The Codex of Sacred Magic. Summa Sacrae Magicae. Book 1-2

Magic is the science of constraining [artandi] evil and good spirits in the name of God and by their own names, as well as by the names of the things of this world.


History knows many grimoires. Small and large, by... unknown and known authors (and even without authorship), original and non-original. It seemed that all manuscripts had long been found, all the world's "10 most famous mystical texts" compiled, and most of this heritage translated into various languages.
 
The book we want to present to you was found relatively recently, in the early 21st century. But its value for contemporary practitioners in particular and the general occult movement as a whole is not diminished at all, and information about its existence was known long before its actual discovery.


Why is the "Codex of Sacred Magic" so important in the context of the grimoire tradition?


It is simple. The majority of grimoires, practices, rituals, prayers, invocations, and other essential details of the Western tradition that are known today are the result of this book. Essentially, the work done by Berengarius Ganelus in comparing and surveying the "magic of the past" and the "magic of the present" has provided interested individuals with material and knowledge for centuries to come. Summa Sacrae Magicae serves as a sort of missing link between "Picatrix" (10th century) and "The Magic of Abramelin," also known as "Occult Philosophy" (16th century). This book presents the first and second books out of five.