Occult Paris

“No one can evoke the feel of a place and an era like Tobias Churton! This is Paris in the Belle Epoque, but behind the city of the can-can, Toulouse-Lautrec, and the Moulin Rouge, Churton shows us a Paris of seekers in mysterious worlds–magic, Hermeticism, Kabbalah, alchemy–and of artists, writers, and composers who were also drawn to those realms. The spirit of their compelling quest is stamped on every page of this book.” Christopher McIntosh, Ph.D., author of Eliphas Levi and the French Occult Revival “…a massive, focused exploration of the relatioship between the mystical and the creative…This entertaining volume will please fans of esoterica and the City of Light.” Publishers Weekly “With Tobias Churton as the cicerone–or dare I say psychopomp?–the reader is expertly guided in the labyrinthine world of the Occult Paris of the Belle Epoque (1871-1914). This is the best introduction to the French occult revival ever written in English.” Henrik Bogdan, professor of religious studies at the University of Gothenburg “Music, art, literature, mysticism–fin-de-siecle Paris had it all in great abundance, and in Tobias Churton’s latest tome he uncovers the hidden and not-so-hidden connections between Satie, Debussy, Redon, Rops, Khnopff, Gauguin, Crowley, Levi, Papus, Mathers, Peladan, Michelet, Blavatsky, Reuss, Huysmans, Breton, and countless others… Eminently readable and filled with meticulous historical details, this is a fabulous depiction of one of the most exciting and fervent periods of creativity in modern times.” John Zorn, composer-performer “A tour de force. A stunning account of fin-de-siecle Occult Paris and its lasting influence on the counterculture… Churton gives comprehensive portrayals of such occult luminaries as Peladan, Papus, and de Guaita as well as a portrayal of their movements and a seminal analysis of esoteric art–in particular the ‘Rosicrucian’ art of the salons–locating its place in the intellectual, cultural, and political milieu of the Belle Epoque. Tobias is as erudite as he is excited and exciting. His scholarship is alive with passion, imagination, humor, and, most of all, humanity. A must-read for students of European history, Art Nouveau, Symbolism, Idealism, Surrealism, and the Decadents as well as for neo-Rosicrucian, Templar and Gnostic esotericists, and modern-day alchemists and magicians.” Stephen J. King (Shiva X ), Grand Master, Ordo Templi Orientis

Tobias Churton is a filmmaker and the founding editor of the magazine Freemasonry Today. He studied theology at Oxford University and created the award-winning documentary series and accompanying book The Gnostics, as well as several other films on Christian doctrine, mysticism, and magical folklore. He lives in England.

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