Eliphas Levi

Eliphas Levi Zahed, origin. Alphonse Louis Constant ( born February 8, 1810 in Paris, † May 31, 1875 ) was a French deacon, writer and occultist, and is considered a pioneer of modern occultism.

Life

Levi was the son of the shoemaker Jean Joseph Constant and his wife Jeanne Agnès Beaucourt. After the visit to the charity school Lévi visited from 1820, the College of Saint Sulpice to become a priest. He was ordained a deacon in 1835, but did not achieve the ordination. However, he later decorated with the usual in France for pastors title Abbé.

1830 Levi met the couple Ganneau which is. Than reincarnation of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVII saw. They were joined by Lévi in to learn some occult practices. During this time, Lévi -authored with his friends Flora Tristan and Alphonse Esquiros the pamphlet Les belles femmes de Paris. In addition, several radical social criticism essays, which Lévi brought in a short prison sentence incurred.

1841 published Lévi La Bible de la liberté and 1846 was followed by La voie de la famine. Both works earned him a trial for impiety and call for revolution and an eight- month sentence. In prison, to Lévi tried as a composer, but was completely unsuccessful in this area. During this time, Levi took the name Magus Eliphas Levi Zahed, a version of his name, which should sound in Hebrew.

1846 married Levi age of 36 who still underage Marie Noemi Cadiot. With her he had one child, but died very early. Inter alia because of the death of her child shattered this marriage more and the couple parted 1853. 1865 Lévi reached the annulment of his marriage.

His personal occult key experience Lévi had to thank the Polish mathematician and philosopher Josef Hoene - Wronski. Lévi read his book Messianisme and worked intensively with its " Prognomètre ", a curious machine, which should calculate and interpret the Absolute mathematically.

In May 1854 Levi was invited by Edward Bulwer- Lytton to London. Through him he learned there know some British Rosicrucians. In their pleas and insistence he led after a preparation period of twenty-one days in July 1854 by his first evocation. In the room, which was placed at his disposal for the ritual, the spirit of Apollonius of Tyana appeared to him.

On March 14, 1861 Levi was inducted into the Masonic Lodge " Rose du Parfait Silence" in Paris. On admission he surprised his brothers by declaring: " I bring you now the lost traditions, the exact knowledge of your character and emblems ..." But shortly after, he stepped back out of the box because of derogatory criticism of one of his lectures.

At the age of 65 years Eliphas Levi died on 31 May 1875 in Paris. Aleister Crowley, who was born in the year of death Lévis ( born October 12, 1875), looked at as the reincarnation of Lévis.

Basic assumptions Lévis

Lévi postulated (literally know, something like: mind ) as its four basic laws of magic Savoir - Vouloir (literally, want, mutatis mutandis: matter ) - Oser (literally: carriage, mutatis mutandis: Motion ) - Se taire (literally silent, mutatis mutandis: stop). Another fundamental law he saw the perpetual equilibrium between two forces in nature: Willpower and astral light.

Willpower

He assumed that alone will be logically combined with his reason, the highest force in the universe is. Individually could align neither will nor reason something. Only the human will, guided by a rational motive for action, put a God-man into existence - no God, but the highest attainable level of human existence.

Astral Light

This term was adopted by Paracelsus Lévi. Like the Martinist and Louis Claude de Saint -Martin understood Lévi under this light the eternal memory of the earth. A diary from the beginning of time, it applies only to decipher for humans yet. At the same time this astral light of the personal aura is seen as the spiritual aura of the earth, like every human being.

Reception

The literary work of Lévis covers an estimated 200 titles. Since it has been rediscovered in recent years by many Lévi, also his work experiences on various reissues.

Works

  • Le sorcier de Meudon. Bourdilliat, Paris 1861 ( novel).
  • Fables et avec leur explication symboles, où sont les grands Reveles secrets de la direction du magnétisme universel et des principes fondamentaux du grand oeuvre ( = philosophy occult. 1re Série ). Baillière, Paris 1862 ( Nachdruck. Éditions de la Maisnie, Paris 1978, ISBN 2-85707-031-2 ( ISBN formally wrong ) ).
  • La Science des wit. Révélation du dogme secret of Kabbalistes. Esprit occulte of Evangiles. Appréciation the doctrines et des phénomènes spirites ( = philosophy occult. 2e Série ). Baillière, Paris 1865 ( Nachdruck. Éditions de la Maisnie, Paris 1976, ISBN 2-85707-010-1 ).
  • Les portes de l' avenir ( = Collection Spiritualité. (Le Tremblay ) ). Diffusion Rosicrucienne, Le Tremblay in 1995, ISBN 2-908534-53-3 ( Facsimile of a manuscript of 1870 ).
  • Le Livre des Splendeurs, contenant le soleil Judaïque, la gloire et l' étoile chrétienne flamboyant, études sur les origines de la cabale, avec des recherches sur les mystères de la francmaçonnerie, suivies de la profession de foi et des éléments de cabale. Chamuel, Paris 1894 ( Nachdruck. Trédaniel, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-85707-387-9 ).
  • Clefs majeures et clavicules de Salomon. Chamuel, Paris 1895 ( Nachdruck. Elibron Classics, Boston MA 2007, ISBN 978-1-4212-2763-4 ).
  • Le grand arcane ou l' occultisme devoile. Chamuel, Paris 1898 ( Nachdruck. Elibron Classics, Boston MA 2005, ISBN 978-1-4212-2763-4 ).
  • Le livre des sages. Posthumous oeuvre. Chacornac, Paris 1911 ( Nachdruck. ( = Collection Spiritualité. (Le Tremblay ) ). Diffusion Rosicrucienne, Le Tremblay in 1995, ISBN 2-908534-54-1 ).
  • Les mystères de la Kabbale ou l' harmonie des deux occulte Testament. Nourry, Paris 1920 ( Nachdruck. Éditions de la Maisnie, Paris 1977, ISBN 2-85707-021-7 ).
  • Secrets de la magie. Laffont, Paris, 2000, ISBN 2-221-07808- X (Includes the works Dogme et rituel de la haute magie, Histoire de la magie and La clef des grands mystères ).

Works in German language

  • The great secret. Barth, München-Planegg et al 1925.
  • History of Magic. Barth, München-Planegg among others in 1926 ( See also: ( = Econ Paperback lotus 74048 ) Ullsteinhaus paperback publishing house, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-548-74048-0. . ).
  • The Solomon Key. Barth, München-Planegg 1927 ( See also: AAGW, Sinzheim 2006, ISBN 3-937592 -13- X).
  • The key to the great mysteries. According to Enoch, Abraham, Hermes Trismegistus and Salomon. Barth, among others Vienna in 1928 ( See also: Revised edition with restored illustrations, Aurinia Verlag, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-937392-70-7 ).
  • The book of Wisdom. Barth, among others Vienna in 1928 ( See also: Revised and annotated edition, Aurinia Verlag, Hamburg, 2013, ISBN 978-3-937392-69-1 ).
  • Inauguration of letters in the High Magic and numerology. Letters to Baron Spedalieri ( 1861-1863 ). 3rd edition. Ansata, Interlaken 1993, ISBN 3-7157-0129-3.
  • Transcendental Magic. Dogma and Ritual of High Magic. Revised edition with restored illustrations, Aurinia Verlag, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-937392-68-4.
Martinism Louis Claude de Saint-Martin Francis Barrett (occultist) Integrated Authority File
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