Author. He received recognition in the 19th century as a French poet and author of books on Rosicrucian and other subjects of the occult. At one point in his life, he was called the "Prince of Rosicrucian" by colleagues as he had such a passion to learn about the occult. His most noted collections of his Baudelairean-style poems were "The Birds of Passage" published in 1881, "The Dark Muse" in 1883, and "The Mystic Rose" in 1885. He was descended from a noble Italian family who had settled in France in 1800. He held the title of Marquis, his parents were wealthy, and he lived in Château D'Alteville as a child. After being educated locally, he attended Liceo de Nancy where he studied chemistry. While at school, he became involved with more artistic and spiritual studies, which led him into the Metaphysics and Cabala, the ancient Jewish tradition of the mystical interpretation of the Bible. He joined the Order of Martinism. Upon leaving school, he relocated to Paris where he had a luxurious apartment, which became a meeting place for poets, artist, and writers, who were interested in esotericism and mysticism. In his home, he developed one of the largest libraries of books in France on various occult subjects and held a remarkable knowledge of the subjects himself. He was a student of Christian mysticism by Eliphas Levi and a teacher of Oswald Wirth, who became his personal secretary for several years. He and Wirth made a deck of Tarot cards that is still published today under the name "Tarot of Wirth." He founded the Cabalistic Order of Rosicrucian in 1888, a secret organization that brought France's most famous esoteric thinkers together including Papus of the Martinist Order and many others. Later, people from all around Europe join the group. Each member sworn to secrecy but was free to leave. He developed levels in the Cabalistic Order of the Rosicrucian similar to university degrees: Bachelor, Graduate, Doctorate. To obtain the free Doctorate Degree, the person must pass an oral test and write a thesis. In the magazine "L´Initiation," which was founded by Papus, an article was published in 1889 crediting Guaita as the founder of Cabalistic Order of Rosicrucian. The organization's symbol was worn regularly on his tie. Along the way, he had many disagreements with colleagues to the point of conflict. He had an incident involving a former Roman Catholic priest, Abbe Roullan, who was the leader of a Satanic cult. Roullan believed that he was being poisoned by "black magic" that Guaita had started. In May of 1891 Guaita became outraged with Jules Bois, a newspaper writer for the "National Observer," who had attacked him in published print siding with Roullan, thus a rival began between the two, leading to a duel with pistols but neither were hurt. Upon becoming ill, he returned to his family's home. For several years, he was addicted to Heroin, which may have led to his death as an overdose, but his family states he had renal failure, which could have been a complication of drug abuse. Suddenly, he died young at the age of 37. His collection of poems "The Dark Muse," was in honor of the opium poppy. Besides his books of poetry, his books on the occult include "Essays of Science," "The Serpent of Genesis: Volume 1: The Temple of Satan" published in 1891 and "The Key to Black Magic, Volume 2: The Serpent of Genesis, Cursed Science Trials." In the 21st century, all his books are in print and some in English.