Magic a Study among the Learned--Plato and Pythagoras
travelled to learn the Art, and taught it--How to
subdue a Furious Bull--How to make a tough Fowl
tender--Eagles' Feathers--Power of a Small
Fish--Speakers made Eloquent by Magical Art--Virtue of
Gems--How Jewels should be set--When they are to be
Graven--Various Magical Operations--Cures effected by
Hippocrates--Democritus on Magic--Many Charms--Evil
Spirits--Magicians sacrificing to the Planets--Vessels
and other articles used for Magical purposes--Success
in Magic--Magician's Power to produce Monstrous
Creatures--Egyptian Magicians--Horses' and Asses'
Heads--Magical Circles--Throwing Old Shoes--Figures on
Shoes--A Hangman's Soul--Directions for raising Ghosts
and Spirits.
Magic was, in ancient times, a favourite study among the learned.
Plato, Pythagoras, and other men of note, travelled over many
countries to learn this art. After studying for a long time, they
publicly communicated the knowledge of magic to students from every
quarter of the globe. The knowledge acquired by magicians, if real,
was wonderful. One discovered that, by tying a bull to a fig tree, the
animal, though of a furious nature, instantly became subdued. The same
authority states that, by hanging an old tough fowl on the same
description of tree, it would become tender. Another professor of
magic taught that the feathers of an eagle, mixed with those of other
birds, would consume them, and that a small fish called Remora could
stop the progress of a ship at sea. Magicians supplied precious stones
to public speakers, the possession of which made them eloquent, and
brought them into favour with princes. A certain gem carried in a
husband's pocket made him love his wife, and enabled him to overcome
his enemies. Coral was a preventative against witchcraft, hence the
fashion of ladies and children wearing necklaces and bracelets of this
material. Hyacinth brought down rain, obscured the sun, and preserved
from lightning. One stone resisted drunkenness, so that the bearer
could be able to drink freely without becoming intoxicated. A
chalcedony made the wearer lucky at law, increased the vigour of one's
body, and prevented illusions of the devil. Those acquainted with
magical art concluded that all stones possessed virtues, infused into
them by the influence of planets. Alexander, Hermes, Zoroaster, and
several other ancients, entertained this opinion. Magicians were the
first to set stones in rings--an invention which, if not beneficial to
man and woman, has helped to adorn their persons.
Gems used for magical purposes required to be set in such metals as
had affinity with the planets whereby they (the gems) were influenced.
The image of Saturn should be made in lead; of Sol, in gold; of Luna,
in silver; of Jupiter, in tin; of Mars, in iron; of Venus, in copper;
of Mercury, in quicksilver. A proper time should be observed for the
graving of magical figures. If love is to be procured, the graving
must be done under proper and friendly aspects, as in the hour of
Venus. Such signs as ascend in the day must be taken in the day. If
they increase in the night, then the work must be done in the night.
Wise men tell us that an olive planted by a virgin will thrive, but if
by an unchaste woman it will wither. If a serpent be found in a hole,
it may be safely pulled out by the left hand, but to attempt to do so
with the right would be dangerous.
Learned writers on magic say that if one take a new knife, and cut a
lemon with it while the operator is expressing words of hatred or
dislike against a person he or she may wish evil to, the object of
hatred will feel uneasy, and become unwell. If a live pigeon be cut
through the heart while an evil wisher is venting curses against a
friend or neighbour, the individual against whom the evil wishes are
made will suffer in body and mind. A man will be put in great fear if
his image, prepared according to the arts of magic, be suspended by a
single hair or thread, however far distant he may be from the scene of
operation. If a person suffering from toothache or asthma catch a live
frog before sunrise, and spit into its mouth, immediate relief will be
the result. If the plague or any epidemic disease threaten a village
or town, the disorder will be stayed by a live toad being suspended
for three or four days in a chimney. The dried body of a dead toad,
worn in the breast, prevents the possessor of the charm from being
injured by any infectious disease. Hippocrates had great honours
conferred on him on account of the cures he effected by the
application of certain parts of reptiles to disordered persons. The
heart of a toad, suspended by a blue ribbon round the neck, will cure
the king's evil. Rape seed, sown with cursing and imprecation, grows
better, we are told, than when the seed is blessed. If one wear a
girdle of civet-cat skin in battle, he will escape unhurt. Those
skilled in such secrets say they can be easily explained. In their
arguments they point to the antipathy of certain natural things,
animate and inanimate, to other things in nature. The wing of a bat
and the heart of a lapwing repel evil spirits and wicked passions; the
bustard flies off when a horse comes in sight, and the hart bounds
away at the sight of a ram or viper; a lion trembles at the crowing of
a cock. If one swallow the heart of a lapwing, mole, or weasel, taken
from the animal when alive, it will improve his understanding, and
enable him to prophesy.
Democritus says that if one cut the tongue out of a live frog, and lay
it on a woman's breast opposite her heart, she will be compelled to
answer every question put to her. Dogs will never attack a person that
has a weasel's tail in his pocket or breast, provided the appendage
has been severed from the little animal when it was alive. If one has
a chameleon's tongue, cut out before the creature's death, he may defy
all the sharpers in the world. If the blood of a civet-cat be
sprinkled on the doors and windows of a house, witches and sorcerers
will be prevented from entering it or molesting the inmates thereof.
If an enemy desire to render any one hateful to friends and
neighbours, it may be done by the touch of an ointment composed of the
ashes of a calcined ankle-bone of a man, oil extracted from the left
foot of the same body, and the blood of a weasel. Civet-cat gut tied
round a man's left arm, makes all the ladies look on him with favour;
and civet-cat skin worn as a cap, protects the wearer against the art
of witches. If a stone that has been in a mad dog's mouth be put into
ale handed round at a feast, discord will take place. If a bone taken
from a toad's left side be secretly put into any part of a woman's
dress, it will kindle her love into a burning flame; but if the
corresponding bone of the toad's right side be used, the most ardent
love of the woman will be cooled. If the snaffle of a bridle be made
of a sword that has killed a man, the rider may with ease control a
horse, however wild the animal may be; and if a sword that has been
used in beheading a person be dipped in wine, it will impart a
medicinal virtue to the liquor.
Pliny is accountable for a few of the foregoing and many other similar
stories, all of which were believed at one time.
Fires kindled with human fat or oil frightens away evil spirits. On
the other hand, vapours exhaled from certain suffumigations induce
spirits to appear. The lungs of an ass, when burned, drive evil
spirits away. Magicians say that if gold or silver be hid when the
moon is in conjunction with the sun, and the place be perfumed with
saffron, henbane, and black poppy, the treasure will never be
feloniously carried away, for spirits will constantly watch over it.
The blood of doves, lapwings, and bats possesses peculiar
virtues--attracting spirits to places where they may be required to
appear, and exciting love passions.
Magicians, when sacrificing to the planets with the view of securing
their diabolical ends, throw into the flames such things as raise a
pleasant perfume when they wish to perform good actions; but when they
desire to bring about wicked results, they raise disagreeable smells.
When soliciting the aid of the sun, it was customary to take the brain
of an eagle or the blood of a white cock; when appealing to the moon,
the blood of a goose was supposed to be good; when sacrificing to
Saturn, the brain of a cat and the blood of a bat were indispensable;
when soliciting Jupiter's assistance, the blood of a swallow or stork
and the brains of a hart were recommended; when sacrificing to Mars,
the blood of a man or of a black cat was thought best; and when
Mercury was sacrificed to, the brain of a fox or of a weasel and the
blood of a magpie were burned on the altar.
All instruments, vessels, and other things used for magical purposes
were recommended to be new; and when a magical missive was to be
written, the parchment was prepared from the skin of a black kitten,
the pen was a feather plucked from a live crow or raven, and the ink
consisted of human blood, or a preparation of calcined cuttle-fish
bones, nutgalls, and rain water, prepared in the day and hour of
Saturn.
In order to secure success in the magical art, it was necessary for
the operator to have his whole soul in his work, otherwise his labour
was in vain. Ancient philosophers have informed us that when the human
mind is intent upon magical work, it is joined with the mind and
intelligence of the stars, and hence the wonderful result of secret
art.
Magicians pretended to possess the power of producing monstrous
creatures, even devils. They could, if their statements can be relied
upon, create a cockatrice by artificially hatching an egg in a
preparation of arsenic and the poison of serpents. The ashes of a
burned duck, treated in a magical manner, produced a huge toad.
Numerous writers conclude that there are two species of toads--the one
produced by ordinary generation, and the other by devilish science.
Plutarch and more modern writers say that frogs descend from the
clouds in rain. Egyptian magicians produced proof of mice, frogs, and
serpents growing out of earth and flowers. It was said that Damnatus
Hispanus could make them in any number he pleased.
By certain charms, magicians could place a horse or an ass's head upon
a man's shoulders, and change the head of an inferior animal into that
of a human pate.
Magicians attached great importance to their circles. One of the
fraternity, when about to proceed with his secret art, clothed himself
with a black robe reaching to the knee, and under that a white garment
of fine linen. He then took his position in the centre of the place
where he intended to perform his conjurations, and, throwing his old
shoes about ten yards from the circle, put on consecrated sandals with
curious figures on each. (Here we may observe that not a few
antiquarians are of opinion that from these practices arose the custom
of persons throwing old shoes after newly-wedded pairs and others for
luck, and of shoemakers making fanciful outlines on shoes by means of
pegging and stitching.) With a magical wand of hazel the magician
stretched forth his arm to the four winds, turning himself round to
every wind, and beseeching his "master" to consecrate the circle. All
these ceremonies being performed, he claimed the consecrated ground as
a defence from all malignant spirits, that they might not have power
over his soul or body.
The most suitable time for making circles was during bright
moonlight, or when storms of wind or thunder were raging, because then
the infernal spirits were nearer the earth than at other times, and
could more easily hear the invocations of those who sought their
assistance. Magical circles were recommended to be formed at dark
lonely places--either in woods or deserts, or in places where three
ways met, or among ruins of castles, abbeys, or monasteries, or on the
sea-shore. But if the conjuration was to raise the ghost of one
deceased, the fittest places for the purpose were spots where persons
had been slain, woods in which suicides had been committed,
churchyards, and burying-vaults. If any one doubts the correctness of
what is here stated, perhaps he will change his mind after reading the
following story:--
"A certain hangman, passing the image of our Lady, saluted her, and
commended himself to her protection. Afterwards, while he prayed
before her, he was called away to hang an offender, but his enemies
slew him by the way. And lo! a certain priest, who walked nightly
about every church in the city, rose that night to go to our Lady's
church. In the churchyard he saw the ghosts of many dead men. On
demanding what was the matter, he was told that the hangman was slain,
and that the devil demanded his soul, but which our Lady said was
hers, and that the judges were at hand to hear the cause. The priest
having made up his mind to be at the trial, hid himself behind a tree.
When the judges had taken their seats, the hangman was brought forward
pinioned, and proof adduced that his soul belonged to the devil. On
the other side it was pleaded by our Lady, that at the hour of death
the hangman commended his soul to her. The judges gave sentence that
the hangman's soul should return to his body until he made sufficient
satisfaction. The priest was called from his hiding-place and sent to
the Pope with a rose of rare beauty, and instructions to crave the
prayers of his Holiness for the poor man." Although we are not made
acquainted with the result of the application to the Pope, there can
be little doubt but that, through our Lady and his Holiness, Satan
lost his eagerly desired victim.
Directions are given by the learned how to raise ghosts and evil
spirits. To raise the ghost of one who had hanged himself, the
exorcist was to provide himself with a straight hazel wand, and bind
the head of an owl with a bunch of St. John's-wort to the end thereof.
This done, he was to repair to a place where a miserable wretch had
strangled himself, and at twelve o'clock at night, while the body
remained suspended, begin his conjurations. First, he was directed to
stretch forth his wand towards the four corners of the world, saying,
"I conjure and exorcise thee, thou distressed spirit, to present
thyself here and reveal unto me the cause of thy calamity--why thou
didst offer violence to thine own life, where thou art now in being,
and where thou wilt hereafter be?" Then, gently striking the body nine
times with the wand, he was to demand the spirit of the deceased to
reveal unto him what secrets he wished made known, whether these
referred to the past or future. The conjuration being thrice repeated,
we are assured the spirit would rise and answer the exorcist's
questions. Directions were next given for laying the spirit, and that
might be done by burying the body naked with lime, salt, and sulphur.
If the ghost which the exorcist consulted was of one who died a common
death, and received the usual burial, it was essential to dig the body
out of the grave at twelve o'clock at night; and while the exorcist
held a torch in his left hand, he was to smite the corpse three times
with his consecrated rod, held in the right hand, and demand answers
to his questions. When the ceremonies were gone through in a regular
way, the interrogatories were truly answered. A caution was offered to
the practiser of this art. The magician of no great experience was
told that if the constellation and position of the stars at his
nativity were not favourable, it would be dangerous for him to
encounter a ghost for fear of being slain, as the ghosts of men could
easily destroy magicians not protected by the stars.
Magicians were instructed how to raise the spirits Paymon, Bathin, and
Barma, and secure their assistance. These spirits, though of various
ranks and orders, were of one power, ability, and nature, and the mode
of raising them is the same. The magician who desired to consult with
these spirits had to appoint a night in the waxing of the moon, when
the planet Mercury reigned, at eleven o'clock at night. But for four
days before the appointed night he was required to shave his beard
every morning, change his linen, and put on a consecrated girdle made
of a black cat's skin. When all was prepared for the summoning of the
spirits, the magician was instructed to enter a dark parlour or
cellar, to light seven candles, and draw a circle with his own blood.
When the candles were lighted, it was essential for the magician to
protect himself with two drawn swords, and consecrate the circle, so
that all evil spirits might be expelled. Everything being ready, the
conjuration commenced in these words: "I conjure and exorcise you, the
three gentle and noble spirits of the power of the north, by the great
and dreadful name of your king, and by the silence of the night, and
by the holy rites of magic, and by the number of the infernal legions,
I adjure and advocate you that without delay ye present yourselves
here before the northern quarter of the circle, all of you, or any one
of you, and answer my demands." This, we are informed, had to be
repeated three times, and then the three spirits appeared, or one of
them by lot, if the others were engaged elsewhere. Before their
appearance, they sent in advance three swift hounds in pursuit of a
hare, which ran round the circle for seven and a half minutes. After
this chase more hounds came in, and after all a little ugly
Ethiopian, who snatched the hare from the hounds. Next was heard a
hunter's horn, and a herald on horseback came galloping swiftly with
three hunters behind him upon black horses. After riding round the
circle seven times, they stood at the northern quarter. The magician
then demanded the demons to be faithful and obedient, which they
readily agreed to be. Valuable information was obtained from the
spirits, who gave the magician the powerful girdle of victory, which,
on being tied about him, enabled him to conquer armies, and all men,
however powerful. The spirits also were compelled to bring, at the
magician's bidding, the richest treasure earth could afford, and to
reveal the positions of hidden gold and silver mines.
The spirits could bestow the gift of invisibility, and the
foreknowledge of the change of the weather; they could teach the
exorcist how to raise storms and tempests, and how to calm them again;
they could bring news in an instant of the result of any battle or
other important event, wherever it took place. They could also teach
the language of birds, and how to fly unseen through the air.