Part II

images of fpirits to appear in the air, or elfewhere : for if coriander, fmallage, henbane, and hemlock be made to fume, by invocations fpirits will foon come together, being attracted by the vapours which are moft congruous to their own natures ; hence they are called the herbs of the fpirits. Alfo it is faid, that if a fume be made of the root of the reedy herb fagapen, with the juice of hemlock and henbane, and the herb tapfus barbatus, red fanders, and black poppy, it will likewife make flrange {napes appear ; but if a fuffume be made of fmallage, it chafes them away, and deflroys their vifions. Again, if a perfume be made of calamint, piony, mint, and palma chrifti, it drives away all evil fpirits and vain imaginations. Likewife, by certain fumes, animals are gathered together, and put to flight. Pliny mentions concerning the ftone liparis, that, with the fume thereof, all beads are attracted together. The bones in the upper part of the throat of a hart, being burnt, bring ferpents together ; but the horn of the hart, being burnt, chafes away the fame ; like- wife, a fume of peacock’s feathers does the fame. Alfo, the lungs of an afs, being burnt, puts all poifonous things to flight ; and the fume of the burnt hoof of a horfe drives away mice ; the fame does the hoof of a mule ; and with the hoof of the left-foot flies are driven away. And if a houfe, or any place, be fmoaked with the gall of a cultle-fjh , made into a confection with red ftorax, rofes, and lignum aloes, and then there be fome fea-water or blood caft into that place, the whole houfe will feem to be full of water or blood.
Now fuch kind of vapours as thefe, we muft conceive, do infeCt a body, and infufe a virtue into it which continues long, even as the poifonous vapour of the peftilence, being kept for two years in the walls of a houfe, infeCts the inha- bitants -, and as the contagion of pelt or leprofy lying hid in a garment, will, long after, infedl him that wears it.
Now there are certain fuffumigations ufed to almoft all our inftruments. of magic (of which hereafter), fuch as images, rings, &c. For fome of the magicians fay, that if any one {hall hide gold,, or fllver, or any other fuch like precious thing (the moon being in conjunction with the fun), and {hall perfume the place with coriander , fajfron , henbane , fmallage, and black poppy, of each the fame quantity and bruifed together, and tempered with
the
Chap. IX. TALISMANIC MAGIC. 91
the juice of hemlock, that thing- which is fo hid fhall never be taken away therefrom, but that fpirits fhall continually keep it ; and if any one fhall en- deavour to take it away by force, they fliall be hurt, or ftruck with a frenzy. And Hermes fays, there is nothing like the fume of fpermaceti for the rafting up of fpirits ; therefore, if a fume be made of that, lig-num aloes, pepper- wort, mulk, faffron, and red ftorax, tempered together with the blood of a lapwing or bat, it will quickly gather airy fpirits to the place where it is ufed ; and if it be ufed about the graves of the dead, it will attrafil fpirits and ghofls thither.
Now the ufe of fuffumigations is this : that whenever we fet about making any talifinan, image, or the like, under the rule or dominion of any liar or planet, we lhould by no means omit the making of a fuffumigation appro- priate to that planet or conltellation under which we defire to work any effe6l or wonderful operation ; as for inltance : — when we direct any work to the fun, we mutt fuffume with folary things ; if to the moon, with lunary things ; and fo of the reft. And we muft be careful to obferve, that as there is a con- trariety, or antipathy, in the natures of the ftars and planets and their fpirits, fo there is alfo in fuffumigations : — for there is an antipathy between lignum aloes and fulphur frankincenfe and quickftlver j and fpirits that are raifed by the fume of lignum aloes, are laid by the burning of fulphur. For the learn- ed Proclus gives an example of a fpirit that appeared in the form of a lion, furious and raging : by fetting a white cock before the apparition it foon vanifhed away ; becaufe there is fo great a contrariety between a cock and a lion and let this fuffice for a general obfervation in thefe kind of things. We fliall proceed with fhewing diftin6lly the compofttion of the feveral fumes appropriated to the feven planets.
M 2
CHAP.
1
92
OP TIIE COMPOSITION
THE SUN. O
WE make a fuffumigation for the fun in this manner :
Take of faffron, ambergris, mufk, lignum aloes, lignum balfam, the fruit of the laurel, cloves, myrrh, and frankincenfe, of each a like quantity ; all of which being bruifed, and mixed together, fo as to make a fweet odour, mull be in- corporated with the brain of an eagle, or the blood of a white cock, after the manner of pills, or troches.
THE MOON. 3
For the moon, we make a fuffume of the head of a frog dried, the eyes of a bull, the feed of white poppies, frankincenfe, and camphire, which muft be in- corporated with mendruous blood, or the blood of a goofe.
SATURN. h
For faturn, take the feed of black poppies, henbane, mandrake root, load- done, and myrrh, and mix them up with the brain of a cat and the blood of a bat. ,
JUPITER. U
Take the feed of afh, lignum aloes, dorax, the gum Benjamin, the lapis lazuli, the tops of peacocks’ feathers, and incorporate with the blood of a dork, or fwallow, or the brain of a hart.
. mars. S
Take uphorbium, bdellium, gum armoniac, the roots of both hellebores, the loaddone, and a little fulphur, and incorporate them altogether with the brain of a hart, the blood of a man, and the blood of a black cat»
TALISMANIC MAGIC.