Probably, from the time that man created writing, thereby gaining the ability to communicate through the centuries with his distant descendants, books are considered one of the most significant material values inspired by the human mind. But in all ages there were books, the study of which was considered undesirable and even extremely dangerous for ordinary mortals.
Many believed that even the very knowledge of these books is fraught with something sinister and by hook or by crook tried to turn the minds of the uninitiated from the "damned books", sometimes hiding the very fact of their existence. But, as you can see, human curiosity turned out to be stronger, and information about hidden books excites minds to this day.
Ahead of time
For many centuries, secret knowledge existed in the oral traditions communicated by the Teacher to his disciples. An adept who received initiation in one or another mystery school took an oath not to pass on to anyone what he happened to learn, and, it should be noted, this oath was almost never broken: the ancients understood too well the whole measure of responsibility for possessing knowledge of the secrets of the universe, magic sciences, as well as some information in the field of natural and exact sciences.
The creation of records, chronicles and sacred texts carved on stone was a consequence of vital necessity: countless wars, diseases and natural disasters sometimes threatened with complete physical destruction of all carriers of knowledge. But even then, only representatives of the numerically limited priestly estate had access to information recorded on parchment or stone, often combining the performance of religious ceremonies and rituals with research activities. However, this situation of secrecy has rather good reasons.
At the initiative of the ancient Indian king Ashoka, the "Secret Society of the Nine Unknowns" was created, somewhat reminiscent of modern research centers. The society consisted of nine of the greatest Indian scientists and sages, whose task was to systematize and catalog all scientific knowledge obtained from ancient sacred manuscripts and as a result of experiments and observations. Each of the "Nine Unknowns" wrote one book on one or another branch of scientific knowledge. The activities of the society took place in an atmosphere of the strictest secrecy: King Ashoka, a devout Buddhist and a staunch opponent of war, was well aware of the power of knowledge, and could not allow their use for destruction and war.
However, the tsar had something to fear: the scientific information that his scientists had at his disposal, even by modern standards, seems incredible. So, one of the books was devoted to overcoming gravity and controlling it, creating artificial weightlessness in terrestrial conditions.
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The works of other "Unknown" could be considered fiction, so much ahead of the capabilities and technical level of modern science. One of the works is devoted to the topic of creating and using a certain super-powerful weapon, which has much in common with modern developments in the field of nuclear and psychotropic weapons, the other contains a detailed description and drawings of aircraft that allowed ancient aviators not only to fly into the air, but also to make space flights.
The mention of the works of the "nine Unknowns" is found in many ancient Indian written sources, although none of these books have been found by archaeologists. Presumably, some of these books are still kept in the monasteries of Tibet and India, and, of course, Buddhist lamas will do their best to ensure that this knowledge never reaches the representatives of modern civilization.
The skeptical attitude of scholars to the highest level of technical and scientific development of ancient Indian civilization was dealt a tangible blow when, in 1875, in one of the temples of India, the works of Bharadwaja the Wise, the author of several hymns of the sacred Rig Veda, who lived in the IV century, was discovered. BC e. The book was called Vimanik Prakaranam (Treatise on Flight) and was one of the chapters of the fundamental work Vimana Vidyana (Science of Aeronautics).
This unique work on aeronautics contained detailed descriptions of several types of aircraft, information about some of the features of flights on them, and even a kind of guide for novice pilots. “Vimanik Prakaranam” was received by Indian experts in the field of exact sciences rather coolly.
Interest in the achievements of ancient aviators awakened only when the Chinese leadership made a statement that this country owes its achievements in the aerospace field to information drawn from scientific works written several thousand years ago.
For a long time, the secret behind seven seals was not only the achievements and discoveries of ancient scientists, who were ahead of both their own and our time, but also knowledge from the field of mysticism and occultism. It should be noted that until recently, magic enjoyed in the scientific world no less respect than the rest of the exact, natural and human sciences, and in the universities of Europe the occult sciences were taught on a par with mathematics, logic and theology. However, the availability and prevalence of magical knowledge was apparent, in reality, only a few mastered this secret wisdom to the full.
Shackles for demons
After Christianity became the dominant religion in Europe, virtually all works of ancient authors related not only to magical, but also to natural sciences were outlawed. The church fathers themselves, on the contrary, showed considerable interest in esoteric knowledge, sometimes turning monasteries into real schools of magic. As a result of their diligence, many books written thousands of years ago have safely survived to this day. The favorite books of medieval European sorcerers were the works of Kabbalistic Jews, whose authorship was often attributed to biblical patriarchs, for example, King Solomon. Among these works, which penetrated into Europe thanks to the Moors and Jews who inhabited Spain or were brought by the crusaders from Palestine, the most famous and revered were "The Keys of Solomon" and "The Book of Abramelin the Magician."
The Keys of Solomon, according to legend, were written by the biblical king Solomon for his son Reovo-am and translated from Hebrew into Latin by Rabbi Abona-zar. Later, in 1634, the archbishop of the city of Arles Barol translated them into French. The knowledge contained in this fundamental work on ceremonial magic gave its owner power over all spirits and demons, initiated him into the secrets of nature and the universe, and, among other things, endowed the magician with earthly riches and honors.
"Keys of Solomon" were traditionally divided into Big and Small keys. The big key, which includes two books, is completely devoted to the practice of creating special tools and art facts for carrying out a magic operation, as well as general preparation of the magician for this simple occupation. The small key is known among magicians and occultists under the name "Lemegeton" and consists of five parts. The first one contains comprehensive information about all evil spirits and demonic creatures - their names, patches, as well as the ways of their submission and forcing to fulfill the wishes of the magician. The second is dedicated not only to evil, but also to good spirits and angels. The third and fourth parts contain information on astrology. Finally, the fifth part, called the "New Art", grows out of the prayers that Solomon brought to God. It is believedthat this part of the Lemegeton was given to Solomon by the archangel Michael, and many prayers in this manuscript were written by the Creator himself.
"The Book of Abramelin the Magician" would; not as famous as "Lemegeton", which, however, did not prevent the adepts of occult knowledge from resorting to her help to achieve success in witchcraft operations. Most researchers are inclined to think that a certain magician who lived in the XIV-XV centuries was the real ator of the book.
What is the whole Abramelin mapgia based on? Unlike the Keys of Solomon, which pay special attention to conducting magical ceremonies and rituals, making talisman pantacles and objects endowed with magical properties, the Book of Abramelin associates the success of any magic with the use of the sacred names of God, occult formulas and anagrammatic sentences created on the basis of the rules of Kabbalah … The so-called magic squares play a special role in the teachings of Abramelik. They were usually depicted on parchment or on paper and were divided by non-intersecting lines into several sectors, into which letters were inscribed in a certain sequence, resulting in a magic formula, and changing from the direction of reading: vertically, horizontally, left to right or right to left. In accordance with the kabbalistic principle of the interchangeability of letters and numbers, instead of letters, numbers were sometimes inscribed in the square, giving the same sum when they were added vertically and horizontally. The author of the "Book of Abramelin" claims that the correct use of magic squares endows the magician with almost limitless possibilities - controlling the elements and people, gaining wealth, the ability to become invisible and command spirits.
Black book
While European magicians were reading "Lemegeton" and drawing Abramelin's squares, Russian sorcerers and wise men also did not lag behind their Western colleagues in secret crafts. For many centuries, the so-called "damned" or "renounced" books circulated among the people, which, as a rule, were translations from Greek and Latin and were often collectively called the "Black Book".
Many of the most frightening, though not always reliable rumors circulated about this book. For example, even reading the Black Book was considered extremely dangerous - demons immediately appeared to the reader and demanded work for themselves. If the hapless sorcerer was unable to subdue the demons to his will, they could kill and maim him.
Other legends attribute the possession of this spell book to an associate of Peter I, Bruce, a talented scientist and naturalist, who was considered among the people as one of the most powerful sorcerers. It was claimed that before his death, he walled up the book in the wall of the Sukharev Tower in Moscow, having imposed a spell, according to which, in the event of the destruction of the tower and the discovery of the book, the end of the world would inevitably come. Apparently, over time, the witchcraft has lost its power, and the tower itself was demolished by order of the Soviet government back in the 30s.
Philologists single out several works that made up the "Black Book" and often appeared as independent magical works: "Rafli", "Sixwing", "Voronograi", "Ostromir", "Zolay", "Almanac", "Astrologers" and some others. As can be seen from the titles, the vast majority of these works contained information on astrology, the art of drawing up horoscopes, the influence of stars and planets on earthly events.
Among the "damned books" the clergy also referred to the notorious "Aristotle's Gate" - a translated work, the authorship of which was attributed to Aristotle. In addition to astrology, it contained some information from other occult sciences, as well as from the field of medicine, physiognomy. There were also "renounced" books, which were a kind of collection of signs, beliefs, as well as quite valuable information of folk medicine and healer recipes. For example, "Zeleinik" contained tips and instructions on collecting medicinal herbs and preparing various potions, "Thunderman", "Lightning man" and "Kolednik" - signs related to the weather, "Traveler" was a collection of instructions on how to avoid various troubles, including a demonic character, on the way, and "The Dreamer" was a traditional one, familiar to almost every dream book.
However, the knowledge contained in the "damned" books was completely inadequate for those who were seriously engaged in witchcraft practices, and almost any healer or sorcerer had one, or even several "witch's notebooks" - unique handwritten magical diaries with spells, descriptions of witchcraft rituals, will accept beliefs, and sometimes even legends, ancient legends or just the thoughts of the owner of the notebook. Most of the practicing magicians in Russia, having received a certain set of knowledge from one of their ancestors, usually a grandfather or grandmother, were engaged in “advanced training” throughout their lives, learning from older and more experienced sorcerers and writing down the knowledge gained in their witch's diary.
A similar tradition was also in use among European and American witches, followers of the pagan witchcraft tradition of Wicca, each of whom had its own "Book of Shadows" - a handwritten collection of magical techniques and recipes.
The efforts of those who did their best to protect humanity from the temptation of "damned" books, nevertheless, did their job. And although today "The Keys of Solomon", "The Book of Abramelin" and a number of other magical works can be acquired completely freely, a significant part of the priceless scientific and occult works, often created in ancient times, disappeared without a trace. And one can argue for a long time whether it was good or bad for people. Secret knowledge invariably hides in itself a danger, sometimes too serious for this knowledge to be entrusted to the uninitiated.
