WHAT DOES ONE DO WITH A GRIMOIRE ENCYCLOPEDIA?
David Rankine’s long awaited Grimoire Encyclopedia is now in my hands. I hope it’s in your hands. If not, do what you need to do to get it in your hands.
Obviously this a groundbreaking achievement in research and in publishing. David, and all at Hadean Press, deserve every bit of praise they will receive and a good bit more. The book is beautiful, comprehensive, and it is finally out there.
But what does one actually DO with it?
There have been other Occult Encyclopedias in the past. Other books with lists and sources. I have a bunch, and maybe you do too. You can’t really sit down and “read” it like a regular book. So what does one do with it?
Some of them really are only good for sitting on a shelf, but not this one….
A PITHY PRIMER ON PRACTICAL CONJURATION
Put the whole “Encyclopedia” thing aside for a moment. After a brief introduction Rankine treats us to one of the pithiest, yet comprehensive, commentaries on conjuration I have ever seen. Not just glossing over it, but giving solid instruction.
It’s really just about the most perfect short introduction to Grimoire conjuration that I have ever read.
This is not just David Rankine the translator and scholar speaking here. This is Rankine the Conjuror, a voice that he frankly doesn’t speak in often enough. This is a man who knows the source material, and how the books say it will go, but also a man who has worked this material and can speak to how it actually goes in real life.
This perspective is invaluable and the fact that it’s so short is one of the best things about it. No fluff, just what you need to know so you can get to work.
GAIN A SENSE OF THE GRIMOIRE TRADITION AS A WHOLE
A synopsis of 100 books, in Chronological order listing their influences, spirits, and why they are notable. This is absolute GOLD for anyone that approaches conjuration as an art that extends over multiple texts, rather than following one text blindly.
This book list is followed by a list of EVERY SPIRIT mentioned in EVERY GRIMOIRE, in alphabetical order. If you want a full understanding of…. lets say the demon Arnen, Duke of the North, his listing here will tell you will want to consult the Steganographia, Theugia Goetia, and Book of Treasure Spirits. If you want to fully understand what tradition says about a more famous demon like Astaroth or Azmodeus you need to consult a list that I don’t feel like writing out here. I don’t need to though, because David already did!
You will also get a grasp of how hierarches and offices change from source to source. Is it a matter of context? Did the offices change over time? Is it more fluid than the books indicate? This book won’t answer that question for you, but it’s the best place I can think of to start to answer that, and other questions that come up in our practice.
FORMULATE A SPELL WITH PROPER MATERIA
Grimoires are about more than just spirit conjuration. A wide assortment of Materia Magica appears for use in folk magic and evocation.
Volume 2 of the Encyclopedia is jammed with comprehensive charts of Crystals and their uses. Incense ingredients and recipes, metals, plants, inks, and various tools of the trade.
We often think that a Magician decides upon a ritual, then goes out and acquires the materia necessary to perform it, but sometimes it’s the other way around. The materia can lead the magic. Maybe you found a nice piece of Lapiz Lazuli that called your name at the occult store or rock shop. You brought it home…. This book has fourteen different entries for how Lapis has been used in Grimoires. Even if you don’t choose one of those experiments to replicate on your own, you will have a solid understanding for how Lapis was seen and used by magicians of their time.
Even a Sorcerer that is more interested in spell work than spirits will find this incredibly useful and applicable to anything they might want to accomplish.
FRAMING
If someone is interested in conjuring spirits, their first stop should probably be a short text that will let them jump in right away. Getting that first experience with a spirit can light a fire inside you in a way that just reading can never do.
The moment that fire is lit, they should be given a copy of this book so that they know the breadth and scope of the tradition that they are working within and a solid foundation to move forward from. Whether it is with a particular grimoire that strikes their fancy, a mix of techniques from several sources, of even their own invocations.
There are many ways that this tradition has moved forward in recent years, and spirits are still speaking and giving new information and instruction, just as they did when the classic grimoires were written. With this encyclopedia as a tool, modern practitioners can temper wild speculation with solid foundation, and make sure that research and revelation rhyme.