The Magus, first published in 1801, is a concise compendium on the Western magical tradition, and one of the primary sources for the study of Ceremonial Magic. The book contains a fascinating array of information drawn together from several sources, such as Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy.

Rare copies of this book have been kept under lock and key in the private reading rooms of the great libraries in the past. This edition is an exact reprint of the prized original.

In 1801 Francis Barrett. young but extraordinarily learned in medieval and occult knowledge, appeared in London to teach and publish his only book. It mirrors the Gothic revival, with its extreme curiosity about supernatural matters, then in full flood in England. Areas explored include Natural Magic, Alchemy, Talismanic Magic, Cabalistic and Ceremonial Magic, as well as biographies of important figures such as H-C Agrippa, Albertus Magnus and John Dee.

Notable in this book are Barrett’s illustrations. derived from ancient and medieval magical texts, including magic tables. planetary tables, talismans and portraits of demons and angels. The book also provides translations of cabalistic and occult lore which had never before been translated into English or which had been issued in the seventeenth century and were in Barrett’s time, as now, extremely rare. This book remains much sought after by modern readers for the important source material it provides, and it continues to be drawn on heavily for information on many areas of occult philosophy.

This fine Unicursal edition has been entirely retyped and edited. This is not a facsimile.

7" x 10" (17.78 x 25.4 cm)
Unicursal, 420 pages