Book Description
This book is a milestone in Western magical practice. Often erroneously called a forgery, it is in fact six separate books in one, the first two being by Agrippa (1486-1535). One of them, Of Magical Ceremonies, is Agrippa's clearest step-by-step formulation of how to perform an evocation, much more openly expressed than in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy. In addition there is the key grimoire, Of the Magick of the Ancients by Arbatel, which clearly defines the different types of magic, focusing on the invocation of angels and of the Olympic spirits. The Heptameron by Peter de Abano is a complete, self-contained set of instructions for conjuration of spirits according to the day of the week. Also included is Villinganus' work on the nature of spirits, illusions, prophecies, and miracles, and how they may be used. Two complete geomancies (one by Agrippa) complete the volume, which has been reset in modern type and edited with a commentary by Stephen Skinner. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Cognizant and Comprehensive!
Eye-opening and fiercely compulsive reading if you are a student of the occult.Heavy on the astrological geomancy but overall it expanded my current parameters of what I thought I already knew about occult philosophy.

A Valuable but Incomplete Edition
This volume is a facsimile of Robert Turner's English translation (1654); the original volume first appeared (in Latin) in Marburg around 1554.The original volume included a large number of short texts of varying interest, but Turner (for unclear reasons) decided only to translate a few of them.This edition includes 6 short texts: Of Geomancy (H.C. Agrippa); Of Occult Philosophy the Fourth Book (pseudo-Agrippa); Heptameron or Magical Elements (pseudo-Peter de Abano); Isagoge: An Introductory Discourse on the Nature of ... Spirits... (Georg Pictorius Villinganus); Of Astronomical Geomancy (Gerard of Cremona); and the anonymous Arbatel of Magic.Only the Geomancy is actually by Agrippa, and it doesn't fit well with the other texts.The Fourth Book is, as another reviewer noted, certainly spurious; it purports to be Agrippa's "secret key" to the Occult Philosophy, of which he spoke in a letter to a friend.The Heptameron and the Arbatel are grimoires of some interest for those interested in black magic, as indeed is the Fourth Book itself; the Isagoge is a rather dull dialogue about spirits; and the Astronomical Geomancy is more or less impenetrable but perhaps interesting in a peculiar way.There have been a number of reprints of this volume, some now surprisingly valuable despite their modernity; all, however, have trimmed out one or more of the already few texts.As such, this is probably the best edition available.It is, like all Kessinger products, a cheaply-bound xerox facsimile of the original 17th-century text, but it's readable and includes everything.If you collect grimoires or magical texts, this is a very famous one, and you ought to have it; copies of the various Latin printings turn up with some regularity, and those with access to Latin would do better with those, although they are of course quite expensive.If you're looking for works by Agrippa, the Geomancy is all you'll find here, but it's interesting in a number of respects.If you want to know about Agrippa's ceremonial magic, however, you need to read book 3 of the Occult Philosophy, available in a nice Llewellyn edition.

A Spurious16th Century Treatise on Magic
The Fourth Book of Occult Philosphy purports to be the work of Henry Agrippa, the 16th century author of "Three Books of Occult Philosophy".But the 4th Book was obviously not written by Agrippa and bears no resemblance to his style of writing.Although it can be traced back to the 16th century as it is mentioned by Agrippa's student, Johann Weyer in his "De Praestigiis Daemonum", the work remains of uncertain provencance.

In part a partial summary of some of Agrippa's writings, this facsimile of the English translation by the 17th century Cambridge scholar Robert Turner, comprises spurious essays on Geomancy and Magick under the name of Agrippa, The Heptameron of Peter of Abano, and books on Astrology and Demonolgy, concluding with the Arbatel, a largely Judeo-Christian outlook on the dangers of magic.

It is a very quick and easy read, despite the portions dealing with Geomancy and Astrology that even those serious about such subjects would find largely frustrating and incomprehensible.

The work largely remains of pure historical interest with not much of serious substance to an undertanding of Magic and Occult Philiosphy.

An excelent treatise on Magic and Occult Philosophy
This edition of this Classic Work is faithfull to the original. The printing is on the old style, like if it was printed in fototype.The geomancy chapter, the first one is quite complex, and the way it is written can be difficult to the no experimented reader, this because of the compactoriginal way the book is presented. The Heptameron of Pietro de Abano is anexcelent work on sommoning subject. Any way to perfectly understand thisbook it is advisable to acquire the other "Three Books of OccultPhilosophy", available here on Amazon.comThe version reedited by D.Tyson can be more usefull than the original one. This is a must book forthe Student of the Occult Sciences. ... Read more

Book Description
This work contains Schrîdter's meticulous and authoritative notes on the three classic works of Agrippa. The subjects of these definitive texts include: alchemy, telepathy, pranic nourishment, music therapy, fire magic, gem magic, dreamwork, out-of-body experiences, angels, near-death experiences, and soul travel. Index. Notes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Is it really a help?
When I ordered the book, I was expecting that it would delineate, amplify and develop the content of the "philosophy" of Agrippa. Well, I didn't get this impression, since the book is the sum of isolated commentsof agifted scholar in occultism.
It does not mean that the Commentaries have little value, but it is not the type of document which leads to a better understanding of the Agrippa philosophy. The bibliography is also outdated.
On the other hand, if you are interested in the occultism in general and its history, it is interesting to get it.

Getting a grip on Agrippa
For modern students of magic the Renaissance has an irresistible appeal.Yet, when confronted with the mass of material that such masters of the Art as Agrippa present, they are often overwhelmed. It is not just five hundredyears that seperate us from them, but an entire attitude, a way of lookingat the world.Schrodter helps us to bridge that gap and makes the visibleand invisible worlds of the Renaissance Magi accessible to modernpractitioners of the arcane arts.While not a book for beginners, it is anexcellant adjunct to anyone attempting to read Cornelius Agrippa's"Three Books of Occult Philosophy" or even the works of Dee,Ficino, Trithemius, or Albertus Magnus.

An excellent, specialized survey of Agrippa's works.
Willy Schrodter's Commentaries On The Occult Philosophy Of Agrippa provides an excellent specialized survey of Agrippa's works and philosophy and is recommended reading for any examining Agrippa's classics.Recommended reading for any studying Agrippa's philosophy or early occultliterature. ... Read more

Book Description
This study, based on a fresh reading of the entirecorrespondence, thesurviving orations, declamations and otherrelevant treatises, contains aninnovative interpretation of thephilosophical and theological thought ofHenry Cornelius Agrippa ofNettesheim (1486-1535).The first chapters contain a close study ofhis controversy with thescholastic theologians, which Agrippa carriedon throughout his life,particularly with the theologians of LouvainUniversity. Detailed analyses ofAgrippa's declamations are includedin the second part of the book.The chapter on the humanistdeclamation offers a new approach to theinterpretation of rhetoricaltexts in the heyday of learned humanism inNorthern Europe; in thiscontext, special attention is paid to Agrippa'sindebtedness toErasmus. Throughout the book, Agrippa emerges as an important intermediary between scholasticism and humanism, and a strong opponentof theprofessional theologians of his time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent scholarly treatment of the non-magical works
The first, most important thing to realize about Van der Poel's book is that he is not interested in the magical parts of Agrippa's work.If you're looking for that, you simply will not find it here -- try my more recent book (shameless plug).This is not to say that Van der Poel downplays the magic, or distorts Agrippa; rather, he focuses on the large but essentially unknown corpus of Agrippan works which deal with theological, legal, and traditionally philosophical topics.Another caveat: this book will be tricky, though not impossible, for those who have no Latin.

Van der Poel is a Neo-Latin philologist, and this training allows him access to this very difficult corpus.He builds up a complex, sophisticated picture of Agrippa as an intellectual very much of his time.By thus situating Agrippa within his intellectual context, Van der Poel is able to provide coherent, effective readings of _De vanitate_ [On the vanity and uncertainty of the arts and sciences] and _De praecellentia_ [On the pre-eminence of the female sex], two rather refractory works.

In addition to his precise analyses of Agrippa's Latin, Van der Poel also carefully goes through the entirety of his large correspondence, resolving or at least clarifying a great many long-standing difficulties in Agrippa's bio-bibliography.

Perhaps most essentially, however, Van der Poel succeeds in placing Agrippa's work in the context of early sixteenth-century humanism, both at a rhetorical and a philosophical level.Those interested in these subjects will find a wealth of material here, scrupulously annotated and painstakingly analyzed.In some respects I suppose some would see this book as plodding, but it is an excellent example of a classic mode of scholarship, much maligned by people who'd rather sound clever than do the kind of hard work Van der Poel does here.

If you are serious about understanding Agrippa as an intellectual of the early sixteenth century, you need to read through this book, along with Nauert's earlier study (_Agrippa and the Crisis of Renaissance Thought_, 1965).If your interest is in Agrippa as part of the skeptical and humanist movements, this book is absolutely essential.If you want the magic, look elsewhere. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Renaissance Quarterly, published by Renaissance Society of America on March 22, 1998. The length of the article is 3433 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex.
Author: Constance Jordan
Publication: Renaissance Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1998
Publisher: Renaissance Society of America
Volume: v51Issue: n1Page: p184(9)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Renaissance Quarterly, published by Renaissance Society of America on September 22, 1998. The length of the article is 578 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex.
Author: Erika Rummel
Publication: Renaissance Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1998
Publisher: Renaissance Society of America
Volume: v51Issue: n3Page: p998(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
1921. Contents: Agrippa of legend; youthful magian; occult philosophy; astrology and the mystery of numbers; storm and stress; Agrippa's character; in the depths; vanity of arts and sciences; mysticism and the reformation; Agrippa as alchemist; last days; what magic owes to Agrippa. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

informative but...
I was really kind of disappointed with this book. I was just expecting... more. The information is ok, but it's not definitive in most senses. I mean, it's like the author THINKS what he's saying is true, but really not sure? Or more like when you hear someone telling a folk tale and it sounds real but you really know it's not. This is an OK book but not one I'd take too seriously. ... Read more