Eliphas Lévi

Eliphas Lévi, born Alphonse Louis Constant, (February 8, 1810 - May 31, 1875) was a French occult author and magician. Eliphas Levi, from http://www. ... Eliphas Levi, from http://www. ... is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden.[1] In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ... The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse Magic and sorcery are the influencing of events, objects, people and physical phenomena by mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. ...

"Eliphas Lévi," the name under which he published his books, was his attempt to translate or transliterate his given names "Alphonse Louis" into Hebrew. Look up translate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ...

Biography

Lévi was the son of a shoemaker in Paris; he attended a seminary and began to study to enter the Roman Catholic priesthood. However, while at the seminary he fell in love, and left without being ordained. He wrote a number of minor religious works: Des Moeurs et des Doctrines du Rationalisme en France ("Of the Moral Customs and Doctrines of Rationalism in France", 1839) was a tract within the cultural stream of the Counter-Enlightenment. La Mère de Dieu ("The Mother of God", 1844) followed and, after leaving the seminary, two radical tracts, L'Evangile du Peuple ("The Gospel of the People," 1840), and Le Testament de la Liberté ("The Testament of Liberty"), published in the year of revolutions, 1848, led to two brief prison sentences. City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... A seminary or theological college is a specialized and often live-in higher education institution for the purpose of instructing students (seminarians) in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, usually in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Francisco de Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1799) Counter-Enlightenment is a term used in the second half of the twentieth century to refer to a movement that arose in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries in opposition to the eighteenth century Enlightenment. ... The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as...

Baphomet, in Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie 1855

In 1854, Lévi visited England, where he met the novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who was interested in Rosicrucianism as a literary theme and was the president of a minor Rosicrucian order. With Bulwer-Lytton, Lévi conceived the notion of writing a treatise on magic. This appeared in 1855 under the title Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, 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: Baphomet, from Eliphas Levis Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, 1854 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Baphomet, from Eliphas Levis Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, 1854 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Baphomet, by Eliphas Lévi. ... Seal of Solomon, Front page of in Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual Baphomet, in Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (English: Dogma and Ritual of High Magic) is the title of Eliphas Levis first published treatise on ritual magic, which... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803 - January 18, 1873) was an English novelist, playwright, and politician. ... The Temple of the Rose Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618. ... Year 1855 (MDCCCLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Seal of Solomon, Front page of in Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual Baphomet, in Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (English: Dogma and Ritual of High Magic) is the title of Eliphas Levis first published treatise on ritual magic, which... Arthur Edward Waite in the early 1880s Arthur Edward Waite (October 2, 1857 - May 19, 1942) was an occultist and co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. ... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ...

Behind the veil of all the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrines, behind FUCK U ALL

In 1861, he published a sequel, La Clef des Grands Mystères (The Key to the Great Mysteries). Further magical works by Lévi include Fables et Symboles (Stories and Images), 1862, and La Science des Esprits (The Science of Spirits), 1865. In 1868, he wrote Le Grand Arcane, ou l'Occultisme Dévoilé (The Great Secret, or Occultism Unveiled); this, however, was only published posthumously in 1898. 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

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 his success. His magical teachings were free from obvious fanaticisms, even if they remained rather murky; he had nothing to sell, and did not pretend to be the inititate 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 Aleister Crowley, and it was largely through this impact that Lévi is remembered as one of the key founders of the twentieth century revival of magic. By 1853, when the popular song Spirit Rappings was published, Spiritualism was the object of intense curiosity. ... A secret society is an organization that conceals its activities and membership from outsiders. ... Visconti-Sforza tarot deck - The Devil card is a XX Century remake of the card missing from the original XV Century Deck The tarot is a set of cards featuring 21 trump cards and a special card called The Fool, in addition to the usual suit (face and pip) cards... Look up Paraphernalia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, practicing a form of theurgy and spiritual development. ... Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947; the surname is pronounced // i. ...

In Crowley's autobiography The Confessions of Aleister Crowley — published as non-fiction but now recognised to contain many fabrications — Crowley claimed to be the reincarnation of Eliphas Lévi, offering as evidence the fact that he was born shortly after Lévi died. However, Crowley's birthdate, October 12, 1875, is just slightly less than six months after Levi's death, and Crowley was not a premature birth, meaning that the infant Crowley had already been gestating for four months when Levi died.

Theory of magic

Levi identified three fundamental principles of magic:^[1]

1. That the material universe is only a small part of total reality, which includes many other planes and modes of consciousness. Full knowledge and full power in the universe are only attainable through awareness of these other aspects of reality. One of the most important of these levels or aspects of reality is the "astral light", a cosmic fluid which may be molded by will into physical forms.
2. That human willpower is a real force, capable of achieving absolutely anything, from the mundane to the miraculous.
3. That the human being is a microcosm, a miniature of the macrocosmic universe, and the two are fundamentally linked. Causes set in motion on one level may equally have effects on another.

A plane of existence (or plane or dimension) is in esoteric cosmology and metaphysics, a theoretical region of space and/or consciousness beyond the known universe, or the region containing the universe itself. ... For the definition of the word microcosm, see here. ... Macrocosm and microcosm is an ancient Greek schema of seeing the same patterns reproduced in all levels of reality. ...

See also

• Kabbalah
• Hermeticism
• Esotericism
• Occultism
• Neoplatonism

This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Hermeticism should not be confused with the concept of a hermit. ... Look up Esotericism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ Ellwood, Robert S. (1993). Islands of the Dawn. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1487-8. 

• H.P.Lovecraft referred to Levi several times in his novela The Case of Charles Dexter Ward .

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... Categories: Stub | Cthulhu Mythos ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Eliphas Levi

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Eliphas Levi

• Online books by Levi
• The Doctrine of Transcendental Magic (HTML)
• The Key to the Great Mysteries
• Extensive biography in French
• Levi, Eliphas. Clefs Majeurs et Clavicules de Salomon ("Major Arcana and Keys of Solomon") - text online. Retrieved 19 October 2006.