The aim of the genuine magician, says W.E. Butler, is to realise that True Self of which his earthly personality is but the mask.

In this book is to be found a remarkably concise explanation of the ancient uses, ritual and true aims of Magic. The author sweeps away the confusion caused by the many misconceptions, and surveys the history of Magic from the ‘old religion’ of pre-Christian times through to the discoveries of modern psychology. And it is, he says, with the modern school of psychology, particularly Jungian, that the magician finds his closest link with modern thought.

Since the author is writing for Western man he is not concerned with Eastern magical systems, but here explains the ‘Western Tradition’ of Magic. This tradition embodies the teaching and practices that have been handed down from antiquity, the central philosophy on which it hinges being the corpus of Hebrew mystical wisdom known as the Qabalah.

Magic, far from being an irrational superstition, is based upon profound psychological laws, and possesses its own special technique. Although repressed throughout the ages in the Western world, it has never ceased to exist and has from time to time emerged in different forms – one of the most notable in Britain being the ‘Order of the Golden Dawn’, which
is still in existence, and perpetuates Western magical traditions.

This book constitutes a most useful preliminary guide to any study ‘in depth’ of this admittedly vast subject.