The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells: A Concise Reference Book for the Magical Arts. Judika Illes
id="u1f5cf67a-a0a7-59e3-acba-a46077d6e954">
The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells
Judika Illes
For Herta and Zoltan Illes, and Rachel and Jordan Nagengast, without whose love, patience, and support, this book could never have been written.
Table of Contents
Key Concepts for Casting Magic Spells
Better Business and Professional Success Spells
Fertility: Spells for Conception and Contraception
Pregnancy and Childbirth Spells
Youth, Beauty, and Longevity Spells
The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells contains an overview of magical spells and practices from a multitude of eras, traditions, and places. It is intended as an inclusive encyclopedia and reference book. Many of the spells contained within these pages are not to be used and should not be reproduced. Some involve dangerous, potentially harmful, and deadly poisonous botanicals. The author and the publisher strongly advise against using any spells containing noxious substances or poisonous botanicals, or spells containing blood (the use of which could result in the transmission of blood-borne diseases which may be fatal). These spells are only reproduced here to provide a historical context.
Any reader uses the spells entirely at their own risk and the author and publisher accept no liability if the spells do not have the desired effect or if adverse affects are caused.
THIS BOOK IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN.
The image is so familiar as to qualify as an archetype. It appears in countless movies, television shows, and theatrical productions. If you’re of a literary bent, you’ll find it in countless novels, too. Although there may be variations on the theme, the core image remains consistent: someone, usually but not always a witch or wizard, faced with a serious dilemma, reaches for a massive book of magic spells.
The contents of this book are rarely displayed. (An exception occurs on the television series, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. As befitting a twenty-first-century witch, Sabrina’s edition is interactive.) Oversized, well-worn, and clearly used, this book is obviously no coffee-table book but a familiar companion—in every sense of the word “familiar.” Sabrina’s book makes almost as many appearances as her black cat, and consistently proves more reliable.
The book’s very presence transmits subliminal messages. If there were previously any doubts regarding someone’s identity, then the act of reaching for the book, mere possession of this book in fact, is usually sufficient to establish occult credentials. Consider depictions of Merlin or Morgan le Fay: their big books of spells are as much a part and parcel of their magical trappings as any animal familiar, crystal ball, or wizard’s robes. Millions of kitschy statues feature an elderly gray-bearded man clutching a massive book. He may or may not be wearing his peaked wizard’s hat but his identity is clear. How do we know he’s a wizard? By the book that he holds.
This book thus signals that its reader is a metaphysician or is striving to be one. If the reader handles the book with comfort and ease, the implication is that he or she is a person of power. The book, however, can also compensate for the reader’s very lack of experience and knowledge. One frequent variation on the theme depicts a complete novice discovering sophisticated magical solutions within the book’s pages. Typically the novice is in way over his head in disaster. The very appearance of the book signals that salvation is at hand: the secrets of salvation are contained