The Sworn Book of Honorius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sworn Book of Honorius, or Liber Juratus, is one among many grimoires that circulate among occultists, both of the academic and practitioner interests. Said to be the work of Honorius of Thebes, it was probably written in the 13th century. The Sworn Book has many instructions on how to conjure and command demons, to work other magical operations, and knowledge of what lies in Heaven among other highly sought information. Like many grimoires, this one has lengthy dissertations for proper operation and seals to be used.

The book is one of the oldest existing medieval grimoires as well as one of the most influential. It is said that John Dee, creator of the Enochian magic system, had this book in his private library. It is probably one of a few books that influenced his mystical and occult works. Another famous occultist, Henry Cornelius Agrippa has also been rumored to have been influenced by this work.

The Liber Juratus can be classified as a Solomonic Grimoire due to its heavy use of angelic powers and seals like those found in The Greater Key of Solomon. It may also be grouped with Kabbalistic works, though its use of the Kabbalah is remote.

Daniel Driscoll published a loose English translation of Liber Juratus, The Sworn Book of Honourius (sic) the Magician, Heptangle Books, 1977. This has been viewed as a feeble attempt and has not garnered respect in the occult community, who feel Driscoll omitted large portions, misread and misplaced angelic names and words from the prayers, did not make use of the best manuscripts, and applied serious liberties in some way of an artist’s license with the text. Though the community at large sees it as a poor work of scholarship, it has still remained as a collectible.