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Difference between revisions of "Éliphas Lévi"
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Constant's activities reflect the struggle to come to terms, both with the failure of 1848 and the tough repressions by the new government. He participated on the Revue philosophique et religieuse, founded by his old friend Fauvety, wherein he propagated his "Kabbalistic" ideas, for the first time in public, in 1855-1856 (notably using his civil name). | Constant's activities reflect the struggle to come to terms, both with the failure of 1848 and the tough repressions by the new government. He participated on the Revue philosophique et religieuse, founded by his old friend Fauvety, wherein he propagated his "Kabbalistic" ideas, for the first time in public, in 1855-1856 (notably using his civil name). | ||
Lévi began to write Histoire de la magie in 1860. The following year, in 1861, he published a sequel to Dogme et rituel, La clef des grands mystères ("The Key to the Great Mysteries"). In 1861 Lévi revisited London | ===Authorship=== | ||
Lévi began to write ''Histoire de la magie'' in 1860. The following year, in 1861, he published a sequel to ''Dogme et rituel'', ''La clef des grands mystères'' ("The Key to the Great Mysteries"). In 1861 Lévi revisited London. In 1868, he wrote ''Le grand arcane, ou l'occultisme Dévoilé'' ("The Great Secret, or Occultism Unveiled"); this, however, was only published posthumously in 1898. | |||
The thesis of magic propagated by Éliphas Lévi was of significant renown, especially after his death. That Spiritualism was popular on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1850s contributed to this success. However, Lévi diverged from spiritualism and criticized it, because he believed only mental images and "astral forces" persisted after an individual died, which could be freely manipulated by skilled | The thesis of [[ritual magic|magic]] propagated by Éliphas Lévi was of significant renown, especially after his death. That Spiritualism was popular on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1850s contributed to this success. However, Lévi diverged from spiritualism and criticized it, because he believed only mental images and "astral forces" persisted after an individual died, which could be freely manipulated by skilled [[magician]]s, unlike the autonomous spirits that Spiritualism posited. | ||
He had a deep impact on the magic of the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]] and later on the ex–Golden Dawn | He had a deep impact on the magic of the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]] and later on the ex–Golden Dawn members [[Aleister Crowley]] and [[Papus]]. He was also the first to declare that a pentagram or five-pointed star with one point down and two points up represents evil, while a pentagram with one point up and two points down represents good. Lévi's ideas also influenced [[Helena Blavatsky]] and the Theosophical Society. | ||
==Theory of magic== | ==Theory of magic== | ||
The three chief components of Levi's magical thesis were: Astral Light, the Will and the Imagination. Levi did not originate any of these as occult concepts. | The three chief components of Levi's magical thesis were: Astral Light, the Will and the Imagination. Levi did not originate any of these as [[occult]] concepts. | ||
Concerning the "Astral Light", Waite noted: "the Astral Light, which is neither more nor less than the odylic force of Baron Carl Reichenbach, as the French writer [Levi] himself admits substantially, [...]" and: "This force he [Levi] usually terms the Astral Light, a name which is borrowed from Saint-Martin and the French mystics of the eighteenth century." | Concerning the "Astral Light", Waite noted: "the Astral Light, which is neither more nor less than the odylic force of Baron Carl Reichenbach, as the French writer [Levi] himself admits substantially, [...]" and: "This force he [Levi] usually terms the Astral Light, a name which is borrowed from Saint-Martin and the French mystics of the eighteenth century." | ||
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"Astral Light" was also indebted to the ideas of 18th-century proto-hypnotist, [[Franz Mesmer]]: "[Mesmer] evolved the theory of “ animal magnetism.” This he held to be a fluid which pervades the universe, but is most active in the human nervous organization, and enables one man, charged with the fluid, to exert a powerful influence over another." | "Astral Light" was also indebted to the ideas of 18th-century proto-hypnotist, [[Franz Mesmer]]: "[Mesmer] evolved the theory of “ animal magnetism.” This he held to be a fluid which pervades the universe, but is most active in the human nervous organization, and enables one man, charged with the fluid, to exert a powerful influence over another." | ||
Astral is an adjective meaning: "Connected to, consisting of, stars." Levi used the term "Astral" | Astral is an adjective meaning: "Connected to, consisting of, stars." Levi used the term "Astral," not only as a synonym for "psychic force," but because he believed in the ancient and medieval superstition of [[astrology]]. As Levi wrote himself: "Nothing is indifferent in Nature, a pebble more or less upon a road may crush or profoundly alter the fortunes of the greatest men and even of the greatest empires, much more then the position of a particular star can not be indifferent to the destinies of the child who is being, and who enters by the fact of his birth into the universal harmony of the sidereal astrological world." | ||