Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XL — Of Bindings; What Sort They Are Of, and in What Ways They Are Wont to Be Done · 1 of 1 · tr. Henry Morley; L. W. de Laurence ed.
Chapter XL, Section 1
CHAPTER XL. Of Bindings; What Sort They Are Of, and in What Ways They Are Wont to Be Done . We have spoken concerning the virtues and wonderful efficacy of natural things. It remains now that we understand a thing of great wonderment—and it is a binding of men into love or hatred, sickness or health, or such like. Also the binding of thieves and robbers, that they cannot steal in any place; the binding of merchants, that they cannot buy or sell in any place; the binding of an army, that they cannot pass over any bound; the binding of ships, that no winds, though never so strong, shall be able to carry them out of the haven. Also the binding of a mill, that it can by no force whatsoever be turned round; the binding of a cistern or fountain, that the water cannot be drawn up out of them; the binding of the ground, that it cannot bring forth fruit; the binding of any place, that nothing can be built upon it; the binding of fire, that though it be never so strong, can burn no combustible thing that is put to it. Also the bindings of lightnings and tempests, that they shall do no hurt; the binding of dogs, that they cannot bark; the binding of birds and wild beasts, that they shall not be able to fly or run away. And such like as these, which are scarce credible, yet often known by experience. Now, there are such kind of bindings as these made by sorceries, collyries, unguents, and love potions; by binding to or hanging up of things; by rings, by charms, by strong imaginations and passions, by images and characters, by enchantments and imprecations, by lights, by numbers, by, sounds, by words, and names, invocations, and sacrifices; by swearing, conjuring, consecrations, devotions, and by divers superstitions, and observations, and such like.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The passage centrally lists 'names' and 'invocations' as primary tools for binding and influencing reality.
All passages →Theurgypraxis
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The passage details ritual practices like consecrations and sacrifices used to bind natural powers.
All passages →Word Power Incantationpraxis
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
The passage explicitly lists 'words', 'names', 'invocations', and 'sounds' as fundamental methods for binding reality.
All passages →Related passages · 8 parallels
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