Magia Adamica

Name: Magia Adamica
Author: Thomas Vaughan

The Antiquity of Magic · With the Complete Coelum Terrae

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Magia AdamicaThe Law, the Letters and the Book of Nature · Page 52 · Passage A

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The Law, the Letters and the Book of Nature · Page 52 · Passage A

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Original English

For Jacobs Ladder is the greatest Mysterie in the Cabala. Here wee find two Extreams: Jacob is one, at the Foot of the Ladder, and God is the other, who stands above it, immittens (saith the Jew) Formas, & Influxus in Jacob, sive Subjectum Hominem, shedding some secret Influx of Spirit upon Jacob, who in this place Typifies Man in general. The Rounds, or steps in the Ladder signifie the middle Natures, by which Jacob is united to God, Inferiors united to Superiors. As for the Angels of whom it is sayd, that they ascended & Descended by the Ladder, their Motion proves they were not of the superior Hierarchie, but some other secret Essences, for they Ascended first, and Descended afterwards: but if they had been from above, they had Descended first, which is Contrarie to the Text. And here Reader, I would have thee studie. Now to return to Jacob, it is written of him, that he was asleep, but this is a Mysticall Speech, for it signifies Death, namely that Death which the Cabalist calls Mors Osculi, or the Death of the Kiss, of which I must not speake one Syllable. To bee short, they agree with us in Arcano Theologiae: That no word is efficacious in Magic, unlesse it be first quickened by the Word of God. This appears out of their Semhamaphores; for they hold not the names of Angls effectuall, unlesse

Modern English

for Jacob’s ladder is Kabbalah’s greatest mystery. Here we find two extremes: Jacob at the ladder’s foot, and God standing above it, as the Jewish writer says, [New translation of the Latin:] “sending forms and influxes into Jacob, or into the human subject.” [Vaughan’s English:] shedding some secret influx of spirit upon Jacob, who here represents humanity generally. The ladder’s rungs or steps signify the intermediate natures through which Jacob is united to God, lower things to higher. As for the angels said to ascend and descend by the ladder, their movement proves they did not belong to the higher hierarchy but were other secret essences: they ascended first and descended afterwards. Had they come from above, they would have descended first, contrary to the text. Here, reader, I would have you study. Returning to Jacob: it is written that he slept, but this is a mystical expression signifying death—the death the Kabbalist calls [New translation of the Latin:] “death of the kiss”; [Vaughan’s English:] “the death of the kiss”—of which I must not speak a single syllable. Briefly, they agree with us in theology’s secret: no word is effective in magic unless first made alive by God’s Word. Their Shemhamphorash makes this clear, for they hold angels’ names ineffective unless

About This Reading Edition

Thomas Vaughan’s complete 1650 Magia Adamica publication, with all historical preliminaries and the complete appended Coelum Terrae, original and modern English, fresh translations of Latin, Greek and Hebrew, full poems, eight historical marginal notes, the complete recovered printed corrections, 312 annotations and the complete supplied Diotimos study apparatus.

Historical Text and Translation

Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes), Magia Adamica: or The Antiquitie of Magic, with Coelum Terrae. London: T. W. for H. Blunden, 1650. Governing transcription: EEBO-TCP A64768.0001.001. The Getty Research Institute copy supplies surviving first-edition page images; the 1656 issue supplies explicitly disclosed missing or defective material. The complete shared 1650 errata are recovered from the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica copy of The Man-Mouse.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The historical text is public domain; the EEBO-TCP Phase I transcription is released under CC0. The supplied 2026 reading, translations and Diotimos editorial material are published with the site owner’s authorization.