Abramelin Mage’s Book of Sacred Magic

Abramelin Mage’s Book of Sacred Magic

Located near the Bastille on the Seine River is the Arsenal Library. It formerly housed the quarters of the artillery masters. In the 18th century, thanks to the Marquis Antoine-René d’Argenson, the edifice housed a book collection made up of the private collections of this aristocrat. Since 1934, it has already functioned as a branch of the French National Library. Among the unique prints and manuscripts from the medieval period is a manuscript that is still held in high esteem and of interest to occult researchers today.

The Abramelin Mage’s Book of Sacred Magic, as it is referred to, dates back to the 15th century. It is a grimoire, or book, on the pages of which secret knowledge is written. The author of the work is Abraham von Worms (1362 – 1458), who introduces himself as Abraham the Jew. After the death of his father, who instilled in him a fondness for Kabbalah, in hopes of learning the knowledge of sorcery and finding a master initiated in magic, he left his home in Germany and set out on a journey. The Book of Sacred Magic is the result of just that trip.

Meeting with Abramelin

Abraham hit the road on February 13, 1397. He traveled through Bohemia, Austria, Hungary and Greece all the way to Constantinople. There he stayed for two years. He then headed to Egypt, and then on to the desert lands of Arabia. In none of these places did he find a reliable, initiated master, so he decided to return to Germany. On his way back, he stopped in the Egyptian town of Arachi on the Nile. A man informed him that in a place three and a half days away from the city lived a sage and magician named Abramelin, who was most likely able to help him. Abraham went to see him. This meeting was the most important experience in Abraham’s life. Abramelin gave him knowledge of the system of Holy Magic based on Kabbalah and handed him two manuscripts with secret knowledge. Abraham returned to Germany, to Wurzburg, where he spent the rest of his life.

The System of Holy Magic

The original manuscript was written by Abraham in 1458 in Hebrew. It consists of three parts, of which:

Part One – addressed to Abraham’s younger son named Lamech, contains Abraham’s autobiography, in which, among other things, he describes his travels and experiences with the magi he met along the way, and his meeting with Abramelin. He also gives his son guidance and cautions.

Part Two and Part Three – contain a system of instructions and practices of Holy Magic written down based on manuscripts that Abramelin gave to Abraham, with Abraham’s comments.

The Book of Sacred Magic is based on the premise that humans function between the world of angels and demons, or, looking more broadly, between the world of good and evil spirits. Evil spirits are obliged to obey good spirits. Man, through magic, is able to subjugate evil spirits and use them for his own and other people’s benefit and for the glory of God. The path to learning the system of Holy Magic is time-consuming and requires a number of conditions. It begins with six months of preparation, during which it is necessary to pray daily before sunrise and sunset, and to maintain purity and abstinence. After this time, the Holy Guardian Angel will appear and reveal the secrets of the system of Holy Magic (the so-called Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel). A person must also be characterized by nobility of heart, firmness, self-control and unshakable faith. For evil spirits, before succumbing to him, will try to enslave him. In his work, Abraham repeatedly emphasizes that the system of Holy Magic stems from the Kabbalah, which means that knowledge of it is a prerequisite for its use. Finally, he also gives testimony to the successes he achieved using Holy Magic – he possessed a wife and became fabulously wealthy. After all, the 3,000,000 gold florins he owned was no small sum.