1898 Art Magic Spiritism Occult Book Witchcraft Freemasonry Astrology Magic Grimoire

Maybe This Book Found You... 55 billion pages on the internet, and you are here. A rare, genuine, date-stamped 1898 1st edition, now 128 years old and well preserved. Please note: This is not a later redo or softcover. It is the original 1898 edition. This book has the Progressive Thinker stamp on the lower title page with the "Chicago" stamp below it. I have owned many of these over the years, and they are well known for having very brittle pages. Luckily, the paper condition on this particular volume is very good, certainly the best I have seen. It must have been kept in a dry area for years. I must also state that the binding is very good and is not "floppy," which is very rare for a book with over 125 years of use.

Here are some of the subjects discussed: occult science, magic, witchcraft, astrology, Freemasonry, divination, the astral plane, the Cabala, Egyptian mythology, sigils, spirit communication, the Divine Order, the Creator, angels, the soul, disembodied spirits, heaven, planetary spirits, the Ark of the Covenant, the Rosicrucians, astral spirits, elves, fairies, the ethereal body, the zodiac, the ancient mysteries, the sacred writings, invocations, spell work, the highest nirvana, Egyptian oracles, the sun gods, spiritual forces, the sacred triangle, Osiris, initiation, ceremonies, the Apocalypse, the esoteric, the Angel of Death, archangels, the vampire and the incubi, imps, witches, the invisible realms, the soul universe, the astral gods, the Celestial Mother, the magic mirror, clairvoyance, metaphysics, mysticism, Nostradamus, and more. To get a better idea of just how much is in this tome, scroll down to the contents section. It's rather extensive...


"They were taught the magnetic virtues of plants and minerals. The influence of colors; the methods of healing by touch, will, charms, magic, and spells; the virtue of words; the methods of invoking spirits; and finally, the form of magnetism, or the infusion of "Akasa," the Astral Spirit of powerful adepts, into their subjects."

I have always felt that certain books carry more than ink and paper—they hum with something older, something watchful. This is one of them. In the vast, shadowed ocean of 19th-century occult literature, Art Magic stands apart like a lone lantern in the mist. It is not a fleeting pamphlet of charms or a thin manual of table-rapping. It is a full, ambitious grimoire of the spirit world: three parts, twenty-three sections, methodically unfolding the arts of invoking, controlling, and discharging spirits across the mundane, sub-mundane, and super-mundane realms. Here you will find detailed accounts of the different orders of spirits known to commune with humanity, the magnetic virtues of plants and minerals, the hidden influence of colors, the arts of healing by touch and will, the power of magic, spells, and sacred words, and the profound mystery of infusing the Astral Spirit—Akasa—into willing subjects. In what seems to be a never-ending sea of occult books, you may wonder which one is the most extensive, easy to read, and interesting; well, this would certainly suffice... This edition boasts a comprehensive compendium of the Occult Arts, more than most books created from any era. So much is included in its pages that I can't adequately explain it.

As the title page promises, the work explores “the uses and abuses, dangers and possibilities of Magical Art.” It is both scholarly and practical, blending historical lore from many cultures with direct instruction. I have handled many occult volumes over the years, yet few match the breadth and strange accessibility of this one. Its language feels almost alive—clear enough for the earnest seeker, yet laced with that unmistakable air of mystery that lingers long after the book is closed. This particular copy is in exceptional condition for a volume printed sixteen years before the guns of 1914. Most examples I've seen are worn threadbare by eager hands or crumbling from decades on dusty shelves. Not this one. The binding remains firm, the pages clean and bright—truly the finest specimen I've encountered. Originally offered at $1.50 in 1898 (a substantial sum for the era, equivalent to well over fifty dollars today), it was clearly intended for serious students rather than casual browsers.

The overall condition of this book is very good despite being printed 128 years ago. The covers and spine have some normal age and shelf wear, but still display very well. The interior pages are naturally age-toned. I found one page with a few old, dried stains that appear to be a couple of drops from a previous owner, though it is only aesthetic. I found only one other stain near the end of the book, again, just some normal age. This book is well-bound and not floppy at all, which is rather rare.

William Britten, active in the vibrant spiritualist and occult circles of the late nineteenth century, poured a lifetime of study into these pages. Many believe his wife and collaborator, the renowned medium and author Emma Hardinge Britten, lent her editorial hand and deep knowledge to the project as well. Together they created a work that feels less like a book and more like a key—one that quietly unlocks doors most people never notice.

If you have ever stood at the threshold between the seen and the unseen, drawn by whispers you cannot quite name, this volume may speak to you as it has to others across more than a century. It contains “it all… and then some,” as one collector once told me with a knowing smile. Should this book call you, I would not delay. Such books have a way of finding their next guardian—and then slipping away into the current again, sometimes for years. Come, step closer to the veil. The spirits, as this book reminds us, are always nearer than we think.

Art magic, or, Mundane, sub-mundane, and super-mundane spiritism. A treatise in three parts and twenty-three sections: descriptive of art magic, spiritism, the different orders of spirits in the universe known to be related to or in communication with man, together with directions for invoking, controlling, and discharging spirits, and the uses and abuses.

William Britten was a prolific occult writer most active during the 19th century.

The overall condition of this book is good despite being printed 125 years ago. It does display some of the normal aging attributes associated with a book printed in the 19th century. This includes shelf wear, small spots, little scratches, and blemishes to the covers and spine, although they display very beautifully and are well-kept, especially for their age. The interior pages have some natural age-toning, the occasional age spot, and typical signs of reading use. The spine is very solid, everything is perfectly in place, and it is a complete edition. Its an ancient book but still very well-preserved.

A TREATISE
IN THREE PARTS AND TWENTY-THREE SECTIONS,
DESCRIPTIVE OF ART MAGIC, SPIRITISM, THE DIFFERENT ORDERS OF
SPIRITS IN THE UNIVERSE KNOWN TO BE RELATED TO, OR IN
COMMUNICATION WITH MAN, TOGETHER WITH DIRECTIONS
FOR INVOKING, CONTROLLING, AND DISCHARGING
SPIRITS, AND THE USES AND ABUSES, DANGERS
AND POSSIBILITIES OF MAGICAL ART.

CONTENTS

CONSTITUTION OF THE SOLAR UNIVERSE-MATTER-EXTENSION -DIVISIBILITY-IMPENETRABILITY-ETBERPAGE
FORCE-ATTRACTION AND REPULSION.
THE SCHEME OF THE SOLAR UNIVERSE-THE FALL OF MAN
BUT THE SHADOW-THE FALL OF SPIRIT-MAN TO
MICROCOSM OF BEING-HIS PRE-ExIS'l'ENOB.. 11-23
ARGUMENTS DEVISED CHIEFLY FROM ANCIENT HISTORY
IN SUPPORT OF THE PHILOSOPHY AFFIRMED IN THE
PRECEDING PAGE, WITH EXTRACTS FROM THE VEDAS. 24-30
Is THERE ONE OR MANY GODS who CAN KNOW THE UNKNOWABLE-MAY, NOT THE KNOWN LEAD KNOW WHAT
HAS. BEEN DEEMED THE UNKNOWABLE
OPINIONS OF ANCIENT!' AND MODERN PHILOSOPHERS AND
SPIRITUALISTS CONCERNING THE NATURE AND INDIVIDUALITY OF ONE SUPREME BEING.
THE MOST ANCIENT FORM OF WORSHIP ASTRONOMICAL RELIGION. OR THE SUNBEAM SYSTEM-SOLAR
AND ASTRAL GODS.
BIOGRAPHIES OF KRISHNA AND BUDDHA SAKIA, SHOWING THE NATIONS OF ANTIQUITY
SEX WORSHIP-ITS ANTIQUITY AND MEANING CONNECTION OF SEX, SOLAR AND SERPENT WORSHIP-THE
SPIRITUAL AND MATERIAL IDEAS OF ANTIQUE FAITHS
SEX WORSHIP CONTINUED, SYMBOLS AND EMBLEMS OF THE THREE SYSTEMS-SCRIPTURAL NAMES
SUBORDINATE GODS IN THE UNIVERSE-ANGELS, SPIRITS,
TuTELARY DEITIES, SOULS, AND ELEMENTARY SPIRITS
OPINIONS OF THE ANCIENTS-JEWISH CABALA.
THE JEWISH CABALA-FRAGMENTS FROM THIS CURIOUS
COMPENDIUM OF IDEA AND TRUTH QUOTATIONS
MAN'S EARLIEST COMMUNION WITH SPIRITS-SPIRITISM
AND MAGIC-MUNDANE, SUB-MUNDANE, AND SUPERMUNDANE SPIRITISM-THE MYSTIC LADDER..
MAN THE MICROCOSM OF THE UNIVERSE-MAN THE TRINITY OF 'rHE ELEMENTS: SOUL, SPIRIT, MATTER-Rosicrucianism-THE ASTRAL SPIRIT, ASTRAL LIGHT.
ANCIENT PRIESTS AND PROPHETS-SPIRITUAL GIFTS WOMEN AS PRIESTESS AND SYBIL~CLASSIFICATION
OF SPIRITUALLY ENDOWED PERSONS.
ART GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE CONDITION AND
PROCESSES OF MAGICAL PRACTICES LINE BETWEEN ANCIENT THEOSOPHY AND OCCULTISM.
ART MAGIC IN INDIA-BRAHMINICAL ORDER-WHENCE DERIVED - FOREST ANCHORITES - FOlTNDA'l'ION OF THE
PRIESTLY ORDER AND CASTE.
ART MAGIC IN INDIA CONTINUED-ILLUSTRATIONS OF
MAGIC IN INDIA-NARRATIVES OF DISTINGUISHED
TRAVELERS- RECORDS OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE HOWLING DERVISHES. .' 153-174

CONTENTS.
SECTION XII.
MAGIC AMONG 'the MONGOLIANS-THE CHINESE'S GREAT
DEVOTION TO MAGIC-SPIRITISM OF Two DISTINCT
KINDS-PERFORMANCE OF EXTRA MUNDANE FEATS. 175-182
SECTION XIII.
MAGIC IN EGYPT-SISTRUMS SYMBOL-CELESTIAL MOTHER-Moses CLAIMED BY THE JEWISH PEOPLE-ANUBiS-EGYPTIAN AMULETS. • 184-195
SUPPLEMENT TO SECTION XUI.
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF EGYPT-ITS POSSIBLE USE AND
OBJECT-MAN, THE MICROCOSM OF THE UNIVERSE HINDOO AND EGYPTIAN THEOSOPHy-TOWER OF BABEL 196-20'1
SECTION XIV.
SPIRITISM AND MAGIC
ABRAHAM. MOSES, THE PRIESTS
AND PROPHETS-CABALA-BIBLE-EzEKIEL·S WHEEL. 207-219
SUPPLEMENT TO SECTION XIV.
IDOLATRY AND ANCIENT SCRIPTURE-SOME OF THE MODES
OF DIVINATION, BOTH LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL,

SECTION XV.
MAGIC AND SPIRITISM AMONGST THE CHALDEANS-TBE
TOWER OF BABEL-QUOTATIONS FROM. ENNEMOSER'S
HISTORY OF MAGIC-THE WHIRLING DERVISHES. • 225-236
SECTION XVI.
POETRY OF LIFE'S S'i'ERNER PROSE-MAGIC AMONG THE
GREEKS AND ROMANS MYSTERIES OF SAKOTARACE AND ELEUSIS. 237-252
PART THmD.
SECTION XVII.
MEDIEVAL THEOSOPHY-ELVES OR FAIRIES-ELEMENTARY
AND PLANETARY SPIRITS, OR THE SUB-MUNDANE AND
SUPER-MUNDANE SPIRITISM-THE JEWISH CABALA. • a53-269
SECTION XVIII.

WITCHCRAFT SPIRIT OF PERSECUTION IN CHRISTIAN
SPIRITISM-ALCHEMISTS-STONE HENGE.
ALCHEMISTS AND PHILOSOPHERS-HISTORY OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES - GENERAL
CIRCLES AND THE COMPOSITION THEREOF

SIGILS, NAMES OF ANGELS, ETc. • • • • • 283-299
POWER OF TUE MAGNET AND WILL-WEAPON SALVE WITCHCRAFT-THE CASE OF JANE BROOKS
DIVINATION, BELOMANCY, ELISHA AND THE ARROWS GEOMANCY- BATH
KOL-CHIROMANCY-THE CoLOR DoCTOR.. • 311-326
THE MAGIC MIRROR-ITS COMPOSITION-CoMMUNICATION
FROM A PLANETARY SPIRIT-FORMUL& OF NOSTRADAMUS. • • 327 ·334
HISTORY OF MAGNETISM_PSYCHOLOGY-CLAIRVOYANCE THEIR CoNNECTION WITH ANCIENT MAGIC - THE
GREAT MODERN TRIAD-PARACELSUS.
SPIRITUALISTIC LITERATURE-HARMONIA PHILOSOPHY
AND ITS FOUNDER, ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS-MODERN
SPIRITUALISM-ITS UNIVERSALITY OF PH~NOMENA. 346·364
EPILOGUE TO THE DRAMA OF ART MAGIC. '. • • 365-366