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Pragmatic PGM: Ancient Love Spells for Modern Practitioners: 78 Authentic Spells from the Greek Magical Papyri
A practical manual extracting love magic from the 2,000-year-old Greek Magical Papyri. 78 complete spells with modern adaptations, phonetic pronunciations for all voces magicae, difficulty ratings, and material substitutions. From simple attraction charms to the legendary Sword of Dardanos.
Pragmatic PGM II: Ancient Divination for Modern Practitioners: 60+ Authentic Oracles, Visions & Spirit Contact from the Greek Magical Papyri
Professional magicians in Graeco-Roman Egypt ran consulting businesses answering questions about lost property, future events, and divine will. Their methods survived in the Greek Magical Papyri—now extracted from academic translations and formatted as a practical working grimoire.
This volume presents 73 complete divination workings from sources including PGM I, PGM IV (the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris), PGM V, and PGM VII, each citing its original papyrus reference. The famous lamp scrying methods (lychnomancy) that so impressed ancient clients appear here with full instructions—from simple vessel divination (PGM IV.3209-3254) to elaborate operations invoking Helios as the supreme oracle deity (PGM IV.930-1114).
Every barbarous name carries a phonetic pronunciation guide. When the papyrus calls for 'Mendesian wine' or 'first-run oil from a green olive,' you get historically-informed modern substitutions. Dream oracle workings include the Hermes invocation (PGM V.370-446) and the Bes-formula that professionals used to send prophetic visions. Direct vision techniques range from bowl scrying with child mediums (PGM V.54-69) to the solitary lamp operations that required nothing but darkness, oil, and the right words of power.
The crown jewel: procedures for acquiring a paredros—a personal spirit assistant who answers questions on demand. These weren't metaphors. The papyri contain multiple protocols (PGM I.1-42, PGM I.42-195) for establishing ongoing relationships with daimonic intelligences. Ancient consulting technology. Modern application. No academic gatekeeping.
Pragmatic PGM III: Ancient Protection & Curses for Modern Practitioners: 70+ Authentic Spells for Defense, Binding & Worldly Success from the Greek Magical Papyri
The Greek Magical Papyri preserve what professional magicians actually sold: protection from enemies, victory in court, silencing opponents, and binding those who meant harm. This volume extracts 70+ defensive and offensive workings from Betz's scholarly translation, transforming academic apparatus into an operational grimoire with full papyrus citations.
Protective workings include phylacteries (protective amulets) drawn from PGM VII and PGM IV—the same designs ancient practitioners inscribed on gemstones, metal lamellae, and papyrus strips worn against the skin. Exorcism protocols appear as Egyptian priest-magicians documented them, complete with the barbarous names that compelled hostile spirits to depart. The voces magicae appear with phonetic pronunciation guides; when ancient scribes wrote PAKERBETH or BOLCHOSETH, you'll know exactly how to vibrate them.
Curse technology (defixiones) receives rigorous treatment: binding tablets to restrain enemies, tongue-binding spells to silence opponents in legal proceedings (PGM VII.396-404), victory formulae for court cases (PGM XXXVI.35-68), and commercial success magic that professionals deployed for merchants and competitors alike. Each working notes its original papyrus source—PGM IV, PGM VII, the Theban library texts—so practitioners can verify authenticity.
Modern substitutions replace 'blood of a black ass' or 'plant from a murder site' with historically-grounded alternatives. Difficulty ratings reflect actual material costs and time investment. This is the complete magical technology of protection and aggression from the ancient Mediterranean—genuine spells from authentic sources, finally accessible without a classics degree.
