3000-Year Genealogy of Magic Books Visual Encyclopedia Revealed How to Manipulate Demons and Angels

From “Harry Potter” to “Dragon Quest,” magic is a natural part of the world of movies, manga, games, and other creative works, but its basic source is a grimoire that appeared in medieval and early modern Europe. The basic source of this is the grimoire, a book of grimoires.

In a narrow sense, a grimoire is a book that describes how to summon demons, spirits, and angels, as well as designs for magic circles and the like.

This “Visual Illustrated Guide to the History of Magick” (Kawade Shobo Shinsha) covers everything from protective charms and amulets to full-scale manuals for summoning spirits, from the ancient Middle East and China to the American continent after colonization. In the Middle Ages, ritual magic was treated as a subject to be studied as a general education. In an age when the boundaries between art, science, and magic were blurred, “grimoires” were a culmination of the best of “knowledge” and “art. This book introduces such “grimoires” from the East and West with abundant photographs. Some of them are introduced here.

The Book of the Dead” written on papyrus

One of the earliest grimoires was written on papyrus, which was used in ancient Egypt from BC. The famous “Book of the Dead,” a burial tablet found in ancient Egyptian tombs, contains prayers and incantations for resurrection.

The Book of the Dead of Neferlempet (1279-1213 BCE) is part of the Book of the Dead by an ancient Egyptian relief engraver, illustrated in ink on papyrus. Such scrolls contained a series of incantations to aid the dead in their journey in the afterlife, and supplementary illustrations were also shown. There is no strict uniformity in the contents of these scrolls, and some were clearly written as commissioned by a person of high rank. The illustrations show figures kneeling before a gate worshipping the gods of death and the afterlife, including Osiris.

Fragments of the Book of the Dead of Leri (305-30 BCE) are written in the ancient script of the Hieratic. The serpent to be driven away and the text associated with it are similar to those found in other Books of the Dead and on the walls of tombs, which read as follows.

“O serpent of Lelek, arise! For Geb will protect me. Arise, you have eaten the rat that Ra hates and chewed the bones of a rotten cat!”

Geb is the grandson of the sun god Ra, the deification of the earth. Another fragment introduces a spell used by the dead against the crocodile. ‘Retreat, you dangerous one! 　 Do not oppose me, follow my magic,” and ends with the words, “The crocodile that lives by magic (cannot take away my magic)! ” and ends with the words, “The crocodile that lives by magic (cannot take away my magic)! In ancient Egyptian belief, dangerous animals such as snakes and crocodiles seemed to be a threat even in the spiritual world.

Solomon, the great magic king who reigned in Europe

One name that always comes up when discussing grimoires is King Solomon. According to the Bible, King Solomon (reigned 970-931 BC) built the Great Temple in Jerusalem and established the Kingdom of Israel at its peak. But there is no mention of “Solomon the Magician” in the Bible. How, then, did his fame as a sorcerer come to spread so widely?

It seems to be the influence of a document commonly referred to as “The Legacy of Solomon”. This document, attributed to him, describes his many confrontations with and conquests over demons, and includes a description of the famous Seal of Solomon, the Ring.

On one occasion, while Solomon was praying in the temple for a young man who was afflicted by the vampire demon Ornias, the archangel Michael appeared from heaven and gave Solomon a ring inscribed with the divine seal of a five-pointed star (later a six-pointed star was also used). The owner of the ring would be given the power to command all demons. From this, for centuries, the image of the great sorcerer Solomon took root throughout all the major religious centers of Europe and the Middle East.

In the fifteenth century, a new grimoire of Solomon, The Key of Solomon, appeared, and Solomon took an even greater place at the center of the European magical tradition. Various versions of “Solomon’s Key” were popularized in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it became a grimoire full of practical magic, including illustrations and explanations of how to deal with thieves, problems of the mind, how to become invisible, and how to invoke spirits. There was no single version, and it became possible for the “author” to add as much practical magical knowledge as he wished, as long as he had Solomon’s name and seal.

Were you a traveling entertainer?　Dr. Faust

The invention of letterpress printing in Europe in the 15th century had a profound effect on grimoires. The mass printing of not only biblical and religious books, but also books on demonology and alchemy made knowledge of these subjects more widely available to the public than ever before. And the power of printing also gave rise to a new generation of legendary magicians. The most notorious of these was Dr. Faust.

The earliest mention of Faust in history appears in a letter written by the abbot and occult philosopher Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516). According to the letter, the real Dr. Faust called himself “the prince of necromancers” and was a traveling entertainer with a great deal to say.

Decades after his death, Faust became the legendary European sorcerer of legendary stories. In fact, it was thanks to the printing press. The first printed book about the fictional Faust was published in German in the late 16th century. It tells the story of Faust making a pact with the devil’s minion Mephistopheles in order to improve his magical knowledge and acquire new powers that would allow him to surpass others. However, the power is only available for a limited time, and when the promised date arrives, Satan steals Faust’s body and soul.

The “Faust legend” was translated and printed in many languages and has influenced many artists and writers over the centuries. The most famous of these is “Faust,” the masterpiece of the German poet and playwright Goethe. The story of Faust was taken up many times in popular literature throughout Europe well into the 19th century as a warning to those obsessed with contracts with demonic forces.

The history of grimoires reveals a group of people who learned magic from their predecessors and added their own elements and interpretations to pass it on to future generations. They turned Solomon and Faust into great magicians, sometimes for money, sometimes as their own creations.

Even today, we are surrounded by creations based on magical and satanic motifs. The genealogy of witchcraft is still passed down to game designers, movie producers, comic book writers, and novelists.