Bookshelf: Magnus Liber Sigillorum (Rabbi Yosef Michael Cohen)

With this first rant I will begin a series of reviews of books related to our study. Most books here would be works that the authors have sent so far, be they as gifts or submitted for a review, while others will be works I consider relevant to these studies. 

I`ve corresponded quite a bit with Rabbi Yosef Michael Cohen and he even sent me translations of manuscripts in his collection that can be consulted on my blog. His expertise is very reliable, his knowledge of mystical and magical processes in Jewish literature, likewise.  I knew he was preparing a book and I can count myself among the lucky few who had access to it (at least in part) before it`s publication. 

The title is the direct translation of the manuscript (Sefer Hotamoth Rabbah - The Great Book of Seals) and it features a wonderful caleidoscope of magical alphabets and amulets, compiled from a series of authors, such as pseudepigraphical Solomon, Colphotorios and Syourianos and rabbis Joseph Della Reina, Abraham Ibn Ezra, Moses Botril, Hayyim Vital, Joshua Al-Bun, Judah of Worms and many others. 

The treatise contains about 35 magical alphabets (very similar to the Celestial and Malachim scripts the Western world became so fond of), many seals of angels, amulets and charms described for the first time in English from diverse Hebrew sources and a few lengthy entries on the nature of demons and exorcising them. 

Minus points: unfortunately, although each author is cited in each article, we do not have a rigorous bibliography and a critical apparatus. The manner of the work is akin to popular collections of prayers, amulets and spells, common from late Graeco-Egyptian antiquity to the very cusp of the 19th century. Also, the book has no page numbers, which might make quoting a bit difficult.

Plus points: fortunately, although no page numbers exist, each entry has been numbered and is referred to in the text by this number. Also, the 272 entries are followed by a thematic index, arranged alphabetically, which makes the research quite fluid. 

The book is not a work of rigorous academic use, but it proves to be a wealth of information from classical sources, many of which cannot be found elsewhere. The alphabets are extremely hard to find in one single source as well as the seals, of which I will reproduce a sample below:

You can purchase the book from Amazon or The Book Depository. 

I will try my best to review every book that I receive. Authors that send their work will be automatically added to my patron list. 

All profits from this page`s Patreon account  will go into new books needed for research and they will have a review as well.