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Books by Stephen Skinner

Ars Notoria: The Grimoire of Rapid Learning by Magic, with the Golden Flowers of Apollonius of Tyana (Vol. I - Version A). Edited and Introduced by Stephen Skinner & Daniel Clark, Golden Hoard Press., 2019

The Ars Notoria, or ‘Notory Art,’ is a Mediaeval grimoire designed to assist monks (or anyone) to... more The Ars Notoria, or ‘Notory Art,’ is a Mediaeval grimoire designed to assist monks (or anyone) to learn whole subjects in as short a time as a month, through the intervention of angels. It also has procedures for vastly improving memory and understanding, such that a single reading of a complex text will enable the aspirant to absorb and understood it. The procedure consisted of short prayers followed by orations or invocations made up of lists of the secret names of angels (some say demons) who will assist the aspirant in these feats of memory. These are read or chanted whilst the aspirant looks at a “nota,” a complex design which encapsulates the essence of the desired subject. These nota are unlike the sigils of any other grimoire, and were drawn with exquisite attention to detail.
The oldest manuscript of the Ars Notoria dates from 1225, and is printed in this book in full. Despite the passage of almost 800 years, the Ars Notoria has never been published before with both its text and all its notae complete. This edition has four other full-colour complete sets of notae from the three following centuries. The commentary explains where the Ars Notoria fits into the history of magic (it was not part of the Lemegeton), charts the development of the notae, and the lives of the monks and magicians who were associated with it.
The Ars Notoria has been popularised in academia by the studies of Claire Fanger and others which primarily focus on a derivative abridged texts usually referred to as 'Liber Visionum' written by John of Morigny in the early 15th century. However this volume goes back to the oldest text of the Ars Notoria dating from 1225 and another four texts, all of which contain the 'notae' without which the system does not work. In all five complete sets of notae are reproduced in full.
This paper reproduces a small selection from the Introduction of this volume.

It is my intention to effectively separate out and explain the reasons for the different uses of ... more It is my intention to effectively separate out and explain the reasons for the different uses of the terms amulet, talisman, phylactery, etc. These terms are often confused in modern times, so that even their dictionary definitions tend to simply cross-reference each other without pointing out the differences. It is important to clarify the exact meaning of each term in order to understand their differing functions. The approach is to look at their meaning in the context of their function in the PGM and later grimoires, for example the separation of those items made for clients for everyday wear (amulets) from those items specifically used by the magician in a ritual context for protection (phylacteries), or made to simply effect one specific change (talismans). It is therefore necessary to define more closely the terms Charm, Amulet, Phylactery, Tefillin, Lamen, Talisman, Defixio and Pentacle, as the popular perception (and even sometimes the academic one), is that the above terms are roughly equivalent. They are not.

Geomancy – divination by earth – ranks alongside the tarot, astrology and the I Ching as a major ... more Geomancy – divination by earth – ranks alongside the tarot, astrology and the I Ching as a major form of divination. Since the Renaissance it has largely fallen out of favour for want of generally available information on its practice. This is the first and most comprehensive book in English to cover the full historical background and practice of divinatory geomancy, and will therefore be invaluable to all those interested in divination, magic and astrology. It is the only complete history in any language, covering geomancy's various manifestations in different cultures, as well as being a practical manual showing how to cast and interpret geomantic figures. Drawing on material from Latin, French, German and Arabic manuscript sources, Stephen Skinner explores the roots of geomancy in the Islamic raml divination of northern Africa, which lead to Fa, Ifa and voodoo divinatory practices on the West Coast and sikidy in Madagascar. He examines the impact Islamic geomancy had on medieval Europe, where it rose to prominence and became, after astrology, the prime method of divination. The part it played in Renaissance thinking and in the great astrological revival of the nineteenth century is followed by an examination of its use in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and its declining influence in the twentieth century only to be revived again in the last decade. Western geomancy, by the way, is not, and never has anything to do with, feng shui. The second section of the book is concerned with the practice, manipulation and generation of geomantic figures as standardized in Europe, and gives practical examples as a guide to the interpretation and practice of the art.

A re-set and corrected edition of the 1659 text of "A True & Faithful Relation of What Passed for... more A re-set and corrected edition of the 1659 text of "A True & Faithful Relation of What Passed for many yeers between Dr. John Dee...and some Spirits." More than 5000 corrections and footnotes have been taken from the notes of Elias Ashmole, Meric Casuabon and well as William Shippen, with the whole checked against the original Dee MS Cotton Appendix XLVI, Parts I & II, and Raph Jennyng's MS copy. A long and detailed Introduction by Stephen Skinner, and a Preface by Dr Meric Casaubon. Appendices include a glossary, Dr C H Joston's translation of a missing Action, Dee's itinerary in Europe, Ashmole's catalogue of Dee's Spiritual Diaries, a Dee time-line, and a full listing of Dee's hitherto inexplicable private Liber numbers. A detailed Contents analysis, very comprehensive Bibliography, and 26 full page illustrations are included.

Papers by Stephen Skinner

With the recent release of Joseph Peterson's edition of the Elucidation of Necromancy, which reli... more With the recent release of Joseph Peterson's edition of the Elucidation of Necromancy, which relies upon this manuscript for some of its conclusions, it became necessary to share my misgivings over its age and provenance with a wider audience. The manuscript contains early material relevant to both the Heptameron and its predecessor the Lucidarium, and so should therefore be an important grimoire source. However, a number of paleographic, content and format considerations make it suspect. These considerations are explored in this paper.

With the recent release of Joseph Peterson's edition of the Elucidation of Necromancy, which reli... more With the recent release of Joseph Peterson's edition of the Elucidation of Necromancy, which relies upon this manuscript for some of its conclusions, it became necessary to share my misgivings about its age and provenance with a wider audience. The manuscript contains early material relevant to both the Heptameron and its predecessor the Lucidarium, and so should be an important grimoire source. However, there are a number of issues with its paleography that make it suspect.

Feng shui treats different parts of the built environment differently. For example, the sitting/f... more Feng shui treats different parts of the built environment differently. For example, the sitting/facing position of a building is utilised by San Yuan Flying Star formulae, but the best positioning of its doors is handled by Eight Mansion formulae. The building's relationship to the external environment is a function of San He feng shui and the three Plates of the luopan or Chinese compass. The location of external water in the environment and its relationship, beneficial or otherwise, to the building is measured by the Heaven Plate of the luopan. However the circulation of qi inside the building is dealt with by San Yuan Flying Star formulae. The apparent clash of some of these methods such as the interior assessment of the quality of various rooms in terms of Flying Star formulae as opposed to their analysis by Eight Mansion formulae are often the cause of controversy and doubt. Another example is the apparent, but not real, tension between front door positioning and facing direction. All these issues have a very real impact of the assessment of the feng shui of a building. In fact classical feng shui formulae do not clash, but simply measure different things in the built environment. It is the objective of this paper to demonstrate that different formulae in feng shui cover different domains or zones of the built environment, and so, when rightly understood, do not clash.

This work critically examines every one of the spells and rites translated in Hans Dieter Betz's ... more This work critically examines every one of the spells and rites translated in Hans Dieter Betz's "Greek Magical Papyri in Translation" and Daniel & Maltomini's "Supplementum Magicum" (plus texts drawn from a number of other lamellae, amulets, etc) with a view to identifying the precise magical technique used in each case. This categorisation is done on the basis of the original Greek or Demotic headwords or key words rather than upon the translation or later imprecise descriptions. The result is an identification of 40+ magical techniques such as autoptos, systasis, agoge, niketikon, oneiropompos, etc, rather than a simple but unhelpful identification each passage as a 'spell' or 'charm'. This is fully tabulated with line count for every single rite, presenting the full panorama of Graeco-Egyptian magic in the form, and with the structure, that the original scribes or magicians would have used. This enables ready access to all of the passages relevant to any one technique. It also removes the difficulties presented by varying translations of a specific Greek technical term by a range of different English approximations (such as 'love spell' for more than 7 different processes). Each of these techniques is then expanded upon showing where they influenced later systems of magic or remained unique in the Graeco-Egyptian world.

With the recent release of Joseph Peterson's edition of the Elucidation of Necromancy, which reli... more With the recent release of Joseph Peterson's edition of the Elucidation of Necromancy, which relies upon this manuscript for some of its conclusions, it became necessary to share my misgivings about its age and provenance with a wider audience. The manuscript contains early material relevant to both the Heptameron and its predecessor the Lucidarium, and so should be an important grimoire source. However, there are a number of issues with its paleography that make it suspect.