Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult Revival (SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions)

A searching study of Eliphas Lévi and the French occult revival. 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 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, 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 eighteenth century, and later figures such as the Rosicrucian magus Joséphin Péladan, the occultist Papus (Gérard Encausse), the Counter-Pope Eugène Vintras, and the writer Joris-Karl 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. 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. "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 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, 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 eighteenth century, and occultists Papus (Gérard Encausse), the Counter-Pope Eugène Vintras, and the writer Joris-Karl 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"--Publisher's description, p. [4] of cover Acknowledgements Introduction Part I. The Age of Reason 1. The Rebirth of Magic 2. The Occult and the Revolution 3. Revolutionary Cults 4. The Beginnings of Popular Occultism 5. Magnetisers and Mediums 6. The Holy King Part II. Eliphas Lėvi 7 The Early Years 8. The Radical 9. Enter Eliphas Lėvi 10. The Magician 11. The Pundit 12. The Last Years 13. Eliphas Lėvi: an Assessment Part III. Towards the Kingdom of the Paraclete 14. The Heirs of Eliphas Lėvi 15. The War of the Roses 16. The Magical Quest of J.-K Huysmans 17. Writers and the Occult 18. Satanists and Anti-Satanists 19. The Indian Summer of Occultism Appendix A Appendix B Select Bibliography Index Christopher Mcintosh. Originally Published: London : Rider, 1972. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [228]-232) And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web.