Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells: From Abraxas to Zoar

452 Pages·2015·11.99 MB·English

by  Claude Lecouteux

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e
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$35.00 u.S.
for protection, love, wealth, or healing. He o Magic
$40.00 Can.
charts their evolution and derivations through u
t
the centuries, showing, for example, how e DICTIONARY OF
spells that were once intended to put out fires u
x ANCIENT
evolved to protect people from witchcraft. He
reveals the inherent versatility of magic words MAGIC WORDS
and how each sorcerer or witch had a set of
a SPELLS
stock phrases they would combine to build a AND
n
custom spell for the magical need at hand.
“Lecouteux is a genius. I have been grate-
Presenting a wealth of material on magical c
fully following his research—which provides
words, signs, and charms, both common and i
obscure, Lecouteux also explores the magi- e information I have never found in other
cal words and spells of ancient Scandinavia, n locations—for years.”
Maja D’Aoust, White Witch of L.A.,
the Hispano-Arabic magic of Spain before t
astrologer, counselor, and coauthor
the Reconquista, the traditions passed down

M of The Secret Source
from ancient Egypt, and those that have
stayed in use until the present day. a D From Abracadabra to the now famous spells
g i of the Harry Potter series, magic words are
c
CLAuDE LECouTEux is a
no longer confined to the practices of pagans,
i t
former professor of medieval c alchemists, witches, and occultists. They have
i
literature and civilization o
become part of the popular imagination of
W
at the Sorbonne. He is the n the Western world. Passed down from ancient
author of numerous books o a Babylon, Egypt, and Greece, these words and
on medieval and pagan r the rituals surrounding them have survived
beliefs and magic, including r y
through the millennia because they work. And

The Book of Grimoires, The Tradition of D o as scholar Claude Lecouteux reveals, often the
Household Spirits, A Lapidary of Sacred s f more impenetrable they seem, the more effec-
Stones, and The High Magic of Talismans
tive they are.
a
and Amulets. He lives in Paris.
Analyzing more than 7,000 spells from
n
the magical traditions of Europe as well as
D
the magical papyri of the Greeks and recently

s
discovered one-of-a-kind grimoires from
p
France, Germany, and Scandinavia, Lecouteux
e
has compiled a comprehensive dictionary of
InnER TRADITIonS l
ancient magic words, phrases, and spells along
RoCHESTER, VERMonT l
with an in-depth exploration—the first in
www.InnerTraditions.com s
English—of secret magical alphabets, includ-
ing those based on Hebrew letters, Kabbalistic
This book supports the symbols, astrological signs, and runes. Drawing
www.HaciendaRioCote.com
Reforestation Project upon thousands of medieval accounts and
famous manuscripts such as the Heptameron
of Peter Abano, the author examines the ori-
SFI-00000 gins of each word or spell, offering detailed
Cover design by Peri Swan instructions on their successful use, whether
Cover images courtesy of IngImage and the author
DiAnMa_jacket.indd 1 9/24/15 4:45 PM
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Dictionary of
A ncien t
M Agic Wor ds
a nd spell s
From Abraxas to Zoar
clauDe lecouteu x
translated by Jon e. graham
Inner Traditions
Rochester, Vermont • Toronto, Canada
DiAnMa.indd 3 9/18/15 1:32 PM
Inner Traditions
One Park Street
Rochester, Vermont 05767
www.InnerTraditions.com
Copyright © 2014 by Éditions Imago
English translation copyright © 2015 by Inner Traditions International
Originally published in French under the title Dictionnaire des Formules magiques by
Éditions Imago, 7 rue Suger, 75006 Paris
First U.S. edition published in 2015 by Inner Traditions
All biblical references are from the Latin Vulgate Bible.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lecouteux, Claude.
[Dictionnaire des formules magiques. English]
Dictionary of ancient magic words and spells : from Abraxas to Zoar / by Claude
Lecouteux ; translated by Jon E. Graham. — First U.S. edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-62055-374-9 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-1-62055-375-6 (e-book)
1. Magic—Dictionaries. 2. Incantations—Dictionaries. I. Title.
BF1588.L4313 2015
133.4'303—dc23
2015006234

Text design and layout by Virginia Scott Bowman
This book was typeset in Garamond Premier Pro and Gill Sans.
Inner Traditions wishes to express its appreciation for assistance given by the
government of France through the National Book Office of the Ministère de la
Culture in the preparation of this translation.
Nous tenons à exprimer nos plus vifs remerciements au gouvernement de la France et au
ministère de la Culture, Centre National du Livre, pour leur concours dans la préparation
de la traduction de cet ouvrage.
DiAnMa.indd 4 9/18/15 1:32 PM
••
To Corinne and Benoît
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From Reginald Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584
DiAnMa.indd 6 9/18/15 1:32 PM
contents
Acknowledgments ix
Praeambulus: Words That Possess a Power xi
••
Dictionary of Ancient
Magic Words and Spells 1
From Abraxas to Zoar
••
Appendix One
Use of Caracteres in Magic 354
Appendix TwO
Cryptography 381
Appendix Three
List of Magic Words Appearing in the Spells 385
Bibliography 393
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Elijah conjuring, thirteenth-century manuscript
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acknoWleDgMents
It is with great pleasure that I offer thanks to the individuals who
helped me complete this task: Daiva Vaitkevičienė (Vilnius, Lithuania)
and Ronald Grambo (Kongsvinger, Norway), without whose help I
would have been unable to grasp many dialectical turns of phrase in the
Scandinavian grimoires; Emanuela Timotin (Bucharest, Romania), who
introduced me to Romanian charms; Gian Marco Mondino (Torino)
who was able to procure a copy of the Libro de secreto, Ane Ohrvik
(Oslo) and Julien Véronèse (Paris) who sent me their studies on charms.
Magical inscription on a sixteenth-century ring
ix
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