Book Club Entry â Abramelin the Mage Dehn and Guth Edition
âNobody has been able to know or understand the principles and origins of the wisdom of Adonai; the creator of all things, who is a zealous god, has retained this for himself. He wishes that we humans enjoy the fruits but asks we neither touch the stem nor dig out the rootsâ (pg. 111).
Relevance to practice: 5/5
Educational and interesting: 5/5
Easy to read: 5/5
Interesting feature: I wanted to read this particular translation because it differed from Mathersâ in important ways and is considered the more accurate of the two. It is a famous book considered to be a must for every witch, alchemist, shaman, sorcerer/warlock, historian, occultist, etc.
This translation starts as a book within a book, not unlike the Black Books I reviewed last time. A trend of mine? I hope not! Lol. What makes this book a legend in witchcraft is that it is one of the few surviving texts dating from the 14th century that is, not only completely authentic, but describes in great detail the toils and hardships the author went through to achieve magical, alchemical or paranormal knowledge. This book is a precursor to Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, etc in that it is both a detailed journey and a grimoire.
Abraham lost his father and spent the remaining 13-15 years on a quest in search of his Holy Guardian angel and intimate knowledge of the godhead. Psychologically, he was searching for a replacement father figure. Spiritually, he succeeded in attaining communion with his Holy Guardian angel after 18 months during which he strictly adhered to the steps delineated by Abramelin the Mage. This book is the legacy Abraham intends to leave his second son, Lamech upon his death.
I found the forward â again the book before the book, if you will â immensely entertaining as it described the steps the author took to translate the original, which in many ways differs significantly from Mathersâ beloved version. Most notably, it took Abraham 18 months to achieve union instead of Mathersâ 6 months. Also, the book itself ends on page 223 and the index continues to page 307. This continues the author and translators notes on the publication along with detailed information on archeological, geographical and historical information that is, in many ways, vital for understanding the conditions of the text and the authors life.
Witches and alchemists cite this book repeatedly, because it is technically a textbook on achieving Solomonic control over the Goetia daemons. The steps needed are listed as being oddly simple:
- Lead a devout and just life.
- Tithe. Abraham had to give 10 gold guilders to 72 people (6 * 12) to pray certain psalms.
- Abraham had to fast on three specific days â Wednesday, Thursday and Friday*** before the Sabbath (here dusk on Fri) â eating only one meal each day that contained no blood or anything dead and perform no hard work.
- On the subsequent Tuesday, confess all our sins (we witches and alchemists understand the importance of this, especially since demons are incapable of doing this!)
- Then to follow the information in the book closely â memorize it â and retain them for 72 years.
***Here I was surprised! Why these specific days? Was it simply because these days led into the Sabbath? Probably. But I couldnât help but notice a strange coincidence. Follow me on this. The OT god is known to be El and that he had a wife named Asherah. Asherah is then removed from all mention, and instead the Holy Spirit is named as El, now Yahweh, speaks in terms on WE. Jesus stated unequivocally that one may blaspheme the Son, one may blaspheme the Father, but none can blaspheme the Holy Spirit! Iâve since taken the Holy Spirit to be Asherah pseudonym. If we then continue this analysis, Wednesday is Odinâs day. Thursday is Pors day. Friday is Friggâs day. The Father, the Son, and the Mother (Baldurâs mother, but it doesnât really matter so much). The symbology is the same. Fasting to learn, and in veneration to, the Father, the Son, and Mother, leading to the Sabbath â every single week. I found this to be both deeply inclusive and supportive of shadow work, shamanism, etc.
This book is a famous one and surprisingly enjoyable.
There are also some fantastic spells for healing, guarding, etc. Abraham guards against using any of them unless the initiate has met its Holy Guardian angel first to make sure the initiate is protected. When you see the simplicity of the spells, it is easy to understand that they are meant to be spoken under intimate connections and in easy speech. Therefore, I would also recommend that those trying it be seriously protected as well.
Witchy Book Reviews From the Spells8 Book Club 
However, the history that is given & different ideas for working with her in different circumstances plus breaking down her aspects into very understandable chunks, is very helpful. Anyone looking to deepen their connection with her & work with her for many different aspects of their life will be pleasantly surprised.