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VAMzzz PUBLISHING Arthur Edward Waite DEVIL-WORSHIP in FRANCE or The Question of Lucifer
VAMzzz PUBLISHING
Arthur Edward Waite
DEVIL-WORSHIPin FRANCEor The Question of Lucifer
Devil-worship in Franceor The Question of LuciferAuthor: Arthur Edward Waite
Original title: Devil-worship in France or The Question of Lucifer. A record of things seen and heard in the secret societies according to the evidence of initiates (1896)
Cover image: Dante and Virgil in Hell (1850), William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)Lay-out: www.burokd.nl
ISBN 978-94-92355-06-5
© 2015 Revised publication by:
VAMzzz PublishingP.O. Box 33401001 AC AmsterdamThe [email protected]
VAMzzz PUBLISHING
Arthur Edward Waite
DEVIL-WORSHIPin FRANCEor The Question of Lucifer
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Arthur Edward Waite 2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942
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contents
PREFACE 7
CHAPTER I Satanism in the nineteenth century 11
CHAPTER II The mask of Masonry 25
CHAPTER III The first witnesses of Lucifer 39
CHAPTER IV Ex Ore Leonis 47
CHAPTER V The discovery of M. Ricoux 61
CHAPTER VI Art Sacerdotal 67
CHAPTER VII The Devil and the Doctor 77
CHAPTER VIII Dealings with Diana 119
CHAPTER IX How Lucifer is unmasked 133
CHAPTER X The vendetta of Signor Margiotta 145
CHAPTER XI Female Freemasonry 161
CHAPTER XII The passing of Doctor Bataille 167
CHAPTER XIII Diana unveiled 181
CHAPTER XIV The radix of modern diabolism 203
CHAPTER XV Conclusion 209
Post Scriptum
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PREFACE
“The first in this plot was Lucifer.”
—THOMAS VAUGHAN
THE TERM MODERN SATANISM is not intended to signify the de-
velopment of some new aspect of old doctrine concerning demon-
ology, or some new argument for the personification of the evil
principle in universal nature. It is intended to signify the alleged
revival, or, at least, the reappearance to some extent in public, of
a cultus diabolicus, or formal religion of the devil, the existence of
which, in the middle ages, is registered by the known facts of the
Black Sabbath, a department, however, of historical research, to
which full justice yet remains to be done. By the hypothesis, such
a religion may assume one of two forms; it may be a worship of the
evil principle as such, namely, a conscious attempt on the part of
human minds to identify themselves with that principle, or it may be
the worship of a power which is regarded as evil by other religions,
from which view the worshippers in question dissent. The necessity
for this distinction I shall make apparent in the first chapter of this
book. A religion of the darkness, subsisting under each of these
distinctive forms, is said to be in practice at the present moment,
and to be characterised, as it was in the past, by the strong evidence
of miracles,—in other. words, by transcendental phenomena of a
very extraordinary kind, connecting in a direct manner with what
is generically termed Black Magic. Now, Black Magic in the past
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may have been imposture reinforced by delusion, and to state that
it is recurring at the present day does not commit anyone to an
opinion upon its veridical origin. To say, also, that the existence of
modern diabolism has passed from the region of rumour into that of
exhaustive and detailed statement, is to record a matter of fact, and
I must add that the evidence in hand, whatever its ultimate value,
can be regarded lightly by those only who are unacquainted with its
extent and character. This evidence is, broadly, of three kinds:—(a)
The testimony of independent men of letters, .who would seem to
have come in contact therewith; (b) the testimony volunteered by
former initiates of such secret associations as are dedicated to a cul-
tus diabolicus; (c) the testimony of certain writers, claiming special
sources of information, and defending some affected interests of
the Roman Catholic Church.
My purpose in this book is to distinguish, so far as may be
possible, what is true from what is false in the evidence, and I have
undertaken the task, firstly, because modern mystics are accused, en
masse, of being concerned in this cultus; secondly, because the
existence of modern Satanism has given opportunity to a conspir-
acy of falsehood which is wide in its ramifications, and serious on
account of its source; thirdly, because the question itself has awak-
ened considerable interest both within and without transcendental
circles, and it is desirable to replace hazy and exaggerated notions
by a clear and formal statement.
I have connected the new diabolism with France in my title,
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because the evidence in each of its kinds has been filed by French
writers, and we have no other source of information. So far as that
evidence is sound, we have to thank France for producing it; but,
on the other hand, should it prove that a whole city of invention has
been constructed, “with all its spires and gateways,” upon a meagre
basis of fact, it is just that French imagination should have full credit
for the decorative art which has adorned this Question of Lucifer.
The plan of my work had been sketched, and a number of
chapters written, when I found myself to some extent preceded by a
writer well known to occultists under the pseudonym of Papus, who
has quite recently published a small brochure, entitled Le Diable et
L’Occultisme, which is a brief defence of transcendentalists against
the accusations in connection with Satanism. I gladly yield to M.
Papus the priority in time, which was possible to a well-informed
gentleman, at the centre of the conspiracy. His little work, howev-
er, does not claim to be either a review or a criticism, and does not
therefore, in any sense, cover the ground which I have travelled. It is
an exposition and exoneration of his own school of mystic thought,
which is that of the Martinists, and I have mentioned it in this con-
nection in its proper place.
- Arthur Edward Waite
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Paper booksVAMzzz Publishing is located in the very centre of old Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. Our publishing company creates high quality revised editions of five star occult, witchcraft, Gothic and esoteric classics, mostly written in the Fin de siècle-period and early 20th century.
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The story of Là-Bas concerns the novelist Durtal who is disgusted by the emptiness and vulgarity of the modern world. He attempts to escape it by studying medieval topics and plans to write a biography about the 15th century murderer and devil-worshipper Gilles de Rais. Through his contacts in Paris with Dr. Johannes, (modelled after Joseph-Antoine Boullan, a French Roman Catholic priest accused of Satanism), Durtal discovers that Satanism is not a thing of the past, but alive and kicking in turn of the century France. He embarks on an investigation of the occult underworld with the help of his lover Madame Chantelouve. The novel climaxes with a description of a black mass.Joris-Karl Huysmans is now recognized as one of the most challenging and pioneering figures in European literature. Short after its publication, the sale of the book was banned on French railway stations.
‘This novel is one of the key texts of the Decadent movement of the 1890s and writhes with Satanists, occultists, incubi (male demons), succubi (female demons) and intellectuals.’ – The Guardian on Là-Bas
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Brown Jr. believes the unicorn to be a lunar symbol, and draws on mythology from a wide range of sources all over the world to build his case. The author discusses the heraldic use of the unicorn, relates the creature to ancient goddesses like Astarte, Hecate en the Gorgon Medusa, and provides the reader with lost esoteric Moon-lore.
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Amazons - Two publications in one book -I. The Amazons by Guy Cadogan RotheryII. Religious Cults Associated With the Amazons
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Testament of SolomonA First Century AD Grimoire76 pages, Paperback, ISBN 9789492355041
A first century AD grimoire, and therefore the oldest, and least known, of all grimoires (magical instruction books) in the occult tradition. The book describes health inflicting demons of zodiacal decans, summoned by King Solomon, and how he controlled them to use their forces to build his temple and more. Translated by F. C. Conybeare, appeared first in the Jewish Quarterly Review of October, 1898.
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VAMzzz PUBLISHING
To Devil-worship or not to Devil-worship
In Devil-Worship in France, Waite attempts to discern what
is genuine from what is fake in the evidence of 19th century
Satanism. To get the answers he spends a great deal of time
investigating the French Masonic echelon, debunking a
“conspiracy of falsehood” and determining what should be
understood by Satanism and what not. Huysmans’ diabolical
novel Là-Bas (1891) inspired Waite to write this sceptical
analysis. His main motive to write this book, however, could very
well have been its use as a lubricant for a Masonic career.
Waite took a leading role in a counterattack, after French
rumour spreaders had accused Golden Dawn founders William
Wynn Westcott and MacGregor Mathers of being chief Lucifer-
worshippers. This was much appreciated by them. In the end,
Waite’s Devil-Worship in France debunked the whole accusation
affair - and this a year before Gabriel Jogand Pages (Leo Taxil in
the book) admitted the allegations were indeed a hoax.
Arthur Edward Waite (1857 - 1942) was a scholarly mystic,
Freemason, Rosicrucian and Golden Dawn member who wrote
extensively on occult and esoteric matters, mostly in academic
style. A certain irony is glued to this book forever, as it was
Edward Arthur Waite, who showed Aleister Crowley “The Way”
when he advised the Beast 666 to read Eckhartshausen’s Cloud
upon the Sanctuary, about the mysterious
hidden church inside the visible church, when
his foe in later days had just finished reading
Waite’s Book of Black Magic and Pacts…
9 789492 355065
