The Doctrine and Ritual of Transcendental Magic

Eliphas Levi, or Alphonse Louis Constant, was a French occultist who was also an ex-Freemason. Levi is another one of the most prominent historical occultists of history. Eliphas Levi had originally published this volume as two separate books, the Doctrine in 1854 and the Ritual in 1856. The Ritual was the first place that the goat-headed Baphomet was first seen and became the standard image of Baphomet in all cultures. Even though the goat-headed Baphomet was not the same Baphomet that the Knights Templar were supposedly worshipping (the Templar Baphomet was Mahomet, or Muhammud) the thoughts of conspiracy theorists have continued to rely on Levi's image of Baphomet to justify their beliefs. Levi argued for different forms of occultism and tried to outline what would classify as "good" magic and "bad" magic. While Levi makes arguments that could be taken either way, many have relied on Levi's claims in order to justify their own beliefs. Some have questioned Levi's claims, but Levi is still undoubtedly a major force and voice in Western Esotericism. Even Aleister Crowley claimed to be visited by the spirit of Levi and told that Crowley was the reincarnation of Levi. Levi's influence on Western Esotericism cannot be denied.