Renaissance magic 's
Naturalis Historia (1582) The term originates in 16th-century
Renaissance magic, referring to practices described in various Medieval and Renaissance
grimoires and in collections such as that of
Johannes Hartlieb.
Georg Pictor uses the term synonymously with
goetia.
James Sanford in his 1569 translation of
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's 1526
De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum has "The partes of ceremoniall Magicke be Geocie, and Theurgie". For Agrippa, ceremonial magic was in opposition to
natural magic. While he had his misgivings about natural magic, which included
astrology,
alchemy, and also what we would today consider fields of
natural science, such as
botany, he was nevertheless prepared to accept it as "the highest peak of natural philosophy". Ceremonial magic, on the other hand, which included all sorts of communication with spirits, including
necromancy and
witchcraft, he denounced in its entirety as impious disobedience towards God.
Francis Barrett Among the various sources for ceremonial magic,
Francis Barrett, a late 18th-century Englishman, called himself a student of
chemistry,
metaphysics, and natural occult
philosophy. Barrett was enthusiastic about reviving interest in the occult arts, and published a magical textbook called
The Magus.
The Magus dealt with the natural magic of
herbs and
stones,
magnetism,
talismanic magic,
alchemy,
numerology, the
elements, and biographies of famous
adepts from history. It was a compilation, almost entirely consisting of selections from
Cornelius Agrippa's
Three Books of Occult Philosophy, the
Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy attributed to Agrippa, and
Robert Turner's 1655 translation of the
Heptameron of Peter of Abano. Barrett made modifications and modernized spelling and syntax. Possibly influencing the novelist
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the book gained little other notice until it influenced
Eliphas Levi.
Éliphas Lévi Éliphas Lévi (1810–1875) conceived the notion of writing a treatise on magic with his friend
Bulwer-Lytton. This appeared in 1855 under the title
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, and was translated into English by
Arthur Edward Waite as
Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual. In 1861, he published a sequel,
La Clef des Grands Mystères (
The Key to the Great Mysteries). Further magical works by Lévi include
Fables et Symboles (
Stories and Images), 1862, and
La Science des Esprits (
The Science of Spirits), 1865. In 1868, he wrote ''Le Grand Arcane, ou l'Occultisme Dévoilé
(The Great Secret, or Occultism Unveiled''); this, however, was only published posthumously in 1898. Lévi's version of magic became a great success, especially after his death. That
Spiritualism was popular on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1850s contributed to his success. His magical teachings were free from obvious fanaticisms, even if they remained rather murky; he had nothing to sell, and did not pretend to be the initiate of some ancient or fictitious
secret society. He incorporated the
Tarot cards into his magical system, and as a result the Tarot has been an important part of the paraphernalia of Western
magicians. He had a deep impact on the magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and later Aleister Crowley, and it was largely through this impact that Lévi is remembered as one of the key founders of the twentieth century revival of magic.
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the rites of the
Golden Dawn. The
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (founded 1888) was a
secret society devoted to the study and practice of the
occult,
metaphysics, and
paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a
magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in
Great Britain and focused its practices on
theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and
magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as
Wicca and
Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which became one of the largest single influences on 20th century Western
occultism. The three founders,
William Robert Woodman,
William Wynn Westcott, and
Samuel Liddell Mathers, were
Freemasons. Westcott appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn. The "Golden Dawn" was the first of three Orders, although all three are often collectively referred to as the "Golden Dawn". The First Order taught esoteric philosophy based on the
Hermetic Qabalah and personal development through study and awareness of the four
classical elements, as well as the basics of
astrology,
tarot divination, and
geomancy. The Second or Inner Order, the , taught magic, including
scrying,
astral travel, and
alchemy.
Aleister Crowley English author and occultist Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) wrote about magical practices and theory, including those of
theurgy ("high magic") and
goetia ("low magic"). In
The Book of the Law and
The Vision and the Voice, the Aramaic magical formula
Abracadabra was changed to
Abrahadabra, which he called the new formula of the
Aeon of Horus. He also famously spelled magic in the archaic manner, as 'magick', to differentiate "the true science of the Magi from all its counterfeits." He also stated that "The spirits of the Goetia are portions of the human brain." His book
Magick, Liber ABA, Book 4, is a lengthy treatise on magic in which he which also presents his own system of Western
occult practice, synthesised from many sources, including
Yoga,
Hermeticism, medieval
grimoires, contemporary magical theories from writers like
Eliphas Levi and
Helena Blavatsky, and his own original contributions. It consists of four parts: Mysticism, Magick (Elementary Theory), Magick in Theory and Practice, and ΘΕΛΗΜΑ—the Law (The Equinox of The Gods). It also includes numerous appendices presenting many rituals and explicatory papers.
Dion Fortune Dion Fortune (1890–1946) was a Welsh
occultist, ceremonial magician, novelist and author. She was a co-founder of the
Fraternity of the Inner Light, an occult organisation that promoted philosophies which she claimed had been taught to her by spiritual entities known as the
Ascended Masters. A prolific writer, she produced a large number of articles and books on her occult ideas and also authored seven novels, several of which expound occult themes. Fortune was a ceremonial magician. The magical principles on which her Fraternity was based were adopted from the late nineteenth century Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, with other influences coming from Theosophy and Christian Science. The magical ceremonies performed by Fortune's Fraternity were placed into two categories: initiations, in which the candidate was introduced to magical forces, and evocation, in which these forces were manipulated for a given purpose. The Fraternity's rituals at their Bayswater temple were carried out under a dim light, as Fortune believed that bright light disperses etheric forces. An altar was placed in the centre of a room, with the colours of the altar-cloth and the symbols on the altar varying according to the ceremony being performed. A light was placed on the altar while incense, usually
frankincense, was burned. The senior officers sat in a row along the eastern end of the room, while officers—who were believed to be channels for cosmic forces—were positioned at various positions on the floor. The lodge was opened by walking around the room in a circle chanting, with the intent of building a psychic force up as a wall. Next, the cosmic entities would be invoked, with the members believing that these entities would manifest in
astral form and interact with the chosen officers. Fortune was particularly concerned with the issue of sex. She believed that this erotic attraction between men and women could be harnessed for use in magic. She urged her followers to be naked under their robes when carrying out magical rituals, for this would increase the creative sexual tension between the men and women present. Although sex features in her novels, it is never described in graphic detail. The scholar Andrew Radford noted that Fortune's "reactionary and highly heteronormative" view of "sacralised sexuality" should be seen as part of a wider tradition among esoteric currents, going back to the ideas of
Emanuel Swedenborg and
Andrew Jackson Davis and also being found in the work of occultists like
Paschal Beverly Randolph and
Ida Craddock. The religious studies scholar
Hugh Urban noted that Fortune was "one of the key links" between early twentieth-century ceremonial magic and the developing Pagan religion of
Wicca. Similarly, the Wiccan high priestess
Vivianne Crowley characterised Fortune as a "proto-Pagan". The scholar and esotericist
Nevill Drury stated that Fortune "in many ways anticipated feminist ideas in contemporary Wicca", particularly through her belief that all goddesses were a manifestation of a single Great Goddess. Graf agreed, adding that Fortune's works found "resonance" in the work of the later feminist Wiccan
Starhawk, and in particular in the latter's 1979 book,
The Spiral Dance. In researching ceremonial magic orders and other esoteric groups active in the London area during the 1980s, Luhrmann found that within them, Fortune's novels were treated as "fictionalized ideals" and that they were recommended to newcomers as the best way to understand magic. The
Pagan studies scholar Joanne Pearson added that Fortune's books, and in particular the novels
The Sea Priestess and
Moon Magic, were owned by many Wiccans and other Pagans. The religious studies scholar Graham Harvey compared
The Sea Priestess to the Wiccan
Gerald Gardner's 1949 novel ''High Magic's Aid'', stating that while neither were "great literature", they "evoke Paganism better than later more didactic works".
Jack Parsons John Whiteside Parsons (1914–1952) was an American
rocket engineer,
chemist, and
Thelemite occultist. Parsons converted to
Thelema, the
new religious movement founded by the English occultist Aleister Crowley. Together with his first wife, Helen Northrup, Parsons joined the
Agape Lodge, the Californian branch of
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) in 1941. At Crowley's bidding, Parsons replaced
Wilfred Talbot Smith as its leader in 1942 and ran the Lodge from his mansion on Orange Grove Boulevard. Parsons identified four obstacles that prevented humans from achieving and performing their
true will, all of which he connected with fear: the fear of incompetence, the fear of the opinion of others, the fear of hurting others, and the fear of insecurity. He insisted that these must be overcome, writing that "The Will must be freed of its fetters. The ruthless examination and destruction of taboos, complexes, frustrations, dislikes, fears and disgusts hostile to the Will is essential to progress." In 1945, Parsons separated from Helen, after having an affair with her sister
Sara; when Sara left him for
L. Ron Hubbard, Parsons conducted the
Babalon Working, a series of rituals intended to invoke the Thelemic goddess
Babalon on Earth. The Babalon Working was a series of
magic ceremonies or
rituals performed from January to March 1946 by Parsons and
Scientology founder
L. Ron Hubbard. This ritual was essentially designed to manifest an individual
incarnation of the archetypal divine feminine called
Babalon. The project was based on the ideas of Crowley, and his description of a similar project in his 1917 novel
Moonchild. When Parsons declared that the first of the series of rituals was complete and successful, he almost immediately met
Marjorie Cameron in his own home, and regarded her as the
elemental that he and Hubbard had called through the ritual. Soon Parsons began the next stage of the series, an attempt to conceive a child through
sex magic workings. Although no child was conceived, this did not affect the result of the ritual to that point. Parsons and Cameron, who Parsons now regarded as the Scarlet Woman,
Babalon, called forth by the ritual, soon married. The rituals performed drew largely upon rituals and sex magic described by Crowley. Crowley was in correspondence with Parsons during the course of the Babalon Working, and warned Parsons of his potential overreactions to the magic he was performing, while simultaneously deriding Parsons' work to others. A brief text entitled
Liber 49, self-referenced within the text as
The Book of Babalon, was written by
Jack Parsons as a transmission from the goddess or force called 'Babalon' received by him during the Babalon Working. Parsons wrote that
Liber 49 constituted a fourth chapter of Crowley's
Liber AL Vel Legis (The Book of the Law), the holy text of
Thelema.
Phyllis Seckler Phyllis Seckler (1917–2004), also known as 'Soror Meral', was a ninth degree (IX°) member of the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Gnosis of
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), and a lineage holder in the
A∴A∴ tradition. She was a student of
Jane Wolfe, herself a student of Aleister Crowley. Sekler was a member of O.T.O. Agape Lodge, the only working Lodge of the O.T.O. at the time of Aleister Crowley's death. Seckler was also instrumental in preserving important parts of Crowley's literary heritage, typing parts of his
Confessions, and the complete texts of
The Vision and the Voice and
Magick Without Tears during the 1950s. Seckler was also instrumental in re-activing the O.T.O. with
Grady Louis McMurtry, during the early-mid 1970s, following the death of Crowley's appointed successor,
Karl Germer. Seckler continued her lifelong work with the
A∴A∴, founding the
College of Thelema and co-founding (with James A. Eshelman) the
Temple of Thelema, and later warranting the formation of the
Temple of the Silver Star. Seeking to guide her students to an understanding of the Law of Thelema, especially deeper understanding of oneself and of one's magical will, Sekler published the bi-annual Thelemic journal
In the Continuum which featured her essays on Thelema and initiation as well as instructional articles for the students of the A.:.A.:., illustrations and essays which help to clarify some of Crowley's thoughts and aid in the understanding of Thelemic principles expressed in
Liber AL. Printed for 20 years from 1976 through 1996,
In the Continuum also published rare works by Aleister Crowley which at the time were out of print or hard to find. Seckler served as a master of 418 Lodge of O.T.O. in California from its inception in 1979 until her death.
Kenneth Grant Kenneth Grant (1924–2011) was an English ceremonial magician and advocate of the
Thelemic religion. A poet, novelist, and writer, he founded his own Thelemic organisation, the
Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis—later renamed the Typhonian Order—with his wife Steffi Grant. Grant was fascinated by the work of the occultist Aleister Crowley, having read a number of his books. Eager to meet Crowley, Grant wrote letters to Crowley's publishers, asking that they pass his letters on to Crowley himself. These eventually resulted in the first meeting between the two, in autumn 1944, at the Bell Inn in
Buckinghamshire. After several further meetings and an exchange of letters, Grant agreed to work for Crowley as his secretary and personal assistant. Now living in relative poverty, Crowley was unable to pay Grant for his services in money, instead paying him in magical instruction. In March 1945, Grant moved into a lodge cottage in the grounds of Netherwood, a
Sussex boarding house where Crowley was living. He continued living there with Crowley for several months, dealing with the old man's correspondences and needs. In turn, he was allowed to read from Crowley's extensive library on occult subjects, and performed ceremonial magic workings with him, becoming a high initiate of Crowley's magical group,
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.). Crowley saw Grant as a potential leader of O.T.O. in the UK, writing in his diary, "value of Grant. If I die or go to the USA, there must be a trained man to take care of the English O.T.O." Grant drew eclectically on a range of sources in devising his teachings. Although based in Thelema, Grant's Typhonian tradition has been described as "a
bricolage of occultism, Neo-Vedanta, Hindu tantra, Western sexual magic, Surrealism, ufology and Lovecraftian gnosis". According to religious studies scholar Gordan Djurdjevic, Grant's writing style is notorious for being opaque with "verbal and conceptual labyrinths". The historian of religion, Manon Hedenborg White, noted that "Grant's writings do not lend themselves easily to systematization". She added that he "deliberately employs cryptic or circuitous modes of argumentation", and lacks clear boundaries between fact and fiction. Grant promoted what he termed the Typhonian or Draconian tradition of magic, and wrote that Thelema was only a recent manifestation of this wider tradition. In his books, he portrayed the Typhonian tradition as the world's oldest spiritual tradition, writing that it had ancient roots in Africa. Djurdjevic noted that Grant's historical claims regarding Typhonian history were "at best highly speculative" and lacked any supporting evidence, however he suggested that Grant may never have intended these claims to be taken literally. Grant adopted a
perennialist interpretation of the history of religion. Grant's wrote that Indian spiritual traditions like Tantra and Yoga correlate to Western esoteric traditions, and that both stem from a core, ancient source, has parallels in the perennial philosophy promoted by the
Traditionalist School of esotericists. He believed that by mastering magic, one masters this illusory universe, gaining personal liberation and recognising that only the Self really exists. Doing so, according to Grant, leads to the discovery of one's true will, the central focus of Thelema. Grant further wrote that the realm of the Self was known as "the Mauve Zone", and that it could be reached while in a state of deep sleep, where it has the symbolic appearance of a swamp. He also believed that the reality of consciousness, which he deemed the only true reality, was formless and thus presented as a void, although he also taught that it was symbolised by the Hindu goddess
Kali and the Thelemic goddess
Nuit. Grant's views on
sex magic drew heavily on the importance of
sexual dimorphism among humans and the subsequent differentiation of gender roles. Grant taught that the true secret of sex magic were bodily secretions, the most important of which was a woman's menstrual blood. In this he differed from Crowley, who viewed
semen as the most important genital secretion. Grant referred to female sexual secretions as
kalas, a term adopted from
Sanskrit. He thought that because women have kalas, they have oracular and visionary powers. The magical uses of female genital secretions are a recurring theme in Grant's writings.
James Lees ."
James Lees (August 22, 1939 – 2015) was an English magician known for inventing the system he called
English Qaballa. Lees was born in
Bolton, Lancashire. He established a career as an
analytic chemist. In his search for truth, he also studied psychology. Not finding the answers he wanted from science, he turned to the study of astrology, even making a living for a time as a
horary astrologer. Still resolved to discover further answers, Lees decided to study
Kabbalah and the
Tree of Life. From here he proceeded to experiment with invocations from the
Key of Solomon. Satisfied with the results, he proceeded to perform the six month long working described in
The Book of Abramelin by means of the
Bornless Ritual. Claiming to have successfully invoked his
Holy Guardian Angel, he turned his attention to ascending the '
Middle Pillar' of the Tree of Life, culminating with an experience known as
crossing the abyss. Then, in November 1976, Lees constructed the "order & value of the English Alphabet." Following this, Lees founded the
O∴A∴A∴ in order to assist others in the pursuit of their own spiritual paths. The first public report of the system known as
English Qaballa (EQ) was published in 1979 by Ray Sherwin in an editorial in the final issue of his journal,
The New Equinox. Lees subsequently assumed the role of publisher of
The New Equinox and, starting in 1981, published additional material about the EQ system over the course of five issues of the journal, extending into 1982. In 1904, Aleister Crowley wrote out the text of the foundational document of his world-view, known as
Liber AL vel Legis,
The Book of the Law. In this text was the injunction found at verse 2:55; "Thou shalt obtain the order & value of the English Alphabet, thou shalt find new symbols to attribute them unto" which was understood by Crowley as referring to an English Qabalah yet to be developed or revealed. The "order & value" constructed by James Lees lays the letters out on the grid superimposed on the page of manuscript of
Liber AL on which this verse (Ch. III, v. 47) appears (sheet 16 of Chapter III). Also appearing on this page are a diagonal line and a circled cross.
The Book of the Law states that the book should only be printed with Crowley's hand-written version included, suggesting that there are mysteries in the "chance shape of the letters and their position to one another" of Crowley's handwriting. Whichever top-left to bottom-right diagonal is read the magickal order of the letters is obtained. Little further material on English Qaballa was published until the appearance of Jake Stratton-Kent's book,
The Serpent Tongue: Liber 187, in 2011. This was followed in 2016 by
The Magickal Language of the Book of the Law: An English Qaballa Primer by Cath Thompson. The creation, exploration, and continuing research and development of the system up to 2010, by James Lees and members of his group in England, are detailed in her 2018 book,
All This and a Book.
Nema Andahadna Nema Andahadna (1939–2018) practiced and wrote about magic (magical working, as defined by Aleister Crowley) for over thirty years. In 1974, she claimed to have
channelled a short book called
Liber Pennae Praenumbra. From her experience with
Thelemic magic, she developed her own system of magic called "Maat Magick" which has the aim of transforming the human race. In 1979, she co-founded the Horus-Maat Lodge. The Lodge and her ideas have been featured in the writings of
Kenneth Grant. Her writings have appeared in many publications, including the
Cincinnati Journal of Ceremonial Magick,
Aeon, and
Starfire. According to
Donald Michael Kraig: ==See also==