2011 Reprint of 1911 Edition. Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942) was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of western occultism - viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of proto-science or as the pathology of religion."
"The Book of Ceremonial Magic" is the second edition of a work which in its first edition was titled, more provocatively, "The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts." It is an attempt to synthesize the procedures of all of the famous Grimoires. It draws on the "Key of Solomon", the "Grimorium Verum", the apocryphal Fourth Book of Cornelius Agrippa, and many others, including the famous "Black Pullet", or "Poulet Noir". The result is an unparalleled look at the details of ceremonial magic.