La Magie chez Les Chaldeens, of which this present volume is an enlarged English edition, was issued in the autumn of 1874. It was preceded by Les Premieres Civilisations and closely followed in 1875 by La Divination et la Science des Présages. All these works possess the same characteristic feature: the exposition of Assyrian thought, as evidenced by the language of the cuneiform inscriptions themselves.
Lenormant had revised his book to such an extend, he regarded Chaldean Magic not as a translation, but as a publication on its own. The essentials of magic in Chaldea are presented within the context of comparison or contrast to Egyptian, Median, Turanian, Finno-Tartarian and Akkadian magic, mythologies, religion and speech. Interesting is the Chaldean demonology, with its incubus, succubus, vampire,
nightmare and many Elemental spirits, most of them coalesced with the primal powers of nature.
nightmare and many Elemental spirits, most of them coalesced with the primal powers of nature.
Chaldean Magic dwells on the threshold of predating sjamanistic lore and the later systemization of the occult. This makes the work of Lenormant an invaluable and fascinating source for both the academic and the modern occultist.