weird – Page 4 – The Book of Faustus

Clavis Inferni – 18th Century Hogwash?

This 18^th century grimoire on black magic is attributed to St. Cyprian, the north African Berber bishop of late antiquity who was definitely no magician (or the Grecian mage who was stolen by Christianity?). The text is presented in macaronic Latin, Hebrew and trans. fluvii hijacked from Agrippa (XVI CE). It is also said to belong to the famed Black School of Wittenburg, but who has said that remains unclear. Taking a brief look at the drawings and texts, and given the unknown origin and author, my best guess is that his book is a total fraud—a showpiece for some eccentric collector to flash at parties to create an allure. The text does contain pretty straightforward content, but none of it is really original. If this is a genuine grimoire, it is useless! There are no contemporary references to the document at all, which gives me pause. There is a promising book about this grimoire and Cyprian’s magic I might try to pick up.

source: imgur.com — The only thing that strikes me is the use of Olympian sigils. Aratron, Bethor, Phaleg, Haggith, Ophiel. I honestly don’t see many grimoires that use them.

Book Review – Plants of the Devil

An interesting and poetic take on the relationship between humans and plants that can harm as well as heal. More interesting however is the way in which folklore has associated many of these plants with the powers of evil—not only poisons but helpful plants have been maligned because of traditional uses by the cunning folk. The author, Corinne Boyer, invites you to explore your own relationship with these plants, learning from them not only through praxis but also meditative contemplation of their lives and spirits.

Mesopotamian Exorcism

I want to adopt Irving Finkel as my new grandpa. No wait. I want to become this bearded wizard fellow when I’m old. It is really remarkable how much information can be deducted from such scant archaeological data such as in the examples below.

Mater Suspiria Vision: Inside the Brain of Miss Lennon’s Tongue

Great American Solar Eclipse

Gif by: ME!

August 21, 2017
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Medieval Torture Museum, St. Augustine

In the nation’s oldest city there is a new exhibition of replica and restoration torture implements popular from antiquity up to 1939 (the last public execution by guillotine). Even though the dummies are pretty kitschy and the fake torches very campy, the torture devices and demonstrations offer a boldly visual exposition on how barbarous humanity can be. Of course you KNOW I focused most of my attention here on the trial and punishment of witches and sorcerers, about which I was not disappointed. Contemplating on these instruments of brutality and pain is a very powerful way to remind yourself of the needless suffering religious tyrants have caused in the past, and will continue to cause in the future unless we stop them.

Black Mountain Transmitter

Terence Mckenna Transcription

Terence McKenna (1946-2000) was perhaps the greatest philosophical mind of the 20th century. His expeditions into the Amazon in search of the mystical botanical brew yage brought him in contact with psilocybin mushrooms. Together with his brother Dr. Dennis McKenna, the pair brought “magic mushrooms” hurtling into the awareness of the West. Terence became the heir apparent to Timothy Leary’s public LSD work. He was a most verbose, incredibly witty, pleasantly sarcastic Renaissance Man–a self-taught master of anthropology, biology, chemistry, magic, alchemy, math and history, with a deep knowledge of art and Jungian psychology. He took all of this knowledge and applied to to exploring hidden realms of human consciousness through psychedelics. Beyond all of this he is my personal hero and I honor his memory daily.
Meanwhile, WikiSpaces is shutting down, which means the Terence McKenna Transcription project is about to become homeless. Hopefully they will find a new place to host their content. I am simply posting my work here so that it won’t be lost forever. This is only ONE of his hundreds of public lectures that are floating around cyberspace today. Terence is well known for his gift of the gab, so this transcription took me 2-3 months to complete, and contains 21,662 words. Enjoy if you want to, after the break.

Journey Onwards, Terence!

Continue reading “Terence Mckenna Transcription”

Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle

The fishing village of Boscastle, in the southwest of England, contains a wildly unique privately owned museum dedicated to the history of witchcraft and magic in England. The collection includes over 3,000 objects and 7,000 books and manuscripts. Founded by Cecil Williamson, the museum also lays a claim to fame through their resident witch in those early days, William Gardner himself, who founded modern Wicca and led a cultural revival of folk magic in Britain. The museum has been known in its current form since the 1960’s and has become a site of magical pilgrimage for witches in the present day.

Objects include artifacts from the time of Roman occupation up to the present day, including items of particular interest from the original OTO/A.’.A and Golden Dawn systems. There is currently an exhibit ongoing that highlights ritual tools and artifacts of the 19th/20th century high ceremonial currents of magick. Looks very intriguing. source: imgur.com

Very interesting to me personally is their research journal, The Enquiring Eye The Enquiring Eye, which features academic level research topics on magic and witchcraft.
Go visit them!

All images courtesy of The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle. Used with permission.

Detailed 14th Century Illumination of Dante

Priamo della Quercia (active 1426-1467) masterfully illuminated these miniature scenes of Inferno and Purgatorio only a century after Dante’s time. Together with illuminations by Giovanni di Paolo, this Yates-Thompson manuscript contains 110 miniatures in brilliant pinks, blues, greens and gold.

More found at the British Library