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Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa

Scholarly Authority

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535) was the preeminent synthesizer of Renaissance occult philosophy. His three-volume De Occulta Philosophia Libri Tres is the definitive encyclopedia of magic, alchemy, and Hermeticism.

The Three Worlds: Agrippa organized his work into three levels: Elementary (Natural Magic), Celestial (Mathematical/Astral Magic), and Intellectual (Ceremonial/Angelic Magic). He sought to prove that magic was a pious and noble pursuit that led the soul to God.