All language subtitles for oracles.and.prophets.s01e06.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Throughout history,

the power of prophecy has
captivated the human mind.

For some, this
power is connected

to the healing energy
of the universe itself.

- Edgar Cayce was known
as the Sleeping Prophet

who could slip into
hypnotic states.

- According to many,

he correctly predicted the
Wall Street Crash of 1929,

the Second World War,
the assassination of JFK,

and his most frightening
prediction of all,

the end of the world.

- [Narrator] The power
of prophecy is ancient,

helping guide civilizations
for millennia.

- The Oracle of Delphi
is the premier oracle

of the ancient world,

and these words shaped history.

- Scholars have offered
some scientific explanations

of the kinds of prophecies

people are receiving
from the Oracle.

- [Narrator] And in
19th century France,

a radical occult thinker is
branded as a devil worshiper.

But the truth could
be even stranger.

- When modern audiences
see Levi's Baphomet,

they see something

that seems to have a
connection to darkness.

What it actually is
is a complex symbol

of the connection of all things.

(upbeat music)

(lively music)

- [Narrator] A man
lies down on his couch,

resting his head on a pillow.

He closes his eyes,
entering a deep trance.

Suddenly visions flood his mind.

The earth shutters violently.

Oceans surge over continents.

Volcanoes erupt simultaneously.

He witnesses cities crumbling,

and humanity engulfed in chaos.

The sheer magnitude of
destruction overwhelms him.

As he emerges from this trance,
a profound dread grips him.

The weight of the impending doom

shakes him to his very core.

The man who sees this vision
of doom is Edgar Cayce,

and to many, he is considered
the greatest prophet

in American history.

- Edgar Cayce is the 20th
century's most famous psychic,

and some consider him the
father of holistic medicine.

He makes predictions
that run the gambit,

from the personal
health of his clients,

to business advice,

to predicting
world-changing events

such as the end of
the world itself.

- Edgar Cayce is known
as the Sleeping Prophet,

and he diagnoses his patients

while in this unconscious state.

In this state, he speaks
of people's past lives

and of things that
are yet to come.

- Cayce gave over 14,000
readings apparently

during his life,

and most of these had
to do with health.

- But he's also interested

in a wide variety
of related phenomena

including prophecy,
lost civilizations,

especially the lost
civilization of Atlantis.

- Cayce predicts a
magnetic pole reversal

that would bring about

a monumental cataclysm
within the world,

and according to Cayce,
we're due one very soon.

- [Narrator] But
who is Edgar Cayce?

The man who many believe

has accurately predicted
the end of our world?

- Edgar Cayce is born in 1877
in Hopkinsville, Kentucky

to a farming family,

and from a very young age, he
claims that he can see spirits

and engage with these
psychic abilities.

- [Narrator] Cayce's connection
to supernatural forces

is an element that will
influence his entire life,

but it is the manifestation
of his psychic abilities

that sets Cayce apart
from most mediums.

- According to Cayce,
when he is still a child,

he doses off while resting
his head on a school textbook.

Cayce claims that when he
wakes up from his slumber,

he has miraculously
absorbed all the information

from the textbook into his mind,

as if through psychic osmosis.

- It seems as if he's
able to tap an insight

that he's just not able
to manifest while awake.

- There's a very
interesting part of sleep

that we call consolidation,

and basically if you've
been learning things,

exposed to things
during the day,

when you sleep, it
seems like certain parts

of the sleep sequence
support consolidation,

which strengthens the memory

and makes it a
little more robust.

The idea of just being able
to sleep on a textbook,

where you're never really
getting direct exposure

to that information but
somehow absorbing it,

that seems a little
outside the realm.

- [Narrator] Cayce continues
to have strange things occur

throughout his youth.

- In his early adulthood,

Edgar reports that
he lost his voice.

He puts himself into something
like a hypnotic trance,

and reportedly heals his
throat and recovers his voice.

- [Narrator]
Realizing his powers

have the ability to help others,

he begins giving readings,

using trance states to
provide medical insights

and remedies to patients.

- In 1910, "The New York
Times" runs with the headline,

"Illiterate Man Becomes
Doctor When Hypnotized."

Now, Cayce was illiterate,

but such press generated
interest in his practices.

- [Narrator] As
Cayce's practice grows,

people are intrigued by
his unorthodox methods.

- Cayce is kind of
doing self-hypnosis,

and this is pretty likely
that when he's in that state,

the imagery that he's
experiencing is much more vivid,

and his thought processes

might be what we
call more diffuse,

so less sort of focused,

but more able to wander.

And so you can imagine
that sort of notion

of seeing visions
coming and going

consistent with
that state of being.

- It's just said that there
are hundreds of people

throughout the United States

who will testify to the
accuracy of his diagnosis,

and the efficacy of his
suggestions for treatment.

- [Narrator] While Cayce's
abilities seem extraordinary,

many are puzzled as to the
source of his psychic powers.

- In his sleep-like
hypnotic state,

he maintains that
he's able to connect

with the super-conscious mind,

a universal consciousness

which transcends time and space.

Cayce claims he's able to ask
it all sorts of questions.

That could be anything from,

"How do I treat this
child's asthma?"

through to, "When will
there be another war?"

- [Narrator] While
Cayce's powers

seem to be at odds with
mainstream religion,

he's a very devout Christian,

and credits his faith
for his abilities.

- Cayce was deeply spiritual.

In fact, he believed
that the Bible

was the source of a rich
religious experience

that gave him special knowledge.

Cayce, when he was asked how
to become a psychic, he said,

"You have to become
more spiritual."

- [Narrator] While he
is a devoted Christian,

Cayce's spiritual world
is anything but orthodox,

and he incorporates many
New Age spiritual concepts

into his work.

- Cayce, during the 1920s

began to expand his knowledge
of religious traditions,

and was drawing on new concepts,

such as karma and reincarnation,

to inform his role as
a psychic and a healer.

It's during the
stage of his career

that we find Cayce making
sweeping prophecies

that stretch back to the era

of the mythical
state of Atlantis

right through to the
present day in the future.

- Cayce is really enamored
with this idea of Atlantis

and the idea that many people
are reincarnated Atlanteans.

- This role of sleep
is really important

in the way that Cayce is
expressing his growing beliefs

outside of his conservative
Christian framework,

but it's through
this moment of sleep

in which he's able to
freely express these views,

rather than in his waking hours.

- You have people

who have thousands of
years in biblical texts

that tell them
exactly how to be,

what to believe in,

what is sin, what is good

that goes in direct conflict

with many other
spiritualities on the Earth,

indigenous people,

more eastern meditation
and natural medicine,

real spirituality that is based

on not healing only from God,

but healing from spirits.

- [Narrator] Cayce's
more spiritualist turn

brings many detractors,

but also many new supporters,

including a wealthy financier.

- In the 1920s, Cayce meets
a stockbroker from New York

named Morton Blumenthal,

who receives a
reading from Cayce,

and is so impressed
with his abilities

that he offers to
financially support him

in building a more
formalized practice

to make use of his gifts.

- [Narrator] Together they found

the Association of
National Investigators,

an organization that
will be situated

in a specially designed facility

known as the Cayce Hospital
in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Blumenthal funds the
construction of the hospital,

which costs an
estimated $200,000,

which would be about 3.7
million in today's money.

Here, Cayce continues to explore

the New Age spiritual trends

that had already begun to
manifest in his career,

including work with an
esoteric religious movement

that had taken
root years earlier.

- At this point, he
attracts the attention

of members of the
Theosophical Society,

which is in the process

of spreading and
developing new chapters.

- You would see this movement

growing across the kind of
Western world at this time,

and growing numbers of people

looking for things like
mediums and seances,

and engaging with new
spiritual practices

in a way that they
hadn't before.

- Cayce is approached by
a Theosophist from Ohio

named Arthur Lammers,

and the two of them
decide to collaborate.

- [Narrator] In 1923,

Cayce begins working
with Lammers in Alabama.

Their partnership
will soon see Cayce

transcend the role
of a medical guide,

launching him into a realm of
deep metaphysical exploration.

- Lamers, as a theosophist

who's steeped in
esoteric thought,

claims that Cayce
is a psychic conduit

who can tap into a
universal consciousness,

enabling him to see
deeper spiritual truths.

- [Narrator] Cayce's
teachings now seek to marry

a Christian moral outlook

with the cycles of
karma and reincarnation

central to Hindu and
Buddhist ways of thought,

as well as the hermetic
and esoteric concept of man

as an extension of the divine.

- Cayce creates what he
calls a cosmic philosophy,

and this brings together
a New Age thought,

Christian Science,
and mental healing.

- [Narrator] A key to Cayce's
new spiritual understanding

is connected to a
deep esoteric concept

known as the Akashic Records.

- The Akashic Records
are all things

that have happened
past and future,

and so in entering
his hypnotic state,

Cayce believes that
he's able to access

the magnitude of
human experience.

- He really is
following the tradition

and the beliefs popularized
by Madame Blavatsky

and the Theosophists,

which is really where
we see the birthplace

of New Age Western tradition

and the Akashic Records.

There's this basic idea that
maybe Cayce was accessing

the Akashic Records
in his sleep.

- [Narrator] And
the Akashic Records

are connected to one of Cayce's
most controversial beliefs,

that he has had contact

with the lost
civilization of Atlantis.

- He describes
Atlantis as a continent

that existed thousands
of years ago,

and eventually sank

due to the misuse of
power by its inhabitants.

- Cayce believed that many of
those who perished in Atlantis

would be reborn again
in modern bodies

to fulfill their karmic purpose.

- Cayce, in the course
of his sleep excursions

believes that he has found
information about Atlantis,

and says that in The
Bahamas, a temple will rise.

Now what's really interesting
is that in The Bahamas

we find this underwater
collection of stones

that seem to look like a road,

and it's called the Bimini Road.

People don't relate to it
necessarily as the Bimini Road,

though they think it
is a road to Atlantis.

- [Narrator] Though many
of Cayce's prophecies

offer potential leads
to lost knowledge,

others harken troubling
times on the horizon.

- By 1929, Cayce is thriving.

He has his private practice.

He has his institute.

He's very well known,

and then he predicts
that a financial disaster

is going to befall
the United States.

Six months later, we see
the Great Wall Street Crash

that ushers in the
Great Depression.

- After the Great Depression,

Cayce faces significant
financial trouble,

as many of his wealthy patrons
lose all of their money.

Cayce is forced to
close his hospital,

and money for his research
institute dries up.

He shifts his focus

to the Association of
Research and Enlightenment

where he hopes to preserve
his readings for the future.

- [Narrator] With the help
of a personal secretary

and stenographer,

Cayce continues to
amass a growing catalog

of hundreds upon
hundreds of readings

preserved and disseminated

by the followers
of his association.

And among them is a dark
vision of a coming conflict

that will define
the 20th century.

- Cayce has a vision of a
great war on the horizon.

Four years later, in 1939,

Germany invades Poland,

triggering the Second World War.

- Many of Cayce's defenders
will point to these predictions

as proof of Cayce's powers.

- During the Second World War,

Cayce saw a major uptake in
interest in his readings.

During times of uncertainty,
people will reach out

to try to find some
purpose through the divine.

People who can
prophesize the future

can offer some
comfort and stability

in an otherwise chaotic world.

- [Narrator] His dedication
ultimately takes a toll,

leading to a decline
in his wellbeing

toward the end of the war.

On January 3rd, 1945,
at the age of 67,

the Sleeping Psychic Edgar Cayce

dies at a home in
Virginia Beach.

But the legacy of
Cayce would live on,

and his work and predictions

would continue to
fascinate and horrify

the public for decades.

When President John F. Kennedy
is assassinated in 1963,

many in the United States

turn to records of
Cayce's readings,

pointing out that
he had predicted

two presidents
would die in office,

the first being
Franklin D. Roosevelt,

and the second JFK.

Watching these whispers
come to fruition,

many of Cayce's predictions

are increasingly
believed across America,

and the one prediction

that has his followers
the most terrified

revolves around significant
changes to planet Earth

that could result in
the end of the world

that we recognize today.

- In his vision,

it's going to be caused
by a magnetic pole shift,

which is going to trigger

a series of volcanic
eruptions around the world

that will then create
these tidal waves

that will decimate
coastal cities,

including New York,
Tokyo, and London.

- [Narrator] But how likely
is Cayce's doomsday prediction

to come true?

- Magnetic pole reversals
are not uncommon,

at least according
to geological time.

- [Narrator] Scientists predict

that the Earth's last reversal

happened approximately
780,000 years ago,

and that reversals have
occurred hundreds of times

in the history of the planet.

- Edgar Cayce predicted
this would happen in 1998,

and of course, as we
know, this did not happen.

- What we have in this case
is Cayce making a prediction

that's very specific
and very wrong,

and one would think that
might make people think,

"Oh, I don't wanna
trust this guy anymore."

- If you're spreading something

that speaks to the
end of the world,

that's pretty enticing,

and people feel
this kind of need

to know about something
so magnificent.

- [Narrator] Edgar Cayce
is part of a long tradition

of prophetic revelation that
dates back to ancient times.

And one of the most
famous in this tradition

can be found in the rocks,
mountains, and temples

of an ancient Greek city.

(dramatic music)

The sun hovers above
Mount Parnassus

as King Croesus of Lydia
ascends the rugged path

to the temple of Apollo.

He clutches his offerings
close to his chest.

The scent of burning
incense grows stronger

as he approaches the
grand marble columns.

His heart pounds.

Shadows dancing
on ancient walls.

Seated upon a tripod,
the Pythia sways gently,

her eyes closed in deep trance.

Summoning his courage,
he kneels before her,

seeking guidance.

- The Oracle of Delphi
is hugely important

in the Greco-Roman world,

because it is the home
of the god Apollo,

and Apollo is the god of the sun

and the god of prophecy.

So if you are going
to get an indication

of what's gonna
happen in your future,

you want to be speaking
directly to Apollo.

- [Narrator] But the
petitioners at Delphi

were not speaking
directly to Apollo,

but through his agent
on Earth, the Pythia.

- The Pythia is a priestess
of the Oracle at Delphi,

and she leads the life
of a nun in some ways.

She is chaste.

She's a woman of virtue, a
woman with wisdom as well.

And these are women
who have high status,

who are respected,

whose insights are venerated.

(lively music)

- The people who would consult

with the Pythias at the Oracle

covered the entire
breadth of society.

You would have farmers
looking for guidance

on their planting and
harvesting schedules.

You would find young people

seeking counsel for
personal relationships,

and you would also find
kings and heads of state

seeking guidance for some
of those important choices.

- [Narrator] Greeks believed
the Oracle of Delphi

existed since the dawn of time,

and accurately predicted
various historical events,

including the Argonauts'
expedition and the Trojan War.

(lively music)

But what are the true
origins of this holy site?

- The origin of the Pythia

actually comes from a myth of
Apollo slaying a giant snake

that was at the site that
would become the temple.

- [Narrator] But
who are the Pythia?

How are they chosen, and why?

- They were historically women

who were from the Delphi area.

They came from good families,

which is not to say

they were necessarily
from elite families.

- We know that the Pythia
were very important,

because in the histories
written by Herodotus,

one of the most important
historians of the ancient world,

they're mentioned over 40 times.

The Pythia that emerges
in the histories

is a confident woman,

someone who is
capable of engaging

with the most powerful
men of her time.

- The first thing
that the Pythia does

before seeing anyone else

is engage in an act of
ritual purification.

That would be
bathing in a spring.

She dons a wreath of laurel.

A laurel, of course,
is sacred to Apollo.

- [Narrator] The priests
then recruit a small animal,

such as a goat,

to appease the god.

- They would interpret
either the animal's behavior

or the entrails in order
to have an understanding

of what would be taking
place throughout the day.

- [Narrator] If
the goat's behavior

indicates Apollo's cooperation,

the animal is then sacrificed
at the temple altar.

- A Pythia is a really
great example of channeling.

People who are highly
active in their spirituality

often are the ones who
are used as channels.

For me, as an indigenous person,

we believe that you'll
come as a spirit vessel.

The human body is just
a vessel for spirit.

- [Narrator] The Pythia serves
at the Temple of Apollo,

part of a large temple complex.

- You enter the temple,

you encounter the
Pythia herself,

who sits on a bronze tripod
flanked by two statues.

They would burn laurel leaves.

The air is filled with
a particular fragrance.

And when you ask your question

and the Pythia
channels divine energy

in order to provide
you with an answer.

The experience is really
a communion with the gods.

- [Narrator] The
revered Pythia, however,

is at most only available for
these formal consultations

on one day each month for
nine months of the year.

A strict hierarchy
determines the order

in which people are seen.

(dramatic music)

- It was first the citizens of
Delphi who had a right to go.

They would be at the
front of the line.

Then the citizens from
other Greek states.

And at the very back
would be foreigners.

- [Narrator] According
to some historians,

there was one group of people

excluded from seeing the Pythia,

other women.

- It's a highly
segregated society.

Women are not allowed
to enter the temple

unless they are serving
in the role of the Pythia.

When they are in
their role as oracles,

the Pythia are not people,

they have been elevated
to this other position.

Their femininity is what
endows them with the capacity

to have this specialized
communion with divine spirits.

- [Narrator] And the word
of the Pythia is so revered

it can change world history.

- The Pythia consulted with
some of the most important

political figures of the time,

including Lycurgus,
the king of Sparta,

and Solon, the famous
lawgiver of Athens.

- [Narrator] Kings
of great realms,

such as Croesus of Lydia
and Alexander the Great,

visit the oracle,

often seeking advice on
expanding their empires.

(lively music)

- With the Pythia,

there's often a sting in
the tale of the prophecy,

and a good example of this
is King Croesus of Lydia,

who consults the
Pythia, who says that,

"If you cross with your
army the River Hellas,

a great empire
will be destroyed."

Croesus immediately
jumps to conclusion

that the great empire that
will be destroyed is Persia,

and so he gets armed
up and off into battle.

Unfortunately, the great empire
to be destroyed is his own.

- King Leonidas of Sparta,

in preparation for
battle with the Persians

asks the Pythia about this
battle, about the outcome

and receives the message

that either Sparta or the
king of Sparta must fall.

He takes this as
accurate information

about what it is
that he has to face,

and then famously
leads his troops

into this legendary last stand.

Later in the Persian Wars,

when the Athenians
go to the Oracle

to ask about their upcoming
encounter with the Persians,

the advice that they receive

is that only wooden
walls will protect you,

which the Athenians
interpret to mean

that they should
stick to their boats.

They have a very powerful navy.

They allow the Persians
to move in on land

in order to overtake
the Persian navy,

which they successfully do.

- [Narrator] Over its
1,000-year history,

the Oracle is a powerful
force in the Greek world.

But for some rulers,

the Pythia's cryptic
words will not do.

- The status of the
Pythia as truth-tellers

was so revered in
the Greek world

that when news spread that
the king of Sparta, Cleomenes,

was attempting to bribe them,

it became a massive scandal.

Here was someone trying to defy
the words of the god Apollo,

one of the most powerful
in the pantheon.

When we reflect on the
story of Cleomenes,

his name was infamous
after this time.

- [Narrator] While
the word of the Pythia

is sacred to the Greeks,

there are some who cast doubts

on their ability to
predict the future.

- The Pythia gains her insights

through what is considered
divine inspiration,

channeling the will
of the god Apollo.

Whether her predictions are
right, wrong, or ambiguous

often depends on
the interpretations

of those who receive them.

But their impact on decision
making in the ancient world

is undeniably profound.

- [Narrator] While
the ancients believed

the Pythia had a direct
line to the god Apollo,

modern scholars have
attempted to find

a rational explanation for
her powers of prediction.

- Can we attribute it to
truly divine inspiration,

or is there a scientific reason?

- Maybe it is from ethylene
gas entering the space,

and that the kind
of ethereal nature

of the prophecies themselves

is the result of speaking from
a kind of drug-induced haze.

- We do know that
with enough ethylene

that can create hallucinations

and various other sort of
extreme psychological states,

but we also know at that level
it tends to also cause death.

And we know that at this
site, while there were traces,

it probably was not enough

to induce any kind of
psychological impact on her.

- [Narrator] The
ethylene gas explanation

is one of many that modern
scholars have come up with

to explain the Pythia's powers.

- It may have been achieved
through some kind of narcotic,

chewing on a bay leaf
or some other herb

that induced a kind of
hallucinogenic state,

and this was
definitely something

that was done in
various religions

at that time by
shaman and priests.

- If you are here to
see something spiritual,

you expect something
non-normal, non-typical,

and a person who's
taking a hallucinogenic,

and maybe behaving in
very strange erratic ways,

that almost suggests

they they've stepped between
here and somewhere else.

- [Narrator] And there
is another theory,

that the Pythia suffered from
a psychological condition.

- In a case like Pythia, where
she could have schizophrenia,

and she could even be
using other psychedelics,

or other things that actually
create these visions,

for her those visions
will feel quite real.

That means she will describe
them and talk about them

as though they are real.

And that's what's
needed for the recipient

to really believe that message,
and to take it to heart.

Schizophrenia
itself, by the way,

tends to produce auditory
hallucinations, mostly,

voices, hearing
things like that.

The psychedelics could add

visual hallucinations
to that mix,

but again, the schizophrenic
mind can combine these two

and see it as all as
part of a bigger picture,

and feel really confident

that they've got
at something true.

- Who knows, if
we went back then

with the knowledge we have now,

or what we think we know
about mental health,

I wonder what we would say
about these same people.

Would we say that they just
had mental health issues,

or would we instead look
at them with reverence,

and see something else?

- [Narrator] We may never know

how the Pythia gained
their powers of prophecy,

but we do know their
impact on human history.

While these ancient priestesses

channeled forces
beyond understanding,

centuries later
another European mystic

would seek to master them,

creating a new unified
occultic system.

France 1850s.

Eliphas Levi sits
before a single candle,

the smoke of incense
curling around him.

A man who was once
bound to the church

is now drawn to the arcane.

Levi seeks answers not
found in Scripture,

but in symbols.

His trembling hands
shuffle a worn Tarot deck,

a sacred tool of revelation.

He draws the Magician,
self-mastery,

the will to shape the invisible
forces of the universe.

Next, the High Priestess,
veiled knowledge,

beckoning him deeper
into the mysteries

that lie beyond reason.

The Tower follows,
sudden and violent,

a symbol of upheaval,
of dogmas collapsing.

And finally, the World,
completion, unity,

the alchemical marriage
of spirit and matter.

The cards speak to
Levi's path and future

to reconcile ancient
wisdom with modern thought,

and to bring light where once
there was only blind belief.

- From Kabbalah to
Tarot card readings,

to the infamous occultist
Aleister Crowley,

to the contemporary
Satanic Temple,

many owe a great debt to
the legacy of Eliphas Levi.

- His complex
esoteric frameworks

are credited as
providing the bedrock

to many occult
organizations to this day.

- [Narrator]
Unfortunately for Levi,

he will be best known
for the creation

of one of the most misunderstood
occult symbols in history,

and be branded as
a servant of Satan.

- While Levi is often
said to have been involved

in rather unsavory
acts and demonolatry,

and what is sometimes
termed as black magic,

his legacy is actually
far more complicated

and far more nuanced.

- [Narrator] The
story of Eliphas Levi

begins in
post-revolutionary France,

a time of great
upheaval and change.

(lively music)

- Born Alphonse Louis
Constant in 1809 or 1810

to a humble family in Paris,

he initially joined
a Catholic seminary,

intending to become a priest,

but he soon became disillusioned

with the Orthodox
teachings of the church.

- He was convinced that
there were these deep-seated,

unifying truths out there,

that he believed that
the Catholic Church

was aware of this knowledge,

but was deliberately
keeping it hidden from them

and was suppressing it.

- [Narrator] Levi would
find his inspiration

in the occult's
traditions of the West.

- He is combining so
many different mainstays

of Western esotericism,

Christian mysticism,
Kabbalah, Renaissance magic,

and many other things,

in order to come up with his
particular practice path.

- [Narrator] To fully
understand Levi,

we must understand
the core traditions

that influenced
his life and work.

The first of these
traditions is the Kabbalah.

- Kabbalah is a Jewish
mystic tradition,

which centers on Scripture and
the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

Kabbalah views
creation as layered,

and each level of that layer

offers insight into the mystery
of God, and God's creation.

- [Narrator] The Kabbalah
serves as the key framework

from which Levi
will anchor thought.

But a very important
aspect of Levi's concepts

manifest from the mysterious
cards we know as the Tarot.

- Tarot cards are used for
divination to this day.

They're enormously popular.

They draw upon this
old arcane knowledge,

which we associate with
alchemy and astrology

in terms of the
symbols that they use.

They're most famous for
some of these images,

like the Fool, and the
Hermit, and the Empress.

These are tools of divination.

- [Narrator] Other keystones
in Levi's esoteric study

are alchemy and Hermeticism.

- Alchemy is a tradition
which is really centering

on the basic idea
of transformation.

Whether we're dealing

with the transformation
of base metals,

such as lead into gold,

or whether we're dealing
with the transformation

of one's spirit.

- By bringing together the best

of these esoteric traditions,

he was doing something that
had never been done before.

- [Narrator] Through his work,

Levi is looking to become

the most important and powerful
occultist in the world.

Soon he begins to
gain attention,

sometimes of the wrong people.

- In the early 1840s,

his writings had drawn the
ire of French authorities.

He composed radical,
religious-tinged pamphlets

that challenged
the social order.

Considered blasphemous
and seditious,

he was dragged
before a tribunal.

His writings were
considered a thought crime

against the state.

- Ultimately, he was convicted
and briefly imprisoned.

- [Narrator] In 1841,

he's thrown in jail for
his incendiary writings

and radical left
political activism.

At trial, he makes the
following statement:

"As a child of the people, I
have suffered with the people

and have dared to speak
in the name of the people.

My only crime has been a
deep loving of mankind."

- Eliphas Levi, his real name
is Alfonse Louis Constance,

and when he first starts
propagating his ideas,

these were considered so
dangerous and so radical

that he kept finding
himself in prison.

He realized at a certain point

that he had to
take on a pen name

if he really wanted to
circulate his ideas,

and this was when he took
the name Eliphas Levi.

- He is really shaken
by his imprisonment.

He's sidelined by mainstream
spiritual society,

while at the same
time the socialists

also view him with disdain.

At the time they were very
wedded to rational materialism.

His embrace of spiritualism

was completely at odds
with their belief system.

- [Narrator] While
many at his time

saw him as a threat
to Christianity,

Levi thought differently.

He saw the occult not as a
force against Christianity,

but as a deeper symbolic
interpretation of divine truths.

Divine truths he would
publish in his words

in the coming decades.

- His breakthrough doctrine
is really what establishes him

as an authority on the topic

of Western esotericism
and occultism.

- [Narrator] And one of
Levi's great contributions

to esoteric thought is
the correlation he found

between the Kabalistic
Tree of Life and the Tarot.

- He associates the 22
cards of the Major Arcana

with the 22 letters of
the Hebrew alphabet,

and he also incorporates
the Tree of Life

into his understanding
of the story

that the cards of the Major
Arcana are trying to tell,

and it just enriches
the possibilities

of the Tarot deck.

- [Narrator] Within his works,

Levi speculates about
humanity's spiritual destiny.

He believes that societies
will eventually evolve

toward greater harmony
and understanding

as it reintegrates
esoteric wisdom

into existing religious
and moral frameworks.

- Levi believed that
each of these traditions

had something to add
to our understanding,

and that could lead to a new
age of universal enlightenment.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] To reach this
new spiritual understanding,

Levi believes humanity
must transmute their souls

into a higher state of being.

Levi believes that
alchemy is central

to this grand spiritual journey.

But instead of turning
lead into gold,

alchemy, according to Levi,

is about the transformation
of one's soul.

- While traditionally
alchemy was seen

as the art of transforming
base metals into gold,

for him it was a form of
spiritual transformation,

turning selfishness into
altruism, and fear into hope.

- [Narrator] While Levi's
use of alchemical symbols

can be found in
much of his work,

it is one symbol he
is best known for.

The controversial Baphomet.

- The demon Baphomet is first
mentioned in the Middle Ages,

particularly with
regards to the trials

of the Knights Templar,

where they are accused
of worshiping this demon

called Baphomet.

In fact, many Templars
confess that it's true

that they worship this demon,

but it's Eliphas Levi
in the 19th century

who crystallizes Baphomet
into what we understand

Baphomet to be today,

this half-man, half-goat
sitting cross-legged.

Eliphas Levi really gives
us the image of performance

that was then taken up by
Satanists in the 20th century.

In Christian thought,

Baphomet is often seen as
a manifestation of Satan,

but in more esoteric thought,

Baphomet is seen
as an embodiment of
wisdom, of knowledge,

of Hermetic thought,
not something evil,

but actually a key
to understanding.

- [Narrator] However,
many in history

have misunderstood
Levi's Baphomet,

and believe it to
be a symbol of evil,

a symbol of the devil itself.

- Sensationalist authors and
anti-Masonic propagandists

took the Baphomet
completely out of context.

When you see the Baphomet,

the very first thing that comes
to your mind is the devil.

It has become from modern people

the very image of the
devil in all of its forms.

- [Narrator] And one
of the first instances

of the Baphomet being
used as a symbol of evil

occurred during the
infamous Taxil Hoax.

- The French critic Leo Taxil,

who is critical of
the Catholic Church,

used the Baphomet to suggest
that it was an image of Satan,

and in particular
to associate it

with the ceremonies
of the Freemasons.

Now, this was
intended to be a hoax

that he would use to discredit

the Catholic Church
and the Freemasons,

but in many ways, that hoax
took on a life of its own.

- When the initial creation
of this image is taking place,

it's a really different
interpretation that
he has in mind.

There's nothing
devilish that's ascribed

to what he's creating.

It's really about this
harmony and this duality

that he sees present.

It's this really
complicated expression

of his own spiritual worldview.

- [Narrator] Much like
his most famous creation,

the Baphomet,

Levi has left a controversial

and often misunderstood legacy.

- He was enormously influential
in shaping esoteric ideas

and ceremonial magic practices

that we start to see
become very popular

from this time forward,

influencing such writers as
Crowley, Yeats, and others.

- While many associate
Levi with Crowley,

and indeed Crowley
perpetuated that association,

Levi was actually
a devout Christian,

whereas Crowley claimed that
he was the devil incarnate.

Quite ironic, really.

- [Narrator] Eliphas Levi
has left us a complex legacy.

While many believe he was
in league with the devil,

his writings and works show
a much different character.

He was a person seeking
higher spiritual truths,

and attempted to create tools

for people to reach these
higher planes of understanding.

And through the Tarot, his
legacy has taken its true bloom.

- When we consider the influence
of Levi, it's intriguing.

Tarot cards are part
of popular culture.

There's enormous interest in
the sort of natural magic.

- He also changed the way in
which people saw spirituality.

Today's occultists to see
the various mainstream

and esoteric
spiritual traditions

as facets of a single
universal wisdom.

(lively music)

- [Narrator] From mapping the
roots of spiritual exploration

to channeling words of gods,

and uttering the ultimate
doom of humankind,

the revelations of
history's most prophets

have left us grappling
with more questions

than they could ever
promise to answer.

(gentle dramatic music)