The Secrets of Solomon: A Witch's Handbook from the trial records of the Venetian Inquisition Paperback – Import, 26 May 2018

Likey

(2020 0130) I believe I have been too harsh on Peterson's effort. I have had a chance to read it against some of his sources and have to say he did a great job given the material and resources. There are areas where I disagree, I am open to discussion. I'll leave my original opinion as it stands. Concerning the "whistle" Peterson is quite right in the context. But, turner's direct source reads "sibiles" against the earlier editions of Agrippa/Abano, including the 1559 edition of Liber quartus", all read "sibilet". if get into it I might as well write a book.Peterson is sometimes too loose and fast with his material. I have only been able to get as far as the index on the Venice website. Barbierato is a great resource, but "Nella Stanza..." is only available in Italian and practically unobtainable in the US. I have a copy I found in Italy. He has, however, two good resources in English that give his thoughts on the subject: Magical Literature and the Venice Inquisition... and his full-length book "Inquisitor in the Hat Shop" both are excellent, but expensive. When I say Peterson plays fast and loose allow me to offer an example. On page xi of his introduction fn 1 he says: "Heptameron likewise employs a whistle, although the translation by Robert Turner leaves the passage untranslated, and Francis Barrett in his 1801 book 'The Magus' mistranslates 'sibilet' (he should whistle: as 'there will be hissings' completely missing the point." Yes the passage is not translated in the Turner's 1655 edition, however Peterson seems completely unaware that in second revised edition, 1665, Turner translated all the Latin conjurations and orations and says plainly "'...there will be hissings..." Peterson is taking it out of context; the passage does not refer to a whistle, but to the sound the spirits make if the conjuration is successful also 'hissing' is a legitimate rendering of 'silibet' (which see "L and W Latin dictionary" or Niermeyer's "Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon"). Each case involves two different contexts, the first describing ritual events and the other an action performed by the practitioner. I would call Peterson's rendering of the "sibilabis" passage (Secrets of Solomon, p 86) as "...you should whistle towards the four parts of the world..." into doubt. I think Peterson's text is from the inquisition records which I have not been able to access; I did find it in his P manuscript (p45r) and the Latin is the same (have not yet looked at his other mss).Peterson uncritically refers to Francis Barrett in the same note. Barrett was not reading his text in Latin but taking it literally out of the 1783 reprint of Turner's second ed. This is confirmed by a line a little further on that reads: "...shew them the pentacle covered in fine linnen(sic); uncover it and say, Behold your conclusion, in you refuse to be obedient..." this is Turner's rendering in the 1665 ed. However, the 1783 reprint has a typographical error, instead of "conclusion" it reads "confusion". '"Conclusion" (i.e. conclusionem) is supported in all the Latin texts printed from 1559 through c1783. So Peterson's innuendo that "Barrett completely missed the point" is groundless and specious.

Great addition to the collection. Love Joseph Peterson's writing style its easier to read compared to some others. This book has lots of good new material that I love connecting to the other books I own. Very happy with my purchase.

Edição bilíngue que compara os textos de umas oito versões do mesmo manuscrito para corrigir as imprecisões que cada cópia apresenta e que por fim traz um texto bastante direto quanto a pontos que em muitos casos a resposta era evasiva como natureza infernal desses seres, sacrfícios e etc. Alguns dos diagramas mal-explicados do GV reaparecem de maneira mais clara aqui.Mas somente a primeira parte trata desse Pré-Verum, somos apresentandos a mais dois grupos de espíritos e a criação de uma éfígide (que aqui é referida como pedra) do próprio magista.Não é o tipo de livro que se captam os detalhes na primeira lida mas vale o esforço, acho que no campo dos grimórios é um dos lançamentos mais notáveis, acho que só fica abaixo da riquesa do Livro de Oberon.

Ce grimoire a été confisqué par l’Inquisition vénitienne et Peterson, un expert de longue date du domaine, présente son contexte tout en le commentant par des notes de bas de page judicieuses. L’auteur estime que celui qu’il a conçu (et utilisé) disposait d’un haut niveau d’instruction, appartenait au clergé et vivait ou fréquentait un monastère, ce qui n’est pas une surprise. On est donc loin de magiciens rénégats en révolte plus ou moins ouverte contre l’Eglise. L’histoire ne dit pas quel sort fut réservé à son auteur...Pour ce qui est de son contenu, il me semble réservé à des lecteurs qui ont déjà une bonne connaissance de la magie occidentale qui surgit dans le XVe siècle. Il ne s’agit ni d’un ouvrage d’introduction à cet art « maudit », ni un livre pratique pour les magiciens en herbe qui ne souhaitent pas rester « en fauteuil ».Mais peut-être que ceux, expérimentés et bien rares selon ma perception, pourraient y trouver de l’inspiration en utilisant des sceaux particuliers que l’on ne trouve pas ailleurs, même si ce n’est pas le but de l’auteur