Transcendental Magic

Born Alphonse Louis Constant, French magician Éliphas Lévi (1810–75) wrote prolifically on the occult sciences. His hugely popular Dogme et rituel de la haute magie, published in French in 1854, was translated into English by Arthur Edward Waite (1857–1942) in 1896. In the present work, Waite condenses Lévi's two volumes into one. The first part outlines Lévi's theory of the doctrine of transcendent magic and discusses a wide range of magical phenomena, including bewitchment, Kabbalah and alchemy. The second part focuses on the practical aspects of ritual and ceremony in Western occult philosophy. Waite, a mystic and occult historian, edited several alchemical and magical texts for publication in the wake of the mid-nineteenth century occult revival. His translation is accompanied by a preface outlining Lévi's colourful career. The original two-volume French edition is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.