Three Books of Occult Philosophy (Llewellyn's Sourcebook) [Paperback]

Henry Cornelius Agrippa (Author), James Freake (Author), Donald Tyson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Llewellyn's Sourcebook | Publication Date: January 8, 1992

Now you can learn from the original, most important source for magic in the Western world that has ever been published, when you get Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy.

This massive volume was originally published in 1531, and occultists have been drawing on it ever since. Now, Llewellyn is proud to produce the first complete reprint of the original English translation in the last 500 years. Donald Tyson edited this work and removed the hundreds of errors that appeared in the original translation. He also fully annotated the work, to make it understandable—and usable—by people today.

·Discover what the Renaissance scholar knew about astrology, medicine, history, herbs, geography, animals, angels, devils, Witches, charms, the weather, and a host of other subjects
·Gain immediate reference to a vast amount of arcane, but completely annotated, magical material
·Find corrected drawings of seals, sigils, and magic squares, and correctly represented geomantic figures
·Explore the practical Kabbalah, geomancy, the magic squares, the elements, the humors, and the Soul of the World
·Consult the new Biographical dictionary for background on each of the hundreds of writers and historical figures referred to by Agrippa
·Consult the new Geographical Dictionary for data on referenced rivers, mountains, nations, cities—many of which now carry different names.

The Three Books of Occult Philosophy is the most complete repository of pagan and Neoplatonic magic ever compiled. This book is packed with material you will not find elsewhere, including copious extracts on magic from obscure or lost works by Pythagoras, Ptolemy, Plato, Aristotle, and many others. Tyson's detailed annotations clarify difficult references and provide origins of quotations, even expanding upon them in many cases, in order to make Agrippa's work more accessible to the modern reader.

The Three Books of Occult Philosophy is the ultimate "how-to" for magical workings. It describes how to work all manner of divinations and natural and ceremonial magic in such clear and useful detail that it is still the guide for modern techniques. The extensive new supplementary material makes this wisdom practical for use today.

The Three Books of Occult Philosophy is an essential reference tool for all students of the occult. Get your copy today.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin

From the Publisher

The Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Agrippa is the single most important text in the history of Western occultism. Even today, occultists use the techniques first described here, although rarely giving credit to it.

Barrett's The Magus is a direct plagiarism of a part of this book. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's systems of the Kabbalah, geomancy, elements, and seals and squares of the planets are all taken, in a large measure, from Agrippa—but for 500 years, Three Books of Occult Philosophy was almost impossible to find.

Donald Tyson took on the Herculean task of digging out the original, correcting the errors, and fully annotating the entire work. As a result, not only is this new edition easily available to scholars, but it is now fully understandable by people today. The ancient magics, in their original form, live again.

Besides the annotations, there are also extensive appendices on such topics as the elements, the magical squares, the humors, and more. Biographical and geographical dictionaries and the general index make accessing and understanding information in this book easier than ever.

This is the ultimate version of the book that is the ultimate book on magic. If you are interested in any form of magic or occultism, you must get Three Books of Occult Philosophy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (January 8, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875428320
• ISBN-13: 978-0875428321
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Mythology & Folklore
  • #83 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Reference

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential work on Western occult tradition, May 28, 1999

By 

Christopher Warnock (Iowa City, IA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Three Books of Occult Philosophy (Llewellyn's Sourcebook) (Paperback)

Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy must rank as one of, if not the most important work ever written on the Western Occult tradition. Written in relative youth, it nevertheless has an immensely broad range of topics covering malefic and benefic magic while still remaining in the Christian tradition. Agrippa's work certainly provides numerous practical instructions, but always ties together a wide range of classical and traditional sources in a broad theoretical framework. As a traditional astrologer I found Agrippa's exposition of astrological magic to be among the best available in English, on a par with the Kaske and Clarke translation of Marsilio Ficino's Three Books on Life. This is not surprising as Agrippa draws directly from Picatrix, De Imaginibus of Thabit Ibn Qurra, Hermes on the 15 Fixed Stars and other key astrological magic texts. Donald Tyson, the editor of this modern edition of the original 17th century English translation of Three Books of Occult Philosophy, has done a good job of providing references and citations, though he occasionally makes technical mistakes. A perusal of the Brill Latin critical edition of Three Books of Occult Philosophy can be useful in this respect. In common with other traditional sources Agrippa does not lay out a recipe style method of magic (step 1, a, b, c, step 2, etc.) Instead as he states in the final chapter of book III, he deliberately scatters information throughout the three books. This points the way to the best method to learn from and absorb what Agrippa has written: deep and repeated study, practice and meditation. If I could have only one book on the Western occult tradition (perish the thought!) this would be it. Anyone with a serious interest in studying or practicing in this area should have this book.

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on Occultism, December 16, 2004

By 

Daniel S. Wilson "musical spiritualist" (Huntsville, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three Books of Occult Philosophy (Llewellyn's Sourcebook) (Paperback)

I just purchase Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosphy and I must say so far it has been one of, if not the best, book I've read on occultism, magic, or western occulticism/religion/metaphysics. Here are a few of the things that really impressed me:

For starters, Agrippa seems very modern in that, whether he was aware of it or not, he brings up two points that I've only heard from more contemporary occultists. First, much of his book, to me, seems to tie in with Joseph Cambell's The Power of Myth(which discusses world myths and comparative religion). Agrippa, often when discussing a single concept, simultaneously pulls from hebrew and the Qabalah, christianity and the Bible, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology, and Greek philosophers such as Plato and Pythagoras. It seems that in his mind, all these beliefs and philosophies hold truths in them and he takes them all into consideration, like a scientist would take in all the facts he recieves from the natural world. I'm certain that if Agrippa was fimilair with far east philosophy, such as Taoism and the concept of Yin and Yang, he would have incorporated that too, since it easily ties into a lot of the concepts he already elobarates on through the ideas of multiple religious and spiritual schools of thought. And secondly, the idea that what a magician is really doing is using words, symbols, etc. to focus and strengthen the mind and will, and that it is really the human mind and will that creates all the magic, is also suggested by Agrippa. I've read this theory from Aliester Crowley and another modern occultist (Brennan, I think). Agrippa states that words, numbers, and symbols have power because of the way they interact with our souls and that it is our souls that are actually effecting the world, not the words, symbols, etc. themselves. Further more, while the book has no apparent actual magic rituals, spells, etc., it provides the philosophy and concept behind the magic, which I feel is ultimatly more important. The book is thoroughly annotated, to the point were the footnotes are often longer than the chapters, so that everything is understandable to a modern reader, and provides a great springboard for further and more indepth study into all of Agrippa's sources and influences, and into some of the most important spiritual and philosophical writings in western history. And, just to make me love it more, Agrippa is probably the first occult writer who doesn't write with that annoying pompous, or arrogant attitude, nor talks down or oversimplifies things as if he thinks his readers are to stupid to understand. So many occult writers come off this way, either oversimplifying or overdoing it to the point of sounding arogant or full of themselves. Agrippa talks like an educated scientist, talking to someone of equal intellegence on a subject that is serious, but accessable to all. in his words, occultism and magic don't seem to be some mysterious, shadowy, and dark subject, but rather a divine science and wisdom that can and should be used to elevate all mankind.

So far I've been extremely inspired, pleased, and excited with this book. I strongly suggest this book to anyone and everyone interested in not only occultism, but also religion, spirituality, metaphysics, and even history.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than worth the price..., October 23, 1998

By 

Radu Ysya "the itch that keeps you up at night" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Books of Occult Philosophy (Llewellyn's Sourcebook) (Paperback)

I'm normally very skeptical about anything produced by Llewellyn, but not only is this an honest reproduction of Agrippa's brilliant works (I've seen the first English translation for myself--1560, I think), but Donald Tyson's scholarship is almost comparable to Agrippa's own. The notes are extensive & do a marvelous job of fleshing out the myriad brief & passing references in the text. Quotes from Agrippa's most likely sources provide timely insights into his own mind, and Tyson in addition offers a notes on sources foreign to or later than Agrippa for comparative study. Tyson's editing does not disturb the text at all, but rather makes it that much more clear. His diagrams & seals are well produced, & his corrections (which include skilled reanalysis of the Hebrew) & major additions are saved for the back of each chapter and of the whole volume. These appendices, and the bibliographical notes as well, are intelligent, clearheaded & very useful. Agrippa's genius is well known, but Tyson's fine scholarship for this volume deserves acknowledgment as well. I recommend this book especially strongly to serious students of magic who are tired of the flood of New Age-y magical manuals & gothic garbage tossed out like so much glitter by these shallow modern writers who use "magic" as a substitute for intelligence, or as a solution to their ego problems.