Picatrix Volume Two Book Release

William J. Kiesel will be on hand to give a brief talk and sign books. Bill Horist will be performing music as part of the festivities.
If you are in the area come check it out.

7:30 pm, Saturday October 18
Rodriguez Guerra Art Studio
80 South Washington Street
Seattle, Washington 98104

During a recent inventory at the bindery we discovered that the printer supplied us with an overrun of printed sheets, enough for a total of 50 more books. These are the last remaining copies of the book and these will be issued in two Out-of-Series versions as follows:

10 Vellum copies with gilt titles and ouroboros device with leather spine title and marbled endsheets as well as the silk ribbon bookmark. $200.00 each

40 Leather copies in black leather with gilt titles and ouroboros device with marbled endsheets as well as the silk ribbon bookmark. $175.00 each

Since these extra copies are Out-of-Series they will not be numbered, instead they will be marked with the empty-set figure to set them apart from the original 500 copies. Once these copies are sold the entire edition of Volume One will be Sold Out. Volume One will not be reprinted.

Shipping is $6.00 in the US and $11.00 abroad.

Western Esotericism Conference in Amsterdam

March 25, University of Amsterdam

Doelenzaal, University Library
Singel 425

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Conference Program


9.30-10.00 Conference opening and introduction
(Joyce Pijnenburg and Egil Asprem)

10.00-10.30 Erica Pierik (University of Amsterdam)
“Iconography of the Splendor Solis”

Abstract:
Splendor Solis was published in 1582 and contains 22 beautiful large illustrations. The illustrations tell the reader about the process of The Great Work, or the making of the philosopher’s stone. Referring to the allegorical process in the paintings as a whole, they also contain a lot of symbolism in the details of these paintings. Partly the symbolism is alchemical in itself, without any precedents in art history, partly it is influenced by medieval manuscript illuminations. This presentation will deal with an iconographic explanation of the illustrations of Splendor Solis, with an introduction on alchemy, alchemical imagery and medieval illuminations.

10.30-11.00 Hereward Tilton (independent scholar)
“Creating the Philosophers' Stone: On the Modern and Postmodern Interpretation of Alchemical Symbolism.”

Abstract:
A discussion of the relation of laboratory alchemy to 'spiritual alchemy', and the place of both within the historiographies and theoretical frameworks proposed by historians of science and historians of Western esotericism.

11.00-11.30 Cecile Wilson (University of Exeter)
“Rembrandt's Faust: A Reflection of Occult Philosophy?”

Abstract:
Rembrandt's etching, commonly titled 'Faust in His Study, Watching a Magic Disk', is a departure from his usual subject matter. How did he come to compose such a scene? This paper will look at suggested inspirations for the etching and propose some other avenues of investigation that may lead to a new interpretation of the cryptic message on the disk.

11.30-12.00 Dominique de Roo (Leiden University)
“The Magical Manuscript: Manuscript versus Print in Early Modern English Grimoires”

Abstract:
The genre of the Early Modern grimoires remained in manuscript form for a long time after the printing press was invented in 1450, even though other types of magical texts, such as texts by Pico and Agrippa, were printed. This paper will apply a cultural-historic perspective to discuss the genre of the Early Modern English grimoires as magical manuscripts and to examine why this particular genre remained in the tradition of the manuscript in a period when almost all other genres were printed.


12.00-13.00 break


13.00-14.00 keynote lecture:

William Kiesel (independent scholar)
“The Circle of Arte: The Magic Circle in the Western Esoteric grimoire Tradition.”

Abstract:
Magic Circles have been depicted in popular expressions of magic and witchcraft as well as detailed with full rubrics in traditional manuals of magic such as the Clavicula Solomonis or Liber Juratus. Using narrative, visual and textural material available to us in European grimoires and manuscripts, this paper will discuss the various forms and functions of this important piece of apparatus employed by magicians in the Western Esoteric Tradition including their role in providing authority and protection to the operator as well as their use in divination and treasure finding.

14.00-14.30 Egil Asprem (University of Amsterdam)
“Ritual Emblems and the Nature of Spirits: The Case of Dr. Rudd’s Demonized Angels”

Abstract:
The ambiguity of mediators has been a recurring theme in Western magical traditions. In this paper, a case will be made that emblematic material embedded in ritual settings can be used to discern the nature attributed to spirits by magicians. Focusing largely on such pictorial evidence, attention will be given to a 17th century magician’s reception of John Dee’s angel diaries, and the revisions made by that author concerning the nature of Dee’s angelic mediators.

14.30-15.00 Jason Rose (University of Amsterdam)
“Benjamin Franklin and the Potency of Magic Squares”

Abstract:
The famous American politician and entrepreneur Benjamin Franklin curiously mentioned a childhood interest in magic squares. In a discussion with a friend upon the subject, Franklin boasted that he could not only design magic squares that are superior to those of Michael Stifel, but that his 16x16 square is the "most magically magical magic square ever made by a magician". While this claim may seem trivial at first, a closer inspection of Franklin's squares and the methods used to generate them display a keen mathematical knowledge and begs the question: why did Franklin believe one square was more magical than another? What is the criteria Franklin based this assessment on? I will examine the common and special properties of Franklin's squares and those of several other prominent square designers (Agrippa, Stifel, etc.) in an effort to gauge the "magical potentcy" of each method, in an effort to determine what makes one square better than another, and whether Franklin's is, in fact, the most magical.


15.00-15.30 break


15.30-16.00 Eduard ten Houten (University of Amsterdam, Harvard University)
“How the Magnetic Mountain Reoriented the World Absolutely”

Abstract:
Guillaume Postel (1510-1581), that exemplary early Modern esoteric
multitalent, once posited that the Orient, Satan's dwelling place on
Earth, and Paradise on Earth could all be found not in the East, where
the Orient was traditionally located, but near or at the North Pole.
How did he come to these unusual ideas? Did he glean them from ancient
Indian manuscripts that had miraculously fallen into his hands during
his travels in the Orient? Or was it thanks to the world of business
and international trade?

16.00-16.30 John Crow (University of Amsterdam)
“Miracle or Magic? The Problematic Status of Christian Amulets”

Abstract:
Throughout the centuries since the life of Jesus, the Christian Church has simultaneously condemned and promoted the use of amulets, and in particular textual amulets. The reason this occurs is less because of the nature of the amulets themselves but how the Church categorized them and how the amulets were produced. Moving towards modernity the use of amulets continued but their creation migrated from the clerical classes to the middle and working classes. This paper examines the categories and uses of textual amulets and the continual negotiation that took place over the last two millennia. It ends by briefly probing how the academic study of amulets (i.e. magic) and their use in society encounters the same categorical difficulties.

16.30-17.00 Kristiaan Knoester (University of Amsterdam)
“Leo Strauss and the Art of (Esoteric) Writing”

Abstract:
The primary goal of this presentation is to offer a glimpse as to the political relevance of ‘esoteric’ writing for Western thought as depicted by Leo Strauss. It aims to explain his conception of the ‘art of writing,’ and the ‘esoteric-exoteric’ tradition, in the context of political philosophy, which Strauss viewed in terms of a propadeutic teaching that must take seriously the consequences of fulfilling in practice what it learns and teaches in speech.


17.00-17.30 break


17.30-18.00 Kennet Granholm (University of Amsterdam)
“Western Esotericism and Popular Culture: The Emblematic and Esoteric Dimensions of the Slayer's Scythe in Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

Abstract:
In recent years, ideas drawn from Western esotericism have become increasingly popular in popular culture. In my paper I will examine the popular TV-series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003) and look at how esoteric ideas are utilized. I will in specific focus on the last episodes of the seventh and last season of the series where a magical artifact - the Slayer's Scythe - is introduced. In addition to being a powerful weapon, the Slayer's Scythe is also detailed as an emblem embodying the essence of the Slayer and creating a lineage by linking all past, (the) present, and future Slayers.

In what way do esoteric discourses surface in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, specifically in relation to the Slayer's Scythe, and in what ways do these discourses represent the adaption of esoteric elements to contemporary, popularized ideologies?

18.00-18.30 Guido Woudenberg (University of Exeter)
“Myth-making in the New Age: Jane Roberts’ coming of Seth revisited”

Abstract:
In 1970 Jane Roberts published The Seth Material and thereby introduced the channelled entity Seth to the world. It is widely acknowledged that the ideas expressed by both Seth and Roberts were an enormous influence on the New Age Movement. Nonetheless, little research into Jane Roberts’ early life is done. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap.

I will review Roberts’ story of the coming of Seth as described in The Seth Material. Two aspects of this story are delved into: Roberts’ claim that she had no prior experience with “psychic phenomena” and the chronology of the 1963 events.

18.30-19.00 concluding discussion


* * *



Location and how to get there



The conference will be held at the Doelenzaal in the Singel building of the University Library: Singel 425 in Amsterdam.

From Amsterdam Central Station it is five minutes by tram (nr. 1, 2 or 5: get off at stop Koningsplein), or about twenty minutes on foot.

For a map, see: cf.bc.uva.nl/locaties/do...uva_bieb.htm
The Singel building is nr. 1 on the map.

Dear Friends,

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes is the shortest and the most famous of all the Alchemical texts throughout the history of the Royal Art. Its influence on the practitioners of alchemy is evident in their writings, art and laboratory processes as well. Ouroboros Press has employed the black art of letterpress by commissioning Heavenly Monkey to print this classic text on handmade paper utilising an antique printing press.

The paper, which was made specifically for this broadside, was wrought by the hands of Vancouver B.C. papermaker Reg Lissel. Our pressman, Rollin Milroy selected; Centaur, a significant and beautiful typeface designed by the American typedesigner Bruce Rogers. Printed in Red and Black, each letter handset, the broadside is also crowned by an Alchemical Emblem depicting aspects of the Magnum Opus. With ample 3 inch borders and quality workmanship this broadside is ready to frame and will be an asset to any library or laboratory.

Letterpress printed Emerald Tablet: $40.00 + postage [$8.00 in the US / $12.00 overseas].

Produced in the very limited quantity of 100 copies only [many were pre-sold]. We still have ten [10] available, contact us if you would like to order one. ouroboros@bookarts.org

You can view the broadside here:

bibliomancer.blogspot.com/2007/...t.html