PRODUCT SUMMARY. The Book of Oberon is the meticulous transcription and translation of a sixteenth-century manuscript acquired by the esteemed Folger Shakespeare Library. Unlike the more theoretical magic books of the era, this collection of spells, secrets, and summonings was compiled gradually by unknown authors for working practical magic. A beautiful cloth edition, compiled from original manuscripts and fragments in the British Museum Library, Joseph Peterson's new presentation is the most complete and accurate edition of this famous magical grimoire.
Grimorium Verum is one of the most notorious handbooks of black magic - one of the few that deals openly with spirits of darkness. People have long sought the aid of non-physical beings; the biblical king Solomon in particular had a reputation since ancient times for commanding demons.
There are many texts purporting to reveal Solomon's methods, but most are extremely complicated and difficult. Grimorium Verum is one of the easier texts, but also one of the most sinister. It includes a catalog of specific demons and how to draw on their powers. This new critical edition includes a fresh translation based on all the major sources, complete French and Italian texts, and 5 other appendices.
Joseph Peterson has translated many religious and esoteric texts, including John Dee's Five Books of Mystery, The Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton), and The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. He has contributed articles to Scriptures of the World's Religions (1998) and Document-Based Questions (World History/Ancient Civilizations, 2006). Peterson is an active member of the American Academy of Religion and the American Folklore Society.
He has an extensive collection of rare esoteric documents, which he shares at his award-winning websites esotericarchives.com and avesta.org. He lives near Rochester Minnesota.
Contents.Title Waite assumes that the title is from the: ארבעתאל (or Arbotal) as the name of an angel the author would have claimed to have learned magic from.Adolf Jacoby believed the name to be a reference to the, via the Hebrew ARBOThIM (fourfold) and AL (or God).Peterson, mentioning the above possibilities, also suggests that the title might be the author's pseudonym. Origin The Arbatel is noted for being straightforward in its writing, positive in its contents, and unusually honest regarding its origins. While a number of occult works claim to be from earlier periods and other regions than where they were actually published, textual evidence demonstrates that the book must have been written between 1536 and 1583, which encompasses the claimed date of 1575. The final editing of the book was likely carried out by, and was almost definitely published by, leaving little doubt to the book's claimed Swiss origin.
The author remains unknown, but Peterson believes one Jacques Gohory (1520–1576) to be the most likely possibility. Gohory, like Zwinger and Perna, was a.Some German manuscripts produced shortly after its publication attribute the work to Paracelsus, though without evidence.
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Nature The Arbatel mainly focuses on the relationship between humanity, celestial hierarchies, and the positive relationship between the two. The Olympian spirits featured in it are entirely original., quite clear of the Christian nature of the work (if dissatisfied with its ideas of practical magic), writes that the book is devoid of black magic and without any connection to the. Unlike other grimoires, the Arbatel exhorts the magus to remain active in their community (instead of isolating themselves), favoring kindness, charity, and honesty over remote and obscure rituals.The is the source most often quoted and referred to throughout the work (indeed, the author appears to have almost memorized large portions of it, resulting in paraphrases differing from the ). The Arbatel cannot be understood if separated from the philosophy of, who appears to have coined the term ', and was the inspiration for the Arbatel 's understanding of (including Paracelsus's and the uniquely Paracelsian 'Sagani'), the, and combined with respect for ancient authorities. Indeed, the Arbatel is both broadly and deeply rooted in classical culture, including, the and, in addition to the contemporaneous theology and occult philosophy of figures such as. (All of these traits also feature in the works of Jacques Gohory, which Peterson claims as evidence for his theory of Gohory's authorship.) Reception and influence The Arbatel was one of the most influential works of its kind from its period, inspiring figures such as, and, in addition to its editor and publisher, Zwinger and Perna.
It was possibly the first work to use ' in an occult sense (as opposed to a synonym for ), and for distinguishing between human ('anthroposophia') and divine knowledge ('theosophia'). Indeed, may have chosen the word 'Theosophy' to describe his ideas due to its use in the Arbatel. It was where found the term anthroposophy, later adopted by to describe his belief system. Not all reception was positive, however. The book was condemned by in his as being 'full of magical impiety', and by censor. In 1617, the took action against two professors who intended to use the grimoire as a textbook, and expelled a student obsessed with it. In 1623, an accused witch named Jean Michel Menuisier revealed that, despite not owning a copy of the Arbatel, used a few invocations from it.John Dee wrote about studying the Arbatel (among many other occult works of the period).
This influence lead Nicholas Clulee to posit that Dee did not see his angelic experiments as magical, but in fact religious, as both Dee's ceremonies and the magical system of the Arbatel begin with prayers to God that cautiously lead into requests to see heavenly angels. Dee also recorded calling upon at least the Arbatel 's solar Olympian spirit Och. Mystic credited the work for his interest in.Elements of the Arbatel appear in a number of versions of the. And incorporated a number of elements from Robert Turner's translation of the Arbatel into their own magical works, including The Clavic or Key to the Magic of Solomon and The Complete Book of Magic Science, the latter of which was one of many later sources for the.A copy of the work was listed in the catalogue for the in 1854. Although access to it would have been restricted, its presence indicates that it played a role in American folk beliefs. In 1898, Arthur Edward Waite undertook the first historical study of grimoires as a genre, detailing the Arbatel as one of many important works. A copy of a German translation appeared in the Berlin publishing company Herman Barsdorf Verlag's Magische Werke in 1921.
Occultist Stephen Skinner claims that the of the names of the Olympic Spirits summing to 31, the numeration of 'AL' as in Liber AL, may have been responsible for inspiring 's, although Skinner admits that the influence on Crowley may not have been conscious. Editions The first edition was published in 1575 in, with no evidence for earlier editions despite some claims otherwise. Other editions include:. A reprint in 1575,.
English translation by Robert Turner, 1655, printed in Turner's translation of the spurious 'Fourth' book of 's. The most popular version in the English-speaking world, though with some mistakes. German translation by Andreas Luppius, 1686. Reprinted by Johann Scheible's. Features a number of additions and changes, including a printer's mark mistakenly assumed to be a part of the work.
Andreas Luppius also published a version of the Arbatel as Clavicula Salomonis et Theosophia pneumatica. English translation in the 's Manuscripts, 3851.
A different translation from Turner's, with more corruptions, errors and even missing sections. Copied from the notebook of a physician named Arthur Gauntlet.
It does, however, feature a 'Seal of Secrets' mentioned in one section that is absent from all other versions. This version (as part of Gauntlet's notebook) was later edited and published by David Rankine and Avalonia press as The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet in 2011. Another partial independent English translation in the Sloane MS, 17th century.
Another German translation by Scheible, 1855. Mostly follows Luppius, with some corrections to match the original Latin. French translation by Marc Haven, 1945. Claims to be translated from the original Latin, but appears to be a retranslation of Turner's English version. Latin text with parallel English translation by Joseph H.
Peterson, Arbatel: Concerning the Magic of the Ancients. Newly translated, edited and annotated by Joseph H. Peterson, Ibis Press/Nicolas Hays, 2009.References.