Picatrix Lore Books

Description

A copy of a mysterious Arabic grimoire filled with descriptions of magical rituals, the creation of artefacts and the secrets of planets.

Text

Picatrix
Ghayat Al-Hakim

In the works of Hermes, I have read much about the art of miracles and therefore will quote from it here. He divided the secret art into three types. The first is the art of talismans, primarily practiced by the Sabians and Nabataean slaves. This includes knowledge of the planets, to which sacrifices in the form of incense and magical symbols are offered.
The next is the excellent art of astrology, in which the Greeks particularly excel. And finally, the last is the strange art of kalaph’thu R’yah, concerning the knowledge of spirits who are far away yet close and for whom our language has no name. This is the art of the Yemeni Sakasiks, Egyptian Copts and Indians, who are considered the greatest magicians because they can summon genies and demons from other spheres beyond this world, where their homes lie. Additionally, they know the special secret of how to impregnate a woman without copulation with a man, can create a potion against aging and, above all, know the secrets of the stars.
It is among the stars that there are magical patterns not found on earth, whose power can perform many miracles. These patterns, used by magicians in their rituals or as talismans, take the form of rings connected by various lines. The rings represent planets, and the lines are like rays that flow from them through infinite space to Earth.

For planetary magic, we need to know how the stars are arranged in their constellations, which bear the names of the zodiac signs from the ancient Greeks, and then the properties of the seven main planets that are near the Earth. These seven nearby planets are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. Furthermore, we must be able to calculate the ascendant of each sign to determine their greatest strength. Regarding the magical patterns of constellations and their documented direct effects, I will provide several examples here and many more in the following chapters.
Talisman for Repelling Mice
The pattern involves the planets of the sign Leo. Draw this pattern in a red metal bowl during the first phase of the constellation of Leo. Then place the bowl where the mouse is, and it will flee and not return as long as the pattern is drawn there. The pattern is:
Peculiar Talisman
If you want a person you love to come to you soon, draw the following pattern on a new piece of cloth. Do this on the day and hour dedicated to Venus, when it is at the peak of its power and its ascendant is in the second phase of the sign Leo. Fold the cloth and place it where the person is supposed to come. The pattern is:
Talisman for Enmity
If you want to sow enmity between two people, draw this pattern in a black metal bowl along with a black dog’s fang. Do this on the day and hour dedicated to Saturn, when it is at the peak of its power and its ascendant is in the third phase of the sign Capricorn. Place the bowl where one of the people resides or at their meeting place, so they will part under the worst possible conditions. The pattern is:
Talisman for Cursing a Place
If you want to curse a place to be abandoned and afflicted with a curse, draw the following pattern in a metal bowl along with a boar’s tusk. Do this on the day and hour dedicated to Saturn, when it is at the peak of its power and its ascendant is in the second phase of the sign Capricorn. Place the bowl at the location to be afflicted by Saturn’s curse, so it will be unfit for use as long as this sign is present.
The pattern is: