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24
Talismans & b tions of the Goldcn Dawn
on Western magic is so vast that it is difficult to gauge, save that it
opened the door for real occult work to begin. Barrett was an
editor rather than the author for the contents of the Magus are
taken from Agrippa and other lesser known works.
Barrett pruned out useless information given in old books and
texts and presented them so that anyone with a basic knowledge
of magic could get started. His inclusion of Kabbalistic literature is
presented clearly and concisely (even though some of the Hebrew
may not be correct38). The Golden Dawn Kabbalistic text Book of
General Correspondences drew a lot from Barrett's work. His
editing genius presented the Golden Dawn with the bare bones of
many subsystems of magic and only if one had some experience
would the next layer open.
I also would refer readers to the texts of Dr. Rudd3' which
were widely read among Golden Dawn members.
THE HEBREW CONNECTION
Early texts of Hebrew evocation methods are difficult to find
because of the fragmentation of some sects and their secrecy.
Some did escape destruction. One of the earliest occult texts of
Hebrew literature is the Sword of Moses.4m41
The origin of the Sword is difficult to pinpoint. From the letter
of Haya Gaon (938-1038) it is evident that it must have been at
least a few centuries older than his time (1 0th century).
The Leyden Papyrus belongs to the third century, and those of the
British Museum to the third or fourth century, we are justified in
assigning to the first four centuries of the Christian era the origin
of the Hebrew text.
Because ofthe blinds attributed to some magical texts it has been suggested to
me that the erron were deliberately included and only the true student would find
them and correct them. This is pure speculation.
39 Harley Mss 648 1-6486, from the then British Museum.
Published in London in 1896 and translated and edited by Moses Gaster.
' There is another text titled The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses which is
not to be confused with the The Sword of Moses. The original text of the Sixth and
Seventh Books of Moses came from Ms. 2537, Darmstadt State Library. The date of
origin of the work is 1540. There are anumber of English copies available. I have not
included an analysis because the names and symbols are corrupt.