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Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi) · 33 of 96 · tr. A.E. Waite

5. The Pentagrama

GEBURAH ECCE HEREUNTO we have exposed the magical dogma in its more arid and abstruse phases; now the enchantments begin; now we can proclaim wonders and reveal most secret things. The Pentagram signifies the domination of the mind over the elements, and the demons of air, the spirits of fire, the phantoms of water and ghosts of earth are enchained by this sign. Equipped therewith, and suitably disposed, you may behold the infinite through the medium of that faculty which is like the soul's eye, and you will be ministered unto by legions of angels and hosts of fiends. But here, in the first place, let us establish certain principles. There is no invisible world; there are, however, many degrees of perfection in organs. The body is the coarse and, as it were, the perishable cortex of the soul. The soul can perceive of itself, and independently of the mediation of physical organs, by means of its sensibility and its DIAPHANE - the things, both spiritual and corporeal, which are existent in the universe. Spiritual and corporeal are simply terms which express the degrees of tenuity or density in substance. What is called the imagination within us is only the soul's inherent faculty of assimilating the images and reflections contained in the living light, being the Great Magnetic Agent. Such images and reflections are revelations when science intervenes to reveal us their body or light. The man of genius differs from the dreamer and the fool in this only, that his creations are analogous to truth, while those of the fool and the dreamer are lost reflections and betrayed images. Hence, for the wise man, to imagine is to see, as, for the magician, to speak is to create. It follows that, by means of the imagination, demons and spirits can be beheld really and in truth; but the imagination of the adept is diaphanous, whilst that of the crowd is opaque; the light of truth traverses the one as ordinary light passes through clear glass, and is refracted by the other, as when ordinary light impinges upon a vitreous block, full of scoriae and foreign matter. That which most contributes to the errors of the vulgar is the reflection of depraved imaginations one in the other. But in virtue of positive science, the seer knows that what he imagines is true, and the event invariably confirms his vision. We shall state in the Ritual after what manner this lucidity can be acquired. It is by means of this light that static visionaries place themselves in communication with all worlds, as so frequently occurred to Swedenborg, who notwithstanding was imperfectly lucid, seeing that he did not distinguish reflections from rays, and often intermingled chimerical fancies with his most admirable dreams. We say dreams, because dream is the consequence of a natural and periodical ecstasy which we term sleep; to be in ecstasy is to sleep; magnetic somnambulism is a production and direction of ecstasy. The errors which occur therein are occasioned by reflections from the DIAPHANE of waking persons, and, above all, of the magnetizer. Dream is vision produced by the refraction of a ray of truth. Chimerical fantasy is hallucination occasioned by a reflection. The temptation of St. Anthony, with its nightmares and its monsters, represents the confusion of reflections with direct rays. So long as the soul struggles it is reasonable; when it yields to this species of invading intoxication it becomes mad. To disentangle the direct ray, and separate it from the reflection - such is the work of the initiate.
Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

Imagination is described as the faculty of assimilating images and reflections, equating imagining with seeing.

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Animismcosmology

The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.

The text explicitly lists spirits and demons associated with natural elements (air, fire, water, earth) as entities that can be enchained.

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Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The body is described as the coarse and perishable cortex of the soul that mediates perception less perfectly than the soul itself.

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Cosmic Consciousnessanthropology

A state of awareness transcending ordinary human consciousness, often involving unity with the universe or higher dimensions.

The adept can behold the infinite and place themselves in communication with all worlds.

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Cosmic Sympathycosmology

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

The 'Great Magnetic Agent' and the ability of static visionaries to communicate with all worlds imply hidden affinities binding the cosmos.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The 'living light' and 'light of truth' are central metaphors for the medium through which spiritual reality is perceived.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The seer knows that what he imagines is true through positive science and direct vision rather than faith or external authority.

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Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

Spiritual and corporeal are defined not as opposing ontologies but as degrees of density in the same substance.

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Theurgypraxis

Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.

The use of the Pentagram sign to enchain spirits and the mention of ritual preparation indicate engagement with divine powers through material symbols.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The text explicitly states that spiritual and corporeal are simply degrees of tenuity or density in a single substance.

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Word Power Incantationpraxis

The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.

The passage asserts that for the magician, to speak is to create, attributing causal-magical force to the spoken word.

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Related passages · 18 parallels
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 5)
The will beholding itself in the mirror of wisdom causes its own image to appear within the groundlessness, and thus it creates a foundation in its own imagination." ( Menschwerdung , ii. 1.) "Wisdom, the eternal virgin, the playmate of Go…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine revelation and the interplay between the divine and the natural world. They discuss the role of the will, imagination, and the divine essence in creating and revealing the wonders of God or the universe, showing a genuine conceptual parallel.
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 3 (part 8)
Without it the form of the spirit would not be knowable; it is the corporeity of the spirit. To be sure, it is not a bodily, tangible substance, like the bodies of men, but has nevertheless substantial and visible qualities which the spiri…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the spiritual and the corporeal, emphasizing the idea that the spiritual realm has a substantial and visible quality that transcends earthly language and perception. They also discuss the role of divine wisdom or the soul in manifesting the divine or spiritual reality.
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 4)
We may say that the world, as we know it, is constituted entirely of forms of heat, or of motion, or of electric conditions, or light, &c., &c. All this is true in so far as it refers to the relations which it bears towards ourselves. All…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the material world, emphasizing the role of divine will or imagination in shaping reality. They also explore the concept of divine powers manifesting in various forms, with a focus on the interplay between the spiritual and the corporeal.
greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn LXXXV. THE DIVINITY OF DREAMS
LXXXV. TO THE DIVINITY OF DREAMS. The FUMIGATION from AROMATICS. THEE I invoke, blest pow'r of dreams divine, Angel of future fates, swift wings are thine: Great source of oracles to human kind, When stealing soft, and whisp'ring to the min…”
Both passages discuss the concept of dreams as a medium for divine communication and revelation. The Orphic Hymn emphasizes the divine power of dreams to reveal future fates and guide the upright mind, while the Pentagrama passage discusses the imagination and diaphanous vision as means to perceive spiritual truths and communicate with spirits, framing dreams as a form of ecstasy and vision.
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter Xb
For if these are not true, but other things are so which have a real existence, thus also in the appearances of spirits, they seem to be such as things which are true beings; at the same time they participate of falsehood and deception, in…”
Both passages discuss the nature of true and false appearances or visions, emphasizing the distinction between genuine divine revelations and deceptive phantasms or reflections. They both explore the idea that true knowledge and perception come from higher, divine sources, while false impressions lead one away from truth.
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter II
Concerning the divination, therefore, which takes place in sleep, you say as follows: “ We frequently obtain through dreams, when we are asleep, a knowledge of future events, not being in an ecstasy, through which we are much agitated, for…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine communication through altered states of consciousness, specifically dreams and ecstatic states. They share the insight that these states can provide clear and accurate knowledge, contrasting them with ordinary human dreams or imaginations.
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXV
That which follows in the next place, descends from a divine alienation of mind to an ecstasy of the reasoning power which leads it to a worse condition, and absurdly says, “ that the cause of divination is the mania which happens in diseas…”
Both passages discuss the concept of ecstasy or divine inspiration, contrasting it with lower, more base states of mind. They both emphasize the elevated nature of divine inspiration and the need to distinguish it from mere bodily or mental disturbances.
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 346
Section 26 26. Their knowledge of our prayers is due to what we may call an enlinking, a determined relation of things fitted into a system; so, too, the fulfillment of the petitions; in the art of magic all looks to this enlinkment: prayer…”
Both passages discuss the concept of perception and the soul's ability to perceive beyond physical organs. Passage A explores the idea of the earth having a soul that perceives through sympathy and spiritual connection, while Passage B discusses the soul's ability to perceive spiritual and corporeal things independently of physical organs, emphasizing the role of the imagination and the diaphanous nature of the adept's perception.
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 360
Section 40 40. But magic spells; how can their efficacy be explained? By the reigning sympathy and by the fact in Nature that there is an agreement of like forces and an opposition of unlike, and by the diversity of those multitudinous powe…”
Both passages discuss the concept of magical influence and the natural forces that underpin it. They explore the idea of sympathetic forces and the power of the mind or soul to interact with these forces, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 363
Section 43 43. And the Proficient [the Sage], how does he stand with regard to magic and philtre-spells? In the soul he is immune from magic; his reasoning part cannot be touched by it, he cannot be perverted. But there is in him the unreas…”
Both passages discuss the influence of magical and supernatural forces on the human soul and the distinction between the higher, rational aspects of the soul and the lower, irrational aspects. They also explore the idea that the adept or proficient can resist or counteract these forces through their higher understanding.
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platonism|Plato: Republic|Section 1a
BOOK VII SOCRATES - GLAUCON AND now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:--Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the…”
Both passages explore the theme of enlightenment and the journey from ignorance to knowledge. Plato's allegory of the cave describes prisoners who mistake shadows for reality, paralleling the Pentagrama's discussion of the soul's perception and the distinction between true vision and illusory reflections.
platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1„
And the converse happens when some gentle inspiration of the understanding pictures images of an opposite character, and allays the bile and bitterness by refusing to stir or touch the nature opposed to itself, but by making use of the natu…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine inspiration and the role of the soul in perceiving truth. Plato's passage describes the liver as the seat of divination and the soul's role in prophetic visions, while the Pentagrama passage discusses the soul's faculty of assimilating images and reflections to perceive truth, highlighting the difference between the adept's diaphanous imagination and the vulgar's opaque imagination.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XLV — Of Collyries, Unctions, Love-Medicines, and Their Virtues|Chapter XLV, Section 1a
CHAPTER XLV. Of Collyries, Unctions, Love-Medicines, and Their Virtues . Moreover , collyries and unguents, conveying the virtues of things natural and celestial to our spirit, can multiply, transmute, transfigure, and transform it accord…”
Both passages discuss the power of the imagination and its ability to perceive and interact with spiritual or supernatural entities. They also explore the idea that the mind can influence and be influenced by external forces through various means, such as collyries, unctions, and magical rituals.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XLIX — Of Light, Colors, Candles and Lamps, and to What Stars, Houses and Elements Several Colors Are Ascribed|Chapter XLIX, Section 1a
CHAPTER XLIX. Of Light, Colors, Candles and Lamps, and to What Stars, Houses and Elements Several Colors Are Ascribed . Light also is a quality that partakes much of form, and is a simple act, and also a representation of the understandin…”
Both passages discuss the nature of light as a medium for perception and understanding, with the soul or mind being able to perceive spiritual and corporeal realities through it. They also touch on the concept of imagination as a faculty that can reveal truth, albeit with different emphases and contexts.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LIX — Of Divination by Dreams|Chapter LIX, Section 1
CHAPTER LIX. Of Divination by Dreams . There is also a certain kind of divination by dreams which is confirmed by the traditions of philosophers, the authorities of divines, the examples of histories and by daily experience. By dreams I do…”
Both passages discuss the nature and interpretation of dreams, emphasizing the importance of understanding and interpreting them to gain insight. Passage A focuses on the philosophical and astrological aspects of dream divination, while Passage B delves into the mystical and magical interpretation of dreams, particularly through the imagination and the diaphanous nature of the soul. Both highlight the significance of dreams as a means to perceive truth and gain knowledge.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LX — Of Madness, and Divinations which are made when men are awake, and of the Power of a Melancholy Humor, by which Spirits are sometimes induced into Men's Bodies|Chapter LX, Section 1b
And this thing, they think, happens under a three-fold difference, according to a three-fold apprehension of the soul, viz., imaginative, rational, and mental; they say, therefore, that when the mind is forced with a melancholy humor, nothi…”
Both passages discuss the idea of the soul or mind being influenced by external spirits or forces, leading to heightened abilities or knowledge. They also share the concept of different levels of perception or understanding, with the higher levels revealing more profound truths.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LXI — Of the Forming of Man, of the External Senses, also those Inward, and the Mind; and of the Three-Fold Appetite of the Soul, and Passions of the Will|Chapter LXI, Section 1b
This is that which shows us future things by dreams, whence the fancy is sometimes named the phantastical intellect. For it is the last impression of the understanding, which, as saith Iamblicus, is that belonging to all the powers of the…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the mind, imagination, and the perception of reality. They explore the idea of the mind's ability to perceive and interact with both spiritual and corporeal realms, and the role of imagination in this process. The passages also touch on the concept of the soul's faculties and their relationship to the body.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LXXII — Of the Wonderful Power of Enchantments|Chapter LXXII, Section 1
CHAPTER LXXII. Of the Wonderful Power of Enchantments . They say that the power of enchantments and verses is, so great, that it is believed they are able to subvert almost all Nature. Apuleius saith that with a magical whispering, swift ri…”
Both passages discuss the power of enchantments and magical practices, emphasizing their ability to influence natural elements and supernatural entities. They share a conceptual parallel in the belief that magical verses and rituals can control natural phenomena and interact with spiritual beings.