Picatrix

Definition

The *Picatrix* is the usual Latin name for a wide-ranging medieval Arabic handbook of astrological magic, the *Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm* ("The Aim of the Wise," or "The Path of the Wise"). It was written in al-Andalus around 1000 CE and translated, by way of Castilian, into Latin at the court of Alfonso the Wise of Castile in 1256. It is arranged in four books, covering cosmology, the planetary spirits, correspondences among animals, minerals, and plants, and the making of talismans — including the Book IV, Chapter 9 set of twenty-eight talismans for the lunar mansions, the Moon's daily resting-places.

In Tradition

Both the medieval Latin magical-astrological tradition and the modern Western revival treat the *Picatrix* as the most extensive surviving Arabic handbook of astrological magic. Astrologers read its Book I, Chapter 4 list of favourable lunar-mansion timings — attributed in the text to "all the wise men of India" — and its Book IV, Chapter 9 talisman recipes as the primary source for the magic of the lunar mansions. This material runs alongside, but stays distinct from, the mansion lists in al-Biruni and the Indian-derived nakshatra system.

In Practice

You will most likely meet the *Picatrix* through the Greer-Warnock English translation (Adocentyn Press, 2010–2011) or through Hashem Atallah's direct Arabic-to-English working translation. The most-used part is the set of mansion talismans in Book IV, Chapter 9, paired with the electional rules — guidance on timing — from Book I, Chapter 4; some readers also work with the planetary-spirit material in Book III. The book is unusually frank: it preserves sigils, suffumigations (ritual smoke or incense), invocations, and harmful as well as helpful talismans, and Warnock's translation keeps both, with editorial notes on responsibility and intent.

Historical Origin

The Arabic *Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm* was written around 1000 CE in al-Andalus, and the 1256 Latin translation was sponsored by Alfonso X of Castile. Both the Arabic and Latin originals are public-domain. The standard modern English critical translation is John Michael Greer and Christopher Warnock, *The Picatrix: Liber Atratus Edition* (Adocentyn Press, 2010–2011), with its companion volume *The Complete Picatrix* (Adocentyn Press, 2011); both are copyrighted-modern. Sloane MS 3679 in the British Museum, once owned by William Lilly, is one of the principal manuscript witnesses for Warnock's translation of Book VI.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading