Éliphas Lévi

Éliphas Lévi was the pen name of Alphonse Louis Constant, a nineteenth-century French occult author. His writings brought ritual magic, Qabalistic symbolism, and religious interpretation into an influential synthesis. His image of Baphomet became one of the most recognizable figures in modern occult art.^[1]

Symbols and magical equilibrium#

Lévi's Dogme et rituel de la haute magie, translated into English as Transcendental Magic, treats magical symbolism as a language joining opposing forces. His Baphomet combines human and animal features, male and female signs, and upward and downward gestures. The figure belongs to this symbolic account of equilibrium.^[1]

Its later use by Satanic groups is part of the image's reception. The Church of Satan's goat-and-pentagram emblem and The Satanic Temple's statue have their own histories and designs; neither should be collapsed into a claim that every detail comes unchanged from Lévi.

A history written from within occultism#

Lévi also wrote The History of Magic. It is a primary source for his interpretation of religion and esoteric tradition, not a neutral modern survey of every period it discusses. The English edition includes A. E. Waite's commentary, which introduces another author's judgments into the reading.^[2]

Lévi's influence can be studied through particular symbols and passages used by later occultists. His treatment of the pentagram, correspondence, and ceremonial authority helped shape the vocabulary inherited by twentieth-century magic. That influence is broader than the popular association of Baphomet with Satanism.

See also#

• Baphomet
• Pentagram
• Ceremonial magic

This encyclopedia covers traditions beyond the High Satanic Church. Church doctrine is identified as such when it appears.