The Book of The Magi

The Book of the Magi is a faithful facsimile presentation of a later edition of The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer, the influential occult compendium first published in 1801. The text reproduced in this volume appears complete and unaltered, preserving the structure, language, and content of Francis Barrett’s original work.This edition does not offer commentary, reinterpretation, or instructional expansion. Aside from the brief preface included in the source edition, the text stands exactly as transmitted. No modernization has been applied, and no additional material has been inserted into the body of the work.What distinguishes The Book of the Magi is not its textual content, but its historical presentation. The source edition reproduced here reflects a period in which The Magus was reissued under an Egyptianized visual identity. This included symbolic front matter and iconography characteristic of European interpretations of Egyptian esotericism, such as the recurring use of a classical profile figure in an Egyptian-style headdress serving as a publisher’s emblem or visual stamp. These elements represent a stylistic rebranding rather than a change in doctrine or content.This volume preserves that representational layer as a historical artifact in its own right. It offers readers the opportunity to encounter The Magus not only as an early nineteenth-century occult text, but also as it was later packaged, symbolized, and visually reframed by subsequent publishers responding to enduring associations between Egyptian imagery and esoteric authority.The Book of the Magi therefore stands as a facsimile of a facsimile: the original text of The Magus presented within the visual language applied to it by a later publishing context. The work makes no claims of initiation, practical instruction, or modern interpretation. It is offered for historical reference and for readers interested in how canonical occult texts have been materially and symbolically presented over time. Read more