Different "Necronomicons".

Discussion on literature other than by the Star of Azazel.
obnoxion
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Different "Necronomicons".

Post by obnoxion »

I recently watched the new H. P. Lovecraft filmatsation "Color out of Space", with Nicholas Cage in the lead role. And I was actually pleasantly surprised.

The book Necronomicons played a minor role. It wasn't some forbidden tome, however, but the widely available paperback known as the "Simon Necronomicon", which, according to publisher, has never been out of print since its publucation in 1977.

Have you read any of the necronomicons on the market, and what do you think of them?
One day of Brahma has 14 Indras; his life has 54 000 Indras. One day of Vishnu is the lifetime of Brahma. The lifetime of Vishnu is one day of Shiva.
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by Angolmois »

I read one version of the Necronomicon in my teens which I printed from the then budding internet. I have no idea which version it was, all it said was that it is "the confessions of a mad arab". This also didn't speak to me at all back then, for I had no "language" to understand such mad ramblings. I haven't familiarized myself with it after then.
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Polyhymnia
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by Polyhymnia »

This was one of the best selling books at the little occult shop where I worked for many years. I read it once, or attempted to. I couldn't make much sense of it and shortly gave up.

I used to love making the joke "the secrets of the mad arab can be yours for the low low price of $8.99" whenever a customer bought it
"Limited love asks for possession of the beloved, but the unlimited asks only for itself." -Kahlil Gibran
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Smaragd
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by Smaragd »

Polyhymnia wrote: Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:40 pm This was one of the best selling books at the little occult shop where I worked for many years.
I guess the idea of Necronomicon is much of the books worth (not all of it ofcourse). There are alot of people who know on some level about the work of Lovecraft and the idea that a book of magic spells exists even though it would be based on fiction is an interesting one. Then a question might rise on how the author might have come up with the spells etc. I remember being in highschool and often stumbling on Lovecraft through metal music, and a friend of mine bought a Necronomicon. I was in awe opening the book, but was gravely disappointed as it was the Necronomicon that was only a collection of Lovecrafts writings.

I have visited only once in an occult book shop and that was in London. I had a specific shop in mind, but couldn't find it and instead stumbled on another in a small alley. My mission was to seek Crowleys Book of Lies, but eventhough the register of the shop showed they should have it, they just couldn't find it from the shelf nor the storage. I took it as a sign. :D
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Polyhymnia
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by Polyhymnia »

Lol that was also a best seller! I’ve never read that one though. In fact, I don’t think I’ve actually read any Crowley. It’s just never appealed to me.

I think maybe I’ll try the Necronomicon again. If memory serves me, I think Donald Tyson had a series that delved into it in depth. Perhaps I’ll start there. After the secret doctrine is complete :lol:
"Limited love asks for possession of the beloved, but the unlimited asks only for itself." -Kahlil Gibran
obnoxion
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by obnoxion »

Smaragd wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 12:12 am Crowleys Book of Lies
I have read the book quite closely, and I would describe it as (pre)Thelemic (crypto)theological mystic poetry. The backbone of the poetry's mysticism is numerological. The official story is, that it was one particular poem on this bookl that lead to O.T.O. accepting The Law of Thelema (most likely the 69th poem).There are footnotes to each poem on each facing page, And If I had to estimate, I'd say the footnotes take up more space than the actual poems (though I would argue that the footnotes themselves are a sort of poetic whole). It is a fascinating book, but, as often with Crowleyana, so solidified into a piece of Thelemic doctrine that it can be difficult to fully enjoy as anything else.
Smaragd wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 12:12 am I guess the idea of Necronomicon is much of the books worth (not all of it ofcourse). There are alot of people who know on some level about the work of Lovecraft and the idea that a book of magic spells exists even though it would be based on fiction is an interesting one.
This is a very interesting loop that the new "Color Out of Space" movie is deepening, having one of the spoof necronomicons featured in it. The Simon Necronomicon has particularily sinister reputation, having apparently been often favoured in criminal youth occultism, so it is gathering a dark aura of its own. And though it is generally understood to be a hoax, it has never been oficially admitted as one. And that sort of shady ambiguity in these post-chaosmagical times can be quite enough to ensure that this little book might become with each passing decade a more legendary and lasting piece of modern occult folklore. It has spiraled out of hand a bit like the Slender Man lore.
One day of Brahma has 14 Indras; his life has 54 000 Indras. One day of Vishnu is the lifetime of Brahma. The lifetime of Vishnu is one day of Shiva.
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Nefastos
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by Nefastos »

obnoxion wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2020 8:19 pmHave you read any of the necronomicons on the market, and what do you think of them?

I have two Necronomicons that are different collections of Lovecraft's or Lovecraftian fiction in my shelf, and one buried in a closet of the books I never read or need. The last one is the Simon's Necronomicon. It is a similar cheap paperback as the Satanic Bible which I got at the same time, when I started to aggressively seek out Satanic literature twenty years ago. Neither of these were even remotely close to what I was searching for or interested in.

Should I be a publisher wanting to publish a semi valid Necronomicon version, I would take large but chosen chunks from the corpus of grimoires, put some 400 pages of them through a Latin Google translate and/or Olde English, and print the whole grind in readable fraktur, accompanied by pictures made by an artist who is told to use every kind of magic diagram more than 100 years old, but break and conjoin their different geometric shapes. The book would, of course, not include any kind of paging, differences between the texts, or other such cheats.
Faust: "Lo contempla. / Ei muove in tortuosa spire / e s'avvicina lento alla nostra volta. / Oh! se non erro, / orme di foco imprime al suol!"
obnoxion
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by obnoxion »

Nefastos wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:34 pm Should I be a publisher wanting to publish a semi valid Necronomicon version, I would take large but chosen chunks from the corpus of grimoires, put some 400 pages of them through a Latin Google translate and/or Olde English, and print the whole grind in readable fraktur, accompanied by pictures made by an artist who is told to use every kind of magic diagram more than 100 years old, but break and conjoin their different geometric shapes. The book would, of course, not include any kind of paging, differences between the texts, or other such cheats.
A forbidding tome!

I think, If se follow Lovecraft's descirpions (and whose, If not his), the book should be at least 800 pages (in The Dunwhich Horror, I recollect, there is a mention of some hideous spell on the page 750
or something).

And it should be a meeting place of at least four roads
- noneuclidean geometry
- primitive witchcraft
- apocalyptic imagination
- transpersonal nightmares
One day of Brahma has 14 Indras; his life has 54 000 Indras. One day of Vishnu is the lifetime of Brahma. The lifetime of Vishnu is one day of Shiva.
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Nefastos
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by Nefastos »

obnoxion wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:42 pmthe book should be......

This brings to my mind the lovely topic about one's ideal temple. What would be one's actual Lovecraftian Necronomicon? But yes, my version was only a semi-valid hoax, that would be very cheap to produce since the old grimoire texts have no copyright, &c.
Faust: "Lo contempla. / Ei muove in tortuosa spire / e s'avvicina lento alla nostra volta. / Oh! se non erro, / orme di foco imprime al suol!"
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RaktaZoci
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Re: Different "Necronomicons".

Post by RaktaZoci »

How convenient that fra obnoxion should start this topic at this time, since I also watched this movie, hmm, two days ago. Personally I was slightly disappointed, mostly due to my (bad) affiliations with Mr.Cage and also the semi glued-on wiccan cover story, but, compared to the HPL story, I guess the filmatization was quite alright. Doesn't win, though, the movies made by Mythoscope, such as Call of Cthulhu or Whisperer in Darkness.

But about Necronomicon. The Simon version is indeed the most popular one. I have actually kept a lecture on this subject, since James Wasserman and Weiser co. were very much involved in the story of the book. Simon has also written another book, Dead names, which (by him) is the actual translation of the name Necronomicon. This is basicly a history of how the book came to be translated and printed.

Wasserman and co. printed many other versions of this also, and to fetch "a deluxe copy" I would very much recommend the 31th anniversary hard cover edition (It's pricy, though). Also Wasserman's biography, In the center of the fire, is very much recommended.

To talk of The book of the Law, I find the connection to the OTO very slim. Sure, the two lines have their connections, but to officially connect it to the teaching of the OTO is, I think, false. Also other bodys, such as the EGC, would most likely deny this also.

For those interested in the Necronomicon legacy I would also recommend fictional books (because of course the Necronomicon is not such! ;) ) such as Wanderings of Alhazred by Tyson and many versions in the comic book from of the subject.
die Eule der Minerva beginnt erst mit der einbrechenden Dämmerung ihren Flug.
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