MAX THÉON (1848–1927), born Louis-Maximilian Bimstein in Poland, was a Jewish occultist and a key early figure in the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor. In 1885, he married Mary Chrystine Woodroffe Ware (Alma Théon), whose channeled insights into cosmic and human destiny became central to their work. The couple settled near Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1887, where they founded the Cosmic Movement. Guided by Alma’s revelations, the movement’s Paris-based disciples published the influential journal the Revue Cosmique, with most writings signed by Max Théon, or Aia Aziz (his pseudonym), in keeping with Alma’s wish for anonymity.
 
THE OCCULTIST was serialized in 1899 in the Journal du Magnétisme and has never been reprinted, either in the original French or any other language, until now. The current edition, fabulously translated by Daniel Kennedy, is subsidized by another piece from the Journal du Magnétisme, titled “A VISION,” as well as a scholarly introduction by Andraž Marchetti.