Transcendental Magic
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There are a thousand individual things to get out of it. (I exaggerate not.) It is loaded with individual observations, not necessarily well-organized, that have significant value.
Nonetheless, to answer your specific question: I wrote the following in the Student chapter of The Mystical & Magical System of the A.'.A.'.:
Eliphas Levi’s Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie ... was the preeminent work on ceremonial magick of its day. While still in its original French, it profoundly influenced both the practical methods and theoretical instructions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. A.E. Waite’s English translation, Transcendental Magic – Its Doctrine & Ritual, was completed in late 1896, about two years before Crowley’s initiation into the H.O.G.D.; and it was certainly one of his early basic texts.
Levi originally issued this work in two volumes, his Dogme (Theory) in 1855 and his Rituel (Practice) in 1856. Each book consisted of 22 chapters, corresponding numerically and thematically to one of the 22 Trumps of the Tarot. It is easy to see that the title and format of this work inspired those of Crowley’s own 22-chapter magnum opus of High Magick, entitled Magick in Theory & Practice.
Even now, almost a century and a half after it was written, Dogme et Rituel has tremendous value. Yet, with the passage of time, other works naturally have surpassed it. Crowley’s Magick in Theory & Practice is foremost of these. The Tree of Life by Israel Regardie is another masterful treatise of theoretical and practical magick, virtually encyclopedic in its scope, and well worth the Student’s conscientious review.
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
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If anyone's interested, there is a new paperback Transcendental Magic available just in time for the holiday season.
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