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Elementary Treatise on Practical Magic

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In 1893, Dr. Gérard Encausse, also known by his nomen mysticum, Papus, wrote a book entitled Traité Élémentaire de Magie Pratique: Adaptation, Réalisation, Théorie de la Magie, or "Elementary Treatise of Practical Magic: Adaptation, Practice, Theory of Magic." This was the moment the general public came to meet 'Papus' for the first time. Perhaps the most important word in the long title is Adaptation, for Papus makes the very important point that it isn't necessary to follow the instructions of the Grimoires slavishly, with no understanding or engagement of the intellect. He argued that modern man had neither the time to undertake the extensive and exclusive practices of old, and that many of the materials and implements required could either be purchased ready-made, or replaced with more modern substitutes. In this, he was perhaps the first public exponent of the Art to allow the ancient rituals to be adapted to modern use. The book was a brave attempt to 'normalize' the esoteric world by placing it firmly in the realm of science, and Papus brought his medical knowledge to the challenge, in an attempt to show that everything which magic claimed to do was either firmly within the scientific domain, or would be in the near future. By applying his scientific methods to the study of esoteric phenomena, he hoped to make the magical arts a more respectable fiend of study. To support this, he included extensive lessons on physiology, neural pathology and hypnotherapy. These were interwoven with discussions of magic, which were primarily based on the Grimoires, and in particular the Clavicles of King Solomon, to show that in some areas of study they were moving along similar paths. Yet for the high road he tries to take, Papus is not above adding phrases like 'Country' or 'Folk Magic' and 'Love Potions' to his subtitle! That said, the book is important in the history of esoteric education for a number of reasons. It was one of the first books which brought knowledge of the Grimoires and Ceremonial Magic to the general public, rather than to a rarified group of disciples. He was also the first to try to marry esoteric studies to science, in order to make them more palatable; and indeed, his work in this field does not appear to have negatively affected his professional life. Perhaps most importantly, it provides a fascinating insight in fin de siècle Paris, with its aspirations, energy, fears, and pride. We see a people galvanized with excitement, anticipating the World Fair in 1889, which would see the Eiffel Tower as a monument to man's scientific advances, the appearance of mass transportation by railroad, electric lighting, photography (all of which Papus mentions in this book), together with a burgeoning knowledge of the structure and functioning of the Microcosm - Man. The text has been supplied with extensive footnotes: Papus had a habit of writing for his times, and therefore makes many assumptions of his readers regarding current politics and history, newspapers, books and magazines, and famous characters and Orders existing in his times. Since it is unlikely any modern reader would be very familiar with these references, the footnotes are intended to provide a quick background, without forcing the reader to have to keep turning to endnotes in order to look up references.

Weniger Details

Born in Coruña, Spain on July 13, 1865 to a French chemist and his Spanish wife, Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse, the family moved to Paris in 1859, and he was raised and educated as a Frenchman. Clearly affected by his father's profession, Encausse studied medicine, and after becoming Head of the Laboratory of the Laboratory of Hypnotherapy at La Charité Hospital, in Paris; and in 1894, received his Doctorate in Medicine following his presentation on Philosophical Anatomy. Indeed, throughout his career he used his extensive knowledge of physiology, neurology, physiology and hypnotherapy to underpin his esoteric 'experimentation'. He died on October 25, 1916, when he contracted tuberculosis while working at a field hospital during World War I. He is mainly remember under his nomen esotericum, Papus. A disciple and devotee of Eliphas Lévi', he took the name he took from that esoteric author's book "Nuctemeron of Apollonius of Tyana": the word translates as 'physician'. A lifelong student of the occult, he studied Kabbalah, Tarot, Hermeticism, Magic, Theurgy and Alchemy, before co-founding his own order, the Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose-Croix in 1888. He also founded the monthly revue l'Initiation, which, with a few quiet period, continues to this day. He claimed Maître Philippe Nizier, the Lyonnais mystic, and the Marquis Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre among his mentors. His membership expanded to a number of organizations, including the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light, and his crowning achievement, the founding of the Order Martiniste in 1887, and became Grand Hierophant of the Antient & Primitive Rites of Memphis and Mizraïm in 1913, on the death of John Yarker. A critic of organized religion, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Église Gnostique of Jules Doinel, becoming a bishop of that church founded on the Cathar heritage in 1893. His written output was prodigious, both in his many articles for l'Initiation, La Voile d'Isis and other revues and pamphlets; and in his books, which included The Tarot of the Bohemians, The Devil and Occultism, The Science of the Mages, Contemporary Occultism, and this present book.