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Purchasing a grimoire is straightforward, but executing the rituals described within them can become costly due to the required materials and equipment.
Given my limited knowledge of all available grimoires, I'm reaching out to this community for insights.
Could anyone specify which grimoires necessitate inexpensive tools and which tend to be more costly?
From my understanding, the Arbatel, Grimoire Verum, as well as the 6th and 7th Books of Moses, are considered more affordable options.
Conversely, grimoires such as The Key of Solomon often come with higher expenses.
After conducting some online research, it appears that the Book of Oberon, Elucidation of Necromancy, and The Sworn Book of Honorius fall into the pricier category, although I'm not entirely certain about this.
Any thoughts? Extra suggestions of what is inexpensive? Or if I got something wrong from the above?
Lion skin belt, the absolute bane of my practice. Aside from that, and precious metals/stones most things I would consider fairly affordable… provided that you have access to them within your region (customs etc).
Generally, I find liquids and implements to be fairly affordable (at least by substitution) whereas wardrobe and trinkets get quite expensive.
It’s usually the highly ceremonial books that get expensive.
Great thread/idea though. I’ll see if I can make a tool/method to comb through PDFs and extract materials and we can do costing on it and put a real analysis of the cost of working with books out there. I encourage others to try as well.
Purchasing a grimoire is straightforward, but executing the rituals described within them can become costly due to the required materials and equipment.
Given my limited knowledge of all available grimoires, I'm reaching out to this community for insights.
Could anyone specify which grimoires necessitate inexpensive tools and which tend to be more costly?
From my understanding, the Arbatel, Grimoire Verum, as well as the 6th and 7th Books of Moses, are considered more affordable options.
Conversely, grimoires such as The Key of Solomon often come with higher expenses.
After conducting some online research, it appears that the Book of Oberon, Elucidation of Necromancy, and The Sworn Book of Honorius fall into the pricier category, although I'm not entirely certain about this.
Any thoughts? Extra suggestions of what is inexpensive? Or if I got something wrong from the above?
I was taught early on that "whatever" grimoire you want to use you should adhere as closely as possible to the system, implements, et al, that it specifies. If Tradition is important to You, nothing Less than the Best will Do. You might experiment with reasonable substitutes for things, because much of the grimoire tradition's were aimed at Clerical and Wealthier types who could Afford to practice at their "Leisure".
Now many years later I think it's reasonable to experiment (using Common Sense) with less expensive items as this example illustrates:
Lon Milo DuQuette, has Spontaneously used such things as Folding Carpenter's Rulers as Triangles of Evocation on site for evocations, with "excellent" results! DuQuette is surprisingly Creative!
Purchasing a grimoire is straightforward, but executing the rituals described within them can become costly due to the required materials and equipment.
Given my limited knowledge of all available grimoires, I'm reaching out to this community for insights.
Could anyone specify which grimoires necessitate inexpensive tools and which tend to be more costly?
From my understanding, the Arbatel, Grimoire Verum, as well as the 6th and 7th Books of Moses, are considered more affordable options.
Conversely, grimoires such as The Key of Solomon often come with higher expenses.
After conducting some online research, it appears that the Book of Oberon, Elucidation of Necromancy, and The Sworn Book of Honorius fall into the pricier category, although I'm not entirely certain about this.
Any thoughts? Extra suggestions of what is inexpensive? Or if I got something wrong from the above?
Aren't books like The Key of Solomon, Honorius, et.al. in the public domain? In any case, when I infested academia, it was permissible to make one photo-copy of a work "for research purposes."
Aren't books like The Key of Solomon, Honorius, et.al. in the public domain? In any case, when I infested academia, it was permissible to make one photo-copy of a work "for research purposes."
The purpose of this thread is to discuss the costs of materials used in the practice of a book, tools and implements. Not the cost of the book itself. Stay on topic.
Lion skin belt, the absolute bane of my practice. Aside from that, and precious metals/stones most things I would consider fairly affordable… provided that you have access to them within your region (customs etc).
Generally, I find liquids and implements to be fairly affordable (at least by substitution) whereas wardrobe and trinkets get quite expensive.
It’s usually the highly ceremonial books that get expensive.
Great thread/idea though. I’ll see if I can make a tool/method to comb through PDFs and extract materials and we can do costing on it and put a real analysis of the cost of working with books out there. I encourage others to try as well.
If I were to make a list for the Lemegeton: the list would be something like this:
Ritual Robe: Crafted from either Silk or Linen, with the Silk version having a higher price tag.
Sword/Dagger: These should be crafted from high-quality steel, preferably adorned with silver or gold inlays and inscribed with specific symbols and names. In certain instances, multiple ones are needed.
Magical Circle: Not crazy expensive like other items, still contributes significantly to the overall cost.
Pentacles: Ideally made of Gold.
Wand: straightforward item.
Ring: Silver/Gold.
Whilst some items are pretty basic, others get costly like the swords and the ring. My personal experience does not extend to Solomonic rituals, nor have I delved into Solomonic literature due to the costly requirements often associated with them. One might even argue that practicing Solomonic Magick necessitates a fully equipped temple.
Consider, for example, The Sworn Book of Honorius, which demands seven swords. Assuming the cheapest rusty steel sword is at 300$ x 7 = 2.1k$
As a neophyte adhering to the Golden Dawn tradition, I welcome any corrections or clarifications regarding my statements. Additionally, I'm mindful of selecting equipment that remains discreet, avoiding unnecessary attention, especially when observed by those unfamiliar with such practices. For instance, swords are bulky and conspicuous.
I did notice another point, Medieval European High Magick is quite heavy on equipment, unlike the Jewish tradition (see Sepher Rezial.)
Witchcraft traditions appear to be less demanding in terms of equipment, though insights from a real witch like @Rowena would provide valuable perspective on this matter.
Lastly; there's actually a recent good reference to learn the required items for each grimoire in David Rankine's Grimoire Encyclopedia. Its pretty well packed this purpose.
I was taught early on that "whatever" grimoire you want to use you should adhere as closely as possible to the system, implements, et al, that it specifies. If Tradition is important to You, nothing Less than the Best will Do. You might experiment with reasonable substitutes for things, because much of the grimoire tradition's were aimed at Clerical and Wealthier types who could Afford to practice at their "Leisure".
Now many years later I think it's reasonable to experiment (using Common Sense) with less expensive items as this example illustrates:
Lon Milo DuQuette, has Spontaneously used such things as Folding Carpenter's Rulers as Triangles of Evocation on site for evocations, with "excellent" results! DuQuette is surprisingly Creative!
I try to stick to the Golden Dawn tradition. Despite exploring other paths and traditions, I remain convinced that this particular practice aligns best with my personal journey, Nonetheless, the captivating nature of alternative traditions and grimoires has compelled me to occasionally look beyond my primary focus.
My future plans would be the Abramelin and Enochian. It would be a long way until I reach that point.
The girdle of the vestment is described as a lion skin three inches broad, with the names from the perimeter of the circle written on it. [...] I bought a black-maned Ethiopian male lion skin rug at auction and sold the head to defray the costs. Lions have been traditionally associated with the throne of Solomon, solar imagery in general, and tend to be about as long nose to tail as the diameter of the magic circle. After detaching the rug lining, I sliced it into several three-inch-wide strips running from head to tail. [...]
Rummaging through the inventory of junk dealers for colonial-era stuffed lions would be another idea.
