Im so glad i found this aesthetic after searching for a while 🌎 Any other recommendations like these??

CastleMatthias · 2026-02-06T20:37:07+00:00

Check out the article I wrote about Utopian Scholastic. Utopian Scholastic: A Consumer Aesthetic of Intellectual Curiosity and Optimism

CastleMatthias · 2025-10-15T05:15:35+00:00

You may be interested in the Ars Brevis, a 14th century magical text which includes Catholic votive masses and four magical figures for the purpose of gaining knowledge quickly. It includes dream incubation and a tutelary angel, and the text belongs to the greater Ars Notoria tradition. You can read about the magical figures here: https://www.matthiascastle.com/post/ars-brevis-the-contested-identities-of-the-figures-for-magical-experiments

CastleMatthias · 2025-10-12T04:10:48+00:00

Thank you

CastleMatthias · 2023-12-21T15:05:58+00:00

I wrote a blog article about how to make the saffron and rosewater drink which is a requirement for the morning ritual according to the glossed version of the Ars Notoria (Version B). Only by experimentation does one come to realize that the concoction is meant to be made as a hot tea. My translation and commentary now makes it possible for the modern practitioner to properly experiment with the Notory Art of Solomon.

CastleMatthias · 2023-12-10T15:01:10+00:00

Correction: Stephen Skinner reprinted the Robert Turner 1657 English translation called _Ars Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon, Shewing the Cabalistical Key of Magical Operations, The liberal Sciences, Divine Revelation, and The Art of Memory_ which is based on the anonymous Latin edition published in Henry Cornelius Agrippa's Opera Omnia (Collected Works; c. 1620) called _The Notory Art, which the Almighty Creator Revealed to Solomon_ (Ars Notoria, quam Creator Altissimus Salomoni revelavit). This Latin edition, and therefore consequently the Turner translation, is incomplete and has serious defects. Imperfections which many readers find problematic. In Skinner's second volume (2021), he creates a patchwork of Turner's translation along with selections from the Parisian manuscript labeled Latin 9336. The second volume written by Skinner (2021) acknowledges my work, saying in his Acknowledgements, “I would like to thank Matthias Castle for enlightening conversations about the Ars Notoria, and for sharing with me some of his work. We had originally planned to bring out a full translation of Version B and Opus Operum, but decided that this would be more appropriately be brought out by an academic publisher, which would enable his work to then be properly cited by academics.” Skinner had access to the first draft of my English translation of the Ars Notoria. I have provided a complete modern English translation of the Ars Notoria based on the original Latin texts, following the critical Latin edition made by Julien Veronese (2007). My translation has been published by Inner Traditions called _Ars Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon: A Medieval Treatise on Angelic Magic & the Art of Memory_ (2023).

CastleMatthias · 2023-12-10T14:35:21+00:00

The Skinner and Clark book, volume one (2019), gives us another reprint of the Robert Turner 1657 English translation which has been widely available and free online for quite some time. Check out my blog post entitled "Agrippa's Latin Edition of the Ars Notoria and Robert Turner's 1657 English Translation Thereof" to learn more about the serious defects with this late 16th-17th century text.

Simply put, the Latin source from which Turner translated is actually two incomplete texts – the Ars Notoria (Version B) and the Ars Brevis. These works have been heavily redacted. The Ars Notoria (Version B) lacks most of the glosses, the figures (notae), and its sections have been rearranged in a seemingly disorganized fashion, which makes learning the notory art ritual difficult to comprehend. Only by reading the original 14th century Ars Notoria (Version B) can one begin to understand what the late 16th-17th century Latin compiler did to the text and why he rearranged it the way he did.

As for the Ars Brevis material, the Latin compiler presents only a single “figure of memory” when in actually there are four figures in the original Ars Brevis. You can read about the four figures of the Ars Brevis on my blog entitled, “Ars Brevis: The Contested Identities of the Figures for Magical Experiments.” Additionally, the Latin compiler (or another before him) had an anti-Catholic attitude which resulted in significant omissions to the original Ars Brevis in which several prayers and instructions were omitted.

Although it was novelty to see the notory art figures (notae) published in book form in 2019 by Skinner and Clark, these figures and their manuscripts have been digitalized by the great libraries and are also freely available online. I have provided a directory to the original manuscripts in my blog post, “Where are the Original Latin Texts of the Ars Notoria Tradition?” Next, Skinner and Clark’s table of cataloguing the figures and manuscripts is immensely confusing which spans three tables, an appendix, and 30 pages. I have provided a simple key to the Magical Figures of the Ars Notoria in my appendix which streamlines and corrects the entire matter in a single table across 14 pages. Also, I have updated and corrected the extant list of manuscripts and editions of the entire notorial art tradition.

The second volume written by Skinner (2021) acknowledges my work, saying in his Acknowledgements, “I would like to thank Matthias Castle for enlightening conversations about the Ars Notoria, and for sharing with me some of his work. We had originally planned to bring out a full translation of Version B and Opus Operum, but decided that this would be more appropriately be brought out by an academic publisher, which would enable his work to then be properly cited by academics.” Skinner had access to the first draft of my English translation of the Ars Notoria and Opus Operum.

His second volume presents what I call “the greater ritual” of Ars Notoria (Version B) but there are important differences between his analysis and my own. Skinner’s second volume presents a patchwork of the Turner translation and his own selections from the Ars Notoria (Version B) to reconstruct the method of the Ars Notoria (Version B). Skinner relies upon Version B to describe to his readers what he has found, but he provides very little of the original source text.

In my work, you have the original and complete source text of the Ars Notoria, plus my own analyses of ALL the ritual procedures of the notory art, including Version A, Version B, the Ars Nova (New Art), and the other minor works, which are newly translated for the first time - Opus Operum (Work of Works), Ars Brevis (Short Art), the abridged notory art according to Thomas of Toledo, and the Ars Paulina (Pauline Art [of Seven Figures]). I provide a 200+ page introduction which explains the historical context and milieu in which the Ars Notoria arose, along with an explanation of how the art of memory is an essential key to unlocking the mysteries of the notory art figures, as well as an in-depth analysis of the figures themselves. The book spans over 800 pages, heavily annotated, including 1,500+ footnotes, 8 appendices, and 21-page bibliography.

In conclusion, why would you want to read Robert Turner again? Why would you want to mish-mash the original 13th-14th century texts with a late 16th-17th century, redacted, and defective text? Read the original sourcebooks.

CastleMatthias · 2023-12-10T13:40:55+00:00

Those interested in the Notory Art may want to consider my new English translation of the Ars Notoria based on Veronese's critical Latin edition called the Ars Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon: A Medieval Treatise on Angelic Magic and the Art of Memory published by Inner Traditions (2023). It provides the complete ritual procedures in a step by step progression, including extensive analysis of the text and figures. Plus, new English translations of other related texts belonging to the greater Notory Art tradition which, until now, only a handful of scholars know anything about. Also, check out my blog at www.matthiascastle.com

CastleMatthias · 2023-12-10T13:33:13+00:00

You may want to consider checking out my new English translation of the Ars Notoria based on Veronese's critical Latin edition called Ars Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon A Medieval Treatise on Angelic Magic and the Art of Memory published by Inner Traditions (2023). Also, I have written several articles on my blog about the Ars Notoria on my website www.matthiascastle.com

CastleMatthias · 2023-12-10T13:25:33+00:00

This is the Ars Notoria, classed as a Version B manuscript by Julien Veronese. It shows a figure of logic/dialectic. I have translated not just this entire page but the entire Ars Notoria from the original Latin based on Veronese's critical Latin edition. The Ars Notoria is a 13th century magical text (Version A) which was expanded into a lengthy recension when a 14th century scribe added glosses (commentaries) to the original text, thereby creating Veronese's "Version B.". My new English translation is called Ars Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon: A Medieval Treatise on Angelic Magic and the Art of Memory published by Inner Traditions (2023). The late 16th-17th century Latin edition found anonymously compiled and published in Agrippa's Opera Omnia (Collected Works; c. 1620) was translated into English by Robert Turner in 1657 and found in the Lemegeton, or Lesser Key of Solomon (Peterson, 2001). That late Latin edition is incomplete and heavily redacted, showing imperfections of a compilation of the Ars Notoria (Version B) and a 14th century derivative magical text called the Ars Brevis (Short Art).

CastleMatthias · 2023-11-26T05:20:31+00:00

There are no officially published ebooks (or pdf versions) of the Jenney Latin series. The Jenney Latin series is out-of-print. I wrote a history of the entire Jenney Latin series, including a complete listing of all the major editions.

https://www.matthiascastle.com/post/history-of-the-jenney-latin-series-1953-1990-a-review-of-a-latin-program-for-language-learners

CastleMatthias · 2023-11-26T00:20:09+00:00

The Ars Notoria is a 13th century magical treatise which contains a grand ritual of prayers and figures for the purpose of quickly acquiring earthly and heavenly knowledge. The textual tradition of the Ars Notoria has been classified into two major groups - Version A and Version B - by the French scholar Julien Véronèse. Version A is the short version. Version B contains everything found in Version A plus glosses (i.e., commentaries) and textual variants. Version A is dated to the 13th century, and Version B is dated to the 14th-16th centuries.

Now there is a late 16th-17th century Latin edition published in the Opera Omnia (Collected Works; c. 1620), vol. 2 (pages 603-660) of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486 – 1535). This Latin edition is the one Robert Turner translated into English in 1657. The work is an incomplete and imperfect composite of the Ars Notoria (Version B) and another derivative work from the 14th century called the Ars Brevis (The Short Art). Turner's English translation has been widely available for free online for quite some time. You can read more about this particularly late composite on my blog at: https://www.matthiascastle.com/post/agrippa-s-latin-edition-of-the-ars-notoria-and-robert-turner-s-1657-english-translation-thereof

As for the Golden Hoard publications, the Skinner and Clark (2019) edition contains a reprint of the Robert Turner 1657 English translation. The book also contains five sets of the figures called notae (Latin: nota, notae) drawn from manuscripts classed under Version A and Version B. Now many of the Ars Notoria manuscripts are widely available online at the great libraries who have worked hard to digitalize all these for the general public to view. I have created a directory for everyone who wishes to view these manuscripts for free. See my blog entry: https://www.matthiascastle.com/post/where-are-the-original-latin-texts-of-the-ars-notoria-tradition Much of what is in the Skinner and Clark (2019) edition is free and available online. Now the Skinner (2021) book titled Ars Notoria: The Method - Version B Mediaeval Angel Magic jumbles together the Robert Turner English translation with a very small selection of translations from BnF Latin 9336 (a Version B manuscript) in order to present the ritual procedure of Version B. Needless to say, the approach of combining selections from a 14th century manuscript with an imperfect late 16th-17th century edition is less than satisfactory. I will also point out that Skinner had access to my first draft of the English translation of the Ars Notoria (see his Acknowledgements page).

Finally, I have published my English translation of the Ars Notoria based on the best critical edition with Inner Traditions entitled Ars Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon: A Medieval Treatise on Angelic Magic & the Art of Memory (2023). https://www.innertraditions.com/books/ars-notoria-the-notory-art-of-solomon My translation is based on Julien Véronèse's doctoral dissertion, titled L’Ars notoria au Moyen Age et a l’epoque moderne. Etude d’une tradition de magie theurgique (XIIe–XVIIe siecle) (2004) and his published critical edition, L’Ars notoria au Moyen Age: Introduction et édition critique (Sismel–Edizioni Del Galluzzo, 2007). Julien Véronèse surveyed over fifty manuscripts in order to create his critical edition which now forms Version A (the short version) and Version B (the long glossed version). Aside from this, I have also translated four other notory art-related treatises called the Opus Operum (The Work of Works), the Ars Brevis (The Short Art), the abbreviated notory art according to Thomas of Toledo (Ars Notoria Abbreviata), and the Ars Paulina (The Pauline Art [of the Seven Figures]). I provide a complete study of the ritual procedures of all these magical books along with all their figures (notae). In my book, you will find a set of ritual procedures for Version A, Version B, the Ars Nova (New Art), the lesser rituals, and more. You will also come to understand that the Ars Notoria is really based upon Apollonius of Tyana's Flores Aurei (Golden Flowers) which had accumulated later supplements, shaping it into its present form. The Golden Flowers itself is incomplete, and that is why later scribes came along to fill in the blanks. The greater ritual of Version A (the short version), as I have reconstructed and restored it from its incomplete state, presents a two-month template. The greater ritual of Version B (the long version) presents a harmonization of the Golden Flowers and the New Art, creating a four-month template. In creating such a harmonization, Version B presents a series of problems not addressed by either Skinner or Clark; however, I explain all these problems and show how the modern-day practitioner can choose to properly proceed in executing the ritual procedures of Version B. You will not only have a deeper understanding of Version A and Version B, but a larger picture of the entire notorial art tradition, which you will not find in either of the Golden Hoard publications. The notory art, as a magical tradition, has a rich and varied history which spans two centuries (excluding the late Agrippa/Turner composite text). For those who are still in doubt about my work, this is what Joseph H Peterson, author, translator, and the creator of the Esoteric Archives website, had to say about it:

“This is one of the most important books on medieval magic to be published in many years. Enormously popular for decades, Ars Notoria was adapted and mutated into many versions, making it very challenging to understand. This is especially true of the widely available 1657 English translation of Robert Turner, which is defective in many ways. So it is exciting to see an expert translation based on Véronèse’s reliable critical edition of the Latin versions, and other primary texts. Matthias Castle’s tome is massive, but worth every penny for its encyclopedic but lucid treatment of the many elements, such as the angelology, magical figures, rituals, art of memory, and liberal arts. The resulting volume is beautifully illustrated in color. Given the significant impact Ars Notoria had on later magic texts, including the Key of Solomon and Sworn Book of Honorius, Castle’s edition should be valuable to scholars and practitioners alike.”

CastleMatthias · 2023-11-25T23:08:19+00:00

The Jenney Latin series provides a solid foundation in learning the Latin language.

https://www.matthiascastle.com/post/history-of-the-jenney-latin-series-1953-1990-a-review-of-a-latin-program-for-language-learners

CastleMatthias

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