Historical books, manuscripts and ritual texts associated with ceremonial magic, folk magic, occult practice, divination and culturally specific magical traditions. Entries distinguish documented textual history from later attribution, legend and modern occult interpretation.
John George Hohman’s The Long Lost Friend was first printed in German at Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1820 as Der lange verborgene Freund. It combines prayers, protective charms, healing formulas and household remedies within Pennsylvania German Christian folk culture. It is not an ancient grimoire and is not an Indigenous ceremonial text.
Scandinavian “black books” are a diverse family of handwritten magical notebooks from Norway, Denmark and Sweden. They contain charms, prayers, healing, protection, divination and sometimes coercive or harmful operations. Norwegian witnesses such as the Vinjeboka and books from Tinn, Borge and Elverum show local variation.
