A century after its debut, Waite's work remains among the best sources of information on occult subjects related to the study of the supernatural. Although the author does not condone the practice of black magic, he defends occult practitioners and praises the disciplines of astrology and alchemy. Modern readers will find this book an extraordinarily complete tour of the history of magic, replete with details of casting spells, conjuring spirits, and other occult practices.

Noted occult historian A. E. Waite created this meticulously researched survey in order to unite and interpret the scattered and often-inaccessible details of magical traditions. Part I contains essential passages from prominent magical texts dating from the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries; Part II analyzes these texts from a modern perspective.

Preface
Introduction
Part 1: The Literature of Ceremonial Magic
I. The Antiquity of Magical Rituals
II. The Rituals of Transcendental Magic
III. Composite Rituals
IV. The Rituals of Black Magic

Part 2: The Complete Grimoire
I. The Preparation of the Operator
II. The Initial Rites and Ceremonies
III. Concerning the Descending Hierarchy
IV. The Mysteries of Goëtic Theurgy According to the Lesser Key of Solomon the King
V. Concerning the Mystery of the Sanctum Regnum, or the Government of Evil Spirits; Being the Rite of Conjuration According to the Grimorium Verum
VI. The Mysteries of Infernal Evocation According to the Grand Grimoire
VII. The Method of Honorius
VIII. Miscellaneous and Minor Processes
IX. Concerning Infernal Necromancy
Conclusion

Shortly after joining the Second Order of the Golden Dawn in 1899, he became a Freemason and received the Rectified Scottish Rite and its grade of Chevalier Bienfaisant. Waite believed that the Rectified Scottish Rite, more than any other Masonic Rite, represented the "Secret Tradition" of mystical spiritual illumination.