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Medieval Catholic Christian Magical Incantations: Historiolae or Narrative Charms During the Middle Ages, magical incantations were a popular means to ameliorate suffering and reduce fear. One such form of incantation was the narrative charm, based on a short mythical or legendary story. The mythical story (or narrative) provided the paradigm and context for the desired magical result. A narrative charm could be recited orally for the benefit of the recipient, or it could be used in a textual amulet. Modern scholars also refer to narrative charms as historiolae. The historiolae contained brief anecdotes about sacred, legendary, or mythic personages who had suffered in ways that foreshadowed the current sufferings of a person in the present day. These anecdotes therefore could metaphorically erase the barriers of time and space; past and present were no longer separate entities. Like the mythical personage featured in the charm, people who turned to such narratives held firm the hope of...

The Medieval Grimoire "The Picatrix" on the Colors and Pigments of the Zodiacal Sign of Aries The Picatrix (or in Arabic Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm) is an early medieval book of magick, astrology, and alchemy (an early form of chemistry). In the study of esotericism and the magickal arts, this book has been used for centuries as a grimoire, as well as an important historical source text. One section of the book is dedicated to describing the colors associated with the Zodiac signs, and how to make inks, pigments, and paints corresponding to those colors. The instructions for the sign of Aries are as follows (some of these substances are toxic, so do not try this at home!): "§13 The color of the first face of Aries is red and is made thus: take one part each of oak gall, gum arabic, and orpiment. Grind them up separately, then mix them together. When you desire to write or paint anything with it, combine it with egg whites." [The word "Orpiment" is an elision of the L...