Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

ABRAMELIN THE MAGE (1362-1460)

Abramelin the Mage , a Jew from Wurxburg, Germany. Abraham, or Abramelin, also known as Abraham the Jew or Abra-Melin composed a body of magical works which left their mark on Alexander Sanders and Aleister Crowley. Little is known of him except what can be gleaned from the introduction to the Book of Sacred Magic, as delivered by Abraham the Jew unto his son Lamech (1458).

In his introduction, he tells how he learned the secrets of the Kabbalah from his father Simon before travelling to Egypt and thence to Constantinople, where he came across the secret books of Kabbalah.

Abramelin was an expert of the Kabbalah and proclaimed that he was taught magical knowledge by angels. They told him how to conjure and tame demons to become his personal servants and workers. He also was taught how to raise storms. His form of Magick is frequently referred to as Abra-Melin Magick.

He proclaimed that demons who created everything in the world worked under the direction of angels, and that each individual had a demon andangel as familiars. He stated the basis for his Magick could be found in the Kabbalah.

Abramelin generated much lore which surrounded him. It credits him as creating 2,000 spirit cavalrymen to help Frederick, the elector of Saxony. Supposedly he helped the earl of Warwick in his escape from jail. Also he helped save the antipope John XXIII (1410-1415) from the Council of Constance.

The magic of Abramelin was supposedly contained in The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, which was actually a collection of three books. The French manuscript supposedly written in the 18th century is supposed to be a translation of Abramelin's original Hebrew work, dated 1478. This manuscript, at the Biblotheque de I' Arsenal, Paris, was again translated by S. L. MacGregor Mathers, an influential member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Aleister Crowley is said to have copied from the book to compose his rituals for mastering demons.

Abra-Melin Magick resembles that found in The Key of Solomon Grimoire. The basis of the Magick lies in the power of numbers and sacred names and the construction of numerous Magical Squares for the purposes of invisibility, flying, commanding spirits, Necromancy, metamorphosis, and other magical feats. All rituals for the magical practices must be adhered to exactly and in strict accordance to astrological observances.

Mathers' translation was published about 1899. It was reissued by Causeway Books, New York, 1974, and Dover Publications, New York, 1975.

In occultism there persists a tradition that those who follow Abramelin will sooner or later come to a sticky end.

see also: GRIMOIRE; KABBALAH

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one defintion may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differring practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc