Eliphas Levi: Precursor
(1810-1875)
brief biography (c) 2001 Fra. Petros Xristos (7=4)
"Eliphas Levi" was the evocative, mystical-sounding pen-name of French occultist Alphonse Louis Constant (1810-1875), an important figure in the occult movement of the 19th century and a major influence upon Aleister Crowley, who was born in the same year (even the same day, or so he claimed) that Constant died and claimed him as his most recent prior incarnation.
Constant was the son of a Paris shoemaker who was early on intrigued by the occult and religious studies; so much so, in fact, that he did in fact become a Catholic priest for a time, only to be excommunicated for his radical political views and his, shall we say, challenges in regards to chastity. (One can begin to see why Crowley saw in Constant a kindred soul and "past self.") Constant was also influenced by Francis Barrett, whose work The Magus (1800) is still reprinted today.
At one point Constant became a student of a self-proclaimed prophet by the name of Ganneau, who also claimed to be a reincarnation of the deposed king Louis XVII. Soon enough, Constant was doing his own writing and teaching, as is the pattern in the occult world; at this point he found it necessary to take on a new name and christened himself with the Hebraic name Eliphas Levi.
Constant visited London in 1854 and undertook his first experiment in practical necromancy, conjuring up the shade of the reknowned Appollonius of Tyana for the benefit of an English female adept. Constant, like Crowley after him, spared little expense and exerted great effort in preparation for this ritual, modifying his diet and engaging in prolongued meditation for several weeks. The actual invocation was performed in a mirror-walled chamber (a common acoutrement for certain modern-day magickians) occupied by central altar-table covered in white lambskin, perhaps symbolizing purity, with Constant bearing a consecrated ritual sword. He performed his invocation for upwards of twelve hours or more in this glittering chamber lit only by the fires of two brass bowls placed on the tables. Ultimately, he was successful in conjuring some sort of spirit, but details are vague at best. (Constant visited England again, and in the 1860s became associated with the writer Edward Bulwer-Litton, with whom he became involved in an occult order which was to influence the Golden Dawn.)
Constant's works include The Dogma and Ritual of High Magic (1861), A History of Magic, Transcendental Magic, and other volumes, most of which are still available today in reprints. His work, like Crowley's, was short on historical accuracy but long on imaginative invention and innovation. Constant is believed to be the first occultist to associate the 22 trump cards of the Tarot with the 22 Hebrew letters. While more accessible (easier to understand!) works are available to magicians these days, one cannot ingore the influence that Constant / "Eliphas Levi" had upon occult students of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is safe to say that Aleister Crowley would not have been the magician he came to be without Eliphas Levi's inspiration to guide him.