The Mysteries of Magic - A Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi

by Arthur Edward Waite

"The Mysteries Of Magic" is a 1927 work by A. E. Waite that explores the life and work of �liphas L�vi Zahed (1810 - 1875), a French occult author and ceremonial magician. Arthur Edward Waite (1857 - 1942), more commonly referred to as A. E. Waite, was an American-born British mystic and poet. He wrote profusely on the subject of the occult and esoteric matters, and is famous for being the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. His work arguably constitutes the first attempt to systematically studying the history of western occultism, which he viewed more of a spiritual tradition than proto-science or pseudo-religion, as was the more common conception. Contents include: "Life of Alphonse Louis Constant", "Notes on the Mysteries of Magic as expounded in the Occult Philosophy of Eliphas Levi", "Threshold of Magical Science", "Doctrines of Occult Force", "Written Tradition of Magic", "Doctrine of Spiritual Essences, or Kabbalistic Pneumatics", "Ceremonial Magic", "Science of the Prophets", etc. Other works by this author include: "The Alchemical Writings of Edward Kelly" (1893), "Turba Philsophorum" (1894), and "Devil-Worship in France" (1896). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

396 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1991

About the author

Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of western occultism viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of proto-science or as the pathology of religion."