author
Francis Barrett
Best known for The Magus, this mysterious English occult writer helped carry Renaissance magic and esoteric lore into the nineteenth century. Very little is known about his life, which only adds to the fascination around his work.
1 Audiobook
Lives of alchemystical philosophers To which is added a bibliography of alchemy and hermetic philosophy
by Arthur Edward Waite, Francis Barrett
About the author
Francis Barrett was an English occultist and author, generally identified with The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer, published in 1801. The book became his lasting claim to fame and is often remembered as an influential handbook of ceremonial magic and occult philosophy.
What makes Barrett especially intriguing is how little can be confirmed about him. Sources agree that he was active in England around the turn of the nineteenth century, but many details of his life remain uncertain. That air of mystery has stayed with him, and it fits the strange, ambitious character of his writing.
The Magus is largely a compilation that drew on earlier occult works, especially the writings associated with Cornelius Agrippa and related magical traditions. Even so, Barrett's version helped revive interest in those ideas for later readers, and his name still appears whenever the history of modern Western occultism is discussed.