Magic Secrets

This text first appeared as an appendix to the first edition of the Grimoire of Pope Honorius in 1670. Most of it deals with the magic of shepherds and horsemen, including references to toad magic, which the shepherds were particularly suspected of practicing. While many of the magical workings are overtly Christian, some are not, utilizing an otherwise unknown system of names of power to provide the practitioner with magical familiars. The illustrations (some colored) provide contemporary images of a practitioner practicing his craft as well as a talisman that came to be adapted for stopping horses, representing a tradition of esoteric horsemanship wherein horses are treated as familiar or spirits to be controlled (very different from the Society of the Horseman's Word, but which also operated in Britain). This talisman is realized as per the instructions, and tipped in (page 60). Some spells are blasphemous, and indicate either the survival of pre-Christian belief or the emergence of very early neo-paganism. This blasphemy was a secret from most, being framed in Latin. It required an expert, professional translation to uncover it.