A searching study of Eliphas Lvi and the French occult revival.

The only existing biography in English of this fascinating 19th century figure. Choice says, "An often enjoyable, wwll-documented, readable biographical book on Lévi and his influenxe...A significant book"

DIVA great literary work as well as a classic of occultism, this 1860 survey chronicles the practice of magic through the ages. Intriguing topics include hypnotism, astrology, and the Illuminati. /div

This classic study of the French magician Eliphas Lévi and the occult revival in France is at last available again after being out of print and highly sought after for many years. Its central focus is Lévi himself (1810-1875), would-be priest, revolutionary socialist, utopian visionary, artist, poet and, above all, author of a number of seminal books on magic and occultism. It is largely thanks to Lévi, for example, that the Tarot is so widely used today as a divinatory method and a system of esoteric symbolism. The magicians of the Golden Dawn were strongly influenced by him, and Aleister Crowley even believed himself to be Lévi's reincarnation. The book is not only about Lévi, however, but also covers the era of which he was a part and the remarkable figures who preceded and followed him – the esoteric Freemasons and Illuminati of the late 18th century, and later figures such as the Rosicrucian magus Joséphin Péladan, the occultist Papus (Gérard Encausse), the Counter-Pope Eugène Vintras, and the writer J.-K. Huysmans, whose work drew strongly on occult themes. These people were avatars of a set of traditions which are now seen as an important part of the western heritage and which are gaining increasing attention in the academy. Christopher McIntosh's vivid account of this richly fascinating era in the history of occultism remains as fresh and compelling as ever.

A masterful account of liphas Lvi, one of the most celebrated Kabbalistic authors of all times. The influence Lvi exerted on such esoteric movement leaders as A.E. Waite; Madame Blavatsky; Papus; Aleister Crowley; Rudolf Steiner; Max Heindel; H. Spencer Lewis; Paul Foster Case and others is explored as well as remarkable insights into Lvi's life and times. A chapter is devoted to Masonic legend Albert Pike and analyzes Pike's classic Morals and Dogma revealing entire sections Pike took verbatim from the works of Lvi. This is a powerful and essential book by a respected Masonic and esoteric scholar.