The Book of the
Sacred Magic of
Abra Melin the
Mage is considered by many to be the definitive guide to the Qabalah. The text is written from the point of view of a student of
Abra Melin. The book is said to come from 14th Century
Hebrew texts and has been translated several times. It is currently availible in paperback from Dover.
The book was considered by
Aleister Crowley to represent the correct method of approaching magical practice. It is different from many texts in that it is adaptable with many different belief systems and allows the practitioner to find their own magical "style".
The book is divided into three parts. The first part (which is considered fictional by some) is an account of the authors travel's and tutelage under Abra Melin. In this section we learn that the text is intended for his son Lamech. The Second Part explains how to initiate oneself into the parctice and how to contact one's "
Guardian Angel", it also covers many basic rituals for contact different supernatural entities both good and evil. The book describes itself as "
white magic" although at times this becomes ambivilent, it describes dealing with darker forces, although alwys with a warning of "this is
evil" or "this is
dangerous". The Third part is a reference of sorts, it contains the names of many
spirits and
angels, as well and many
word squares for use in rituals.
Along with instructing one in how to deal with
supernatural entities the
book also instructs on how to gain wealth, take the form of
animals, and affect the
emotions and
health of others.
I have an old hard-bound copy of this book which found its way into my
possession after a
bad relationship. I node it for posterity and the fact that stuff like this facinates me. I will summarize sections of the book and soft or hard-link them to this node as work progresses. As a side note I don't believe in this stuff, I'm an
atheist, but the beliefs of
yore are always entertaining.