Initiations by Paul Sedir translated by Gareth Knight

Paul Sédir was one of the most important figures of the late 19th century occult renaissance in France, and yet he remains very little known in the English-speaking world. Born Yvon Le Loup in 1871, the young Breton moved to Paris and took up occultism as a teenager under the patronage of Papus (Gérard Encausse).

Blessed with an exceptional memory and intuition, he embraced a diversity of paths and quickly rose through the ranks of a wide range of esoteric fraternities, authoring a number of books. From his home in Montmartre he held weekly open discussions on occultism and was well known for his exceptional knowledge and powerful presence.

In later life, a significant mystical encounter led him to resign from his occult activities and focus solely on a Christian mystical path. Adopting the name Sédir (an anagram of ‘désir’), he began writing his important work Initiations around 1901, and expanded it gradually over the following twenty-five years until his death in 1926. It follows the ‘initiations’, both occult and mystical, of a Paris doctor and his strange friend Andreas, nuanced by the enigmatic background presence of Theophane, the true healer.

Presented in a deceptively simple narrative form, it distills and encodes a lifetime’s esoteric and mystical knowledge in a way which serves as a very real initiation for the perceptive reader. Gareth Knight brings the benefit of 60 years’ experience in practical occultism to this new translation of Sédir’s work. He has translated a number of French esoteric texts, as well as being a renowned author in his own right.

CONTENTS:
Foreword 
I) A State of the Soul 
2) Andreas
3) Orientalisms
4) A Rickety Child
5) The Proletariat
6) A Test of Vedanta
7) The Brahman
8) The Durakapalam
9) A Brahmanic Evocation
10) Comforts
11) The Spiritualist
12) The Magnetizer
13) The Unity of the Spiritualists
14) Uncertainty
15) A Mental Vision
16) In Plaisance
17) A Man Attached to the Earth
18) The Mummy
19) The First of May
20) The Invisible Enemies
21) The Vineyard
22) An Avalanche in the Himalayas
23) Probation
24) The Tiger
25) The Prayer
26) The Phap
27) Aviation
28) At Court
29) Towards Christ’s Initiation
30) The Spiritualist Tower of Babel
31) Theophane
32) The Comets
33) The Inundation
34) The Chinaman
35) The Pyramid
36) The Ave Maria
37) The Virgin
38) The Louvre
39) In Compiegne
40) Christmas
41) Antibes
42) The Battle
43) Resurrection

Yvon Le Loup (1871-1926), under the pseudonym of the Paul Sédir, published numerous works on Christian Mysticism and Hermeticism. He first collaborated with several esoteric movements of his time; then, following his meeting with the remarkable Christian teacher and healer Master Philippe of Lyon, he devoted himself to serving Christ. In this service he gave numerous lectures, many of which were collected and published as books.

Of Sédir’s meeting with Master Philippe, the prolific author Dr. Gerard Encausse (Papus), wrote: “There was in Sédir’s life a solemn, decisive event that made him grasp the emptiness of secret sciences and societies and placed him forever upon the sole way of the gospel.”