystical lens, in a manner startlingly original in post-Reformation Europe. God’s divinity sets the stage of the visible world and the journey of all living souls; a profound spiritual force overseeing and transcending every aspect of nature. This book contains Boehme’s Signatura Rerum in full, organized and translated to English by John Ellistone.

To this day, Boehme is referred to as Europe’s last great mystic.