The Universal Doctrine

Eliphas Levi is the one who revived the esoteric occult arts in the West. This is where people like Manly P. Hall and hermetic orders draw a lot of their information from. He was kind of the top dog when it comes to Western esotericism, bridging the gap between what most people think are irreconcilable religions or ideas. For example, Christianity, esoteric Catholicism, esoteric Kabbalah, and ceremonial magic were all unified and brought together.

Levi was very religious, starting in exoteric Catholicism before departing to study occult esotericism. He saw that the Catholic Church was just the exoteric doctrine of the inner, esoteric, veiled universal truth. He said that the Christian religion is a direct transmission of the great arcanum or universal religion. That is why, as an esotericist, there is no need to argue with Muslims, Jews, or Christians. Most disagreements are due to differences in language or focus. Some religions discuss one aspect of God while others discuss another. Without understanding the transcendental nature of God, agreement is difficult.

The Pentagram and the Son of God

The pentagram represents the Son of God, the upright spiritual consciousness walking on the earth. Christ walked the earth, and this manifests through the pentagram.

• Top of the pentagram: Spiritual energy
• Bottom prongs: Earth and water
• Right prongs (from the top): Air and fire, because they are subtle
• Spirit (head/top): The kingdom of heaven within the body, the microcosm

Levi teaches that the pentagram is not a satanic symbol. It is a symbol of spirit manifesting in human form. The Logos or divine organizational principle anchors itself through earth and water and extends through air and fire. The top organizes itself.

The two eyes on top of the pentagram represent the pineal and pituitary glands, the spiritual eyes—intuition and imagination. Levi emphasizes combining the will (masculine essence) with imagination (feminine essence). Will plus imagination equals results.

• Upright pentagram: Spirit dominates, alignment with the Most High, will is granted.
• Inverted pentagram: Earthly desires dominate, material and emotional attachments above spirit. Some traditions see it as anchoring spiritual energy to matter, but it was corrupted by materialist organizations.

The pentagram teaches that spirit is the cause. It is a causal point within yourself that can create miraculous changes. You can uplift others, help those in darkness, and confront your inner shadow to liberate the great mother within.

Mother Mary, a representation of the universal mother, symbolizes the divine feminine or Kundalini energy. When upright and spiritually aligned, we have the opportunity to lift others out of inversions. This allows us to command elementals or demons, cast protective circles, and not be influenced by negative astral forces.

Accessing Higher Consciousness

The magical chain is key. Knowledge from Levi’s work is intense and not for everyone. It is part of the Great Work and rarely read, even though it is available in mainstream stores. Levi is one of the most prominent Western occultists.

“What is above is like what is below, and what is below is like what is above. The form is proportional to the idea. The shadow is as deep as the sword is long. Denial is proportional to affirmation. Production equals destruction in the movement which preserves life. There is no point in infinite space which is not the center of a circle whose circumference extends and retracts perpetually.”

This passage reflects Brahman, showing that God is everywhere, and the center is everywhere while the circumference is nowhere. Meditating on this allows consciousness to extend and access higher frequencies. Flow state, or tuning into higher frequencies, allows access to knowledge beyond immediate perception. This is how creative individuals channel inspiration.

Transmitting Energy and Impressions

Levi emphasizes tuning the inner “radio” to high frequency, transmitting energy, and refining the nervous system to communicate impressions physically. This requires stillness, silence, self-observation, contemplation, and daily remembrance of who you are. Serve truth, the eternal good, and higher principles—love, wisdom, and understanding.

The soul, mind, and body function together like a triad. The child, the crown, represents renewal and the coming kingdom within. Understanding Genesis is self-revealing, showing the path of the fallen Adam and the Christ or Michael archetype. By living upright, transmuting energy, and enduring conscious suffering, one can return to Eden—the garden of bliss. Bad days correlate to good days based on how we handle them. Plant seeds during adversity to reap a spiritual harvest, creating beauty, wisdom, and understanding to share with the world.

Your purpose is to bring more love, wisdom, and understanding in any way you are capable.

For more in-depth exploration, interactive versions of this content are coming soon on Patreon. You can also book a one-on-one consultation at innermysteries.org.