The Mysteries of Magic: A Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781684223770)

2019 Reprint of 1897 Second and Enlarged Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. This is Waite's pioneering collection of Levi's works in English translation. The book was first published in 1886 and for this second edition Waite altered the plan of his Digest, revised it extensively and added new material from the minor works of Levi, including extracts from Paradoxes of the Highest Science and a much-expanded index. Alphonse Louis Constant, better known by his pen name Eliphas Levi, was a master of the traditional Rosicrucian interpretation of the Kabbalah. He was born in France in 1810, and through the offices of the parish priest, was educated for the church at Saint-Sulpice. He was later expelled from seminary for teaching doctrines contrary to those of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1824 Levi began studying the occult sciences and wrote about magic and the Kabbalah for the next three decades. His other books include Transcendental Magic, Mysteries of the Qabalah, and The Book of Splendours.