The Magical Revival

The Magical Revival is a nonfiction book written by British occultist Kenneth Grant, first published in 1972. It is the first of his "Typhonian Trilogy", which comprises this work and two others—Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God (1973) and Cults of the Shadow (1975). In this work, he introduced his theory that American horror author H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos was psychic revelation presented as fiction,^[1] an idea which he would ela­borate and extend further in his later works.

The Magical Revival

First edition cover
Author	Kenneth Grant
Language	English
Subject	Occult
Publisher	Frederick Muller Ltd
Publication date	1972
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	244 pp (first edition)
ISBN	9780584101751 (first edition)
OCLC	410033
Dewey Decimal	133.4
LC Class	BF1611 .G67 1972
Followed by	Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God

Grant wrote in this book that there was an unconscious conn­ection between Lovecraft and occultist Aleister Crowley, arguing that both of them channeled their work from the same occult forces altho­ugh Lovecraft was not consciously aware of the alleged otherworldly sources of his literary inspirations.^[1][2] This idea—that what is ostensibly presented as fiction is often a vehi­cle masking deeper realities—has precedence in the inclusion by Crowl­ey of numerous works of fiction in the official reading syllabus of his magical order, the A∴A∴.^[3]

Reception

According to Professor Joshua Gunn of the University of Texas, The Magical Revival has been criticised by many occultists and historians alike for its "creative history making".^[4] On the other hand, British author Colin Wilson gave a far more favourable review in his biography of Crowley, praising that The Magical Re­vival is "probably the best history of modern magic in existen­ce".^[5]

Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology called it "a very informative survey of occult theory and practice in modern tim­es".^[6] Routledge Library Editions: Occultism listed it as one of the source books in its chapter on sexual magic, commenting: "A survey of the subject from a distinctly Crowleyan viewpoint, this includes very intere­sting and significant material on Crowley, Austin Spare, Dion Fortune and witchcraft."^[7]

Translations

In 1983, the Japanese edition of The Magical Revival, translated by Professor Yasuo Uematsu [ja] of Tohoku Gakuin University, was published under the title Majutsu no fukkatsu (魔術の復活^?; lit. 'Revival of Magic').^[8][a]