On Malevolent Bewitchments and Venomous Magic

Eliphas Lévi, H.P. Blavatsky, Paracelsus and A.E. Waite · Black versus White Magic Series · 66 pages

The longest study in this batch and the most heavily sourced — a compilation setting Eliphas Lévi, Paracelsus, A.E. Waite and Blavatsky side by side on a single subject. Its running head names the theme: the folly of sorcerers is an evil folly. Its opening proposition is legal as much as moral. Bewitchment is a heinous homicide, the study argues, precisely because it evades both self-defence and punishment by law — the victim cannot resist what he cannot see, and no court will hear the case.

The metaphysics supporting that claim are set out first. Life is identical with will; will is the offspring of the Divine; desire is the motive power of animal life. What is desired with persistence is confirmed by acts, and every act comes under judgment — with even the most trifling thoughts and deeds impressed indelibly on the astral tablets, so that the operation leaves a record whether or not anyone living can read it. Sixty-six pages, and the fullest treatment the series gives to deliberate malefic magic rather than to the misuse of legitimate powers.

Read the full text (PDF, 2.9 MB, 66 pages)