The Picatrix, from the Arabic
An open English translation of the غاية الحكيم, the Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm, made from the Arabic rather than the medieval Latin.
The Picatrix is the best known handbook of astral magic to reach medieval Europe. It was compiled in Arabic, probably in al-Andalus in the tenth or eleventh century, and reached the Latin West through a translation made for Alfonso X in the thirteenth. Every free English version online descends from that Latin, which cuts large parts of the book.
This translation is made from the Arabic text of Hellmut Ritter’s 1933 edition. As far as we can find, it is the only openly licensed English translation from the Arabic. The corrected Arabic sits beside the English throughout, so anyone who reads the language can check the work rather than take it on trust.
It is a draft. It has been checked line by line against the Arabic by a second reviewer, but it has not yet been read by a scholar of classical Arabic, and it should not be cited as settled until it has.
- Chapters
- The preface and all 40
- Passages
- 1,600
- Arabic words
- 71,059
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
What is left out, and why
The book contains operations meant to harm people, and preparations that are dangerous to make. 64 passages are withheld: poisons, narcotics, and anything meant to be given to a person without their knowledge. Each one is marked where it occurs and says what it was and why it is out, so nothing is quietly missing.
Symbolic operations are translated in full, including ones aimed at another person, with a note saying so plainly. A further 14 passages are untranslated gaps, marked in place.
The chapters
Book One
- I.1-3 — The nobility of wisdom; what magic really is; the nature of the celestial sphereRitter pp. 3–13 · 33 passages
- I.4 — General ratios and celestial positions for making talismansRitter pp. 14–26 · 44 passages
- I.5 — Worked examples of those ratiosRitter pp. 26–42 · 70 passages
- I.6 — The human being as a small worldRitter pp. 42–51 · 36 passages
- I.7 — On existing things, and meanings the scholars concealedRitter pp. 51–53 · 11 passages
Book Two
- II.1 — How one reaches this scienceRitter pp. 54–57 · 15 passages
- II.2 — The celestial figures, and their symbols in the heavens' motionRitter pp. 58–62 · 18 passages
- II.3 — The influences of the planets, and the Sun and MoonRitter pp. 63–78 · 61 passages
- II.4 — The motion of the spheresRitter pp. 78–79 · 4 passages
- II.5 — How this science is shared among the nationsRitter pp. 80–85 · 26 passages
- II.6 — Occult property, and how the planets' gifts are receivedRitter pp. 86–95 · 41 passages
- II.7 — Using the categories in the craft of talismansRitter pp. 96–100 · 16 passages
- II.8 — The ranks of natural thingsRitter pp. 101–103 · 13 passages
- II.9 — Images from conjunctions of the fixed starsRitter pp. 104–105 · 9 passages
- II.10 — The planets' stones, and drawing their imagesRitter pp. 106–124 · 100 passages · 1 withheld
- II.11 — The images of the decans and their actionsRitter pp. 124–132 · 41 passages
- II.12 — The Indian decans, focusing the mind, drawing down higher powersRitter pp. 133–147 · 61 passages · 2 withheld
Book Three
- III.1 — The planets' shares in the three kingdomsRitter pp. 149–156 · 31 passages
- III.2 — The signs' sharesRitter pp. 157–160 · 16 passages
- III.3 — The planets' forms, garments and fumigations; properties by climeRitter pp. 160–168 · 47 passages · 8 withheld
- III.4 — The secret known to those grounded in knowledgeRitter pp. 169–176 · 27 passages
- III.5 — Animal properties, and drawing spirit by planetary likenessRitter pp. 177–186 · 40 passages
- III.6 — "Perfect Nature" after Aristotle and Hermes; what a talisman isRitter pp. 187–194 · 29 passages
- III.7 — Addressing the planets: the Sabian prayers, offerings, fumigationsRitter pp. 195–228 · 146 passages · 5 withheld
- III.8 — Nabataean veneration of the Sun and SaturnRitter pp. 229–232 · 12 passages
- III.9 — Planetary powers singly; the spirits of the six directionsRitter pp. 233–241 · 32 passages
- III.10 — Spiritual preparations and compounds, foods, perfumes, ointmentsRitter pp. 242–264 · 70 passages · 15 withheld · 2 gaps
- III.11 — Preparations for many aims, including lethal and poison-repelling onesRitter pp. 264–281 · 31 passages · 5 withheld · 7 gaps
- III.12 — Counsels and learned pointsRitter pp. 282–285 · 18 passages
Book Four
- IV.1 — Receiving the lights of the First Cause; intellect and soulRitter pp. 286–295 · 43 passages
- IV.2 — Drawing down the Moon's spirit; the seven QalqaṭriyyātRitter pp. 295–309 · 60 passages · 2 withheld
- IV.3 — The Copts and their concealed secretsRitter pp. 309–319 · 38 passages
- IV.4 — Choice points from the adepts of the craftRitter pp. 319–333 · 67 passages
- IV.5 — The ten sciences that yield these resultsRitter pp. 333–341 · 33 passages
- IV.6 — Planetary fumigationsRitter pp. 341–350 · 26 passages · 1 withheld · 1 gaps
- IV.7 — Ibn Waḥshiyya's Nabataean magic and talismansRitter pp. 350–396 · 145 passages · 13 withheld · 3 gaps
- IV.8 — Things that act by their propertiesRitter pp. 396–405 · 29 passages · 1 withheld · 1 gaps
- IV.9 — Talismans from the Serapis temple book and Cleopatra's book; counselsRitter pp. 405–416 · 51 passages · 11 withheld
How to cite it, and how to use it
Released under CC BY 4.0. Use it, quote it, build on it, with credit.
Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm (Picatrix). English translation from the Arabic, Celestia / 626 Labs, 2026, after the Arabic text in H. Ritter’s edition (Leipzig, 1933).
Translated with AI assistance and checked line by line against the Arabic. Ritter’s critical apparatus is not reproduced. If you read classical Arabic and would consider reviewing a chapter, we would like to hear from you.