History is threaded together with texts, scrolls and grimoires which were believed to contain the powerful supernatural rituals required to raise and control demons. A dark ancient text existed which was so influential that after 600 years of circulating predominantly in advanced esoteric circles, it led to the building of a ceremonial magic temple on the banks of Loch Ness in Scotland.

Title Page of The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage – published in 1932 by De Laurnece, Chicago ( Amazon)

The Hidden Magic of Abramelin the Mage

Dated to AD 1458, 12 manuscripts compose The Book of Abramelin, pronounced Abra-Melin, and it tells the fascinating story of the journey of ‘Abraham of Worms’, a Jew residing in Worms, Germany sometime between 1362 and 1458 AD. Having met an Egyptian mage with an ancient system of magic, the book is an autobiography in which Abraham details his journey from Germany to Egypt revealing Abramelin's magical and Kabbalistic secrets to his son Lamech.

The provenance of the original text has not been positively identified and although it is self-dated 1458 AD, the earliest manuscripts date from about 1608 AD and are written in German. In the 19th and 20th centuries the particular system of magic contained within this book regained popularity with the ‘Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’. Its leader, the famous British occultist Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers, translated the book in 1897 in a work titled The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, a tome which has remained popular among English-speaking ceremonial magicians and occultists interested in Hermetic Qabalah, Christian Kabbalah and grimoires. In 1904 it was later integrated within Aleister Crowley’s rival belief system to Christianity - Thelema.

Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918) ( Public Domain ) and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian getup, performs a ritual in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ( Public Domain )

In the book, Abraham recounts to his son how he discovered Abramelin the Mage living alone in the desert atop a small hill surrounded by trees outside the Egyptian town Araki, which borders the Nile River. The Egyptian mage taught a powerful form of Kabbalistic magic to Abraham, emphasizing ‘fearing God’ and the evils associated with the ‘acquisition of riches and goods’ to which Abraham responded by promising to give up false dogmas and live ‘in the Way and Law of the Lord’.

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Ashley Cowie is a Scottish historian, author and documentary filmmaker presenting original perspectives on historical problems, in accessible and exciting ways. His books, articles and television shows explore lost cultures and kingdoms, ancient crafts and artifacts, symbols and architecture, myths and legends telling thought-provoking stories which together offer insights into our shared social history . www.ashleycowie.com .

Top Image: Looking south across Loch Ness from Urquhart Castle Boleskine House is the white cottage on the hillside. Many locals claim sightings of the Loch Ness Monster increased after Crowley resided here. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )

By Ashley Cowie