The Book of Treasure Spirits - by David Rankine (Paperback)

About the Book

Published here for the first time from a long-ignored mid-17th century MS, this conjuration was performed at the request of King Edward IV to reveal treasure, to have it brought from the sea, and to cause thieves to bring back stolen goods.

Book Synopsis

Conjurations of Goetic spirits, old gods, demons and fairies are all part of a rich heritage of the magical search for treasure trove. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance the British Monarchy gave out licenses to people seeking treasure in an effort to control such practices, and this is one reason why so many grimoires are full of conjurations and charms to help the magician find treasure.

Published here for the first time, from a long-ignored mid-seventeenth century manuscript in the British Library (Sloane MS 3824), the conjuration is said to have been performed at the request of King Edward IV, with other rites to reveal treasure, to have treasure brought from the sea, and to cause thieves to bring back stolen goods. Conjurations to call any type of spirit are also included, recorded by the noted alchemist and collector Elias Ashmole, as is an extract on conjuration practices from the Heptameron, transcribed into English for practical use by a working group of magicians, before its first English publication by Robert Turner in 1655.

These conjurations demonstrate the influence of earlier classic grimoires and sources, with components drawn from the Goetia, the Heptameron, and Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft. The material includes spirit contracts for Agares, Padiel and Vassago, as well as techniques like lead plates for binding, and summoning into a glass of water, which hark back to the defixiones of Hellenistic Greece and the demonic magic of the Biblical world. This material forms part of a corpus of conjurations all written in the same hand and style of evocation, linking Goetic spirits and treasure spirits with the archangels and planetary intelligences (in Sloane MS 3825), and demon kings and Enochian hierarchies (in Sloane MS 3821), making it a unique bridge of style and content between what are often falsely seen as diverse threads of Renaissance magic.

Review Quotes

"Ever dream of stumbling upon a box of old silver & gold coins? Possibly a pirate's treasure? Yeah me too! I originally got involved in the Occult so I could find treasure & increase my wealth. Author David Rankine has done a fine job of giving us what amounts to a Treasure Hunter's grimoire in "the Book of Treasure Spirits"." Brother Moloch 969, Amazon Reviewer

"Saying that I will add that if you approach this book simply as a book to be read in a linear fashion you will still find a subtle positive affect in terms of money. To really work magick you should see this book as a powerful Grimoire and work with the Grimoire through the different chapters as it leads you to work with the magick-I actually began with later chapters and was led back and forth until I arrived at my own organic approach." Gustav Mavroudis, Amazon Reviewer

"Treasure Spirits is an essential work for anyone interested in the history of English magic or the folklore of hidden riches." Dan Harms, Papers falling from an attic window