In the history of magical books false attributions are the rule rather than the exception. Two exemplary cases are the Heptameron, attributed to the physician and philosopher Peter of Abano, and the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy, presented as the continuation of Cornelius Agrippa's famous treatise. The two texts often travelled together, in the same editions, and played an important part in shaping modern ceremonial magic.
The Fourth Book: an unauthorised addition
Agrippa's De occulta philosophia, published in its complete form in 1533, was divided into three books. A few decades after the author's death in 1535, a Fourth Book appeared, presenting itself as the practical part of the work, the part that would show how to put into practice the theory set out in the earlier books.
The text was immediately challenged. Johann Weyer, who had been Agrippa's pupil and knew him well, declared in his work on the illusions of demons that the Fourth Book was not his master's work. This testimony is still regarded as decisive today, and scholars speak of the text as the work of "pseudo-Agrippa".
What it contains
The Fourth Book deals concisely with several subjects:
- how to derive the names of spirits from celestial positions;
- the characters and signs of spirits;
- the forms in which the spirits of the planets were said to appear;
- the construction of pentacles and seals;
- the consecration of instruments and places.
Its tone is more technical and less philosophical than that of the three authentic books. It lacks the great cosmological and Neoplatonic framework that makes the De occulta philosophia a work of thought.
The Heptameron: the seven days
The Heptameron, or Magical Elements, is a short treatise attributed to Peter of Abano, the Paduan physician and astrologer who died in the early fourteenth century. Here too the attribution is generally considered false: Peter of Abano had a reputation as a magician, and his name lent the text prestige and antiquity.
The title, meaning "seven days", refers to the structure of the book, organised according to the days of the week.
The circle
The first part describes the construction of the circle, which must be adapted to numerous variables:
- the hour of the day or night in which one operates;
- the angel who governs that hour;
- the season of the year and the angels who preside over it;
- the names of the sun and moon in that season;
- the current zodiac sign.
The result is a different circle every time, built like a small cosmic calendar.
The operations of the days
The second part presents, day by day, the angel who governs each day of the week, the corresponding planet, the spirits of the air subject to it and the appropriate fumigations. For each day it also indicates the kind of operations for which it is suited. This structure made the Heptameron a model for many later works.
The angels of the days given in the Heptameron have, over time, become almost canonical:
| Day | Planet | Angel |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Sun | Michael |
| Monday | Moon | Gabriel |
| Tuesday | Mars | Samael |
| Wednesday | Mercury | Raphael |
| Thursday | Jupiter | Sachiel |
| Friday | Venus | Anael |
| Saturday | Saturn | Cassiel |
Shared editions
The two texts were printed together in Latin editions of the second half of the sixteenth century, often in volumes collecting other writings on magic. In 1655 Robert Turner published in London an English translation of the Fourth Book that also included the Heptameron, the Arbatel and other minor texts. This collection was widely circulated in the English-speaking world and became one of the main sources of Victorian ceremonial magic.
Why they matter
Although pseudepigraphal, these texts have considerable historical value:
- they document the passage from medieval to modern magic;
- they show how the name of a famous author could become a seal of authenticity;
- they transmitted a system of correspondences between days, hours, angels and planets that we find in many later texts.
The case of the Fourth Book is particularly instructive, because Weyer's testimony lets us see a false attribution exposed almost at once, yet destined to survive for centuries.
In short
- The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy appeared after Agrippa's death as the supposed practical part of his work.
- Johann Weyer, Agrippa's pupil, denied its authenticity.
- The Heptameron is attributed without foundation to Peter of Abano and is organised by the seven days.
- It describes the construction of a circle that varies with hours, seasons and angels.
- Robert Turner translated both texts into English in 1655, contributing to their modern fortune.
