Eliphas Levi - Theory of Magic

Theory of Magic

Levi identified three fundamental principles of magic:

  1. That the material universe is only a small part of total reality, which includes many other planes and modes of consciousness. Full knowledge and full power in the universe are only attainable through awareness of these other aspects of reality. One of the most important of these levels or aspects of reality is the "astral light", a cosmic fluid which may be molded by will into physical forms.
    • "One can only define the unknown by its supposed and supposable relations with the known."-from The Key of the Mysteries
    • "The divine ideal of the ancient world made the civilization which came to an end, and one must not despair of seeing the god of our barbarous fathers become the devil of our more enlightened children."-KoM
  2. That human willpower is a real force, capable of achieving absolutely anything, from the mundane to the miraculous.
    • AXIOM 1:"Nothing can resist the will of man when he knows what is true and wills what is good."
    • AXIOM 9:"The will of a just man is the Will of God Himself and the Law of Nature."
    • AXIOM 20:"A chain of iron is less difficult to break than a chain of flowers."
    • AXIOM 21:"Succeed in not fearing the lion, and the lion will fear YOU. Say to suffering, 'I will that you shall become a pleasure,' and it will prove to be such-- and even more than a pleasure, it will be a blessing."
  3. That the human being is a microcosm, a miniature of the macrocosmic universe, and the two are fundamentally linked. Causes set in motion on one level may equally have effects on another.
    • "Man is the God of the world, and God is the man of Heaven."-KoM

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