THE 6th AND 7th BOOKS OF MOSES, OR MOSES' MAGICAL SPIRIT ART - KNOWN AS THE WONDERFUL ARTS OF THE OLD WISE HEBREWS, TAKEN FROM THE MOSAIC BOOKS OF THE CABALA AND THE TALMUD, FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND.
Book Details + Condition: Empire Publishing Co. (New York), circa 1920s. Softcover. 128 pages, with b&w illustrations. This anonymous edition first appeared in the 1920s or 1930s, and was reprinted many times in the ensuing decades. Original printed wrappers. A solid copy, with some shelf wear to covers, with discoloration; tight binding; chipping to cover edges and a few pages; repaired tears to title page; pages browned (as common) but free of markings. Despite the text being of relatively recent origin - most scholars suggest it first began to appear in manuscript form in the 18th century - The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses is arguably one of the most influential of all the grimoires. It contains a series of magical incantations, spells and seals purportedly from the lost magical Books of the Biblical prophet Moses. The work apparently originated in Germany and then spread to America via the Pennsylvania Dutch, and their "pow-wow" books. It began to appear in print in the late nineteenth century, and became popular in the African American South and also in the Caribbean, and West Africa, making its mark on the Hoodoo, Rastafarian, and various African religious movements, as well as on European and American occultists.
