The Sworn Book of Honorius: Liber Iuratus Honorii Kindle Edition

Joseph H Peterson always produces high quality versions of classic grimoires so I was very pleased to be able to get hold of this, which I did with the aid of a gift voucher I manifested from the universe (there's magic for you! ;-) ). Anyway, so here is my analysis of "The Sworn Book of Honorius" which I will hereinafter abbreviate as TSBOH:TSBOH dates from the 14th century (i.e. 1300s). Now at that time in Europe there were only two types of men - and unfortunately they were men, not women - who could get an education and hence be able to read a grimoire: Religious (monks and priests); and the sons of Royalty and Nobility. Correspondingly, if you survey the various grimoires dating from the pre-Renaissance era, you will find that they fall into one of two types, which I term Sacerdotal and Royal - reflecting the assumptions that the grimoire-writer makes about his intended audience.TSBOH is a -Sacerdotal- grimoire - it not only assumes that the operator has the willing assistance of a Christian priest, but that he will also lead a life identical to that of a cloistered monk and be familiar with the daily office as a man in monastic orders would be. (Another example of a Sacerdotal grimoire would be the Heptameron of Peter Abano - but TSBOH is *far* more intense in the preparation it prescribes, and far more ambitious in what it sets out to achieve). Examples of what I would term "Royal" grimoires would include the Keys of Solomon both Lesser and Greater, which do not seem to require such a dependence on priests, but do promise to confer magical powers especially useful to princes and noblemen.Like other pre-renaissance grimoires such as the Heptameron and Greater Key of Solomon, TSBOH assumes that the spirits manifest to visible appearance in the air before the circle, without the aid of a particular skrying medium.The actual structure of TSBOH is as follows: first, the Operator should consecrate the "Seal of God" (actually the prototype of the Sigillum Dei Aemeth) and complete a forty-day operation to attain the Beatific Vision. In this sense it is akin to a shortened version of Abramelin, except that the required prayers are more sophisticated. This being achieved, the Operator can then progress on to an elaborate series of conjurations of Planetary and Elemental Spirits of both an Angelic and Demonic nature - for achieving more conventional "low-magic" goals.Regarding Peterson's edition itself, this contains both the Latin and English editions (newly translated) as well as the relevant diagrams, and a scholarly introduction which makes the point that many of the barbarous words of evocation which crop up in later well-known grimoires come from Byzantine sources, which I personally find fascinating. Peterson's text does a good job of making clear that TSBOH directly inspired several Solomonic grimoires such as the Greater Key and multiple parts of the Lesser Key (Goetia, Ars Notoria) as well.IMHO, there are two main difficulties to turning TSBOH into a working grimoire for the modern grimoire magician. Firstly, the number and complexity of the various prayers and invocations, and their need to be compiled and collated before use (but - thanks to Peterson's edition - at least this can now be done!). Secondly and more unfortunately is the need for a monastic lifestyle, and more specifically a Christian monastic lifestyle - the operations in TSBOH are closely connected with the theology of the Christian religion to separate them.

This is an amazing root level resource for many grimoires we are more familiar with, and yet, it's totally unlike anything in the Solomon cycle of works.At its heart is a magic based on Christian piety. The work centers around an lengthy operation to initiation, similar to Abraham's Book of Sacred Magic. But in comparison of those two works, this is the completely opposite approach. Abraham advises you to write your own prayers, Honorius gives it to you word for word. While Abraham sets you in a process of self-reflection, Honorius assaults the ego with endless prayers, orations, and barbarous names. Ritual and cosmology are stressed in the Honorius System with a complexity that Abraham would have had little patience for. Honorius is much more focused on planetary magic, and working with elementals.For the Enochian magician, this is a great chance to look at a document that was formative to Dee's system, including the information and variations on the Great Seal of God. Angel magicians looking to expand their lists will find angel names here that are not found elsewhere. Magic historians will be delighted with the synthetic fusion of Merkava mysticism with Catholic ritual, and Byzantine Christianity in general. This early fusion of ideas planted fertile seeds in the Western magic current that can be seen reflected in hundreds of manuscripts in libraries throughout Europe. Ritualists will find the magic whistle completely unique to modern grimoire work, as well as the use of concave circles or "pits" to evoke evil spirits, and an interesting take on planetary calling directions with basically a seven pointed compass.The reason much of this material was lost to the mainstream magic circles of the time, is that to obtain the book you first had to give an oath that your copy would be destroyed upon your death. It's a wonder this work wasn't lost to us entirely.As usual Joseph Peterson does a great job footnoting and explaining the context of phrases and customs unfamiliar to the modern reader. His insight into the mediaeval mind is a valuable resource and he is generous in sharing it. Having said that, there is less footnoting here, than you may have come to expect if you have other works by Peterson. The Latin of the work appears on the left and the translation on the right.The original author was very erudite and familiar, or at least exposed to a variety of mystical and spiritual traditions. Peterson's treatment of the text is scholarly, but the author of the original work was equally so. While the endless prayers, orations, masses, and the like are likely to weary the modern reader, beyond that is a brilliant synthesis of spirito-magical art.

Again just put in a box! But the books were in great condition I don't know how and one of them had glue like from a sticker or something on the cover

This is an excellent translation of a most mysterious work. Historically aloof, the author navigates through these mysteries in a clean and descriptive manner. Peterson's work is a testament of scholarly prowess!

The history of this book is somewhat cloaked in mystery. It opens with a saga of persecution as it's lineage and goes on to admonish the reader, via sworn oath, to take these secrets to their grave. Thus follows the outlay of a system of conjuration structured similarly to, but not developed from, other traditions including the Solomonic grimoires. I'm almost convinced it was all a hoax, much like I'm almost convinced the Voynich Manuscript is a hoax. Almost. It's just similar enough to point to and say it must be real, and then everything else is completely alien. It's an interesting piece of history and an enigmatic piece of the great puzzle. I'm just not convinced it's a sincere piece of work. Four stars for the effort and excellent presentation by Joseph Peterson. The minus-one star is only because I do not find this "square peg" to be as useful as the rest of the Joseph Peterson collection.

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I love this 📖 it was well put together and very informative. If you mix this book with the dictionary of angels,book of moses and keys of Solomon. You understand the dynamic of what they are saying you should master magic.. its truly your minds eyes 👀 that sees the right and wrong in all this stuff.. besides that side note.. ADD THIS TO YOUR COLLECTION OF PRACTICE.

Another fantastic work from Joseph Peterson. A nice hardcover, detailed introduction, quality reproductions of all the drawings, and the original Latin is given parallel to the English translation. I can't praise Peterson's work enough. Worth every penny.

A brilliant and necessary book which is extremely important to those who follow the grimoire tradition. A side by side translation which is useful for scholars but a good translation and commentary by Pederson.

For anyone interest in magic, the occult ect ect then this is a must read. 5 stars

Very nice. The new standard edition!

Peterson does it again. An excellent book, and one that was much needed for scholars and practitioners of Medieval magic.