The Book of Gold :

A 17th Century Magical Grimoire of Amulets, Charms, Prayers,

Sigils and Spells using the Biblical Psalms of King David
by David Rankine & Paul Harry Barron, Avalonia, 294pp, £19.99
The psalms have long be used as the basis for practical magic. Lines from them a
ppear in famous grimoires such as the Key of Solomon. This is a previously unsee
n collection of material whose use is for practical magick and popular wisdom. T
hus there are many useful spells for a wide range of human activities, including
protection on a journey, recovery of stolen property, protection in childbirth
and relief from "evil sleep".
The authors says this is a partial translation, and that they "have not included
the other Psalms found in the books of Samuel and Jonah or the additional Apocr
yphal Psalms fouund in the Dead Sea scrolls." I wasn't sure from that comment wh
ether they mean the Lansdowne mss contains this additional material, if so it se
ems a shame they didnt go the whole nine yards and put it all in? Even so what t
hey achieve is fascinating, especially to those interested in European magical h
istory. Each psalm is accompanied by an informative commentary which illuminates
the historical and textual history as well as aiding the modern practitioner to
use them.
I learnt that the spells do not reproduce the entire psalm (which might be tedio
us) but just the opening line, the so called "incipit" which acts as a paradigm
of the entire Psalm - a line of power very like the seed mantra of Tantrism. As
the authors point out, similar techniques are found in texts of the Egyptian mag
ical religion, where the title of a spell, the first line or even word can stand
for the whole rite. An important addition to the magician magical library [Mogg
]