The Secret Lore of Magic
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''The Secret Lore of Magic'' is a book by
Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arko ...
on the subject of magical texts. First published in 1957,Amazon.com page on The Secret Lore of Magic it includes several major source-books of magical arts, translated from French,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and other tongues, annotated and fully illustrated with numerous diagrams, signs and characters. Together with '' Oriental Magic'', which appeared in the preceding year, it provided an important literary-anthropological survey of magical literature and is a comprehensive reference for psychologists, ethnologists and others interested in the rise and development of human beliefs. In addition to the inherent worth of their content, ''The Secret Lore of Magic'' and ''Oriental Magic'' can also be seen as a ground-breaking operation by this author, before publishing over the ensuing years his many volumes of
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
thought, ideas, and materials.


Content

Black
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
and ''maleficium'' or
sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...
have been practised through the ages with the aid of certain jealously guarded writings, such as the ''Black Books of the Magicians''. ''The Secret Lore of Magic'' includes the entire text of the four books of the ''Secrets of
Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...
'', the ''Book of the Spirits,'' ''the Almadel'', the ''Book of Power'', ''the Clavicle and the Testament'', the ''Grimoire of Honorius the Great'', and the processes of the Black Pact as given by ''the True Grimoire'' and ''the Great Grimoire''. Copies of these Grimoires (the "grammars" of sorcery) were extremely rare, and although occult works based on parts of grimoires were continuing to appear, the actual sources had never before been made available for study and comparison.


Views

Shah points out that all magic essentially outside religious rituals, had been viewed by clerics as nothing less than the Black Art. That attitude shifted during the centuries of research in Arabian Spain, as a result of which magic became officially understood as divided into the twin categories of
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
and
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
. ''The Secret Lore of Magic'' reflects this division. Its pages contain both the most sublime, complex and important rituals and methods of white magic, ( The Key of Solomon), and also what was considered to be the most diabolical work on black magic ever written (''The Grimoire of Honorius the Great''). Although the major part of ''The Secret Lore'' consists of primary sources, the author’s own informed commentary runs through it, often setting symbols, rituals and practices in a clearer light or wider context. Shah also states that the methods of making spells, charms and talismans, together with the rituals of raising spirits through the Magical Circle, all of which are contained in this work, between them comprise the whole gamut of supernatural power.


Commentary

Commenting on these works, Shah emphasised that neither had relevance to, nor were written for, contemporary devotees of witchcraft and magic.
For too long people believed that there were secret books, hidden places, and amazing things. They held onto this information as something to frighten themselves with. So the first purpose was information. This is the magic of East and West. That's all. There is no more. The second purpose of those books was to show that there do seem to be forces, some of which are either rationalized by this magic or may be developed from it, which do not come within customary physics or within the experience of ordinary people. I think this should be studied; that we should gather the data and analyze the phenomena. We need to separate the chemistry of magic from the alchemy, as it were.The Sufi Tradition. Interview with Elizabeth Hall. Psychology Today (United States), July 1975


Reception

According to Mundilibro, (Nov-Dec 1974), commenting on ''Oriental Magic'' and ''The Secret Lore of Magic'',
These basic works … serve to establish Idries Shah as an original, careful and reliable researcher in the field of human knowledge …”. It also stated that the two books “have not been superseded as links in the history of ideas.” The Book Exchange said that The Secret Lore of Magic was ‘essential reading for research in the fields of human beliefs, practices and ceremonies”.
The Liverpool Post described it as a “mammoth survey, never before attempted in any language.”


References


External links


Idries Shah Foundation website

Free Online Book on the ISF website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Lore of Magic, The Magic (supernatural) Books by Idries Shah Occult books 1957 books