Palmistry diagrams from a German Chiromantia. The left hands are meant are meant for men and the right hands are meant for women. Unknown Author, Late 15th century. From the Bavarian State Library
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Diagrams of Alchemical Instruments from a book by Johann de Monte Hermetis, 1680. The Latin/German title, roughly translates to to Explanation of the Center of the Triangle of the Center of a Dream; That is: Explanation of the Hermetic Golden Flow. From Embassy of the Free Mind
A superstition of the American South: If you wash a dog and then wash your face in the same water, you will be able to see spirits. – from North Carolina Folklore Journal, July 1966 Issue
Hmyail are Armenian prayer scrolls, meant for the home and travel, that were used in the 17th century for sermons, magical formulas, and warding off demons. From: The Library of Congress
“The Mirror of Art and Nature” a diagram from Cabala, Speculum Artis et Naturae, in Alchymia by Stephan Michelspacher, 1616
The Golden Wheel of Fortune is a divination tool, used by occultist Cagliostro. To tell your fortune, place it face down & prick the back with a needle. Read the message of the marked number. The messages are related to the typical concerns of divination: money, sex, relationships, and health.
From A Handbook of Cartomancy, Fortune-telling and Occult Divination, 1889
Akton is a demon that causes aches and pains in humans, afflicting the ribs and lower back. According to the Testament of Solomon, he can be rid by saying the names Marmaraoth and Sabaoth. The latter being one of the Hebrew names for God.
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According to Kabbalah, when a person’s body decomposes or is cremated, a tiny bone at the base of the spine, called the luz, always remains intact. When the dead are resurrected, their physical bodies will reconstitute from this seed-like bone. Image: J. Gamelin, 1778⠀
Gruesome personifications of Death in Medieval manuscripts.
Depictions of demons and the devil with extra faces, often on the groin, are common in medieval manuscripts. Some theorize that it represents their spiritual corruption, by emphasizing the senses that focus on the material world, others think it’s merely to make them monstrous.
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The preeminent source of jinn-lore is One Thousand and One Nights (aka Arabian Nights), a collection of tales from Arabic, Persian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian traditions. The evolving collection has stories of characters we know today, like Aladdin and Sinbad.
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Illustrations by Martin van Maële from the 1911 edition of the book Satanism and Witchcraft (La Sorcière) by Jules Michelet, first published in 1862. While widely inaccurate, the book was one of the first sympathetic portrayals of the history of witchcraft.
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