Incantation  

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 +[[Image:La main de gloire.JPG|thumb|200px|''[[Hand of Glory]]'', anonymous]]
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-A '''grimoire''' is a [[textbook]] of [[Magic (paranormal)|magic]]. Books of this genre, typically giving instructions for [[invocation|invoking]] [[angel]]s or [[demon]]s, performing [[divination]] and gaining magical powers, have circulated throughout [[Europe]] since the [[Middle Ages]].+A '''spell''', charm, or '''[[incantation]]''' is a set of words, spoken or unspoken (prayer). Casting a spell is considered by its user to invoke some [[Magic (paranormal)|magical]] effect. Historical attestations exist for the use of some variety of incantations in many cultures around the world. [[Pharmakeia]] is often the vehicle for binding someone with a spell with and without uttered words. Often binding someone with a spell by the use of spoken word formulas involves the use of [[evocation]].
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-[[Magician (paranormal)|Magicians]] were frequently prosecuted by the Christian church, so their journals were kept hidden to prevent them from being burned.+
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-Such books contain [[astrology|astrological]] correspondences, lists of [[angel]]s and [[demon]]s, directions on casting charms and [[spell (paranormal)|spell]]s, on mixing medicines, summoning unearthly entities, and making [[amulet|talisman]]s. "Magical" books in almost any context, especially books of magical spells, are also called grimoires.+
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-==Origin of the term==+
-The word ''grimoire'' is from the [[Old French language|Old French]] ''grammaire'', and is from the Greek root "grammatikos", “relating to letters”, from which ''[[grammar]]'', a system for language, and ''[[Glamour (spell)|glamour]]'', influential appeal, are derived. In the mid-late Middle Ages, [[Latin]] "grammars" (books on Latin [[syntax]] and [[diction]]) were foundational to school and university education, as controlled by the [[Roman Catholicism|Church]]—while to the illiterate majority, non-[[Ecclesiology|ecclesiastical]] books were suspect as magic, or believed to be endowed with [[supernatural]] influence. The word "grimoire" came over time to apply specifically to those books which did indeed deal with magic and the supernatural.+
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-Similar magical writings have existed from antiquity, and although these are not in the same genre of medieval magic, they are sometimes described as grimoires.+
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-==Medieval and Renaissance==+
-:''[[Renaissance magic]]''+
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-The first grimoires appear in the High Middle Ages, growing out of earlier traditions, notably of medieval [[Jewish mysticism]], which continued traditions dating back to [[Late Antiquity]]. Thus, the 13th century [[Sefer Raziel Ha-Malakh]] is significantly based on the [[Sefer Ha-Razim]] (ca. 4th or 5th century), which is in turn influenced by Hellenistic [[Greek magical papyri]].+
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-Notable 13th to 17th century grimoires include:+
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-* The Secret Grimoire of [[Turiel]] (16th century)+
-*The [[Picatrix]], or, ''Ghâyat al-Hakîm fi'l-sihr''; also known as ''The Aim of the Sage'' (13th century)+
-*''Liber Iuratus'', or, [[The Sworn Book of Honorius|the ''Sworn Book of Honorius'']] (13th century)+
-*[[Sefer Raziel Ha-Malakh]] ''Liber Razielis Archangeli'' (13th century)+
-*[[The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage|The ''Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage'']] (1450s)+
-*The so-called [[Munich Handbook]] (15th century)+
-*''[[Libri tres de occulta philosophia]]'' by [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa]] (1531)+
-*[[The Greater Key of Solomon|The ''Greater Key of Solomon'']] (16th century)+
-*[[Pseudomonarchia Daemonum]] (16th century)+
-*The ''Lemegeton'', or, [[the Lesser Key of Solomon|the ''Lesser Key of Solomon'']] (17th century)+
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-The [[Voynich manuscript]] has never been deciphered, and is difficult to date, but may also qualify as a 15th century grimoire.+
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-==18th to 19th century==+
-*[[The Black Pullet|''The Black Pullet'']] (18th century)+
-*[[Grand Grimoire|''Le Grand Grimoire'']] (19th century, allegedly 1522)+
-*[[Grimoirium Verum|''Grimoirium Verum'']] (18th century)+
-*[[Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses]] (1700s - 1849)+
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-In the late 19th century, several of these texts (including the Abra-Melin text and the [[Key of Solomon]]) were reclaimed by para-[[Masonic]] magical organizations such as the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]] and the [[Ordo Templi Orientis]]. +
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-Many false or poorly translated grimoires have been circulated since the 19th century (many original texts are in French or Latin, and are quite rare); however, faithful editions are available for most of the above titles.+
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-==20th century to present==+
-A modern grimoire is the ''[[Simon Necronomicon]]'', named after a fictional book of magic in the stories of author [[H. P. Lovecraft]], and inspired by [[Babylonian mythology]] and the ''[[Ars Goetia]]'', a section in the ''Lesser Key of Solomon'' which concerns the summoning of demons. The ''Azoëtia'' of [[Andrew D. Chumbley]] has been described as a modern grimoire.+
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-The [[Neopagan]] religion of [[Wicca]] publicly appeared in the 1940s, and [[Gerald Gardner]] introduced the [[Book of Shadows]] as a Wiccan Grimoire. +
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-===Popular culture===+
-The term "grimoire" commonly serves as an alternative name for a spell-book or tome of magical knowledge in such genres as [[fantasy fiction]]. The most famous fictional grimoire is the ''[[Necronomicon]],'' a creation of the author H. P. Lovecraft. It was first referenced in his story "[[The Hound]]" and subsequently made appearances in many of his stories. Other authors such as [[August Derleth]] and [[Clark Ashton Smith]] have also cited it in their works with Lovecraft's approval. Many readers and others have believed it to be a real work, with booksellers and librarians receiving many requests for the fictional tome. Pranksters have even listed it in rare book catalogues, including one who surreptitiously slipped an entry into the [[Yale University]] Library [[card catalog]]. ([[L. Sprague de Camp]], ''[[Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers]]'') Several authors have also published books titled Necronomicon, though none have been endorsed by Lovecraft himself.+
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-In the hit musical and bestselling book ''[[Wicked]]'' by [[Gregory Maguire]], Elphaba (The Wicked Witch Of The West) came to owning a "Grimmerie", which held spells.+
 +==See also==
 +*[[Invocation]]
 +*[[Magic word]]
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A spell, charm, or incantation is a set of words, spoken or unspoken (prayer). Casting a spell is considered by its user to invoke some magical effect. Historical attestations exist for the use of some variety of incantations in many cultures around the world. Pharmakeia is often the vehicle for binding someone with a spell with and without uttered words. Often binding someone with a spell by the use of spoken word formulas involves the use of evocation.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Incantation" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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