The Dark Arts and Crafts
On The Art of Cyprian’s Mirror of Four Kings: An early modern experiment of Cyprian conjuration by Alexander Cummins.
by Mat Hadfield
This concise pamphlet of twenty-eight pages from Hadean Press is as important, insightful, and rich in quality as any weighty tome on the subject of the Spirits. This Guide to the Underworld brings to light the fascinating contents of Sloane ms 3850, the Art of Cyprian, that great Necromancer of Antioch, and the process of the creation of a magic mirror dedicated to a set of hitherto obscure cardinal regents. ‘The Art’ is rich with a multitude of threads, topics, and procedures, all of which are presented to the reader with enough hints and clues to tease out and explore a veritable warren of rabbit holes. Since its publication this pamphlet has been a great source of inspiration in my personal work.
While many readers may be familiar with the importance of the Four Kings, most notably through the publication of Skinner and Rankine’s ‘Clavis Inferni’, as well as Jake Stratton-Kent’s Encyclopaedia Goetica, few know of how deep the importance of this directionality truly is to the nature of our engagement with the Spirits and of the centrality of the Crossroads to our work. Re-establishing and revitalising our relationship with these Regent Spirits and their Courts is one of the principal pillars of the emerging practice of Goetia. Fewer still know that our now better-known Kings, Oriens of the East, Amaymon of the South, Paymon of the West and Egyn of the North, are but one set of a panoply of Cardinal Sovereigns embedded within a vast ecology, many of which are once more coming to light, revealed by the tireless efforts of modern scholars and magicians. Speaking for myself, it is quite clear that this gem of a text stands out in Hadean Press’ increasingly impressive collection of Guides to the Underworld; however, I may be more than a little biased in this regard as developing a relationship with the Four Kings has been a central focus of my personal work for several years now, a task greatly aided by the good Doctor Cummins.
This pamphlet is not simply a product of research but a labour of love attested by the frank discussions found within based on Dr Cummins personal experiences with working alongside these Spirits, the use of materia such as the lampblack used for the magical ink to create the seals necessary for this particular experiment, the, ‘clear, fine and fair glass’ for the mirror itself, as well as observations concerning the necessities to be observed before and during the rites of magic. Some of the more minor aspects of this commentary have proceeded to become genuinely useful aspects of my own work, regularly utilised and even developed, an example being the use of placing a grain of both frankincense and myrrh wrapped in gold leaf under the tongue before beginning one’s conjurations to make one’s voice sweet.
While many of these smaller details are extremely useful and fascinating, the goal of Cyprian’s Mirror is to address a key technique mostly missing from modern reconstructions of magical practices, that is, the construction, consecration, and use of the Mirror during conjuration. Before the modern era there are many records of sorcerers using a reflective surface such as a bowl of water, polished metal, or a fingernail in a practice synonymous with what has in modern times been described as evocation, whereas the practice of scrying has been divided into a separate subdomain of practice more closely related to divination. In texts such as Ioannis Marathakis’ translation of the late Byzantine grimoire Hygromanteia, a title literally meaning Water Bowl Divination, we clearly see that there was no such distinction made between these two practices in antiquity and that they are often described as the same technique, that being, Conjuration. Later in medieval Europe we find the use of shew stones to be exceptionally popular as described in both Cummins and Legard’s An Excellent Booke as well as Klaasen and Wright’s The Magic of Rogues, the first of which goes into fantastic detail on how such an object was used to make contact with Spirits and forge a grimoire, the latter in the attempt to discover treasure. This magical tool is described in a multitude of texts, many of which detail the shew stone as the tool of Cunning men and sorcerers in court records, while others are detailed in the magical texts of court astrologers such as John Dee and Edward Kelly. What is usually missing from the grimoires extant, with some notable exceptions, is a breakdown of exactly how to create such a Mirror, and this is where The Art of Cyprian’s Mirror of Four Kings, An Early Modern Experiment of Cyprianic Conjuration steps in.
Once the preambles have been completed the pamphlet is in effect a modern reiteration of Sloane MS 3850, a grimoire unto itself, with errors corrected and with a far more digestible presentation. Given the quality of content and attention to detail it has much to offer from repeated readings, as many of the instructions at first appear somewhat complex, especially concerning the creation and application of the Pentagon, Mortagon, and Ring. Many would balk at the amount of time needed to produce such an object; however, this is time that is spent entirely in the presence of the Spirits, and they have much to offer. The Art continues to describe the exact ritual steps necessary to complete the operation, including detailed conjurations, historiolae, and practical notes on working with the Chairs of the Four Kings, something I have significant experience with myself entirely thanks to the inspiration I have received from Dr Cummins.
A variety of additional manuscripts and sources are mentioned throughout, as well as a thorough bibliography which provides the reader with a solid set of literature to explore regarding this fascinating subject. (If only the 1988 version of the pseudo-Baconian grimoire, De Nigromancia, was available and affordable.) Texts such as the thirteenth century Speculum Astronomiae, said to be the origin point of the Four Kings in their current role within the demonic hierarchy, The Book of the Dannel, from which this current work derives, and The Idea of the Law, provide tantalising breadcrumbs for those willing to explore even further.
Cyprian’s Mirror is an exceptionally well researched and tested experimental and practical manual designed to guide the sorcerer in the creation of this most valuable of tools. The wealth of information contained within is enough to provide years of research and a rounded understanding of the process of the Art of Spirit conjure. Any readers interested in the study and practice of early modern goetia would do well in acquiring this fascinating and eminently useful pamphlet for themselves.
Bibliography
https://www.hadeanpress.com/shop-guides/p/the-art-of-cyprians-mirror
http://www.esotericarchives.com/
https://scarletimprint.com/alexander-cummins
https://scarletimprint.com/jake-stratton-kent
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grimoire-St-Cyprian-Clavis-inferni/dp/0955738717/
https://www.amazon.com/Magical-Treatise-Solomon-Hygromanteia-Ancestor/dp/0993
https://www.hadeanpress.com/shop-books/p/sorcerers-treasure
https://www.hadeanpress.com/shop-books/p/opuscula-cypriani
https://www.hadeanpress.com/shop-books/p/the-coimbra-book-of-saint-cyprian
https://www.hadeanpress.com/shop-books/p/necromancy-in-the-medici-library
https://www.hadeanpress.com/shop-books/p/starry-rubric
https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08929-4.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculum_Astronomiae
https://ia800209.us.archive.org/7/items/denigromancia00baco/denigromancia
Image shown is the ‘Pentagon and Mortagon’ from page 11 of The Art of Cyprian’s Mirror of Four Kings, redrawn by S. Aldarnay.
Mat Hadfield is a freelance videographer, proofreader and language teacher living in Ehime, Japan, who has a particular love for the Graeco-Egyptian and Grimoire strands of occult thought and practice.
© 2023 Mat Hadfield
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