Eliphas Levi, Master of the Cabala, the Tarot and the Secret Doctrines [Paperback]

Thomas A. Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2003 | ISBN-10: 1878853392 | ISBN-13: 978-1878853394 | Edition: 2

Eliphas Levi was the greatest teacher of occult doctrine in modern times. This book traces the events of his life, and expounds his key ideas on the Cabala, the Tarot, and the Secret Doctrines of all times, from Hermes Trismegisthus to the present.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Venture Press (FL); 2 edition (October 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878853392
• ISBN-13: 978-1878853394
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,527,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Introduction to a Catholic Magician, April 29, 2005

By 

RJ Buck "Lover of the Sacred Heart" (Liverpool, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eliphas Levi, Master of the Cabala, the Tarot and the Secret Doctrines (Paperback)

I love this book. It is precious to me and performs a true service. Not only is it the only in-print book in English on its subject, it really is an admirable effort. And although MacIntosh's out of print title has more information about Levi's life, I prefer Williams' effort. Quantity is not the same as quality, and although less is on offer here, I feel Williams captures more of the essential heart of who the remarkable Eliphas Levi really was. (Not that MacIntosh's volume is not also excellent and deserves reprinting).

Who was Eliphas Levi? I echo Williams completely, when he writes as to his reasons for writing the book: `The more I found out [about Levi], the more interested I became. Levi emerged as a far richer personality than I would ever have suspected.' I concur - the more I've pursued Levi, the more I've found a very generous and noble heart, a very human thinker.

Williams' takes us through Levi's whole life: his life changing first communion, his ordination in the Catholic Church, his years of radical utopianism, his veneration of the feminine, his works on magic. Unfortunately, the information on Levi's last years is thinner - which is regrettable inasmuch as I find the mature Levi the most moving of all - as he leaves behind his ceremonial magic for an ever deeper engagement with the Catholic Mystery. But it's a minor regret. Again, Williams captures Levi's *heart*.

Levi deserves not to be forgotten. As I said in my review of The Key of the Mysteries: `Levi is also notable because, although he could be seen as one of the fathers of the New Age movement, he doesn't have a `New Age politics'. That is, one the one hand, many ideas that now inform New Age thinking - such as `the interconnectedness of everything and how you effect others with your energy' to put it in `New Age speak' - are prefigured here in [Levi]. One the other hand, Levi has none of the New Age ideas of rejecting religion and the establishment. He is deeply Catholic and seeks a transformed Church vigorously supporting and informing the established order. Many of the thoughts here seem like rough drafts of what the anonymous author of Meditations on the Tarot would later develop with far more finesse.'

So in addition to all the above reasons, those seeking to understand the background to the astonishing Meditations on the Tarot will also find Williams' book a most valuable resource.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What they are saying...., August 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Eliphas Levi, Master of the Cabala, the Tarot and the Secret Doctrines (Paperback)

This is an often enjoyable, well-documented, readable biographical book on Lévi and his influence . . . . A significant book.
-Choice

Thomas A. Williams offers to our understanding a knowledge of what the occult is as well as of Eliphas Lévi, one of the most important revivers of the lore and language of the esoteric doctrines. . . . Williams offers useful materials on the Cabala, numerology and the Tarot. . . .
-Christian Scholar's Review

Thomas Williams gives us for the first time a well-researched, honest and unbiased biography of one of the giants of occultism. . . . Mr. Williams has done the occult, or psychic, world a service that should be acknowledged by all concerned. . . . We should all stand up and cheer!
-Spiritual Studies Center Booknews

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Untill the real thing comes along, February 7, 2005

By 

Bruce Johnson "BBJ" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eliphas Levi, Master of the Cabala, the Tarot and the Secret Doctrines (Paperback)

To start off with I was disappointed to find so many typo's in this second edition. While annoying it doesn't spoil the reading experience. The extensive use of long sections of quotation from other sources is far worse. This may not be intended as filler material but it does break the flow with unfortuate regularity. There is much in the way of interesting personal information that is not included. This is not difficult to source as I found it easily at a couple of on-line bio's.
The lack of a definitave biogaphy of Levi is a glaring omission in Occult literature. While this book doesn't fill the void it's the only one available. Worth reading untill the real thing comes along.