Folk Magic, Superstition, and Charms: Now Available!

 

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This book is a miscellaneous compilation of many types of occult lore, revolving mostly around folk magic, simple charms, and superstition, including sections on talismans and summoning demons. It includes, as always, an expansive preface tying the material together, and a reading list with two and a half pages of additional works not referenced in the quotations of the volume itself, but for additional study.

It contains material from the Book of Forbidden Knowledge, Black Pullet, Petit Albert, Greater Key of Solomon, Clavicula Salomonis, Secrets of Black Arts!, Oriental Interpretation of Dreams, and dozens of others.

251 pages.

Magic and Fetishism: Now Available!

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This is a very dense little work which is almost entirely comprised of notes and segments on African and Asian tribal groups and their use of physical objects in a ritual context, often as little charms or "fetishes" as they were termed then. Importantly, the modern (and sexual) use of this term does not here apply.

Some of the stories are outright humorous; most of them are fairly academic- it is nice to note that this work managed to exclude some of the supremacism often found in contemporary works and seeks to simply list the usages involved; these range from good luck charms, to totemic sorts of rites, to those involving war, success, and protection from disease.

69 pages.

The Power of Gems and Charms: Now Available!

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This is one of the better works I have edited; academic in form, technically, but able to be used in a literal fashion for those practicing the occult, it is a laundry list of folklore and history regarding the use of charms for various purposes- luck, protection, love, etc. From simplistic "mascottes" to the bones of saints and legendary objects, it catalogs an enormous amount of material and includes more than a few charts for the use of, for example, precious stones and colors. Well written and very much worth reading.

105 pages.

The Book of Forbidden Knowledge: Now Available!

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The Book of Forbidden Knowledge should in no way be judged based on its era and type of manufacture. A simple paperback released at the dawn of the 20th century, it's really more of a modern grimoire influenced by the Oracle/Napoleonic tradition than it is a hand guide of trickery typical of that late Victorian age.

Covering charms, talismans, fortune telling, prognostication, physiognomy, mesmerism, seances, and more, it's similar to Hohman's Pow Wows in the 1800s or the Petit Albert of the 1700s. That is to say, a compilation of many types of lore from multiple backgrounds; indeed the similarity it shares with these two works leads me to believe that it borrows some of its content from each. It's an extremely good work; far better than I expected when I first saw the cover and presumed it to be silly.

106 pages.

A Comparison Of Five Overlapping Occult Books

What follows is a comparison of five different occult works from two overlapping traditions; the Oraculum and the Fortune Telling hand guide. What might have otherwise been two disparate traditions overlaps so significantly that each time I encountered one of the texts I was surprised to a fairly large degree.

What culminates is a fusion and evolution of two literary traditions; the late 1700s fortune teller and the early 1800s oracle book. I intend to release an edition of Mrs. Bridget's Fortune Teller, although I am hesitant to bother releasing the second version of the Oraculum when Tousey's version is so much more interesting; the former version, from the early 1900s, is heavily stripped down.

It is worth noting a second layer of interesting comparison: Fortey released a work in 1860 alongside his version of the Universal Fortune Teller on dream interpretation containing a similar catalog of interpretations to the 1790 work of Mrs. Bridget, while there is also a work from 1823 which stylistically is almost identical to the Philosophical Merlin and also contains an expose on the meaning of moles on the body.

Here, thus, are the comparisons based upon content:

Napoleon's Oraculum Version 2: Fisher and Brothers (1908?) NOFB

Napoleon's Oraculum: Tousey (1884) NOF

Universal Fortune Teller: Fortey (1860) UFTT

Universal Fortune Teller: Mrs. Bridget (1790) UFTB

Philosophical Merlin: (1822) PM

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An Oraculum

NOFB: Yes, expansive question oracle
NOF:  Yes, shortened question oracle
UFTT: No
UFTB: No
PM:   Yes, a nativity casting oracle

Prognostication for Children

NOFB: Yes, simple
NOF:  Yes, simple
UFTT: Yes, simple
UFTB: Yes, expansive
PM:   No

Charms And Rites Section

NOFB: No
NOF:  Yes
UFTT: Yes
UFTB: No
PPM:  No

Dream Interpretation

NOFB: No
NOF:  Yes, very expansive
UFTT: No
UFTB: Yes, moderately expansive
PM:   No

Tricks with cards

NOFB: No
NOF:  Yes, several tricks
UFTT: Yes, one fortune-telling trick
UFTB: Yes, one fortune-telling trick
PM:   No

Tricks with Dominoes

NOFB: No
NOF:  Yes
UFTT: No
UFTB: No
PM:   No

Tricks with Dice

NOFB: No
NOF:  Yes
UFTT: No
UFTB: No
PM:   No

Choosing a Husband by the Hair

NOFB: No
NOF:  No
UFTT: Yes
UFTB: Yes
PM:   No

Astrology

NOFB: No
NOF:  Yes, simple horoscopes
UFTT: Yes, simple horoscopes
UFTB: Yes, complex horoscopes and astronomy
PM:   Technically yes

Palmistry

NOFB: No
NOF:  No
UFTT: Yes, complex
UFTB: Yes, simple with illustration
PM:   No

Tea Leaf Reading

NOFB: No
NOF:  No
UFTT: Yes
UFTB: No
PM:   No

Moles and their Importance

NOFB: No
NOF:  Yes, moles and their meanings
UFTT: No
UFTB: Yes, moles and their meanings
PM:   Yes, their likely presence as determined via Oraculum

Largely Fictional Backstory Regarding Origin

NOFB: Yes, of Napoleon
NOF:  No
UFTT: No
UFTB: Yes, of the Norwood Gypsy
PM:   Yes, of Napoleon

Unlucky Days List

NOFB: No
NOF:  No, but contains a list of days not to cast the oracle
UFTT: Yes
UFTB: Yes
PM:   No

Origin

NOFB: United States
NOF:  United States
UFTT: England
UFTB: England
PM:   England

Napoleon's Oraculum - Now Available!

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At long last one of the best writings ever made on the topic of fortune telling and divination is available. Having reviewed other variants of the work available for sale, they are all substantially more expensive and most are primitive facsimiles. My works are never facsimile copies and are always fully edited by hand. I'd by lying if I said I didn't feel proud of this slower, more thorough effort.

The Oraculum stands at 76 pages; some variants are longer because they're mostly filler or else contain the longer but less varied Oraculum of the 1890s- the latter version does not contain most of the vaguely folk-tradition spells and rites of this version. The 1884 Tousey version is also notable for its expansive section on dream interpretation; I happen to agree with most of his inclusions here over those made by new age groups and posted on the internet- his version of interpretation, whatever its source, is more authentic.

It's a fine work, made finer by being completely overhauled for a modern audience.