Arbatel: Of the Magic of the Ancients

The Arbatel de magia veterum appeared anonymously in Basel in 1575, probably from the press of Pietro Perna, the publisher of Paracelsian and heterodox literature. It announces itself as the first of nine tomes on magic, but only the first, the Isagoge or introduction, was ever published. This consists of forty-nine aphorisms arranged in seven ‘septenaries’, written in a confident, devout and almost mystical tone. Unlike most grimoires, it has little to say about circles, conjurations or demons. It teaches that true magic is a gift of God, that the magician must live piously, love his neighbour and study Scripture, and that the spirits are ministers who serve those whom God has chosen. Its most distinctive element is the system of seven ‘Olympic spirits’, Aratron, Bethor, Phaleg, Och, Hagith, Ophiel and Phul, who govern the provinces of the universe under the planets, each with a sigil and a list of powers. The work also lists greater, middle and lesser ‘secrets’. Robert Turner translated it into English in 1655, and later German versions were printed by Andreas Luppius (1686) and Johann Scheible. The Arbatel influenced Rosicrucian and theosophical currents as well as ceremonial magic, and the Olympic spirits were adopted by the Golden Dawn and later practitioners. Joseph Peterson has argued that Jacques Gohory is the most likely author.

What it contains

• Isagoge: forty-nine aphorisms in seven septenaries
• Religious and moral precepts for the true magician
• The seven Olympic spirits, their provinces and sigils
• Greater, middle and lesser secrets of magic
• The seal of secrets
• Distinctions between divine and diabolical magic