ANALYTICAL TABLE

OF THE MATTERS CONTAINED IN THIS WORK.

Fall of the priesthood in Assyria . . . . . 64
Magical death of Sardanapalus . . . . . 65

CHAPTER III. — Magic in India . . . . . 67

The Indians as descendants of Cain. India as the mother of idolatry. Doctrine of the gymnosophists naked philosophers of ancient India, 67. — Indian origin of Gnosticism, 68. Learned fables of India, 69. — Black magic of the Oup-nek’hat Upanishads. Mr. Ragon, cited author, 74. — Great Indian arcana, 75. — The revolted Indians and the English . . . . . 76

CHAPTER IV. — Hermetic Magic . . . . . 77

The Emerald Tablet, 77. — Other writings of Hermes . . . . . 78
Magical meaning of the ancient geography of Egypt . . . . . 79
Ministry of Joseph . . . . . 80
Sacred alphabet, 81. — The Isiac Table of Bembo . . . . . 81
The tarot explained by the Sepher Jezirah Book of Formation, 82. — The tarot of Charles VII . . . . . 82
Magical science of Moses . . . . . 83

CHAPTER V. — Magic in Greece . . . . . 85

Fables of the golden fleece, 86. — Medea and Jason . . . . . 88
The five magical epics . . . . . 89
Aeschylus as a profaner of the mysteries . . . . . 89
Orpheus of legend, 90. — Orphic mysteries . . . . . 92
Goetia black magic or sorcery, 93. — The witches of Thessaly, 94. — Medea and Circe . . . . . 95

CHAPTER VI. — Mathematical Magic of Pythagoras . . . . . 96

Pythagoras as heir to the traditions of Numa, 96. — Who Pythagoras was. His doctrine on God, 97. — A fine sentence against anarchy. Golden Verses, 98. — Symbols of Pythagoras. His chastity, 100. — His divination, 101. — How he explains his miracles, 102. — Secret of the interpretation of dreams, 103. — Belief of Pythagoras . . . . . 104

CHAPTER VII. — The Holy Kabbalah . . . . . 105

Origin of the Kabbalah . . . . . 105
Horror of the Kabbalists for idolatry . . . . . 105
Their definition of God . . . . . 105
Principles of the Kabbalah . . . . . 106
The divine names and the sacred alphabet . . . . . 109
The Clavicles Little Keys of Solomon . . . . . 110
Whether spirits can return . . . . . 113
Fluidic larvae . . . . . 114
Light, the great magical agent . . . . . 115
Obscene origin of larvae . . . . . 117

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BOOK II. — Formation and Realization of the Dogma.

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CHAPTER I. — Primitive Symbolism of History . . . . . 118

Allegory of the terrestrial paradise . . . . . 119
The foolishness of a great mind . . . . . 119
Mysteries of Genesis . . . . . 120
Belphegor, 121. — His worship . . . . . 122
The Sabbath, an imitation of the same rites . . . . . 122
Decadence of the hierarchy . . . . . 123
Philosophy of chance . . . . . 124
Doctrine of Plato . . . . . 124
Response of Apollo to the people of Delos . . . . . 125

The cubic stone . . . . . 126
Summary of Neoplatonism . . . . . 127

CHAPTER II. — Mysticism . . . . . 128

Inviolability of magical science . . . . . 128
Profane and mystical schools, 129. — The Bacchantes . . . . . 129
Materialist reformers. Anarchist mystics, 130. — Visionary fools. Their horror for the wise . . . . . 131
Tolerance of the true Church . . . . . 132
Immoral tendency of false miracles . . . . . 132
The false teraphim household idols or oracular heads . . . . . 133
Rites of black magic . . . . . 134
Cause of visions . . . . . 135
Mr. Brierre de Boismont and his Treatise on Hallucinations . . . . . 136

CHAPTER III. — Initiations and Trials . . . . . 137

What the Great Work the process of spiritual or physical transmutation is . . . . . 137
The four forms of the sphinx reproduced allegorically on the shield of Achilles . . . . . 137
Allegories of Hercules and Oedipus. Trials . . . . . 138
Tradition invoked by Plato, 140. — Plato as a Kabbalist . . . . . 141
Difference between Plato and Saint John . . . . . 142
Fatal experiments . . . . . 142
Homeopathy practiced by the Greeks . . . . . 143
The cave of Trophonius and the grotto of the dog. Science of the Egyptian priests . . . . . 144
Lactantius mocks the antipodes . . . . . 145
Underworlds of the Greeks . . . . . 145
Utility of pain . . . . . 147
The Tablet of Cebes and the poem of Dante . . . . . 147
Doctrines of the Phaedo . . . . . 148

CHAPTER IV. — Magic of Public Worship . . . . . 149

Superstition explained by the necessity of worship . . . . . 150
Orthodox traditions . . . . . 151
Calumnies of the profane against the initiates . . . . . 152
An allegory on Bacchus . . . . . 153
Tiresias and Calchas . . . . . 153
The priesthood according to Homer . . . . . 155
Oracles of the sibyls . . . . . 156

CHAPTER V. — Mysteries of Virginity . . . . . 157

Institution of the vestals . . . . . 158
Traditional virtue of virginal blood . . . . . 158
Symbolism of the sacred fire . . . . . 159
Honor among Roman women . . . . . 160
The hierophantism priestly leadership of Numa . . . . . 161
Ingenious ideas of Voltaire on divination . . . . . 161
Prophetic instinct of the masses . . . . . 162
False assessments of oracles by Kircher and Fontenelle . . . . . 162
Religious calendar of Numa . . . . . 163

CHAPTER VI. — On Superstitions . . . . . 164

A fine thought by Saint Gregory, pope . . . . . 164
Observance of numbers and days . . . . . 165
Abstinences of the magi . . . . . 166
Opinions of Porphyry . . . . . 166