aan A HISTORY OF THE! MAGICAL ART FORMHave you ever wanted to make magic? Spellcraft is a CRD yee ee od eet) ! CE eee ke ahha MR started, you need to understand its history, from the beliefs COCR eee COs eeu eR Mul: [te UT SME eee Ne Ra Umea ceo oD this Book of Spells, you'll discover some of the world’s PCR mute eer ae how they were used, learn how to Pa cecn eee cen mer hick) Pee BC SL Re ee Us ha te Ure Mea ear Rae UT RL RNA Lite cols Mol Bo) ] Pee Re mans acnt Rural g Ii Poe Riese ame te ee eZ Lc the more you know and the more you practise, the better Cla eT MS CoCo meee} rushed. In this book you'll find areas where you can kee} Cree et uu een R CeCe ct ] so you can learn more about how they're affected by the Oar CiCeet ae ema CeCe mice Sarena ee eet enter Reha etree ee accel a Seer Raa C=This bookazine is printed on recycled pape. ts important that we eare about our plonet and make adiference where we can, for usand every generation that fellows.PN TERT AES i) R er oa) BX 32 oi 36 38 BY Erara nny Magical thinking Varieties of magic BL Tae SUE rvs) Greek Magical Papyri BUT Suter Um EL ag Bee) irae aacate) (Oy EULER Ura BUR re eine cy ‘The Merseberg Charms Anglo-Saxon metrical charms ‘The Carmina Gadelica BE Oar ‘the four elements ‘The lore of earth ‘The lore of air Baa ir BUT aelcos BTA aR ULa Tay Full Moon, esbats and magic Gods, saints and spellcraft Building a spell BU Taa Tea a Ura oe aria TLC re CONE ate goto) ‘Lugbnasadh Mabon REEL)or oly 98 100 102 tt cy ce) no eed UY A aoe ieee RUM Ere) roth (ON oeRelce a Spells for luck ano fortune Aye Bm ere CAO) RY fal mie ec ren irareg Ry ira mea eee Co AY elena AY Tal LUST a Spell for blessing a new Pras AS el BCmiecar DN continuing relationship iP ny) nT Di} Pty iPod PrN 126 Beets spells Spell for maintaining PU Te) Spell for healing a PELs ri Spell for bealing sa by the Earth } RY al Com acca) Spell for self Pree) AY ira 1 Om Peete others Ry tele om uae Lira _‘Book of Spells:: BM Eten CIS Magical thinking Varieties of magic The Atharvaveda Greek Magical Papyri The Emerald Tablet Sagem Se RCL} the Ffermetica (Oy EU EUR UTS Black Books The Merseberg Charms Anglo-Saxon metrical charmsMAGIC WORDS Incantations come in many forms, and can be used to grant wishes, enact magical transformations, or even FS o- Reece ko B eI Bre eed Seat Se eed ‘words do this: incantations are ee ee et SNe eee een Latin incantare, meaning "to chant or bewitey, ere ene eee g Se ee eee eee eet eee eee ‘or ceremony. They are spoken verses, songs or chants, used to make the intent of the speaker ee ee reas en ee poe ere ens Pe eee eee erneenee) Se ee ‘the world, The mere act of saying certain words es End ore Senn ena ee eed er et eng eee es Cee ty oa Seas erect) errs rire et ae ee aes ee ee es erie, ed eg ed ee ed etd Dae {nfl an fy tales, ncantations often appear See ed etree ‘word that is often repeated ~ that help to induce eee Se nee ey ‘orasking for hep. Christan monks, eee) Pegs Pen ee ea een eer eet eer eee ape ns core nn ceed Vikings and Anglo Saxons ‘used charms fr healing. The ed some ofthe mest famous, with one used to heal the sprained hoof ofthe ‘Norse god Bali's wounded hors, and another to Se Reed eee ee ey ee ced Seay eesAe "i Ww Ver ( CHINKI SIV Eea(@n eise-W (ovelear-varel venerable history that has been entwined with and had an important influence on both religion and science for centuries, and still Tesonates. with people today ing moment ’id scheme Magic through the ages kind of magi \tury BCEees Sed eee ee gods and the regulations that their ete a oat ee ey Rt ee eens material universe, and through informed theorising pete ee ee ren) ore eee ag Magic can be thought of as the halfway Pee ee eet rete ng es een en ee] Seneca) followers of pagan religions such as Wicca. But fo pene nor eenert ree eee ements eats ee es ee ety eae eee ees carer een vet Sa paren reer Peres Serer eeenree er ets een eee een et a SAL eee Teen eet ere be See eee ee us relign and science. Religion Perens ce eee Se ee neces ee ees ee eter roa best wien e sid that magic is “the Science and Art Petes tem tr Coreen Ree ee eT Pe ee ees how people have done so over the centuries, yielaes he SVElleminaaeae) ae en science and religion’ Defining moment Anew ag 1950s-present © Colona bine 1 © atte mageThe idea of magic grew out of prehistoric cultural practices, before evolving in the cradle of civilisation ‘ome ofthe entest examples of _magjcal thinking can be een in the art and artefacts let behind by our Paleoithic ancestors, While we dont have writen records that explain tous wha these ancient people meant thousands of years ago when ‘they created these items, we can infer something of ther use and meaning from context ‘We know that in the Mle to Upper Paleo era (between 80,000-40.000 years ago, hunter gatherers improved many of ther existing technologies and cated new anes, They alsa ‘began to creat art. and this gives us hue as to what they might have ben thinking. Cave paintings of prey animals may show a simple record of what tll and when, which older hunters would have narrate to younger ones, Or ‘they may show evidence ofan animistic belief ‘system, in which the spit ofthe prey strapped ‘ma ntualy drawn image before the hunt enabling Jnuntrs to capture and kl t,o in which the group honours the animal’ sacrifice after its death by immoralising iin pant. Some sites feature mages of strange halaman, halfanimal hybrids ‘that hintatan even deeper and mote meaningful shamanic relationship wth the natural wold “These ancient people also proptiated the spirits. oftheir ancestors with grave offerings, andl this gave rise to clic rituals around death and the afteif. The greatest example of thi the bei system that came into being in ancient Egypt, and it here thatthe oldest known religious tests inthe world were discovered. We call the Pyramid Texts religious because they ate set firmly within a well documented theology, buta better adjective might ema ase spells that these texts “Herodotus describes the magu calming a storm by using wizard's spells on the wind”BU Tar tu) PET Cer) eee eee cee contain, Specifically the instructions, carved into the inner walls of tombs, contain directions that the dead need to fll to pretect their remains and enter the after In the ancient ward, then, eigon and magic were ight intrewined, and nowhere was tis ‘more visble than in Perla, Once the largest empite the weld ad ever seen it held sway over lands from Burope to Afia to India, and ts language and culture affects thets evento this day. Dring ts smenid Expite a socal clas rose that was made up ofthe priests of Persist state eligon, Zoroastrianism. The particular they apple tothe v the far north that arrived via By tum to trade fori with them To the Muslim Arabs. these northerner were unbelievers pagans and heathens lke the defeated Perstans and thet plesthood, and so they called them by the same name: al Maas “Today, we know them as the Vikings. The Vikings may not have used the word ‘magic’ themselves bat they had avery clear concept oft. Ther word fr wae fkyney or ‘ret knowledge, and it was coi into systems. ‘Sidr’ or sorcery by women (And oceasinally priests were called ‘magu: Persia's ‘some men, although they were regnbrmmat 5 peatlandot > matron someone wio is able 10 meant its word for distaflike wands that they and capable of, magic was adopted ‘used to literally spin charms Going someting throughout the ike tread. The metaphysical to predict eclipses and meteor showers; some of fe temples in wich a sacred flame alvays burned, seemingly ofits own voliton thanks to some clever engineering or the 5 natural gash and they had a finn gipon Persian royal power and onthe hearts and minds ofthe populace, both of whic fueled their international reputation for the uncanny In ‘one memorable passage from the seventh book of his Histories, Herodotus describes the magu calming a storm by making sacrifices tothe ancestor spins and goddesses of the sea, using ards spells onthe wind The Greeks derived the words magos. ago ‘magies and tage’ from the welltravelled mag, wo also bequeathed their name othe Arabic ‘maj, the Old Chinese mya, the Latin ‘magicae and evensually the English ‘magic, And in the (Christian Navy story the the kingly wise ren that follow a sar to bring rich ifs of go frankincense and my tothe infant esus are red tos the Mag But despite the connotations, calling slur in the acent wel even, presence of a vent postive, biblical tually in what was once Pers tn Grek the frm came to mean ‘hazlatan: When Arabic svaders cong Persia, they used the term to describe anyone who diet follow sam & in singing. Men and women could practice gale by ‘vocaisng thythmic spells - eral enchantment These spells could also be enacted by spelling out the runes ofthe Norse Futharkserip which was considered magical in and of set By the end of antiquity then, the concept of ‘magic had already become the stuf of legend, offered understanding of the elements and stars, knowiedge of the pat present and fare even power over life and death, all of which could be achieved through the use of uals, too, words and chants, Clever capable people 0 knew practiced ill over the known weal, No won: ic would soon bes imate crvBLACK MAGIC Sorcery was viewed with fear and superstition Sle eep reel IA oem yall BoC oeeme halite} began to explore its arcane expertise eT ete nnd Ce nS eee ony eae no See eae! ‘in Burope and the New World because they were enna eee ey em eee) rs Det ee Rete eet er GGracco Roman thought that it based some eer ents Cont eet et eects See ee seen as not only the charlatans thatthe Greeks Se ee ee a ees Cr nee ee eee aes Sd Seen eu eee Se ee nt eta Cee ene cs Ce eee er td ‘Melusine and Morgan le Fay apparently had fairy oe re Serer ee tot ere vcnanin es See rebate ee eet ent! So Re ert i Se ea ‘atron they were no more or less capable of ev Sees Se et te ned Cee Ee ee mn eee et td Cee es ee ee ane er Bere eer eta Pr er eee cae Pm ee een ene eee eed Perera cry Pe ere Serre ey penn oar Perea“Alchemy arrived in Europe with a bang the Sed eenury Alchemy’ in the ath century BCE between ancient Egyptian sconce and st and the philosophical and technical prowess practitioners, male and feral, fled variety of fats, lest roots len Hellenistic Baye the crossover point sera ofthe ancient Greeks. seal including the religions ofthe book and varius pagan theologies They made dyes and medicines and staied metal * on 11 February 1144" and by the 650 CE, alchemy was les a slence fr working with chemicals and more a famewerk fo understanding the transformative overs of inte way of probing the secrets of the universe, The thea os philosophers stone, vere seen as metaphors fr personal. spiritual and magical gown. They were the keys to hidden powers, usable only by trained practitioners who followed the proper, enced formulae To this day, hermetic’ means tightly jsed,inaccessibe. This hermetic alchemy was influential eastwards a far aay 2s Indi: parallel variant evolved in China, which was more focused ‘on medicine than metalwork, and gave ris 10 powder Alchemy atived in Europe with a bang on I February 144 thanks to one man, an English ‘abophile woeking in the Iberian Peninsula, named Robert of Chester He translated ane book ‘of alchemy; thereafter alchemical texts flooded toto Cristian Spain fiom the neighbouring Muslim realm of al-Andalus were translated ito Latin, and made thei way north. Highly placed academic theologians began trumpeting the vale of rationalism and Artotelin thought, tin the superstitious Europe ofthe Mile Ages litle of this sank into the popular consciousness. Famous medieval European practitioners of the scintif side of alchemy inchuded Albertus Magnus, Thr Aquinas and Roger Bacon All three were highly placed churchmen, but in the medieval mind they wee suspected of being wizards and rages, Bacon was rimouie to have and the behaviour of minerals sculpted ahead out of bron alchemy has always had a close Many early that could speak and answer relationship with scence, alchemical texts ‘questions pt tit and the moder science of ‘were lost wthen As the medieval p hens dees ame the Roman Emperor. Svewayeney rom i Tese alchemists Diocletian ordered modem era in Europe, these aor Greek philosophies thagoreanism, Pi Staicism and Gnosticism wer studled and debated by alehemy's merging with Egyptian ideas about the god hot thie great ad of knowledge, science, plosopy religion and magic. The Ptolemaic Greeks syncretsed Thoth with his Hellenic equivalent, Hermes, through thei system of iteretatic them burned in the. My, ardcentury CEP ffenea ton te igure of Hermes Tismegistus, highly placed practitioners ‘common or gaden cunning folk that brewed cures and pot cast owe spells ard averted curses. Js Hunts of the erly modern period would see tens of thousands of people dead, mest ‘of whom wouldnt have a the fst dea hor to But forthe gentlemanalehemist ike John Dee and his successors, magic was now a etimate line of enguity inthe study of natural pilesophy. The naisance concept of magia naturals magie- encompassed alchemy, astuology and herbalism and the sciences that grew from them: study ofthe natural wold and the force that was ought shally and usefal quest for knowledge that had nothing in common with the transgressive. demonially inspired wi ches that hung from the of Europe and the New World. Those natural ‘magicians who were sil trafficking with arcane forces and esoteric powers now did So quiet behind hermetically) cased doors And who inthe emering Age of Reason weuld believe that they were doing anything a al? Site Cy RreraeThe Age of Reason may have obscured them, but magical traditions were just waiting to be rediscovered be Ag of Reason was osely ted tothe Ae of ise the cobra rain wich Western peers boyd by heir advanced technology conquered and commandeered vost rac ofthe esto the woo In these mysterio ne terres notably Ac, furopean coos came across indigenous reigns and practies With overwhelming drrgance the patrarchal European power Sze showed no ners in karin abot theses and beefs nstead syncing ‘hem wh the asumptons that had been stad bot European fk magn the Kh and Th eure Abst they were seen as feos arthcpogcal quis sbi the ‘misguided notion tat the ongueed peoples two ecalyinfsirtnand calay at advanced than hei onpesors worst they wean apart he pene ace ‘rich devment and erry tht sod be arly spores bythe closers forthe sate ofthe ater souls Tht ance magie ‘scams as omethig ination and renee, pcted By ol wes kts and Savages who dnt know any beter Western Society believed poke oan absence of lg 2d ana that bevaed ts praones : ieectua al or curl infty. Traditons that were al umpedtgeherihe—hermedc traditions who were prepared 0 corinae This patematisic hubris tude did the thisnow often smack unemfotably of cual _exparingboth thei onn maga customs and practi of uropean and werk mage —_aproprton ot canal bias, Yet deste gt thse othe ver woo wrth ing however, few fous ich and spect adtons om pots wih the deer enchantment ofthat nt every practitioner was open-minded and diferent pices were nceremoniousy ouped the Ageof Reason there wee sill more open” accepting Some ofthe Esters ofthe Occult together beled astockvardand uncised minded Wesem pacones often hes tothe Reval sought power er than understanding sterion, and te eer quedo recorded pecemel a anticpdoges costes. ‘as esi em ln Tn the wake of World War II, people were teen divored tom the nuances of thelr egal looking for new ways of seeing the world’ meaning. Gaps that were later filled in from otherin their appropriation of traditions from around the world. Some adhered tothe narrow-minded ‘aca prejudices tha were typical of thelr time and culture others went even further and embraced es ofthe new and sing the supremacist eo politcal philosophy of fascism. which had a deep fascination with the occu. navies the erly to mid 20th century, pllosophies that distrusted religion such as ‘communism, secularism and humanism, found magica useful stick to beat with Glossing over the deb that scence oves to the some ofthe extly concepts of magi like alchemy - hile aiming the same ime to promote scientific rationalism ‘commentators like HL Mencken used comparisons with the ‘outdates! concepts of magic to satirise anid mock key religious ideas like holiness, prayer ani miraces in an atterp to place region onthe national concepeual lve as so-called primitive folk trations At time when same ‘unctise ‘conventional eigoas institutions were seeing,