Synopsis "Transcendent Magic"
Lévi writes, "Magic is the traditional science of the secrets of nature which has been transmitted to us from the magi." Since this coincides with the general goals of Alchemy, and due to the many references to alchemical subjects contained herein, I have included it as part of the R.A.M.S. Library of Alchemy. "To be ever rich, to be always young and to die never: such, from all time, has been the dream of alchemists," Ritual, Chapter XII: The Great Work. Is this not the dream of most people, and not only alchemists? Dogma et Rituel de la Haute Magie was written by Éliphas Lévi (Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant (February 8, 1810 - May 31, 1875)). Lévi was a French Occult author and ceremonial magician. The text was translated from French into English by Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942). Although the book's title was "Transcendental Magic," within the text the work is referred to as "Transcendent Magic." This text was meticulously gathered from several sources, with the copy in the University of Toronto Library being the primary source. There were some damaged pages in that copy, and while comparing several editions to locate the missing pages I found that some of the text had been changed or even omitted between various printings. In particular, certain of the paragraphs in sections on so-called Black Magic were missing in some copies. I here present the complete edition based on all source materials available to me. The writings of Éliphas Lévi are an important part of the teachings of The Golden Dawn. Israel Regardie wrote, "Prominent among the Adepti of our Order and of public renown were Éliphas Lévi the greatest of modern French magi." His discussions of the Tarot are most interesting, and coincide with those presented by Israel Regardie in his Golden Dawn series. This edition includes Lévi's translation of the "Nuctemeron of Apollonius of Tyana," a short but very interesting work in itself.
