Papal Magic

It is acknowledged Church doctrine that sorcery is the specific domain of the Devil. Yet occult tales are liberally sprinkled throughout the Old and New Testaments, from the spirit-invoking Witch of Endor to the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Throughout its 2,000 year history, the Church has spawned numerous mystical religious orders, like the Knights Templar, that may have been engaged in supernatural pursuits, while no fewer than three popes were believed to be involved in occult practices.Christian scriptures tell us that the occult is real, while Catholic priests are thought to have spiritual power over ghosts and evil entities. But if a priest can cast out demons during the rites of exorcism, does it not imply he has the ability to summon them as well?In this eye-opening, provocative work, leading occult scholar Simon examines the Church's unspoken relationship with forbidden magic by exploring the infamous seventeenth-century document considered by some to be the most demonic of all occult textsthe Grimoire of Pope Honorius IIIand illuminates the Vatican's darkest hidden corners.

Auteur

Simon is a student of magic, occultism, and religion since the mid-1960s and the editor of the Necronomicon, Simon was a frequent lecturer for the famed Warlock Shop in Brooklyn and the Magickal Childe Bookstore in Manhattan for more than ten years before his sudden disappearance in 1984, speaking on topics as diverse as religion and politics, occultism and fascism, ceremonial magic, demonolatry, the Tarot, the Qabala, and Asian occult systems. He also conducted private classes for the New York City OTO during this period, with a focus on Enochian magic, "Owandering bishops," and Afro-Caribbean occult beliefs. An ordained priest of an Eastern Orthodox church, Simon has appeared on television and radio discussing such topics as exorcism, satanism, and Nazism. The media events he organized in the 1970s and 1980s -- with rock bands, ritual performances, and celebrity appearances -- helped to promote the "occult renaissance" in New York City. After decades of study in European, Asian, and Latin American cult centers, this book marks his first public appearance in more than twenty years.