The General-Key of Johann Trithemius
[anonymous]
The
General-Key
To All Sciences and Secrets of
TRITHEMIUS
The
Abbot of Sponheim
Manuscript source: Universität Leipzig
Date of origin: before 1750
Material: Paper
Author: unknown
Length: 18 pages
German Transcript: Anne Hila
Latin Translation: Anne Hila
English Translation: Frater Acher
© Frater Acher 2018
Preface to the Reader
O very blessed reader, whom you are honoured to see this document, as all the secrets so the old ones hid us, are discovered here. Just pay attention that you not wickedly abuse such a magnificent and rich treasure. Because if you were to do so, later on or quite soon you would feel Heaven's revenge. All secrets which the old ones have left us in large quantities in books are either wrongly understood or badly applied; that is why the largest part has been ridiculed or understood as vain rumours, despite the fact that they rest on firm foundations. Yet whoever virtuously recognises them will experience the truth therein. Now as I have been pondering this often, it came to my mind to provide the following rules in relation to these secrets, so you may understand what has remained in darkness, and so nobody may scold me to have tried to occult these great secrets, or to take them with me to my grave. This little document will be a key for you to many great secrets.
The Key to all Secrets
Rests on these Grounds
One must belief in one unified God who is in 3 persons, and in one Nature, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; a unified God, and who does not believe this will not achieve or discover these secrets.
One must belief that the stars are of particular intelligences, or secondary causes [causa secunda], which in a natural way have their own causes before them and affect and influence all things known.
Only if they are coerced by divine magic they can carry out extraordinary and many things.
Saturn is of entirely malevolent nature, causes havoc, sickness, hate, sadness, incarceration, death and such things more; however, it is benevolent in farming and mining.
Jupiter is entirely good, causes health, wealth, in front of courts, mercy of princes, salvation in religions, safety and greatness of mind.
Mars is malevolent, causes discord, war, blood shedding, violent death, audaciousness, impudence, conditions for fighting and fear.
Sun is benevolent, causes purity, sovereignty, victory, honour, wealth, and blessedness.
Venus is benevolent for men and women, and causes love between both of them, even amongst animals, [as well as] friendship, joy, adornment and beauty.
Mercury is mixed malevolent and benevolent, causes erudition, eloquence, shiftiness, gaining of wealth, thriftiness in commerce, theft and lies.
Moon is benevolent, causes fortunate travels, attaining truthful wisdom, being insurmountable, theft, deceit, rain and navigation on waters.
Under each star belongs
an angel, a fish, a heavenly sign, a metal,
a precious stone, a tree, a herb, a bird, an
animal, a color, smell, a number,
measure and a limb of man.
So behold the steps on which one has to rise from the lowest to the highest. Though everything is explained by an example which shall be put at the end; and it is through this very example that one can reproduce all other secrets and things which take their roots in sympathy and antipathy, and by entirely natural means. Because each thing has its particular attribute, e.g. the dog the loyalty, the rooster the alertness.
Rules of the Operation
If one undertakes an operation, on all days one has to call for and plea to God from the depth of one's heart.
The one who attempts to perform this, shall be chaste in advance of the operation as well as on the actual day of the operation.
The operation has to take place in a secret location where one is not disturbed.
The operator shall be washed and bathed in the pure water of a well, as often as remarked before.
The operator has to be secretive and quiet about their science, because a prater can not affect anything good.
The operator shall have a dedicated receptacle for each planet, in which they place incense, colours, etc. and store it in a secret place.
All things leveraged during the operation shall be unused, as in the parchment, feather, ink, colours, receptacle, needle, thread, cloth and other things which are necessary for the purpose of each planet. These things they shall not allow to be seen or touched by a woman or virgin who is menstruating, as otherwise they loose their power.
All things shall be written on virgin-parchment, which shall be cut in rectangularly, which as many corners as the star [of the planet] bears in their circle.
The angular shaped figures and the things which are meant to be kept together and other things alike, shall sympathise in weight, number and measure with the planets.
One has to take the limb or something alike of a living animal, or one that is about to die.
In case one makes use of fire one has to use a wood that sympathises with the respective planet and is aligned to the operation, and the ashes have to be buried.
The entire operation has to take place during the day and hour that relates to the work; that is in case one intends to operate under [Venus] so one has to choose the hour of [Venus] in the morning when the [Sun] rises; and that is also how it relates to the other operations. However, in case one cannot complete within the hour, so one has to stop once the hour has passed, and wait for another day and the equivalent hour and day to continue and complete the operation.
After dealing with the theory we now shall approach the practice. Before this, however, one should know that I do not intend to teach the devil's work, but that one has to differentiate the evil from the good. And that is why I do not talk of the dangerous things which can be accomplished under the planets of [Saturn] or [Mars], also not of the things which may insult, such as the ones performed under [Mercury]. The following example may suffice for all of them.
Induce love amongst a man and a woman
Such experiments can be performed with rings, medals [Schaupfennige], pentacles, dreams and love potions, as well as with many other things, all according to our rules. For our example we want to choose a love potion, and create a powder which if drunk to the health of a particular person [will ensure] that this person will be in love with oneself incessantly until their death.
Preparation of the Potion
Place the note of the heavenly signs in front of you and look up which animal sympathises with [Venus]; so you will find it is the dove. Therefore, if you want to achieve that a person loves you, in case it is a female person take a female dove, in case it is a man take a male dove, and say the following prayer over them: 'In the name of the Almighty Godfather, of the Son and the Holy Spirit, who I am calling most potently to my service, so I may perform my work successfully with their help, in honour of the Name, through our Lord Christ, Amen.' [In nomine Omnipotentis Dei Patris, Filii et Spiritus S. quem efficacissime in adjutorium meum imploro, ut ejus auxilio opus meum feliciter in honorem nominis ejus perficiam, per Christum Dominum nostrum, Amen.]
After this go to a secret place and with a [Venus] knife open the belly of the dove, take out the heart, burn it while it is still shivering, turn it into powder, take also from the blood which poured from the dove and collect it in a vessel. Tear out the valerian [herbam valerianam] together with its root, press the juice from its leaves and burn the root into powder. Mix the two powders of the heart of the dove and of the root with the juice of the leaves, add a little of the powder of ambergris [ambra] and juice of myrtle and put it all into a special vessel. After this take a [Venus] needle, prick yourself into the mountain of [Venus] of the right hand until a few drops come out, and say six times 'Anael'. Moisten the powder with it [the blood], mix it well with each other, dry it and turn it into pills. Once this is done, take of amber [Agstein], feathers from the belly of the dove, and hairs from the belly of an animal, place it in the vessel in which you also keep the blood of the dove, and form little pills from it and six large ones. After that light a fire of myrtle wood, throw one of the latter pills into the fire, hold the former powder above it in a green, adequate satchel and smoke it [in the smoke of the pill] and while you cure it say six times: 'O beautiful Anael, who you delight in this incense, come to receive this, be benevolent and merciful, and may you offer yourself up to bless and sanctify this powder, so it holds the power to turn all women into lovers and to bind them to me, through Jesus Christ, Amen.' [O pulcher Anael, qui gaudes hisce odoribus, veni ad accipiendum eos, et his benignus et favens, et dignere istum pulverem benedicere et consecrare ut vim habeat convertendi et ligandi omnes mulieres in amorem meum, per Jesum Christum, Amen.]
Additionally one has to burn the body and the remains of the dove, and collect its ashes in a vessel and bury it deep in the ground. From then on the powder can be called the universal matter [universal materia], and yet it cannot attain anything in itself as it lacks a soul and principal. But writing down how to grant these to the powder, my spirit resits to reveal such thing; however, the desire to serve conquers and coerces me to disclose it still. Therefore take a virgin parchment of an unborn cow, on it draw with the feather of a dove and in green ink a figure with six angles, and within it place your own name together with the one of the person who shall love you with your blood, and connect them to each other with the name Anael, as you may see on the [example of the] names Caesar Anael Julia. After that burn the figure to powder, and mix it with the universal powder, so that together it shall weight six grams, and drink it out entirely to the health of the person whose love your are desiring, and [mixed into] whichever liquid you prefer.
Now this is the great secret which many have used and gained love from,
not only of female persons but even of wild beasts.