Initiations

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 distils and encodes a lifetimes 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 Sédirs work. He has translated a number of French esoteric texts as well as being a renowned author in his own right.