The History of Magic

The History of Magic (1913) is an extensive work on the origins of ceremonial magic throughout the world's many cultures and religions. Written by mystic and occultist Éliphas Lévi and translated by British scholar A.E. Waite, this is a foundational book for any student of the occult. French occultist Alphonse Louis Constant (1810-1875) was born in Paris to a shoemaker father. At age 22, he entered the seminary at Saint Sulpice for an education that would prepare him for the priesthood. While he did become ordained as a deacon, he found that his doubts regarding the doctrine of the Catholic Church precluded him from completing his ordination. A week before he was due to take orders as a priest, he left the church and returned to civilian life. Constant worked as a tutor to keep himself afloat, continuing to seek spiritual answers. He was influenced by the work of the mystic Simon Ganneau, a socialist and feminist who advocated gender equality and female emancipation. Constant, too, pro