13. Éliphas Lévi
Born in Paris as Alphonse Louis Constant on the eighth of February in 1810, this he-witch later took the alias and is much better known as Éliphas Lévi. the last one in our list of most famous witches in history. Like most other witches, Éliphas was considered so due to his knowledge and practices in esoteric traditions. As the only son of a shoemaker who was living in poverty and unable to fund private education for his bright son, Constant’s father was determined to give him the education he deserved and therefore, sent him to multiple institutes to become knowledgeable and qualified to pursue a career as a priest. Instead, young Alphonse was intrigued by a lesson where his instructor shared his beliefs on animal magnetism (basically, sexual attraction) being an essential human energy that is controlled by the Devil; and his curiosity led him to surreptitiously study anything and everything pertaining to magic and the occult. In his 20’s, Lévi met a couple who actively practiced witchcraft; which only amplified his passion for magic and the occult. Still seeking a career in the church, Lévi began to write books on his findings and was soon banished from the church for his radical views.
He later moved to London in hopes of teaching occult studies, but his lessons were disappointing due to his poor English and his pupil’s instead, expected him to pull off miracles and perform demonstrations of ceremonial magic; and eventually, he unwillingly agreed to conjure the spirits of an ancient magician known as Apollonius of Tyana. Not only was this his first attempt at ever doing something quite like this, but upon the success of the act, he quickly achieved a rather high and respected status. He spent the rest of his life writing books and giving lessons in the occult until he died on May 31st, 1875. Even today, his books have left a tremendous impact on contemporary magic and witchcraft, and one of his drawings, in particular, has been adopted by the occult and witchcraft cultures as one of the most familiar representations of the Baphomet known today.
