Every doctrine has a work that inaugurates it. For Spiritism, that work is The Spirits' Book, published by Allan Kardec in 1857. It was there that the curiosity of the spiritist tables turned into an organized body of ideas, with method, structure, and moral purpose.
This guide explains what The Spirits' Book is, who wrote it, how it is structured in four parts, what the five pillars of the doctrine it presents are, and where to start reading. It is the gateway to understanding Spiritism at the source.
What is The Spirits' Book
The Spirits' Book is the first of the five basic works of the spiritist codification, the one that presents the principles of the doctrine in a systematic way. The original French title is Le Livre des Esprits, and the subtitle already announces the proposal: to contain the principles of the spiritist doctrine.
The work is not written like a common treatise. It is organized in questions and answers: Allan Kardec formulated hundreds of questions about God, the soul, life after death, and moral laws, and recorded the answers obtained from the Spirits through various mediums. The result is a book that is read almost like a dialogue, theme by theme.
Since its release, The Spirits' Book has presented Spiritism under three aspects at the same time: science, through the study of phenomena; philosophy, through the moral consequences; and religious effects, through the dimension of faith and consolation. Kardec insisted that the doctrine not be treated as dogma, but as something to be understood by reason.
Who wrote The Spirits' Book
The author is Allan Kardec, a pseudonym of Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (1804-1869), a French educator with a solid rationalist background, linked to Pestalozzi's pedagogy. When he began to take an interest in the phenomena of the spirit tables, he was already a man of method, and it was precisely this rigor that changed everything.
In mid-19th century Europe, turning tables were a fashion and a curiosity: meetings where furniture seemed to move and answer questions. Most saw it as a pastime or a trick. Rivail decided to investigate with seriousness. He gathered, compared, and analyzed thousands of answers, discarded contradictions, and organized what survived the sieve of reason.
It was from this work of observation and analysis that the doctrine was born. Kardec did not invent Spiritism; he codified it, giving logical form to what the Spirits taught.
By adopting the name Allan Kardec to sign the work, Rivail separated the educator from the codifier. The Spirits' Book was the first step, and it would be followed by four other works that complete the Codification.
The structure: the four parts of the book
The Spirits' Book is divided into four parts, which lead the reader from the origin of all things to the practical application of the doctrine in life.
- Book One, The Primary Causes: deals with God, creation, the universe, and the vital principle. It is the base: where everything comes from.
- Book Second Spirit World or of Spirits: addresses the nature and origin of Spirits, incarnation, reincarnation, and the relations between the spiritual world and the material world.
- Book Three Moral Laws: presents the divine or natural laws, such as the laws of work, conservation, society, progress, equality, freedom, and the law of justice, love, and charity.
- Book Four Hopes and Consolations: discusses earthly and future punishments and joys, showing the consoling face of the doctrine.
This sequence is not random. It starts from the first cause (God), passes through the nature of Spirits and how we should live, and ends in the ultimate meaning of everything: hope.
The five pillars of the Spiritist doctrine
Throughout the four parts, The Spirits Book establishes the principles that sustain the entire doctrine. There are five pillars:
- The existence of God, supreme intelligence and primary cause of all things.
- The immortality of the soul, which preexists the body and survives physical death.
- Reincarnation, or the plurality of existences: the Spirit evolves through successive lives.
- The plurality of inhabited worlds, that is, life and evolution are not restricted to Earth.
- The communicability of Spirits, the possibility of exchange between incarnate and disincarnate beings through mediumship.
Crossing all of them is the law of cause and effect and the principle of moral progress. For Spiritism, each Spirit walks, life after life, toward perfection, and reaps what they sow. One important note: reincarnation, in the doctrine, is always in human bodies. The Spirit does not regress to animal forms.
How many questions are there and where to start
One detail often causes doubt: how many questions the book has. The answer requires precision. The first edition, from April 18, 1857, contained 501 questions. The definitive edition, revised and expanded in 1860, reached 1,018 questions and answers and it is this version that is studied today, although some editions number 1,019. Whenever you hear "more than a thousand questions," it refers to the 1860 edition.
The Spirits Book is also the natural starting point for those who want to study the doctrine. It inaugurates the so-called Kardecian pentateuch, the set of the five basic works, in this order:
- The Spirits Book (1857) the principles
- The Mediums Book (1861) the practical and mediumistic part
- The Gospel According to Spiritism (1864) Christian morality in light of the doctrine
- Heaven and Hell (1865) divine justice
- Genesis (1868) science and religion
Starting with the first is starting with the root. After it, many readers move on to The Gospel at Home and family study.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Spirits Book?
It is the first of the five basic works of Spiritism, published by Allan Kardec in 1857. It presents the principles of the doctrine in the form of questions and answers, dealing with God, the soul, reincarnation, and moral laws, under scientific, philosophical, and religious aspects.
Who wrote The Spirits Book?
Allan Kardec, pseudonym of the French educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (1804-1869). He did not invent Spiritism: he applied his rational method to the answers obtained from the Spirits and organized them into a doctrine, a task he called codification.
How many questions are in The Spirits' Book?
The first edition, from 1857, had 501 questions. The definitive edition, from 1860, expanded the number to 1,018 questions and answers, and that is the version currently studied. Some modern editions number 1,019.
What are the four parts of the book?
They are: The Primary Causes (God and creation); The Spirit World or of the Spirits (nature of the Spirits and reincarnation); The Moral Laws (the divine or natural laws); and Hopes and Consolations (the consoling sense of the doctrine).
Which book by Allan Kardec should I start with?
With The Spirits' Book. It is the basis of the entire Codification and presents the principles that the other works deepen. After it, the natural order follows with The Mediums' Book and The Gospel According to Spiritism.
Where to find the works of Allan Kardec
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find the support for your study at home, always with respect to the doctrine:
- The Spirits' Book: the founding work, in study editions
- The other basic works by Kardec: The Mediums' Book, The Gospel According to Spiritism, Heaven and Hell and Genesis
- Psychographed books: classics by Chico Xavier for family study
- White candles: for moments of prayer and concentration
- Soft incense: to harmonize the environment of reading and reflection
Visit our physical store in Extrema, Minas Gerais and we ship to all of Brazil. Talk to us via WhatsApp and Joice will guide you on the best edition to start.
References
- Wikipedia: entry about The Spirits Book
- Wikipedia: entry about Allan Kardec
