encyclopedia of ancient and forbidden secrets "E &
Eber Don chief of Milesian invaders of Ireland whose ships were
lost in storms raised by Danaana magic
Eckartshausen, K. Von: Author of The Cloud on the Sanctuary
(1800). Eckartshausen, by birth and education an intensely
religious man, at first wrote several little books of devotion that
had great vogue in France and Germany. He later turned his
attention to larger works of a more' profound character, such as
that mentioned above. According to Eckarthausen the requisite
faculty of true communion with the church is the inward
conception of things spiritual and with this sense present, is
possible the beginning of Regeneration understood as the process
of gradually eliminating original sin. His work on the Interior
Church is in two parts: first, elucidation of his doctrine; second, a
series of dogmas or assertions derived therefrom.
Ectenic Force: A supposed physical force emanating from the
person of the medium, and directed by his will, by means of which
objects may be moved without contact in apparent defiance of
natural laws. The existence of such a force was first postulated by
Count Agenor de Gasparin, to explain the phenomena of table turning
and rapping, and the name Ectenic Force was bestowed
upon the supposed agency by de Gasparin's colleague, M. Thury.
The experiments of Thury and de Gasparin are declared to offer
some of the most convincing evidence that spiritualism can
produce, and have influenced more than one eminent student of
psychic research. If it be true that tables were moved without
contact, then such a theory is indeed necessary, but the evidence
for this type of phenomena is not abundant
Egregore: Psychologically speaking, an egregore is that "ambiance"
or "personality" that develops among groups independent of any of
its members. It is the feeling or impression you get when walking
into a neighborhood that feels different from the surrounding area,
or when visiting a club or association that has been around for a
long time.
In an occult or magical context, an Egregore is such a thing that
has developed to the point of attaining an indepent existence as an
entity itself, or it is an intentionally created entity (such as a
servitor) that has grown in power well past its original design. To a
non-religious practioner of magic, an "egregore" and a "god/dess"
would be interchangeable terms--to a religious practioner, an
egregore would be just "under" the god/desses.
Electric Girls: Girls in whose presence certain phenomena
occurred, similar in nature to the time - honoured phenomena of
the poltergeist (q.v.), but ascribed to the action of some new
physical force, probably electricity. The best known of these
electric girls was perhaps Angelique Cottin, a Normandy peasant
girl, whose phenomena were first observed about 1846. Finally she
was taken to Paris and placed under the observation of Dr.
Tanchon and others, who, testified to the actuality of the
phenomena. These included the movement of objects without
contact, or at a mere touch from Angeliqu6's petticoats, the
agitation in her presence of the magnetic needle, and the blowing
of a cold wind. She was also able to distinguish between the poles
of a magnet at a touch. A commission appointed by the Academy of
Sciences, however, could observe nothing but the violent
movements of her chair, which were probably caused by muscular
force. Other electric girls practised about the same time, and even
after the beginning of the spiritualistic movement in America -
they were occasionally heard of. They are worthy of note as a link
between the poltergeist and the spiritualistic medium.
Elementary Spirits: The unseen intelligences who inhabit the four
elements, of the finest essence of which they are composed. The
creatures of the air are called sylphs; of the earth gnomes; of fire
salamanders; and of water, nymphs or undines. The best authority
on the subject is the Abbe de Villars, who published early in the
eighteenth century a short treatise entitled Comte de Gabalis, from
which a good deal of what follows is drawn. According to this work
the creatures of the elements were before the Fall subject to Adam
in all, things, and we are led to understand that by means of
certain performances this ancient communication may be restored,
Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
and that man may once more have at his beck and call the
elementary spirits. The Abbe gives a brief sketch of the nature of
these peoples. The air, he says, is filled with a great number of
beings of human form, somewhat fierce in appearance, but really of
a docile nature. They are much interested in the sciences, and are
subtle, officious towards the sages, hostile towards the foolish and
the ignorant. Their wives and daughters are of a masculine type of
beauty, such as is depicted in the Amazons. The seas and rivers
are inhabited as well as the air, beings dwelling therein whom the
sages designated undines, or nymphs. The female population much
exceeds the male, the women being exceedingly beautiful, so that
among the daughters of men there is none to equal them. The earth
is filled almost to the centre with gnomes, people of small stature,
the guardians of subterranean treasure, minerals and precious
stones. They are ingenious, friendly towards men, and easy to
command. They provide the children of the sages with all the
money they require, asking no other reward for their services than
the glory of performing them. The gnomides, their wives, are small
of stature but very good looking, and they dress very curiously. As
for the salamanders, the inhabitants of the region of fire, they serve
the philosophers, but are not over - anxious for their company,
while their daughters and wives are rarely seen. Their women are
very beautiful, beyond all the other elementals, since they dwell in
a purer element. Their habits, mode of life, manners and laws are
admirable, and the attractions of their minds are greater even than
that of their persons. The Supreme Being they know and religiously
adore, but have no hope of eternal enjoyment of Him, since their
souls are mortal. True it is that, being composed of the purest parts
of the elements wherein they dwell, and having no contrary
qualities, they can live for several centuries; yet are they much
troubled because of their mortal nature. It was, however, revealed
to the philosophers that an elementary spirit could attain to
immortality by being united in marriage with a human being. The
children born of such unions are more noble and heroic than the
children of human men and women, and some of the greatest
figures of antiquity - Zoroaster, Alexander, Hercules, Merlin, to
mention a few - are declared to have been the children of
elementary spirits.
The salamanders, the Comte de Gabalis goes on to say, are
composed of the most subtle particles of the sphere of fire,
conglobated and organised by the action of the Universal Fire, so
called because it is the principle of all the mot4ons of nature. The
sylphs are composed of the purest atoms of the air; the nymphs, of
the most delicate particles of water; and the gnomes, of the finest
essence of earth. Adam was in complete accord with these
creatures because, being composed of that which was purest in the
four elements, he contained in himself the perfections of these four
peoples, and was their natural king. But since by reason of his sin
he had been cast into the excrements of the elements, there no
longer existed the harmony between him, so impure and gross, and
these fine and ethereal substances. The Abbe then gives a recipe
whereby the resultant state of things may be remedied and the
ancient correspondence restored. To attain this end we must purify
and exalt the element of. fire which is within us. All that is
necessary is to concentrate the fire of the world by means of
concave mirrors, in a globe of glass. There will then be formed
within the globe a solary powder, which, having purified itself from
the admixture of other elements, becomes in a very short time a
sovereign means of exalting the fire which is in us, and makes us,
so to speak, of an igneous nature. Thenceforward these creatures of
the fire become our inferiors, and, delighted at the restoration of
mutual harmony between themselves and the human race, they will
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Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
show towards man all the good - will they have for their own kind.
Sylphs, gnomes, and nymphs are more familiar with man than are
the salamanders, on account of their shorter term of life, and it is
therefore easier to get into touch with them. To accomplish the
restoration of our empire over the sylphs, gnomes, or nymphs, we
must close a glass full of air, earth, or water, and expose it to the
sun for a month, at the end of which period its various elements
must be separated according to science. This process is most easy
in the case of water and earth. " Thus, " says the Comte, " without
characters, without ceremonies, without barbarous words, it is
possible to rule absolutely over these peoples." Other authorities
prescribe other means of obtaining dominion over the spirits of the
elements. Eliphas Levi, , for instance, states that anyone desirous
of subjugating the elementals must first perform the four trials of
antique initiation; but as the original trials are no longer known
similar ones must be substituted. Thus he who would control the
sylphs must walk fearlessly on the edge of a precipice, he who
would win the service of the salamanders must take his stand in a
burning building, and so on, the point of the ordeals being that the
man should show himself unafraid of the elements whose
inhabitants he desires to rule. In mediaeval times the evocation
and exorcism of elementary spirits was much practised, the crystal
being a favourite means of evoking them. The exorcism of earth is
performed by means of breathing, sprinkling of water, and burning
of incense, and the repetition of a formula of prayer to the gnomes.
Air is exorcised by breathing towards the four cardinal points, and
by the recital of prayers to the airspirits (sylphs). The casting of
salt, incense, sulphur, camphor, and white resin into a fire is
declared efficacious in the exorcism of that element. In the case of
water, breathing and laying on of hands, repetition of formulae,
mixing of salt and ashes of incense, and other ceremonials are to
be observed. In every instance a special consecration of the four
elements is a primary and essential part of the proceedings confer
immortality on an elementary spirit by the ceremony of marriage.
But this does not always occur; sometimes the reverse is the case,
and the elementals share their mortality with their human mate. In
literature, at all events, countless stories relate how men have
risked and lost their immortality by marrying a sylph or an undine.
According to the Comte de Gabalis, however, it would seem to be a
matter of choice whether a man confers his immortality on his
ethereal partner, or whether he partakes of her mortal nature; for it
is therein suggested that those who have not been predestined to
eternal happiness would do well to marry with an elemental, and
spare themselves an eternity of woe.
Not every authority has painted so attractive a picture of the
creatures of the elements as has the Abb6 de Villars. By some it is
believed that there are numberless degrees among these beings,
the highest resembling the lowest angels, while the lowest may
often be mistaken for demons, which, of course, they are not. Not
only do multitudinous variations of form and disposition
characterise the elementals of our own planet; the other planets
and the stars are the abode of countless hosts of elementary spirits,
differing from those of our world perhaps more than the latter differ
from one another.' All the forms of beasts, insects, and reptiles may
be taken by the lower elementals, as well as strange combinations
of the shapes of different animals. The inhabitants of each element
have their peculiar virtues and vices which serve to distinguish
them, The sylphs are capricious and inconstant, but agile and
active; the undines, jealous and cold, but observant; the
salamanders, hot and hasty, but energetic and strong; and the
gnomes, greedy of gold and treasures, but nevertheless hard -
working, good - tempered and patient. One who would seek
dominion over any of these must practise their virtues; but
carefully avoid their faults, thus conquering them, as it were, on
their own ground. Each species can only dwell in its own proper
element. Thus a sy p may not invade the sphere of a salamander,
or vice versa, while both would be decidedly out of their element
in the regions of the nymphs or the gnomes. Four rulers have been
set over the four species - Gob, ruler of the gnomes; Paralda, of the
sylphs; Djin, of the salamanders; and Necksa, of the nymphs. To
the dwellers in each element is assigned a point of the compass,
where lies their special kingdom. To the gnomes is given the north;
to the salamanders, the south; to the sylphs, the cast; and to the
undines, the west. The gnomes influence those of a melancholic
disposition, because they dwell in the gloom of subterranean
caverns. The salamanders have an effect on those of sanguine
temperament, because their home is in the fire. The influence of
the undines is upon the phlegmatic, and of the sylphs upon those
of a bilious temperament. Though as a rule they are invisible to
human eyes, they may on occasion become visible to those who
invoke them, to the sages and philosophers, or even to the
multitude. In the reign of king Pepin, Zedekias suggested to the
sylphs that they should appear to men, whereupon the air was seen
to be full of them, sometimes ranged in battle, or in an aerial navy.
It was said by the people that they were sorcerers - an opinion to
which Charlemagne and Louis the Debormair subscribed, the latter
at last imposing heavy penalties on the supposed sorcerers. So that
they might behold their admirable institutions, certain men were
raised up in the air, and while descending were seen by their
fellowmen on earth. The latter regarded them as stragglers of the
aerial army of sorcerers, and thought that they had come to poison
the fruits and fountains. These unfortunate persons were thereupon
put to death, along with many others suspected of connection with
the sorcerers.
Elixir of Life: No doubt exists that the mediaeval alchemists and
mystics believed that they were perfectly justified in their search
for the Elixir of Life, the universal medicine, and the renewal of
youth. This, with the quest for gold, became the grand aim of
alchemy, and although this search may have had a psychical and
mystical side, it most certainly had a physical one. But there does
not seem to have been any standard method of accomplishing the
manufacture of the elixir. Thus in Petit Albert one is instructed to
take 81bs. of sugar of mercury as the foundation of such a mixture;
while Bernard Trevisan believes that the precipitation of the
philosopher's stone into mercurial water results in the manufacture
of the elixir. This he states, will when elaborated to the Red,
transmute copper and other metals into pure gold, and if
elaborated to the White, will produce unalloyed silver.
But the application of the elixir to the prolongation of life was
undoubtedly the chief reason for its continued search. The retired
alchemist in his later years, wearied with his quest for gold, craved
the boon of youth and desired renewed health and strength to assist
him to carry out his great purpose. As an illustration of the
alchemical
To return to the consideration of the nature of these spirits, we find
them collated in the Comte de Gabalis with the oracles of
antiquity, and even with the classic pantheons of Greece and
Rome. Pan, for example, was the first and oldest of the nymphs,
and the news of his death, communicated by the people of the air
to the inhabitants of the waters, was proclaimed by them in a voice
that was heard sounding over ail the rivers of Italy - " The great
Pan is dead ! " Mr. A. E. Waite considers that the " angels" evoked
in medieval magic, as well as the " devils " of the Sabbath, were
higher or lower elementals. Others may see in the brownies and
domestic spirits of folk - lore some resemblance to the subjugated
elementary spirit. Even the familiar poltergeist, where he does not
clearly establish his identity as the spirit of a deceased person,
may be regarded with propriety as an elemental. The Theosophists
use the word " elemental " in a different sense, to denote the "
astral remains " (See Shell) of one who has lived an evil life on
earth, and who is loath to leave the scene of his pleasures. With
some occultists again, " elemental " really signifies a sub - human
being, probably identical with an elementary spirit, but of a mental
and moral status considerably lower than that of a human being.
conception of the elixir of life, we quote the following from a work
dealing with the secret of rejuvenescence, originally supposed to
have been written by Arnold de Villanova, and published by
Longueville - Harcourt at Paris in 1716:
" To renew youth is to enter once more into that felicitous season
which imparts to the human frame the pleasures and strength of
the morning. Here it is to no purpose that we should speak of that
problem so much discussed by the Wise, whether the art can be
carried to such a pitch of excellence that old age should itself be
made young. We know that Paracelsus has vaunted the
metamorphic resources of his Mercury of Life which not merely
rejuvenates men but converts metals into gold; He who promised
unto others the years of the sybils, or at least the 300 winters of
Nestor, himself perished at the age of thirty - seven. Let us turn
rather to Nature, so admirable in her achievements, and deem her
not capable alone of destroying what she has produced at the
moment she has begotten them. Is it possible that she will refuse
unto man, for whom all was created, what she accords to the stags,
the eagles, and the serpents, who do annually cast aside the
mournful concomitants of senility, and do assume the most
brilliant, the most gracious amenities of the most joyous youth ?
Art, it is true, has not as yet arrived at that apex of perfection
wherefrom it can renew our youth; but that which was unachieved
in the past may be accomplished in the future, a prodigy may be
more confidently expected from the fact that in isolated cases it
has actually already taken place, as the facts of history make
evident. By observing and following the manner in which nature
performs such wonders, we may assuredly hope to execute this
desirable transformation, and the first condition is an amiable
temperament, such as that which was possessed by Moses, of
whom it is written that for one hundred and twenty years his sight
never failed him.
The stag, eagle, and sparrow - hawk renew their youth.
Aldrovandus has written on the rejuvenescence of the eagle.
Among the birds of the air, we are told by Pliny that the raven and
the phoenix live, each of them six hundred years. No one denies
that the stag is renewed by feeding on vipers and serpents, while
the apes of Caucasus, whose diet is pepper, prove a sovereign
remedy for the lion, who grows young by devouring their flesh.
Those who have written of the elephant maintain that his normal
life is extended through three centuries, while the horse, which
alone in creation participates in the natures of man, of the lion, of
the ox, the sheep, the mule, the stag, the wolf, the fox, the serpent,
and the hare, from each deriving three of its qualities, has
occasionally survived with undiminished vigour the lapse of a
hundred years. The serpent, who is instrumental in the
rejuvenescence of the stag, himself renews his youth at the
shedding of his scales, from all which considerations, it follows
that it is not beyond belief that a like prodigy may be found in the
superior order of the same productions whence man has been
Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
himself derived, for man is assuredly not in a worse condition than
the beasts whom he rules."
Trithemius (q.v.) on his death - bed dictated a receipt which he
said would preserve mind, health and memory with perfect sight
and hearing, for those who made use of it. It consists of among
other things, calomel, gentian, cinnamon, aniseed, nard, coral,
tartar, mace, and five grammes of it were to be taken night and
morning in wine or brodium during the whole of the first month;
during the second month, in the morning only; during the third
month thrice in the week, and so continuing through life. This is a
more understandable receipt than that of Eugenius Philalethes,
who says: " Ten parts of colestiall slime; separate the male from
the female, and each afterwards frqm its own earth, physically,
mark you, and with no violence. Conjoin after separation in due,
harmonic vitall proportion; and straightway, the Soul descending
from the pyroplastic sphere, shall restore, by a mirific embrace, its
dead and deserted body. Proceed according to the Volcanico
magica theorv, till they are exalted into, the Fifth Metaphysical
Rota. This is that world - renowned medicine, whereof so manv
have scribbled, which, notwithstanding, so few have known."
In his History of Magic Eliphas Levi gives Cagliostro's great secret
of rejuveneseence in the following terms:
" Let us now turn to the secret of physical regeneration to attain
which -- according to the occult prescription of the Grand Copht -
a retreat of forty days, after the manner of a jubilee, must be made
once in every fifty years, beginning during the full moon of May in
the company of one faithful person only. It must be also a fast of
forty days, drinking May - dew - collected from sprouting corn
with a cloth of pure white linen - and eating new and tender herbs.
The repast should begin with a large glass of dew and end with a
biscuit or crust of bread. . There should be slight bleeding on the
seventeenth day. Balm of Azoth should then be taken morning and
evening, beginning with a dose of six drops and increasing by two
drops daily till the end of the thirty - second day. At the dawn
which follows thereafter renew the slight bleeding; then take to
your bed and remain in it till the end of the fortieth day.
.. On the first awakening after the bleeding, take the first grain of
Universal Medicine. A swoon of three hours will be followed by
convulsions, sweats and much purging, necessitating a change
both of bed and linen. At this stage a br6th of lean beef must be
taken, seasoned with rice, sage, valerian, vervain and balm. On the
day following take the second grain of Universal Medicine, which
is Astral Mercury combined with Sulphur of old.
On the next dav have a warm bath. On the thirty - sixth day drink a
glass of Egyptian wine, and on the thirty - seventh take the third
and last grain of Universal Medicine. A profound sleep will follow,
during which the hair, teeth, nails and skin will be renewed. The
prescription for the thirty - eighth day is another warm bath,
steeping aromatic herbs in the water, of the same kind as those
specified for the broth. On the thirty - ninth day drink ten drops of
Elixir of Acharat in two spoonsful of red wine. The work will be
finished on the fortieth day, and the aged man will be renewed in
youth.
" By means of this jubilary regimen, Ca - gliostro claimed to have
lived for many centuries. It will be seen that it is a variation of the
famous Bath of Immortality in use among the Menandrian
Gnostics.
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Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
Aristeus is stated to have left to his disciples a secret which
rendered all metals diaphanous, aiid man immortal. The process
would appear to consist in a mystic treatment of the atmosphere,
which is to, be congealed and distilled until it develops the divine
sparkle, and subsequently becomes liquified. It is then subjected
to heat and undergoes several other processes, when the elixir
emerges.
There is surprisingly little literature upon the subject of the Elixir
of Life. But a more prolonged notice on the subject will be found
under the article " Philosopher's stone " (q.v, ).
Effide: The dragon - shaped ship of Frithjof, the hero of an
Icelandic legend. It was said to be golden - headed, with open
jaws, its under part scaled with blue and gold, its tail twisted and
of silver, its sails red - bordered and black. When its wins were
outspread, it could skim the calmest seas. This ship had been
given to one of Frithjof's forefathers as a reward for kindness by
Aegir, the sea~god.
Emerald Table, The: A symbolic work on the hermetic art by
Hermes Trismegistus.
Enchirldion of Pope Leo, The: Is a collection of charms, cast in the
form of prayers, which have nothing in common with those of the
Church. It is concerned chiefly with worldly, rather than spiritual
advantages. It was perhaps printed at Rome in 1523, and again in
16o6. Its magical virtue rests on a supposed letter from
Charlemagne to Pope Leo, in which he states that since receiving
the Exchiridion he has never ceased to be fortunate. The charms it
contains are supposed to be effectual against all the dangers to
which human flesh is heir - poison, fire, wild beasts and tempests.
When a copy of the book has been secured, it must be placed in a
small bag of leather, carried on the person, and one page at least
read daily. The reading must be done upon the knees with the face
turned to the east, and works of piety must be performed in honour
of the celestial spirits, whose influence it is desired to attract. The
first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John is declared to be
the most potent in the book. As for the symbols, they are mostly of
oriental origin. It also includes the mysterious prayers of Pope Leo,
and certain conjurations of a semi - magical character, including
the seven mysterious orisons, which are merely clumsy imitations
of the Roman ritual,
Endless Cord, Tying Knots in: About the years 1877 - 88 Professor
Z611ner of Leipsic investigated the phenomena of the medium
Slade, and particularly anything which might prove a fourth
dimension of space, in which hypothesis Professor Zo11ner was at
that time greatly interested. The tying in an endless cord of such
knots as could ordinarily only be made if the ends of the cord were
free provided such a test. In December, 1877, Zo11ner visited
Slade with two pieces of hempen cord, the free ends of each being
sealed to a piece of cardboard. To ensure the cord always being in
sight Zo11ner hung it round his neck, and kept Slade's hands
continually in view. Under these circumstances four knots were
produced, apparently on the original sealed cord.
Enoch: Seventh master of the world after Adain, and author of the
Kabalo and Book of the Tarot. He is identical with the Thoth of the
Egyptians, the Cadmus of the Plicenicians, and the Palamedes of
the Greeks. According to tradition he did not die, but was carried
up to heaven, whence he will return at the end of time.
Enoch, Book of: An Apochryphal book of the Old Testament,
written in Hebrew about a century before Christ. The original
version was lost about the end of the fourth century, and only
fragments remained, but Bruce the trav - eller brought back a copy
from Abyssinia, in 1773 in Ethiopia, probably made from the
version known to the early Greek fathers. In this work the spiritual
world is minutely described, as is the region of Sheol (q.v.) the
place of the wicked. The book also deals with the history of the
fallen angels, their relations with the human species and the
foundations of magic. The book says: " that there were angels who
consented to fall from, heaven that they might have intercourse
with the daughters of earth. For in those days the sons of men
having multiplied, there were born to them daughters of great
beauty. And when the angels, or sons of heaven, beheld them, they
were filled with desire; wherefore they said to one another: Come
let us choose wives from among the race of man, and let us beget
children'. Their leader Samyasa, answered thereupon and said: '
Perchance you will be wanting in the courage needed to fulfil this
resolution, and then I alone shall be answerable for your fall.' But
they swore that they would in no wise repent and that they would
achieve their whole design. Now there were two hundred who
descended on Mount Armon, and it was from this time that the
mountain received its designation, which signifies Mount of the
Oath. Hereinafter follow the names of those angelic leaders who
descended with this object: Samyasa, chief a - mong all,
Urakabarameel, Azibeel, Tamiel, Ramuel, Danel, Azkeel,
Sprakuyal, Asael, Armers, Batraal, Ananc, Zavebe, Sameveel,
Ertrael, Turel, jomiael, Arizial. They took wives with whom they
had intercourse, to whom also they taught Magic, the art of
enchantment and the diverse properties of roQts and trees.
Amazarac gave ingtruction in all secrets of sorcerers; Barkaial was
the mister of those who study the stars; Akibeel manifested signs;
and Azaradel taught the motions of the moon." In this account we
see a description of the profanation of mysteries. The fallen angels
exposed their occult and heaven - born wisdom to earthly women,
whereby it was profaned, and brute force taking advantage of the
profanation of divine law, reigned supreme. Only a deluge could
wipe out the stain of the enormity, and pave the way for a
restitution of the balance between the human and the divine, which
had been disturbed by these unlawful revelations. A translation of
the Book of Enoch was published by Archbishop Lawrence in
1821, the Etheopic text in 1838, and there is a good edition by
Dillman (1851). Philippi and Ewald have also written special
works on the subject.
Enochian: a genuine language and a system of magic that was
discovered by Dr. John Dee (1527-1608) who was a magician,
philosopher, astrologer, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth, and his
assistant Edward Kelly. The Enochian system was received
through the crystal skryings of Kelly, under Dee's supervision. The
system was described as the "language of the angels" or the
"language of Enoch," and came to be called the Enochian or
Angelic language. Enochian magic is a complex system of
elemental and spiritual hierarchies, which was further developed
by MacGregor Mathers of the Golden Dawn. (See Dee, John)
Fagail: The - parting gift" of the fairies, of Gaelic origin. This may
be of a pleasant or unpleasant nature - it may be death, or the
conversion of a man who worked badly, was ugly, and of rude
speech, into the best workman, the bestlooking man, and the best
speaker in theplace - Campbell's Superstitions of the Scottish
Highlands.
Fairies: A species of supernatural beings, and one of the most
beautiful and important of mythological conceptions. The belief in
fairies is very ancient and widespread, and the same ideas
concerning them are to be found among rude and uncultivated
races as in th - poesy of more civilised peoples. Of British fairies
there are several distinct kinds, and these differ considerably in
their characteristics. In Ireland, where the belief is strongest, the
fairies are called - good people, " and are of a benevolent but
capricious and mischievous disposition. The pixies of England are
very similar. The industrious domestic spirit known as Puck, or
Robin Goodfellow, is of the fairy kind; so also are the brownies of
Scotland. It is supposed that the hard work of the latter has given
them the swarthiness from which they take their name, the other
being called fairies from their fairness.
Fairfax, Elward: An English poet of the sixteenth century, author
of a work on Demonology, wherein he treats somewhat credulously
of sorcery.
Fendeurs: A supposed French Rosicrucian Society, concerning
which very little is known. It flourished in the middle of the
seventeenth century; and its members claimed that it was of
Scottish origin.
Fetch: According to Irish belief, the apparition of a living person;
the Irish form of the wraith (q.v.) It resembles in every particular
the individual whose death it is supposed to foretell, but it is
generally of a shadowy or ghostly appearance. The fetch may be
seen by more than one person at the same time and, like the wraith
of England and Scotland, may appear to the person it represents.
There is a belief, too, that if the fetch be seen in the morning, it
indicates long life for the original: but if it be seen at night, his
speedy demise may be expected. The Fetch enters largely into the
folk - tales of Ireland; and it is hardly surprising that so many tales
have been woven around it, for there is something gruesome in the
idea of being haunted by one's own " double " which has frequently
been turned to account by more sophisticated writers than the
inventors of folk - tales.
Fiction, English Occult: English literature, as it is known to - day,
really begins with the Elizabethan age; for the writers prior to that
time, excellent as many of them are, elicit comparatively little
interest nowadays save among experts. And, by the time of
Elizabeth's advent, the old miracle plays " had gone out of fashion;
yet tales about the miraculous doings of mythical heroes continued
to find favour, and many new things of this kind were written.
A few of the Restoration dramatists dealt in magic and the like, but
throughout the Georgian age people were mostly too prosaic, too
matter - of - fact, to care for things of that sort, and they were
eschewed by the majority of prominent writers of the day.
However, after th - e great artistic movement commonly styled the
Renaissance of Wonder, the old interest in the occult began to
revive apace, and, ere the nineteenth century was very far
advanced, a literature suitable to this budding taste was being
purveyed on a voluminous scale. Among the first to enter the lists,
soi disant, was William Godwin, with his novel of St. Truyne the
Rosicrucian; while Godwin's daughter Mary, chiefly remembered
nowadays as the second wife~ of Shelley, merits notice as - -
mystical writer by virtue of her story of Frankenstein. A little
before the advent of this authoress, numerous occult tales had been
written by Matthew Lewis, notably Tales of Terror and the drama of
Castle Spectre, staged successfully at Drury Lane in 17o8; while
Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
not long after Lewis a further novelist came to swell. the muster roll,
Bulwer Lytton, whose taste for the mystic. is seen especially
in Zanoni, A Strange Story, and Haunters and the Haunted. His
essays of this kind, nevertheless, were never very satisfactory in
the real literary sense; and as Leslie Stephen once discovered,
they too often smacked of the theatrical. But Sir Walter Scott, on
the other hand, writing just before Lytton's time, not only showed a
keen fondness for occult matter, but frequently utilised it to
genuine artistic purpose. In The Monastery a mysterious sylph
rises from a fountain; astrology is introduced into Guy Manneying,
The Fortunes of Nigel, and Quentin Durward; while a splendid
ghost story is told in Redgauntlet, and ghosts figure also in
Woodstock. In The Bride of Lamniermoor, besides, the author
deals incidentally with that firm belief in prophecy which was long
a prominent part of Scottish life; while in Waverley, again, he
depicts a Highland chief as awestruck and unmanned by the sight
of a peculiar omen. Highland superstitions, indeed, appealed with
particular potency to Sir Walter's romantic temper; while he was
not the only writer of his time who dealt ably with this branch of
the occult, another being Susan Ferrier in her novels of Destiny
and The Chief's Daughter. Nor should we fail ere leaving this
period, to mention Ann Radcliffe, for in almost all her novels the
supernatural figures prominently.
While the last - named trio were at work thus in Britain, some good
stories in which magic occurs were being written in America by
Washington Irving; and, not very long after his day, a second
American arose to treat brilliantly of weirdness and wizardry,
Edgar Allan Poe. Then, reverting to England, ghosts appear in a
few of Dickens' novels, and Charles Reade manifests here and
there a love of the occult; while coming to slightly later times, a
writerwho manifested this predilection abundantly is Robert Louis
Stevenson. His Dr. Jekyll and My. Hyde is among the best of all
modern novels in which the supernatural plays a salient r6le, and
many of his short stories pertain also to the category of occult, for
example, the tale of the magic bottle in Island Nights
Entertainments; while, about the date these were being composed,
Oscar Wilde was writing what is one of the most beautiful things
dealing with invisible powers, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Much
inferior to this masterpiece, yet possessing considerable
excellence, are George du Maurier's Peter Ibbelson, Trilby and
The Martian, in each of which the supernatural is prominent; while
a further work which should certainly be cited is Lafcadio Hearn's
Dead Love, a tiny tale of magic which the author thought lightly of,
but which future generations are almost sure to prize on account of
its lovely wording, at some places worthy of Theophile Gautier
himself, who was Hearn's acknowledged master.
These recent authors do not by any means conclude the list, for a
wealth of occult fiction has been written since their day. Among its
most remarkable items is The Ghost Ship of Richard Middleton, a
singularly promising storyteller and poet who died by his own hand
lately at the early age of twenty - nine; while many contemporary
novelists have introduced magic into their books, for instance, Mr.
Rider Haggard in She, the late Mr. Bram Stoker in Dracula, and
Mr. F. A. Anstey in Vice Versa and The Brass Bottle. In fact, were
one to cite all the living wont to trade in the occult, an article of
formidable size would be the result, and accordingly the attempt
must be eschewed; but at least it is essential to mention Mr.
Theodore Watts - Dunton's Aylwin, this reflecting really fine
treatment of mystic matter, and being couched throughout in a
style of exceptional beauty. Mr. Arthur Symons is another great
writer of to - day who loves the borderland between dreams and
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Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
realities, as witness many pages in his Spiritual Adventures while
the invisible world has always appealed powerfully~ to Mr. W. B.
Yeats, and is employed to good purpose here and there in his
stories of the Irish peasantry. It is less the ghost than the fairy
which he delights in, true Celt that he is; and his predilection
herein sets one dreaming of fairy -tales in general, and summons a
curious medley of names. William Morris wrote a host of beautiful
fairystories, some of them concerned with the promulgation of
socialistic ideas, but others innocent of anything of that sort; while
the voluminous works of Ruskin include what can only be defined
as a fairy tale, The King of the Golden River. Numerous
contemporary writers have likewise done good work in this field -
Lord Dunsany, Mr. J. M. Barrie, and more especially Mr. Laurence
Housman - while a remarkable fairy play has been written lately by
Mr. Graham Robertson, and has been staged with surprising
triumph. Then, reverting for a moment to defunct authors, fairies
occur in that charming volume by H. D. Lowry, Make Believe, and
in Richard Middleton's book, The Day Before Yesterday; while no
account of this particular domain of literaiure would be complete
without mention of the work of Lewis Carrol, and also of Jean
Ingelow's lovely story, Mopsa the Fairy. This last is possibly the
best of all fairy stories, and one which has been most widely and
wisely cherished; and it stands out very clearly in the memory of
nearly every man of imaginative temperament, reminding him of
his own childhood.
Finn Mae Cummal: In Irish romance, Captain of the Fianna and
the centre of the Ossianic tales. His father Cumhal, chief of the
clan Basena, was slain at Castle Knock by the rival clan Morna,
but his mother succeeded in saving him from the enemy. He was
brought up in hiding and given the name of Finn from the
clearness of his skin. He learned science and poetry from the druid
Finegas who dwelt on the river Boyne. The druid had been unable
to catch the salmon of knowledge until Finn became his pupil, and
when he did succeed in catching it, he told Finn to watch it while
it was cooking but not to partake of it. Finn, however, burned his
fingers as he turned the spit and put one of them in his mouth.
Seeing this, Finegas bade him eat the salmon and he became filled
with the wisdom of all ages. Afterwards he took service with King
Cormac to whom he revealed his name and lineage. Cormac
promised him the leadership of the Fianna if he succeeded in
killing the fire - blowing demon that came yearly to set Tara in
flames. Finn slew the demon and bore his head back to Tara. The
Fianna were therefore ordered to swear allegiance to Finn as their
captain, which, led by Goll mac Morna, their former captain, they
all did. Under Finn, the Fianna rose to great eminence, an
eminence which at length became tyrannical and from which they
were thrown at the battle of Bowra. Finn's end is shrouded in
mystery. According to popular tradition he and his great
companions lie sleeping in an enchanted cave whence they shall
arise in the hour of their country's need, like Arthur, Barbarossa
and Charlemagne.
'At the time Finn was born his father Cumhal, of the sons of
Baiscne, Head of the Fianna of Ireland, had been killed in battle
by the sons of Morna that were fighting with him for the leadership.
And his mother, that was beautiful long-haired Muirne, daughter of
Tadg, son of Nuada of the Tuatha de Danaan and of Ethlinn,
mother of Lugh of the Long Hand, did not dare to keep him with
her; and two women, Bodhmall, the woman Druid, and Liath
Luachra, came and brought him away to care for him.
It was to the woods of Slieve Bladhma they brought him, and they
nursed him secretly, because of his father’s enemies, the sons of
Morna, and they kept him there a long time.
And Muirne, his mother, took another husband that was king of
Carraighe; but at the end of six years she came to see Finn, going
through every lonely place till she came to the wood, and there she
found the little hunting cabin, and the boy asleep in it, and she
lifted him up in her arms and kissed him, and she sang a little
sleepy song to him; and then she said farewell to the women, and
she went away again.
And the two women went on caring him till he came to sensible
years; and one day when he went out he saw a wild duck on the
lake with her clutch, and he made a cast at her that cut the wings
off her that she could not fly, and he brought her back to the cabin,
and that was his first hunt.
And they gave him good training in running and leaping and
swimming. One of them would run round a tree, and she having a
thorn switch, and Finn after her with another switch, and each one
trying to hit at the other; and they would leave him in a field, and
hares along with him, and would bid him not to let the hares quit
the field, but to keep before them whichever way they would go;
and to teach him swimming they would throw him into the water
and let him make his way out.
But after a while he went away with a troop of poets, to hide from
the sons of Morna, and they hid him in the mountain of Crotta
Cliach; but there was a robber in Leinster at that time, Fiacuil, son
of Codhna, and he came where the poets were in Fidh Gaible and
killed them all. But he spared the child and brought him to his own
house, that was in a cold marsh. But the two women, Bodhmall and
Liath, came looking for him after a while, and Fiacuil gave him up
to them, and they brought him back to the same place he was
before.
He grew up there, straight and strong and fair-haired and
beautiful. And one day he was out in Slieve Bladhma, and the two
women along with him, and they saw before them a herd of the wild
deer of the mountain. "It is a pity," said the old women, "we not to
be able to get a deer of those deer." "I will get one for you," said
Finn; and with that he followed after them, and caught two stags of
them and brought them home to the hunting cabin. And after that
he used to be hunting for them every day. But at last they said to
him:
"It is best for you to leave us now, for the sons of Morna are
watching again to kill you."
So he went away then by himself, and never stopped till he came to
Magh Lifé, and there he saw young lads swimming in a lake, and
they called to him to swim against them. So he went into the lake,
and he beat them at swimming. "Fair he is and well shaped," they
said when they saw him swimming, and it was from that time he got
the name of Finn, that is, Fair. But they got to be jealous of his
strength, and he went away and left them.
He went on then till he came to Loch Lein, and he took service
there with the King of Finntraigh; and there was no hunter like
him, and the king said: "If Cumhal had left a son, you would be
that son."
He went from that king after, and he went into Carraighe, and there
he took service with the king, that had taken his mother Muirne for
his wife. And one day they were playing chess together, and he
won seven games one after another. "Who are you at all?" said the
king then. "I am a son of a countryman of the Luigne of Teamhair,"
said Finn. "That is not so," said the king, "but you are the son that
Muirne my wife bore to Cumhal. And do not stop here any longer,"
he said, "that you may not be killed under my protection."
From that he went into Connacht looking for his father’s brother,
Crimall, son of Trenmor; and as he was going on his way he heard
the crying of a lone woman. He went to her, and looked at her, and
tears of blood were on her face. "Your face is red with blood,
woman," he said. "I have reason for it," said she, "for my only son
is after being killed by a great fighting man that came on us." And
Finn followed after the big champion and fought with him and
killed him. And the man he killed was the same man that had
given Cumhal his first wound in the battle where he got his death,
and had brought away his treasure-bag with him.
Now as to that treasure-bag, it is of a crane skin it was made, that
was one time the skin of Aoife, the beautiful sweetheart of Ilbrec,
son of Manannan, that was put into the shape of a crane through
jealousy. And it was in Manannan’s house it used to be, and there
were treasures kept in it, Manannan’s shirt and his knife, and the
belt and the smith’s hook of Goibniu, and the shears of the King of
Alban, and the helmet of the King of Lochlann, and a belt of the
skin of a great fish, and the bones of Asal’s pig that had been
brought to Ireland by the sons of Tuireann. All those treasures
would be in the bag at full tide, but at the ebbing of the tide it
would be empty. And it went from Manannan to Lugh, son of
Ethlinn, and after that to Cumhal, that was husband to Muirne,
Ethlinn’s daughter.
And Finn took the bag and brought it with him till he found
Crimall, that was now an old man, living in a lonely place, and
some of the old men of the Fianna were with him, and used to go
hunting for him. And Finn gave him the bag, and told him his
whole story.
And then he said farewell to Crimall, and went on to learn poetry
from Finegas, a poet that was living at the Boinn, for the poets
thought it was always on the brink of water poetry was revealed to
them. And he did not give him his own name, but he took the name
of Deimne. Seven years, now, Finegas had stopped at the Boinn,
watching the salmon, for it was in the prophecy that he would eat
the salmon of knowledge that would come there, and that he would
have all knowledge after. And when at the last the salmon of
knowledge came, he brought it to where Finn was, and bade him to
roast it, but he bade him not to eat any of it. And when Finn
brought him the salmon after a while he said: "Did you eat any of it
at all, boy?" "I did not," said Finn; "but I burned my thumb putting
down a blister that rose on the skin, and after that, I put my thumb
in my mouth." "What is your name, boy?" said Finegas. "Deimne,"
said he. "It is not, but it is Finn your name is, and it is to you and
not to myself the salmon was given in the prophecy." With that he
gave Finn the whole of the salmon, and from that time Finn had the
knowledge that came from the nuts of the nine hazels of wisdom
that grow beside the well that is below the sea.
And besides the wisdom he got then, there was a second wisdom
came to him another time, and this is the way it happened. There
was a well of the moon belonging to Beag, son of Buan, of the
Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
Tuatha de Danaan, and whoever would drink out of it would get
wisdom, and after a second drink he would get the gift of
foretelling. And the three daughters of Beag, son of Buan, had
charge of the well, and they would not part with a vessel of it for
anything less than red gold. And one day Finn chanced to be
hunting in the rushes near the well, and the three women ran out to
hinder him from coming to it, and one of them that had a vessel of
water in her hand, threw it at him to stop him, and a share of the
water went into his mouth. And from that out he had all the
knowledge that the water of that well could give.
And he learned the three ways of poetry; and this is the poem he
made to show he had got his learning well: —
"It is the month of May is the pleasant time; its face is beautiful;
the blackbird sings his full song, the living wood is his holding, the
cuckoos are singing and ever singing; there is a welcome before
the brightness of the summer.
"Summer is lessening the rivers, the swift horses are looking for the
pool; the heath spreads out its long hair, the weak white bog-down
grows. A wildness comes on the heart of the deer; the sad restless
sea is asleep.
"Bees with their little strength carry a load reaped from the
flowers; the cattle go up muddy to the mountains; the ant has a
good full feast.
"The harp of the woods is playing music; there is colour on the
hills, and a haze on the full lakes, and entire peace upon every
sail.
"The corncrake is speaking, a loud-voiced poet; the high lonely
waterfall is singing a welcome to the warm pool, the talking of the
rushes has begun.
"The light swallows are darting; the loudness of music is around
the hill; the fat soft mast is budding; there is grass on the
trembling bogs.
"The bog is as dark as the feathers of the raven; the cuckoo makes
a loud welcome; the speckled salmon is leaping; as strong is the
leaping of the swift fighting man.
"The man is gaining; the girl is in her comely growing power; every
wood is without fault from the top to the ground, and every wide
good plain.
"It is pleasant is the colour of the time; rough winter is gone; every
plentiful wood is white; summer is a joyful peace.
"A flock of birds pitches in the meadow; there are sounds in the
green fields, there is in them a clear rushing stream.
"There is a hot desire on you for the racing of horses; twisted holly
makes a leash for the hound; a bright spear has been shot into the
earth, and the flag-flower is golden under it.
"A weak lasting little bird is singing at the top of his voice; the lark
is singing clear tidings; May without fault, of beautiful colours.
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Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
"I have another story for you; the ox is lowing, the water is creeping
in, the summer is gone. High and cold the wind, low the sun, cries
are about us; the sea is quarrelling.
"The ferns are reddened and their shape is hidden; the cry of the
wild goose is heard; the cold has caught the wings of the birds; it is
the time of ice-frost, hard, unhappy."
And after that, Finn being but a young lad yet, made himself ready
and went up at Samhain time to the gathering of the High King at
Teamhair. And it was the law at that gathering, no one to raise a
quarrel or bring out any grudge against another through the whole
of the time it lasted. And the king and his chief men, and Goll, son
of Morna, that was now Head of the Fianna, and Caoilte, son of
Ronan, and Conan, son of Morna, of the sharp words, were sitting
at a feast in the great house of the Middle Court; and the young lad
came in and took his place among them, and none of them knew
who he was.
The High King looked at him then, and the horn of meetings was
brought to him, and he put it into the boy’s hand, and asked him
who was he.
"I am Finn, son of Cumhal," he said, "son of the man that used to
be head over the Fianna, and king of Ireland; and I am come now
to get your friendship, and to give you my service."
"You are son of a friend, boy," said the king, "and son of a man I
trusted."
Then Finn rose up and made his agreement of service and of
faithfulness to the king; and the king took him by the hand and put
him sitting beside his own son, and they gave themselves to
drinking and to pleasure for a while.
Every year, now, at Samhain time, for nine years, there had come a
man of the Tuatha de Danaan out of Sidhe Finnachaidh in the
north, and had burned up Teamhair. Aillen, son of Midhna, his
name was, and it is the way he used to come, playing music of the
Sidhe, and all the people that heard it would fall asleep. And when
they were all in their sleep, he would let a flame of fire out of his
mouth, and would blow the flame till all Teamhair was burned.
The king rose up at the feast after a while, and his smooth horn in
his hand, and it is what he said: "If I could find among you, men of
Ireland, any man that would keep Teamhair till the break of day
to-morrow without being burned by Aillen, son of Midhna, I would
give him whatever inheritance is right for him to have, whether it
be much or little."
But the men of Ireland made no answer, for they knew well that at
the sound of the sweet pitiful music made by that comely man of
the Sidhe, even women in their pains and men that were wounded
would fall asleep.
It is then Finn rose up and spoke to the King of Ireland. "Who will
be your sureties that you will fulfil this?" he said. "The kings of the
provinces of Ireland," said the king, "and Cithruadh with his
Druids." So they gave their pledges, and Finn took in hand to keep
Teamhair safe till the breaking of day on the morrow.
Now there was a fighting man among the followers of the King of
Ireland, Fiacha, son of Conga, that Cumhal, Finn’s father, used to
have a great liking for, and he said to Finn: "Well, boy," he said,
"what reward would you give me if I would bring you a deadly
spear, that no false cast was ever made with?" "What reward are
you asking of me?" said Finn. "Whatever your right hand wins at
any time, the third of it to be mine," said Fiacha, "and a third of
your trust and your friendship to be mine." "I will give you that,"
said Finn. Then Fiacha brought him the spear, unknown to the
sons of Morna or to any other person, and he said: "When you will
hear the music of the Sidhe, let you strip the covering off the head
of the spear and put it to your forehead, and the power of the spear
will not let sleep come upon you."
Then Finn rose up before all the men of Ireland, and he made a
round of the whole of Teamhair. And it was not long till he heard
the sorrowful music, and he stripped the covering from the head of
the spear, and he held the power of it to his forehead. And Aillen
went on playing his little harp, till he had put every one in their
sleep as he was used; and then he let a flame of fire out from his
mouth to burn Teamhair. And Finn held up his fringed crimson
cloak against the flame, and it fell down through the air and went
into the ground, bringing the four-folded cloak with it deep into the
earth.
And when Aillen saw his spells were destroyed, he went back to
Sidhe Finnachaidh on the top of Slieve Fuad; but Finn followed
after him there, and as Aillen was going in at the door he made a
cast of the spear that went through his heart. And he struck his
head off then, and brought it back to Teamhair, and fixed it on a
crooked pole and left it there till the rising of the sun over the
heights and invers of the country.
And Aillen’s mother came to where his body was lying, and there
was great grief on her, and she made this complaint: —
"Ochone! Aillen is fallen, chief of the Sidhe of Beinn Boirche; the
slow clouds of death are come on him. Och! he was pleasant, Och!
he was kind. Aillen, son of Midhna of Slieve Fuad.
"Nine times he burned Teamhair. It is a great name he was always
looking for, Ochone, Ochone, Aillen!"
And at the breaking of day, the king and all the men of Ireland
came out upon the lawn at Teamhair where Finn was. "King," said
Finn, "there is the head of the man that burned Teamhair, and the
pipe and the harp that made his music. And it is what I think," he
said, "that Teamhair and all that is in it is saved."
Then they all came together into the place of counsel, and it is
what they agreed, the headship of the Fianna of Ireland to be given
to Finn. And the king said to Goll, son of Morna: "Well, Goll," he
said, "is it your choice to quit Ireland or to put your hand in Finn’s
hand?" "By my word, I will give Finn my hand," said Goll.
And when the charms that used to bring good luck had done their
work, the chief men of the Fianna rose up and struck their hands
in Finn’s hand, and Goll, son of Morna, was the first to give him
his hand the way there would be less shame on the rest for doing it.
And Finn kept the headship of the Fianna until the end; and the
place he lived in was Almhuin of Leinster, where the white dun
was made by Nuada of the Tuatha de Danaan, that was as white as
if all the lime in Ireland was put on it, and that got its name from
the great herd of cattle that died fighting one time around the well,
and that left their horns there, speckled horns and white.
And as to Finn himself, he was a king and a seer and a poet; a
Druid and a knowledgeable man; and everything he said was
sweet-sounding to his people. And a better fighting man than Finn
never struck his hand into a king’s hand, and whatever any one
ever said of him, he was three times better. And of his justice it
used to be said, that if his enemy and his own son had come before
him to be judged, it is a fair judgment he would have given
between them. And as to his generosity it used to be said, he never
denied any man as long as he had a mouth to eat with, and legs to
bring away what he gave him; and he left no woman without her
bride-price, and no man without his pay; and he never promised at
night what he would not fulfil on the morrow, and he never
promised in the day what he would not fulfil at night, and he never
forsook his right-hand friend. And if he was quiet in peace he was
angry in battle, and Oisin his son and Osgar his son’s son followed
him in that. There was a young man of Ulster came and claimed
kinship with them one time, saying they were of the one blood. "If
that is so," said Oisin, "it is from the men of Ulster we took the
madness and the angry heart we have in battle." "That is so
indeed," said Finn.
Flamel, Nicholas: was born at Pontoise, of a poor but respectable
family, about the beginning of the fourteenth century. He received
a good education, of which his natural abilities enabled him to
make the best use. Repairing to Paris, he obtained employment as
a public scrivener, - sitting at the corner of the Rue de Marivaux,
copying or inditing letters and other documents. The occupation
brought with it little profit, and Flamel tried in succession poetry
and painting with an equally unsatisfactory result. His quick wits
suggested that as he could make no money by teaching mankind, it
might be more profitable to cheat them, and he took up the pursuit
of Astrology, casting horoscopes and telling fortunes. He was right
in his conjectures, and soon throve so vigorously that he was
enabled to take unto himself a wife named Petronella. But those
who begin to study the magic art for profit or amusement generally
finish by addicting themselves to it with a blindly passionate love.
Nicholas devoted himself both day and night to his fascinating but
deceptive pursuits; and soon acquired a thorough knowledge of all
that previous adepts had written upon the elixir vihv, the universal
Alkahest, and the Philosopher's Stone. In 1297 he lighted upon a
manual of the art which would have been invaluable if it had been
intelligible. He bought it for two florins. It contained three times
seven leaves written with a steel instrument upon the bark of trees.
The caligraphy was as admirable as the Latin was cryptical. Each
seventh leaf was free from writing, but emblazoned with a picture;
the first, representing a serpent swallowing rods; the second, a
serpent crucified on a cross; and the third, the and expanse of a
treeless desert, in whose depths a fountain bubbled, with serpents
trailing their slimy folds from side to side. The author of this
mysterious book purported to be " Abraham, the patriarch, Jew,
prince, philosopher, Levite, priest, and astrologer, " (q.v.) who
added to his other claims upon the wonder of mankind a
knowledge of Latin. He had included within these precious pages a
complete exposition of the art of transmuting metals; descrbing
every process, explaining the different vessels, and pointing out
the proper seasons for making experiments. In fact, the book would
have been perfect, but for one deficiency; it was addressed not so
much to the tyro as to an adept, and took it for granted that its
student was already in possess2 of the Philosopher's Stone. This
Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets
was a terrible obstacle to the inquiring Flamel. The more he
studied the book the less he understood it. He studied the letter
Dress, and he studied the illustrations; he invited the wise men of
France to come and study them, but no light was thro -, vii upon
the darkness. For thrice seven years he pored over these
perplexing pages, until at length his wife suggested that a Jewish
Rabbi might be able to interpret them. As the chiefs of the Jews
were principally located in Spain, to Spain went Flamel, and there
he remained for two years. From one of the
shit i didnt realize it cut this E & F entry off. man posting this shit is a pain. im not sure if OD.com has a limit on the amount of letters that can be in one post, but it wont let me put the whole document in one post. the document is only 200 pages long.
Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:43 pm
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madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8244 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
probably better to post to the same thread each letter. The post size limit is the default for phpbb. I didn't change it. Don't run risk of copywrite infringement if it's trouble. Link to source if possible.
