Drawing representing balance between masculine and feminine in a chapter about equilibrium from “Le serpent de la Genèse” (The Serpent of Genesis) Volume 2, by Stanislas de Guaita, 1920. Source: Embassy of the Free Mind
Depiction of a sorcerer’s lair from the chapter entitled “Inventory of the Sorcerer’s Arsenal” in the book “Le serpent de la Genèse” (The Serpent of Genesis) Volume 1, by Stanislas de Guaita, 1920. Source: Embassy of the Free Mind
The Monster of Krakow first appeared in Histoires Prodigieuses by Pierre Boaistuau, 1559. Four hours after its birth, the demonic beast reportedly uttered “Watch, the Lord cometh” and died. Source: Wellcome Collection
Henry Wellcome commissioned this watercolor from R. Cooper in 1912, depicting an unconscious man being attacked by demons with surgical instruments. The painting is meant to represent the effects of chloroform on the human body. Source: The Wellcome Collection
Before pregnant with Dionysus, Princess Semele dreamt Zeus destroyed a fruit tree with lighting, but the fruit was unharmed. A bird to retrieved a fruit, and he sewed it to his thigh, before a man emerged from that spot. Semele then realized that she was the tree.
A witch at her cauldron, standing in a magic circle, surrounded by demons. A grimoire (book of magick spells) can be seen in the right corner, and a goat, representing the Devil, can be seen behind her. Etching by Jan van de Velde II, 1626. Source: Wellcome Library
Bookplate found in “Des marques des sorciers et de la réelle possession que le diable prend sur le corps des hommes” by Jacques Fontaine, 1865. The title of the book roughly translates to “Marks of sorcerers and real possession of the devil taking over men’s bodies”. Source: Wellcome Library
The arrow of Brahma is a magical weapon given to the demi-god Rama by Agastya, a sage and heavenly historian. In Rama’s battle against the many headed demon-king Ravana, he was only able to defeat him after using this arrow. Image source: British Library
Dagol, The Prince of Darkness. The name Dagol doesn’t appear in any other grimoires or demonology books that I could find. His ‘Prince of Darkness’ designation leads one to believe it could be another name for Satan himself, however the demon Belial also bears that title. Though the source is quite old, it isn’t as old as it purports to be and was likely created for resale as a rare book, not as a genuine grimoire. Compendium Of Demonology and Magic, 1775.
