CHAPTER XVII—A SAMPLE OF PRACTICAL OCCULTISM.

We cull it from A. E. Waite’s Digest of the writings of E. Levi, p. 446, and preface it by some remarks of this cham- pion of the puritanism and cant of the English Masonry, p 33:
“With regard to the magical experiences of Eliphas Levi, “we shall do well to remember that the conservation of the “images of objects in the Astral Light, is a hypothesis, but “the evocation of Apollonius claims’ to be actual fact, and “though the sceptical philosophy of the Magus degraded his “own prodigy, the serious student will perhaps find therein “something more than a ‘pathological value’ or the ‘reve d’un “homme eveille.”—The dream of a waking man.
“In the spring of the year 1854, I repaired to London to “escape from internal disquietude, and to devote myself, with- “out distraction, to study. I had letters of introduction to “persons of distinction, and to those seeking communications “fiom the supernatural world. I met with many of the latter “class, and, amidst much affability, I discovered in them a “fund of indifference and triviality. They immediately re- “quired of me the performance of prodigies, as from a char- “latan. I was not a little discouraged, for, to speak truly, so “far from being disposed to initiate others into the mysteries “of ceremonial magic, I had always dreaded its delusions and “weariness for myself. Moreover, such ceremonies require a
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“paraphernalia which is expensive and difficult to collect. “f immersed myself, therefore, in the study of the supreme “Kabala, and thought no further o! English adepts, when one “day, on returning to my hotel, I found a note in my room. “This note enclosed half of a card transversely divided, and “on which I at once recognized the character of Solomon’s “seal, with a tiny slip of paper, on which was written in pen- “cil; ‘Tomorrow at 3 «’clock,in front of Westminster Abbey, “the other half of this card will be given you” I kept this “singular appointment. A carriage was waiting at the place ; “I held unaffectedly my portion of the card in my hand; a “footman approached and made a sign to me, opening the “carriunze door as he did so. Within chere was a lacy in “black whose face was concealed by a thick veil ; she mo- “tioned me to a seat beside her, displaying the other part of “the card I had received. The door was shut, the carriage “rolled away, and the lady raising her veil, I saw that my ap- “pointment was with an elderly person, who beneath her grey “eyebrows had bright black eyes of preternatural fixity. “ “am aware that the law of secrecy is rigorous among adepts ; “a friend of Sir B. L., who has seen you, knows that ) ou have “been asked for phenomena, and that you have declined to “gratify curiosity. It is possible that you do not possess the “necessary materials ; I can show you a complete magical “cabinet, but I must require of you, first of all, the most in- “violable secrecy. If you do not guarantee this on your “honor, I will give orders for you to be driven home.’ I made “the required promise, and have kept it faithfully by not di- “vulging the name, quality or abode of the lady, whom I soon “recognized as an initiate, not actually of the first degree, but “still of a most exalted grade. We had several long conver- “gations, during which she insisted always on the necessity of “practical experiences to complete initiation. She showed “me a collection of vestments and magical instruments, even “lending me certain curious books of which | was in want ;in “a word, she determined me to attempt at her house the ex- “perience of a complete evocation, for which I prepared my- “self during twenty-one days, scrupulously observing the “rules laid down in the Ritual.
“All was completed on the 24th of July; it was proposed “to evoke the phantom of the divine Apollonius, and to inter- “rogate it about two secrets, one of which concerned myself,
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“while the other interested the lady, T..e latter had at first “counted on assisting at the evocation with a trustworthy “person, out at the last moment this person proved timorous, “and, as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical “rites, I was left alone. The cabinet prepared for the evoca- “tion was situated in a turret; four concave mirrors were “hung within it, and there was a kind of altar having a white “marble top, surrounded with a chain of magnetized iron. “Qn the marble the sign of the Pentagram was engraved in “sold ; the same symbo! was drawn on a new white sheep- “skin stretched beneath the altar. In the middle of the “marb.e slab there was a small copper brazier with charcoal “of alder and laurel wood, while a second brazier was placed “before me on a triped. I was vested in a white robe very “similar to those worn by Catholic priests, but longer and “more ample, and I wore upon my head a chaplet of vervain “leaves entwined about a golden chain. In one hand I held “a new sword, and in the other the Ritual. I lighted the two “fires with the requisite materials, which had been prepared “previously, and I began, at first, in a low voice, but rising by “degrees, the invocations of the Ritual ; the flame invested “every object with a wavering light, and finally went out. [ “set some more twigs and perfumes onethe brazier, and when “the fire started up again, I distinctly saw before the altar a “human figure larger than life, which dissolved and disap- “peared. [| recommenced the evocations, and placed myself ‘in a circle which I had already traced between the altar and “the tripod ; [ then saw the interior of the mirror which was “in front of me, and behind the altar, grow brighter by de- “grees, and a pale form grew up there, dilating and seeming “to approach gradually. Closing my eyes, I called three “times on Apollonius, and, when I re-opened them, a man “stood before me wholly enveloped in a winding-sheet, which “seemed to me more grey than white; his form was lean, “melancholy, and beardless, which did not quite recall the “picture [ had formed to myseit of Apollonius. I experi- “eaced a feeling of intense cold, and whe. I unclosed my lips “to interrogate the apparition, | found it impossible to utter a “sound. I therefore placed my hand on the sign of the Pen- “tagram, and directed the point of the sword towards the “figure, adjuring it mentally by that sign not to terrify me in “amy manner, but to obey me. The form thereupon became “indistinct, and immediately after it disappeared. I com-
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“manded it to return, and then felt, as it were, a breath of “wind pass by me, and something having touched me on the “hand which held the sword, the arm was immediately be- “numbed as far as the shoulder. Conjecturing that the “weapon displeased the spirit, I set it by the point near me, “and within the circle. Tne human figure at once reappeared, “but I experienced such a complete enervation in all my “limbs, and such an exnaustion had taken possession of me, “that I made two steps to sit down. I had scarcely done so “when I fell into a deep coma, accompanied by dreams of “which only a vague recollection remained when I recovered “myself. My arm continued for several days benumbed and “painful. The figure had not spoken, but it seemed to me “that the questions I was to ask it had answered themselves “in my mind. To that of the lady an inner voice replied, “Death! (it concerned a man of whom she was seeking “news). As for myself, I wished to learn whether reconcilia- “tion and forgiveness were possible between two persons who “were in my thoughts, and the same interior echo impiteously “answered, ‘Dead !’
“Here I narrate facts as they actually occurred ; I impose “faith on no one. The effect of this experience on myself “was incalculable. I-was no more the same man , something “from the world beyond had passed into me. I was neither “gay nor depressed any longer, but I experienced a singular “attraction towards death, without, at the same time, being in “any way tempted to suicide I carefully analyzed what | “had experienced, and, in spite of an acute nervous antipathy, “I twice repeated, at an interval of a few days only, the same “experiment. The phenomena which then occurred differed “too little from the former to require their addition to this “narrative. But the consequence of these further evocations “was for me the revelation of two Kabalistic secrets, which, if “universally known, might change in a short period the basis “and laws of society at large.
“Am I to conclude from this that I have really evoked, “seen, and touched the great Apollonius Tyaneus ? I am “neither so far hallucinated as to believe it, nor sufficiently “ynserious to affirm it. The effect of the preparations, the “perfumes, the mirrors, the pantacles, is a veritible intoxica- “tion of the imagination, which must act strongly on a person “already nervous and ir. -essionable. I seek not to explain “by what physiologic .aws I have seen and touched ; I
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“assert solely that I have seen and that I have touched, that “IT saw clearly and distinctly, without dreaming, which is | “sufficient ground for believing in the absolute efficacy of “magical ceremonies. I look upon the practice, however, as “dangerous and objectionable ; health, both moral and phy- “sical, would not long withstand such operations, if once they “became habitual. The old lady | mentioned, and of whom, “subsequently, | had cause to complain, was a case in point, “for, in spite of her denials, I do not doubt that she continu- “ally practised necromancy and goetic magic. She at times “talked complete nonsense, at others yielded to insane fits of “passion, of which the object could be scarcely determined. “I left London without revisiting her, but 1 shall faithfully “keep my pro:nise to say nothing whatsoever which may dis- “close her identity, or give even a hint about her practices, to “which she doubtless devoted herself unknown to her family, “which, as I believe, is numerous, and in a very honourabie “position