The Liber Lune and the Liber Solis attributed to Hermes
in the MS Vatican, B.A.V., Barb. lat. 35891

The Liber de imaginibus septem planetarum
ex scientia Abel

The Liber Solis and the Liber Lune belong to the Hermetic series of books on magic based on planetary magic entitled Liber de imaginibus septem planetarum ex scientia Abel or Opus Abel, which circulated in the Middle Ages and the early Modern Times as a Latin translation from the Arabic and which is unevenly preserved in a few manuscripts. The complete set includes the following titles: Liber Lune, Liber Solis, Liber Mercurii, Liber Veneris, Liber Martis, Liber Iovis, Liber Saturni. The preface to the series, written as if pronounced by Hermes, develops the mythical origin of this collection: wise men before the Flood foresaw the coming of the Flood and carved their texts on marble slabs which they hid. Hermes discovered part of this hidden knowledge in Hebron and, since he considered the texts composed by Abel, inventor of the science of images, to be the best he transmitted them further. The series presents uniform rituals, which stipulate the proper astrological moment for the images, engraving a representation of their objective, the inscription of names, symbols or characters over them, the pronunciation of names and prayers, suffumigations, and their burial accompanied by exorcisms. This magical practice requires ascetic preparation which involves fasting, 104purification, sexual abstinence, suffumigations, and supplications to God and to the spirits of the zodiac2.

According to Vittoria Perrone Compagni, the series is transmitted in two versions. She calls these R (Inc.: Dixit Hermes Triplex quod sapientes…) and A (Inc.: Septem sunt circuli planetarum…). R is completely preserved and is explicitly attributed to Robert of Chester in two of the manuscripts: DR, as Perrone Compagni points out, contains the name of the translator as does LR3. By contrast, none of the known copies of A include the Liber Mercurii and the Liber Veneris or the translator’s name. In Perrone Compagni’s opinion, A may be the first translation of the Liber de imaginibus Abel, and B its superficial revision, with the exception of the Liber Lune and the Liber Solis, since in these two books the differences between both versions are substantial. In order to defend this hypothesis, she argues that Version A of the Liber Lune and the Liber Solis is a work by Adelard of Bath on the basis of stylistic parallels with his version of Thābit ibn Qurra’s De imaginibus, which circulated under the title Liber prestigiorum.

Despite Perrone Compagni’s conclusions, the origin of both versions still remains unclear, as does the exact relationship between them. In fact, the testimony of the manuscripts contradicts her hypothesis – although, of course, it is not necessarily true –, because both D and L state that Version R was translated from Arabic into Latin by Robertus Castrensis and – according to L – word by word. Robertus Castrensis or Robert of Chester (fl. 1144-1150) is certainly a plausible translator. As an English scholar, he moved to Castile in order to learn from 105Arabic sources and then returned to his country. Based in Segovia and in London, Robert of Chester translated works of alchemy, astronomy, astrology and algebra from Arabic into Latin and wrote a number of original works on astronomy. He has often been identified with Robert of Ketton, even though Charles Burnett has argued that they are not the same person4. By contrast, Adelard of Bath’s background and work method seem to be different: he traveled to Sicily, where the Arabic tradition was still alive, but there is no evidence that he visited the Iberian Peninsula to learn Arabic sciences. However, for both linguistic and thematic reasons, Charles Burnett observes that his translations from Arabic reflect a Spanish origin, perhaps due to collaboration with Arabic speakers of Hispanic origin in England, such as Petrus Alfonsi. It may therefore seem more logical to presume that Robert was the first translator and Adelard the adaptor. Nevertheless, the inverse process may also be proposed on the basis that Robert was responsible for the revision of at least one translation of Adelard, namely his version of the astronomical tables of al-Khwarizmi. Since the Arabic original is missing, only a systematic comparison between A and R could help to discover which one, if either, is derived from the other5.

The manuscripts transmitting each version of the Liber Lune and the Liber Solis are the following6:

Version A

D A: Darmstadt, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, 1410, c. 1550, fol. 19v-29r (34r).

F: Firenze, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, II.III.214, 15th century, fol. 15r-23v (Liber Lune and the beginning of Liber Solis).

L A: Lübeck, Bibliothek der Hansestadt Lübeck, Math. 9 4o, 1589, fol. 111v-112r (preface).

Version R

D R: Darmstadt, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, 1410, c. 1550, fol. 54r-59r (66v).

L R: Lübeck, Bibliothek der Hansestadt Lübeck, Math. 9 4o, 1589, fol. 112r-115r (119v).

V: Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Barb. lat. 3589, c. 1430, fol. 60r-62r (fragments).

B: Brixen, Priesterseminar, Cod. D 4 (olim 71), late 15th century, fol. Vr-Vv (VIv) (fragments).

It should be stressed here that the two earliest witnesses of Version R of the Liber de imaginibus Abel, V and B, are not included in the fundamental catalogue of manuscripts transmitting medieval Hermetic texts produced by Paolo Lucentini and Vittoria Perrone Compagni. V (whose contents will be discussed in detail below) was already reported in an earlier article by this author as an incomplete copy of the Liber de imaginibus Abel, although still not identified with R7, while B is described here for the first time. B transmits fragments of the Liber Lune, the Liber Solis and the Liber Mercurii in two end-leaves at the front, while the main content of this codex has no relationship with the occult arts: it is Henricus de Gorichen’s Questiones to the Summa of Thomas Aquinas. On fol. Vr, the end of the Liber Lune is found from the last lines of the twentieth image, which are mainly obliterated. Therefore, what is preserved is basically the general guidelines closing the book. In fol. Vr-Vv, the beginning of the Liber Solis is preserved: the presentation, 107the table of contents and part of the introduction (including indications for suffumigations and some other instructions). In fol. VIr-VIv, most of the first part of the Liber Mercurii is preserved: part of the index, the general guidelines and the first seven images.

Therefore two codices (D and L) contain both versions, but only D does so in a complete way. As I was able to determine, L transmits the preface of Version A, with a comment but subsequently, instead of continuing with the books of the various planets belonging to this version, it moves on to restart with R right from its preface. At the end of R, it includes some fragments related to each of the books (fol. 118v-119v). The copies of V and B are very defective, and F only transmits the Liber Solis until the third image (unfinished).

A new witness of the Liber Lune and the Liber Solis:
the MS Vatican, B.A.V., Barb. lat. 3589

Although it only contains part of the Liber Lune and of the Liber Solis, V is by far the earliest witness of Version R known to date – being copied c. 1430, more than a century earlier than D (c. 1550) – and may also be the earliest of all the known manuscripts of the whole Liber de imaginibus Abel.

V contains many texts related to various traditions of magic, although the primary interest of the compiler, who should be identified as the copyist of this part of the manuscript, proves to be ritual and image magic8. Throughout the codex, the compiler selects works and operations with the aim of completing his library, which was specialized in ritual and astral magic, above all containing planetary images. He copies the greater part of some works from which he omits operations that he already possesses or considers superfluous because he already has equivalent ones. In the case of other texts, he transcribes only the experiments that he needs, giving us the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the library of a real magician and how he built up his own collection 108of magic resources. This, in addition to the loss of several leaves, is the reason why the texts are incompletely or only partially copied. Therefore, the codex constitutes a new witness, albeit an incomplete one, of the writings about occult arts known from other Latin manuscripts, not only of the Liber de imaginibus Abel, but also of the De officiis spirituum and perhaps the Liber Veneris. It also reveals previously unnoticed works, most of them in Occitan language.

There are remains of the Liber de imaginibus Abel in several places in the manuscript, and the conditions of transmission can be assessed more properly if compared with the complete copy of the series in DR9. An announcement of its presence is already found in the table of contents of the codex (fol. 28r), which includes the title Ymagines Abel. The preserved part of the Liber Lune appears in fol. 60r, after the loss of the original leaves 76r-82v. As is shown by their numbering, only the final brief operations survive, with images of all that they originally contained from the fourteenth to the twentieth, except for the sixteenth, which is omitted. The preserved images are designed to turn anyone into a king, to protect a town or to hand it over to enemies, to catch thieves, to transport someone to any place, to make it rain or not in a particular place, to make fun of a passer-by. The title of the book is known thanks to the explicit (fol. 60v): Liber Lune de prestigiis. After the operations the book gives some general instructions for carrying them out, including a prayer that has to be adapted to each image, an explanation on how the metals must be worked to make the images, another prayer that can be uttered for all images by changing the names, and finally specifying what ink is to be used with the images. In relation to the second prayer, the compiler states that he has omitted the twelve names for each image, which are actually copied in B and DR, because he already has them at disposal.

From the title alone, it is clear that the following text is related to the previous one. It is the Liber <de> prestigiis Solis secundum Ermes[sic] (fol. 61r-62r), which certainly corresponds to the Liber Solis. In this case, we have the table of contents, which enables us to gain an idea of 109what the copied original contained. The table includes the same twelve operations as those transmitted by DR, but only four are copied, and at the end of the text the compiler declares that he has omitted the other operations from his original. Therefore, it is clear that he is the person responsible for the selective copy. In V, the beginning of the introduction is also missing, namely the indications for suffumigations and the names of the Sun in each sign of the Zodiac. The latter are omitted, as the compiler himself acknowledges, because he has them elsewhere. However, other instructions are preserved – including those related to fasting, bathing, making the images in accordance with particular astrological conditions and times, suffumigating them and exorcizing them – and finally the mention of the metal of which they are composed (silver). Subsequently, four images (omitting the others) are described and some particular instructions are given for using each: the first is designed to provoke an illness in a person or to cure it; the second, to expel animals from a specific place; the fifth, to safeguard people from illnesses and the tenth, to increase someone’s knowledge.

The Liber Saturni of the same Liber de imaginibus septem planetarum ex scientia Abel series is twice referred to in V: one extract with the Aries operation in a series of experimenta, corresponding to the first operation in the Liber Saturni (D, fol. 65r), to transform one thing into another one10. The discussion of the image is interrupted by the loss of a leaf and, therefore, the second operation said to be copied from the same book is lost. The other reference to the Liber Saturni is included in the Libre de ydeis: a poorly-assembled compilation derived from a large number and a wide variety of texts, even though the majority apparently fall within the Hermetic tradition. In the section on images of Saturn, a treatise attributed to Hermes is cited from memory, without it being at hand. It is described as a collection of twelve images of Saturn produced when this planet passes through each sign of the Zodiac: such a description matches the characteristics of the Liber Saturni, and the names with which Saturn is invoked coincide with each of the signs in D, fol. 64v11. The person who mentions it is speaking in the first person, 110but it is not clear whether he is the author of the Libre de ydeis or the compiler of the codex. It is probable that this is an interpolation made by the compiler, because throughout the codex, his voice in the first person appears to indicate which parts he is omitting, often because he has the same or equivalent contents in another book, as may be seen in 10 of the Liber Lune and 2, 9 of the Liber Solis (in italics in the text edited in Appendix 2).

Both in his notes and in the process of copying, the compiler of V demonstrates considerable inaccuracy and only an elementary proficiency in Latin, as can be deduced from his frequent grammatical errors and inconsistent spelling and Romance interference. In many examples, it is possible to see him moving away from the learned Latin normally used in medieval scholarly translations, to a significantly greater extent than in the other copies of the same books (DR, B). Apart from the more common features in learned medieval Latin12, particularities of V compared with the other witnesses of the same work are the following (often coexisting with the matching correct forms)13:

1.Phonetics and spelling:

1.1 O for u: pomplea (LL 1), mondisimus (LL 10, LS 3).

1.2 Graphic confusion between c and s because of their same pronunciation: infucione (LL 8), procequi (LS 3), nesasaria (LS 7), servina (LS 7), exorsizetur (LS 8).

1.3 Graphic confusion between c and q: cuiqumque (LL 3).

1.4 Loss or addition of h: in hore (LL 2), adybeat (LL 7), Ermes (LS 1).

1.5 Reduction of doubled consonants or, on the contrary, artificial gemination of consonants: occulis (LL 5), gracille (LL 5), aufere (LL 5), comuni (LL 6), nesasaria (LL 10 and LS 7), mondisimus (LL 10, LS 3).

1.6 Disappearance of the semivowel after q (qu > c): co (LL 1), alico (LL 3), alica (LS 1), postcam (LS 7).

1.7 Dissimilation: propietate (LL 7), propio (LS 6).

1.8 Assimilation: pomplea (LL 1).

1.9 Metathesis of l: pomplea (LL 1).

1.10 Palatalization of the group di, occasionally written i (corresponding to the modern letter j): aiuvando (LL 9), aiuvavero (LL 9).

1.Morphology:

2.1 Change in declension: faciam instead of faciem (LL 2), alibis instead of aliis (LL 10), singularis as ablative (LL 7).

2.2 Not declined name: Ermes (LS 1).

2.3 Deponent conjugation instead of active: pluvi (LL 5).

2.4 Active verbal forms with passive meaning: immittat (LS 1), custodiat (LS 8).

2.5 Wrong inflection: congragatet (LL 1), contingerit (LL 8), uniusquidque (LS 4).

2.Syntax:

3.1 Pronouns: use of sibi as a non-reflexive (LL 4, LL 7, LS 7), use of ipse as an anaphoric (LL 3, LL 6, LL 7, LL 8).

3.2 Inconsistent casual concordance: de quolibet hominis (LL 1), dextra manum (LL 2), huius res (LL 2), dicto ymaginis (LL 5), locum quicumque (LS 7), in malum et egro (LS 1).

3.3 False casual concordance: de ipso derisu (LL 6).

3.4 Inconsistent prepositional government: ab infirmitates (LS 8).

Inconsistent verbal concordance: videantur (LL 6), expellatur (LS 1), sculpantur (LS 8), sculpatur (LS 8 and 9).

3.5 Grammatical redundancy: sit congragatet (LL 1), tamen… autem (LS 4), et… vero (LS 8 and 9), hoc… istut prestigium (LS 8).

3.6 Use of the indicative for the subjunctive or the opposite: libuit (LL 2), voluerint (LL 7), fuit (LS 3).

3.7 Use of the personal form instead of the infinitive: detineris (LL 3).

3.8 Confusion of uses between participle and gerundive: dicens (LL 1), aiuvando (LL 9).

1.Vocabulary:

4.1 Wrong word formation: preteritendum (LL 10), discorpertis (LL 6).

Comparison of the three main witnesses examined here suggests that V has particular readings which separate it from the branch of the textual tradition represented by B and DR. However, some common variants of V and B facing DR also suggest that DR has been linguistically corrected at least to some extent. Considering the incomplete condition and the poor linguistic quality of V, its value as a witness for an eventual critical edition of R may be questioned. However, in our opinion it should be taken into account, not only because it is the earliest of the extant manuscripts, but also because some readings can be defended better in V than in DR, especially when they coincide with B. Among the examples of variants susceptible to be considered better in V than in DR (sometimes coincident with B) are the following:in the Liber Lune, metallis (1), fumigatur (1), habentis (2), intrinsecus (2), pluvi (5), manibus erectis (6), diey (6), perfecte (7), amorem (7), themati (8), nomina (10), in signis (10), and in the Liber Solis, manente (1), rex vel alter te (1), augmentetur (1), et cum (4), prefatis (6), 30chalep, id est lepores (7), quarta (7), eadem (7), statim dictus (7), Socratem Sofronicum (8), multos (8), in terminis dictis (9). On the other hand, one can ask whether some sentences transmitted by V but not copied in DR (and B) are lost in the latter or are added in the tradition represented by V as glosses or titles interpolated in the text by one or more scribes (LL 7 and 9, LS 3 and 4).

The text edited in Appendix 2 only aims to offer the testimony of one defective manuscript, V, and obviously not to provide a critical edition of the Liber Lune and Liber Solis, which should, of course, be based on all witnesses. However, this text is not simply a transcription of V, but rather has been enriched with a number of corrections and with some variants from other codices in order to make it understandable, although not in a systematic way. Thus, grammatical or lexical forms that make the meaning difficult to understand have been corrected or substituted with variants from other manuscripts (B and DR), but the understandable forms of V are retained, even though they are often not 113the best. In the footnotes, we give all the excluded variants of V, and many (but not all) from B and DR are recorded in order to demonstrate the peculiarities of V, to show some interesting alternative readings and to support preferred forms or corrections introduced in the text. In certain places we have added other witnesses from Version R (L) and even from Version A (F, DA), in order to provide more items of evidence for the choice of variants. Of course, the spelling of V is respected, but punctuation and numeration of paragraphs are due to the editor’s intervention. The compiler’s notes, inserted in the text of V to indicate some of his omissions, are typed in italics. Generally, omissions of V are marked with square brackets.

Sebastià Giralt

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Appendix 1

This appendix gives the titles, incipits and explicits of the Liber Lune (and of the Liber de imaginibus Abel) and the Liber Solis according to the manuscripts transmitting them.

V

No title

Inc. : Ut de quolibet hominis [sic] rex fiat

Expl. : omnia scribenda sunt de quelibet tinta rubea mondisima. Explicit Liber Lune de prestigiis.

Title : Liber <de> prestigiis Solis secundum Hermes

Inc. : Prima fit Sol<e> in Ariete manente

Expl. : iuxta Arabum veritatem perfeccione. Sunt imagines 12 Solis et desivi alias.

B

No title

Inc. : super eam transierit, mox de illo fiet derisio.

Expl. : Omne autem quod de hiis que supra diximus scribi debet de quolibet rubeo et mundissimo tincto scribantur. Explicit Liber Lune.

Title : Liber Solis

Inc. : Iste est liber Solis quem tractat Hermes Triplex et est de lapidibus marmoreis, sicut in libro Lune iam diximus. Et sunt in eo 12 imagines.

Expl. : quedam sunt que in imaginibus sculpi debent.

D A

Title : Liber de imaginibus planetarum septem ex sciencia Abel iusti filii Ade primi

Inc. : Septem sunt circuli planetarum

Expl. : Piscibus attribuntur dicitur Taronbatha. Completus est Liber Lune. Laudetur Deus et benedicatur. Concedatque nobis scientiam operari in ipso et per ipsum. Amen.

Title : Liber Solis

Inc. : In ordine septem planetarum librorum Solis Liber secundum locum obtinet sicut in libro Lune iam diximus.

Expl. : in suis locis firmata et sic complebitur Liber Solis cum intentione operantis.

Expl. : Hic est finis vii librorum secundum vii planetas ex doctrina Abel iusti filii Ade qui fuit primus pater scientiarum sculptarum in lapidibus ex timore futuri diluvi quos postea invenit Hermes. Deo gratias.

Expl. : Perfectus est liber quem invenit Hermes Triplex post diluvium in marmoribus sculptum quem Abel iustus, Ade filius, optimus philosophi ei eis celaverat timens destructionem librorum propter diluvium futurum quod providerat. Grates igitur omnipotenti Deo optimo omni creatori referantur. Amen. Finis libri Saturni.

D R

Title : Opus Abel iusti ab Hermete traditum

Inc. : Dixit Hermes Triplex quod sapientes qui invenerunt sapientiam ante diluvium…

Expl. : Omne autem quod de his que diximus scribi debet de quolibet mundissimo rubeo tincto. Explicit Liber Lune cum altissimi Creatoris laude.

Title : Sequitur liber Solis, qui in ordine secundus est liber prestigiorum secundus.

Inc. : Iste est liber est secundus, qui est liber Solis, quem tractat Hermes Triplex et est de lapidibus marmoreis, prout in libro Lune iam diximus. Et sunt in eo XXIIm imagines.

Expl. : Explicit liber quem edidit Abel iustus, quem in lapidibus marmoreis ante diluvium celaverat, in quibus Hermes Triplex post diluvium in Ebron ipsum invenit et eorum precepta probavit et posteris illa tradidit, sicut in Libro Lune iam diximus, translatus de Arabico in Latinum per Robertum Castrensem.

L

Title (general) : Imagines Abelis filii Adae

L A

Title : Liber imaginum Abelis iusti Adae filii

Inc. : Septem sunt circuli planetarum

L R

Title : Septem libri septem planetarum

Inc. : Hermes dixit quod sapientes

Expl. : De septem libris imaginum planetarum <Abel>.

F

Title : Liber de imaginibus planetarum ex sciencia Abel iusti filii Ade primi patris scientiarum

Inc. : Septem sunt planetarum circuli

Expl. : Piscibus Taronbatha. Completus est Liber Lune. Laudetur Deus et benedicatur ut concedat nobis scientie in ipso et per ipsum.

Title : Liber Solis

Inc. : In ordine septem librorum planetarum Liber Solis secundus est, ut in libro Lune diximus.

Expl. : Hic est finis vii librorum secundum vii planetas ex doctrina Abel iusti filii Ade qui fuit primus pater scientiarum sculptarum in lapidibus ex timore futuri diluvi quos postea invenit Hermes. Deo gratias.

Appendix 2

/fol. 60r/

<1> Ut de quolibet homine14 rex fiat.

14m prestigium fit quando Luna est in Scorpione. Fiat ergo ymago hominis aurea et argentea et pomplea15, hiis 3 metallis16 in unum commixtis, in capite coronam habentis et17 in manu gladium. Et fumigatur18 dicens19 hoc nomen : Sabrayon. Et in corona scribatur nomen hominis et in ventre nomen Scorpionis et, quando volueris hoc facere20, provide prius ubi multitudo gencium21 congregabitur22 et tunc eis ostende dictam23 ymaginem et statim subicient se illi pro co24 facta est ipsa25 operacio ymaginis.

<2> Ut civitas vel locus tuatur vel econtra.

15m prestigium fit quando Luna est in Sagitario. Fiat ergo ymago hominis aurea dextram26 manum super collum tenentis et27 in hore28 tubam ad modum vigilantis alicuius habentis29 et fumigatur dicendo hoc nomen : Karolith. Deinde ipsa ymago in summitate turris vel monticulo aliquo includatur et sepeliatur versa facie versus illam partem extra civitate per quam speratur inimicos venturos de foris. Set quando contrarium huius rei30 fieri libuerit31, aufer tubam de ore eius et manum 118de collo et verte faciam32 ymaginis versus civitatem intrinsecus33 vel ipsa ymago inde tollatur totaliter et deponatur. […]

<3> Ut latrones capiantur.

17m prestigium fit quando Luna est in Aquario. Fiat ergo ymago hominis erea manum erectam ad modum aliquem capientis habentis34 et fumiga eam dicendo hoc nomen : Maronich. In capite scribatur nomen tuum et in ventre nomen Aquarii et in domo tua vel alico35 loco ubi eum detineri36 volueris sepelies ipsam ymaginem.

<4> Ut homo vel mulier aducatur ad locum quem vis.

18m prestigium fit quando Luna est in Piscibus. Fiat ergo ymago hominis aurea habentis os apertum et brachia ad modum aliquem37 amplexantis et fumiga eam dicendo hoc nomen : Ahaba. Et in pectore38 scribe nomen tuum et in ventre nomen Piscium et tange cum ea quem vis39 vel ei40 ostende.

<5> Ut pluvia cadat in certo loco vel non cadat.

19m prestigium fit Luna existente in Capite Draconis in primo alicuius signi gradu41. Fiat ergo ymago hominis aurea lacrimas de suis occulis evadentis qui habeat manus erectas et os apertum et habeat corpus gracille. Et fumiga eam dicendo hoc nomen, quod est super pluvias : Samforabil. Et in capite scribatur nomen signi illius42 loci in quo debet pluvi43 et in ventre nomen Capitis Draconis et sepeliatur in medio loci. Sed quando volueris pluviam aufere44, aufferantur lachrime45 de oculis dicte46 ymaginis et manus eius iungantur. /fol. 60v/

<6> Ut mirabilia a hominibus et mulieribus videantur47.

20m prestigium fit quando Luna est in Cauda Draconis et ultimo gradu alicuius signi. Fiat ergo ymago hominis erea48 testiculis et culo49 et capite discoopertis50, qui51 teneat unum cornu in ore, et manibus erectis52. Et fumiga eam dicendo hoc nomen : Misgeat. Et in capite, si fuerit masculina, comune nomen hominis scribatur ; si fuerit femina, dicendo53 nomen mulieris. Et in ventre scribatur nomen Caude Draconis. Et sepeliatur in loco comuni54 in loco diey55 Martis et postea, si quis super eam trancierit, mox de ipso56 derisio57 magna fiet.

<7> Modo videndum est de aliquibus notabilibus et orationibus dicendis secundum thema, quia tunc habentur super ymagines58. Perfecte59 sunt ymagines 20 sive60 prestigia61 cum laude Dei et auxilio quas Abel iustus veras aprovabit et post illum alii qui huic divine sciencie se dare voluerunt62. Set pretermitendum63 non est quod super unaquaque ipsarum oratio ei64 conveniens in hora sepulture dicatur65, verbi gratia66 : si intendatur ad hoc, quod67 amor maximus inter aliquos immitatur, in hora sepulture super ymaginem dicatur hec oratio, id est prestigium : « Amorem68 Socratis Soffronici cordi Platonis adybeat. » 120Et hoc idem intelligas de singularibus69 aliis prestigiis70 sed secundum thematis proprietatem71.

<8> Item notandum quod ymaginum72 compositio non73 ex infucione74 metalli fieri debet, sed ex fabricatione et maleatione celerifienda est75, et si contigerit fieri76 ex diversis metallis aliquam ipsarum77, sunt particule metallorum suis debitis locis78 solidande79, hoc tamen considerando et intuendo quod80 Luna sit in signo quod themati conveniat81 sicut satis superius expressatis82.

<9> Sequitur de oratione que omnibus signis convenit83. Nunc vero de oratione ex 12m nominibus84 in quibus omnis earum eficatia constat85 incipiamus, que talis est86 : « O creator, qui hoc signum Arietis87, id est88 Alhamel, creasti, precor te per hoc nomen tuum super ipsum positum, quod est Sibranthiba89, ut, quotienscumque90 ego adiuravero91 tecum92 per suum nomen, meum propositum ad effectum te adiuvante93 perducat94. »

<10> Hec autem oratio singulis95 signis convenit, dum tamen mutetur nomen creatoris et signi nomen eciam. Sunt in ordine96 12m Dei nomina97 ad hanc artem divinam98 valde nesasaria et in signis99 todidem et desino, quia habeo in alibis partibus[…]. Hoc vero pretermitendum100 non est quin dicamus de qua tinta omnia que101 in ymaginibus sunt scribenda scribantur, et certe omnia scribenda sunt de qualibet tinta rubea mondisima102. Explicit Liber Lune de prestigiis103.

/fol. 61r/

<1> Incipit Liber <de> prestigiis Solis secundum Ermes104. […]

1a fit Sole105 in Ariete manente106 ut vultus hominum sive mulierum mutent107 de bono in malum et egrum108 vel aliud membrum.

2a in Tauro ut omnis bestia109 ad locum quemlibet propellatur110.

3a in Geminis ut civitas vel castra111 capiatur.

4a in Cancro ut quantum ad112 visum hominis color Solis mutetur.

5a in Leone ut sanitas vel infirmitas, prout libuerit113, hominibus vel mulieribus114 detur vel115 auferatur116.

6a in Virgine ut ab aliquo117 omnis sciencia118 eius aufferatur.

7a ymago fit in Libra ut amor maximus inter aliquas personas mittatur119.

8a in Scorpione ut tota substancia120 ipsius121 ab aliquo per violenciam122 auferatur.

9a in Sagitario ut alicui123 pecunia augmentetur124.

10a in Capricornio ut omnis sciencia augmentetur.

11a in Aquario ut rex vel alter te125 diligat.

12a ymago fit Sole in Piscibus ut omnia que volueris126 ad te ducantur127. […]

<2> De nomine Solis per quemlibet signum desi[g]no, quia habeo in alia parte.[…]

<3> Qualiter operatur ad exercicium huius artis se debet habere et qualiter se debeat facere128.

Nunc autem sciendum est quod quicumque129 huius libri precepta procequi130 intendit, antequam incipiat, in die precedenti ieiunet et balneatur, et131 in pannum mondisimum sit indutus. Postea vero ymaginem facere incipiat ita132 : cum133 Sole in primo gradu signi ad qualitatem134 thematis pertinentis morante, capud ymaginis135 fiat et, quod136123facilius intelligatur, breviter tale ponitur exemplum137. Siquidem thema fuerit138 ut membrum alicuius hominis139 torqueatur, capud eiusdem140 ymaginis fiat in primo gradu Arietis Sole141 morante : nares in 3o, aures […] crura in142 28, pedes et eorum accidentia in 29o.

<4> Quibus horis sculpi et fumigari debeant143.

Sed sciendum est quod quedam sunt in imaginibus144 que sculpi debent. Unde145 quibus horis146 ? : Sole in 3o147 gradu signi demorante ad qualitatem thematis pertinentis et serte a148 primo ortu Solis149 usque ad inicium hore quinte150, set fumigacio fiat in hora septima151. Tamen152 exorcismus autem uniuscuiusque153 ymaginis fiat cum nomine Solis et nomine signi in quo Sol fuerit et cum154 nomine diei155 Sole regente et complebitur votum agentis156. Sed, ne aliquid huic desit libro, dicamus de quo genere metalli fieri debent ymagines, et certe fieri debent omnes de argento. /fol. 61v/

<5> De compositione dictarum 12 ymaginum.

<6> Prima igitur ymago fit Sole in Alhamel, id est in Ariete manente ut infirmitas alicui homini in membrum quod volueris157 immitatur.

Fiat ergo ymago hominis, ut superius diximus, et sit hominis. Quod si pro muliere fuerit, fiat ymago feminea. Hoc tamen previso, ut illud membrum in quo infirmitatem mittere158 volueris, de propio statu torqueatur et in pectore anuli Solis sculpantur et in capite nomen signi et nomen Solis in signo morantis et in ventre sculpantur hec sigilla :

Et postea suffumigetur et exorcizetur secundum quod superius diximus. Ostendatur ymago prefata illi quem infirmare vis. Et dixerunt philosophi quod Noe filius Lamech mutavit faciem filii sui Cham cum hoc prestigio. Generaliter potest infirmus sanari : si volueris infirmus sanare a quolibet morbo159 scribe in mense160 Alhamel, Sole161 in ipso existente, hec quatuor sigilla :

in pergameno de ariete nato die dominico facto, et162 eciam illud nomen Dei magni163, primum164 nomen domini Solis libro Solis pertinens et in carta scribatur Snissoth165. Hoc interim dicto166 et in eadem167 carta scripto, scilicet ille pro quo istut facio a qualicumque morbo gravatur sanetur. Postea fumigetur cum fumigationibus prefatis168 et circa collum infirmi ligetur et sanabitur.

<7> Secunda ymago fit Sole in Tauro ut omnis bestia ad locum quemlibet169 destinatum ducatur.

Fiat ymago hominis capud illius bestie habentis quam deducere volueris et in pectore sculpe anulos Solis et in capite nomen signi et Solis in signo morantis170, in ventre vero hec sigilla :

Et exorsisetur et in loco in quo volueris sepeliatur et maximum habet effectum. Et dixerunt philosophi quod Sanson fortis ligavit 30 chalep, id est lepores171, cum hoc prestigio. Sunt autem sigilla prefata ad aliud valde nesasaria, si alicui homini immitere libuerit malum172 : scribe ergo hec sigilla in die Almusteri, scilicet quarta173 hora ipsius174 diei Sole in Tauro manente in pelle servina175 et nomen eius pro quo facis scribatur, hoc eciam adito, ut in eadem176 carta […] dicta sigilla. Deinde nomen domini Solis et postea hec oratio : « Ille pro quo illut facio177. » Postcam178 ante eius ianuam sepelietur, nomine eius statim dictus infirmetur179. Deinde fumigetur et ante180 eius ianuam181 sepeliatur et magnum habebit effectum. […]

<8> Quinta ymago fit Sole in182 Alazet, id est, in Leone morante, ut homo quilibet sive mulier ab infirmitate custodiatur183.

Fiat ergo ymago hominis in cuius pectore anuli184 Solis sculpantur et in capite nomen signi et nomen Solis in signo morantis185. In facie vero sculpa[n]tur hoc nomen : Bafria. Et in ventre vero sculpa<n>tur hec sigilla :

Fumigetur et exorsizetur et in curia illius pro quo facta est sepeliatur186 dicendo istut prestigium187 : « Socratem Sofronicum188 ab omni infirmitate custodeat et liberet. » Et dixerunt philosophi quod quidam sapientes per hoc prestigium ante diluvium multos189 ab infirmitatibus190 custodiebant, qui191 non moriebantur donec totus eorum naturalis complectionis cursus transieret. /fol. 62r/

<9> Decima ymago fit Sole in Elgidi morante ut cui192 volueris omnis sciencia augmentetur.

Fiat ergo ymago hominis in cuius pectore sculpantur anuli Solis et in capite193 nomen signi et nomen Solis in signo morantis194. In facie eius vero sculpantur195 hec quatuor nomina : Baconon, Karonon, Dyaath, Bina. Et196 in ventre vero sculpantur197 hec sigilla […]. Deinde fumigetur et fumigando exorsizetur sicut superius diximus, hiis quinque nominibus in terminis dictis198, scilicet Baroni, Taror, Dathoy, Kaliharam, Soliham. Que199 postea circa collum eius pro quo fit suspendatur in medio secundi diei mensis alicuius computati200 iuxta Arabum veritatem. Perfecte sunt ymagines 12 Solis et desivi alias.