MacGregor Mathers was sterile, Christian Rozencruz never even existed – but mass delusions are always derived from something real”. (Translator’s preface to The Aphaiad, Dr. John Cavadas, 1996).
“Spells result from strict adherence to ritual. Magic must be taught. An individual could no more produce magic without ever reading a genuine grimoire than they could invent a computer without ever reading a science textbook”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“Everyone recognizes that the path of the mage is fraught with danger. Nobody notices that it is the safest path to take. A mage sees the dangers of the world, while the blind are always victims. To be a mage is to turn on a flashlight and find that the room is full of snakes. The world suddenly seems like a more dangerous place –- but you are actually safer than you were a moment ago in the darkness”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990).
“A wizard is a man who would rather have an execution with no blindfold than a blindfold with no execution”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“Enlightenment does not bring destruction. Enlightenment is destruction. The light that illuminates is the flame that burns. A disciple sacrifices himself because he must know”. (The Wizard of Ch’in, author unknown, 1940s? English translation by Professor Elizabeth Tsang, 1998).
“What price would you pay for knowledge? What risk would you take for power? And if you had knowledge and power, what would you do with them? What price would you pay for ignorance? What risk would you take for freedom? And if you had ignorance and freedom, would you know?”. (The Magician, Armand Murrell, 1925. Anonymous translation from the French).
II. BOOK OF NAMES
“There is only one type of magician – all variation is affectation. One either has the keys to power, or one does not”. (The Magician, Armand Murrell, 1925. Anonymous translation from the French).
“Rich peoples forget wizardry. They feel they have no need for it. The rich keep the poor divided by culture and race so that the poor do not trade magical secrets and grow strong”. (Seven Notebooks, D. S. Jordan, 1899).
“There are two types of magician – those who have learned how to influence the universe and those who have not. Most are in the second category”. (The Magician, Armand Murrell, 1925. Anonymous translation from the French).
“There are no ‘schools of magic’. A man either opens his eyes or he does not. He either looks upon the world, or he looks within at his fantasies”. (On Grammar. Lucius. 5th century? As quoted in Murrell).
“Every miracle-worker is either on the side of God or on the side of Satan. There is no in-between. Many are deceived about whom they serve because the devil lies”. (Hell’s Jailor, Ruth Deborah Price, 1943).
“Wizards are always priests, recluses, or madmen. Since I am neither a priest nor a recluse, I must surely be mad”. (The Fabric of Space and Time. C. Di Alberto. Mid 1930s. Anonymous translation from Italian, 1988).
“There are three classes of magician. There is the peasant class, who know nature. There is the educated class, who know history. There is the initiated class, who know processes. The peasant class enslave nature to do their bidding, the educated class enslave the dead, and the initiated class enslaves the two others classes.” (True Miracles, Joseph Peter King, 1957).
“Magical traditions may be divided into three broad categories. There is the tradition that derives ultimately from Babylon – the tradition of Europe, the Middle East, and modern North America. This may be called the demonological tradition. There is the tradition that derives ultimately from Harappa in India – the tradition of India, China and South East Asia. This may be called the mystical tradition. Lastly, there is a tradition than originates from an unknown place in the South American Jungle – this is the tradition of South America and pre-conquest North America. This may be called the vampiric tradition”. (Cloud Throne. Hosokawa Yorihito, 1923. Translated into English by Hans Wiley, 1974)
“There are three schools of modern magic. There are those who have known the God Nabu through Persian sources (such as the Sufis), those who have known the God Nabu through Egyptian sources (as Egyptian Thoth, Greek Hermes or Roman Mercury), and those who have known the God Nabu through Sanskrit hymns (Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism)”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“Despite the extraordinary number of systems of magic, sorcerers fall into only three fundamental categories. There are those who seek to serve, there are those who seek to bargain, and there are those who seek to command. The first become enslaved and the second are always tricked. Only the third remain their own masters.” (Templi Vulcanum, William Pope, late 18th century).
“Some sorcerers worship the spirits of the wilderness, of stones, or of fire. This is the oldest magic, and gives control over nature, over ghosts and over the emotions of the body. Some sorcerers worship the sprits of the sky. Such was the magic of the Persians and it gives control over dreams, over demons, and over the higher feelings. Some sorcerers worship God. Such is the magic of the Sufis, and it gives control over angels”. (Seraphim. Anonymous. 1972. Anonymous English translation from the Arabic, Canada, 1987).
“There are three sources of magical knowledge. The first source is Satan and his demons. This is the lowest form of magic and the most tempting to the sensual appetites. It is the magic of the witch. The second source is the spirits of the forests and lakes. This is the magic of our pagan ancestors and can wake the dead. It is the magic of the shaman. The last source is God, and this magic has dominion over every spirit and all things”. (The Strength of God. “Mikhail, brother of Jesus”. 1919? Translated from Russian into English by Edward and Sonya T. 1991)
“The differences between the students of the world lie not in their religions, but in their metaphysics, because it is their metaphysics that determine what manner of spirit may be summoned (whatever their religious masks). In Classical, Christian and Islamic magic, the four elements that make up the world are air, earth, fire and water – and thus they summon elementals of these descriptions – which might be called sylphs, cthonics, efreets, and nymphs. From this we derive the four races of demi-spirits - vampires, poltergeists, promethians and neriads. In Eastern magic, the five elements that make up the world are earth, fire, metal, water and wood. Thus, the students of China do not summon sylphs, for they cannot comprehend them. Instead, they summon spirits of metal and wood, which might be called wu and shen. The students of the Aztecs have a different system, which is unknown, but it is believed that they conjure spirits of blood, fire, stone, wood, and of rain (water?). It has been said that the shamans of the nomads have but one element – spirit itself. What this means, I cannot fathom”. (War in Heaven, Alex K., 1991).
“There are four fundamental types of mage. Those who speak the names of things, those who sing the names of things, those who symbolize things, and those who write the names of things. The last approach is the youngest, but has proved the easiest to learn”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“There are four roads to magic – crippling, insanity, slavery and foolishness. Since you are reading this book, you are at least a fool”. (Footnotes to The Cult of Nabu: Apocalyptica. Clive Altieri. 1990)
“There have been four magical revelations, corresponding to the four systems of magic. There has been the revelation that God has made to me – the last revelation, there is the revelation that God made to Solomon – which passed across Europe, there is the revelation that God made to Abraham – which passed across Europe and Asia, and there is the revelation that God made to Adam – which passed across the world. The older revelations are the most powerful, but they are the least well remembered. Adam was given lordship over the animals and plants, Abraham was given lordship over men, Solomon was given lordship over angels and demons, and I have been given lordship over the dead”. (Chicago Gospel. “St. Stephen of Four Wounds”. Early 2000s).
“There have been four epicenters of magical enlightenment, from which we may derive the four fundamental systems of magic in use in the modern world. The first took place in Africa between eight and ten thousand years ago. This system spread from its source in West Africa, east to Ethiopia and south almost as far as the Cape of Good Hope. The second took place in India some time in the early second millennium B.C.., while the third and fourth took place in China and Greece during the 6th century B.C.. The Greek system is our own, as it grew to dominate the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and finally the Americas and Australia. Of all the systems, it is the most concerned with creation and destruction, birth and death”. (Translator’s preface to The Aphaiad, Dr. John Cavadas, 1996).
“A magician searches either for control of the world, or harmony with the world, or escape from the world, or to become divine. So magicians are divided into their various orders. The first arose in China before the Shang dynasty and the second arose in China during the Shang dynasty. The third arose in India some eight hundred years after and came to China under the Chou dynasty. The last arose in Egypt and is the magic of America, Africa and Europe.”. (The Wizard of Ch’in, author unknown, 1940s? English translation by Professor Elizabeth Tsang, 1998).
“If a man suffers an unnatural corruption of the intellect, then he is a mage. If a man suffers an unnatural corruption of the body, he is an animal, of the appetites, he is a ghoul, of the passions, he is a lunatic, of the spirit, he is a priest. One corruption leads to another”. (Last Will and Testament of Elspeth Mary Carlisle, 1902).
“Witches may be divided into seven broad categories, according to the seven continents of the world. Europe has druids, Asia has Sufis, North and South America each have priests of some description. I am in ignorance regarding Africa, Australia and Antarctica.” (The Devil’s Almanac, author and original date unknown. Transcription within the last ten years).
“There are ten families of magician, governed by the nine planets and the moon. These families appear in every nation, in various guises. A sage governed by Jupiter is wise and angry. Athena is their patron. A sage governed by Mars is violent and energetic. Ares is their patron. A sage governed by Mercury is dishonest and creative. Hermes is their patron. A sage governed by Neptune is perceptive and destructive. Poseidon is their patron. A sage governed by Pluto is stoic and reclusive. They have no patron. A sage governed by Saturn is fortunate and curious. Hephaestos is their patron. A sage governed by Uranus is quiet and restless. Hera is their patron. A sage governed by Venus is greedy and vain. Aphrodite is their patron. A sage governed by Earth is intelligent and unlucky. Persephone is their patron. A sage governed by the moon is gregarious and fearful. Their patron is Ariadne.” (Ignis Sanctus (Sacred Fire). “Brother Scipio”. 1875. Translated from the Latin)
“Every divinity reveals secret teachings to their loyal followers according to His or Her nature. Jupiter teaches law, Minerva craft and strategy, Apollo music and medicine, Diana hunting, Venus seduction, Juno fertility, Ceres agriculture, Mercury languages, Neptune horsemanship and seamanship, Bacchus natural philosophy, Mars battle, and so forth. Vulcan teaches the use of tools. Thus He is the patron of spells and the Father of Magic.” (Templi Vulcanum, William Pope, late 18th century).
“To be a wizard is to learn. Thus, the capacities of a wizard are determined by what languages he understands. If English, he will be Crowley, if French, he will be Flamel, if Latin, he will be Dee, if Hebrew, he will be Solomon, if Greek, he will be Circe”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“The different approaches to magic may be classified according to the source by which their spells are powered. For instance, magic powered by Hell is demonology. Magic powered by the dead is necromancy. Magic powered by material things is elementalism, often called shamanism or druidism. Magic powered by dreams is oneiromancy. Magic powered by madness or passion is furaemancy. Magic powered by anthropomorphic spirits is paganism, also called holy magic or miraculous magic. Magic powered by non-anthropomorphic spirits is pandaemonism. And so on, perhaps infinitely”. (Anonymous notes from unknown source. Paper at least 20 years old, but clearly 20th century).
III. BOOK OF FLOWERS
“Are there gods? There are spirits that desire your soul. Do they count? Are there ghosts? There are bones that move. Do they count? Are there vampires? There are lunatics who would drink your blood. Do they count?”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990).
“Religions are all lies. Christianity is lies. Buddhism is lies. Voodoo is lies. All religions are lies. Oh yes – there are potent spirits, but let me assure you, they don’t give a shit about you. The only one who is going to save you is you, and you do need to be saved. A god is anything that can do whatever it wants with you.
You need information. Since you are reading this, you must have suffered illumination to the books of power. These books are your only hope.” (True Miracles, Joseph Peter King, 1957).
“Daoism is incompatible with magery. So much the worse for Daoism. To be a Daoist is to seek to follow the Way of the universe. To be a mage is to seek to defy the Way of the universe”. (Three Genuine Spells and a Religious Tract. Li Murphy. 2000)
“I have been asked on several occasions how a Christian scholar may learn from pagan sources without becoming corrupted. My advice is very simple. I suggest that the Christian should “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12). I suggest that the Christian should “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Galatians 5:14) and should obey the ten commandments, paying particular attention to “thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) and “thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Furthermore, I suggest that “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18). But what is a witch? Certainly, not every scholar is a witch, or the Christian would themselves be compelled to suicide. A witch is one who has truly given themselves to a false god. Keep in mind, few members of any religion truly give themselves to their god. It is more sinful to murder an innocent than it is to spare the wicked and most blessed of all to save a soul. When in doubt, do not forget what all true Christians know – that original sin was not Eve’s but Cain’s”. (Pagan Wisdom, Ron Hill, 1975)
“A religion is not a grimoire, and the two must not be confused. A religion will not teach you magic. That is not the purpose of religion: the purpose of religion is to allow us to understand the universe and it is a higher goal than mere magic. It is no disrespect to the priestesses of Wicca to point out that they lack magical potency. I write this as one Wiccan to another, as one who has the utmost respect for our teachings.
Just as a religion will not teach you magic, a grimoire will not teach you religious truth. That is not the purpose of a grimoire. You may have heard that “The Black-Handled Knife” is a Wiccan book. That is untrue, and dangerously untrue. There are no Wiccan grimoires just as there are no Christian grimoires or Muslim grimoires: there are only grimoires. Remember when opening a grimoire that the author’s view of the universe may be very different from your own. Even their value system may seem incomprehensible to you. So proceed with care and don’t rely on mundane rituals to save you: they are worthless.
There are those who insist that a Wiccan should only read books that are theologically pure. That may be true, but such a Wiccan must not mistake themselves for a witch. To be a witch is to defy nature (this does no harm to nature: nature delights in it). The difference between my magic and the magic of the priestesses is that my magic works.
To any Wiccan who aspires to study magic, I recommend three things. Firstly, do what you want as long as you harm no-one: and that includes yourself. Secondly, keep in mind that not all natural emotions should be acted on. Thirdly, the law of three-fold return is true, but misleading. Energy you send really does return to you in greater strength, but energy is neither positive nor negative: it simply is. That means that magic is just as likely to destroy you for helping someone as it is to destroy you for harming someone.” (Faith in the Age of Miracles, “Wolf”, 2002)
“When I began to read “The Black-Handled Knife”, I lost my faith, because all the miracles I saw were of hell. When I finished the book, I regained my faith, because I realized that Jesus had shown me hell for a reason. Power is the power to do good”. (Unknown manuscript. 20th century)
“Hermes is opener of the ways. It is He who lifts the doors between the worlds. Even though the invocation of Hermes is an ancient ritual, it is nevertheless dangerous. Latin sources are preferable to English sources, but even Latin sources tend to be corrupt. Probably, Greek sources are safest. Egyptian sources are purer but less clearly described. Mesopotamian sources are non-existent, although there are, of course, plentiful fakes. Even though Hermes cares nothing for worship, He may yet make other demands”. (Words of Binding, Tom Locke, late 1980s)
IV. BOOK OF HUITZILOPOCHTLI
“In South America, there are seven recognized varieties of sorcerer. In North America, there are only three: Meso-American, Mississippian and Anglo-French. The first draw upon the civilizations of Central and South America. So do the second, but also upon the ideas of North American tribes. The third, of course, draw upon the Eurasian tradition. The question immediately arises – what happened to the magical traditions of the tribes from the north, east, and western North America? Such traditions must either have died out, for lack of written record, or failed to spread”. (The Raven With a Thousand Tongues, “Mifune”, 1950s?)
“There are many magical traditions in the modern United States, but the two dominant ones are those who derive their practices from the occultism of nineteenth century London, England, and those who derive their practices from the occultism of tenth century Cordoba, Spain. The London faction claims Greek and Roman founders, while the Cordoba faction claims to have preserved Arab learning”. (War in Heaven, Alex K., 1991)
“American magic is almost entirely English, however much they might protest it. The same is true of the magic of Australia and New Zealand, and to a large extent, Canada. This is because those with English as their first language tend not to acquire any further languages, and thus they become insular. If you can’t speak French, how will you read Murrell? If you can’t speak Mandarin Chinese, how will you read “The Wizard of Ch’in”?”. (Hangman’s Forest, Dr. Alison Harper, 1998).
“American magic and English magic are very different entities. American magic is an amalgam of Victorian, Renaissance, Spanish, Italian and Native magic. English magic is an amalgam of Victorian, Renaissance, and Druidic magic. Victorian, Renaissance, Italian and Spanish magic are all closely related, but Native and Druidic magic are quite unique. Neither of them migrated to other nations because their secret knowledge is transmitted in an oral, rather than written, form. Such secrets are, of course, hidden very effectively. Native American magic emphasizes fortune, and Druidic magic emphasizes birth and death”. (Metaphysics. Professor August Momsen. 1956)
“It is impossible to determine the main varieties of magic in the U.S.A., for most American magic is not literary but experiential – by which I mean that it is not learned through books but through acquaintance. Voudoun, for instance, is quite real, and extremely powerful, but leaves no significant literary trail, because it is not primarily a literary system, but a system that is taught by priests, and ultimately, by spirits. The priests and spirits, of course, exact a heavy price for their tutelage.” (Unknown)
V. BOOK OF LUGH
“The Druids had only an unsophisticated writing system with which to record their knowledge, and so all Celtic magic died with them. Subsequent English magic fell into one of three broad categories: the classical magic introduced by the Romans, the Germanic magic introduced by the Saxons, and the Scandinavian magic introduced by the Viking and Normans. It may be useful to think of these as mountain, forest and sea magic respectively”. (Hangman’s Forest, Dr. Alison Harper, 1998).
“The English tradition is fascinating. It is the sum of many parts. First, obviously, the English tradition is an incredibly European tradition. While the quality of translation of European works is inevitably suspect, the invention of the printing press and resulting increase in literacy produced an intense cross-fertilization of European thought.
However, there are older elements also. As soon as England was culturally part of Europe, exposure to the Latin tradition was unavoidable. The Latin tradition, with confusing variation, had served as the common magical language of Europe since the days of the Roman empire. It is the Latin tradition that gives the English the god Hermes, and thus Hermeticism.
Yet not all events that shaped English magic were of Europe-wide significance. Germany had long had an influence on England. In fact, Germans conquered England in the early dark ages and largely replaced the indigenous population. Lastly, England had regularly been subjected to Scandinavian influences, particularly after the fall of the Roman empire. Indeed, Scandinavians from French Normandy conquered the nation in the eleventh century and were never removed from power. Many Wiccan beliefs are derived from the Scandinavian tradition.
Older native traditions are venerated, but little, if anything, survives of them. No doubt, the druids had their secrets, but they kept those secrets too well”. (Magical History of the European Continent. Wu Xiaoyan. 1969. Translated into English by Linda McNeill in 1997).
“Wu Xiaoyan writes an analysis of European magic that runs for several hundred pages and never once mentions Christianity. From this fact alone, the quality of his analysis may be judged. Magical practice always follow religious practice. Thus, English magic is composed of three main branches. The first is the Christian branch, the second is the Classical branch, and the third is the Pagan branch.
The Christian tradition ultimately invokes YHWY, a middle-eastern deity with no physical form. The Christian tradition often involves asking YHWY for the aid of an angel or for authority over a demon. The Classical tradition is the tradition of the polytheistic Roman nobility. The Classical tradition includes many gods, any of which might be called upon by the magician. Finally, the Pagan tradition is itself made up of the Celtic, Germanic, Danish and Norwegian traditions. The Celtic, Germanic, Danish and Norwegian religions are all branches of a single older European religion, and so Celtic, Germanic, Danish and Norwegian magical arts are all off-shoots of a single older European magical tradition. The gods of this tradition may be bargained with and always have physical form.
European scholarship has always suffered from language barriers, of course, but language barriers have proved much less important than religious ones. To understand a wizard’s magic, you must understand his religion - and thus a nineteenth century English Christian could comprehend the thoughts of a sixteenth century French Christian more easily than they could comprehend the thoughts of a Germanic pagan, much less an ancient Italian polytheist. Since Christianity became and remained the state religion of England, modern English magic is most distinctly Christian in character. Since the Romans had a pagan written tradition to pass on, and since scholars needed to learn Latin in any case, modern English magic also became distinctively both Classical in general and Roman in particular, though Roman wisdom was viewed through a Christian lens. The Pagan tradition influenced folklore and oral wisdom, but failed to leave an enduring written record, and so has had only minor influence on modern English magic”. (Gods of Albion. Liu Jingyu. 1978. Translated into English by Linda McNeill in 1999).
“By the end of the 19th century, English magicians fell into two broad camps. There were those whose texts were primarily written in English, who we might call the Moderns, and there were those whose texts were primarily written in Latin, who we might call the Classicists. The Moderns usually studied the spirits of the orient, while the Classicists usually studied the spirits of the west. The two factions often fought”. (Secrets of the Rosy Cross, “Wolf”, 2002).
“In eighteen eighty-seven, there are four species of wizard in England. There are those whose sources are French, those whose sources are German, those whose sources are classical, and those whose sources pretend to be Egyptian. Naturally, the factions are at war”. (Untitled. Darius Hutchinson. 1887)
“The English gave away their magical secrets to the world. Wherever their empire spread, they taught natives to speak their tongue. When the natives had learned to speak English, the wise ones read English books.” (The Subtle Art, Tabitha Ronson, 1968).
VI. BOOK OF ODIN
“There was revolution in the Arab empire of the Umayyads, as magical schools divided against themselves over two questions. Are there gods other than Allah? And if there are, may they be offered worship? The issues split the community into three factions, forming the three branches of magic in the middle east. There were those who insisted that there is one god (the “Baghdad School”), those who insisted that there are many gods but that only Allah may be worshipped (the “Cairo School”), and those who insisted that a mage may worship any god (the “Persepolis School”). Predictably, exactly the same process occurred in Europe in the following centuries, leading respectively to the three European traditions – that centered in Paris, that centered in Venice and that centered in Cordoba. This is why French wizards command in God’s name, Italian wizards haggle and Spanish wizards sell their souls”. (Spirits of the Reconquest, Carlos Botero, 1921. Translated from the Spanish by Linda Pessin, 1977).
“All European magic is essentially Greek magic. The Greek intellectual tradition gave Europe its cosmology, physical and social alike. It did so via the vehicle of the Roman Empire, of course, but a quick examination of Roman thought reveals that there was very little in it that was distinctly Roman. The names of the gods might be different, but the universe they perceived was a Greek one. After the Roman Empire fell, Greek thought was kept alive by Christian social structures, which were Palestinian in origin, but largely Greek in character. The so-called “dark ages” came to an end with the true rediscovery of Greek thought (again, often in Roman incarnation), and the Greek worldview has been the worldview of Europe ever since”. (Translator’s preface to The Aphaiad, Dr. John Cavadas, 1996).
“The Rosicrucians are not wizards and have no secrets of any interest to reveal. However, they are evidence of a real organization, of which they are a mundane interpretation: a recreation by the uninitiated. This genuine organization has been known by many names, including “the Order of St. Thomas”, “The Circle of Hospitaliers” and “The Royal Philosophers’ Society”. This organization is guardian to magical secrets that date back at least to pagan Rome, and are said to date back to Greece and ultimately to ancient Egypt. This organization knows a Roman pantheon. Though they recognize Thoth, they recognize him as Hermes, and as the messenger god and opener of the ways, he is their patron. They recognize lower, or elemental spirits, middle, or necromantic spirits, and higher, or astral spirits. They seek to command all, but will more willingly serve or bargain with a higher spirit than a lower one. Elementals are categorized according to Greek tradition, and may be composed of earth, air, fire or water. Necromantic spirits are spirits of the dead. It is unclear what astral spirits are, and it is possible that the category is simply reserved for things that are neither human nor elemental.
The organization does not worship Hermes or other classical gods: they merely invoke them. They may or may not worship YHWH or Allah: probably there is considerable variation. I know that their inner initiates have access to genuine books of power. I know of four: “Templi Vulcanum”, “Le Magician”, “The Names of God and his Angels” and “The Forty-Two Keys of Thoth”. I know that they have other, older texts: but I can not name them”. (Secrets of the Rosy Cross, “Wolf”, 2002).
VII. BOOK OF AMATERASU
“What arrogance we have when we boast that the Chinese do not know Hermes. They call him Gou Mang and they have known him for four thousand years or more. They heard his wisdom. They walked his roads. They looked upon his face. They say that Hermes is a worm from the Eastern sky entrusted with the keys to every door. They say that the sound of his voice is intoxication and that he brings birth and rebirth.” (Unknown)
VIII. BOOK OF HESPERUS
“Nothing is more impossible than that magic should ever have been invented. The study of history quickly reveals that magical knowledge is not acquired with the passing of the ages, but rather forgotten. Furthermore, given the complexity of the subject, how could a primitive man invent that of which modern man is almost entirely ignorant? The magician has always been with us. Archaeology reveals that he is more ancient than the farmer or even the toolmaker, but the wise understand that he is older even than the hunter and the priest. Man has always known magic. He could no more survive without it than he could survive without air”. (The Subtle Art, Tabitha Ronson, 1968).
“There is not a single stone-age people, not in the deepest jungle, nor on the smallest, most isolated island of the Pacific, that does not know of the art of sorcery. From this it can be seen that sorcery, like the use of tools, will spontaneously appear wherever humanity dwells. It is humanity’s nature to invent sorcery and humanity has done so in every corner of the world in which they may be found. Not once in history can we find a case in which the existence of magic is revealed to a people by an outsider. Though the outsider may transmit new techniques, these techniques are always revealed to native magicians who are already present. If further proof were required, consider that each tribe and nation has its own myth regarding the origin of sorcery. If there had been a common source, could all the magi really have forgotten what it was?”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990).
“The Lord has given His True Names and secret words of command to His faithful soldiers. The first book was given to Adam, that he could command the beasts and would not be slain by the demons of the wilderness. This is the Book of Adam, rebuker of devils. The second book was given to Abraham, that he would have power over the peoples of Canaan. This is the Book of Abraham, slayer of men. The third book was given to Moses, that he would be victorious over the sorcerers of Egypt. This is the Book of Moses, scourge of wizards. The fourth book was given to Solomon, that he might have lordship over all angels and demons, that they would be compelled to do his bidding, for the greater glory of God. This is the Book of Solomon, captain of angels and devils. The fifth book was given to James, the apostle, that he might cast down the Romans. This is Book of James, the prophet of apocalypse. All holy magic derives ultimately from these five holy books. All other magic is of Satan”. (Hell’s Jailor, Ruth Deborah Price, 1943).
“Functional magic was invented in Egypt in the fourth millennium B.C.. The Egyptians taught the skill to the Israelites, who passed it on to the Christian and Muslim worlds. The tradition of the far East may or may not derive ultimately from that of Egypt”. (The Magician, Armand Murrell, 1925. Anonymous translation from the French).
“It was the priests of Egypt who were the first to unlock the secrets of magic and it is they who tutored the world in this most difficult of sciences. In Annu, called Heliopolis by the Greeks and On by the Hebrews, there was a pillar, more ancient than that most ancient of cities. This was the pillar of coming forth by day. In Nekheb, called Thebes by the Greeks, stood its twin. This was the pillar of coming forth by night. These were the pillars of Thoth and stood guardian to the god’s thirty-five thousand, five hundred and thirty five scrolls, upon which all wisdom was written. The scrolls were kept hidden between these sacred gates. The lord Thoth chose forty-two scrolls and revealed them to his priests. This was the first magic known in the world. The Phoenicians learned to worship Thoth as Dagon and the Greeks as Heracles and Hermes, and so magic passed to those peoples. Not one of the books passed to Greece until they were brought there by the priests Pateneit and Psonchis, in the days of Perikles. It was then that the Emerald Tablet passed into Greece, and thus was transmitted to the alchemists of Syria. Greece gained further books after Greeks in exile were taught at Alexandria by the priest Manetho. That was in the days of Archimedes. These secrets were taught in the caverns near Thebes, in a place called Syringes. There the Greeks stole the knowledge of the book “Asclepius”, that teaches how the souls of angels and demons may be imprisoned in statues, that the statue might walk or speak prophesy. There the Greeks stole the knowledge of the Book of Thoth, that teaches how the spirits of the air and earth might be commanded, and how the gods may be beheld and begged for immortality. It is said that the book has seventy-eight pages”. (The Forty-Two Keys of Thoth, author and date unknown, as quoted in Secrets of the Rosy Cross, “Wolf”, 2002)
“Wisdom lies in learning from past experience. Learning, of course, is a function of insight and memory. Just as there are unnatural substitutes for insight, there are unnatural substitutes for memory. First, a vocabulary evolves to capture thoughts systematically, then words are set to music to make them easier to recall, pictures develop to represent concrete things and finally, writing appears. In earliest history, then, the wisest were those with the widest vocabulary. One who knew the secret names of things had power over those things. Music was older than words, so it cannot have been long before music was used to aid the memorization and dissemination of words. Such were the priests and shamans of our ancestors, with their sacred songs. Artists had mastered symbolic and sympathetic magic at least by 40,000 B.C.. It was artists, then, who finally established that it was to be humanity, and not Neanderthals, who would be the dominant sentient species on Earth. Pictures were eventually to be used to record quantities, and finally, symbols were used to represent words themselves – writing.
As a magical tool, writing was unparalleled. Texts could substitute for memory. Anything that was learned could be recorded and need never be lost. The first scribes lived in Sumer, in modern Iraq. Their patron god was Nabu, god of writing and wisdom. Nabu’s city was Borsippa, where he had his temple and statue. It was in this temple that the scribes kept a secret library. Over the generations, the library grew and so did the scribes’ understanding. Only their fear of the gods kept them from overthrowing the kings. Levels of initiation into the cult of Nabu were introduced, so that the most important texts were reserved for those who had demonstrated their loyalty to the hierarchy.
Nabu cultists went out into the world to learn the secrets of other peoples. These traveling literates inevitably spread the art of writing, and with it, the worship of writing’s patron god. In Egypt, Nabu was identified with the local deity Thoth and worshipped at Khmun (Hermopolis to the Greeks). The Indians knew Nabu as Ganesha and the Chinese as Ta'ang Chien. It is as Thoth that Nabu was passed on to Greek and Roman students, who identified him with the Greek messenger-god Hermes. Hermes, in turn, eventually became identified with the archangel Gabriel in Europe.
Everywhere it spread, the cult of Nabu demanded loyalty to the cult in exchange for access to secret texts. However, since the cult was based on the keeping of secrets, it was constantly fragmenting as different factions collected secrets of their own. In Europe, the coming of Christianity forced even these squabbling churches to go underground, schools of thought developing in isolation. Different groups underwent different degrees of Christianization, and many ceased to worship Nabu altogether, though they still invoked him as a mentor, protector and guide”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“As magic is the impetus behind human evolution, magical origins track human origins. That is to say, in all cases, new and more evolved levels of magical understanding originated in sub-Saharan Africa, just as each new and more evolved level of human originated in sub-Saharan Africa. Modern magic, along with modern homo sapiens sapiens, appeared in East Africa some 100,000-120,000 years ago. Modern magic, along with modern homo sapiens sapiens, did not appear in Europe and Australia until some 40,000 years ago, and did not reach the Americas until some 12,000 years ago”. (True Miracles, Joseph Peter King, 1957).
“Attempts to determine at what point man discovered magic are obviously hopeless. The first writings are magical writings and so clearly magic predates writing (we may note that every pre-literate culture we have met or learned of is a magically sophisticated culture). Since there are no sure means to determine if any given artifact produced by non-literate people is intended to serve a magical purpose, even archaeology cannot help us settle the question. It is a futile enquiry and we would be well advised to turn our attention to more important matters”. (A Brief History of Unpopular Superstitions. Daniel Gilmore, Ph.D. 1930).
IX. BOOK OF LAWS
“Why is magic a secret? Would not the world bow down to any individual who could publicly show that they can defy the laws of nature? Magic is a secret because fame invites attack – indeed, fame itself may be a channel for hate”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“Why is the existence of sorcery unknown to the public? Mages are already suicidal – why doesn’t one ever forfeit their life just so that they can prove, on television, in front of the world, that they have supernatural power? I don’t know. However, I do believe that if such an act were possible, someone would have done it by now”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990)
“The eternal question - why is magic secret? The constant reply – because a magician must hide from their enemies and public use of magic would reveal them. But that only explains why the magician shuns fame. It doesn’t explain why there is no sign of magic in the world. Magicians all die horribly – why don’t they make the news? Why doesn’t some vomiting paramedic ever call The New York Times to cash in on the inexplicable details? Why doesn’t an innocent bystander ever accidentally see a magical effect, or even the results of a magical effect, and expose it to the world? How could a secret this big possibly be kept from humanity? I don’t know. I hide my magic because I do not want to know”. (The Subtle Art, Tabitha Ronson, 1968).
“Magic remains hidden from the world because magicians do not want the masses to arm themselves with it”. (True Miracles, Joseph Peter King, 1957).
X. BOOK OF LIGHT
“It appeals to our vanity to believe that some secret cabal of magi rule the world. The truth is that no-one rules the world, nor ever has. No human being in history has ever ruled so much as a city. The law is whatever you can get away with. Crowley said ‘do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law’, but what he should have said was ‘do what thou can shall be the whole of the law’”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990).
“The magician and the priest are eternally at war, for the magician must know secret things, while the priest must accept public knowledge. The priest cannot learn that Odin has two eyes, or no eyes, for public knowledge states that Odin has one eye. This is why priests are never magicians”. (Seven Notebooks, D. S. Jordan, 1899).
“It was prophesied that three keys would be given at the end of the millennium, and the doors of wisdom would be opened to all mankind. The English translation of “The Black-Handled Knife” appeared in 2,000. Wiccans discovered it first. Most by far were horrified, but some were game to recant their religion to pursue the book’s promises. Pagans, students, Satanists – the book attracted devotees. It became hard to obtain, but real magical effects were being achieved. I knew that terrible things were coming. I felt like I did back in 1,985, when “The Cult of Nabu” came out. That’s how I realized that “The Cult of Nabu” had been the first of the three keys and “The Black-Handled Knife” had been the second. I knew in 1,985 that people were going to die and I knew it again in 2,000. Magi were beginning to discover their own power and that meant carnage. The ‘Knife’ fallout kept going from bad to worse. For two years I tried to find a way to prevent the third key from being revealed. Then, in 2,002, “Secrets of the Rosy Cross”. It took me only a few moments of reading to know that this was the third key, that hope was lost, that there would be no way to stand against the deluge”. (Anonymous manuscript. Late 20th century)
“I thought that “The Black-Handled Knife” was going to destroy the world. I wasn’t the only one who thought so. The world was supposed to end in 2000 A.D. – half the people I knew had already committed suicide. Anyone could see that history was accelerating. Revolutionary books of power were being written at an unprecedented rate. “The Black-Handled Knife” appeared only fifteen years after “The Cult of Nabu” in 1985. “The Cult of Nabu” had appeared after only thirty years after “Metaphysics” in 1956, and that had appeared only thirty years after “Physiology and Treatment of Cripples” in 1928. However, “The Black-Handled Knife” did not destroy the world. There was one lesson left. “Secrets of the Rosy Cross” will destroy the world”. (A History of the Apocalypse, Wayne Eastern, 2004)
“Mary: The history of magic is a chain of small flares of activity. Whenever a book of power appears, suddenly people who never had access to magic have access to it. When “The Cult of Nabu” arrived in 85, people were buying it at the local bookstore. It was a new age book – it just got put there on the shelf with all the other books. A book that any sane person would kill for - marked down, put on yard sale, thrown out. But enough people were enlightened by it that there was an explosion of magicians. Naturally, having no idea what they were doing, they destroyed themselves and each other.
Tom: That makes magic seem pointless.
Mary: No – not pointless, because the meltdown drew the attention of magi who had never even heard of the book. Some of these magi knew something about Mesopotamian mythology or made a very determined effort to learn about it. Meltdown two. Magician population spike and magical devastation.
Tom: Why magician population spike?
Mary: Because magi started to involve unenlightened experts, thus leading them to become enlightened experts.
Tom: I’m imagining college professors – specialists in Mesopotamia – suddenly all becoming wizards.
Mary: Only a few. But it was enough. The population is never large, and the professors already knew each other.
Tom: Bullshit.
Mary: It’s true.
Tom. Bullshit. You are talking bullshit. You are wasting my time with this bullshit.
Mary: It really happened!
Tom: Bullshit it did. The Mesopotamian professors did not devastate each other – ever. I have never heard such crap.
Mary: What makes you so certain, Tom?
Tom: It would be in the newspaper.
Mary: The newspapers are owned by wizards.
Tom: The newspapers are not owned by wizards. You are out of your mind.
Mary: The newspapers never report supernatural activity. People are dying all the time – the newspapers won’t report it! Listen – I need to tell you about the flare-ups and meltdowns whenever a book is published.
Tom: Whatever, Mary. I don’t care. Do what you want.
Mary: Every time a book is published, there is a spike in the wizard population and a communal meltdown. In 2000, “The Black-Handled Knife” was published and suddenly hippies start killing each other in creative ways. The newspapers wouldn’t report it!
Tom: The hippies were not killing each other. If hippies had magic, they would grow super-pot and save the owls.
Mary: The hippies never had power before. And it wasn’t just hippies because hippies always share. Pagans, witches, Satanists – all kinds of-”
Tom: Hippies don’t know any Satanists, Mary. You know nothing about hippies. I’ll buy that there’s a hippy out there who knows a pagan and a witch, but I promise you, pagans and witches are just hippies dressed in black.
Mary: Many pagans and witches are very serious students. These ones were unenlightened but they recognized the importance of what they had been shown. They knew enough about folklore and religion to have some idea about how it was all supposed to work, and boy did they make it work. Complete meltdown.
Tom: There are no curses in paganism or witchcraft. They are completely inoffensive religions that you are maligning with your transparent bullshit.
Mary: Listen, it always happens. Sometimes it is one meltdown, sometimes it is a whole string of them. Sometimes, even a translation will do it. Like “The Wizard of Ch’in” in 93. It’s from the third century.
Lucius: “The Wizard of Ch’in” could not possibly have been written in the third century. But - there is every reason to believe that while the book is a fake, it is a genuine Chinese fake.
Tom: Are we done?
Mary: No! It had happened before! It always happens! After the meltdown, people who weren’t involved grab the book.
Tom: The book that melted everyone down.
Mary: Yes! Because experienced wizards will know how to use it. Number one – they will hide from each other. Number two – they won’t go around summoning things they know nothing about.
Tom: Unlike the university professors, hippies and pagans. I notice that in your stories, its always someone who Rush Limbaugh wouldn’t like that brings down damnation on their own head.
Mary: No! No! The world is full of books that say they are Christian but they aren’t. There is a book – “The Names of God and His Angels”. It spread through churches and Christian bookstores.
Tom: No. No Christian bookstore would ever stock a book called “The Names of God and His Angels”. It’s a blasphemous name. No-one is going to give it to anyone in a church. You would be thrown out.
Mary: Tom, there was this book called “Seraphim”.
Tom: Did it come out in the 1980’s?
Mary: Yes! Yes! How did you know?
Tom: Because almost everything in this story happened either in the 1980s or the 1990s. Your rant would be more interesting if you put more variation into your paranoid fantasies.
Mary: This has been happening throughout history. I know about the recent meltdowns best because they happened recently.
Tom: I think I’ve had enough of this conversation.
Mary: I need your help! I need to check a translation against a Russian original!
Tom: I’m done, Mary. Seriously.
Mary: Tom! I need your help!
Tom: Your delusions have completely consumed your life. I have lost my desire to be around you. I’m sorry.
Mary: Listen! I can prove shit to you! I can prove shit to you! I can show you shit! I can show you a girl in a coma who levitates.
Tom: I don’t care.
Mary: I can show you a worm that has been cut into bits and cut into bits and cut into bits and never stops moving. I know a tree and if you eat the fruit, you can hear-
Tom: I don’t care.
Mary: But you aren’t safe if you don’t know! Nobody is safe! They think they are but they aren’t. There are things out there. Only magic can protect you. Weird things. Bad things. I’m reading about them in the Russian book. It’s called “The Strength of God”. It will change your life. This one really is Christian. There are spirits that try to enthrall you. Forest spirits and water spirits and earth spirits. Sometimes they have dead people with them. Lakes often have dead people in them. You’re going to teach me some Russian and I’m going to teach you some rituals from the book. Then you are going to help me understand what name goes with who and who they are. After that, we do whatever the hell we like. I can show you “The Cult of Nabu”, but you won’t understand it because you don’t read history.
Tom: “The Cult of Nabu” is the meltdown book. The one where all the college professors died.
Mary: I guess they called up something they could not put down. That’s bad – but if you don’t try, you never find out. You just have to go gradually, see, so that you don’t suddenly get in over your head. If a mage is careful, they can have anything they want!
Tom: You don’t have everything you want. You don’t have a million dollars.
Mary: Tom – this is bigger than money. Money is meaningless.
Tom: You said a mage can have anything they want. I want one million dollars. If you give me one million dollars, I’ll help you with your book.
Mary: Alright. I’ll get you one million dollars.
Tom: Alright. Do it.
Mary: Its going to take me a little while.
Tom: Take your time. If you give me one million dollars, I’ll help you with your book.
Mary: I’ll do it.
Tom: Alright. Go get it.”
(“Night Café”, Patricia Gallant, 2002).
XI. BOOK OF TEARS
“In physics, Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In wizardry, the reverse is true. For every action, there is an equal and parallel action. This is known as the Law of Sympathy. It is the reason that wizardry is so difficult to control – if wizardry kills one man, it wants to kill two more. It is the reason also why magical sensitivity breeds magical sensitivity. You have heard, perhaps, the joke about the man who spent the first half of his life searching for a house that was haunted and then spent the second half of his life searching for a house that was not haunted. The joke, of course, has a serious point. To perceive is to practice perceiving and eyes that are opened are not easily shut.
What can be seen by one who has not learned to see? A phantom, maybe, if they are sensitive. A whisper that they cannot account for, a nightmare that is a little too solid to be at once dismissed. If they are truly fortunate or knowledgeable, some book that they almost certainly cannot understand. How many stay blind throughout their life? How many seek for monsters and find only shadows? How many dream of wizardry and find only lies and counterfeits?
Are we then, so different – we who in our arrogance claim to see the world as it really is? Perhaps the dead fill our hallways and we do not perceive them. Perhaps hell burns in our living rooms, but we cannot hear the screams of the damned. Perhaps the book you hold now is a grimoire, ten thousand years old, with all the secrets of paradise and the abyss, if you only knew how to read it. An ant can no more see a mountain for what it is than we can see the world around us”. (Seven Notebooks, D. S. Jordan, 1899).
“When first I began to master the subtle art of the magus, I searched my books for rituals, that I might perform miracles thereby. Then, I learned to search my books for names to call upon, that my rituals might be strengthened and that my calls might fall upon more ingenious ears. Lastly, I studied my books to find signification of the laws of magick, that I might break the rituals for my own devices. If a magus may call a cat to him, then may he not, by cunning, call a lion? And if, for his arrogance, he calls forth some horror in its place, is that not too a lesson?”. (Diary of a Witch. Albert Cassiel. 1839. Translated from the French in 1980 by Danielle Ford)
“You have heard of the three steps of Cassiel - performing the rituals, calling upon the names, and improvising within the framework of what is already known. You have also heard, no doubt, that each of these steps is more dangerous than the last. That is not true, for improvisation beyond inherited ritual almost never works. It is the tried and true ritual that is most likely to destroy the scholar”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“It has been said that what is possible for a magician is determined by his world view. False. If it were true, the most fearless or dogmatic magicians would not be the first to be destroyed. However – this much is true – a magician will only learn to control that which they can imagine. Why does a Syrian rot? Because it strikes him as inevitable. Why can’t the Roman banish his gods? Because they are his gods. Why can’t the Satanist escape damnation? Because his religion tells him that he can’t”. (The Cult of Nabu, Sarah Blake, 1985).
“A sorcerer’s capacity is always determined by their worldview, insofar as their worldview must correspond as closely as possible to reality. The wizard must know which things are real and which things are not real. The wizard must know the names of things, for he can only control that which he knows the name of. If the wizard becomes dogmatic, they will never learn. To be a wizard is to have one’s eyes open. To be a wizard is to face that which others turn away from”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990).
“A spirit does not care what religion you are. It does not care what your race is, nor your tribe, nor your nationality, not your sex, nor your personal outlook on life. It cares only whether it is invoked correctly. The magicians of Japan invoke the gods of Rome with more success than the magicians of Europe, because they pay greater attention to detail”. (The Subtle Art, Tabitha Ronson, 1968).
“Ghosthunters never find anything because ghosthunters refuse to look. They have faith that a house is haunted, before they even enter it. They will fabricate evidence and delude even themselves. Their search ends in their own delusions. The world won’t provide you with a ghost just because you want one. Most leads are false, most sources lie, and neither your sincere faith nor the power of your will make any difference. An occult scientist needs to be twice the skeptical detective that a conventional scientist does. When we make assumptions we either find nothing or we get ourselves killed. We must prefer concrete evidence to rumor, we must keep searching for that concrete evidence, and we must study with dedication”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990).
XII. BOOK OF BONE
“I write only what has been passed down to me by word of mouth, from generation to generation, word for word. These words are the wisdom of a hundred generations”. (The Black-Handled Knife. Ivo Seifert. 1989. Anonymously translated from the Serbo-Croatian in 2000).
“Shall I be so arrogant as to tell you the story of my life? I tell you the story because to understand the grimoire, you must understand the author. To perceive his meaning, you must perceive his thoughts”. (Diary of a Witch. Albert Cassiel. 1839. Translated from the French in 1980 by Danielle Ford)
“Because precision is so vital and translation brings imprecision, avoid working with translations wherever possible. If you wish to call a Roman god, call him in Latin. If you wish to call a Greek god, call him in Greek. If you wish to call a Celtic god, your guess is as good as mine”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990).
“I have seen a man forcibly pull his own head clear of his neck. I have eaten with the dead. I have looked upon a god. To be a mage, you must learn from the wisdom of mages. You must understand what they say. To understand them, you must know them – you must know how they saw their universe, how they saw magic, what they hoped to accomplish. When you understand them, you will understand their instructions and may perform their rituals. When you understand them, you will understand the names of their spirits and gods. When you understand them, you will know what they dreamed of, and you will be able to follow in their footsteps.” (Unknown manuscript)
“No-one has any notion of how many books of power have been written, much less how many great books of power have been written. A book of power is called “great” when it is widely known, or has destroyed many who have tried to use it. But what has fame to do with greatness? “The Cult of Nabu” has obliterated readers across the world because it has been read across the world. “The Wizard of Ch’in” has brought so much death because it has had so many students. What then of a book that exists in but a single copy, or is too obscure to be understood, or is written in some rare dialect? Might not that very book hold the keys to the universe?”. (Legends of Ethiopia. David Trappeto. 2002. Translated from the Italian by Dr. D.W. Chan in 2003).
“Why are the most powerful texts also the oldest? No man can say. Is it that wisdom is forgotten with the passing of the years? Is it that through repetition over centuries, rituals gain strength? Is it that the most powerful of the old texts are simply easier to find because they have had time to grow famous? Only God knows”. (The Magician, Armand Murrell, 1925. Anonymous translation from the French).
“The greatest lie ever written: ‘old books are more insightful than modern books’. A book is no better than your understanding of it. Can you enter the mind of a medieval monk, let alone a Roman priest or Egyptian scribe? Idiots always boast about how well they understand magic even though they know nothing. Your capacity to produce a magical effect is the sum of three things – the insight of your sources, your ability to understand your sources, and the appropriateness of the source to the intended effect. Naturally, a mage should snatch any book he can get his hands on, new or old, and naturally, if you happen to be a Latin-speaking theologian with an obsession for Roman mythology, you should invest heavy reading in any medieval grimoire you somehow acquire. But the cardinal rule is – work with what you know, whatever it might be. I am a mathematician. I am a Christian. I don’t speak Latin. In fact, I don’t know about history at all. But I do know magic – and you can know that I what I tell you is true, because I will enable you to work wonders.” (The Fabric of Space and Time. C. Di Alberto. Mid 1930s. Anonymous translation from Italian into English, 1988).
“Old books of power are not more insightful than modern books of power. The reason that they have this reputation is that they are so rare and difficult to come by. A variety of perspectives broadens the mind - the perspective of an older book is valuable precisely because that perspective is rarely seen. In other words, the age of the book doesn’t make it insightful – but rather the difference in age between the book and the reader. If a magician of the Renaissance were to somehow acquire a copy of “Metaphysics”, the effects on her magic would be not be less than the effects upon the magic of a modern magician if she acquires a text from the Renaissance”. (The Subtle Art, Tabitha Ronson, 1968).
“The reason that old books of power are greater than young books of power is that a text has to be powerful to survive. Thus, we have very few books from the past, but those that we do have are strong, and the older the book is, the rarer and stronger it is likely to be. Most young books are comparatively weak, but most young books will not survive. A thousand years from now, only a few texts from our time will exist – the most powerful that we produce”. (The Magician, Armand Murrell, 1925. Anonymous translation from the French).
“Murrell states that old books of power are more insightful because only insightful books survive. This traditionally romantic explanation overlooks the fact that old books of lesser power survive alongside old books of greater power. Indeed, if anything, lesser books survive in significantly greater number. The average insight of wizards was not higher in the past – the maximum potential for wizards was higher. In every age, some wizards burn brighter than others, and the earlier the age, the brighter the greatest wizards burned”. (Kings of Bronze. Anna LeClaire. 1987. Anonymous translation from the French).
“There are three methods by which magic may be learned. Firstly, it may be learned by revelation – someone, or something, may teach. Secondly, it may be learned by inheritance – words that have been passed down over the years in written form may be read. Lastly, it may be learned by recovery – that which has not been deliberately preserved may yet be rediscovered. Rediscovery is the method of the grave-robber, the necromancer and the archaeologist. Why such lies and secrecy about what was unearthed at Nemi in Italy or at Aegina or Marathon in Greece? Why are we forbidden to know what George Bass found off Phoenician Uluburun?”. (War in Heaven, Alex K., 1991)
“Books of power are inherently unlucky. Have you ever tried to copy or translate passages? It is almost impossible to do. Your fortune deteriorates. For that matter, the authors themselves always seem to have met some terrible demise. Of course, this means that I am being an idiot for writing this, but I have to make the truth known. I suppose that is why magi keep writing books of power – they just want to make the truth known. Magi should shun the limelight anyway. Fame is bad. Bad luck bad.
People need to be told that magic is real. People need to be told that everything is possible – that you just need to find the way.” (Anonymous manuscript. Late 20th century).
“It is impossible to mass-produce a grimoire. This is the fundamental mystery of the universe. Software will crash, equipment will fail, people will have accidents. It is difficult and dangerous even to copy passages or write translations. How can it be that a human artifact, through no choice of the human who produced it, becomes incapable of mass-production? How can it be that the greatest magic in the world is not enough to freely distribute copies of the least insightful grimoire in the world? How can it be that enlightenment of the world is always thwarted? Books of power should be spreading. Instead, they are disappearing. Already, even the 20th century canon is being lost. It is a stroke of fortune to find a book that is over twenty years old, much less fifty. What hope do we have of preserving the wisdom of earlier ages?”. (Kings of Bronze. Anna LeClaire. 1987. Anonymous translation from the French).
“There is a limited quantity of Enlightenment in the universe. It never gets used up, but it gets divided in different ways. Throughout most of human history, Enlightenment has been the monopoly of a few individuals. But humanity has grown steadily more capable of sharing Enlightenment. In a literate culture, one person’s thoughts might be shared with a group of others. In a mass-literate culture, the spread is potentially unlimited. Information spreads Enlightenment, and Enlightenment spreads Information. “The Cult of Nabu” was not the magic revolution of the 20th century – the Internet was. But because the Enlightenment in the universe is finite, the spread of Enlightenment has reduced the supply available and it becomes ever more difficult to find. Instead of a few magi of great wisdom, there are more magi each with less understanding.
This eternal opposition between Enlightenment and Information explains three things. Firstly, it explains why the magi of low-Information cultures have a deeper understanding than the magi of high-Information cultures. Secondly, it explains why magi kill each other on principle. Thirdly, it explains the rise of magic in the world. Magic is rising because of the Amaterasu Principle - the power of Enlightenment refracted through ten-thousand shards is brighter than the unbroken mirror. We live in an age of miracles. The universe is lit up. The universe is on fire. Together, we have broken through gates that the ancients barely dreamed of, and learned things that their minds could not comprehend.” (Anonymous manuscript)
“It is the bookworm’s ultimate conceit that only bookworms are magi. Study of the paranormal quickly reveals this to be untrue. For example, it is known that in 1976, Peter Koslowski, an illiterate transient, bent his right forearm at an angle of at least 45 degrees in order to retrieve keys that would release him from a jail cell. Was this man a bibliophile? It is known that in the late 1940s, Mary James, a poorly educated mental patient who was so afflicted with tremors that she could not keep her gaze straight, let alone read a book, broke her bones on no less than three occasions by falling through a perfectly solid floor. Was she a bibliophile? In 1983, Emmanuel Planner, a thirteen year old boy, filled his parent’s home with spirits to the point that retrieving him was quite impossible. He was dyslexic, and absolutely unable to comprehend anything more complicated than a childish comic book. Was he the master of a great library? The list goes on”. (The Footsteps of Copernicus, Anonymous, 1990)
XIII. BOOK OF WHISPERS
“It is said that “Wolf” lay with Hermes himself. She certainly lay with something.” (Unknown)
“I never understood ‘The Black-Handled Knife’ and I’m not sure I would want to. But I know of one woman who did understand it. She tried to contract lycanthropy through the book. What makes her case interesting is that the book contains no such ritual. She just decided that since the text originated in Eastern Europe, it must possess the secret. She failed – and her own dog killed her. But - she had had a little sister who was assisting her. That little sister managed to murder ten people - all by dog-attack - before someone put her down. That shows that there was something to the older sister’s method.
So I thought – well, Crowley believed that he had learned how to pass gates guarded by ‘red giants’. “Secrets of the Rosy Cross” doesn’t mention any ‘red giants’, but maybe Crowley got the idea from somewhere. What could it hurt to try to find these ‘red giants’ and have a look through whatever gate they are guarding? So I searched and experimented and kept looking for these things. I tried all kinds of rituals, I called them by all the names I could come up with, I studied for hints in “Secrets” and my other books. I quit, started again, quit, started again. Then one night, the red giants arrived. The second they did, I knew that I did not want to see anything that they might be guarding.” (A History of the Apocalypse, Wayne Eastern, 2004)
“The power of a spell is a function of its secrecy. Right. This is why secret books are more powerful than public books. Right. This is why rare books are more powerful than common books. Right. This is why old books are more powerful than new books. Right. Obviously, secrecy is not enough. Right. If it were, every lunatic who tries to try to write a grimoire would be successful beyond his wildest imaginings. Right. There is greater insight, lesser insight and no insight, and scarcity merely magnifies what is already there. Right. Right. Right.
Once upon a time, there was this guy. Right. And he was an ordinary guy. Right. Nobody special. Right. Well one day, this nobody walks into a bookstore. Right. He’s looking for something to read – it could be anything. Right. He sees this book on the shelf. Right. On a whim, he buys it and he takes it home. Right. Right. Right.
This book was called “The Black-Handled Knife”. Right. It was supposed to be a book about East-European folklore, and it was supposed to have spells in it. Right. The book said that the spells were very old and very secret and that they would really work. Right. The guy reads the book. Right. Its really weird but really interesting. Right. The book isn’t really European folklore at all. Right. It’s some mad woman’s personal cosmology. Right. She gives you her list of gods. Right. She has a religion for you. Right. She says, if you follow her religion, you will be able to use spells. Right. Then she gives you these spells for hurting your enemies, getting laid. Right. Killing a spirit. Right. Then she says that she’s not sure she believes the religion, but the spells work. Right. And the guy thinks, if I don’t have to renounce my religion for the stuff to work, what the hell? Right. Might as well try it. Right. Right. Right.
This guy doesn’t want to hurt his enemies. Right. He’d like to get laid, but it doesn’t seem right. Right. He doesn’t want a kill a spirit. Right. But he’s willing to threaten. Right. The guy just wants some things done. Right. So he tracks down a “vila”, like the books tells him to. Right. A dead girl who’s a werewolf and lives in storms. Right. And the guy threatens to stab the spirit and cut it apart if it will not manifest. Right. Like in the book. Right. Right. Right.
Nothing. Right. A week - more. Right. The guy has moved on to reading other things. Right. He wakes up in his bed. Right. The room is pitch black. Right. Perfectly silent. Right. But he knows there is something there. Right. His heart is hammering. Right. He runs for the light switch and hits it. Right. The room is empty but the thing is still there. Right. This guy is terrified. Right. He knows it’s in the room. Right. But he can’t see it. Right. And he runs like hell. Right. He’s so scared, he moves apartments. Right. He wakes up a week later and he knows he isn’t alone. Right. He hurt his enemies and he got laid. Right. But I could never get rid of the thing. Right. Right. Right.” (Unknown)
“If the boogie man gets you, your mom and dad won’t even try to save you, because they just forget all about you. They forget you were ever born. One kid got away once and got home and his mom wouldn’t open the door. She didn’t know who he was. The boogie man was coming to get him back and he kept yelling to get in, but she never opened the door”. (Unknown)
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