The Grimoire of Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft

Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft, originally published in England in 1584, was penned by its author as an attempt to ridicule the Catholic Church for what Scot deemed superstitious persecution of, in his eyes, the simple-minded as well as mere con-artists. While certain parts of his writings indicate that he was in no way a disbeliever of magic, he differentiated between certain more “sacred” forms thereof and that which was referred to as witchcraft. His opinion was clear on the latter: it was either nothing more than tricks designed to deceive the gullible or delusional nonsense only believed in and applied by individuals of a less-than-average mental constitution.

Ironic indeed it is that a literary work seeking to debunk so-called magicians, sorcerers and witches by exposing the tricks of prestidigitation as well as “silly superstitious practices”, should end up becoming one of the most influential texts for the practical application of ceremonial magic among English speaking mages of the time. As part of his attempt to discredit their practices, Scot included an entire grimoire in his book, which put in people’s hands a readily accessible source of magical operations and thus went on to guide and motivate magicians up through the centuries. Two well-known names in the area of classical western magic, Ebenezer Sibly and Frederick Hockley, produced various books and MSS that show a clear influence from The Discoverie of Witchcraft.

Now, for the first time since its original publication, the entire grimoire said to have been written by two individuals known as “T.R.” and “John Cokars”, along with the various additions to the 3rd edition of 1665 by an unidentified exponent of the Magical Arts, is being presented on its own in a format true to its original intention. Edited and heavily annotated by a long-time practitioner of the grimoire tradition, this incredibly valuable handbook of Elizabethan ceremonial magic has been effectively revived to a form worthy of its importance.

This is the standard edition.