Image courtesy of Star Logic Astrodynamics

A short time ago while perusing for information on some long forgotten obscure data, I came upon a rather intriguing pitch for the PICATRIX.  The Picatrix is a classic of occult literature written sometime in the ninth century by an, “anonymous Arab wizard in North Africa or Spain, and credited in the fashion of the time to the notable Sufi and scholar a-Majriti and originally titled Ghayat al-Hakim, ‘The Goal of the Sage.’”  ~ Translators’ Introduction

In essence, the Picatrix is THE Occult Classic of Astrological Magic Complete. Whether or not I am a scholar of Astrology is irrelevant. The pitch had caught my attention  - right down to the fact that it was blatantly revealed that to even own a copy of the Picatrix that merely sat on a bookshelf and nothing more did not stop the power of the book from causing strange and amazing changes and occurrences in the owner’s life!  It was touted as NOT being politically correct and was even said to affront the modern reader.  It even carried a warning and disclaimer!

The material in this book includes descriptions of processes and activities that may be hazardous, illegal or both. Readers who choose to pursue any of these activities do so entirely at their own risk, and are urged to use discretion, to be aware of the potential risks involved in these processes and activities, and to consult with appropriate licensed professionals before making any attempt to perform any such processes or activities. The translators and publisher of this book shall have no liability nor responsibility with respect to any loss or damage caused by reading or following any of the instructions in this book.

Damn if that wasn’t one of the best C.Y.O.As I have ever seen!

WOWZA! Now I HAD to have it! So I purchased a copy that had been translated by Renaissance astrologer Christopher Warnock and the Arch Druid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America, John Michael Greer. I had hit the proverbial arcane jackpot!

Like so many works of Arabic occultism, the Picatrix eventually found its way to Europe and was translated into Spanish and Latin at the court of Alfonso the Wise, King of Castile in the year 1256. At that time it was renamed Picatrix – a name that to this day evades attempts by scholars to figure out what the blazes it means. So of course speculation reigns – is Picatrix the Latin version of an Arabic transliteration of some Greek name like Harpocrates, the Hellenistic Egyptian god of silence and mystery?  Or does the Latin text foster something even more intriguing … that Picatrix is actually the name of the tome’s author?  Hell if I knew or cared  - I just wanted to dig in.

So, according to the general history of mighty magical tome, most of the most significant scholarly occultists of the late Middle Ages drew information from it or from material borrowed from it by other authors.  Marsilio Ficino borrowed heavily from it for his “path breaking” Three Books on Life and Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy were extensively influenced by it.  Simon Forman, Elias Ashmole and the famous astrologer William Lilly used it as a primary source for their magical work. With the end of the Renaissance and the rise of scientific materialism the Picatrix dropped from sight. Today it remains one of the least known and most mysterious works of western occultism. The philosophy that grounds the Picatrix is the same Neoplatonism that fills the aforementioned books. It is not a hodge podge of magical recipes and rituals but a construct of detailed instructions in magical procedures gathered by Arabic occultists over two centuries. The astral magic of Mesopotamia  and the magic practiced in Ancient Egypt and other magics that were clearly borrowed from Hindu tradition all contributed to the collection of magical technique in the Picatrix. The most important fact that must be considered about the Picatrix is that it is the product of a much older world. Its magic draws on a conception of the nature of magic and the universe that  differs drastically from contemporary occult traditions … its source of power is found in the macrocosm and not the microcosm, a power that is native to the universe and not the mage. 

So, as fate would have it, as I pondered weak and weary on a Lovecraftian midnight dreary with the Picatrix in hand, the magic happened. I was not trying  to cast any spells as that is not my 'thang' but it did prove to be a most  fascinating excursion. Here are a few admonitions from the Four Books of Picatrix ...

By Anonymous author from the Middle Ages, original possibly by Maslama al-Majriti - https://www.wdl.org/en/item/7305/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87411282

EXCERPT BOOK ONE ~ CHAPTER 1 (of 7)

How you may know your degree (place) in the universe

Holy Shite! All the ramifications of what THAT could mean were attacking my brain in a renegade assault. Did that mean I would be able to identify my place in the Grand Landscape of All That Is? Was I about to unearth some long forgotten magical discourse that would reveal my true passage apart from my pathetic ride on the mundane autostrada?

The first chapter opened with:

You should know, my dearest brother, that the best and most notable gift that God has given to humanity in this world is knowledge. By knowledge we become acquainted with ancient things, and the causes of everything in the world, and what more immediate causes are the causes of  other things, and how one corresponds to another. By this we can know everything that is and why it is, and why one thing is raised above another in due order, and in what place exists the root and beginning of all things of this world: that thing by which all things are dissolved, and through which everything new and old is made known.

And ended with:

Wherefore you should know that the secrets we intend to reveal in this book of ours cannot be won unless you obtain knowledge first. Whoever desires to know ought to acquire a passion for the sciences and thoroughly scrutinize their rules, or it is ordained that theses secrets cannot be won except through wisdom and study in the sciences. In these secrets, however, is a great purity with which you may be able to help many.

O.K. So I am a dumbass lost in the perpetual abyss of defining "knowledge." Self compensation sets in ...

Nam et ipsa scientia potetsa est ... Knowledge itself is power (Francis Bacon)

AND

If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger? (T.H. Huxley).

Maybe I am better off with ...

Teach thy tongue to say, "I do not know.' (Maimonides)

Psych!  This is after all a tome of astrological magic and the "knowledge" spoken of here is astrology. This includes planets, Fixed Stars and Mansions as used by the ancients. A word to the wise? Do not even attempt to go into a comparative of ancient vs. contemporary concepts regarding astrology because you will lose. When in Chaldea, think like a Chaldean ... or else forfeit your sanity.

EXCERPT BOOK TWO ~ CHAPTER 6 (of 12); CHAPTER 12 (of 12)

The virtues of images, and by what means they may be had, and how images may receive the powers of planets, and how works are done by images, and this is the foundation of science of magic and images.

Well, if nothing else the symbols of the seven planets [above] got me jazzed. Let's face it, astro-magic is based upon planetary influences or "virtues" conferred by nature and spirit.

... magical images work by virtue and similarity, because a magical image is nothing other than the power or celestial bodies the material bodies they influence. Thus when the substance of the material body disposed to receive the influence of the influence of the aforesaid celestial bodies or planets, and the celestial body likewise is disposed to influence the material body of the magical image, the image will be more powerful and more disposed to bring about the effect we seek and desire.

If it looks like a talisman and conjures up like a talisman ... it must be a talisman! Consecrated metals and stones cosmically charged for superconductivity? Now we're talking. BUT,  there was this ...

When you wish to do any evil thing, we ought to seek that the Moon is in Cancer or Libra forms an aspect with Mars, or conjoins him in the Ascendant or seventh house; the evil that you ask for will be fulfilled.

Hmmm ... would this work to raise Cthulhu from the depths so I could get even with the neighbor whose dog keeps defecating on my lawn? Might as well be practical here, right?

This was getting serious.

EXCERPT BOOK THREE ~ CHAPTER 4 (of12)

Why the secrets of this science may not be understood except a little at a time.

Human nature never changes and this is a real butt biter and typical of what frustrates most who are on the proverbial quest for the truth ...

The ancient sages who have spoken of the occult sciences and magic in their books wrote them as obscurely as they could, so that no one would be able to gain any benefit from them, except by means of wisdom and continual study and practice in them. This chapter is placed here, as though by mistake, in order to make a modest demonstration of this.

This is the WHOLE chapter, I kid you not.  Now I ask you was this really a "modest demonstration" OR and example of the Barnum-ism, "There's a sucker born every minute?" Perhaps I need to consult my friendly neighborhood shyster lawyer to find out. Why is does anything have to be obscure or secret?

NOTE TO SELF: Did the ancients really do this to protect themselves from an untimely demise at the hands of unscrupulous rulerships or were they in competition with one another to see who could write the most mysterious chunk of profundity while snickering away at those who kept them under the justified thumb of what was politically/morally correct?

Human nature never changes ... 'tis the way of all flesh.

Everything is good when it leaves the Creator's hands; everything degenerates in the hands of man. (Jean Jacques Rousseau)

EXCERPT BOOK FOUR ~ CHAPTER 7 (of 9)

The things of magical art found in the book The Chaldean Agriculture which Abudaer Abemiaxie translated from the Chaldean language into Arabic.

Well surely our mighty tome was not to be devoid of astro-herbals that could be put to good use. Out of good conscious I deduced that a useful spell should be included to round out this article.

FOR TAKING AWAY WARTS. First count how many there are, and take the same number of chickpeas. When the Moon is conjunct the Sun [new Moon] according to its proper motion, you should warm the aforesaid chickpeas somewhat at the fire. Then upon each one of the warts put one of the chickpeas, and leave it there for a little while; then take it off the same, and let it be put in a black cloth and tied with a thread. Stand upon a high place, throw the chickpeas behind you, and return to your home without any backward glance or step toward the chickpeas.

Time for me to go read a few more chapters!