W.B. Yeats Twentieth Century Magus: An In-Depth Study of Yeat's Esoteric Practices and Beliefs, Including Excerpts from His Magical Diaries

by Susan Johnston Graf

Paperback, 2000

Status

Available

Call number

821.8

Genres

Biography & Memoir

Biography

Fiction

Collection

Gifts

Publication

Red Wheel / Weiser (2000), 240 pages

Description

W.B. Yeats Twentieth Century Magus is a comprehensive study of his magical practices and beliefs. Yeats moved through many different phases of spiritual development, believing that his life was an intellectual, spiritual, and artistic questa quest greatly influenced by Celtic lore, Theosophy, Golden Dawn ceremonial magic, Swedenborg's metaphysics, the works of Jacob Boehme, and NeoPlatonism. For Yeats, writing poetry was an act of divine possession, and he believed that a perfected soul was the source of his inspiration, visiting him during times of superconscious awareness. Susan Johnston Graf meticulously documents and provides evidence that Yeat's poetry is brilliant, lyric narrative of realtiy captured through the mind of a practicing magician working in the Western Tradition.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member JudyCroome

A knowledgeable exploration of an often ignored, but fundamental, part of Irish poet WB Yeats's work: his spiritual beliefs, his participation in occult practices and how these influenced his poetry.

Graf begins by examining Yeats' connection to the Golden Dawn society, then proceeds to how his

work has been perceived in literary circles and then seamlessly marries Yeats' poetry to his spiritualism and mystical practices. For a reader with knowledge of the esoteric practices that Yeats took part in, there may appear to be some repetition of the explanations of the traditions and symbols of Yeats' occult society. But, for those readers who have no exposure to these practices, this may help them grasp the complexity of thought and spiritual beliefs that drove Yeats to create the visionary poetry that he did.

Graf's calm acceptance of Yeats' occult beliefs, coupled with an intelligent and well-informed breakdown of how these motivate his poetry, is what makes this text a vital contribution to understanding Yeats as both poet and man.

The detailed exploration of Per Amica Silentia Luna (1916), as well as Yeats other works, makes for an absorbing read. Graf does not gloss over areas of intellectual doubt; rather she challenges them and seeks answers to Yeats' more obscure texts in his spirituality. The result is an inspiring and fascinating look into the soul of a great literary figure and a deeper understanding of his poetry.

(This review is for the KINDLE Edition of this book)

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LibraryThing member ritaer

This book does contain a great deal of information not generally available. It also does a service to Yeats in making clear the depth, extent and long lasting nature of his involvement with the occult. As the author explains, these aspects of Yeats' work have been ignored or treated as an

embarrassment by literary critics. However, I found the book to be poorly organized. The author seemed to jump back and forth in time, so it was difficult to keep track of the relationship between the literary career and the magic. I think the reader would also benefit from knowing more of the connections to the politics of the time. Building a national literature and a national spirit for Ireland was not merely an exercise in art--there was a physical struggle for Irish independence going on, of which Yeats, Maud Gonne and others were a vital part.

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