Éliphas Levi

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Éliphas Levi

Éliphas Lévi Zahed , origin. Alphonse Louis Constant (born February 8, 1810 in Paris ; † May 31, 1875 there ), was a French deacon , writer and occultist and is considered a pioneer of modern occultism .

Life until 1848

Constant was the son of the shoemaker Jean Joseph Constant and his wife Jeanne Agnès Beaucourt. After attending the school for the poor , Constant attended the Saint Sulpice seminary from 1830 to become a priest. He was ordained a deacon in 1835 , but had to leave the seminary prior to his ordination due to a love affair. He used the title Abbé , which is common for pastors in France, until his marriage in 1846.

After leaving the seminary, he frequented socialist-romantic circles. His closest friend at that time was Alphonse Esquiros , who introduced him to the so-called petits romantiques such as Gérard de Nerval or Théophile Gautier . Constant soon turned to radical socialism, which was mainly shaped by the writings of Félicité de Lamennais , the former leader of the influential “neo-Catholic” movement who had recently broken with Rome and started to propagate Christian socialism. When Constant published his first radical work, the Bible de la liberté (1841), he was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment and a hefty fine. Contemporaries saw him as the most notorious “student” of Lamennais, even if the two men apparently never came into direct contact. In the following years, Constant described his ideology as communisme neo-catholique and published a number of books and pamphlets.

Like many socialists at the time, he propagated socialism as "true Christianity" and accused the established churches of having corrupted the teaching of Christ. Among the most important of his friends at the time, besides Esquiros, were the feminist Flora Tristan , the eccentric “mystical” socialist Simon Ganneau and the socialist Charles Fauvety. In the course of the 1840s Constant developed close ties to the Fourier school, in whose newspapers he published and whose publisher, the Librairie phalanstérienne, brought out some of his titles. He repeatedly extolled Fourierism as "true socialism" and "true Christianity". Around 1845 he also turned to the writings of the Catholic traditionalist Joseph de Maistre , whose ideas were highly popular in socialist circles of the time. In 1846, following the publication of a particularly radical pamphlet, La voix de la famine , he was sentenced again to prison. Thanks to the efforts of his pregnant wife Marie-Noémi Cadiot, whom he married in 1846, this could be significantly alleviated.

In his Testament de la liberté of 1848, Constant reacted to the atmosphere that would lead to the outbreak of the February Revolution . Constant's first biographer, Paul Chacornac, alleged that the will was the end point of Constant's socialist activities. On the other hand, it has been argued that it is rather a highly euphoric script that proclaims the end of the “martyrdom of the people” and the “resurrection of freedom”: the realization of the perfect, universal socialist order. The course of events therefore hit Constant particularly hard. The June uprising of 1849 and the failure of the Second Republic disaffected him like many other socialists. As his friend Esquiros reports, their belief in the peaceful realization of a universal harmony has been shaken for good.

Development after 1848

It has long been assumed that the socialist Constant perished with the Second Republic and gave way to the occultist Eliphas Lévi. The common source of this account is Paul Chacornac, who in turn cemented narratives that occultists like Papus and Stanislas de Guaïta had spread at the end of the 19th century. In contrast, it was pointed out that Constant developed his "occultism" not only on the basis of his socialist and neo-Catholic ideas, but also propagated the realization of "true socialism" until the end of his life.

In December 1851, Louis Napoléon carried out a coup d'état that sealed the end of the Second Republic and launched the Second Empire . Like numerous other socialists, Constant saw in the emperor initially the defender of the people and the restorer of public order. In the Moniteur parisien of 1852 he wrote that the new government was "truly socialist", but he was soon disappointed by the established dictatorship and imprisoned in 1855 after composing a polemical chanson against the emperor. What had changed by that time, however, was his attitude towards "the people". As early as 1845, in his writings La Fête-Dieu and Le livre des larmes, he had expressed skepticism about whether the uneducated people would be able to emancipate themselves. Similar to the Saint-Simonists , he had taken up the theocratic ideas of de Maistres and proclaimed the need for "spiritual authority" to be exercised by an elite priestly class. After the disaster of 1849 he was completely convinced that “the masses” were not ready to establish a harmonious order and therefore needed instruction (a concept similar to that of the “revolution from above”, the avant-garde, or the new type of party is not dissimilar).

Constant's activities at the time reflect the socialist efforts to deal with the failure of 1848 on the one hand and the repression by the government on the other. He participated in the socialist project of the Revue philosophique et religieuse , which his old friend Fauvety had founded. In it, from 1855 to 1856, he announced his “ cabbalistic ” ideas to a broader readership for the first time (interestingly, using his real name). The debates in the revue not only show the tensions between the old “romantic socialism” of the July monarchy and younger socialist currents, they also demonstrate how natural it seemed for a socialist author to include topics such as magic, Kabbalah or the occult in a socialist magazine Sciences discussed.

The Baphomet in Lévis Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1854)

It has been argued that Constant developed his ideas about magic in a concrete milieu marked by a confluence of socialist and magnetic ideas. Influential authors included Henri Delaage (1825–1882) and Jean Du Potet de Sennevoy (1796–1881), who, to different degrees, proclaimed magnetistic, magical and cabbalistic ideas as the basis of true socialism. It has often been noted that Constant's reception of medieval or early modern writings was remarkably superficial and flawed. This can be explained by the fact that he developed his theory of magic in the magnetistic context of the 1850s and thereby seamlessly connected to his older theory of a science universal , which he had articulated in a Fourierist- Swedenborgian context. Indeed, many Fourierists became avid spiritualists at that time. In contrast, Constant was very hostile to spiritism, which prepared an ongoing rivalry between spiritists and occultists. The main reason for this was Constant's neo-Catholic background and his decidedly Catholic self-image. For this reason he explicitly equated (the "true") Catholicism and occultism. Taking up the neo-Catholic thesis of an "original revelation," he claimed that the Kabbalah and the Tarot could lead to the deciphering of the only true and universal religion, which is Catholicism.

In 1854 Constant began to create his famous Dogme et rituel de la haute magie . Publication began initially on a delivery basis before two volumes were finally published from 1855 to 1856. In 1860 his Histoire de la magie appeared , and in 1861 La clef des grand mystères . In addition, Le sorcier de Meudon (1861, an expanded new edition of two novels that originally appeared in the Librairie phalanstérienne in 1847), Fables et symboles (1862) and La science des esprit (1865) were published. Further writings only appeared posthumously.

After loosening restrictions on socialist ideas in August 1859, Constant began again to use openly socialist language. In the clef he even quoted extensively his notorious Bible de la liberté , to which he himself referred affirmatively in his last writing from 1875, Le catéchisme de la paix . Since the 1860s, he continued to develop his idea of ​​an elite of initiates or “wise men” who would lead the people to final emancipation. In several passages he explicitly identified socialism, Catholicism and occultism.

At the age of 65, Éliphas Lévi died on May 31, 1875 in Paris. Aleister Crowley , who was born in the year Lévis died (* October 12, 1875), saw himself as the rebirth of Lévis.

Influences and alleged initiations

Various “initiatory” influences on Constant were repeatedly claimed. So far, however, no solid evidence has been presented. As described above, Constant's occultism can rather be explained against the background of romantic, socialist and Catholic ideas.

In addition, Freemasonry played an important role. On March 14, 1861, Lévi was admitted to the Masonic Lodge "Rose du Parfait Silence" in Paris. The reason for this was the networks around his friend Fauvety, which become tangible in the context of the Revue philosophie et religieuse, for example. Freemasonry became a reservoir for political resistance under the Second Empire. However, Constant went on a confrontational course from the start, claiming that he could explain the true meaning of the Masonic symbols on his own. Soon he broke with Freemasonry and polemicized against it until the end of his life. Masonic symbolism and authors were obviously an important source of inspiration for Constants. These include Jean-Marie Ragon, whose Maçonnerie occulte suivie de l'initiation hermétique (1853) was reviewed by Constant, and in which, typically , the first use of occultisme is found (and this in connection with Fourier).

According to a narrative first disseminated by the occultist Papus ( i.e. , Gérard Encausse ), Constant's occultism was the result of an initiation. However, this narrative was developed before Papus and his companions had access to reliable information about Constant's life. This is particularly evident from the fact that Papus tried in vain to contact Constant by letter on January 11, 1886 - almost eleven years after his death. Later, the alleged initiatory break between the socialist Constant and the occultist Lévi became an integral part of the construction of a specifically French esoteric tradition, in which Constant was a central link. Another narrative was developed in parallel by Arthur Edward Waite , who, however, had even less biographical information than the French.

Papus was the first to claim that Constant was initiated by the eccentric Polish exile Józef Maria Hoëné-Wroński . However, it has been pointed out that Vronsky's influence between 1852 and 1853 was brief and shallow. A trip to London in May 1854 was not a trigger for Constant's preoccupation with magic, even if he seems to have come into contact with practical magic for the first time. Before that, however, he had already dealt with magic in socialist-magnetist circles. It should also be noted that Constant's relationship with Edward Bulwer-Lytton was by no means as intimate as it is often claimed. In fact, Bulwer-Lytton's famous novel A Strange Story (1862) also contains an unflattering reference to Constant's Dogme et rituel .

Magical assumptions of Lévis

As Eliphas Lévi, Constant postulated his four basic principles of magic: Savoir (literally: to know, analogously: spirit) - Vouloir (literally: want, analogously: matter) - Oser (literally: dare, analogously: movement) - Se taire (literally: silence, analogously: standstill). As a further basic law he saw the everlasting balance of two forces in nature: willpower and astral light. He adopted three basic laws of magic: the law of will, the law of astral light, and the law of correspondence.

Law of will

Following magnetistic authors, Lévi assumed that only a logical will united with its reason is the highest force in space. Such a will could have the same effect as physical energy . Neither will nor reason can do anything individually. Only the human will, guided by a reasonable motive for action, brings about a god-man - not a god, but the highest attainable level of human existence.

Law of the astral light

Lévi took this term from Du Potets Magie devoilée (1852), which in turn took it from the theosophical author Jean-Philippe Dutoit-Membrini. Referring to the Martinists , Lévi understood under this light the eternal memory of the earth. A kind of diary from the beginning of time that humans have yet to decipher. At the same time, this astral light can be seen as the spiritual aura of the earth, similar to the personal aura of every human being. As the subtle basic substance of all things, the astral light can also transmit motor effects.

Law of Correspondence

Following on from late antique hermetics , Lévi proclaimed the principle: "As above, so below". Accordingly, the appearances correspond to one another on the different levels of being.

reception

The literary work of Lévis has been reissued to this day and exerts a significant influence on esoteric authors. His interpretation of the tarot is particularly lasting . His Baphomet drawing is widespread in popular culture .

Works (selection)

  • Le sorcier de Meudon. Bourdilliat, Paris 1861 (novel).
  • Fables et symboles avec leur explication, où sont révélés les grands secrets de la direction du magnétisme universel et des principes fondamentaux du grand oeuvre (= philosophy occult. 1re Série). Baillière, Paris 1862 (reprinted. Éditions de la Maisnie, Paris 1978, ISBN 2-85707-031-2 ).
  • La Science des esprits. Révélation du dogme secret des Kabbalistes. Esprit occulte des Évangiles. Appréciation des doctrines et des phénomènes spirites (= Philosophy occult. 2e Série). Baillière, Paris 1865 (reprint. Éditions de la Maisnie, Paris 1976, ISBN 2-85707-010-1 ).
  • Les portes de l'avenir (= Collection Spiritualité. (Le Tremblay)). Diffusion Rosicrucienne, Le Tremblay 1995, ISBN 2-908534-53-3 (facsimile of a manuscript from 1870).
  • Le Livre des splendeurs, contenant le soleil judaïque, la gloire chrétienne et l'étoile flamboyante, études sur les origines de la cabale, avec des recherches sur les mystères de la francmaçonnerie, suivies de la profession de foi et des éléments de cabale. Chamuel, Paris 1894 (reprint. Trédaniel, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-85707-387-9 ).
  • Clefs majeures et clavicules de Salomon. Chamuel, Paris 1895 (Reprint. Elibron Classics, Boston MA 2007, ISBN 978-1-4212-2763-4 ).
  • Le grand arcane ou l'occultisme dévoilé. Chamuel, Paris 1898 (reprint. Elibron Classics, Boston MA 2005, ISBN 978-1-4212-2763-4 ).
  • Le livre des sages. Oeuvre posthumous. Chacornac, Paris 1911 (reprint. (= Collection Spiritualité. (Le Tremblay)). Diffusion Rosicrucienne, Le Tremblay 1995, ISBN 2-908534-54-1 ).
  • Les mystères de la Kabbale ou l'harmonie occulte des deux Testaments. Nourry, Paris 1920 (reprint. Éditions de la Maisnie, Paris 1977, ISBN 2-85707-021-7 ).
  • Secrets de la magic . Laffont, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-221-07808-X (includes the works Dogme et rituel de la haute magie , Histoire de la magie and La clef des grands mystères ).

Works in German

  • The big secret. Barth, Munich-Planegg et al. 1925.
  • History of magic. Barth, München-Planegg et al. 1926 (Also: (= Econ-Taschenbuch. Lotos 74048). Ullstein-Taschenbuchverlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-548-74048-0 ).
  • The Solomonic Keys. Barth, Munich-Planegg 1927 (also: AAGW, Sinzheim 2006, ISBN 3-937592-13-X ).
  • The key to the great mysteries. After Enoch, Abraham, Hermes Trismegistus and Solomon. Barth, Vienna et al. 1928 (also: revised new edition with restored illustrations, Aurinia Verlag, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-937392-70-7 ).
  • The Book of the Wise. Barth, Vienna et al. 1928 (also: revised and commented new edition, Aurinia Verlag, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-937392-69-1 ).
  • Initiation letters into high magic and number mysticism. Letters to Baron Spedalieri (1861–1863). 3. Edition. Ansata, Interlaken 1993, ISBN 3-7157-0129-3 .
  • Transcendental Magic. Dogma and Ritual of High Magic. Revised new edition with restored illustrations, Aurinia Verlag, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-937392-68-4 .
  • The Mysteries of the Kabbalah or The Occult Harmony of the Two Testaments, contained in the prophecy of Ezekiel and the Revelation of Johannes Verlag Heliakon, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-943208-21-4 .

literature

  • Christiane Buisset: Eliphas Levi, Sa vie, son oeuvre, ses pensées. Trédaniel, Paris 1985, ISBN 2-85707-157-4 .
  • Paul Chacornac: Eliphas Levi. Rénovateur de l'occultisme en France (1810-1875) . Librairie Générale des Sciences Occultes, Chacornac Frères, Paris 1926 (Réproduction en fac-similé: Ed. Traditional, Paris 1989).
  • Christopher McIntosh: Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult Revival , Rider, London 1875.
  • Alain Mercier: Eliphas Levi et la pensée magique au 19e siècle. Seghers, Paris 1974.
  • Ahlrich Meyer : Moses Hess , the Abbé Constant and the font "La Voix de la famine" . In: Think alternatives. Critical emancipatory social theories as a reflex on the social question in bourgeois society. Published by the Central Institute for Philosophy. Central Institute for Philosophy, Berlin 1991, pp. 45–48. (Colloquium on the topic: Alternative Thinking, October 4th and 5th, 1991, Berlin).
  • Julian Strube: Socialist Religion and the Emergence of Occultism. A Genealogical Approach to Socialism and Secularization in 19th-Century France . In: Religion 2016 , doi: 10.1080 / 0048721X.2016.1146926 .
  • Julian Strube: Socialism, Catholicism and Occultism in France in the 19th Century. The genealogy of the writings of Eliphas Lévi . De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2016, ISBN 978-3-11-047656-9 .
  • Thomas A. Williams: Eliphas Levi, Master of Occultism. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa AL 1975, ISBN 0-8173-7061-7 .

Web links

Commons : Éliphas Lévi  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke: The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction . Oxford University Press, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-532099-2 , pp. 192 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ^ Julian Strube: Socialism, Catholicism and Occultism in France in the 19th Century. The genealogy of the writings of Eliphas Lévi . De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2016, ISBN 978-3-11-047810-5 , pp. 212-315.
  3. ^ Paul Chacornac: Eliphas Lévi. Rénovateur de l'Occultisme en France. Chacornac frères, Paris 1989 [1926], p. 119.
  4. ↑ Strube: Socialism, pp. 376–383.
  5. ↑ Strube: Socialism , pp. 383–388.
  6. ↑ See also Julian Strube: Socialist Religion and the Emergence of Occultism. A Genealogical Approach to Socialism and Secularization in 19th-Century France . In: Religion. 2016, doi: 10.1080 / 0048721X.2016.1146926 .
  7. ↑ Strube: Socialism , pp. 418-426.
  8. ^ Strube: Socialism , pp. 470-488.
  9. ^ Strube: Sozialismus , pp. 523-563.
  10. ↑ For example Mercier: Eliphas Lévi, p. 38.
  11. ↑ See also John Warne Monroe: Laboratories of Faith. Mesmerism, Spiritism, and Occultism in Modern France . Cornell University Press, Ithaca 2008.
  12. ↑ Strube: Sozialismus , pp. 489-522, cf. Strube: Socialist Religion .
  13. ↑ For a complete list, see Strube: Sozialismus , pp. 635–638.
  14. ^ Strube: Socialism , pp. 565-589.
  15. ↑ Strube: Socialism , pp. 590–618.
  16. ^ Strube: Sozialismus , pp. 426-438.
  17. ^ Strube: Socialism , pp. 455-470.
  18. ^ Edward Bulwer-Lytton: A Strange Story , Edinburgh / London 1866, pp. 208-209: “… a book less remarkable for its learning than for the earnest belief of a scholar of our own day in the reality of the art of which he records the history ... "
  19. ↑ Also on the following see Michael Bäumer: Magie . In: Metzler Lexikon Religion. Present - everyday life - media . JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2005, vol. 2, p. 363.
  20. ^ Strube: Socialism, p. 528.
personal data
SURNAME Lévi, Éliphas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zahed, Eliphas Levi; Constant, Alphonse Louis (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French magician and occult writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 8, 1810
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 1875
Place of death Paris