Books published by Golden Hoard Press Ltd

'Sepher Raziel' (also called 'Liber Salomonis') is not the same as the Hebrew 'Sepher Raziel ha-Melakh.' It is a full grimoire in the Solomonic tradition from a 1564 century English manuscript, derived from Latin sources. As such it is one of the earliest English grimoires published. It begins with directions for making the equipment, parchment, pen and ink of Art. It contains seven separate Treatises: 1. 'Liber Clavis' which is concerned with astrology and its correct use in magic. 2. 'Ala' outlines the magical virtues of stones, herbs. beasts, and words. 3. 'Tractatus Thymiamatus' explains why incense is essential to magical operations, and the effect of various incenses on the spirits. 4. 'Treatise of Times' gives details of the correct hours of the day and night for each operation, with associated angels. 5. 'Treatise on Purity' explains the exact preparations, and the reasons for ritual purity. 6. 'Samaim' is a treatise on the seven Heavens, with the names of their angels. 7. The 'Book of Virtues and Miracles' is a treatise on the names of God, and how they are to be used in invocation to produce miraculous results.

The Ars Notoria is a mediaeval grimoire which was widely distributed and very popular in the 13th-16th century, but virtually unknown until recently. Version B (MS Bibliothÿque Nationale Lat. 9336.) is a commentary on the Method which has never been published in English before. The present text is a reorganisation of that commentary into subject order without the loss of any practical detail. All the notae and the full invocations/orations are included, but most of the Latin prayers have been omitted as they do not contribute to the methods effectiveness. The Ars Notoria is still very relevant in the 21st century because it contains detailed techniques to enable the practitioner to absorb whole subjects very rapidly, and to understand very complex subjects on first reading, as well as remembering whatever has been read. Like many magic manuscripts this work was attributed to famous individuals including Solomon (who reputedly received the book directly from God via the angel Pamphilius), which was translated into Greek by the magician Apollonius of Tyana, along with input from Euclid of Thebes, the father of Honorius of Thebes the author of The Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Juratus) and Mani, the prophet. Solomonic grimoires are concerned with the evocation of spirits or demons, but the Ars Notoria stands alone as angel magic concerned only with memory and the ability to understand and absorb whole subjects rapidly, making it a veritable student's grimoire, a key to obtaining knowledge rapidly. Despite its popularity and enduring history the Ars Notoria has never been printed in its complete form. After its early Latin appearance there was only one incomplete English translation by Robert Turner in 1657, and that omitted the most vital component for its operation, the notae, a set of complex pictorial illustrations, without which the system just does not work. It also abbreviated most of the orations/invocations. The present edition contains all the notae matched with all the complete invocations/orations, and instructions for their use.

This is the highpoint of calligraphic Victorian grimoires, full colour throughout. A very significant magical text with lots of detail not normally found in a grimoire

This manuscript is a grimoire, a manual of practical magic, a sorcerers handbook. It is a composite grimoire drawn from a number of different sources. It is not the sort of grimoire which has a complete method of calling up a set register of spirits, like the Goetia, nor does it have a wide range of pentacles or talismans like the Key of Solomon. It is however quite special as it was also was a practising Cunning man's grimoire, a very interesting blend of learned and local village magic. It also contains a lot of critical astrological information (including its own set of astrological tables) which are an important part of magic, but which dont feature to a large extent in other grimoires. It goes way beyond Planetary days and hours, to detailed aspects of timing and also contains magical operations connected with the 28 Mansions of the Moon and image magic, which were usually absent from Solomonic grimoires. The 28 Mansions of the Moon belong to a different magical tradition which owes its origins to Arabic and Indian roots, rather than the Greek roots of Solomonic magic. This manuscript literally stands at the crossroads of several different magical streams.