Grand Grimoire

The Grand Grimoire, also known as Le Dragon Rouge or The Red Dragon, is a black magic[1] goetic grimoire. Different editions date the book to 1521, 1522 or 1421, but it was probably written during the early 19th century.[2][3] Owen Davies suggests 1702 is when the first edition may have been created and a Bibliothèque bleue version (a popular edition, similar to a chapbook) of the text may have been published in 1750.[4] The 19th-century French occultist Éliphas Lévi considered the contemporary edition of Le Dragon Rouge to be a counterfeit of a true, older Grand Grimoire.[5]

Frontispiece for an edition of The Grand Grimoire

The "introductory chapter"[6] was written by Antonio Venitiana del Rabina, who said he had gathered his information from original writings of King Solomon.[7] Much of the material of this grimoire derives from the Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key of Solomon, pseudepigraphical grimoires attributed to King Solomon.[8] The first book contains instructions for summoning Lucifer or Lucifuge Rofocale, for the purpose of forming a deal with the Devil.

Contents

The work is divided into two books.[2] The first book contains instructions for summoning a demon and for the construction of tools with which to force the demon to do one's bidding. The second book is divided further into two parts: the Sanctum Regnum and Secrets, de L'Art Magique du Grand Grimoire ("Secrets, of the magic art of the Grand Grimoire"). The Sanctum Regnum contain instructions for making a pact with the demon, allowing one to command the spirit without the tools required by book one, but at greater risk. Secrets contains simple spells and rituals one can employ after having performed the ritual of the first book. Some editions contain a short text between these two parts, Le Secret Magique, où le Grand Art de pouvoir parler aux Morts (The Magic Secret, or the Grand Art of being able to speaking with the dead), dealing with necromancy.

The book describes several demons as well as the rituals to summon them in order to make a pact with them. It also details several spells for winning a lottery, talking to spirits, being loved by a girl, making oneself invisible, etc.[9]

List of demons

This book mentions three greater demons. These demons are similarly prioritized in Grimorium Verum.[10]

It also mentions six lesser demons:

  • Lucifuge Rofocale, prime minister
  • Satanachia, commander in chief (in French, "commandant en chef")
  • Agaliarept, commandant
  • Fleurèty, lieutenant-general
  • Sargatanas, brigadier-major
  • Nebiros, marshal and inspector general

For the 1989 motion picture Warlock, actor Julian Sands plays a warlock trying to find the three Grand Grimoires, which when combined purportedly contain the name of God. In the movie the book has supernatural properties, and is therefore separated into three sets of pages to prevent its evil power from being abused.[11]

For the video game Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003), the Grand Grimoire is a magical book that survived the Flood on Noah's Ark, but the value of which was forgotten. The book is found later by one of the game's main characters, Mewt Randell, in a used book shop. The book's power transports the game's protagonists to Ivalice, a fictional universe used as a setting for other Final Fantasy games as well.[12]

The 2007 novel God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe features most of the Grand Grimoire's named demons as characters, including Sargatanas as its protagonist.[13]

In its 2014-15 second season, the Fox TV series Sleepy Hollow presents the Grand Grimoire as once owned by occultist John Dee and coveted by an evil warlock named Solomon Kent. It became possessed by one of the series' antagonists, Henry Parrish, and helped cause the demise of protagonist Katrina Crane.[14]

The killer of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in Kingsbury, London in 2020, had invoked Lucifuge Rofocale prior to the killings. He hoped that by sacrificing their lives to the demon, he would win a lottery.[15]

See also

References
  1. A. E. Waite, The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts, from the Introduction to The Grand Grimoire.
  2. "Book of Ceremonial Magic: Chapter IV: The Rituals Of Black Magic: Section 3: The Grand Grimoire". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  3. Belanger, Mich A. (2010). The Dictionary of Demons. Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 142. ISBN 9780738727455.
  4. Davies, Owen, 1969- (2009). Grimoires : a history of magic books. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780199204519. OCLC 244766270.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Lévi, Éliphas (1861). Dogme et rituel de la haute magie, Vol. 1-2 (2 ed.). G. Baillière. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  6. Le grand Grimoire; ou l'art de commander les esprits célestes, aériens, terrestres, infernaux; avec le vrai secret de faire parler les morts, de gagner toutes les fois qu'on met aux loteries, etc. 1845. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. Spence, Lewis (2006). "Grand Grimoire, The". An Encyclopaedia of Occultism. Cosimo Books. p. 188. ISBN 9781596052376.
  8. Butler, E. M. (Eliza Marian), 1885-1959. (1998). Ritual magic. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 80. ISBN 0271018461. OCLC 40875261.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Summary of the Grand Grimoire Archived version
  10. Butler, E. M. (Eliza Marian), 1885-1959. (1998). Ritual magic. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 81. ISBN 0271018461. OCLC 40875261.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. "Warlock (1989)". myreviewer.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  12. "Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA)". VGChartz. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  13. "God's Demon; Kirkus Reviews". Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  14. Stanley, T. L. (February 3, 2015). "'Sleepy Hollow' recap: Salem witches, grand grimoires in 'Spellcaster'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  15. "Danyal Hussein: A teenage murderer with far-right links". BBC News. 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2021-07-20.

Further reading
  • Butler, E. M. (1979). "The Solomonic Cycle". Ritual Magic. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521295536.
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