A New Magic

Abstract

The magical legacy left behind by Victorian occultists was formulated from a hodge-podge of esoteric subjects. Some of these had become closely entwined much earlier in the history of Western magic while others were brought into the fold during the nineteenth century owing to the efforts of British and French occultists including Golden Dawn chief, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. Victorian magic is heavily reliant upon the idea of invented tradition. The various esoteric traditions incorporated into late nineteenth-century occultism were very much influenced by this process and Golden Dawn magic itself was the result of its creators engaging in the practice of inventing tradition. Part of this practice involved the most striking characteristic of Western magic, its reliance on the method of synthesis. The close relationship between magic and synthesis and magic and invented tradition dates back centuries, and is witnessed most significantly during the days of the Renaissance magi. In order to understand the importance of this synthesis and invented tradition in the formulation of Victorian occultism, we must look to the origins of this process. Leaving nineteenth-century Britain for the moment we must now examine the Western magical tradition inherited by Victorian occultists so we can better understand the building blocks of British magic.