Description
The Magus: A Complete System of Occult Philosophy by Francis Barrett was one of the most influential works of the Occult Revival period and probably the best-known magical text produced in nineteenth century Britain. Barrett styled himself a teacher of “Natural Philosophy, Natural Magic, Cabala Magic, Chemistry, the Talismanic Art, Hermetic Philosophy, Astrology, Physiognomy” in London in the early 19th century. ‘The Magus’ was essentially an unacknowledged compilation drawn from earlier sources such as Agrippa, van Helmont, and Porta, most of which were then unavailable to any but the most determined researchers. “The Magus did offer the public a fairly complete occult manual, which taught the principles of arithmology and correspondences, planetary and Kabbalistic magic, and scrying technique. A series of potted biographies of ‘great magicians’ completed the work. There was stuff aplenty for the aspiring magi, as well as for the gothic novelists who were a part of the same reaction against classicism and pure reason” (Godwin, “The Theosophical Enlightenment”, p 119). This book was a known influence on Joseph Smith prior to his founding of the Mormon Church, as well as countless other magicians over the past 2 centuries.
This University Press facsimile edition was the first edition of “The Magus” to be published in the twentieth century, and includes an important Introduction by Timothy d’Arch Smith unique to this edition that also gives the first clear explanation of how the seal and sigils can be extracted from the magic squares (deliberately or otherwise Barrett omits to do this). Although relatively common in softcover, this edition is quite hard to find in hardcover.
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