Semamphoras table examples

from Berengar Ganell's Summa Sacre Magica

Joseph H. Peterson, Oct 07, 2024; updated Oct 10, 2024.

Note the border of the Sememphoras table includes the four alphabets – Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and “Chaldaean or Arabic.”

One of Ganell's core theories and themes is the use of tables of “astral alphabets” to construct “wonder-working words.” (Gehr, Damaris Aschera, “Berengarius Ganellus and the Summa Sacre Magice – Magic as the promotion of God’s Kingship” in Page, Sophie, and Catherine Rider. The Routledge History of Medieval Magic. 2021, p. 246).

According to Ganell, "the great table of this art is called the "table of the four sects", which is composed from the four alphabets, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Arabic."

Understand moreover that the general rule of magic is, that as the sects, so are the magi. And each sect has its magic. So if the sect is Christian, the magus is Christian; if Saracen, a Saracen magus. ¶ And if the sect is Hebrew, a magus is Hebrew. ¶ And if the sect is Pagan, a Pagan magus. ¶ And it is not possible to have more than one sect authentically, so one cannot be more than one kind of magus. ¶ The Christian magus uses Latin letters principally, with the others subsequently. The Saracen magus uses Arabic letters firstly, others secondarily. The Jewish magus uses Hebrew letters earlier, others next. ¶ The Pagan or Gentile magus uses Greek letters originally, and others next. ¶ And all magic has these two distinguished foundations: the letters of the sects, and the faith of the sects. ¶ In the letters and the sect, first in the alphabet from the sect, and in the same faith is founded all magic, firstly and principally. ¶ And the faith of the sect is the faith in God, because no sect has denied God, and each sect acknowledges him. And for this reason, each sect has names which it uses to call upon God, and with those names it is able to constrain the enemies of God. Therefore the holy Honorius in The Sworn Book has said, that faith works for each person, whether for good or evil. Because the faith of an evil sect is called evil, and of the good, good.

¶ And of those sects, the first is the Pagan, which extols the planets, and they call those gods, such as the god Saturn, and the god Mars, and the god Jupiter. The Romans were likewise pagans. ¶ The second is Hebrew, and they believe in the one true God, but not the Trinity. ¶ The third Christian, which professes the Trinity and Unity. ¶ The fourth is Muslim. (—Kassell ms, L.4.f.49.)

See also Kassell L.5.f.13-f.18, with the extracting of the names of spirits starting on L5.f.22 (most of which is now missing).

Compare much later example in the VSG manuscript (ca 1550), pp. 22-24.

Another later example can be found in the ASV case file (ca 1630), Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Sant'Uffizio, b.93. Title: Occultissimorum Liber / Orationes Semiforas Septem Altitudines / Liber de Secrettis secretorum Mundi et Duodecim Altitudines Salomonis, p. 20.

Halle MS, fol. 218v

Kassell MS, L.2.f.15

Aquilo contra Lucifer: Northeast against Lucifer Oriens: East Cosol contra Belzebuth: Cosol (Southeast) against Beelzebuth Meridies: South Occidens: West Frigicap: Northwest Septentrio contra Sathanam: North against Satan