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Eliphas Levi
Sign in to saveAlso known as Eliphas Lévi, Alphonse Louis, Alphonse Louis Constant, Abbé Constant, Abbe Constant, Alphonse Constant, Éliphas Lévi
French occult writer and poet (1810–1875)
Key facts
- Born
- Alphonse Louis Constant , ( 1810-02-08 ) 8 February 1810, Paris , First French Empire
- Died
- 31 May 1875 (1875-05-31) (aged 65), Paris, Third French Republic
- Resting place
- Ivry Cemetery , Ivry-sur-Seine (later disinterred and placed in a common grave)
- Spouse
- Marie-Noémi Cadiot ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1846 ; annulled</span>"}]]}'>ann. 1865 )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Louis
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- France
- Place of birth
- Paris
- Place of death
- Paris
- Spouse
- Marie-Noémi Cadiot
- Occupation
- non-fiction writer
- Languages spoken
- French
- Religion
- Catholicism
- Notable work
- Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie
- Field of work
- occultism
- Image
- Eliphas Levi 1874.jpg
Show 13 more facts
- P13311
- Cezary Pazura
- Commons category
- Éliphas Lévi
- date of birth
- 1810-02-08
- date of death
- 1875-05-31
- Commons gallery
- Éliphas Lévi
- place of burial
- Cimetière parisien d'Ivry
- name in native language
- Eliphas Lévi
- birth name
- Alphonse Louis Constant
- Commons Creator page
- Éliphas Lévi
- writing language
- French
- described by source
- Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
- pseudonym
- Éliphas Lévi
- influenced by
- Simon Ganneau
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~24 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant (8 February 1810 – 31 May 1875), was a French esotericist, poet, and writer. Initially pursuing an ecclesiastical career in the Catholic Church, he abandoned the priesthood in his mid-twenties and became a ceremonial magician. At the age of 40, he began professing knowledge of the occult. He wrote over 20 books on magic, Kabbalah, alchemical studies, and occultism.
The pen name "Éliphas Lévi" was an adaptation of his given names "Alphonse Louis" into Hebrew. Levi gained renown as an original thinker and writer, his works attracting attention in Paris and London among esotericists and artists of romantic or symbolist inspiration. He left the Grand Orient de France (the French Masonic organization that originated Continental Freemasonry) in the belief that the original meanings of its symbols and rituals had been lost. "I ceased being a freemason, at once, because the Freemasons, excommunicated by the Pope, did not believe in tolerating Catholicism ... [and] the essence of Freemasonry is the tolerance of all beliefs."
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Eliphas Levi” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.