HIGH MAGIC'S AID
SCIRE
GERALD B. GARDNER
GODOLPHIN HOUSE
PO BOX 1502
NEW BERN NC 28563
Copyright © Godolphin House Febuary 1996
All rights reserved. No part of this book, either in part or in whole, may be reproduced, transmitted or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanic including photocopying or any other means of photographic reproduction, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and articles. Contact Godolphin House for permission to reprint.
First edition printed November 1949
ISBN 0‑9630657‑8‑5
PO Box 1502
New Bern NC 28563
Printed in the U.S.A. in 10‑point CG Times
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Foreword
Gerald Gardner was one of the formative movers and shakers in the modern Witchcraft movement. "High Magic's Aid" is one of the early classic books that he sold at the Witchcraft Museum on the Isle of Man. This reprint, set in 10‑point Times for easy reading, follows the original except for minor corrections in spelling and re‑paragraphing. 1n addition we have added an appendix in which we have gathered together the illustrations from the original.
This work should be on the shelf of every Wiccan because it does reflect Gardner's thinking at the time of writing.
For those Wiccans who want a tradition that can solidly trace its roots back fifty years, changed only to make it more gender‑inclusive, this is the tradition for them. The Gardnerian tradition (as it is called) does not conform to the general Wiccan path in the United States.
That path celebrates diversity and will change its rituals every time something apparently better is found. The touchstone of Gardnerianism is the fact that it always returns to its root Book of Shadows for initiations. Initiates, high priests, and high priestesses have a traceable and documentable lineage, so that students can be sure of their mentors.
To the eyes of today's Wiccans, the initiations in "High Magic's Aid" seem hurried and the sorcery looks strongly Christian and chauvinistic. We think this is Gardner's attempt to show how it might have been in the middle ages. In light of today's knowledge, there are many apparent errors in the methodology described; Gardner may have introduced these deliberately to discourage untutored beginners from using the book as an authentic grimoire.
The author did an admirable thing in promulgating his version of the Old Religion; for by that promulgation, many minds were turned and lives saved. We do not think it important to concern ourselves about the early roots of any tradition, provided that tradition is life‑enhancing and positive, harming none. Nor do we believe it right to criticize or question the beliefs and practices of any other way of spirituality, so long as they harm none.
We hope you enjoy this new edition and keep it as an icon of the 1940s.
Gavin & Yvonne Frost
‑ iii ‑
OTHER BOOKS
by the SAME AUTHOR
Keris and other Malay Weapons
A Goddess Arrives
Witchcraft Today
The Meaning of Witchcraft
Editor's Note
In retyping and resetting this work I have retained:
1. the United Kingdom spelling of many words,
2. the UK idioms,
3. the many slang, dialect, and magical expressions that are not currently in use in the English‑speaking world,
4. Gardner's spelling of god/ess names, even though they do not always conform to modern usage.
I have tried to standardize different spellings of the same word, though I may not have been totally successful in this effort.
Some very minor corrections have been made in capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphing. In all cases I have tried to stay with the original sense because I know how I feel when I find editors' tracks across our own works‑‑'improving' them.
In reading this work, it becomes obvious that at least three distinct styles of writing are employed. Whether this means that Gardner laid the work down and picked it up again at long intervals, or that sections of it were written by three different authors, I do not know.
Yvonne Frost February 1996
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TABLE of CONTENTS
Foreword iii
Editor's comments iv
Introduction vi
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
I HIGH MAGIC'S AID 1
II BROTHER STEPHEN 8
III SEEKING A WITCH 15
IV THE WITCH 24
V MOON'S AID 35
VI THEY LEAVE THE WILD WOOD 44
VII THEY COME TO LONDON 54
VIII LONDON IS A FINE PLACE 65
IX RIDING TOGETHER 72
X WORKING TOGETHER 89
XI MUSIC MAGIC 101
XII SPURNHEATH 115
XIII RED GARTERS 128
XIV DEERLEAP 138
XV CHARGING THE PENTACLES 151
XVI MAKING THE GREAT CIRCLE 164
XVII THE WITCH CULT 180
XVIII THE SPIRIT DANTILION 190
XIX CASTLES AND LANDS 201
XX ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME 213
Appendix 1 ILLUSTRATIONS 221
Appendix ll WICCA 229
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INTRODUCTION
"Magic! Witchcraft! Stuff and nonsense. No one believes in such things nowadays. It was all burning evil‑smelling powders, muttering words. The Devil jumped up, and you sold him your soul. That was all there was to it." But was that really all? Would any sane person ‑ or insane, for that matter ‑ sell their souls to eternal fire for nothing or nearly nothing?
Our forefathers had faith. At least about nine millions of them suffered a cruel death, mainly by being burnt alive, because of this belief.
Magic is sometimes defined as attempting to do something contrary to the laws of nature, to bring success to various undertakings.
Now the Church taught this could be done by prayers and offerings to the saints. It was also an article of faith that King Solomon evoked great spirits and forced them to perform many wonders. Books were also written on similar subjects.
The Key of Solomon the King, the most widely used book of magic, was believed to be written by King Solomon himself. Perhaps the next most widely used was the Enchiridion of Pope Leo III.
If the great ones of the earth practised it and taught you to do likewise, should not the lesser ones also believe it could be done safely, if they only knew the way?
Art magic was taught more or less publicly at various universities, and, secretly, almost everywhere.
You might ask: "But did it work? If not, why did they believe it?"
But they saw innumerable cases where magical ritual seemed to work. When France was prostrate at the feet of England, her king had no men, money, hope, or followers. A young peasant girl, the Witch of Domremy, apparently drew armies from the ground, and drove out the invaders; that she was burnt alive as a witch for so doing, only strengthened the belief that it worked, if one only knew how and dared risk it.
Pope Innocent III was made Pope some time before he was even a priest. Stephen Langton, an utterly unknown man, suddenly became Archbishop of Canterbury overnight. This smelled of magic to our forefathers.
Would you know what they believed and attempted to achieve? Then come with me into the past.
Gerald B. Gardner
Note. The Magical Rituals are authentic, partly from the Key of Solomon (MacGregor Mather's Translation) and partly from Magical MSS in my possession.
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Chapter I
"Orphial, Anial, Oramageon, Adonai, Tzabaoth, El, Elothai, Eloahim, Shaddai, Tetragrammaton, Anaphoditon, " so the names in the great incantation boomed on.
Olaf Bonder swayed slightly. Blindfold and helpless he stood in the Triangle, outside and cut off from the protecting Circle, medium between the pleasant world of man and the dread Lords of the Outer Spaces. He had been instructed by Thur Peterson to make his mind a blank, to empty his mental vision, to create in himself a vacuum to be filled by the Spirit which would speak through him and tell them how to set about their great enterprise.
...
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