The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic: A New Translation

I love this new translation. The book becomes instantly readable. A.E. Waite is infamous for his long winded meandering and almost unreadable victorian verbal masturbation. The message comes through much more clearly, and Greer's introduction is definitely worth reading. I still prefer the original translation of the Conjuration of the Four, including the prayers of the elementals, which I still use in ritual, but as a readable and re-readable version of Levi's Opus, this is a desert island book for me.

I bought this for a Tarot class I was taking. I didn't know it was going to be so interesting. The instructor also pointed out that it was really two books. And you should read the chapters at the same time, I think that was the intention. I'm still making my way through it. Even if you're not into these kind of things, or not a believer, it's overall captivating.

In 1854, Elaphis Levi tried Necromancy for the first time, successfully raising Apollonius of Tyana, a famous magician of ancient times. During three weeks of preparation including dieting and fasting, Levi meditated on Apollonius and imagined conversations with him. The Ritual of Conjuration was performed in a specially prepared ‘Temple’ in which only he took part and consisted of 12 hours of incantations, after which the floor began to shake and a ghostly apparition appeared. Levi admitted to feeling extremely cold and frightened and when the apparition touched his ritual sword, his arm went suddenly numb. He dropped the sword and fainted. He claimed later that his sword arm was sore and numb for days after the incident. Levi was inclined to treat his experience as a subjective experiment, but observed that it had been sufficient to demonstrate the effectiveness of magical ceremonies. He also condemned their use as dangerous on moral and health grounds outside the hands of an experienced adept. ”Ceremonial Magic” according to the rules mockingly laid down by Eliphas Levi, is another imagined alter-ego of the philosophy of the Arhats of old. In short, the prisms through which Occultism appears, to those innocent of the philosophy, are as multi-colored and varied as human fancy can make them.” – H.P. Blavatsky, “Occultism versus the Occult Arts” (article). While Blavatsky had a strong opinion of Levi's attempt to resurrect what he could of Magic, she still had high respect for him regardless. In a response letter to (BARON) J. SPÉDALIERI, a pupil of Levi's, Blavatsky said this as sentimental posthumous respect: " The late Éliphas Lévi was the most learned Kabalist and Occultist of our age in Europe, and everything from his pen is precious to us..."-Blavatsky My conclusion: Read at your own risk. Do not feel guilty if you don't read it. Levi recommends the latter.

It’s a must have for any occultist. You may not agree with it, but it’s occult history.

Easy to read and understand. The translation is good as well. I love occult knowledge and I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more. I would be very cautious with any necromancy rituals.

Reader's may find some gems here.

I like reading historical books. This book isn’t set to be a historical novel but it is.

If you set this beside the Waite Translation you see the importance of understanding words, and the use of a dictionary. This is a very readable translation of Transcendental Magick. Mr. Greer is a fine translator and genius magickal operator.

excellent

A fabulous and illuminating read, great job by John Michael Greer and Mr Mikituk in this elegant translation. Highly recommend! Edit: Eliphas Levi was a devout catholic and even though he left the priesthood, remained so throughout his life. In this book, he warns against the dangers of black magic, evil intentions and satanism. In many ways, whilst some ideas about women may be of their era, he seems ahead of his time in the way he describes what one might call the evolution of humanities consciousness. Basically, don’t be put off reading this if you are under the erroneous impression that it is about satanism, as that is far from the case. Again, the authors do a great job with the translation and John Michael Greers introduction is just brilliant.

The man responsible for the Re emergence of the magical arts out of the grips of Christianity. I have read this book cover to cover and can tell this Alphonse Louise Constant wielded true knowledge an expressed himself with great colorful prose.

This was a Christmas gift and very well received, my son was very happy.

I love this book it shows how far we have come from when this was written but how many truths never change