The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic: A New Translation

by Eliphas Lévi, John Michael Greer (Translator), Mark Anthony Mikituk (Translator)

Overview

Filling a huge gap in our spiritual culture, here—at last—is a comprehensive and elegant translation of the 1854 French masterwork of occult philosophy.

The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic reignited the esoteric spiritual search in the West and led to the emergence of Madame Blavatsky, Manly P. Hall, and the New Age revolution.

Lévi's study of magic is an absolute must for every seeker in occult, esoteric, and druidic realms; but this need has been frustrated by dated and inaccurate translations—until now. Greer, a respected occult scholar, and Mikituk, a masterful translator, collaborate to restore this landmark work—complete with its original illustrations and symbols—to the center of the alternative spiritual canon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143111030
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	177,352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

JOHN MICHAEL GREER is a widely respected author, translator, and blogger in the occult field. He is most recently the editor of the new, substantially revised seventh edition of Israel Regardie's occult landmark The Golden Dawn (Llewellyn 2016). MARK MIKITUK, currently a resident of France, has extensive experience as a translator and has also taught English to Francophone students. This is his first book project.

Table of Contents

General Introduction John Michael Greer ix

Translator's Note Mark Anthony Mikituk xxvii

Part 1 The Doctrine of High Magic

Introduction to the Doctrine of High Magic 3

Chapter 1 The Initiate 27

Chapter 2 The Columns of the Temple 39

Chapter 3 The Triangle of Solomon 48

Chapter 4 The Tetragrammaton 56

Chapter 5 The Pentagram 67

Chapter 6 Magical Equilibrium 75

Chapter 7 The Flaming Sword 83

Chapter 8 Realization 88

Chapter 9 Initiation 96

Chapter 10 The Cabala 100

Chapter 11 The Magical Chain 110

Chapter 12 The Great Work 119

Chapter 13 Necromancy 124

Chapter 14 Transmutations 132

Chapter 15 Black Magic 139

Chapter 16 Enchantments 142

Chapter 17 Astrology 151

Chapter 18 Potions and Spells 159

Chapter 19 The Stone of the Philosophers, Elagabalus 168

Chapter 20 The Universal Medicine 173

Chapter 21 Divination 177

Chapter 22 Summary and General Key to the Four Occult Sciences 183

Part 2 The Ritual of High Magic

Introduction to the Ritual of High Magic 191

Chapter 1 Preparations 209

Chapter 2 Magical Equilibrium 218

Chapter 3 The Triangle of the Pentacles 225

Chapter 4 The Conjuration of the Four 234

Chapter 5 The Flaming Pentagram 246

Chapter 6 The Medium and the Mediator 251

Chapter 7 The Septenary of Talismans 257

Chapter 8 A Warning to the Imprudent 271

Chapter 9 The Ceremony of the Initiates 275

Chapter 10 The Key of Occultism 280

Chapter 11 The Triple Chain 285

Chapter 12 The Great Work 289

Chapter 13 Necromancy 296

Chapter 14 Transmutations 308

Chapter 15 The Sabbath of the Sorcerers 315

Chapter 16 Enchantments and Spells 333

Chapter 17 The Writing of the Stars 341

Chapter 18 Potions and Magnetism 355

Chapter 19 The Magistery of the Sun 364

Chapter 20 Thaumaturgy 369

Chapter 21 The Science of the Prophets 377

Chapter 22 The Book of Hermes 387

Supplement to the Ritual

The Nuctemeron of Apollonius of Tyana 419

The Nuctemeron: According to the Hebrews 433

Of Country Magic and the Sorcery of Shepherds 439

Responses to Some Questions and Criticisms 456

The Religious, Philosophical, and Moral Tendencies of Our Books on Magic 458

Index 471

About the Translators 483

Editorial Reviews

03/13/2017
Modern mystics, occultists, ritualists, tarot enthusiasts, and pagans who feel their practice is enhanced by a better understanding of their source materials will find this work, the first English translation in more than 100 years of Levi’s seminal mid-19th-century pair of works, is a key addition to their magical libraries. Greer does well in bringing in Mikituk, who starts anew without directly referring to Waite’s earlier translation, freshening Levi without the indignity of over-modernizing his intensely symbolic language. Extensive but rarely editorializing footnotes address Levi’s literary and mythic references and his multi-language wordplay, and highlight important points for contemplation. In the extended introduction, Greer expresses great admiration for Levi’s thought process and the structuring of his ideas, and gives readers a conceptual structure through which to approach the dense text. Though Levi’s “genius” in making “magic relevant to his world” sometimes relies on now-discredited theories such as phrenology and Mesmer’s magnetism, there is timeless value in his syncretic sophistication combined with his orientation towards action, his eloquence in both allegory and in practical instructions, his urge toward a philosophy that includes reason but does not exalt it, and his deep understanding of the relationship between magic as psychology and magic as an effective force in the world. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Greer and Mikituk have succeeded in reestablishing Lévi’s grand transcultural synthesis in a form more relevant to and understandable for the modern occultist.”
—Fortean Times

“Lévi’s contribution was a powerful one, and his ideas deserve to be grasped by those who are exploring the Ancient Wisdom as it has manifested in the modern west. To this end, this new translation is admirably suited.—Richard Smoley, Quest magazine

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