Picatrix: A Medieval Treatise on Astral Magic

I was pleased to see the new complete translation of Picatrix by Dan Attrell and David Porreca released in the Magic in History Series of Penn State Press. Picatrix is central to European astrological magic that it deserves an academic treatment. In addition, the willingness of Penn State Press to release a complete translation of Picatrix shows how things have changed in the past decade and the yeoman work done by mages such as Austin Coppock, Alexander Cummins and Cliff Low to delve deeply into astrological magic.As the translators point out at page 2 this version of Picatrix is, "specifically intended for students and scholars of the history of science and magic" In addition to the complete text of the Latin Picatrix in English translation the translators provide useful historical accounts of the pre-history of Picatrix and of the Latin text, Picatrix's exposition of the path of the sage, the use of the terminology nigromancia for astrological magic and the cosmology of Picatrix. Most interesting is a statistical breakdown of the types of magic in Picatrix. Finally, the translators elucidate their view of the importance of psychoactive drugs in ritual, though the translators insist at page 28 that they do not, "wish to suggest that all magic in the Picatrix can be explained away as drug addled delusion…"Coming as it does from an academic perspective, focused on history and social science the Attrell and Porreca translation provides a valuable orientation and background for the contemporary practitioner of astrological magic. No single translation can do justice to a work as complex as Picatrix and anyone who is serious about astrological magic or interested in Picatrix should certainly get a copy of the Attrell and Porreca translation as well as the Greer and Warnock Picatrix and the forthcoming Arabic Picatrix translation.

Excellent book, with a complete introduction that covers different points of view of the creation of such work of art, it can be seen that it was translated with a team of high academic preparation and knowledge on the subject. It was translated with a lot of precision, respect, professionalism and with much seriousness to the subject. The book is made with high quality and its pages are quite thick. The only mistake that I could notice and it is difficult for me not to be upset, is that they created the index and left out the chapters of each book. For me it is a gross error in comparison with other versions. It's the reason why I could not give 5 stars.

Excellent academic translation of an ancient Latin text. If you are a student of occult history, this is the book you want. If you are a practicing magician, maybe not so much. This book made me a fan of Dan Attrell’s no-nonsense approach to magical history. No vague implications of wisdom from before recorded history here, just translation from actual historical text.

Two things make this translation of the Picatrix a must have for any fan of the work. First, it has an index, and it's a really nice index that is fairly complete. Second, the paragraphs are numbered, so we can refer to things as being mentioned in Picatrix 3.4.1, and then somebody else can go look it up and say, "Ha ha, good one." The translation seems to be really solid, too. It's a great edition.

I love how the book was organized. Compared to the Warnock translation this alone paints a better picture of the world in the introduction, reads better, and also goes deeper into the historicity. I have waited to get this book and it payed off. It is perfect for the academic into occultism, European Studies of the Renaissance or Medieval. The translators also draw from other scholars to reach their conclusions. Well thought out and it provides great information.