THE ROYAL BOOK OF DREAMS AND VISIONS OF THE NIGHT, FROM AN ANCIENT AND CURIOUS MANUSCRIPT
Book Details + Condition: Effingham Wilson, Royal Exchange (London). First New Edition, ca. 1830 [nd]. Hardcover measuring 7-3/4" x 4.5". Dark green embossed boards, with gilt titling and decoration to front and spine. 161 pages, with b&w folding frontis star chart by [Isaac] Robert Cruikshank, dated 1830. By English astrologer Raphael [Pseudonym of Robert Cross Smith, 1795-1832]. Raphael was a founding member of the Society of Mercurii, an occult order in London that sparked an astrological and magic revival. The book is subtitled: "From an Ancient and Curious Manuscript, which Was Buried in the Earth During Several Centuries, Containing One-thousand & Twenty-four Oracles, or Answers to Dreams; By a Curious, Yet Perfectly Facile and Easy Method, Void of All Abstruse or Difficult Calculations; Whereby Any Person of Ordinary Capacity May Discover Those Secrets of Fate, Which the Universal Fiat of All Nations, In Every Age and Clime, Has Acknowledged to be Portended By Dreams and Nocturnal Visions".
Raphael, "Astrologer of the Nineteenth Century", here explores the world of dreams and their interpretations. He claims that the book is based on an ancient manuscript that was discovered in a royal library, and contains a wealth of information about dreams and their meanings. Raphael explains prophetic dreams, nightmares, lucid dreaming, and the role of dreams in spiritual and religious traditions. He also provides practical advice on how to interpret your own dreams, as well as tips for improving dream recall and lucid dreaming. Contents include:
- A Brief Account of the Singular Manner in Which the Manuscript was Discovered
- A Short Essay on Dreaming, with a succinct account of several famous dreams of the ancients and moderns
- The Method of Working the Signs in The Book of Dreams, in order to obtain a correct and oracular answer as to their presages: according to the precepts of the ancient manuscript before spoken of
- Lord Byron in the World of Spirits: A Vision
- The Method of Resolving the Interpretations in the Book of Dreams, by the Science of Geomancy
- And more.
The middle section of the book details "The Thirty-two Rolls of Oracles". Here, Raphael provides the Hieroglyphic Emblems of each astrological sign, as well as of the gods, goddesses, and ancient key figures, from Diana to Apollo to Medusa and Hecate, among others.
A clean and solid copy of a very scarce first edition, with firm binding; rubbed corners and edges; light wear to boards, with some rubbing / discoloration; chafed spine ends; foxing and age-toning present; very old tape to 3 creases (reverse) of fold-out frontis; interior is clean and free of markings.
