Transcendantal Magic
Eliphas Lévi
Language: English
Pages: 394
ISBN: 2:00364514
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
This is Levi's first treatise on magic and was translated into English by Arthur Edward Waite as "Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual". Its famous opening lines present the single essential theme of Occultism and gives some of the flavor of its atmosphere: "Behind the veil of all the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrines, behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the seal of all sacred writings, in the ruins of Nineveh or Thebes, on the crumbling stones of old temples and on the blackened visage of the Assyrian or Egyptian sphinx, in the monstrous or marvelous paintings which interpret to the faithful of India the inspired pages of the Vedas, in the cryptic emblems of our old books on alchemy, in the ceremonies practised at reception by all secret societies, there are found indications of a doctrine which is everywhere the same and everywhere carefully concealed. ( From the Introduction)". Lévi's version of magic became a great success, especially after his death. That Spiritualism was popular on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1850s contributed to this success. His magical teachings were free from obvious fanaticisms; he had nothing to sell, and did not pretend to be the initiate of some ancient or fictitious secret society. He incorporated the Tarot cards into his magical system, and as a result the Tarot has been an important part of the paraphernalia of Western magicians. He had a deep impact on the magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and later on the ex-Golden Dawn member Aleister Crowley. He was also the first to declare that a pentagram or five-pointed star with one point down and two points up represents evil, while a pentagram with one point up and two points down represents good. It was largely through the occultists inspired by him that Lévi is remembered as one of the key founders.
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Another, produce equilibrium by their contrasts and rule the movement of the spheres. The Hebrews termed them the seven great archangels, giving them the names of Michaël, Gabriel, Raphaël, Anaël, Samaël, Zadkiel and Oriphiel.2 The Christian Gnostics named the four last Uriel, Barachiel, Sealtiel and Jehudiel. Other nations attributed to these spirits the government of the seven chief planets, and assigned to them the names of their chief divinities. All believed in their relative influence;.
Altogether, in proportion to the experience we obtain in acquired powers, and established habit in the exercise of extra-natural will. CHAPTER IX THE CEREMONIAL OF INITIATES THE science is preserved by silence and perpetuated by initiation. The law of silence is not therefore absolute and inviolable, except relatively to the uninitiated multitude. Such knowledge can be only transmitted by speech. The sages therefore must speak occasionally. Yes, they must speak, not, however, to disclose, but.
Executioners really have children? Undoubtedly, as they never fail to get wives. Marat had a mistress who loved him tenderly—he, the loathsome leper; but still it was that terrible Marat who caused the world to tremble. Love, above all in a woman, may be termed a veritable hallucination; for want of a prudent motive, it will frequently select an absurd one. Deceive Joconde for a clown, how awful!—Ah! but supposing it is awful, why not perpetrate it? It must be pleasant to be occasionally guilty.
Nations the oracles of Iao, and unveils Him Who is the First-Born of the Sun for the admiration of civilizations to come. The theory of the four ages is found in the Apocalypse, as it is also in the books of Zoroaster and in the Bible. The gradual reconstruction of primeval federations, of the reign of God among peoples emancipated from the yoke of tyrants and the bonds of error, are foretold clearly for the end of the fourth age, and the recurrence of the cataclysm, exhibited at first from afar,.
Undiscerning disciples of Zoroaster divided the duad without referring it to unity, thus separating the Pillars of the Temple and endeavouring to halve God. Conceive the Absolute as two, and you must immediately conceive it as three to recover the unity principle.1 For this reason, the material elements, analogous to the divine elements, are understood firstly as four, explained as two and exist ultimately as three. Revelation is the duad; every word is double, and suposes two. The ethic which.