Customer Reviews

Grimorium Verum

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

As we have gotten used to from Peterson his grimoire translations are of first class and the Grimorium Verum is no exception. It is presented in both English and in the original languages French and Italian so you can check the translation if you want to. It also contains variations of the text and pictures so you can chose your own way to go after your own theory. Also the notes made by Peterson are usefull and valid.

This is by far the best translation of this text so far and I definatly recomend it to all grimoire lovers.

For those who are interested in the subject of "quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore" Joseph Peterson's republication of the Grimoirium Verum is a welcome release of a work that has seldom seen the light of day since it first circulated among dabblers in the occult centuries ago. Peterson's copious notes and reference citations are an aid to understanding the background of the material presented; though one always wishes that books of this sort were available in a more exact fascimile edition, bound as an attractive hardcover, for collectors of such works.

I liked it.
The author did his research, and included all versions of this text into one book.
Much better than paying a lot more for the various individual books or copies if you can find them.
Two Thumbs or Horns Up!!

The book is a must-have for collectors of grimoires. For anyone else, please walk away.

Peterson has done a fine job editing and translating a much maligned, highly touted, and absurdly delightful book. The entire work is composed of sinister folk-magic, very dark, and quite impractical. If you can imagine, think of it as being three parts Scott Cunningham to one part Anton LaVey.

Three out of five stars are given as an average of the 5-star rating I would give to Peterson's job of editing, annotating, and compiling the work and a 1-star rating for the material itself.

one great thing about this translation is that the author includes french and italian texts in addition to his english translation. really cool. if you are thinking about getting this book, then i recommend you also buy jake stratton-kent's version as well from scarlet imprint, entitled "the encyclopaedia goetica, volume one: the true grimoire". thanks jhp for publishing this valuable book =)

Indeed, Joseph does know what he's talking about. Reading between the lines is the real deal.
Highly recommended!
Not like those Kirikirikos and other wannaknows.
Keep up the good Work Joseph.
Thank you!
Also recommended: his 6th & 7th, cleaned up version of the Books of Moses. Especialy, for the real adepts: his added appendices.

Overall I think I'm pretty satisfied with this purchase. Its probably one of the best translations or copies of this Grimoire available. The only thing that stopped me from giving it five stars was probably not really the author's fault. The Grimoire Verum itself is hundreds of years old. Finding legitimate and "decent" condition copies in order to start translating and compiling together this book was probably extremely tough. So some of the incantations, rituals, or summonings, you're never completely sure you're performing them exactly the way the original text is instructing you to do. You don't want to get the symbols or what not mixed up one night and things don't "turn out" the way you had in mind. :P
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