The ''Archidoxis magica'' (''The Archidoxes of Magic'') is a pseudo-

Paracelsian Paracelsianism (also Paracelsism; German: ') was an early modern History of medicine, medical movement based on the theories and therapies of Paracelsus. It developed in the second half of the 16th century, during the decades following Paracel ...

grimoire A grimoire () (also known as a book of spells, magic book, or a spellbook) is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divin ...

of the 16th century. The book discusses magical sigils for the use on talismans or

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

''Sigill Lunae'', a 9×9

magic square In mathematics, especially History of mathematics, historical and recreational mathematics, a square array of numbers, usually positive integers, is called a magic square if the sums of the numbers in each row, each column, and both main diago ...

(sum 369), to be inscribed on a silver talisman.

It was first printed in 1591 as part of the tenth and final volume of the collected works of

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

by Johannes Huser of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

. Even at this time, the editor expressed doubts as to the text being a genuine work by Paracelsus.Vol. 10 of Huser's edition (''Zehender Theil der Bucher und Schrifften'') is primarily devoted to alchemy, astrology and magic, containing ''Astronomia magna'', ''Archdoxis magica'', ''Ausslegung der Figuren'', ''Fasciculus prognosticationum'', ''Philosophia sagax'' and an ''Appendix''. In a paragraph ''ad lectorem'' on p. 318, Huser says ''Es soll aber auch nit ungemelt bleiben, das etliche an diesen Büchern Archidoxis Magicae dubitieren, ob sie Theophrasti seyen ..Jedoch weil sie Theophrasti Sachen nicht ungemesz, und von vielen für seine Bücher angenommen und erkennt werden, mögen sie auff disz mal neben den andern unterlauffen, bis man desz Auctori gewisser werde'' ("It shall not be concealed that several have doubted, whether these books Archidoxis Magicae are Theophrast's ..but because they are not untypical to the material treated by Theophrast, and because they are accepted and recognized by many as his books, may they pass among the others for this time, until there is greater certainty regarding the author.") The work is the main reason for Paracelsus' reputation as a magician: While Paracelsus did publish works on

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

and

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

, there is no reliable evidence that he was pursuing

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

ic magic. Schneider (1982) has compared the text of all extant manuscript and printed versions with the text of a then-newly discovered early manuscript, with the conclusion that Paracelsian authorship seems "less unlikely" than previously thought, as the presumed original composition may indeed date to the lifetime of Paracelsus (d. 1541), but Schneider still concludes that the work as a whole is "spurious" even though portions (especially the first four books) might indeed be based on writings by Paracelsus, and might be contemporary with Paracelsus' own ''Neun Bücher Archidoxis'' (a work on medicine written c. 1526 and first printed in 1567). It was translated into English by R. Turner in 1656, as ''Of the Supreme Mysteries of Nature''. Turner's text is in three parts, ''The Secrets of Alchemy'' (pp. 1–28), ''Of Occult Philosophy'' (pp. 29–90), ''Of the Mysteries of the Signes of the Zodiack'' (pp. 91–158), followed by a short text on ''The transmutation of metals''. The ''

Lesser Key of Solomon ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', also known by its Latin title ''Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis'' or simply the ''Lemegeton'', is an anonymously authored grimoire on sorcery, mysticism and magic. It was compiled in the mid-17th century from mater ...

'', a grimoire of the mid-17th century, is substantially based on the ''Archidoxis magica''.

References

;editions and translations *Joh. Huser (ed.), ''Zehender Theil der Bücher und Schrifften ..Paracelsi '', Basel (1591)
319
ndas
359
*Robert Turner (trans.)
Paracelsus, Of the Supreme Mysteries of Nature
' (1656, facsimile from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

; reprints: Askin Publishers & Samuel Weiser, 1975; Ibis Publishing 2004). * Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, ''Paracelsus. Essential Readings'', North Atlantic Books (1999), 192–197. ;secondary sources *Wolfgang Schneider, ''Paracelsus — Autor der Archidoxis Magica?'' (1982). *Charles Webster, "Paracelsus Confronts the Saints: Miracles, Healing and the Secularization of Magic", ''Soc Hist Med'' 8(3), December 1995, 403–21. Grimoires Paracelsus 16th-century books {{Occult-book-stub