The Magus (Barrett book)
The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer is a handbook of the occult and ceremonial magic compiled by occultist Francis Barrett published in 1801.Publication and influence
The book was originally published with two books in a single volume, as was common with many texts of this period. It facilitated the modern revival of magic by making information from otherwise rare books more readily available. It may have influenced novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton and occultist Eliphas Levi.
Even farther afield, some have speculated on long chains of influence from various religious texts including, through Masonry, to Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter-day Saint movement. While the talk has no actual mention of The Magus, Reed C. Durham, Jr.'s speech "Is There No Help for the Widow's Son?" does list several traditionally occult figures. the Latter-day Saint-themed art collective ARCH-HIVE relied on The Magus as one of its sources in its imagining of Mormon spells.
