Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual Paperback – February 19, 2011

I have noticed before that Amazon has a problem making sure that reviews are about the actual product on offer. In the present case, there are enough references to a badly prepared OCR edition or internet translator to make me believe that other versions of this book have appeared, but the copy I received from Amazon is clearly exactly as described: a reproduction of the original 1958 London edition. Someone at Amazon should weed out irrelevant or misleading reviews, or reviews referencing earlier versions of a current product, as a service to its customers.So, yes, this is a good edition of the Waite translation of this classic work, which translation I much prefer to the one by Greer and Mikituk, which I have separately reviewed. As to the work itself, in spite of its abundant errors (carefully pointed out by the translator), it remains an original work of occult philosophy, rich with creative ideas illuminating many of the occult ideas comprising our heritage of ancient wisdom. The only other work I can compare it with is the classic work by Manly Palmer Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. The difference here is that both Manly Hall and A. E. Waite are careful and brilliant scholars reviewing the field, whereas Eliphas Levi was an original Magus who wrote on his own authority. Levi’s work is an indispensable classic, and Waite’s translation does it justice.

Hard to read without a doubt but still love what I have been taking from this book, even though the content is directed toward magic, I found some of the paragraphs in this book applicable to different aspects of your way of living

Seriously, no joke.It honestly is a work of art.Waite's footnotes are great, even humorous.🖤

The book was easy to grasp since I have a background in occult literature.Honestly nothing I disliked.I have a few more titles by this author.

At the core of all esoteric arts is science. Those occult groups who acted in secret oft time mixing faith and science have been the discoverers of scientific invention advancing society forward yet hidden from public view. In order to perpetuate faith the Church has always sought to stamp out these groups and their sciences. The Church has in many an instance been resistant to scientific discovery and change.What follows is one of the key books on Ceremonial Magick. The book is very hard to comprehend at times and yet at others it makes the point crystal clear. It is author’s such as Eliphas Levi who formed the foundation of today’s Ceremonial Magick, Wicca, Chaos Magick and to an extent neo-paganism. Eliphas Levi believed very much in the Judeo conception of God and had a Christian world view, yet he realized that the truths revealed in the Bible were not meant to be taken literally but rather as a metaphor. His outlook is also very scientific.Through out the ages secret groups have kept the study of Kabballah alive, all the way from Egypt through the Hebrews up until now. Teachers like Hermes Trimagistus, in his “Emerald Tablet “ passed on the teachings as did the Magians from Persia.. High Magic that brought about positive change is what this is about. The work is very kabbalistic.Interspersed with discussion of the Kabbalah comes the concept of Monad, Dyad and Triad. Monad is the one creator God, Dyad is him and someone else this is the essence of creation. You must have someone to talk to in order for creation to occur. The triad is the creator, created and the object of listening. Some what complicated and I do not hve a full grasp of this myself.None the less the power of speech is the power to create. In the bible God created the world through speech. Hence the magician creates their reality with the power of speech.In the Universe there is something called Astral Light. It is what the universe is made up of. It takes forms based on our imagination and what we are expecting or want to see. In a ritual if someone summons and angel, spirit or deity and you se thm it amy or may not be what you think you see but rather a form created by the Astral Light. Our astral bodies are composed of astral light. When the righteous die they go to the stars or evolve to the next level. Those still addicted to the pleasures of life are trapped in their Astral body.The astral body can leave our physical bodies during sleep and will oft times take on different animal forms. Like werewolves or were tigers. Affecting the astral body can have an impact on the physical body. Sympathetic magic is worked in a fashion like this. Our imagination can affect the thinking and minds of other people especially if our thought are properly directed.. Pentagrams control the elements.Writers like Eliphas Levi are the wellsprings of inspiration for many magical authors who learned from him and rewrote his concepts in sometimes watered down fashion. No problems reading them first before you get to the main course which is this book. There is no dogma but the purest of science that I have seen in an occult book.pppppp

What seek you from the science of the magi? Eliphas Levi was an initiated magi... so unfortunately he was bound to hold some essential aspects of the process back, he was bound by the obligations of his initiation. That said, if you're post-initiation and trying to figure it all out, this book is key."God has not created suffering; intelligence has accepted it to be free"The universe is balanced by two forces which maintain it in equilibrium he writes, 'the force which attracts and that which repels'. They exist alike in physics, in philosophy, and in religion; in physics they produce equilibrium, in philosophy criticism, in religion progressive revelation. The ancients represented this mystery in the conflict between Eros and Anteros, the struggle between Jacob and the angel, and by the equilibrium of the golden mountain, with gods on the one side and demons on the other hold bound by the symbolic serpent of India. It is also typified by the caduceus of Hermanubis, by the two cherubim of the ark, by the twofold sphinx of the chariot of Osiris, and by the two seraphim, respectively black and white.Dare to formulate your desire, then set to work at once, and do not cease acting after the same manner and for the same end; what you will shall come to pass, and for you and by you it has indeed already begun... this book is a good start. Use all of the formulas, tables and rituals, but focus on what's going on inside your head, not the recipe!

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