The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses (Hardcover)

by Joseph Peterson (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For people interested in folk magic.

The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, arguably one of the most popular magick books ever published, contains two secret apocrypha ascribed to Moses, perhaps pseudepigraphically. The book consists of a collection of texts,which claim to explain the magick Moses used to win the biblical magick contest with the Egyptian priest-magicians, part the Red Sea, and perform other miraculous feats. It includes instruction in the form of invocations, magick words, and seals for calling upon the angels to affect worldly ends, from the sublime (calling down a plague of locusts and frogs upon your enemy) to the mundane (getting more money).

Many manuscripts and printed pamphlet versions circulated in Germany in the 1800s, and an English translation by Johann Scheible first appeared in New York in 1880 that had not been corrected or re-edited until now. In creating this restored, corrected edition, Joseph Peterson drew on Scheible's final edition of the text and his original sources. It will be of great interest to those who have suffered through prior editions and anyone looking for a traditional source of Western magick.

* Used in various modern traditions of American folk magick, from Pennsylvania Dutch hexmeisters and contemporary eclectic magicians, to voodoo practioners and African American root workers.
* Updated or fresh translations from original German, Latin, and Hebrew sources and restoration of censored or left out passages in earlier editions and 35 pages of text never before translated.
* Describes the biblical magick ascribed to Moses and its application.
* Extensively illustrated with over 100 magical seals, signs, and sigils.

About the Author
Joseph Peterson studied religion and various languages at the University of Minnesota and has translated many esoteric and religious source works. He has amassed a large collection of photocopies and microfilms of rare occult tracts for comparative research from the British Museum and other libraries. Peterson lives in Kasson, MN.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ibis Press; New Exp edition (April 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089254130X
• ISBN-13: 978-0892541300
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #147,977 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait!, June 14, 2008

By	Zadzaczadlin "[e-mail]" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

The volume presented here under the title of `The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses', is in fact a collection of texts of German "folk" magic dating from the mid- eighteenth century. They were collected together under this title by Johann Scheible in the mid- nineteenth century; and it is the 8th edition of his German work, published in 1865, as well as an English version of Scheible's text published in the U.S. at the end of the 19th century, which form the basis for Peterson's English edition.
In this volume, Joseph H. Peterson presents the English speaking public with a scholarly and conscientiously produced edition, as we have come to expect from this dependable author. He has not only compared the two editions mentioned above, but has endeavoured to correct both by referring to older Hebrew and European authorities.
The backbone of the book is a group of 7 texts, which all claim to be presenting arcana from the lost books of Moses, usually in the form of incantations and amulets in Hebrew. Peterson supplements these 7 texts with 9 appendices of related texts, again mostly taken from Scheible. He also reproduces an introduction on `The Magic of the Israelites' by Joseph Ennemoser (1844), plus several useful indices.
The volume has been produced by the Ibis Press of Lake Worth, FL; the same people who did such a commendable job on Dehn's Abramelin. This book is up to that same high standard. The numerous magical diagrams and illustrations are well laid out and nicely produced, one section even being printed in red and black.
In the interests of writing a more balanced review, I tried hard to discover some negative points to make about the present edition, but failed to find any.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book, March 31, 2008

By	The Watchman "Reader" (Northeast, USA) - See all my reviews

This book is, hands down, the best on this subject I have ever seen. There have been other, incomplete and inferior versions of the Sixth and Seventh Books, with their unreadable seals and poorly done research, but when I saw that this book was from Joseph Peterson, I was certain that it would be the product of complete and scholarly research.


When I finally got the book, I was not disappointed. It was everything I expected and more.

I highly recommend this book for anyone studying the origins of certain folk magic practices as well as those who are interested in the subject of magic itself. Peterson has done us all a great service publishing this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best edition ever!, October 20, 2008

By	Steven L. Printy "T.W." (Nebraska) - See all my reviews

This is, by far, the most superior version of the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses I have seen!
This edition has very clear sigils and letters drawn, along with outstanding insights to this system of magick!
Other publishers and editions I have seen are terrible, as many of the sigils and letters are so unreadable that it is impossible to attempt to put this form of magick into actual practice!
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in grimoires!