Stephen is doing one of his very rare
two day intensive courses on how to use the lo p'an (luopan)
in Singapore on 14-15th November 2013. Nobody can truely say
they have mastered feng shui till they know how to use the
lo p'an and its secret formulae.
Dr. Stephen Skinner is an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer. He
was responsible for introducing real feng shui to the West, and
wrote the first 20th century English book on the subject in 1976. His first
profession was that of Geography Lecturer, at what is now the University of Technology in Sydney. He completed his Ph.D in Classics at the University of Newcastle with a thesis on the transmission of magical methods and implements from the Graeco-Egyptian world to the grimoires.
During the 1970s and 1980s he was the driving force behind Askin
Publishers, producing lovely editions of classic magical
works such as Agrippa's Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy
and the Archidoxes of Magic by Paracelsus,
several titles by Austin Osman Spare, Aleister Crowley, Dr
Donald Laycock (The Enochian Dictionary) and others,
all of which are now collector’s items. The
first of these was a huge quarter leather edition of the
primary source book of Enochian magic, the True &
Faithful Relation of what passed between Dr John Dee…and
some Spirits.During this period he co-wrote books
with Francis King, including the still popular Techniques
of High Magic, which has gone through many editions
since it was first released. Also with Francis King he wrote
Nostradamus, following this with the best selling
Millennium Prophecies.
His interest in Western geomancy spurred him on to create the most complete and classic work in that field
Terrestrial Astrology which has been considerably expanded and reprinted, and can be ordered here:
Geomancy in Theory and Practice.
In the late 1990s he published and owned a number of monthly magazines such as Wining and Dining, Healthy Living, Alternatives and XL. Later in the decade he was publisher of a number of client and affinity group publications such as 050, ARP and Goldlife.
In 1998 he was responsible for launching and publishing the first full
colour magazine on feng shui, Feng Shui For Modern Living, which
was distributed in 41 countries with translated editions in German and
even in Chinese. At
its peak the English edition sold over 121,000 audited copies per month, and Stephen
was nominated at the PPA awards as UK 'Publisher of the Year' (the UK print media equivalent of the Oscars).
In 2003 he migrated to Malaysia/Singapore to facilitate his researches into feng shui, and helped found the International Feng Shui association in Singapore, which is now in its 20th year.
In 2004 he began publishing Source Works of
Ceremonial Magic with co-author David Rankine. The first title was The Practical Angel
Magic of Dr. John Dee’s Enochian Tables, opening the doors on real 17th century angel
magic in a way never done before. This was followed by
The Keys to the Gateway of Magic and then
The Goetia of Dr Rudd, a complete 17th century version of the four books of the
Lemegeton as used by a practising magician. He then produced a new edition of three
versions of the most famous grimoire, the Key of Solomon
as The Veritable Key of Solomon. More recently they
deciphered and translated the Grimoire of St Cyprian, the
Clavis Inferni.
He also edited and published the 16th century manuscript of Sepher Raziel: Liber Salomonis with Don Karr, and facilitated the publication of The Magical Treatise of Solomon or Hygromanteia, the forefather of the Key of Solomon.
In 2006 he published The Complete Magician's Tables
with tables of Magic, Kabbalistic, Angelic,
Astrologic, Alchemic, Demonic, Geomantic, Grimoire, Gematria,
I Ching, Tarot, Pagan Pantheon, Plant, Perfume and Character
Correspondences in more than 835 Tables, four times as many
tables as Aleister, Crowley's Liber 777, or any other
imitator.
In 2008 he completed the Guide to the Feng Shui Compass, the most detailed study of the Chinese luopan in any language. In 2011 he completed a project that he had planned since his teens, to edit and rectify the text of Dr John Dee's Spiritual Diaries (1583-1608) which was a fully corrected (against the original manuscripts) edition of A True & Faithful Relation of what passed for many yeers between Dr. John Dee...and some spirits. This mammoth work ran to 680 folio pages, with thousands of footnotes and corrections.
He was educated at
Sydney University graduating in English Literature, Geography and Ancient Greek Philosophy, and was awarded his Ph.D in Classics from the University of Newcastle for a thesis on magic. His interests include feng shui, ancient
civilisations, geometry, travel, computers, magic and the
Middle Ages. He is the author of more than 36 books published worldwide
in more than 20 different languages. His books have had introductions by
such diverse people as Colin Wilson, HRH Charles Prince of Wales, and
Jimmy Choo shoe designer to the stars.
He spends his time writing, teaching and researching feng shui and the Western Hermetic tradition.
Hand bound Half-Leather Collector’s Edition Strictly Limited to 200 copies Pages: 270 pages Detailed Tables: 25 Illustrations: 42, of which 5 are in colour.
Price: US$ 186.00 / GBP 140.00 Postage: GBP 10.00 for P&P
by Berengarius Ganelli Translated and edited by Dr Stephen Skinner & Daniel Clark
This grimoire dating from 1346 is the root of many other grimoires, and contains much practical magic that has been lost from later grimoires. This is the first publication in English in the last 700 years. It was owned and treasured by Trithemius and Dr John Dee, and was the root of Shemhamphorash, Solomonic and Enochian magic.
The Summa Sacre Magice by Berengarius Ganelli, written in 1346 AD, is a foundational grimoire. Unlike most early grimoires, which often lack the author's name and date, this manuscript proudly includes both. Its ancient origins and its wealth of lost knowledge make it an invaluable resource. Later grimoires failed to capture much of the detailed richness found in this text, confirming its status as the most significant Latin text on magic that has survived. The Summa Sacre Magice is a complex and extensive work, containing over 200,000 words, divided into five books and encompassing 85 chapters. This present volume contains all of Books 1 and 2, while the next volume will cover Books 3, 4, and 5. Remarkably, it has never before been published in either English or Latin. This work stands as the most comprehensive overview of Latin medieval magic that has endured for almost 700 years. Among its many secrets are some of the earliest details of angelic invocations from the Almadel, tables from the Shemhamphorash, the 10 candariis talismans, and the hierarchy of Tartarus. It also includes parts of other significant early grimoires, such as the Liber Juratus (The Sworn Book of Honorius), with explanations of these early texts. These are intricately woven into the tapestry of the practical and sacred magical tradition. One of the most exciting aspects is the detailed instructions for making four of Solomon’s magical rings and his pentagram. The transmission of this sacred knowledge passed through four main teachers: from the 12th century Solomon (not the famous Biblical king) to Toz the Greek, then to Honorius , the author of Liber Juratus (13th century), and finally to Berengarius Ganelli (14th century).
SWCM - Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Vol. XV Series
CLOTH EDITION
Book US ISBN :
978-0738781-22-8
Book UK ISBN :
978-1912212-46-0
Pages: 118
Price: US$ 45.00 / GBP 35.00 Postage: GBP 10.00 for P&P
Publication: 31 October 2024 Shipment delayed until 30th January 2025
by Johannes Trithemius Translated and Edited by Dr Stephen Skinner & Daniel Clark
This book is very significant because Trithemius was the instructor in magic of both Henry Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus, and was hence one of the main well-springs of Western magic. These books are what Agrippa primarily used to write his very influential Three Books of Occult Philosophy.
The Antipalus Maleficiarum of the Abbot Johannes Trithemius which was written in 1508, has never had a full English translation. It contains a detailed list of 103 of Trithemius’ grimoires, in manuscript form. Trithemius characterised the first 43 of these as necromancy (by which he really meant nigromancy, or the black art, rather than the conjuration of the dead). This list is worth examining because it shows the richness and detailed nature of the early literature of nigromancy, specifically the methods used for the evocation of spirits and demons. Most of these 43 titles are Solomonic in nature, and therefore very relevant to this SWCM series. The remaining titles form part of the Astral and Talismanic Image tradition of magic.
This is almost a complete list of grimoires extant at the end of the 15th century. In a later section we have added almost all of the significant grimoires published since then. With this book and David Rankine’s Grimoire Encyclopaedia you have in your hand the source of most of the grimoire tradition.
SWCM Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic - Volume 14
CLOTH EDITION
Book US ISBN :
978-0738779522
Book UK ISBN :
978-1912212378
Pages: 352 pages, 25.6 x 18.6 cm
Illustrations: 20 three in full colour
Price: US$ 80.00 / GBP 64.00
Published: 15th June 2024
by Johannes Trithemius, Abbot of Spanheim Translated, Edited and Introduced by Dr Stephen Skinner & Daniel Clark
Trithemius was the Master and Teacher of Henry Cornelius Agrippa, and so in many ways the godfather of post 1500 Solomonic magic.
The Steganographia by the Abbot Trithemius was written in 1500, and has never had a full English translation of all its 4 component Books, until now. This book is about the evocation of spirits and the cryptography associated with them. Trithemius was the magical instructor of Henry Cornelius Agrippa and probably Paracelsus, and was hence one of the main well-springs of grimoire magic in Europe. This fascinating book also explains how to use spirits to convey messages to others, over any distance, at any hour of the day or night, with that message being clearly whispered in the ear of the recipient.
Previously only Books I & III have been published in English in 1982, but without any explanation of the magic or spirit hierarchy. This edition has rectified that deficiency, and has added a full translation of Book II (containing a further 25 spirits in addition to the 31 spirits of Book I). Also included in the large Book IV are details of the creation of the Magical Bell and how the Steganographia relates to Paracelsus. This book has never before been published in any language. Book IV also examines the angelic evocation of the Almadel and the three Shemhammaphorash of Solomon, Adam and Moses respectively. At last, after more than 500 years the whole Steganographia is available in English, with clear and detailed explanations. Trithemius also wrote the most complete list of pre-1500 magical manuscript grimoires in his Antipalus Maleficiorum, which is due to be published by Golden Hoard later this year. Also included is a list of manuscripts on Talismanic magic, but in private Trithemius was very clear that magic only happens with the assistance of spirits or daemons, and this is his main book about the evocation of such spirits and the cryptography associated with them. This book lays out an extensive spirit hierarchy in 76 tables. It also contains a biography of Trithemius with details of his early promotion to Abbot at the tender age of 22. So at last the whole Steganographia is available in English.
Volume 13 in the SWCM series.
Publisher: Watkins Publishing
Book ISBN :
978-1-78678519-0
Ebook ISBN :
ISBN: 978-1-78678609-8
Hardcover: 748 pages
Dimensions: 18.8 x 6.27 x 26.64 cm. 1.4 kgs
Published: 12 October 2021
Available through
eBook from The publisher
Hardback from Amazon.co.uk
and
the usual distributors and bookshops, like Watkins.
Often referred to as Liber Aba, this volume of 748 pages contains four of Crowley’s most important works:
Meditation (actually yoga, with his insightful comments on asana, pranayama, mantra, niyama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi)
Magick (a description of the ritual equipment needed for Ceremonial Magic, but not of the processes)
Magick in Theory & Practice (Crowley’s best known work with commentary on the various magical formulae and ritual, containing 21 chapters)
The Book of the Law (the core text of Thelema with considerable background on Crowley’s life and how he came to receive this communication from Aiwass)
This is often seen as the masterpiece of occultist, magician and bon vivant, Aleister Crowley, introduced and edited for the first time by one of the world's leading experts on magic and Western esoteric traditions, Dr Stephen Skinner.
Let me assure you that ‘edited by’ does not mean ‘cut,’ but instead includes many helpful elucidations of what may at first sight appear to be impenetrable, as Crowley often loads his writing with numerous cross references to his other writings, and very seldom begins at the beginning.
Written between 1904 and 1929, this book contained within this collection make up one of the most ground-breaking works on the practice of magick ever written. Their influence on alternative western thought and philosophy cannot be exaggerated.
Also known as Book Four, or Liber ABA, the four parts bring together many rituals, received texts, theorems and unequalled insights into the practice of magick, culminating in The Book of the Law, the central, sacred text dictated to Crowley by the preternatural entity Aiwass. Anyone interested in yoga, ceremonial magic, esoteric thought, invocation, divination and beyond, or those looking to delve into the fascinating, playful and illuminating writings of a unique man, will find this book an inspiration.
For the first time, one of the world's leading experts on Western esoteric traditions and magic, Dr. Stephen Skinner, introduces the text, sharing his insights into Crowley's take on yoga, ceremonial magick and Thelema. His long involvement with magic, both as an academic and as a practitioner, enabled Dr. Skinner to highlight the differences between the psychological and the spirit-orientated approaches to magic, and to show how that dilemma shaped Crowley's practice and his founding of Thelema, enlightening the reader to many previously unknown connections.
This popular book on Western geomancy has look up tables for the answers to many typical questions. This is resolutely a practical book, with hundreds of answers to a range of practical questions.
It provides you with the resolution of every possible combination of the last three Figures, two Witnesses and one Judge, and how they should be interpreted.
A large section on the practice of Astro-geomancy links geomancy with astrology.
"In its influence, dissemination, length, and complexity the Ars Notoria is the most important surviving treatise of ritual magic." - Sophie Page.
The Ars Notoria is a mediaeval grimoire which was widely distributed and very popular in the 13th-16th century, but virtually unknown until recently. Version B (MS Bibliothèque Nationale Lat. 9336.) is a commentary on the Method which has never been published in English before. The present text is a reorganisation of that commentary into subject order without the loss of any practical detail. All the notae and the full invocations/orations are included, but most of the Latin prayers have been omitted as they do not contribute to the method’s effectiveness.
The Ars Notoria is still very relevant in the 21st century because it contains detailed techniques to enable the practitioner to absorb whole subjects very rapidly, and to understand very complex subjects on first reading, as well as remembering whatever has been read.
Like many magic manuscripts this work was attributed to famous individuals including Solomon (who reputedly received the book directly from God via the angel Pamphilius), which was translated into Greek by the magician Apollonius of Tyana, along with input from Euclid of Thebes, the father of Honorius of Thebes the author of The Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Juratus) and Mani, the prophet.
Solomonic grimoires are concerned with the evocation of spirits or demons, but the Ars Notoria stands alone as angel magic concerned only with memory and the ability to understand and absorb whole subjects rapidly, making it a veritable student's grimoire, a key to obtaining knowledge rapidly.
Despite its popularity and enduring history the Ars Notoria has never been printed in its complete form. After its early Latin appearance there was only one incomplete English translation by Robert Turner in 1657, and that omitted the most vital component for its operation, the notae, a set of complex pictorial illustrations, without which the system just does not work. It also abbreviated most of the orations/invocations. The present edition contains all the notae matched with all the complete invocations/orations, and instructions for their use.
Volume 12 in the SWCM series
CLOTH EDITION
ISBN :
978-1-912212-03-3
Pages: 433 pages, 8" x 10" * 161 illustrations, most in full colour
Strictly Limited to 150 copies * Pages: 433 pages, 8" x 10" * 161 illustrations, most in full colour * Hand Bound Leather Collectors' Edition in half leather
Translated by Robert Turner Edited and Introduced by Dr Stephen Skinner & Daniel Clark
“In its influence, dissemination, length, and complexity the Ars Notoria is the most important surviving treatise of ritual magic.” - Sophie Page.
The Ars Notoria is a mediaeval grimoire, or magician's manual, which was widely distributed and very popular in the 13th-16th century, but virtually unknown today. It is however still very relevant in the 21st century because it contains detailed techniques to enable the practitioner to absorb whole subjects very rapidly, and to understand very complex subjects on first reading, as well as remembering whatever has been read.
Of all the grimoires attributed to the Solomonic tradition of magic, one of the oldest and most enigmatic is the Ars Notoria. Like the many magic manuscripts this work was pseudepigraphically attributed to several famous individuals ranging from Solomon (who reputedly received the book directly from God via the hand of the angel Pamphilius), through its supposed translation by the magician Apollonius of Tyana who called it Flores aurei, or the Golden flowers, to Euclid of Thebes.
The Ars Notoria stands alone in its own category of angel grimoires, for while most other Solomonic grimoires are concerned with the evocation of spirits or demons, the Ars Notoria instead was concerned only with memory and the ability to understand and absorb whole subjects rapidly. It offered to grant almost instant proficiency in any of the seven Liberal Arts, making it a veritable student’s grimoire, a key to obtaining knowledge rapidly.
Yet despite its popularity and enduring history the Ars Notoria has never been printed in its complete form. From its early published Latin appearance in Agrippa's Opera Omnia to the first and only English translation by Robert Turner in 1657, all published versions of this work have omitted the most vital component of its operation, the notae, a set of complex pictorial illustrations that are the heart of its system. That is however until now. The present edition contains all the notae which have always been left out of other printed editions, without which the system just does not work.
For the first time ever the Ars Notoria is presented in its complete form. In this edition we present not just one but five complete sets of notae taken from various manuscripts, alongside a corrected edition of Turner’s English translation. We also present a complete facsimile of Yale University's Beinecke MS Mellon 1 in full colour, the earliest known manuscript of this work, with a complete copy of the 1620s printed Latin text. Detailed commentary is provided on its origins, content, possible authors, owners, methods of use, and practical considerations as well as comprehensive tables of the almost 100 notae variants. The progress of the Ars Notoria is traced from its Greek origins, via its flourishing 13th century monastic life to its supposed inclusion in the Lemegeton.
Volume 11 in the SWCM series
CLOTH EDITION
ISBN :
978-1-91221208-8
Pages: 524 pages, 8" x 10" * Hundreds of illustrations * Full colour printed on art paper
Introduction by Dr Stephen Skinner & Daniel Clark [ with additional material by Frederick Hockley, etc ]
This manuscript grimoire contains magical formulae and procedures dating back to 1520, which were brought together in 1789 by Dr. Ebenezer Sibley. After his death in 1799 copyists like Frederick Hockley continued to add chapters and even whole ‘books’ to the manuscript. Finally in the 19th century this particular copy was made by a master calligrapher. Although there are a number of other manuscript copies of the Clavis or Key to Unlock the Mysteries of Magic located in libraries spread around the world (14 at last count), this one is totally unique. It is 45% longer and more complete than any other copy, and illustrated with a large number of pentacles from the Key of Solomon, featuring 8-12 for every one of the 7 planets.
There are a range of detailed methods for evoking spirits and binding them, with an explanatory commentary by the editors which is not directed towards just theory and history, but to practical usage. Specific spirits, such as Birto, Agares, Vassago and Bealpharos and the methods for invoking them are explained, with illustrations of the form the spirits usually appear in. As you might expect, there is a whole section on skrying in the crystal, and the use of the magic bell, which explains the differences between evoking the spirit outside the circle in a triangle and seeing its image in a crystal.
Methods involving the use of the Demon Kings to compel the lesser spirits, which have never appeared in any other published grimoires, are explained in detail. As well as the pentacles there are many talismans for very practical purposes, such as compelling a thief to return your stolen goods, causing destruction to your enemies, creating love between two people, or just for casual ‘amorous intrigues,’ curing some diseases, and for defending your home against both burglars and malicious spirits. This extraordinary grimoire marks the high point in Victorian illustrated grimoires.
REGULAR EDITION
380 pages, 60 Tables, 64 Illustrations
Hardback with dust wrapper
ISBN:
978-0-9932042-0-3 Publication: 24th October 2015
This is the first book in English on Flying Star feng shui which explains how it compatibly relates to Eight Mansion feng shui, and provides 216 giving lower kua Flying Star charts with 24 Mountain direction indicator, as well as all of the variant Substitution Star (ti kua) charts. Although the ‘Flying Stars’ were originally related to the stars of the astronomical Big Dipper asterism, in their feng shui usage they are simply terms for changing types of subtle ch'i (qi) energy present in our living environment, our homes, and our workplaces.
Flying Star assumes there is a very real link between the present time, the time a building was built, its directional orientation, the birthdates of its occupants and the consequential changing luck of its occupants. Contrary to popular mis-conception, Flying Star feng shui is completely compatible with Eight Mansion feng shui. The effects of using Flying Star feng shui correctly can often be impressive and very rapid, often within 10 days. Flying Star feng shui is one of the components of Hsüan K’ung (Xuan Kong), which is in turn part of the San Yuan School of feng shui, which relies upon the 8 Trigrams kua (gua) and their combinations. By contrast San He (the other great school of feng shui) relies upon combinations of the 5 Elements (in their yin and yang forms) with the 12 Earthly Branches, forming 60 chia-tzu (jia zi) or dragons.
Much of the knowledge in this book comes from the Chinese text of perhaps the most famous Hsüan K’ung (Xuan Kong) master of the 20th century, Shen Chu Reng and his book on Flying Star entitled San Yuan Ti Li Tai Hsüan K’ung.
REGULAR EDITION
378 pages, 30 Tables 68 Illustrations (many in colour)
Limited to 200 copies Hand Bound LEATHER EDITION - COLLECTORS' EDITION
ISBN:
978-981-094311-0 Published: 2015
Only available direct from Golden Hoard Press.
Sold Out
Techniques of Solomonic Magic
by Dr. Stephen Skinner
Solomonic magic is a major part of the grimoire tradition. This volume is about the methods of Solomonic magic used in Alexandria and how they have been passed via Byzantium (the Hygromanteia), to the manuscripts of the Latin Clavicula Salomonis and its English incarnation as the Key of Solomon. Jewish techniques like the use of pentacles, oil and water skrying were added along the way, but Solomonic magic (despite its name) remained basically a classical Greek form of magic. Amazingly, this transmission has involved very few changes and the ‘technology’ of magic has remained firmly intact. The emphasis in this book is upon specific magical techniques such as the invocation of the gods, the binding of demons, the use of the four demon Kings, and the construction of the circle and lamen. The requirements of purity, sexual abstinence, and fasting have changed little in the last 2000 years, and the real reasons for that are explained. The use of amulets, talismans and phylacteries or lamens is outlined along with their methods of construction. The structure of a Solomonic evocation puts into perspective the reasons for each step, the use of thwarting angels, achieving invisibility, sacrifice, love magic, treasure finding, and the binding, imprisoning and licensing of spirits.
The facing directions and timing of evocations have always been crucial, and these too have remained consistent. Practical considerations such as choice of incense, the timing of the cutting of the wand, utilisation of rings and statues, use of the Table of Evocation, or the acquisition of a familiar spirit are also explained. Techniques of Solomonic Magic is thus a follow on book from Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic. This volume is based on the magicians’ own handbooks rather than the opinions of theologians, historians, anthropologists, sociologists or legislators. The emphasis is on what magicians actually did and why. Tools used by magicians in 7th century Alexandria, 15th century Constantinople and 19th century London are very much the same. More than 70 illustrations (many in colour) of magical equipment like the wand, the sword, wax images and magical gems, drawn from a wide range of manuscripts are reproduced and examined. This is the most detailed analysis of Solomonic magic, from the inside, ever penned.
Partial List of Contents
The Relationship between Magic and Religion
Sources of the Solomonic Magical Tradition
The Input of Jewish Magic to the Clavicula Salomonis
Byzantine Solomonic Magical Texts
Manuscripts of the Hygromanteia
Stephanos of Alexandria
Analysis of the Contents of the Hygromanteia
The Transmission of Byzantine Greek texts to the Latin West
The Clavicula Salomonis
Transmission of Techniques from the Hygromanteia to the Clavicula Salomonis
Similarity of Method in the Hygromanteia and the Clavicula Salomonis
The Hierarchy of Spiritual Creatures
The Hierarchies of Spirits, Angels and Daimones
The Gods
Preliminary Procedures and Preparations
Locations for the Operation
Orientation and the Four Demon Kings
Timing
Purity and Sexual Abstinence
Fasting and Food Prohibitions
Protection for the Magician
The Circle
Triangle of Art and Brass Vessel
Phylactery, Lamen or Breastplate
Amulets
Talismans and Pentacles
Conjuration of Angels
Evocation of Demons and Spirits Nomina Magica
Historiola and Commemoration
License to Depart
Transmission of Equipment from Hygromanteia to Clavicula Salomonis
Table of Evocation
Wand
Sword
Black-handled Knife
Virgin Papyrus or Parchment
Pen, Quill, or Reed
Ink
Garments
The Symbola of the Gods
Magical Statues or Stoicheia
Magical Rings and Gemstones
Wax and Clay Images
Incenses and Herbs
Major Magical Techniques
Love Spells
Invisibility
Sacrifice
Necromancy
Treasure Finding
Imprisonment of Spirits in a Bottle
The ‘manteiai’ or Evocationary Skrying Methods Lekanomanteia – Evocationary Bowl Skrying Hygromanteia – Evocationary Water Skrying
A Short Outline of Astral Magic
Manuscripts of the Hygromanteia
Manuscripts of the Clavicula Salomonis
Text-Groups of the Clavicula Salomonis
The Classic Solomonic Method
FLASH SALE PRICE £96.00 (Approx US$135.00)
Usual Price: £110.00
plus FREE P&P airmailed
ISBN:
978-0-9568285-9-0 Published: June 2015
Only available direct from Golden Hoard Press.
Click to purchase now
The Complete
Magician's Tables
** 5th Expanded Edition – 64 pages more than the 1st edition ** Dr. Stephen Skinner
These more than 840 magical tables are the most complete set of tabular correspondences covering magic, astrology, divination, Tarot, I Ching, Kabbalah, gematria, angels, demons, Graeco-Egyptian magic, pagan pantheons, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist and mystical correspondences ever printed. It is more than five times larger and more wide ranging than Crowley’s Liber 777.
New columns include the spirits from Faust’s Höllenzwang and Trithemius’ Steganographia. Types of magic and their Greek identification headwords; the meanings of a wide range of nomina magica; planetary incenses; and the secret names for ingredients, all from the Greek magical papyri. Also the names of the gods of the hours and the months which must be used for successful evocation.
The source of the data in these tables ranges over 2000 years, from the Graeco-Egyptian papyri, Byzantine Solomonike, unpublished manuscript mediaeval grimoires and Kabbalistic works, Peter de Abano, Abbott Trithemius, Albertus Magnus, Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Dr John Dee, Dr Thomas Rudd, Tycho Brahe, MacGregor Mathers (and the editors of Mathers’ work, Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie), to the mage of classical geometric shapes, modern theories of prime numbers and atomic weights. The sources include many key grimoires such the Sworn Book, Liber Juratus, the Lemegeton (Goetia, Theurgia-Goetia, Almadel, Pauline Art), Abramelin, and in the 20th century the grimoire of Franz Bardon.
All this material has been grouped and presented in a consistent and logical way covering the whole Western Mystery tradition and some relevant parts of the Eastern tradition. This is the final update of this volume.
Partial List of Contents
Alchemy and Alchemists
Angels: Biblical and Gnostic
Astrology: Zodiac, Planets, Decans, Mansions
Fixed Stars and Constellations
Buddhist Meditation
Christianity
Colour Scales
Demons
Dr John Dee’s Angels
Emblems
Feng Shui and Taoist Magic
Gematria
Geomancy
Gnostic Magicians
Gods of the Hours and Months
Graeco-Egyptian Magic
Grimoires
Herbs
Islam
Isopsephy
Kabbalah
Letters, many Alphabets & Numbers
Magic and Sorcery
Natural Magic: Plants, Stones
Nomina Magica
Orders, Grades and Officers
Pagan Pantheons
Perfumes & Incenses
Planetary & Olympic Spirits
Questing and Chivalry
Sacred Geometry
Secret names of magical ingredients
Tarot
Timelines for: Magicians, Kabbalists, Alchemists, Astrologers, Knights Templar, Gnostics
Vedic and Hindu Meditation
Wheel of the Year: Hours, Months, Seasons, Festivals
Yi Jing / I Ching
This book uses academic tools to uncover the techniques which were actually used by Graeco-Egyptian magicians. This book will really strengthen your understanding of magic and its roots. After reading it magic will no longer be something to theorise about, but a real practice, a real interaction with divinities, daimones, spirits and even the dead, using evocation, invocation, skrying, dream techniques, talismans, amulets, defixiones, sacrifice and spirit offerings, ensouling magical statues and consecrating rings. It also explains the necessary protection for the magician, the circle and phylacteries.
Magical objectives include love (by attraction, compulsion, insomnia and ‘love’s leash’), health, invisibility, foreknowledge and memory. There are detailed sections on bowl and lamp skrying, the sending of dreams, encountering a god, and the Mystery rites for fellowship with the gods. First steps include the invocation of the paredros, the daimon assistant and the correct purity and fasting procedures. Encounter Thesallos of Tralles who persuaded an Egyptian priest to manifest a god for him, and the techniques that his Egyptian priest used to do this.
Egypt was at the heart of magic, and the Graeco-Egyptian papyri are the clearest and most extensive documentation of some of its earliest methods. These papyri were the handbooks of practicing magicians who lived during the first five centuries of this era. But attempting to read the Graeco-Egyptian magical papyri in Hans Dieter Betz's English translation The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation is a daunting task, as they seem to be in no particular order (except for papyrus number). Furthermore the papyri are a mixture of many different techniques, with minor snippets mixed in with serious and long invocations, many without the basic instructions needed to perform these rites.
Stephen Skinner discovered that in the original Greek, then they have a perfectly logical structure, as the scribes have in most cases used a headword to indicate what kind of rite was involved. This headword has however mostly been lost in translation. What Stephen Skinner has done here is to separate and tabulate each of the 40+ techniques used by Graeco-Egyptian magicians, throwing an enormous amount of light on these very practical texts. In many cases the translator has taken the easy way out and just used words like 'spell' or 'charm' to translate dozens of different technical words which are necessary for understanding exactly what is going on. Skinner has rectified this by extracting each of these specialist Greek terms for different magical procedures and, showing what they really mean, and has divided up the papyri into its constituent methods, so that the reader is directed to the specific passages relevant to his interest. The result is more than a guide to the papyri, it is a complete survey and explanation of the functioning of the types of Graeco-Egyptian magic, often noting where such techniques appear again in the later grimoires. If you want to understand Graeco-Egyptian magic, this is where you should start.
Chapters include:
* Amulets
* Calendrical Considerations
* Composite Rites
* Daimonic Possession and Exorcism
* Defixiones
* Ensouling Magical Statues
* Evocationary Bowl Skrying
* Evocationary Lamp Skrying
* Face-to-Face Encounters with a god
* Foreknowledge and Memory rites
* Health
* Homeric magic and divination
* Hymns, pagan
* Incenses, Herbs and Plants used in magic
* Invisibility
* Invocation of the gods and the god’s arrival
* Love
* Magical Rings and Gemstones
* Mysteries and Initiation Rites
* Necromancy
* Paredros or Assistant Daimon, securing a
* Phylacteries
* Procedures for Visions and Dream Revelation
* Talismans
CLOTH EDITION
* ISBN :
978-0-9568285-4-5
* Pages : 208 H/B with d/w * 70 illustrations, 22 half-tone plates *25 x 18 cm
The story of Classical Feng Shui in China and the West from 221 BC to 2012 AD
Feng Shui History tracks the evolution of feng shui in detail in China from 221 BC till the present day, and then its spread throughout SE Asia, and finally to the rest of the world in the last 35 years. This has never been done before in English. The only information on the history of feng shui occurs as scattered chapters in a number of books, but these books often repeat the same tired generalisations, and include many largely erroneous statements.
This book has been meticulously researched, from authoritative Chinese texts and the analysis of many antique lo p'ans, and gives the real history of feng shui. It contains the biographical details of many masters, and tracks the developments and people involved in propagating feng shui in the US, UK, Europe, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, in the 20th century, right up to date in 2012. It clearly shows the different feng shui methods and masters, and how they relate to each other.
It also dispels a number of feng shui myths, such as:
1. "Feng shui is 6000 years old." In fact the characters 'feng shui' were not used in this context before 320 CE. Even the older names (ti li, kan yi, etc.) for this practice do not occur in any surviving texts before 221 BC.
2. "Feng shui derives from the Yi Jing." In fact, apart from the 8 trigrams being used as basic directional indicators, no feng shui compass shows the 60 hexagrams till 1600 CE, and not the full 64 hexagrams till 1824.
3. "The feng shui compass derives from a magnetised spoon revolving on a plate." In fact this incorrect deduction made by Wang Chen-To in 1946 (and later reluctantly repeated by Needham) was completely discredited by several researchers in the 1990s.
CLOTH EDITION
* UK ISBN : 978-1-912212-13-2
* US ISBN : 978-0-738765-30-3
* Size: 8" x 10"
* Pages : 844 H/B with d/w
* Illustrations: 26 B/W plus 6 in full colour
Being a reset and corrected 2nd edition
of True & Faithful Relation of what Passed for many Yeers between Dr John Dee...and Some Spirits... With a complete translations of all Latin passages
Preface by Meric Casaubon Edited by Stephen Skinner
This is a completely revamped and reader-friendly edition of A True & Faithful Relation of what passed for many Years between Dr. John Dee... and some Spirits, which has the great advantage of having all Latin passages translated, so you no longer have to look elsewhere for the meaning.
Translation and editing by Stephen Skinner, with a detailed introduction, appendices, extensive footnotes, supplementary texts, additional illustrations, and a Dee timeline.
This book contains John Dee's Spiritual Diaries for 25 years (1583-1608), now made available in an organized and readable form.
For any scholar or practitioner of magic, easy access to Dee's skrying and conversation with angels (the Enochian system) is one of the most important parts of the Western Esoteric tradition. This book also covers Dee's invocation of the angels, his experiments in alchemy, and experiences in the courts of the crowned heads of Europe.
This book incorporates almost 5000 corrections from the original notes of Meric Casaubon, Elias Ashmole and William Shippen, checked against the original manuscripts written by Dee (not against blurry microfilms with missing marginal gaps). Sections which were originally missing from Casaubon's edition have been added. Angels, spirits, people, places, dates and times have been fully footnoted, and Casaubon's errors corrected. The reader will find this a much more accessible entrance to the world of Dr Dee's conferences with angels and spirits, and a welcome improvement on every edition so far published.
Stephen Skinner was responsible for initially stimulating the renewed interest in John Dee and Enochian magic by first re-publishing Meric Casaubon's True and Faithful Relation... in 1973. He has now published the definitive edition, 46 years later.
This manuscript is a grimoire, a manual of practical magic, a sorcerer’s handbook.
It is a composite grimoire drawn from a number of different sources. It is not the sort of grimoire which has a complete method of calling up a set register of spirits, like the Goetia, nor does it have a wide range of pentacles or talismans like the Key of Solomon.
It is however quite special as it was also was a practising Cunning man's grimoire, a very interesting blend of learned and local village magic. It also contains a lot of critical astrological information (including its own set of astrological tables) which are an important part of magic, but which don’t feature to a large extent in other grimoires. It goes way beyond Planetary days and hours, to detailed aspects of timing and also contains magical operations connected with the 28 Mansions of the Moon and image magic, which were usually absent from Solomonic grimoires.
The 28 Mansions of the Moon belong to a different magical tradition which owes its origins to Arabic and Indian roots, rather than the Greek roots of Solomonic magic. This manuscript literally stands at the crossroads of several different magical streams.
CLOTH EDITION
* ISBN :
978-0-9568285-0-7
* Pages : 348, HB with d/w
* 57 Illustrations, many in colour
* 23 Tables
Translated and edited by Ioannis Marathakis Foreword by Stephen Skinner
This is the true ancestor of the Key of Solomon.
This book is sometimes called the Hygromanteia, and this book has hidden behind the mistaken idea that all of it is a work on water divination, a scholarly mistake that has hidden the true value of this book for centuries. Throughout history thousands of people have been fascinated by the grimoire the Key of Solomon. This is the original Greek book of magic that was the source of the Key of Solomon, and in turn the ancestor of most of the grimoire-based ceremonial magic practiced in Europe and the US today. It is therefore the key to understanding the grimoires.
This is a ground-breaking work. For the first time (outside of a handful of pages in academic works) the full Greek original of the Key of Solomon has been translated into English. Till now it has only existed in Bysantine Greek manuscripts.
Contrary to popular opinion the Key of Solomon was not translated from a Hebrew original. During the gradual decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire, this precious text, along with many others, was taken to Italy. This may have happened when Constantinople was sacked in 1453. It is quite likely that it was taken to Venice, where parts of it were translated into Latin and Italian.
Abridged Latin copies entitled the Clavicula Salomonis circulated in Europe, going through many changes, languages and versions to become the Key of Solomon as we know it (some of those manuscripts are published as Volume IV of the present series). Now for the first time you can read the whole text (large portions of which were left out of the Latin translations) derived from 17 different manuscripts.
This is the most complete history of Western geomancy in any language.
Geomancy -
divination by earth - ranks alongside the tarot,
astrology and the I Ching as a major form of divination.
Since the Renaissance it has largely fallen out of
favour. This is the first and most comprehensive
book in English to cover
the full historical background and practice of
divinatory geomancy, and will therefore be invaluable to
all those interested in divination, magic and astrology.
It is the only complete history in any language,
covering geomancy's various manifestations in different
cultures, as well as being a practical manual showing
how to cast and interpret geomantic figures.
Drawing on
material from Latin, French, German and Arabic
manuscript and book sources,
Stephen Skinner explores the roots of geomancy in the
Islamic raml divination of northern Africa, which lead
to Fa, Ifa and voodoo divinatory practices on the West
Coast and sikidy in Madagascar. He examines the impact
Islamic geomancy had on medieval Europe, where it rose
to prominence and became, after astrology, the prime
method of divination. It even resulted in the creation
of an amazingly complex brass 12th century geomancy
calculator. The part it played in Renaissance
thinking and in the great astrological revival of the
nineteenth century is followed by an examination of its
use in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and its
declining influence in the twentieth century only to be
revived again in the last decade. This
western geomancy is not, and has nothing to do with, feng shui.
The second
section of the book is concerned with the practice,
manipulation and generation of geomantic figures as
standardized in Europe, and gives practical examples as
a guide to the interpretation and practice of the art.
Also covers astro-geomany which relates astrology and
geomancy. This is shown in the cover picture which clearly shows Islamic astronomers at work whilst geomancers look for portents of the future in the sand.
Sepher Raziel - also called Liber Salomonis is a full grimoire in the Solomonic tradition from a rare sixteenth century English manuscript. It is completely different from the Sepher Raziel ha-Melakh published by Steve Savedow, and is the oldest grimoire so far published in the Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic series. It shows clear signs of Hebrew and Greek roots, quoting both Solomon and Hermes.
It contains seven complete treatises:
Clavis, concerned with astrology and its use in magic, with precise interactions between planets, Signs, and Houses;
Ala, outlining the magical virtues of stones, herbs, and animals;
Tractatus Thymiamatus, which deals with incense and perfumes used in the Art;
Treatise of Times detailing the correct hours of the day for each operation;
Treatise on Preparations on ritual purity, and abstinence;
Samaim, on the different heavens and their angels; and finally,
Semiforas or a Book of Names and their virtues and properties, being seven 'semiforas' attributed to Adam and seven semiforas attributed to Moses.
The Sepher Raziel text is given in two forms: an exact literal transcription of the 16th century English with no changes in spelling or wording, and a full modern annotated English version for easier reading.
This volume also includes a foreword which offers an overview of Raziel manuscripts, which represent a number of independent traditions, an essay on the literature of Solomonic magic in English, an introduction to the Sepher Raziel manuscript itself, an appendix on incense names, botanical names and identification, a list of printed notices and manuscript sources of Sepher Raziel, and a full bibliography of printed works on Solomonic magic and items of related interest.
The Grimoire of St. Cyprian - There have been
many grimoires attributed to St. Cyprian of Antioch due
to his reputation as a consummate magician before his
conversion to Christianity, but perhaps none so
intriguing as the present manuscript.
This
unique manuscript (unlike
the more rustic examples attributed to St Cyprian or the
Black Books of Wittenburg as found in Scandinavia, or the
texts disseminated under his name in
Spain and Portugal) is directly in line with the Solomonic
tradition, and therefore relevant to our present series
of Sourceworks of the Ceremonial Magic.
It is unique in that
instead of being weighed down with many prayers and
conjurations it addresses the summoning and use of both
the four Archangels, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel
as well as their opposite numbers, the four Demon Kings,
Paymon, Maimon, Egyn and Oriens. The later are
shown in their animal and human forms along with
their sigils, a resource unique amongst grimoires. These manuscript illustrations of the Demon Kings do not appear anywhere else.
The
text is in a mixture of three magical scripts, Greek,
Hebrew, cipher,
Latin, (and reversed Latin) with many contractions and shortforms, but it has been expanded and made plain by the editors.
The title of the manuscript, Clavis Inferni sive
magia alba et nigra approbata Metratona, literally
means ‘The Key of Hell with white and black magic as
proven [tested] by Metatron’.
translated by Marcus Collisson. Introduced by Stephen Skinner
It was the fall of Constantinople in 1453 that released
a tide of Greek reading scholars into Western Europe,
particularly Venice. With them came much of the magical
and Hermetic knowledge which the Greeks in their turn
had inherited from the Egyptians. The Key of Solomon
was one such text. It is therefore essential to the
understanding of such magical texts that one understands
exactly how the Byzantines understood the nature of
daemons. Psellus forms the bridge between the ancient
world, Byzantine
Greek,
and the grimoire conception of the nature and use of daemons.
Michael Psellus (1018 – 1178 C.E) was one of
the most notable writers and philosophers of the
Byzantine era. The Byzantine domain was effectively the
eastern Greek speaking part of the Roman Empire centred
on Byzantium (Constantinople, modern Istanbul) which
split off from the Latin West in 364 C.E. Its
intellectual legacies helped lay the foundations for the
Italian Renaissance.
Hailing from Constantinople, Psellus’ career was an
illustrious and practical one, serving as a political advisor to a
succession of emperors, playing a decisive role in the
transition of power between various monarchs. He became the leading professor at the newly
founded University of Constantinople, bearing the honourary title, ‘Consul of the Philosophers’. He was
the driving force behind the university curriculum
reform designed to emphasize the Greek classics,
especially Homeric literature. Psellus is credited with
the shift from Aristotelian thought to the Platonist
tradition, and was adept in politics, astronomy,
medicine, music, theology, jurisprudence, physics,
grammar and history. He was well qualified to speak about daemons.
Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series - Volume IV
448 pages
160 B/W illustrations
talismans and tables
ISBN: 978-0-9557387-6-0
The Key of Solomon is the most important and influential of all European grimoires.
This is the most beautiful and detailed version of this grimoire ever published.
With a comprehensive introduction by Stephen Skinner and David Rankine.
This is a book that every practicing magician or scholar of the occult must have.
The source is two French manuscripts scribed for a French aristocrat in 1796. This is not the earliest, but it is the most detailed version of the Key of Solomon. The book contains three separate versions of the Keys, in order to cover as much of the material as possible. It is much more complete than the Mathers’ 1909 edition. It includes a full commentary on all the 144 extant manuscripts of this grimoire, including illustrations from the earlier Greek manuscript precursor of the Key of Solomon, which is also published by Golden Hoard (see The Magical Treatise of Solomon elsewhere on this site).
a Compendium of Classical feng shui. Including a history of feng shui, a detailed
description of 75 rings of the lo p'an, and a feng shui time
line.
Stephen Skinner
Material
never before available in English…and difficult to find even in Chinese
How to read the San He and San Yuan lo p'an,
with an explanation of each ring in detail, the history and background
of feng shui and the lo p'an (luo pan).
This large book is 448 pages in size, and packed
with detailed information which is very clearly explained, so that after reading
it anyone should be comfortable reading even the most complex lo p'an.
This book is the result of 30 years of research and practice. More than
75 rings are documented, illustrated, tabulated, and classified by Plate and School,
with their use and history. Anyone reading the book can go from being a
complete novice to complete familiarity with any lo p'an, ancient or
modern. It clearly explains for the first time in
English how feng shui developed and the relationship between the San He and
San Yuan Schools.
There are 65 Tables, 174
illustrations, and 32 full colour plates. These include rare pictures
and analyses of Ming and Ch'ing (Qing) dynasty lo p'ans.
Every technical term, book title, or person's
name, is carefully footnoted in traditional Chinese characters with
supporting pinyin and Wade-Giles transliterations.
"No Classical feng shui practitioner can afford to be without this
book.”
Partial List of Contents
A Short History of
Feng Shui
History of the
Compass - Misconceptions
The Shih
Board
The Chai Ching
Earth Plate
Reading the Lo P’an
How to Align the Lo
P’an
Tricks of the Trade
How to Buy a Lo P’an
Physical Structure
of the Lo P’an
The Rings of the Lo
P’an
Rings, Plates and
Needles
Mistaken Western
Identifications
The 4 Seasons and
Celestial Animals
The 8 Mountain
Killings or yao sha
The 8 Wandering
Stars of the 8 Mansions
The 9 Flying Stars
or fei hsing
The 9 Numbers of the
Lo Shu
The 10 Heavenly
Stems or t’ien kan
The 12 Earthly
Branches or ti chih
The 12 Jupiter Years
or tz’u
The 12 Life Stages
Palaces or kung
The 12 Provincial
divisions or fen yeh
The 12 Sovereign
Hexagrams or p’ikua
The 12 Yellow
Springs or huang ch'üan
The 24 Heaven Stars
or t'ien hsing
The 24 Mini-Seasons
or chieh ch’i
The 24 Mountains or
shan
The 24 Robbery Sha or chieh sha
The 28 Lunar
Mansions or hsiu
The 60
Earth-Penetrating Dragons or tou ti lung
The 60 Root
Hexagrams or penkua (San He)
The 60 Sexagenary
Combinations or chia tzu
The 60 Uneven
Dragons or ying so
The 64 Hexagrams or
kua
The 72
Mountain-Piercing Dragons
The 120 Golden
Divisions or fen chin
The 240 Golden
Divisions or fen chin
The 360 new Western
degrees or hsien tu
The 365.25 Chinese
day-degrees or tu
The 384 Hexagram
lines or kuayao
The 940 Degrees of
the Complete Calendar
The ‘Alphabet’ of
Feng Shui
Chinese Dynasties
and Feng Shui Chronology
The Schools of Feng
Shui
Catalogue of Common
Lo P'an Rings
Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic Series - Volume III
The Goetia is the most famous grimoire after the
Key of Solomon. This volume contains a transcription of
a hitherto unpublished manuscript of the Lemegeton which includes four whole complete grimoires:
Liber Malorum Spituum seu Goetia
Theurgia-Goetia
Ars Paulina (Books 1 & 2)
Ars Almadel
This manuscript was owned by Dr Thomas Rudd, a practicing
scholar-magician of the early seventeenth century. There are
many editions of the Goetia, of which the most
definitive is that of Joseph Peterson, but here we are
interested in how the Goetia was actually used
by practising magicians in the 16th and 17th century, before
the knowledge of practical magic faded into obscurity.
Many practical techniques used in the past have since been
forgotten. The authors restore these using Dr. Rudd's
manuscript. For example, to evoke the 72 demons listed here without the ability to
bind them would be foolhardy indeed. It was well known in
times past that invocatio and ligatio,
or binding, was a key part of evocation, but in the modern
editions of the Goetia this key technique is expressed in
just one word ‘Shemhamphorash’, and its use is not
explained.
This volume explains how the 72 angels of the Shemhamphorash
are used to bind the spirits, and the correct procedure for
safely invoking them using dual seals incorporating the
necessary controlling Shem angel, whose name is also
engraved on the breastplate and Brass Vessel.
176 pages
Hundreds of illustrations
Full colour printed on art paper
ISBN: 9781786782052
Publisher: Watkins Media
Published: 21/03/2019
The Splendor Solis The World's Most Famous Alchemical Manuscript
by Stephen Skinner, Rafal T. Prinke, Georgiana D. Hedesan
A magnificent edition of Splendor Solis for all those interested in alchemy, magic and mysterious manuscripts. Popularly attributed to the legendary figure Salomon Trismosin, Splendor Solis (`Splendour of the Sun') is the most beautiful alchemical manuscript ever made, with 22 fabulous illustrations rich in allegorical and mystical symbolism.
The paintings are given a fitting showcase in this new Watkins edition, which accompanies them with Joscelyn Godwin's contemporary translation of the original 16th-century German text, as well as interpretation from alchemical experts Stephen Skinner, Rafal T. Prinke, an authority in central and Eastern European esoteric manuscripts and Georgiana Hedesan. Stephen Skinner explains the symbolism of both the text and the illustrations, confirming that together they describe the physical process of the alchemical transmutation of base metal into gold and not some Jungian archetypes.
Rafal T. Prinke explains the theories about the authorship of both text and illustrations, discussing Splendor Solis as the turning point in alchemical iconography passing from the medieval tradition to that of the Baroque, and the reasons for the misattribution of Splendor Solis to Poysel and Trismosin.
Georgiana Hedesan looks at the legendary figure of Salomon Trismosin and his creation by followers of Theophrastus Paracelsus as part of an attempt to integrate their master in a lineage of ancient alchemical philosophers.
The images are taken from the British Library manuscript Harley 3469, the finest example of the Splendor Solis to survive.
Stephen
was nominated as Publisher of the Year in the 1999 PPA Awards
(like the Oscars of Publishing) for
his production of Feng Shui for Modern Livingmagazine.
