The Book of Black Magic: Including the Rites and Mysteries of Goetic Theurgy, Sorcery and Infernal Necromancy

by Arthur Edward Waite

The books is divided into two sections. The First Part discusses in detail the Literature of Ceremonial Magic, dealing with the antiquity of magical rituals, the rituals of transcendental magic, the composites of rituals and the rituals of Black Magic. The Second Part presents the Complete Grimoire, which is presented from the original documents in exact unabridged form. The copyists' errors left from ancient times have been deleted. The Grimoire will be of immense interest to the student of the occult, especially the chapter on the goetic theurgy, which gives the conjurations and the invocations to the king and the Spirit. The rites of exorcism are detailed, and useful in purging. The illustrations will be of real interest to the student. They are clearly presented and explained.

Genres: Occult, Witchcraft, Religion, Magick, Magic, Nonfiction, Reference

328 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 1942

About the author

Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of western occultism viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of proto-science or as the pathology of religion."

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Description: The Book of Ceremonial Magic by Arthur Edward Waite was originally called The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. It is an attempt to document various famous grimoires, explain the history behind them (refuting many of the legends surrounding them), discuss the theology contained therein (e.g. raising the question why good angels would be summoned to kill an enemy), and to synthesize many famous grimoires into one system.

Part I: THE LITERATURE OF CEREMONIAL MAGIC
Chapter I: The Antiquity of Magical Rituals
Chapter II: The Rituals of Transcendental Magic
Chapter III: Composite Rituals
Chapter IV: The Rituals Of Black Magic

PART II: THE COMPLETE GRIMOIRE
Chapter I: The Preparation of the Operator
Chapter II: The Initial Rites and Ceremonies
Chapter III: Concerning the Descending Hierarchy
Chapter IV: The Mysteries of Goetic Theurgy
Chapter V: Concerning the Mystery of the Sanctum Regnum
Chapter VI: The Mysteries of Infernal Evocation According to the Grand Grimoire
Chapter VII: The Method of Honorius
Chapter VIII: Miscellaneous and Minor Processes
Chapter IX: Concerning Infernal Necromancy

Another one to avoid as there was not an ounce of fun to be had. Many of these non-fic black magic documenters seem to be a pentangle short of major arcana. But such as is the way of things that someone out there, someone out where, will adore this, afterall aren't these the century old equivalent of 'how to make a new religion'



A month of Halloween 2015 reads:

#1: 3* Nobody True by James Herbert: fraudio
#2: 4* The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard: fraudio
#3: 1* Brain Child by John Saul: fraudio
#4: 3* Domain (Rats #3) by James Herbert: fraudio
#5: 3* The Mourning Vessels by Peter Luther: paperback
#6: 2* The Doom of the Great City: ebook short-story
#7: 5* Long After Midnight by Ray Bradbury: fraudio
#8: 5* The Dead Zone by Stephen King: fraudio
#9: CR The Chalice: hardback
#10: WL Seven Gothic Tales
#11: CR Tales of Men and Ghosts: gutenberg
#12: 2* Shattered by Dean Koontz: fraudio
#13: 5* The Dunwich Horror: e-book: gutenberg
#14: CR Death At Intervals: paperback
#15: 3* Alone: gutenberg
#16: CR The Shunned House: gutenberg
#17: CR The Thing on the Doorstep: ebook
#18: 2* Shadows by Saul: fraudio
#19: CR Precious Cargo: paperback
#20: 2* The Magicians of the Golden Dawn: ebook
#21: 2* The Book of Black Magic

[MichaelK · Rating 4 out of 5]

As research for a piece of fiction, I've been reading about European magic. The extant manuscripts of the various Grimoires of Black Magic in the British Museum date from the 15th century onwards, though may have been written earlier. Black magic is strange, or to paraphrase the author of the book I've read, it is a mixture of the grotesque and the imbecilic.

The Grimoires teach that through the glory and power of God, one can summon and control infernal spirits. In popular culture we think of black magic as a godless deal with demons - it is strange to think those who practiced it believed themselves holy. There's a Jewish legend about King Solomon: God gave him the power to control demons, and he used demons to build his temple and help him out whenever he wanted. There are also Christian and Islamic versions of this legend - in the Islamic version, Solomon also has a magic carpet. Many of the Grimoires claim to be based on the magical writings of King Solomon, who shared the secrets of demon-control.

In Jewish mythology, demons are not fallen angels - they are creatures God abandoned bodiless and unfinished at sunset on the 6th day, to mark the importance of ceasing work to rest on the Sabbath. They are not inherently evil, though are jealous and spiteful of humanity's completeness. Thus demons are another of God's creatures on Earth, over which man is supposed to be the ruler, and so in Jewish magic systems the wizard sorcerer chap is hoping for God's assistance in placating one of his subordinate creatures - analogous to praying that your horse will carry you to your destination without rearing up and maiming you.

(I have a separate book on Jewish magic which I have not read yet.)

The Solomon-inspired magic was adapted to a Christian setting and audience. The wizard sorcerer chap calls on the power of God to help him summon and enslave a fallen angel to do his bidding. Jesus commands demons in the gospels (the Pharisees think he is in league with Satan because the demons obey him so quickly), and so a devout Christian should also be able to to command demons with Jesus' support. As the Pharisees thought Jesus was bad for his command over the demons, the Church authorities think the sorcerers are evil for their command over the demons. So the reasoning goes.

(While most Grimoires claim to originate with King Solomon, a few others claim to be the work of a Pope, who was holy enough to have been taught the magical arts by an angel of light.)

Most of the rituals concern personal and material gain: summoning a demon so it can lead you to treasure, or make a woman love you, or harm an enemy. Very cliche and selfish objectives. Not very holy. I was trying to imagine the sort of person who - hundreds of years ago - would have turned to such rituals. Poor, lonely, awkward, and yet with an ego big enough to think they were holy and great enough to get God's assistance in enslaving a fallen angel. I pictured a modern-day Internet Troll living in the pre-modern world.

In preparation for a ritual, the sorcerer is supposed to fast, refrain from social contact with other humans, and sleep as little as possible for so many days, presumably so by the time they carried out the ritual their mental state was sufficiently ruined hallucinations came very easily. Specific prayers must be repeated throughout the fasting days, and at the sorcerer must bathe in holy water and bless every item to be used in the ritual - his robes (white linen, embroidered with certain symbols depending on which ritual is being performed), the incense, the parchment or vellum, the candles, the magic circle, etc.

There is only one extant ritual which calls for a blood sacrifice for the sake of blood sacrifice. I'll spare you the details, but it involves killing both a black hen and a young lamb. A few others feature human body parts in their reagents list -
the author notes that human bodies would have been easyish to find back then, when mortality was high, life expectancy low, and the death sentence was a punishment for many crimes.

Curiously, the cliche of sorcerers sacrificing a goat as part of their rituals comes from a misunderstanding: the Grimoires teach that the magic circle should be drawn on virgin kidskin which has been carefully prepared. Sorcerers could not rely on the local tannery for this, and so would prepare their own. Obviously, since the goat's tanned hide was to be used in the ritual, the sorcerer would bless the goat repeatedly - before, during, and after slaughtering it - and so to any casual observer, it would look like blood sacrifice for the sake of blood sacrifice.

In case it's not obvious, I think this magic stuff is bollocks. At best a historical curiosity, at worst a way of seriously damaging your mental health. I tried to imagine how I would react to it, living hundreds of years ago. I found myself feeling sympathetic towards the Inquisition. If your worldview takes the existence of evil demons as a fact, and your holy books warn against greed and lust and malice, it is so easy to imagine these Grimoires having been forged by demons to trick the poor, lonely, and egotistical down a dark path. They are like the pre-modern equivalent of scam e-mails, promising 'EARN $5000 PER DAY - SUMMON A TREASURE-FINDING DEMON' or 'THE ONE TRICK WOMEN CAN'T RESIST - INFERNAL SPIRITS WOO 4 U', but rather than making you lose the contents of your bank account, you lose your soul too.

[Kerry-Anne Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book if you are interested in calling the Demons for help ;)

[Ziphius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has everything a girl could wish for ! Anthropological analysis of western occultism, collections and actual quoted material from sources grimoires and such books alike, and instructions on how to summon a gnome !

10/10 would order form JustEat again

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The notorious grimoires of antiquity can only be so to those who've never read them (when you do you realize they are more absurd than notorious and of dubious antiquity). In Waite's own words they are "frivolous, fantastic and foolish."

Maybe the serious student of hermeticism, the occult and/or magick could better spend her/his time than attempting to evoke Gremory in hopes of finding hidden treasure. One wonders if the goetic grimoires came about, in part, when the allegorical became the literal. A slow profanation of the mysteries over the centuries?

Waite ultimately demolishes the absurdity that is black magick: "The first impossibility of an adept of Black Magic [according to the grimoires] is therefore that he should love God before he bewitches his neighbor; that he should put all his hopes in God before he makes a pact with Satan; that, in a word, he should be good in order to do evil," - p.136

It also includes a magical experiment with one of the best (and possibly saddest) titles I've ever read: "TO CAUSE A GIRL TO SEEK YOU OUT, HOWEVER PRUDENT SHE MAY BE,"
This is the apotheosis of the black magic grimoires with their vain, imbecilic and ultimately impossible pursuits. It's not about discovering the Monad or evolving to a higher plane through the rigorous training of the will; it's about getting cash, getting laid and getting even with the people who piss you off.

[S.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for research/reference. Pretty interesting to see that old black magic required its practitioners to call on God and Jesus for protection, and that very little distinguished the white school of magic from the black varieties. I appreciated Waite acknowledging that this book was meant to be read as a historical curiosity, because it's really all total bullshit.

[Excesivo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The rites of Transcendental Magic are divine and religious rites, and the counsel, spiritual and moral, which are found in its instructions are, in their way, the counsel of perfection, whatever element puerility may radically obtain in its experiments".

"It's reasonable to assume that the Magus must be free from common weakness, from common vice, and must be fortified by the grace and favor of the superior World."

"Cause in every idle word is tainted with the nature of sin."

[Doomsdave · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent summary of the grimoire tradition. Written at a time when most of these volumes weren't available in print. While many of these esoteric tomes have recently been reprinted, Waite's brief summary of each is still invaluable for those who don't want to conduct an exhaustive survey of the subject. For the modern reader, Waite's prose can be challenging, but I find it a charming artifact of his age. My only critique of any of Waite's books is his tendency to mock his peers and an overall condescension toward his academic opponents.

[Rooney · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting one this. The first half of the book (and limited, scathing outbursts later in the book - seek to seemingly discredit entirely ceremonial magic and all other occult practices. However, the latter parts of the book are given over to discussing the different rituals a requirements given in some notable grimoires through the ages, almost comparing the efficacy of each to the other!

This goes so far as reproducing whole rituals from other grimoires (notably the Lemegeton, Grimoire Verum, and The Black Pulett), and breaks-down the requirements of some of the more esoteric ingredients and preparations.

All-in, an interesting insight into some of the common Ambrahamic occult rituals of Ceremonial Magic, provided you can get past the self-important prose and tone of the author.

[Xolok Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This is Black Magic in a nutshell, a combination in equal proportions of the digusting and the imbecile."

Mostly Waite reports on what evil magics are contained in medieval grimoires, but sometimes he can't help but comment. This is a good blend. He shows what was out there while holding back on judgments... until it is time to deride and tease a little to keep things grounded.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The publishing quality leaves a lot to be desired. Punctuation, grammar etc. could all be improved. Content though, is rather interesting. An editor wouldve tidied this book up nicely and provided a better format. I was rather disappointed to be distracted by silly mistakes.

[Rajesh Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a interesting book

[Lachrymarvm_Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Book of Black Magic And Of Pacts” (that’s full title from 1898; it was later reprinted in 1910 under the title “The Book of Ceremonial Magic”) – by Arthur Edward Waite. I (and many others I’m sure) know A.E. Waite’s name from the ubiquitous Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck. But I never read any of his substantial writing (beyond the small booklet that came with the cards – side note- I still intend to read the full book he wrote for that deck one day) … but anyway, this seemed like a good place to start with A.E. Waite, especially since I am trying to learn about the history and important literature of various schools of magic.

“The Book of Black Magic” essentially compiles and compares several of the most influential Grimoires of antiquity (or pseudo-antiquity, as Waite often likes to point out). These include the ‘Grimorium Verum’ , ‘Grimoire of Honorius’ , ‘ Arbatel De Magia Veterum’ , a so-called ‘Forth’ Book of Occult Philosophy (falsely attributed to Henry Cornelius Agrippa), and of course, ‘The Key of Solomon The King’ and its complement the ‘Lemegeton’ or ‘Lesser Key of Solomon’.

A.E. Waite was obviously an intelligent man, quite skilled in language (I believe he did a lot of this translation work himself) and amazingly enough, he even has a sense of humor at times amid such grim subject matter, but his writing style is JUST SO DRY. He writes such rambling, verbose sentences that I often had to re-read passages for clarity. Which is funny, because when I read “Moonchild” (the 1917 novel by Aleister Crowley) he (Crowley) made a bunch of characters barely-veiled spoofs of real people he knew from the Golden Dawn, including A.E. Waite, whose character was unambiguously named Edwin Arthwait, and always acted/spoke in EXACTLY this rambling, pedantic manner. It made me laugh. But I digress…

Honestly, reading this book was an uphill battle at times. Even though it contains long repetitive text of full ceremonies, I still read it cover-to-cover (as I almost always do). A.E. Waite goes into how some rituals or books are derivative of others, and that some were published later than they claim (sometimes falsely attributed as well), etc. As I learned by reading it all, these ceremonies can be repetitive and loooong, and I can certainly see the commonalities. One plus side though – this book has tons of great illustrations and detailed sigils / talismans / etc… credit is due to Weiser Books for that - many lesser-quality print-on-demand versions of this book are probably missing a lot of these images.

I feel like this book could have (almost…sorta) been a prototype for what came almost 70 years later, a book called “The Black Arts” by Richard Cavendish. Granted, that one takes a much more wide-ranging survey of occult literature and practices, but both give thorough scholarship and history. It’s too bad that in all his copious (and usually very helpful) footnotes and even in the main body of the text, A.E. Waite likes to be smug and condescending, to the point of sarcasm or seeming as if he’s making fun of fellow occult students/writers. He was probably not very fun to hang out with at parties, even if he was a good researcher.
--------------------------------------
follow mother_lachrymarvm on instagram for occult content and more...
https://www.instagram.com/mother_lach...

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

KSKZ

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authour's research and attention to detail has to be commended, it's interesting for the fact that he manages to debunk, with quite a bit of humour, the philosophy behind black magic while still giving some interesting insights into the history and culture of this subject.

The long tracts of rambling incantations of supposed warlocks is rather hard going, I used it as a aid to getting me to sleep when I had insomnia, worked a treat.

[Malcolm Forman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book on the topic. Definitely not for everyone considering the subject matter but I personally believe all sides of a subject deserve equal time. You can't know light without darkness.

[Peter J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waite is brilliant, but oh such a dry author. I found this work interesting. It is a collection and analysis of the majority of extant works on what would be considered “Black” magic. This being said, the vast majority have roots in Kabbalah; which I think is silliness.

[Elli Toney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

I've read the keys of solomon and a few grimoires, I wish I would have read this first. It is a very detailed account and comparison between several books of white and black magic.

[Nahallac Nayarb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morail' quitatarzamarat?!"

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy and bizarre (but I think it is the point). Who on earth has time?

[Jack Lhasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true classic of the common sense that should be involved in the study of the Western Mysteries.

[Ghofran]

read