If we are to be a traditionalist reactionary movement, it is important to define what “right” and “left” mean in terms of the history of the use of these words in politics and the older symbolic meaning of these two orientations.

Historically, the opposition of “left” and “right” in politics can be traced back to the French Revolution of 1789 and the National Assembly. In the Assembly, those delegates who sat to the right of the presiding officer belonged to the royalist faction that supported the authority of the king, while those who sat on the left where the anti-royalists. In England, a similar phenomenon could be seen in the conflict between the Whig party constitutional-monarchists that promoted parliamentary power and the Tory party which supported the power and position of the king. The Whig party, as an urban party that supported free trade, can be seen as an early precursor to our modern “right-wing” liberals in the Liberal Party of Australia. In reality (and historically), however, theirs is strictly a more “left-wing” position. In this interpretation, our movement is strictly right-wing.

In symbolism there is a slightly different view of the left-right relationship. Jonathan Pageau has explained how the Biblical symbolism of the right represents movement towards the symbolic centre and “foundation”, while the left represents movement out towards the symbolic periphery. This can suggest the tension between integration and dissolution with the extremes of each being evil. Too much right, too much order, can lead to a totally static and stagnant authoritarian society. Too much left, too much chaos, can lead to the total dissolution and collapse of society into pure atomistic anarchy. This balance is represented in the Christian Tradition through the embrace of St Peter (Right, Centre, Establishment) and St Paul (Left, Periphery, Evangelism).

This Christian symbolism has also incorporated Classical Roman imagery and symbolism relating to left and right. Pageau describes how authority (auctoritas), the clout of aristocratic status (interior) originally held by the senators, and power (potestas), which was magisterial legal or military executive applied power (exterior), became united in the person of the emperor. This was portrayed in imagery through a gesture of address with his right hand and a law scroll in his left. Pageau links this Roman symbolism of the emperor’s right and left hands back to Biblical symbolism and Christ as High King:

“This play of authority and power is not only based on Roman institutions, rather we can see it in the Bible in the relation between the prophets and kings. The prophet’s authority is in his person, his holiness and is not bound by any external law (unlike the priests and Levites for example), yet the king receives his power through being anointed by the prophet and thus has the “right” to wield his power and to enforce law. This vision of the prophet as being the complement of law seems to be one of the reasons why in the icon of the transfiguration we have Elijah on the right of Christ as the prophet with direct influence, whereas we have Moses in his position of “receiver of the Law” on the left of Christ.”

Thus, left and right also represent the symphony of spiritual and temporal power as well as esoteric authority and exoteric law. This brings together many themes discussed by Neoreactionaries as well as Guénonian Traditionalists, but we believe that the key is to embrace these themes as they are represented in our own Western Tradition. There can be no victory in Australia, and in the broader West, until the double-headed eagle is embraced and power and authority are united under God.