Father of Tarology: Eliphas Levi

Case : 252. 

The concept of the cards as a mystical key was extended by Eliphas Lévi (1810-1875), with his famous  Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie 2 volumes, (Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual) in 1854, become latterly First bible of Tarology. The magic propagated by Lévi became a great success, especially after his death. He incorporated the Tarot cards into his magical system, and as a result the Tarot has been an important part of the paraphernalia of Western magicians. Lévi went back to the Tarot de Marseille, calling it The Book of Hermes, and that it was in fact a universal key of erudition, philosophy, and magic that could unlock Hermetic and Cabbalistic concepts. Tarot, under Levi, was the means to decipher the true essence of the single true, universal religion, which is Catholicism. Lévi made a major contribution to the history of occult lore. Occultists, magicians, and magus's all the way down to the 20th century have cited Lévi as a defining influence.