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Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi) · 15 of 123 · tr. A.E. Waite

2. Magical Equilibriuma

EQUILIBRIUM is the consequence of two forces. If two forces are absolutely and invariably equal, the equilibrium will be immobility and therefore the negation of life. Movement is the result of an alternate preponderance. The impulsion given to one of the sides of a balance necessarily determines the motion of the other. Thus contraries act on one another, throughout all Nature, by correspondence and analogical connexion. All life is composed of an inspiration and a respiration; creation postulates a shadow to serve as a bound for light, of a void to serve as space for the plenitude, of a passive fructified principle to sustain and realize the power of the active generating principle. All Nature is bisexual, and the movement which produces the appearances of death and life is a continual generation. God loves the void, which He made in order to fill it; science loves the ignorance which it enlightens; strength loves the weakness which it supports; good loves the apparent evil which glorifies it; day is desirous of night, and pursues it unceasingly round the world; love is at once a thirst and a plenitude which must pour itself forth. He who gives receives, and he who receives gives; movement is a continual interchange. To know the law of this change, to be acquainted with the alternate or simultaneous proportion of these forces, is to possess the first principles of the Great Magical Arcanum, which constitutes true human divinity. Scientifically, we can appreciate the various manifestations of the universal movement through electric or magnetic phenomena. Electrical apparatuses above all reveal materially and positively the affinities and antipathies of certain substances. The marriage of copper with zinc, the action of all metals in the galvanic pile, are perpetual and unmistakable revelations. Let physicists seek and find out; ever will the Kabalist explain the discoveries of science! The human body is subject, like the earth, to a dual law; it attracts and it radiates; it is magnetized by an androgyne magnetism and reacts inversely on the two powers of the soul, the intellectual and sensitive, but in proportion to the alternating preponderances of the two sexes in their physical organism. The art of the magnetizer consists wholly in the knowledge and use of this law. To polarize action and impart to the agent a bisexual and alternate force is a method still unknown and sought vainly for directing the phenomena of magnetism at will. Highly trained judgement and great precision in the interior movements are required to prevent confusion between signs of magnetic inspiration and those of respiration. We must be perfectly acquainted, moreover, with occult anatomy and the special temperament of the persons on whom we are operating. Bad faith and bad will in subjects constitute the gravest hindrance to the direction of magnetism. Women above all - who are essentially and invariably actresses, who take pleasure in impressing others so that they may impress themselves, and are the first to be deceived when playing their neurotic melodramas - are the true Black Magic of magnetism. So is it for ever impossible that magnetizers who are uninitiated in the supreme secrets and unassisted by the lights of the Kabalah should govern this refractory and fugitive element. To be master of woman, we must distract and deceive her skilfully by allowing her to suppose that it is she who is deceiving us. This advice, which we offer chiefly to magnetic physicians, might find its place and application in conjugal polity. Man can produce two breathings at his pleasure, one warm and the other cold; he can project also either active or passive light at will; but he must acquire the consciousness of this power by dwelling habitually thereon.
Themes
Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The passage explicitly states that contraries act on one another throughout Nature by correspondence and analogical connexion.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

The text centers on equilibrium as the consequence of two forces and describes all Nature as bisexual with active and passive principles.

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Divine Marriagesoteriology

The reunification of complementary divine principles (male-female, spirit-matter) as a symbol of wholeness and salvation.

The passage uses the metaphor of marriage for the union of copper and zinc and describes Nature as bisexual.

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Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

It asserts that the human body is subject to a dual law like the earth, mirroring cosmic forces within the individual.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The text employs paradoxical statements such as he who gives receives and he who receives gives to illustrate cosmic law.

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Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

Knowing the law of change is described as possessing the principles that constitute true human divinity.

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Related passages · 3 parallels · 1 contrast
jewish_mysticism|The Kabbalah Unveiled|Introduction, Section 1b
[But the first idea of equilibrium is the Ancient One (the first Sephira, or Crown Kether), because it is the first potential limitation of the boundless light which proceeds from the Limitless One. That is, the central point of Kether is…”
Both passages discuss the concept of equilibrium as a central point between opposing forces, with the Kabbalah passage focusing on the Sephiroth and the magical equilibrium passage discussing the balance of forces in nature and the human body. The shared insight is the dynamic interplay of opposing forces creating a stable center.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter III — Of the Four Elements, Their Qualities, and Mutual Mixtions|Chapter III, Section 1
CHAPTER III. Of the Four Elements, Their Qualities, and Mutual Mixtions . There are four Elements, and original grounds of all corporeal things—Fire, Earth, Water, Air—of which all elemented inferior bodies are compounded; not by way of hea…”
Both passages discuss the interplay of opposing forces in nature, emphasizing the balance and interaction between them. Passage A focuses on the duality and equilibrium of forces in magical and natural phenomena, while Passage B explores the qualities and interactions of the four elements. Both highlight the dynamic and interdependent nature of these forces.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter V — Of the Wonderful Natures of Fire and Earth|Chapter V, Section 1a
CHAPTER V. Of the Wonderful Natures of Fire and Earth . There are two things, saith Hermes, viz., Fire and Earth, which are sufficient for the operation of all wonderful things: the former is active, the latter passive. Fire, as saith Di…”
Both passages discuss the interplay of opposing forces in nature, emphasizing the balance and interaction between active and passive principles. They share a conceptual framework of duality and equilibrium, though expressed through different traditions and vocabularies.
renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XV — How We Must Find Out and Examine the Virtues of Things by Way of Similitude|Chapter XV, Section 1aCONTRASTS
CHAPTER XV. How We Must Find Out and Examine the Virtues of Things by Way of Similitude . It is now manifest that the occult properties in things are not from the nature of the Elements, but infused from above, hid from our senses, and sc…”
Both passages discuss the interplay of opposing forces in nature and the universe. Passage A emphasizes the balance and interaction of contraries, such as light and shadow, active and passive principles, and the bisexual nature of all things. Passage B explores the concept of similitude, where things are drawn to their like and can influence each other based on shared qualities or properties. Both texts highlight the dynamic equilibrium and interconnectedness of forces in the natural world.