How to Become a Mage: A Fin-de-Siecle French Occult Manifesto

How to Become a Mage is the first English translation of the enormously influential occultist Josephin Peladan. This book is a fascinating entry into nineteenth-century French thought, sharing advice on overcoming the pitfalls of status quo society while perfecting one’s own soul. Josephin Peladan (1858 1918) was a flamboyant personality and controversial media celebrity as well as the author of combative art criticism and a series of novels with occult themes. Peladan also wrote influential non-fiction works on occult topics committed to the belief that the best way for modern Europeans to enter into communion with the guiding intelligences of humanity was through magic and the arts. He played a key role in reviving Rosicrucianism and provided a spiritual and intellectual backdrop to fin-de-siecle French symbolism. His ideas influenced the leading artists of the day, including composers Claude Debussy and Erik Satie and writer Antonin Artaud.