Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic

I have another of Dr Skinner's books, and while good, it was a little slim on analysis. Dr Skinner is a well respected researcher and produces high quality books, but not everyone can afford every expensive book that comes out on these topics. There will be well heeled armchair occultists (specialist, collector or completist) who will buy this book and never read it. But many people, even now, are recognizing the (tremendous) importance, historical and practical, of the PGM. The PGM can be disorienting and discouraging to just start reading through. The material itself was begging to be organized and catalogued. Not to be filed away, but to be used and understood. I was worried initially that this book would be all charts and quotes without substantial analysis. This book is rich and meaty, well researched and engaging. It will be at my side as I study the philosophy and praxis of the PGM. I also have read Ritners Mechanics of Egyptian Magical Practice. Dr Skinner mentions Ritner favorably, and that book is a good companion to this one. Another good companion book is Algis Udavnys 'Theurgy as philosophical rite of rebirth.' Enjoy!

Reading “The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation” by Hans Betz is like discovering an ancient artifact, broken and scattered to the winds of time. Examining each fragment, the reader can easily become overwhelmed as to how it all fits and what it might look like once pieced together. The PGM is a labyrinth of ancient spells and rites, prayers and invocations, charms and amulets often with no title, introduction or perceivable order. In “Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic” (TGEM), Stephen Skinner pieces these fragments together and makes sense and order of an otherwise bewildering and complicated collection. The reader begins to better understand not just the spells and conjurations themselves but also how and why the PGM was used by magicians of old. In addition, 61 tables are provided which categorize the papyri so the reader can finally find and cross reference the PGM (including the Demotic texts) in a way never before possible. In the Acknowledgments, Skinner states that the TGEM is an “amplification” of one third of his doctoral thesis “on the transmission of magical methods and implements from the Graeco-Egyptian world to the grimoires” [From his website.] My own personal interest is in the history and development of magic from antiquity to the Renaissance and after reading TGEM I hope the remaining two thirds will one day be published.

The book is a masterful work. I'm not really interested in magic but like to read ror the exposure to the way of life of that time period. I learned a lot. Good information.

Great seller the dust cover had a minor tear but the book itself is pristine

A must-have for anyone working with the PGM or interested in the origins of many techniques and practices of the later Medieval and Renaissance grimoires. Among many things, this is a study into the precision of the magical vocabulary of Graeco-Egyptian magicians. Skinner unveils an incredibly precise lexicon of terms for magical practices and techniques that has been entirely lost in modern languages.

An excellent book for the serious student. Pulls together vast amounts of information in a manner which is much more concise than the source material.

Mr skinner has done it again another great book. If you love his work, you won't be disappointed.

Nicely done book and I do say to purchase it, but I was under the impression this book was all I needed. Nope, you have to get the Greek Magical Papyrus to go along with it. That Was my Bad.

For those of you who haven't been introduced to Stephen Skinner or these sourcebooks of Ceremonial Magic, you are in for a treat! If you want to know the nuts and bolts of the theory and practise behind the technique, this is where to start. Using real life examples from real working grimoires, dating back to the 1400s, with a little thought and patience you can piece together how the magicians of old really did it, and how you too, can incorporate these tried and tested methods into your own Ceremonial Magic !

Egypt is the hub of all Western Magical tradition. These are spells from the Greek Magical Papyri. Explained and put into context by one of the most knowledgeable authors on magical reality and grimoire tradition.

Also das Buch war der volle Reinfall! Ist eine Auflistung wann wo was erwähnt wurde ..keine Beschreibung von Ritualen ... was meine Erwartungshaltung war. Als Historiker interessant ...

Very Nice book excellent service

Stephen Skinner is a scholar of the esoteric. This academic work is a thorough and practical examination of magic from ancient Egypt, through the incorporation into the Greek methods, and ending by connecting this influence on the Renæssance and modern art. If you have ever wondered where the use of certain rituals came from or why they are required, (for example the circle), Stephen rolls back the timeline to the earliest evidence found in papiri thousands of years old.