Eliphas Levi was a French occult writer during the time of Napoleon. His work, Transcendental Magic, which detailed the Four Powers of the Magus had an influence on the Thelemic principles of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This Order was founded in England as a secret society dedicated to studying the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal occurrences during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, was reputed to have been one of its members. This order is still active today in various groups and is thought to have influenced modern Wiccan practices in a number of ways.

Levi was the first known person to have specifically written about the concepts of To Know, To Dare, To Will, and To Keep Silent that are often considered the foundations of the practice of modern spellcraft for a number of different traditions and people. In fact, if you Google Four Powers of the Magus, you get more than 600,000 hits which shows just how popular a topic this is. Put together, they can explain not only how magick works but the qualities needed within a practitioner to make spellwork effective. While all sections of the phrase work in conjunction with each other, it is a good idea to think about the meaning and associations for each piece before considering if it fits your personal spiritual path.