Bookshelf: The High Magic of Talismans & Amulets (Lecouteux)

Lecouteux, Claude: The High Magic of Talismans & Amulets. Inner Traditions, Rochester,Vermont, 2014, Transl: Jon A. Graham

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According to the dust jacket, Claude Lecouteux is a former professor of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne. He is the author of numerous books on medieval and pagan beliefs and magic, including The Book of Grimoires, The Tradition of Household Spirits, A Lapidary of Sacred Stones, and The Secret History of Poltergeists and Haunted Houses. He lives in Paris.

Wiki tells us more, including the long list of books he authored, among which we can find A Lapidary of Sacred Stones. Their Magical and Medicinal Powers Based on the Earliest Sources, Book Of Grimoires: The Secret Grammar of Magic, Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells: From Abraxas to Zoar and many, many more.

A quick glance at Lecouteux diverse and bizzare portfolio might lead us to think he might be a literary jack of all trades who wants to ”get in on the action” but upon reading his book on amulets I must admit that nothing could be farther from the truth. 

I first came into contact with his work researching talismans, of course, and found a mention of the Ghent manuscript  in this very book: 

which lead me to research it and ultimately find it. Once reading the book I can honestly say that professor Lecouteux`s knowledge of the subject is vaster than my own, even finding a Romanian amulet I was not aware of. 

His book is one of the best-informed works on the subject, with an ample bibliography, wide basis and thorough treatment of the matter bot historically and practically. 

Part One of the book (A Scarcely Catholic Tradition) takes us through the history of the amulet and the talisman, discussing rare species of historical artifacts such as ligamina, obligamenta, periapta, perimmata, periartemata, katadeseis, katadesmoi, kardiphulakion or phylakterion, which are all quite distinct.  From the Graeco-Roman antiquity we slowly move to the medieval period, citing not only the internal literature (the normative literature that advised the amulet writer or the talisman crafter in his work) but also the external literature, that sought to drive out the practices seen as heretical or 

heterodoxical, culminating with the views of Saint Thomas Aquinas on the subject and the protocols of the Theological College of Paris in 1398.  In stark contradiction with these anathemas, as the third chapter expands upon, Christian amulets make their way into the heart of the people, effigies of the cross or other symbols together with scriptural verses taking the place of the odd charakteres of the Late Antiquity. Chapter four is dedicated entirely to one of the great uses of these objects, namely medicine and healing, going through the subject from Antiquity right down to Costa Ben Luca, Arnold of Villanova and Theophrastus Paracelsus, all tributary to the idea that the actions of the macrocosm upon the body can be manipulated by the actions in the microcosm representing the higher forces.

 Part two is not less academical but far more interesting for the practically oriented individual, and thuis core colorful, addressing the praxis of the amulet, the processes involved in the procuring of the raw materials needed, the signs and seals to be written or engraved, the state of mind, soul and body of the operator and the necessary conditions to be fulfilled. Without being a basic how-to book, Lecouteux describes the practical side of the historical phenomenon he treats in the first part, a thing quite unique to an academically inclined work, but all the more laudative. 

His appendices include the seals of the planets, the talismans of Dom Jean Albert Belin, the seals of the planets and the Paranatellons and the creating and consecrating of magical objects. 

Minus Points: The binding and the graphics. The hardback is perfect bound, not sewn, making its opening problematic, as with all modern books. The graphics are something to be desired of unfortunately, but only in some places, and hopefully I can right this wrong by the work I will be doing on publishing these images online, taken from their primary sources. 

Plus Points: A very well informed volume, superbly written. The most comprehensive bibliography on the subject. Although graphically problematic, it`s the first work as far as I know that deals with the Ghent manuscript and a few other figures previously unpublished. A concise and well put together index. A bit of humor, which is always welcomed!

This book is a must-have for any reader of the occult and any researcher of the mentalities that drove our ancestors to do the things they did and even to understand the frame of mind that prompts a cabdriver to fill his dashboard with religious icons and knicknacks. 

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