Old Magic

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One of Barrett's pupils, John Parkin, created his own handwritten grimoire The Grand Oracle of Heaven, or, The Art of Divine Magic, although it was never published, largely because Britain was at war with France, and grimoires were commonly associated with the French. The only writer to publish British grimoires widely in the early 19th century was Robert Cross Smith, who released The Philosophical Merlin (1822) and The Astrologer of the Nineteenth Century (1825), but neither sold well. [52] Beginning in the 17th century, a new, ephemeral form of printed literature developed in France; the Bibliothèque bleue. Many grimoires published through this circulated among a growing percentage [ citation needed] of the populace; in particular, the Grand Albert, the Petit Albert (1782), the Grimoire du Pape Honorius, and the Enchiridion Leonis Papae. The Petit Albert contained a wide variety of magic; for instance, dealing in simple charms for ailments, along with more complex things, such as the instructions for making a Hand of Glory. [43]

a b Davies, Owen (4 April 2008). "Owen Davies's top 10 grimoires". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 April 2009.The Greek magical papyri (Latin Papyri Graecae Magicae, abbreviated PGM) is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Greco-Roman Egypt which each contains a collection of magical spells, formulae, hymns, and rituals. The first section, called Ars Goetia, contains descriptions of the seventy-two demons that Solomon is said to have evoked and confined in a brass vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that they obliged to work for him. It gives instructions on constructing a similar brass vessel and using the proper magic formula to safely call up those demons.

The Arbatel is claimed to have been written in 1575 AD. (This date is supported by textual references dating from 1536 through 1583), and although the author remains unknown, it has been speculated that it was written by a man named Jacques Gohory, a Paracelsian (a group who believed in and followed the theories of Paracelsus).

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Almost every English author who subsequently wrote on the subject of witchcraft mentioned Scot disparagingly,” Davies writes of the period. Scot died in 1599; the book was not republished during his lifetime. There wasan abridged Dutch translation published in 1609, Davies notes, but was not republished in England until 1651, nearly three quarters of a century after its initial publication. The Almadel is composed of four Altitudes, or “Choras,” each of which corresponds to a unique set of angels with different domains. The text provides the names of the angels of each Chora (Gelomiros and Aphiriza, for example), the proper way to direct your requests to them (ask only what is “just and lawful”), and the best calendar dates for invoking them. Spell 46, the hilariously titled “Fart Runes,” is a stave that will strike your enemy with “bad gas . . . and all of these will plague thy belly with great farting . . . may thy farting never stop.” Some are downright sinister.

If you’re interested in the spiritual ways of the Celts, Tom Cowan will take you on a journey into the shamanic practices of this ancient culture in his work Fire in the Head. This particular book speaks to the otherworldly beliefs and traditions that our Celtic ancestors might have practiced including ecstatic experience, faith healing, journeys into other realms, shapeshifting and the “web of life”. Truly one of the books that changed my perspective on ancestral spirituality. 8. Aradia: Gospel of Witches by Charles Leland Power of the Witch by Laurie Cabot was the first witchcraft book I read as a teen. I stumbled upon it in a thrift store in the early 2000’s and bought it immediately. The author, Laurie Cabot, is the Official Witch of Salem and has been part of the witchcraft community for over sixty years. She wrote Power of the Witch in the 1980’s. Power of the Witch is an introduction to the Old Religion, as Cabot calls it. She writes of the ancient history of witchcraft, the stigma around the religion, then goes into brief chapters on herbs, crystals, protection magic, meditation, and more. A Qualified Witch and Writer The Arbatel reveals a series of rituals to invoke the seven heavenly governors and their legions, who rule over the provinces of the universe. The governors include Bethel, who brings miraculous medicines, Phalec, who brings honor in war, and Aratron, who “maketh hairy men.” The book relies heavily on the power of magic squares—unique words arranged into puzzles. Like the Icelandic staves in the Galdrabok, these squares contain mystic and occult properties when written out. The book was first published in 1921 by Natan Lindqvist in a diplomatic edition and with a Swedish translation. An English translation was published in 1989 by Stephen Flowers and a facsimile edition with detailed commentary by Matthías Viðar Sæmundsson in 1992.They were also a deeply spiritual people, who worshipped both a god and a goddess. Their religion was pantheistic, meaning they worshipped many aspects of the “One Creative Life Source” and honored the presence of the “Divine Creator” in all of nature. Abraham begins his narration with the death of his father, who gave him ‘signs and instructions concerning the way in which it is necessary to acquire the Holy Qabalah’ shortly before his death. Desiring to acquire this wisdom, Abraham said he traveled to Mayence (Mainz) to study under a Rabbi, called Moses. The Arbatel de magia veterum (Arbatel: Of the Magic of the Ancients) is a Renaissance-period grimoire and one of the most influential works of its kind. Unlike some other occult manuscripts that contain dark magic and malicious spells, the Arbatel contains spiritual advice and guidance on how to live an honest and honorable life.