Dictionary of Witchcraft

In the year 1582, Abel de Larue, called “The Smasher,” appeared before Nicolas Quatre-Sols, civil and criminal lieutenant in the bailiwick of Coulommiers, charged with having cast a spell on Jean Moureau on the day of his marriage to Phare Fleuriot... . After some hesitation, he admitted the charges. He confessed that he had been placed by his mother in the Franciscan monastery, and that he had become enraged at Caillet, the instructor of the novices, who had beaten him. As he was thinking about avenging himself, a black spaniel appeared before him and promised not to hurt him in any way provided he would surrender himself to the dog. The black dog, which was really a demon, took him to a room in the monastery called “The Bookstore” and then disappeared after telling him that he would always come to his rescue... . The court sentenced the accused to be hanged and garroted ... and decreed that the sorcerer’s body should be burned after his death. The decree was executed on July 20, 1582.

A demon of high degree, the grand duke of hell. Sixty legions are under his command. He reveals himself as a handsome rider bearing a lace, a standard or a scepter. He knows all the secrets of war, foresees the future, and teaches leaders how to win the love of their soldiers.

Abnormal Births

Ambroise Pare cites the case of a Neopolitan pig with the head of a man. Bayle speaks of a woman who gave birth to a black cat, which was burned by the Inquisition as being the offspring of a succubus... . All such accounts must be rejected unless attested by sufficient evidence. It is reasonable to assume that one-eyed monsters, such as the Cyclops, have been born, but not that a woman can give birth to an elephant or that one pregnancy can result in the birth of one hundred and fifty children. The most fecund woman on record ... is a Russian who with the help of four husbands gave birth to sixty-two children during her lifetime.

A famous mystical word used especially in Persia and in Syria. When written as in the accompanying figure and worn as an amulet around the neck, it was believed to ward off diseases and to be particularly effective in curing a fever.

Abrasax or Abraxas

A god in certain Asian theogonies. From his name is derived the magical word abracadabra. He is represented on amulets as having the head of a cock, the feet of a dragon, and a whip in his hand. Demonologists have made him a demon with the head of a king and with serpents for his legs. The Egyptian Basilides, second-century heretics, looked upon him as their supreme god. Finding that the seven Greek letters contained in his name amounted to 365, the number of days in the year, they placed at his command several spirits who presided over the three hundred and sixty-five heavens and to whom they attributed three hundred and sixty-five virtues, one for each day. The Basilides also said that Jesus Christ, Our Savior, was but a benevolent spirit sent to the earth by Abrasax. They deviated from the doctrine of their leader.

Adam (the Abbot)

While the Templars were being annihilated in France, the devil appeared before Father Adam in various guises. The evil spirit first appeared as a tree and blocked his passage ... but the abbot made the sign of the cross and caused it to disappear, leaving in the air the odor of sulfur. He next appeared in the shape of a tall man with a long, skinny neck. The abbot ... lost his patience, made a circle on the ground, and drew a cross inside the circle. The devil was forced to surrender. He changed his ears into horns, but this did not prevent the abbot from heaping abuse upon him. The devil, offended, returned in the form of a cartwheel and rolled lightly over his belly... . Then he allowed the abbot to continue peacefully along his route.

Grand chancellor of hell, superintendent of the wardrobe of the ruler of demons, and president of the high council of devils. He was worshiped at Sepharvahim, an Assyrian city, where children were burned on altars. The rabbis say that he reveals himself in the shape of a mule, and sometimes in the shape of a peacock.

Two Lombard noblemen named Aldon and Granson had displeased Cunibert, the king of Lombardy, and the latter had resolved to have them killed... . A big fly alighted on his forehead and gave him a vigorous bite. Cunibert struck the insect but managed to deprive him of but one leg, and the fly disappeared. At the same instant Aldon and Granson, who were together, saw before them a man who seemed exhausted and who had a wooden leg. This man informed them of the king’s plan, advised them to flee, and vanished immediately thereafter. The two noblemen gave thanks to the spirit ... and departed, as the circumstances dictated.

Grand duke of hell. He has the shape of a unicorn, but when called forth he reveals himself in the shape of a man. When commanded to do so, he gives concerts; though he is not seen on such occasions, one hears the sound of trumpets and of other musical instruments. Trees sway to the sound of his voice. He commands twenty-nine legions.

Grand marquis of hell. He appears to have the body of an angel and the head of a wood owl, and to be riding a black wolf and carrying in his hand a pointed saber. He teaches those whom he favors to kill their enemies, masters and servants. He stirs up trouble and dissension. He commands thirty legions.

“It is by no means rare,” said Voltaire, “for a person under strong emotional stress to see something that does not exist.” A woman, accused in London in 1726 of being an accomplice to the murder of her husband, denied the fact. She was shown her shroud ... and her wild imagination made her see her husband. She threw herself at his feet and tried to embrace him. She told the jury that she had seen her husband... . Theodoric saw in the head of a fish that had been brought to his table the head of a man whom he had assassinated. Charles IX, after the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, saw blood and dead victims not in dream but in the convulsions of a troubled mind which in vain sought sleep... . Apparitions, said Iamblichus, are analogous to their essence; the appearance of the gods (or of the saints) is comforting, that of archangels terrifying, that of angels less frightening, and that of demons revolting. He adds that it is rather difficult to recognize oneself in the apparitions of specters, for they come in thousands of varieties.

It was held, during the seventeenth century, that corpses, the ashes of animals and even the ashes of burned plants contained reproductive seeds; that a frog, for example, could engender other frogs even as it decayed, and that the ashes of roses had produced new roses... . Peasants believe that a Christian who has eaten seven bushels of ashes is certain to go directly to paradise.

Powerful grand duke in hell. He has the face of an ugly angel and is seen riding on an infernal dragon, holding a viper in his left hand. Some magicians say that he holds sway in the West, that he solicits the friendship of great noblemen, and that he must be summoned on Wednesday. The Sidonians and the Philistians worship him. He is said to be the treasurer in hell. Wierus states that he knows both the past and the future, that he freely answers questions about the most occult matters, and that it is easy to make him talk about creation, the misdeeds and the fall of the angels ... but that in his conversations he maintains that he himself was unjustly punished... . He is cited as one of the seven princes of hell who, according to the English tradition, visited Faust.

Nicole Aubry, the wife of a tailor in Vervins, went to her grandfather’s tomb to pray. She thought she saw her grandfather, who had died without confessing his sins, come out of his tomb and order her to have masses said for the repose of his soul, which was in purgatory. The young woman was terror-stricken. When her sickness continued unabated, the report circulated that the devil had taken the shape of Vieilliot, her grandfather, and that she was possessed. Claude Lautrichet, a priest, and Guillaume Lourdet, a teacher, conjured up the spirit, which tried to pass through the soul or the good angel of the deceased, but the spirit’s words and actions showed that he was an angel of darkness... . Pierre Delamotte, a Dominican friar and a renowned exorcist, made the spirit admit that he was Beelzebub. Prayers, fasting and macerations were prescribed. A monk whipped himself publicly to obtain the expulsion of the demon. In an attempt to exorcise the evil spirit, the possessed woman was given communion, and she ceased to gambol about.

Aueiran (Isaac de)

Sorcerer tried in Bordeaux at the age of twenty-five. Asked how he had learned witchcraft, he admitted that at the age of ten or twelve ... he had gone one day to a neighbor’s house for fire. He was asked ... by the old woman whether he wanted to see the grand master of sabbats . . . and carried through the air to the place where men and women were shouting and dancing. A big black man came up to him ... and struck him on the shoulder, saying, “Stay, stay... .” Later he saw that the big black man had also marked him just above his hand. Finally, he added, the devil ... came one day and took him back to the sabbat, where he danced and ate like all the others. He was ... condemned to be burned on May 8, 1609.

Aupetit (Pierre)

Priest and sorcerer in the village of Fossas, parish of Paias, near the town of Chalu in Limousin, executed as a caster of spells and a practitioner of magic, at the age of fifty, on May, 25, 1598... . To extract from him the truth, he was put on the rack. He confessed that he had gone to the sabbat; that he read from the book of spells; that the devil, in the shape of a sheep, more black than white, had the others kiss his behind; that Crapoulet, a notorious sorcerer, had taught him the secret of using levers, of staunching and stopping the flow of blood; that his demon or familiar spirit was named Beelzebub; that he had been given the spirit’s little finger ... that this devil had taught him what he must do to possess any woman or girl of his choosing, and in any manner of his choosing... . He persisted with his ridiculous revelations even under torture.

Aymar (Jacques)

Peasant born in Saint-Veran, in the province of Dauphiné, on September 8, 1662, between midnight and one o’clock in the morning. He was a mason and became famous as a result of his use of the divining rod. Some have attributed his rare talent to the precise time of his birth, for his brother, born during the same month two years later, had no success with the divining rod. Previously the rod had been employed only in searching for metals used in alchemy. But Jacques Aymar performed marvels with his rod. He laid claim to the discovery of underground streams, forgotten landmarks, spells, thefts, and assassins... . He finally confessed that he was an imposter, that his rod had no power, and that he had tried to enrich himself through his acts of charlatanism.