Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Moses (1668-1548 BCE)

While Moses is most remembered

for delivering the Ten Command-

ments and leading the Hebrews

out of Egypt in the Exodus (1628

BCE), he is also famed for de-

feating the magicians of

Pharaoh’s court in the first

magickal battle ever recounted.

Moses and his brother Aaron

went before Pharaoh to demand

release of the Hebrew slaves.

When challenged by Pharaoh

to “Produce some marvel,”

Aaron threw down his staff,

transforming it into a serpent. Then Pharaoh called

forth the sorcerers of Egypt. Each threw his staff down

and these also became snakes. But Aaron’s serpent

swallowed up those of the magicians (Ex. 7:9-12).

When Pharaoh remained unmoved, Moses invoked a

series of ten terrible plagues upon Egypt.

Moses and the Hebrews fled from Egypt and came

to the shore of the Sea of Reeds, hotly pursued by

Pharaoh’s army. “Moses stretched out his hand over

the sea... The waters parted and the sons of Israel

went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water

to right and to left of them” (Ex. 14:21-22). When they

pitched camp in the desert, Moses struck a rock, and

water flowed from it for the people to drink. When

they were plagued by vipers, he fastened a bronze

serpent to his staff, which drove away the other snakes.

By the Middle Ages, Moses had thus attained a

reputation as a powerful magician. It is said that the

word moses, in its esoteric Egyptian sense, means “An

initiate of the Mystery Schools of Wisdom who has

gone forth to teach the will of the gods and the mys-

teries of life to the ignorant.” Legend says Moses

established a secret magickal school, the Tabernacle

Mysteries. The first five books of the Bible (the

Pentateuch) are known to Jews as the Torah (“Law”),

and were believed to have been written by Moses

himself. The elaborate rules and instructions, thought

to be intended as allegories, with the keys to their

symbolism as taught by the Tabernacle Mysteries,

constitute the Jewish Qabalah—regarded by many Ma-

gicians as the foundational system of all

magick.

Asklepios (c.1600 BCE)

The image of the physician in the

Western world originates with the

Greek god of health and father of medi-

cine, Asklepios (“as-KLEE-pee-us”),

often known by his more familiar Ro-

man name, Aesculapius (“AS-ku-LA-

pee-us”). According to the earliest

known writings (c.1500 BCE), Asklepios

was the son of the god Apollo and the nymph Coronis.

Chiron, the wise centaur, taught Asklepios the knowl-

edge of surgery, the use of drugs, love potions, and

incantations. The goddess Athena gave him a magick

potion made from the blood of the gorgon Medusa.

With these gifts, Asklepios exceeded the limits of hu-

man knowledge.

Asklepios lived at Tricca in Thessaly (a country

famed for its Witches). When the Triccans were stuck

down by a plague, Asklepios advised them to go out

into the countryside, gather all the snakes they could

find, and release them under their houses and grana-

ries. The snakes ate up all the rats whose fleas were

the carriers of the plague. The custom of encourag-

ing snakes to dwell among the people became es-

tablished throughout Greece, Crete, and later, Rome.

Asklepios overstepped the bounds, however,

when he brought the hunter Orion back to life after he

had been killed by a scorpion. This act offended Ha-

des, God of the Dead, who appealed to his brother,

Zeus. Zeus struck down both men with a thunderbolt.

But in acknowledgement of the good Asklepios had

brought to humanity, Zeus placed him among the stars

as the constellation Ophiuchus (the serpent-bearer).

Asklepios became the symbol of the healer in both

ancient Greek society and later, the Roman Empire.

Physicians were referred to as followers of Asklepios.

His symbol, the caduceus—a staff with an Asclepian

snake wrapped around it—survives to this day as the

emblem of the medical profession.

Solomon (970-928 BCE)

Solomon was King of Israel and builder of the

Great Temple. Renowned for his wisdom, wealth, and

long and prosperous reign, Solomon flourished in leg-

end as a master Wizard who controlled all demons by

the power of his magick ring. It was said he employed

these demons in building the Temple. The Key of

Solomon and other magickal texts were attributed to

him. Solomon’s several political marriages to foreign-

ers made him sympathetic toward their cultures and

religious practices. Visits by foreign dignitaries—the

most famous being the Queen of Sheba—also had a

deep influence in Jerusalem and the royal palace.

According to Jewish Talmudic scholars, Solomon

mastered the mysteries of the Qabalah. He was also an

alchemist and necromancer (foretelling the future

through communication with the dead). Talmudic leg-

ends claim he exercised dominion over the beasts of

the field, the birds of the air, and assorted demons and

spirits, from whom he gained much of his wisdom.

Solomon was called Sulaiman by the Arabs, who

considered him the greatest Wizard of all time. The

Islamic Qur’an relates that King Sulaiman’s mastery

of the languages of all creatures allowed him to regi-

ment the hosts of humans, birds, and djinn (“Genie”)

under his command—particularly for his ambitious and

demanding construction projects.

332 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Corrected pages 3rd printing.2.p65 64 6/10/2004, 4:03 PM