The following passage is taken from the introduction to Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual (the English translation of Dogme et Ritual, de la Haute Magie, By Eliphas Levi).

“Behind the veil of all the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrines, behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the seal of all sacred writings, in the ruins of Nineveh or Thebes, on the crumbling stones of old temples and on the blackened visage of the Assyrian or Egyptian sphinx, in the monstrous or marvelous paintings which interpret to the faithful of India the inspired pages of the Vedas, in the cryptic emblems of our old books on alchemy, in the ceremonies practiced at reception by all secret societies, there are found indications of a doctrine which is everywhere the same and everywhere carefully concealed.”

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Levi was born on the 8th of February 1810, in Paris, France. Born to a shoemaker, his given name was Alphonse Louis Constant, but he chose to publish under the name Eliphas Levi; his own translation of his birth name into the ancient language of Hebrew.

As a young boy, Levi was obviously very intelligent, but his father was unable to afford private education. Luckily, Eliphas soon came to the attention of a parish Priest, who arranged for him to live and be educated at the seminary of Saint Nichols du Chardonnet, and later at Saint Sulpice. During his time there, his headteacher explained to him that, in his opinion, animal magnetism was a “vital energy of the human body controlled by the Devil.”  This sparked Levi’s curiosity and he began to research all the information he could find regarding magic and the occult. In the early 1830s, he happened to meet an old couple, who practised the art of witchcraft. Monsieur Ganneau also believed he was a prophet, and the reincarnation of Louis VVII. His wife was the supposed reincarnation of Marie Antionette. Levi became a follower of Ganneau, determined to explore the deeper mysteries of the occult, by which he was incredibly intrigued.

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Simultaneously, he continued to work towards his intended career in the church, becoming a Deacon and beginning the necessary training for Roman Catholic Priesthood. However, he left before being ordained, after falling in love with someone he met at the seminary. (It was also rumoured the church had expelled him, on the grounds of heresy. However, conversely, he is said to have received his last rites. This would lead us to believe he either left the church of his own free will, or they later resolved their problems.) Whilst at the seminary, Levi published two religious works, of little importance. However, after leaving, he went on to publish L’Evangile du Peuple (The Gospel of the People) in 1840, and Le Testament de la Liberté (The Testament of Liberty), in 1848. These were radical texts and led to Levi spending at least two short periods in prison.

In 1846, Levi married a young woman, eighteen years his junior. Unfortunately, the marriage was not to last: their first-born died in early childhood, and they separated in 1853. It was at this point that he took on his new Hebrew name, whilst he worked as a journalist and gave classes in occultism.

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In 1854, he visited England, hoping to build his wealth and status by giving private lessons in occultism. But things were not to work out as he’d planned. His private lessons were unsuccessful, due to his poor command of the English language, and he found himself instead being asked to accomplish magical manoeuvres and miracles. Although he’d never written about the occult, his reputation as a famous Magus reached England long before he did, and people were keen to witness his fantastical skills. At one point, he was asked to conjure a spirit (an act known as necromancy) by a lady of title – the type of experiment he’d deliberately steered clear of, previously. After much persuasion, and having explained that he’d never attempted such a feat, he went about preparing for it.

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Throughout the week-long period of dieting and fasting, he meditated on Appolonius and visualised himself conversing with him. The ritual itself took place in a Temple, specially prepared by himself and others, with twelve hours of magical incantations. This preparation did nothing for his nerves, however, and when the floor began to shake and a ghostly apparition appeared before him he became frightened, and reported feeling very cold. For it’s necessary use during the ceremony, he’d been holding a ritual sword, which he dropped when the apparition touched it – claiming his arm had become completely numb. He then passed out, cold, and the ritual naturally came to a conclusion. This experience, although admittedly subjective, led him to condemn the practise of magical ceremonies as dangerous, and advised they should only be undertaken by mature adepts.

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When Levi returned to Paris, in August 1854, he was destitute, and was forced to rely on an old friend for food and a place to stay. Although the trip to England hadn’t been successful, news of his exploits soon reached French shores, thus strengthening his his reputation as a powerful Magus. He soon began teaching the Cabala (Kabbalah) to private students, and quickly rectified his financial situation. When he later returned to England, in 1861, he was accompanied by one of his students, Count Alexander Branicki. They were fortunate enough to be invited to stay at the Knebworth estate of renowned occult novelist, Baron Bulwer-Lytton, thus avoiding any repetition of the grievous circumstances he’d experienced during his prior visit.

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During this second stay in England, Levi was introduced to a leader of a Rosicrucian society in Anglia. Kenneth MacKenzie was author of the “Royal Masonic Encyclopaedia,” and was rumoured to have also produced the “Cipher Manuscripts,” a controversial collection of papers, of unknown origin, upon which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded. This magical society, established by A.E. Waite, was greatly influenced by Eliphas Levi, as have been the vast majority of modern Western magicians ever since (one such magician was the notorious Aleister Crowley, who was born the exact year Eliphas died, and claimed to be his reincarnation).

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Levi was the first (known) person to integrate the use of Tarot cards into his magical practise, and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn were quick to seize on his ideas, incorporating them into their own system. It is now common magical practice to utilise the Tarot in rituals, path-workings, and spells. MacKenzie went on to publish an account of the meeting between himself and Levi, during which Eliphas claimed to have spent over twenty-six years studying the Tarot. His books are littered with references to the cards, although he never dedicated a treatise to them, only adding to their alluring mystery.

Levi was also the first to separate the use of the symbol of the pentagram for the employment of good and evil. He applied his goat-headed Baphomet symbol to an inverted pentagram, attributing the qualities of evil to the new symbol. This symbol is now commonly associated with Satanism.

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Once back home, in France, Levi continued teaching occult classes and published many more books on magic and the occult, before his death in 1875. His final book, Le Grand Arcane, ou l’Occultisme Dévoilé (The Great Secret, or Occultism Unveiled) was written in 1868, but wasn’t published until 1898, many years after he’d died. During his lifetime he was considered an innovative person, and his beliefs about “animal magnetism” and a universal “secret doctrine of magic” were, for many, difficult to comprehend. However, after his death he gained respect and his books underwent a surge in popularity, largely thanks to the growing interest in spiritualism and the rising popularity of esoteric societies. His books are still in print, over one hundred and twenty-five years after publication.

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Levi’s Theory of Magic became very popular, identifying three fundamental principles:

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.
   • “One can only define the unknown by its supposed and supposable relations with the known.”-from The Key of the Mysteries
   • “The divine ideal of the ancient world made the civilization which came to an end, and one must not despair of seeing the god of our barbarous fathers become the devil of our more enlightened children.”-KoM
2. That human willpower is a real force, capable of achieving absolutely anything, from the mundane to the miraculous.
   • AXIOM 1:”Nothing can resist the will of man when he knows what is true and wills what is good.”
   • AXIOM 9:”The will of a just man is the Will of God Himself and the Law of Nature.”
   • AXIOM 20:”A chain of iron is less difficult to break than a chain of flowers.”
   • AXIOM 21:”Succeed in not fearing the lion, and the lion will fear YOU. Say to suffering, ‘I will that you shall become a pleasure,’ and it will prove to be such– and even more than a pleasure, it will be a blessing.”
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.
   
   1. “Man is the God of the world, and God is the man of Heaven.”

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However, Levi is renowned for his work on Baphomet; a controversial symbol later chosen by A.E. Waite, founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, to be used on his “Death” (Tarot) card. This use may have been responsible for the demonising of the symbol, originally based on the illustration on a Gargoyle on a Templar building, and believed by Levi to be an emblematic representation of the Absolute.

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