Book Three, chapter 10

1Chapter 10

2And he mentioned in the book al-Isṭamākhīs, which he composed for Alexander, four beads in which he made use of [some] of their craft, the marvel-workings (nīranjāt), and of what the spiritual science requires. One is called the bead of al-Damāṭīs: he ordered him to make it the stone of his ring; then no one of the people, nor any spirit of the spirits, looks at him without submitting to him in obedience, humbling himself and accepting his command.

3And if you seal a letter with it and it reaches a king or another, his shoulder-muscles tremble when he looks at it, and your command and your prohibition are carried out. And if you stamp with it [a letter] to a rebellious, disobedient mārid, he submits to you and is humbled.

6So this body, O King, is the aid for every marvel-working and talisman.

7Then he mentioned a bead called the bead of al-Amāṭīs, which he made by marvel-working (nīranj) against the rain, the hail and the snow that befall him on his road with his army: he raises it on his palm to the sky, and it repels these things from him, and no harm from them befalls him, nor his companions, nor his beasts. And this bead is dust-coloured.

9And set it under the stars for three days with the speech that he mentioned, which is the names of the Perfect Nature; then put it away. And when hail, rain and snow befall you in a place and you wish it to lift, speak the words, then raise it in your right hand to the sky, and all of that will become still. And it is a complete marvel-working composed of powers and spiritual spirits.

10Then he mentioned a bead called al-Isṭamāṭīs, which he made for him by marvel-working, which he holds with him in battle or in standing firm against an enemy; then their swords, their spears and their arrows do not work upon him, nor upon anyone of his army. And whenever anyone of the enemy strikes a man of his army with a sword or a spear or an arrow, his sword is notched, his thrust rebounds and his shot goes astray. And this bead is black.

13Then hold it with you, for iron, swords, lances and arrows will not act upon you, nor upon anyone of those who are with you, as long as that is with you.

14Then he mentioned a bead called al-Ghaydamāṭīs, for binding the lusts of the soldiers and the people of the camp and keeping them from intercourse and debauchery; for debauchery in the camp and mingling with women is an ill omen whose evil spreads, and it becomes a cause of its enemy's victory, and in binding them there is firm resolve and great victory. And this bead is white,

16Then make two statues of copper in the form of a man and a woman, and place the bead in the [word uncertain: qism] of the statue of the man, and set the back of each one towards the other. Then take an iron nail and speak over it the words mentioned three times, then nail it into their breasts until it passes through both of them together. Then place these two statues in a small chest of iron and speak over it the first words for a day and a night, then carry it with you; for by that you bind the lusts of your soldiers from debauchery and corruption as long as that is with you.

17And it is mentioned in the "Book of al-Isṭāṭīs" that a person ought not to be careless with the mixtures of these marvel-workings (nīranjāt), for they are aggressive poisons, which the one who handles them cannot touch with his hand nor smell unless he guards himself against them.

20Hānīṭūs wa-Amīrās. Then wrap that statue in a rag of white cloth and a rag of white silk, and tie it with a silk thread below its breast; then gather the two ends of the thread and tie seven knots upon it, saying over each knot of them: Arghūnās Hādmiyūs Fīnūrās Armīthās. And when you have finished that, put it in a small new jug sealed with clay; then dig a pit in the house of the one for whom it is worked, wherever you wish in it, and bury it in it upright, its head uppermost; then press it down with earth.

21Then take of frankincense and kayya [word uncertain], of each one of them one mithqāl, and put them on the fire, saying while you fumigate: Bahīmrās Ūmarlīs Qadāmīdūs Fīnūrs, I have stirred up the spiritual power (rūḥāniyya) of the heart of So-and-so (f.) with love toward So-and-so, and I have drawn the spiritual power of her heart by the power of these spiritual spirits, and by Bahāṭūrs Milyūrās Ūliyūs Saṭīnūs.

22And when you have done that, go away; for that woman for whom this marvel-working was made, the spiritual power of love is stirred up in her, and she finds no rest, and she is kept from sleep and waking, standing and sitting, until she submits to that man, hearing and obedient, possessing nothing of herself. The spiritual power of the marvel-working draws her and brings her to the place in which the marvel-working is buried, whether the woman knows of that place or does not know.

23A second marvel-working, in food or in drink

26of each one, a mithqāl; and the equal of all of it [in weight] of melted ewe's tail-fat. You melt the tail-fat in a mus'aṭ and throw the mentioned ingredients onto it. When they have blended and mixed, you grind, of camphor, the weight of half a dāniq; and of white sandalwood and Indian aloeswood that is not muṭarrā, of each one two dāniqs; and of ambergris the weight of a dāniq; and of musk half a dāniq. Throw all of that onto the mixture so that it mixes with it.

27When it has mixed, divide it into seven parts. Take seven censers, put embers in them and kindle it; then set these censers before you in a row, and put on each censer one part of that mixture which you divided. When you have put them all on and they have given off smoke,

28then say: "A'yūras Yāṭandās Ahyūlas Haryūlās, I have stirred up the heart of So-and-so [fem.] towards So-and-so, and I have moved the spiritual power (rūḥāniyya) of her heart with love, and I have denied her sleep and rest, waking, standing and sitting, until she comes to him hearing and obeying; and I have drawn her and brought her by the power of these spiritual spirits, al-Bawāris Hayāqūs and Būdīs Ṭāwādūs." When you have done that, go away certain that your work has taken effect, and that the one on whom it is worked is stirred up with love, and she will not rest in her place until she comes to that man.

29The fourth kind of them: in an oil, or sweet basil, or perfume, or an apple, or whatever is of this purpose.

31then take of frankincense and kiyya, of each of them a mithqāl, and fumigate with it beneath it, and say while you are fumigating: "Yāṭīrūs Fīhārīs Fīṭūlīs Andrāwus, I have stirred up So-and-so [fem.] towards So-and-so, and I have moved the spiritual power of her heart towards him with love, and I have denied her sleep and waking, standing and sitting, and I have drawn her and brought her to him by the power of these spiritual spirits, and by Baqīṭārūs 'Ādīlās Manhūrīs Manqūrās."

33And if it is not possible for you to perfume him with it, then make his likeness of wax, and order him to hold it in his hand, and let him fumigate with frankincense and kiyya for three days at the time of the rising of the Sun, and let him speak the words; and you fumigate and perfume yourself with it. For by it the spiritual power of love is moved in him, and his soul is stirred up towards him.

36So these are the marvel-workings (nīranjāt) of the spirits, which are called Dā'īṭūs, which «Kīnās» made for union between men and women.

37Description of a marvel-working called Bāghīs, used for turning the hearts of kings toward the subjects, and their love for them, and their inclining [to them] with kindness and gentleness.

38And its working is that you take wax that has not been used for anything, and make from it a hollow figure in the name of the king whom you intend. Then you take of the brain of a female gazelle the weight of a dāniq, and of the brain of a hare the weight of two dāniqs, and of human blood the weight of a mithqāl, and you gather all of that in a small vessel (mus'aṭ), and throw onto the mixture the weight of half a mithqāl of ground camphor, and the weight of two dāniqs of ambergris, and half a dāniq of musk. You melt that and mix it until it blends. When it has blended through the melting, you pierce the head of the figure and pour it into it, and leave it until it cools. When it has cooled, you stick a piece of wax over that hole. Then you take of human blood four mithqāls, and of the blood of a white cock the weight of two mithqāls, and of the brain of a horse the weight of two mithqāls, and of musk and camphor, of each one the weight of a dāniq, and of the melted fat of a ewe's tail the weight of a mithqāl. You gather all of that in a small vessel and melt it until it mixes. When it has mixed, you pierce its collarbone and pour it into it; then you leave it until it cools. When it has cooled, you stick a piece of wax over it. Then you take a nail of silver, and let it be thin [and] not used for anything, and drive it into its chest, a driving that does not pass through, while you say at the driving: Aqriyūs Ghaydāyūs Yāhīlās Yahīdūs. Then you put the figure in a new jug sealed with clay. When you have finished with that, take of frankincense and al-kayya [word uncertain], both ground, of each one half a mithqāl, and of the eye of a white cock the weight of a mithqāl; you gather all of that. Then you take the figure, the fumigation and a censer with fire in it, and go to the top of a mountain overlooking the land, and dig in it a hole of its size, and bury it in it upright, its head upward. Then you put on the head of the jug a stone or a baked brick, and return over it

39the earth until it covers it. Then throw the fumigation on the fire and say, while it gives off smoke: Akrārūs Mandūrās Fīlāhūs Warmālīs, I have turned the heart of So-and-so, by his name, with love, affection and kindness towards So-and-so, by the power of these spiritual spirits, and by Bandūrās [reading uncertain: possibly 'and by Ndūrās'] Aynamūs Kafīnās Mādlūs. When you have done that, depart, you being firmly in command of that, certain of his turning [towards him], his kindness, his drawing [him] near, his acceptance, and the making fair of your deeds in his eye.

40The making of another marvel-working (nīranj), the reverse of that

41It is that you take some wax that has not been used and make from it a hollow figure. Then take the weight of one mithqāl of the gall of a black cat, half a mithqāl of the gall of a black dog, one mithqāl of the brain of a black donkey, the weight of two dāniqs of aloes, the weight of one dāniq of black pepper and the weight of one dāniq of myrrh. You grind the aloes and the pepper, put the gall and the brain in a mus'aṭ, throw on it this which you have ground, and leave it until it melts and mixes, and that over a gentle fire. When it has melted and blended, you pierce the head of the figure, pour it into it and leave it until it cools. When it has cooled, you stick a piece of wax over it.

42Then take the weight of half a mithqāl of the gall of a black kite, the weight of half a mithqāl of the gall of a black crow, the weight of one mithqāl of the brain of a black bat, one dāniq of aloes, the weight of one dāniq of myrrh and the weight of four dāniqs of myrtle seed. You mix all of that with the galls and the brain in a mus'aṭ and put it on embers until it melts. When it has melted, pierce its collarbone and pour it into it until it reaches its hollow, and leave it until it cools. When it has cooled, stick a piece of wax over it. Then take an iron nail and drive it through its chest, and say while you drive it: Kardīlās Dīqāyūs Bāhūlīs Barʿūnās.

43Then put it in a new jug, having prepared a fumigation of the gall of a black cat and the gizzard of a black crow, one mithqāl of each, and the cloven hoof of a black goat and the hoof of an unruly horse, two mithqāls of each. You crush the hoofs and cloven hoofs and put it together with the ingredients and place it on a fire of embers until it gives off smoke, while you say, as it smokes: Māṭīrās Ghīdūrīs Māmūlās Farhīnūs, I have set the spiritual power (rūḥāniyya) of the heart of So-and-so the king over So-and-so (and name whomever you wish, few or many) that he may inflict on them displeasure, torment, anger and kinds of vengeance, a complete setting-over; and I have stirred up his spiritual power against them by the power of these spiritual spirits, and by Ārmūlīs [reading uncertain: or Bārmūlīs] Bāsrās Fīdūrās Bāhīmūs. When you have done that, depart, certain of the taking effect of what you have done.

44The description of the marvel-working which is called Barʿās, which he [pronoun ambiguous: perhaps Barʿās] made for kings and for turning them towards women with lasting love

45Its operation is that you take wax that has not been used and make from it a hollowed figure in the name of the king whom you want, and a second figure, hollow likewise, in the name of the woman towards whom you want him turned. Then take the figure of the king, place it on your palm and pierce its head; and take the weight of one mithqāl of melted ewe's tail-fat, the weight of one mithqāl of camphor and the weight of one dāniq of musk. You put all of that together in a mus'aṭ, and melt it over a gentle fire. When it has melted, you pierce its head down to its chest and pour it into it, and you leave it until it cools, and stick a piece of wax over it. Then you take of human blood the weight of two mithqāls, and of the blood of a female gazelle and of the melted fat-tail of a ewe, of each one two mithqāls, and of camphor one mithqāl, and of ambergris half a mithqāl, and half a mithqāl of musk, and one mithqāl of ṭabarzad sugar, and the weight of two mithqāls of the brain of a white donkey.

46You pound the camphor and the sugar together, and pound the musk and the ambergris, and throw the sugar and the camphor onto it; then you combine them with the brain and the blood in a mus'uṭ over a fire of embers until it melts. When it has melted, pierce its collarbone and pour it into its hollow, and leave it until it cools. When it has cooled, stick a piece of wax over it; then set it before you until you have finished with the other figure.

47Then take the other, put it on your palm and pierce its head, and take the weight of one mithqāl of the melted fat-tail of a ewe, and half a mithqāl of camphor, and half a mithqāl of ṭabarzad sugar, pounded; you combine them with the fat-tail in a mus'uṭ over embers until it melts. When it has melted, you pour it into its head, and leave it until it cools, and stick a piece of wax over it.

48Then you take one mithqāl of human blood, and of the blood of a female gazelle one mithqāl, and half a mithqāl of pounded camphor, and half a mithqāl of ṭabarzad sugar, and the weight of two dāniqs of ambergris, and the weight of two dāniqs of musk, and the weight of one mithqāl of the brain of a white domestic donkey. All of that is combined in a mus'uṭ and set on a fire of embers until it melts. When it has melted, pierce its collarbone and pour it into it until it reaches its hollow; then leave it to cool. When it has cooled, you stick a piece of wax over it.

49Then you take the weight of two dāniqs of camphor, and the weight of two dāniqs of sugar, and the weight of two dāniqs of ambergris, and the weight of two dāniqs of the brain of a white cock, and the weight of one mithqāl of the melted fat-tail of a ewe. All of that is pounded and put in a mus'uṭ over a gentle fire until it melts. When it has melted, leave it to cool and set; then you take it and soften it between your palms, then draw it out a little, like wicks.

50Then you take the figure of that king and the second figure and set them embracing, the king's hand on the body of the other figure; then you bind them together with those wicks, above, in the middle and below. Then you take a nail of silver and drive it through from the back of the king's figure to the back of the other figure, while you say: Bahāhiyūs Bāliyās Ūdriyās 'Armūlīs.

51Then wrap them both together in a piece of white cotton, and put them in a new piece of white silk; then bind it with a thread of white silk. Then you take the two ends of the thread and tie seven knots in it over it, and you say as you tie them: Badīlāhūs Bāhdāyis Ūbālūs Manāṭīs Ṭūrānūs Bāhījās Baṭūrās.

52Then you put that in a small new jug, sealed with fresh clay, and carry it to the foot of a mountain, and dig for it there, and bury it there upright, its head toward the top of the pit; then put a stone on its head; then you heap the earth over it.

53And at the time of this undertaking you fumigate with a fumigation made of kiyya [word uncertain], frankincense and Indian aloeswood, of each one mithqāl, in a censer in which there is a fire of embers; you throw the fumigation on the fire, and say as you fumigate: al-Ghaydūs Milṭāyās Hūlīs Mīnūrās,

54"I have stirred up the heart of So-and-so the king toward So-and-so [fem.], and inclined him toward her with love, favour, kindness and loftiness of rank, and I have moved the spiritual power (rūḥāniyya) of his heart toward her a moving that does not rest, by the power of these spiritual spirits and [by] Badʿalyās Arḥāwthās Manhūrīs Baṭīdiyās." When you have done that, depart, certain of [its] taking effect in what you have done; for that king will be stirred with love for that woman until he is not able to bear being without her, and she will prevail over his affairs and will be ruling over him.

55Description of a marvel-working (nīranj) called Baghiyūs; it is for separation and enmity between men and women

56Its operation is that you take wax that has not been used for anything, as much as you will make two hollow figures from, in the names of those whose separation you desire, and you say: "This is the figure of So-and-so, and this is the figure of So-and-so (fem.)." Then you take the figure of the man and place it on your palm, and you take the weight of one dāniq of the gall of a black cat, the weight of two dāniqs of the gall of a pig, the weight of one dāniq of the fat of a black dog, and the weight of two mithqāls of the blood of a black cat, and you put all of that in a musʿaṭ; and place it on a gentle fire until it melts and mixes. Then pour it into its mouth until it reaches its hollow inside.

57Then take the weight of half a mithqāl of the fat of a black dog and the weight of half a mithqāl of the gall of a black dog; you pound them together until they mix; then pour it into the hole of its collarbone. Then take a thin iron nail and drive it through its chest while you say: "O Hūdīs ʿAmyālūs Ḥalwānīs Bayhawārās." Then set it apart, to one side by itself, until you have finished with the other.

58Then take the other figure and place it on your palm, and take of kūz and opopanax (jāwshīr) half a mithqāl of each of them, and of ammoniacum (washq) and aloes (ṣabr) half a dāniq of each of them, and of the gall of a black cat the weight of half a dāniq, and of the gall of a pig the weight of two dāniqs, and of the fat of a black dog the weight of two dāniqs, and of the gall of a black dog the weight of one mithqāl. You gather all of that in a musʿaṭ on a gentle fire until it melts. When it has melted and blended, pierce in its mouth a hole into its hollow inside, as you did with the other, and pour it into it until it reaches its hollow inside.

59Then take the weight of one dāniq of kūz, the weight of two dāniqs of sagapenum (sakbīnaj), the weight of half a mithqāl of opopanax, and the weight of one mithqāl of the fat of a black dog, and pound the whole until it mixes, and melt it and pour it into the hole of its collarbone. Then take an iron nail and drive it through its chest while you say: "ʿAdnālīs Balyūrās Mandūrīs Baʿyūlīs."

60Then place the two figures on your palm, and take a nail and put its end into the chest of the figure that is the man, and its other end toward the woman, and turn the head of each of them to a side. And take of kūz and opopanax two dāniqs of each of them, and of the gall of a black cat and the fat of a black dog half a mithqāl of each of them, and gather all of that by mixing and melting; then fumigate with it.

61And say while you fumigate: "Mīmūrās Ḥandānūs Bahwālūs, I have cut off and separated between the spiritual power (rūḥāniyya) of So-and-so and So-and-so (fem.), and I have stirred up between them the spiritual power of enmity and hatred, and I have put distance between them like the distance of these two figures one from the other, and the turning away of each one of them from the other, by the power of these spiritual spirits, Diwās Suwātilīs Bābālūs." When you have done that, take it up and bury it under a tree that bears no fruit; for the two of them will hate one another, part and break off from one another, and enmity and hatred will be stirred up in the heart of each one of them against his companion.

62Then, after his mention of these preceding marvel-workings (nīranjāt), he mentioned other marvel-workings which he claimed he had taken from those who had put them to the test, in the manner which he mentioned in his book as to how they are worked, letter for letter, according to how they used to make them. Among these are marvel-workings for enmities, by food, fumigation and perfume, after the pattern given before. We are spared repeating them because of the examples of them that have preceded, except the mixtures of their spiritual power (rūḥāniyya), which it is necessary to set down.

64The marvel-working by fumigation: its mixtures are the brain of a black cat, a mithqāl; the bile of a pig, half a mithqāl, and a dāniq of its brain; a dāniq of the penis of a black dog; a dāniq of kūz [word uncertain]; and a dāniq of jāwshīr.

66So these are the mixtures of the spiritual power of these marvel-workings, the like of which they mentioned in the operation, as has gone before.

67Then he mentioned the making of a marvel-working by an image for binding the desires of people: the pouring of this mixture through a hole onto the brain of an image of wax, with an iron nail in the interior of the figure, fixed in the place of desire. And the mixtures of its spiritual power: the brain of a pig, the brain of a black cat, and yabrūḥ seed, of each one dāniq.

68Then he mentioned the loosing of the effects of this binding marvel-working, saying: There is taken an ūqiyya of the brain of a ewe, an ūqiyya of the blood of a gazelle, half an ūqiyya of human blood, four awāq of water from seven flowing springs, a mithqāl of horse's urine, half a mithqāl of the canine teeth of a hare, and a mithqāl of yabrūḥ seed. The yabrūḥ and the canine teeth are pounded and the whole is mixed; then it is poured out at a meeting of four roads behind that man whose desire is bound, and nothing of it touches him. Then that place is fumigated with yabrūḥ, frankincense and al-kiyya [word uncertain], a mithqāl's weight of each; for the spiritual power of the first operation, its working on him is annulled.

70So this is what the sage Kīnās mentioned of the secrets of the marvel-workings and the manner of their making.