Product Description

Eliphas Lévi (1810–1875) was the greatest innovator in the revival of Western occultism, most significantly with his great leap of imagination that linked the tarot trumps to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. He set out this tarot theory in his book Transcendental Magic, but never revealed its magical application. This was finally made public in 1896 when Dr. Westcott—creator of the Golden Dawn—translated and printed Levi’s secret manuscript. It is this rare text that we are now re-issuing. This book aligns the major arcana symbolism with a detailed description of the ritual of the sanctum regnum, or Kingdom of God

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #411243 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 108 pages

Language Notes
Text: English, French (translation)

From the Publisher
Eliphas Levi (1810–1875) was the greatest innovator in the revival of Western occultism, most significantly with his great leap of imagination that linked the tarot trumps to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. He set out his tarot theory in his book "Transcendental Magic," but never revealed its magical application. This was finally made public in 1896 when Dr. Westcott—creator of the Golden Dawn—translated and printed Levi's secret manuscript. It is this rare text that we are now re-issuing.

About the Author
Eliphas Levi has influenced many important occultists, including A.E. Waite and Aleister Crowley. His best-known works, History of Magic and Transcendental Magic are published by Weiser.

Customer Reviews

Learn Levi's revelations on the Tarot
This short work is undoubtably one of Eliphas Levi's most profound writings. It outlines the meanings of the twenty-two tarot trumps with information found nowhere else. The information on Rosicrucian symbolism is no less than revelatory. The meanings of occult symbols, from the Chi-Rho to Solomon's hexagram, are given in text and pictures that will enlighten any devoted student of the Hermetic mysteries.

A classic occult and tarot manual
The Magical Ritual Of The Sanctum Regnum by Eliphas Levi (1810-1875) is a classic occult and tarot manual that combines major arcana symbolism along with an extensive description of the ritual of the sanctum regnum, or Kingdom of God. Featuring an introduction by Robert Gilbert that recounts the history of Levi's original manuscript, including its eventual prevalence as a source text for ceremonial magicians, The Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum remains as insightful today for tarot practitioners and lay readers as it did an age ago. A welcome and recommended core staple for tarot magic and occult reference shelves.

Cryptically Interesting
This book is not much different from what I understand Levi's books are: cryptic, much left unsaid, making reference to other unmentioned works (and you don't get to know which or whose exactly). The text itself is fascinating, interesting, but the mystery of what isn't there is as much of that which is. As far as Tarot books go, and I've read many, this is by no means a beginner's book. In fact, it's not primarily meant to be a Tarot interpretation book, much less a book of spreads as it concentrates exclusively on the 22 major arcana. The attributions or revelations it does make are fascinating, quite tigthly related to the qabbalah (the practical kabbalah). As someone who has studied kabbalah (and also the "q" and "c" versions) I must say that the kabbalistic principles espoused here, while solid, are by no means what a newcomer to Tarot would readily understand. In summary, this is a highly mysterious magical working book which makes reference to the 22 major Tarot arcana, references some kabbalistic mysteries, and is not a good introduction to the Tarot itself. But as with many of Levi's works, its strengths may be precisely on the things it leaves unsaid in the hope that the reader will find out on his own (and exercise his/her magical will in wanting to find out).