Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Class V. Wizards of History

scious. And so the Shamans of the Age of Ice and Stone

became the ancestors of all Witches and Wizards.

More than any other profession, the names and

deeds of many Wizards have been recorded and come

down to us. Even when the historical documentation

has been lost, their legends have persisted in mythol-

ogy. Here is a chronological list of a number of par-

ticularly famous Wizards who have lived and died

through the ages. There is an overlapping continuity

of schools and teachings, transmitted through a suc-

cession of Grimoires such as this one. Many Wizards

have considered themselves to be re-incarnations of

former adepts. This list ends with the 18th century and

is continued in the next Class on modern Wizards.

Those highlighted indicate biographies following.

HERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WIZARDS,

throughout all of recorded history

and in every culture of the world —

though seldom very many at any

one time. The oldest profession is

certainly that of the Shaman. The

oldest cave paintings—dating back

as far as 20,000 years, to the last

great Ice Age—depict Shamans among the animals (and

were probably painted by them as well). Shamans were

the first artists, the first craftsmen, the first musicians,

the first herbalists, the first midwives, the first healers,

and the first Magicians. They were the first to take

spirit journeys out of their bodies and explore the hid-

den realms of magick, The Dreaming, and the uncon-

“Crooked Fox” (c.25,000 BCE)

Cham-Zoroaster (c.7450 BCE)

Imhotep (2635-2595 BCE)

Dedi of Dedsnefru (c.2500 BCE)

Moses (1668-1548 BCE)

Asklepios (c.1600 BCE)

Solomon (970-928 BCE)

Lao Tzu (between 600-300 BCE)

Zarathustra (630-553 BCE)

Pythagoras (580-500 BCE)

Archimedes (287-211 BCE)

Apollonius of Tyana (c.30-96 CE)

Simon Magus (fl. 20-50 CE)

Apuleius (c.124-172 CE)

Zosimos of Panopolis (c.250-300 CE)

Iamblicus (c.250-330 CE)

Mary the Jewess (4th century)

Hypatia of Alexandria (370-415 )

Merlin (c.440-520)

Gwydion (6th century)

Artephius (12th century)

Albertus Magnus (1206-1280)

Roger Bacon (1210-1293)

Honorius III (Pope 1216-1227)

Raymund Lully (1235-1315)

Peter of Abano (c.1250-1310)

Zlito (14th century)

Nicolas Flamel (1330-1418)

Abramelin the Mage (1362-1460)

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Trithemius (1462-1516)

Heinrich C. Agrippa (1486-1535)

Paracelsus (1493-1541)

Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516)

Nostradamus (1503-1566)

John Dee (1527-1608)

Giordano Bruno (1548-1600)

Giovanni B. della Porta (1538-1615)

Simon Forman (1552-1611)

Thomas Harriot (1560-1621)

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Robert Fludd (1574-1637)

William Lilly (1602-1681)

Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604-1668)

John “Aholiab” Dimond (1679-17??)

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Comte de Saint-Germaine

(1707?-1784?)

Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798)

Count Alessandro Cagliostro

(1745-1795)

Lives of Famous Wizards

I have not been able to include all the names listed

above in the following biographies, but rather I have

tried to concentrate on some of the most important

and influential Wizards throughout the ages to whom

I would like to introduce you. If you are interested in

learning more about any of these—or about those

not included following—try doing a web search for

their name.

Imhotep (2635-2595 BCE)

Many people know the name of Imhotep as the

living mummy in the movies. He was thought to be a

mythical figure until the end of the 19th century, but he

actually was a real person. Revered as a god, Imhotep

was the first and possibly greatest documented his-

torical Wizard. He was the world’s first doctor, as well

as a priest, scribe, sage, poet, astrologer, and vizier to

the great Pharaoh Djoser (reigned 2630-2611 BCE), the

second King of Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty. Imhotep may

have served as many as four pharaohs. His titles in-

cluded “Chancellor of the King,” “First One Under the

King,” “Administrator of the Great Mansion,” “He-

reditary Noble,” “Chief Sculptor,” and “Chief Carpen-

ter.” He was also High Priest of Heliopolis—the reli-

gious capital of Egypt.

Imhotep is the first master architect we know by

name. He built the first pyramid—Djoser’s Step Pyramid

complex at Saqqara, which remains one of the most bril-

liant architectural wonders of the ancient world.

Imhotep’s best-known writings were medical

texts. He is believed to have authored the Edwin Smith

Papyrus in which more than 90 anatomical terms and

48 injuries are described. He may also have founded a

school of medicine in Memphis, and he remained fa-

mous for 2,000 years. Imhotep lived to the then-great

age of 40, dying in the reign of Pharaoh Huni, the last

of the dynasty. His yet-undiscovered tomb is believed

to be at Saqqara, near the Step Pyramid.

Corrected pages 3rd printing.2.p65 63 6/10/2004, 4:03 PM