A grimoire is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, deities, and demons. In many cases, the books themselves are believed to be imbued with magical powers, although in many cultures, other sacred texts that are not grimoires have been believed to have supernatural properties intrinsically. The only contents found in a grimoire would be information on spells, rituals, the preparation of magical tools, and lists of ingredients and their magical correspondences. In this manner, while all books on magic could be thought of as grimoires, not all magical books should be thought of as grimoires.
A polyalphabetic cipher is a substitution, using multiple substitution alphabets. The Vigenère cipher is probably the best-known example of a polyalphabetic cipher, though it is a simplified special case. The Enigma machine is more complex but is still fundamentally a polyalphabetic substitution cipher.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was a German Renaissance polymath, physician, legal scholar, soldier, knight, theologian, and occult writer. Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy published in 1533 drew heavily upon Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and neo-Platonism. His book was widely influential among esotericists of the early modern period, and was condemned as heretical by the inquisitor of Cologne.
A pentacle is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and is usually made of parchment, paper, cloth, or metal, upon which a magical design is drawn. Symbols may also be included, a common one being the six-point form of the Seal of Solomon.
Bael is a demon described in demonological grimoires such as The Lesser Key of Solomon and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and also in the Dictionnaire Infernal. He is described as a hoarsely-voiced king with the power to make men invisible and ruling over sixty-six legions of demons. The Lesser Key of Solomon describes him as appearing in the form of a cat, toad, human, some combination thereof, or other "diverse shapes", while the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Dictionnaire Infernal state that he appears with the heads of a cat, toad, and human simultaneously.
The Lesser Key of Solomon, also known as Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis or simply Lemegeton, is an anonymously authored grimoire on sorcery. It was compiled in the mid-17th century, mostly from materials several centuries older. It is divided into five books: the Ars Goetia, Ars Theurgia-Goetia, Ars Paulina, Ars Almadel, and Ars Notoria. It is based on the Testament of Solomon and the ring mentioned within it that he used to seal demons.
Agares is a demon described in demonological grimoires.
Paimon is a spirit named in early grimoires. These include The Lesser Key of Solomon, Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Jacques Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal, the Livre des Esperitz, the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, The Book of Abramelin, and certain French editions of The Grimoire of Pope Honorius ; as well as British Library, Sloane MS 3824.
Coscinomancy is a form of divination utilising a sieve and shears, used in ancient Greece, medieval and early modern Europe and 17th century New England, to determine the guilty party in a criminal offense, find answers to questions, etc.
Johannes Trithemius, born Johann Heidenberg, was a German Benedictine abbot and a polymath who was active in the German Renaissance as a lexicographer, chronicler, cryptographer, and occultist. He is considered the founder of modern cryptography and steganography, as well as the founder of bibliography and literary studies as branches of knowledge. He had considerable influence on the development of early modern and modern occultism. His students included Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus.
Three Books of Occult Philosophy is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's study of occult philosophy, acknowledged as a significant contribution to the Renaissance philosophical discussion concerning the powers of magic, and its relationship with religion. The first book was printed in 1531 in Paris, Cologne, and Antwerp, while the full three volumes first appeared in Cologne in 1533.
The Theban alphabet, also known as the witches' alphabet, is a writing system, specifically a substitution cipher of the Latin script, that was used by early modern occultists and is popular in the Wicca movement.
The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses is an 18th- or 19th-century magical text allegedly written by Moses, and passed down as hidden books of the Hebrew Bible. Self-described as "the wonderful arts of the old Hebrews, taken from the Mosaic books of the Kabbalah and the Talmud", it is actually a grimoire, or text of magical incantations and seals, that purports to instruct the reader in the spells used to create some of the miracles portrayed in the Bible as well as to grant other forms of good fortune and good health. The work contains reputed Talmudic magic names, words, and ideograms, some written in Hebrew and some with letters from the Latin alphabet. It contains "Seals" or magical drawings accompanied by instructions intended to help the user perform various tasks, from controlling weather or people to contacting the dead or Biblical religious figures.
The Arbatel De Magia Veterum is a Latin grimoire of Renaissance ceremonial magic published in 1575 in Switzerland.
Shem HaMephorash, meaning "the explicit name," is originally a Tannaitic term describing the Tetragrammaton. In Kabbalah, it may refer to a name of God composed of either 4, 12, 22, 42, or 72 letters, the latter version being the most common.
Semiphoras and Schemhamphorash is the title of an occult or magic text of Jewish provenance, published in German by Andreas Luppius in 1686. It was based on the earlier Latin text, Liber Semiphoras attributed to Solomon, which Luppius augmented heavily with passages from Agrippa De occulta philosophia and other sources.
The Sigillum Dei is a magical diagram, composed of two circles, a pentagram, two heptagons, and one heptagram, and is labeled with the names of God and its angels. It is an angelic magic seal with the magical function that, according to one of the oldest sources, allowed a destined intended magician to have the power to possess the Spirit of God and when activated can become the 'Living' God; or The Lord God itself; amongst humanity and all creation itself, communicate with spirits as well as angels and archangels, control all elements, control every creature's holy spirit on the planet including the Spirit of God itself; all except for the Archangels, and to control light itself. The intended user also possesses the true benefic vision of God.
Liber Officiorum Spirituum was a goetic grimoire and a major source for Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Ars Goetia. The original work has not been located, but some derived texts bearing the title have been found, some in the Sloane manuscripts, some in the Folger Shakespeare Library. Each version bears many similarities to each other and to the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Ars Goetia, though they are far from identical.
Polygraphia is a cryptographic work written by Johannes Trithemius published in 1518 dedicated to the art of steganography.
The Ars Notoria is a 13th-century Latin textbook of magic from Northern Italy. It claims to grant its practitioner an enhancement of their mental faculties, the ability to communicate with angels, and earthly and heavenly knowledge through ritual magic. The magical ritual that it describes expresses both religious orthodoxy and esoteric elements. These, besides its promise of a fast track to gaining knowledge rapidly, captivated young boys, university students, and clerics.
