Owen Davies (1) (1969–)

Another incredibly dense nonfiction book for another one of my hyper-fixations. It admittedly took me eight hundred years to read this, because it wasn't exactly the book I was looking for, but there was so much fascinating information here that I kept going back.

This is a MASSIVE sprawling history of magic books, mostly those playing around the edges of Christian mythos, but with interesting comparisons to other systems of folk magic both associated with other major religions and not. How all of these interacted with changing technologies (like the printing press), changes in the power structure of The Church (The Inquisition, The Reformation, etc.), colonialism, influences of neighboring religions, etc.

SO MUCH INFORMATION. A reference I'll be happy to keep on my shelves.… (más)

“Grimoires: A History of Magic Books by Owen Davies was a fascinating read, so much do, that I couldn't put it down!

Following a timeline, it begins with the first grimoires, the Graeco-Egyptian papyri. Egypt was thought to be the birthplace of all magic, making its mark in every grimoire, secret society and occult work. Hermes Trismegistus, a mythical conflation of Thoth and Hermes, becomes an "original author" of grimoires. Moses, as another, was redefined as a magical Egyptian. Then King Solomon, whom the archangel Michael supposedly bestowed the power of trapping demons (a la Supernatural). The Clavicule or Key of Solomon is one of the more enduring grimoires, surviving into modern times. It was said that even Virgil had one. Saints became associated with them too, St. Cyprian being the most popular well into the 19thc. Science, in its infancy, was akin to magic so that Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus are featured in cover titles, not to mention rumored alchemists. Even 18thc. adventurers, like Cagliostro and Casanova, dabbled with these tomes.

But what was the purpose of a grimoire? Some focused on the magician's desires, others were medicinal or to safely hunt for treasure. While it was the power of the written word that made the grimoire, there were often stipulations for ink, parchment, or the material used to bind it. They found their way to Iceland, Toledo, Geneva, and even Canada! But in France (Affair of the Poisons?) the printing of grimoires exploded. The “Petit Albert” is the most notorious, then the “Dragon Rouge” emerged during the French Revolution. My favorite chapters were about the creolization of grimoires and their incorporation into African (through colonization) and PA Dutch folk practices. But thanks to an adaptable format and no single authorship, the grimoire survived book burnings, witch hunts and even Nazi Germany. As Davies rightly puts it: “There is no sign of these books being closed for good.”… (más)

This is an excellent book. Many people assume that the Salem trials were the last gasp of belief in witchcraft in the future United States. Davies demonstrates that belief in the ability of certain people to cause harm through supernatural means did not go away just because the elite stopped believing. Further, new waves of belief were associated with the importation of African slaves, contact with Native Americans and successive waves of immigrants. These beliefs sometimes led to mob action against suspects, sometimes to lawsuits or assaults by individuals who felt that the forces of the law were unable to protect them. Well worth reading by anyone interested in the subject.… (más)

A huge amount of research must have gone into this book. It apparently details briefly every notable example of magical belief and practice during the First World War. Really interesting stuff.

It’s not exactly the book I had wanted to read. I got interested in the subject because I noticed that under the pressure of the pandemic some people have started to perform little acts of attempted magic. I was looking for a book that would classify these behaviours by type and give me some sort of technical terminology. This is very much a book about the ‘what’ rather than the ‘why’. This is of course not the author’s fault. Neither is it the publisher’s. My copy is lacking the dust cover so I had to judge by the contents page. I think what I’m looking for is a book on the psychology of religion.

That said, I’m glad I read it. It really is just very interesting generally and the sections on battlefield luck and the little gods and amulets the soldiers carried is relevant to our current situation.… (más)