The Modern Era’s Rise and Spread of Magic

Although popular culture promotes an idea that the belief in magic flourished mainly in the Medieval European past, maybe declining with the onset of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th-century, this is not necessarily the case. As Owen Davies, author of _Grimoires: A History of Magic Books_, relays, the so-called “Modern” era of Western history witnessed a popularization of magic. Spell-books — like the one featured here — became relatively easy to obtain as the cost of printing declined. Ironically, many grimoires purported to have secret information, even as the contents were increasingly able for ordinary people to get. This image comes from _The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses_, which claimed to record hidden knowledge in the Jewish mystical Kabalah tradition. It was no such thing. Even though portions were compiled from earlier European spell books, in actuality it was an edition from 1849 that had the most impact. _The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses_ purported to have magical spells given from God to Moses, passed down through King Solomon, and entered into the Jewish tradition of the Tanakh, part of the Talmudic tradition. (It did not.) Ever wonder how Moses parted the Red Sea? Turn a staff into a snake? Conjure a pillar of fire? This spell book told the reader how to do these things and more, like influence weather or protect against witches. What is particularly fascinating is just how widespread this grimoire’s influence became. The text spread from Germany to the United States, and had a profound impact on Pennyslvanian Dutch communities, where it was used in the rural folk magic of my home state. It also took hold in African-American communities, and spread to people in the Caribbean and West Africa, eventually contributing to Rastafarianism.