Where Are The PAGAN Grimoires?
Google "Grimoires" and you get the usual results that invariably include the Key of Solomon, The Arbatel of Magick, The Lemegeton and many others after that style. Have you noticed that they almost always use Christian and Jewish symbolism and iconography? Even when you add the word 'pagan' to your search, you will be hard pressed to find an ancient Grimoire that is not stuffed full of prayers and supplications to Jesus, Adonay, Elohim, Arch angels and more heavenly hosts than you ever knew existed! I'm sorry but these texts just don't say 'pagan' to me at all. I understand that the further back in time you go the scarcer people capable of authoring Grimoires or books of shadows become but, surely there must be SOME purely pagan texts available! I wonder if the scarcity of ancient and exclusively pagan texts is the reason so many people gravitate toward Egyptian magick, for example. The Egyptians left much writing about their mystical traditions.
There is much talk of the witch's Book of Shadows, the burning times and how these individuals kept their book secret but, where are these texts? Were they destroyed by relatives after the witch's death or buried with them? Why are there so few surviving records? To listen to neo-pagans you would think a BOS was standard equipment for any self-respecting witch, wizard or magician. To the contrary, its beginning to look like witches writing a BOS was not a common practice at all. Honestly, I would be delighted to be proven wrong on this point. How lovely it would be to know that we today are following in the foot steps of the witchy folk of days gone by! Be that as it may, I suppose the proliferation of modern books of shadows and Grimoires will be the legacy, the 'ancient texts' of centuries to come.
Does anyone know of ancient Grimoires, magickal texts and tomes that are NOT steeped in the mythology of Christianity and Judaism? Let me know!
Execellent question and I for one have come to a so called dead end..the Grimoires are full of ancient Hebrew and psalmody.Even the hoodoo and African religions have the same sort of paradox. psalmody..
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Understandably, Paganism's prehistoric origins predates by mellenia the invention of writing so we shouldn't be surprised the pickin's of ancient magickal texts are slim. Add to this the fact that Christianity did its best to eradicate as much of the old religion as it could. In my humble opinion it falls to modern generations to create a well-documented NEW pagan 'history!' I, for one, am happy to take part in that!
ReplyDeleteDo tell friend. Ive also noticed also how much has changed since the grimoires...The old mages observed the planetarys and timing was a big thing..hence todays pentagram and hexagram rituals..It would be nice to see some nice BOS's come out of the crypt though.
ReplyDeleteIn my view the first order of business is to LIVE THE PAGAN LIFE EVERYDAY. Living and breathing our 'faith' - whatever that might entail in our tradition - revivifies this wonderful path. Those of us who are inclined to write should do so. We must gradually let our pagan light shine for the world to see. I know this takes courage. It also requires caution. We can write the rituals and rites WE perform in our individual lives and then make them known. In this way them become a matter of record. Over time the grand pagan body of text will grow. It will attract others of like mind and heart.
ReplyDeleteIt's just my two cents! What do you think?
It's been 8 years where is it?
ReplyDelete