There is no doubt that the Book of Treasure Spirits, edited by David Rankine, is in some ways shocking, quirky and interesting at the same time. It is a 17th century manuscript providing conjurations to help the magician to discover buried treasure, with a very fascinating history indeed. Possibly the perfect book for anyone out there who likes to go metal detecting – with a little bit of help, who knows what you might uncover – or indeed as the Cauldron reviewer suggest “throw away your metal detectors and get your wand and dowsing rods out instead” !!
The Book of Treasure Spirits edited by David Rankine
As David Rankine says in his fascinating introduction to this long ignored mid-17th century manuscript from the British Museum, in medieval times the English monarchy issues licences to treasure-hunters to help swell the national coffers and many used magical techniques to locate hidden hoards. Included in this volume are conjurations to summon spirits, fallen angels, demons and faeries to find buried treasure and it illustrates connections between diverse threads of magical belief and praxis. It also shows how the nature spirits of the ancient pagan world-view and the fallen angels of biblical myth were demonised in Christian times. Throw away your metal detectors and get your wand and dowsing rods out instead. Very highly recommended.
See http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/221/?page_id=319 for more information.
