Edward C. Peach, more popularly known by his nom de plume 'Ophiel,' wrote eight books (seven of which comprised his "Art & Practice of" series) about various occult topics in 1960-70's, topics ranging from astral projection, creative visualization, general occult knowledge about the elements, the caballa (his spelling), to his own system of divination, "The Oracle of Fortuna" (Fortuna was an ancient Italian goddess of good luck.)
When reviewing or critiquing his work, keep in mind when he wrote these books, and what was (and wasn't) available in genuine occult knowledge back in the sixties and seventies. His main sources of material were from Theosophical literature (the Theosophical Society established by Helena Blavatsky) and Israel Regardie's books about the Golden Dawn, as well as all the literature written by Dion Fortune. He referred to Max Freedom Long's books from the 1930s about the inner workings of Hawaiian Kahuna magic. Ophiel was also a long time student of the Vitvan (who founded the School of Natural Order), a form of Theosophy that is still active today.
Not a great deal of practical information was readily available on the occult then. (However, word is a biography is currently in the works, by an author who has already penned a book about a very famous Occult personality.) Ophiel intended to provide his students with information about the occult, and how to use it. His Capri-corny-ness reflected in his approach to the topics. Ophiel's friend and publisher, Carl Weschcke, president of Llewellyn Books, said of him, "His first question always was: 'Can it give me money, power and sex?' That was enough to disturb most people, but he maintained that without practical results he was not interested."
In this writer's opinion Ophiel's work is flawed and fails to present a complete and organized system of occultism. It was written with a sense of the impromtu, each book with a 'to be continued and updated' feeling. He was definitely onto something, and if approached in that spirit, Ophiel's books will may shed some insights.
His books are fun to read: his writing style was very informal and much of his jabber puts the reader right in his head, tapping into his thoughts, watching the process of his ideas evolving. In "The Art & Practice of Contacting the Demiurge," his last book, he reveals how his books came about, one book led to the next, to the next. That sense of searching and wandering is evident in his writing.
Disclaimer: This site is intended not to praise, nor bury, Ophiel, but to examine his ideas, possibly understand how it all fits together. He was an odd, colorful, eccentric man.
The merit of Ophiel's work is not that he devised a fool-proof system of enlightenment, but rather the opportunity to see how he saw underneath the outer shell of reality and was searching for concealed meanings, and explanations of why and how it all worked. It is clear from reading the complete catalog of Ophiel books that each book was written as almost a report of his findings in that particular subject.
I will try as best I can, to put my own judgments aside and attempt to present the material. This will take time, and when I finally have most of the material posted (not yet), I will need then to go through everything I've written and withdraw my personal coloring of the 'stuff.' Right or wrong about his material, I find Ophiel an interesting man with much to say. I hope that comes through in this website dedicated to him.
Back to TopHe endorsed the use of tattwa symbols (the elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Water, and Akasha [Spirit]) and the Caballa (Tree of Life.) The tattwa symbols were symbols in Hindu spiritual philosophy that correspond perfectly with the Western use of the symbols of the four elements. The Caballa is like a Mandalla used by the occultist to organize spiritual symbols and systems.
Ophiel formed a partnership with Llewellyn Book publisher Carl Weschcke, using the name The Gnostic Institute, to publish Ophiel's correspondence course and his 'sealed lessons' and was planning on opening a Mystery School Lodge on the St. Croix River in Wisconsin.
How Ophiel came to write all these books is described in "The Art & Practice of Contacting the Demiurge," his last book. Clearly, he discovered how to 'astral project' somehow. He does not explain that part of it. But once he did, and could, he learned what he needed to learn to write his first book, "The Art & Practice of Astral Projection." In his projecting research, he noticed the Light on the inside, the Light that made his projections (and dreams, for that matter) clear.
"The idea that there was LIGHT, illuminating light on the inner planes, has never come to my thought attention before; had never occurred to me even though every ordinary dream I ever had, in addition to the dream-type projections, as well as "Little System" projections [see his book on astral projection], were "lit up" with Light."
"This 'discovery' may not seem to be very much to you, nor was it to me, for a long time, but now it seems to me it was the most significant discovery I ever made in my whole Occult work, because this chance attention paid to the chance notice of Light Illumination in the projection-dream led to the discovery of the semi-physical existence of the Demi-urge on the inner planes, near the earth plane, and that the half-God CAN BE SEEN with the/your inner sight." [The Art & Practice of Contacting the Demiurge," p. 29-30.]
Once Ophiel had a system for personally investigating the inner planes, the other books more or less evolved as needed, as he discovered new uses for what he found in there.
Back to TopThe link at the bottom of this paragraph will take you to a complete list of the books Ophiel recommended in his course of study. To Reading List.
Not much here, though when I receive more, I'll update the site. He did state that his grandmother's name was "Monie" Boberich, and his mother was Alice Peach.
Last revised: July 2002
All material on this page copyright 2002 by R. Bloch.