Grimorium Verum [Paperback]

Joseph H. Peterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2007

Grimorium Verum is one of the most notorious handbooks of black magic -- one of the few that deals openly with spirits of darkness. People have long sought the aid of non-physical beings; the biblical king Solomon in particular had a reputation since ancient times for commanding demons. There are many texts purporting to reveal Solomon's methods, but most are extremely complicated and difficult. Grimorium Verum is one of the easier texts, but also one of the most sinister. It includes a catalog of specific demons and how to draw on their powers. This new critical edition includes a fresh translation based on all the major sources, complete French and Italian texts, and 5 other appendices.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph Peterson has translated many religious and esoteric texts, including John Dee’s Five Books of Mystery, The Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton), and The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. He has contributed articles to Scriptures of the World's Religions (1998) and Document-Based Questions (World History/Ancient Civilizations, 2006). Peterson is an active member of the American Academy of Religion and the American Folklore Society. He has an extensive collection of rare esoteric documents, which he shares at his award-winning websites esotericarchives.com and avesta.org. He lives near Rochester Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (October 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434811166
• ISBN-13: 978-1434811165
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph Peterson has been studying esoteric texts for decades, intrigued by the Renaissance intellectual and experimental approach to spirituality. After years of collecting and digitizing rare texts for his own research, in 1995 he created the avesta.org and esotericarchives.com websites to share them with a wider audience. They have enjoyed an amazing popularity, with over 3 million document requests per month. He has translated many religious and esoteric texts, and loves trying to unravel their often complex relationships and influences. Peterson has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, where he also studied various languages and religions. He lives near Rochester Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another feather in Peterson's cap, January 22, 2008

By 

M. Stone "Frater Iustitia Omnibus" (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grimorium Verum (Paperback)

Many collectors of occult lore may think they want to pass on this title, especially if they have a copy of A.E. Waite's "Ceremonial Magic". While I will not attempt to counter the argument of redundancy, I would say that for anyone looking for a definitive account of this work, it is Peterson and not Waite that delivers the goods.

Anyone who has read Peterson's working of the Lesser Key of Solomon will feel at home in his treatment of the Grimorium Verum. There is a herculean front-matter outlining the French and Italian sources for the current edition, as well as a lineage of the work as it relates to other pieces belonging to the "Solomon Cycle". Among other things covered, the preface is broken down into the following logical categories:

* Disclaimer: Please don't really use a human skull to perform these rituals, etc.

* Outline of the method: Tools of the trade, preparatory considerations, etc.

* Demonology: An outline of the "demonic theology" subscribed to in the work.

* Notes specific to this edition

* Explanation of the figures: Why the author resisted the temptation to re-execute the drawings and clean up the figures.

* Relation of textual sources: Contrasts between the French and Italian works. Peterson does a great job of laying out his theory of how the present work came to be, pointing out French elements still extant in Italian versions.

* A general curse: Peterson is probably best known for his hard work on his CD compilation of old magical texts. Here he pits the host of hell against IP trolls and those that have stolen his work for their own web-sites. Nicely played Mr. Peterson.

What follows is a compiled translation from the various editions listed in the front-matter. The page-by-page footnotes are rarely less than a sixth of the page as every editorial choice is justified, and alternate readings are given for the benefit of the reader. The author also mentions previous published editions, pointing out where missing seals have now been replaced, miss-identified seals set in their proper places, and of course the obligatory listing of alternate spellings of spirit names from the various sources.

One thing that makes this version indispensible to the collector is the insight into the culture of the time period in which the book was written. Here is a footnote to illustrate: "The word "proven" (Lat. probatum) occurs frequently in collections of cures, recipes, and charms to note that the editor has actually tested and verified its effectiveness three times."

This edition is the most complete you will find including the "Rare and Surprising Secrets of magic" and "Conjurations for the Other Days of the Week" from the Italian editions, "The Great Kabbalah of the Green Butterfly" as well as "Other Secrets" in their entirety. I am particularly charmed by the various methods used to win a lottery, and dice games, so complete versions of these sections was very welcomed in my library.

I will not tire you with a complete roll call of appendices, however there are roughly 150 pages of them, including an index of demonic names, alternate drawings and figures, as well as complete French and Italian versions of the work for your comparison. Barring scholars uncovering a new manuscript, this will stand as the definitive version of the Grimorium Verum.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive Scholarship, August 16, 2009

By 

J. W. Kennedy "in statu uiae et meriti" (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grimorium Verum (Paperback)

I'm a sucker for anything that is well-researched, and this book is an example of some of the finest, extremely heavy occult scholarship. Every page has abundant footnotes, and with every page I became more impressed at the effort involved in assembling this book.

"Grimorium Verum" is a small, incomplete grimoire with most of its elements taken from (or based on) the Keys of Solomon. Several printed editions from the 1800s exist in French and Italian, as well as bits and pieces of it in older manuscript form. None of these editions are complete, and their content varies in greater or lesser degrees. Many of the names are inconsistent, and all of the 1800s editions are missing crucial illustrations which are mentioned in the text. Mr. Peterson has critically assembled all these sources in an effort to produce a "complete" English translation of the Grimorium Verum, with missing figures imported from other books. His scholarly conscientiousness extends to including the entire French and Italian texts as well .. which impresses me for its thoroughness, but also doubles the size of the book. If you don't read French or Italian, these sections are just a waste of paper. The actual English content of this book is only about 150 pages, including the introduction, bibliography, "Index of Angels and Demons" and subject index.

The Grimorium itself is not as scary as the cover illustration and promotional ad copy would have you believe. Sure, it mentions the use of human skulls, human fat, and blood in some of the rituals. It also instructs the sorceror to summon demons ... but all of this is done in the name of "the Most High" and the whole thing has an overtly Judeo-Christian veneer to it. Mr. Peterson himself states in the introduction "These should in no way be regarded in any other way than horror fiction." This is sound advice. The ritual instructions presented are not complete enough to hazard an actual attempt at trying any of them. I don't think working this magic would be a good idea at all.

Instead, regard this book as merely an entertaining curiosity, or a resource for writers trying to set a certain mood (I was pleased to see HP Lovecraft mentioned once in the footnotes!) Definitely worth having for people who are fascinated by matters occult. If you're not a fan though, don't bother.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, exactly what I was looking for and much more, November 17, 2010

By 

Eric - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Grimorium Verum (Paperback)

This book goes well above and beyond what I expected to get. Not only is the text perfect and the figures clear, large and easy-to-read, but the book also includes the original French and Italian versions of the Grimorium. Even more, but it also includes very helpful footnotes explaining absolutely anything that could cause confusion, and contrasting multiple versions of the Grimorium for continuity. I highly recommend this version to anyone looking for the best edition of the Grimorium Verum. The only thing that could make this book better is if it were hardcover; I have a feeling that this book will get more wear from me than paperbacks are meant to bear.