'Magic Coins' and 'Magic Squares': The Discovery of Astrological Sigils in the Oldenburg

Letters
Author(s): Anna Marie Roos
Source: Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 62, No. 3 (Sep. 20, 2008), pp.
271-288
Published by: The Royal Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20462678 .
Accessed: 15/06/2014 17:32

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

The Royal Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes and Records of
the Royal Society of London.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
NOTES &
RECORDS NotesRec.R. Soc. (2008)62,271-288
-OF
THE ROYAL doi:10.1098/rsnr.2007.0046
SOCIETY Published online21May 2008

'MAGIC COINS' AND 'MAGIC SQUARES': THE DISCOVERY OF

ASTROLOGICAL SIGILS IN THE OLDENBURG LETTERS

by

ANNA MARIE Roos

Wellcome Unitfor theHistory ofMedicine, Oxford University, 45-47 Banbury Road,

Oxford OX2 6PE, UK

Enclosed in a 1673 letter toHenry Oldenburg were two drawings of a series of astrological
sigils, coins and amulets from the collection of Strasbourg mathematician Julius Reichelt
(1637-1719). As portrayals of particularmedieval and earlymodem sigils are relatively rare,
thispaper will analyse the role of thesemedals inmedieval and early modem medicine, the
logic behind theirperceived efficacy, and their significance in early modem astrological and
cabalistic practice. I shall also demonstrate theirchange in status in the late seventeenth century
frompotentmagical healing amulets tied to themysteries of the heavens to objects kept in a
cabinet forcuriosos. The evolving perception of thepurpose of sigilsmirrored changing early
modem beliefs in theoccult influences of theheavens upon thebody and thenatural world, as
well as the growing interestsamong virtuosi in collecting, numismatics and antiquities.

Keywords: coins; sigils; astrology; Julius Reichelt; Oldenburg Letters; medicine

On 11 June 1673, Johannes Gezelius theYounger (1647-1718), a young Finnish theologian

who would succeed his father as Bishop of Turku, wrote a letter to Henry Oldenburg,
secretary of theRoyal Society.' Gezelius enclosed two sheets of pen-and-ink drawings of
coins and astrological sigils (figures 1 and 2). Gezelius had been visiting England as part
of his Grand Tour since 1671, and in this epistle was serving as an intermediary for Julius
Reichelt (1637-1719), who became a professor of mathematics at the University of
Strasbourg in 1667 and was best known for his works on cartography.2 Reichelt was also a
keen collector of medals, coins, sigils and amulets, and was composing a book about their
symbolism-Exercitatio de amuletis, aeneis figures illustrate-which was published three
years later, in 1676.3 Reichert's work featured a rich variety ofwoodcuts portraying sigils and
their cabalistic devices, including illustrations of the very sigils and coins enclosed in his
epistle toOldenburg.4 Reichelt subsequently asked Oldenburg whether theRoyal Society had
any sigils different from the drawings he enclosed in the letter, and asked particularly for
information about the 'magic coins' in the lowest row. He also offered to communicate
anything of scientific interestoccurring in theGermanies.
Reichelt's penchant for collecting was not unusual, because many early modem virtuosi
were fashionably interested in numismatics. Elias Ashmole (1617-92) collected more than
9000 coins, and, asMichael Hunter noted, 'coins and medals were themost characteristic of

271 This journal is X) 2008 The Royal Society

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
272 A. M. Roos

L ..~~~~ll

~' '

PI~~~~~~~~~

10
.N~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~1

;A toXJ'' t +>

Figure 1. Sigil figures; enclosed in Reichelt's Letter toOldenburg. (Copyright (C)The Royal Society.)

all the items that cognoscenti coveted for their cabinets, combining the thrill of rarity and lure

of collectability with a genuine utility and capacity for instruction-or so virtuoso handbooks
of the time averred'.5 A fine collection of coins, medals or sigils was a sign of superior
social standing. More pragmatically, as virtuoso Henry Peacham (I1546-1634) noted,
although coins were not cheap, they were cheaper and more portable for collecting than

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magic coins' and 'magic squares' 273

i170}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Figure 2. Drawing of large cabalistic sigil enclosed in Reichelt's Letter to Oldenburg.

(Copyright ?) The Royal Society.)

statues or inscriptions.6They thereforewould be within the reach of someone, like Reichelt,

from themiddling sorts or professions, and itwas quite common forcollectors such as him to
exchange descriptions and drawings of their specimens in books, manuscripts and lettersas
communications of knowledge and social status. For example, Ralph Thoresby (165 8-1724),
a Leeds antiquarian and businessman, corresponded regularlywith fellow virtuosi and Royal
Society members such as Martin Lister (1639-17 12) about his extensive collection of coins
and antiquities inhis curiosity cabinet .7 ItWould thereforenot be unusual forReichelt towrite
to t-heRoyal Society in hopes of making connections with like-minded numismatic
connoisseurs.8
The drawings enclosed with Gerzelius's letter indicated thatReichelt (as did Ashmole)
showed a particular preference for collecting sigils thathad numerical squares from cabala.
Some of themedals also had astrological or astronomical signs so as to obtain particular
effects by some celestial virtue.9 Ashmole believed in their efficacy as part of his 'deeply
magical view of theworld', and Robert Boyle (1627-91) speculated that itmight be possible
to findout how tomake efficacious sigils of 'the exotic Effluviums of ... theupper [region] of
the atmosphere'. .0 Certainly, he 'would not discourage any curious or industriousMan from
attempting to satisfie himself by Experiments' to test these charms." This was 'because even
a seemingly slight discovery in a thing of this nature may be of no small use in the
investigation ... of theCorrespondency, which, by the interventionof theAir, the superficial
part of theTerrestrial Globe may have .., with theCelestial [Regions] of theUniverse,'.2
Other natural philosophers, such as Reichelt, took a completely differentapproach to their
collection and study, demonstrating a complete antipathy to their use. His attitude was not
unique. The astrologer JohnGadbury in his 1660 Natura prodigorum included an appendix

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
274 A. M. Roos

about the 'imposturism' of some who proclaimed the doctrine of sigils and talismans.'3
Gadbury's main problem with sigil-making was thathe felt astronomical observations to be
not accurate enough tomake them efficacious, particularly as theirpowers were governed by
thedoctrine of ascendants, or the rise of a planet in the 'firsthouse' of the zodiac. 14Because it
was impossible to time the rising of planets precisely, one could not cast astrological metals
so theywould receive maximum planetary influences. Reichelt, because he had been 'a very
successful pupil of the great Hevelius', and constructed the firstastronomical observatory in
Strasburg in 1673, shared similar views.15 He collected sigils because of his expertise and
interests in astronomy,mathematics and sheer antiquarianism, but after an extensive personal
study of astrology and the cabala, he denied that sigils had any relation of sympathywith the
heavens. In his Exercitatio, he criticized astrology in detail, citing theworks of Marsilio
Ficino (1433-99) and Peter of Abano (ca. 1250-1316), and concluded that therewas 'no
natural cause in such sigils, and that theywere therefore superstitious snares of the devil'.16
For Reichelt, sigils and amulets were largely fashionable curiosities, as well as tools for
understanding what he considered the credulous practices of astrological physicians and
magi. Because portrayals of particular medieval and early modem sigils are relatively rare,
this paper will analyse Reichert's drawings of them in a more historically sensitive spirit.
Specifically, we will analyse the role of these healing and protective medals inmedieval and
early modem medicine, the logic behind theirperceived efficacy, and as their significance in
early modem astrological and cabalistic practice.

THE CONTEXT OF SIGILS

According toWeill-Parot, theconcept of having astrological images on sigils is exclusive to the

Christian Latin West.'7 In theSpeculum astronomie, a work thought tohave been written in the
mid-thirteenth century by Albertus Magnus, thephilosopher proposed the creation of a typeof
talisman whose power rested completely in natural causes, excluding illicit forms of
necromantic magic. This 'naturalmagic' included the use of sigils with astrological images
thatwould contain the astral power of the planets. The writings of Pico della Mirandola
(1463-94) and Marsilio Ficino's recovery of Hermetic and neo-Platonic texts in fifteenth
century Florence also contributed to thepopularity of the use of astrological talismans. These
talismans included elements of cabala as Ficino' s circle became interested in Jewishmysticism,
and theChristian humanist JohannReuchlin' s conversations with Pico led tohis publication of
theDe arte cabalistica in 1517, which was one of the firstLatin books on the Jewish cabala
written by a Christian.'8 Reuchlin was interested in cabala out of a desire to reinvigorate
Christian theology, but otherwriters wished to explore themagical and esoteric applications of
cabala. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535), inhis Philosophia occulta sivamagia (1531),
subsequently provided instructions for the use of Hebrew symbols and numerology in
magical sigils.
Early modem literature on themedical and protective efficacy of sigils was indeed quite
prevalent, especiallyin Germany and to a lesser degree in England. Johannes Trithemius
(1462-1516), Abbot of Sponheim and Wuirzberg, cryptographer and magician, wrote a
sixteenth-centurywork on sigils thatwas republished throughout the seventeenth century.'9
Israel Hiebner's Mysterium sigillorum was published in Saxony in 1650 with eight
subsequent editions, and the Jena physician JacobWolff's laterCuriosus sigilorum scrutator
(Frankfurt, 1692) was a magnum opus of 400 pages with a catalogue of diseases he feltwere
20
curable by the use of sigils and herbal bags worn around the neck. In England, one of
the most comprehensive works was a 1671 treatise of astrological medicine by the

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magic coins' and 'magic squares' 275

physicianJoseph
late-seventeenth-century Reichelt,inhisExercitatio,
Blagrave.21 provided
a sceptical description of all themedical cures thatwere said to be effected by astrological
sigils and other herbal amulets, gleaned from treatises by antiquaries and physicians such as
Thomas Bartholine (1616-80) and Johann Schroder (1600-64).22
In curing disease, most of these devices were thought towork by theprinciples of signatures,
antipathy or sympathy.23The doctrine of signatureswas an extraGalenic principle popularized
by Paracelsus and promoted by Bartholomaeus Carricher, the 'Krauterdoktor' resident at the
Imperial court ofMaximillian II at the beginning of the seventeenth century.24 Subsequent
English publications such as Nicolas Culpeper's English physitian enlarged (1653) further
linked sigils and herbal cures with astrology.25
Paracelsian herbal remedies, through the system of astral parallels, went by the principle
that each organ, herb and metal is bound with its own planet, and maladies could be cured
sympathetically by employing plants or metals belonging to the planets causing the disease.
In the case of plants, each plant had a signature of itsmedical application, usually resembling
thepart of thebody or the ailment that it could cure-for instance, lentils and rapeseed were
thought sympathetically to cure the smallpox, a lunar disease, because the seeds were similar
to the spots of theMoon (and pox pustules). The appropriate herbs were bundled and worn
about the neck to effect the cure.
Alternatively, some cures for a disease caused by a particular morbificant planet could be
healed antipathetically by a herb of the opposing planet. For example, lunar diseases were
considered to produce an abundance of cold and moist humours, as theMoon controlled the
waters in the tides. Diseasesthat produced phlegm and caused sneezing, or those that
produced fluid-filled tumours, such as scrofula, were thus considered governed by theMoon.
These lunar diseases could be cured by means of solar herbs or tinctures,which were hot
and drying as sunbeams. In a similar vein, one seventeenth-century English empiric,
Lionel Lockyer, widely publicized a secret preparation 'called Pilulae Radiis Solis Extractae'
purported to be a medicine of a 'solar nature, dispelling of those causes in our Bodies,
which continued, would not only darken the Lustre, but extinguish the Light of Our
Microcosmical Sun'. 26
The same principles of sympathy and antipathy governed the preparation of astrological
sigils made ofmetal. The Sun was astrologically and alchemically associated with gold, so a
gold sigil would be struckwith a picture of the Sun (usually when itwas at its strongest
influence, during the vernal equinox) or an astrological sign ruled by the Sun, such as Leo.27
The solar sigil was believed, by means of antipathy, to protect against lunar diseases. The
wearer was protected from themalignant influence of the heavens; as Hiebner explained in
theMysterium Sigillorum, the 'antipatheticknoxious Influence goes into theMetal, thenMan,
andMan is preserved from the threatening Illness; but when the Illness is already in thebody,
[themetal] extracts it by degrees'. 28

REICHELT'S SIGILS AND ASTROLOGY

Several of Reichelt's sigils portrayed in Gerzelius's letter were designed to work by

sympathetic principles. Reichelt realized that sigils 1-4 and 6-8 (in figure 1) were sigils of the
Sun in his astrological house of Leo, and an example of sigil three survives in the coin cabinet
of the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum (figure 3). Their design seemed to have been
influenced by instructions given in the pseudo-Arnaldus medical treatise De sigillis,
attributed to Arnaldus de Villanova (ca. 1240-1311), who was a Catalan professor of

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
276 A. M. Roos

b| L| | :~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~....i.-.?.
.. ...........

IEXk~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~E

Figure 3. Sigillum leonis. (a) On the obverse of the coin we see the Sun inLeo. (b) On the reverse we see theVerchiel
angelic symbol, followed by the sign forRegulus, and the cabala symbol for Leo. Coin Cabinet, Kunsthistonsches
Museum, Vienna. (Copyright C) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; reproduced with permission.)

medicine inMontpellier.29 Villanova's work demonstrated how to prepare seals for each of
the signs of thezodiac, and theLeo seal or sigillum leonis offeredparticular protection against
kidney ailments and fevers. The kidneys were governed by Leo on figures of medieval
zodiacal men guiding phlebotomy, and severe feverswere associated with theheat of theSun.
Apparently, in 1301, Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) noted that he used a gold sigillum
leonis, held in place on the body by a girdle or truss, to be treated for kidney stones.30
The obverse of sigils 2, 4 and 6 (in figure 1) also displays the sign of the 'heartof the lion'
cor leonis, which isRegulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo, as well one of the
brightest stars in the night sky. The astrological symbol Mwas thought to have portrayed the
animal's mane, but italso might be the animal's tail, and the dot or starwithin its curves was
Regulus at itsheart. The cabalistic symbol forRegulus was -,which is engraved on theobverse
of sigils 1, 2 and 7. The symbol for the cor leonis was apparently cultural currency among
artists in the early modem period. Nowotny has noted that the heart of Regulus was used
byAlbrecht Durer inhis portraitof patrician JohannKleeberger. This was because 'Kleeberger
was born in this significantconjunction of theSun and Regulus (Sol inCorde Leonis)', on 15
August when the Sun sets and rises very near toRegulus3' (figures 4 and 5).32
The sigils' astral power could be furtherenhanced by incorporating scriptural quotations
and the names of Biblical prophets.33 Inscribed on sigils 1, 2, 4 and 6 is the common
apotropaic formula Vincit Leo de tribu Iuda, radix David fromRevelation 5: 5, a reference to
the biblical David and to astrological Leo. As Skemer noted in his study of religious
benedictions and textualmedieval sigils:

a longerversion of this formula ... offers 'thecross of theLord' as a powerful shield

turningdemons to flight(Ecce crucumdemoni,fugitepartes adversae, vincitLeo de tribu
juda, radixDavid, alleluia orBehold theCross of theLord! Flee demonic foes!The Lion
of the tribeof Judah,the rootof David has conquered.Alleluia).34

Similarly, some of Reichert's sigils were inscribed with words from the Gospel of
John: Verbum caro factum est, causing demons to flee before the power of 'theWord
made Flesh'.3

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magiccoins' and 'magicsquares' 277

-
_s .R.
::3 i
...v:Z
..,._

_ .'X_
_ h ':'>'r'
oe _^ fX1 |

_e_
%.
_ .a3eS1iL
l *_
_
*
.. l* |

_ wo _st.- :,-:?l l
_*_ _

p___
_
F.
.
li6s
. .
:
l*
I*
l
_
_

._
1 , I_ . ..]
|- I i
: _ w . .. ... l| 1b_

__ K . _K5 |
_ t _ _I E
.
___ IF<xttX !l

a ,*.... ... : I | (s : El_'. 7':X_

* ?_ w 9X 4s
K :.
F>r? ^ ze!z9ntI>-.<fN3>r
_>
^
_
x,S.....................,.,.i.?.r.g
ByR
(.os
.:_' .........................
_,,,._w. "s Y
"W

*.::
: : _.....................
*t8 s_ < :as
:,..sis*!S.:*::t',-._SS**:.re
Drr::^::,.->:?
# :...*
St:s.::
^ .. , a _e_
::st-S
^.lfr *.>:;
-.::S:
.,:.:...:
::t.
:s.4:.b,.:.48
<>iS*i
?..::
>.*....,..>.>3.*.2>i*t.:i
.::.N
e

Figure4. Albrecht M0y. _;

ofv
Durer'sportrait Ss_F ........................................
patrician Kleeberger(1526).The Regulus*
Johann <-s is intheupperleft.
symbol
(Copyright (C)Kunsthistorisches
Museum,Vienna; reproduced
withpermission.)
(Onlineversionincolour.)

es.

**.-.
I.'
.e.S
..'S
^;R
'3>,Ve.'.
'Si
...............
:cs
>:',
.e
*..j?*.
s.}
.........
.:.v
:S.;:
.<-,
.....................................................
..^......
.:.:.:
:.:,:..
_FS
gs<v:.:kIS
_ :'.:........
8>::'
-i.aii8.i
:.i:.:?.
*:w-E: ,::,
:x'.,
!'.eN
....................................
sr:.__ */
-'<?'.
'::.:t^i
.....
'!.':?:
i2gw
*8
.:.1;
ei;i
i.::.'
'??: '^_
* o. ? ; '- Xs.rr?g
r.
+* *+
,z_
< iNs//
ff i<i . \4S?5j
f"
Z..X
_E!gX 'S
M!/t <^ r .moi i,$
.>s,. Xu
_eSyU -*..,-s v })-<w
-
_a;ry e.i\\ sS //t<tao
# _ s 'tADi+N't'
{> { i ; W
_sgW,}' ._.i'
* \ ? ? _
vqU
o..wA
^...................

_..N 1..zZ.X.:.,4/:A
.?e \\\] :,^ :..\t\ ^/ ':^j
_ 8'sSs ts_
.'.;.. *Nws7,
jj(susv)
.t,<viitu.
//sx
V. i\W_

__
_wh\'S';
o9* Xt'' '?ff o,,_ avt i. |
__= :e

Figure5. Close-upof theRegulus symbolin theKleebergerportrait(figure

4). (Copyright
C) Kunsthistorisches
_ { .?-. . ,.. ' - wi s_
Museum,Vienna; reproduced withpermission.)
(Onlineversionincolour.)

REICHERT
S SIGILS
ANDCABALA
Inscribing _-Er' -:.. t. .W1ifw
_#
thenamesof angelson sigilswas also thought ^
tobe efficacious,
a traditionbegun I;
inthethirteenth
century
by theincreasing influenceof Jewish
cabalistictextssuchas theSefer

,.2.2i:so.i<
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
278 A. M. Roos

Yezirah and the Sefer Razi'el. These works were used by Jewish astrologers who served as
courtiers inmedieval Spain, and were later incorporated in Pico della Mirandola' s cabalistic
theses in 1486. The texts claimed that the 'secret names of theGod and the angels provided
themeans by which thepowers were called down into the sublunar levels of the cosmos', and
hence used an intricate and often bewildering angelology in ritualistic magic.36 The Sefer
Razi'elat itsbeginning gives directions for invoking the angels 'thatchange according to the
month, day and hour, and for using them for a peculiar purpose, such as prophecy' or
protection.37 Because astrological influenceswere also thought to be time-dependent, it is not
difficult to see how the twomagical traditionsof astrology and cabala merged in the casting of
sigils. In sigils 1 and 7, 'Verchiel' is inscribed. Verchiel was invoked as the angel of the
month of July, rulerof the sign of Leo. Verchiel (here called Zerachiel) is also governor of the
Sun and grants powers of the intellect, language, learning and mathematics, which may have
been part of the appeal of these sigils to a mathematician such as Reichelt, who studied cabala
extensively.38 Certainly, early modern virtuosi were interested in curiosities featuring
Hebrew writing. A Jewish phylactery appeared inNehemiah Grew's 1685 catalogue of the
Royal Society Repository, from whence Grew claimed 'the use of Charms amongst
Christians was firstlearned', and Ralph Thoresby had a Jewish shekel, half shekel and selah
in his collection, along with four 'very rare and fine talismans'.39
Several of Reichelt'ssigils also bear geometrical characters of triangles, circles and lines,
which he realized represented the 'intelligences and demons' of the planets based on
numerical associations made with theheavenly bodies derived from the rules of cabala. There
is also a magic square or grid of numbers engraved on sigil 10 (in figure 1) devoted to the
planet Mercury. The use of these magic squares and geometrical planetary characters on
Reichelt's sigils seems to be based on Book II of Agrippa of Nettesheim's Philosophia
occulta siva magia (see figure 6). For Agrippa (as for other early modern philosophers),
mathematics and magic were intimately connected.40 From his doctrine that the elements of
the body were mingled in geometrical proportions, and that the soul's elements combined
numerically, Agrippa determined that the derived geometrical and numerical figures had
peculiar corporeal and spiritual powers.4' Agrippa continued:

It is affirmedbyMagicians, that thereare certain tables of numbers distributed to the

seven planets,which theycall the sacred tables of theplanets, endowed withmany, and
very great virtues of theHeavens, in as much as they represent that divine Order
of Celestial numbers, impressedupon Celestials by the Ideas of thedivinemind. ... For
materiall numbers, and figures can do nothing in themysteries of hid things,but
representatively by formallnumbers,and figures,as theyare govemed, and informedby
intelligencies,and divine numerations,which unite theextreamsof thematter, and spirit
to thewill of the elevated soul, receiving ... by theCelestial power of the operator, a
power fromGod.42

Agrippa subsequently noted that planetary sigils were traditionally impressed on their
obverse with a cabalistic magic number square or KAME'A specific to each planet. Magic
squares firstappeared inArabic sources inAD 900 and were figures in a square grid thatwould
add to the same number in fourdirections. The numberwas the totalof thenumerological values
of the consonants in a particularHebrew name, because each Hebrew consonant was assigned a
numerical value in cabala.43 As Calder has noted, 'magic squares which had no apparent
counterparts inobserved naturewere assumed to stand in a relation to entities and truthsexisting
in a higher realm than the sensible' .44For Agrippa, thenumbers themselves in the squares acted
directly on the soul, as the elements of the soul were mingled in arithmetic proportion.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magic coins' and 'magic squares' 279

Book II. Of Occult1'hilofophy. 249

TheTableofMercury inhis compafs.

I I F X
T9 5 14 16 6 1
49 1 I 14 SZ 53 II la 6
41 23 z122 44 45 | I 8 4
19 38
3 1 34 38 :29 ?~~~1
25 3 8S
4W
39 2
| 0 2|6 17 137 30
46- --I --- - 3I 33
- -----* -
47 -1 45 1 20 2 1 43 +^4Z 24
I
II
| S5!?
51 t6%4 t 13
3 S 0O6 | I6 f1

TheSeal orCharair,' Of theIntelIgeicy

OfMercury. Of Mercury.

Figure 6. Magic square for a Mercury Sigil from Agrippa42, p. 249. (Copyright C)Wellcome Library, London;
reproduced with permission.)

Agrippa arranged the magic square of the seven planets known in the early modem
period (Saturn, Jupiter,Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and theMoon) in the order of their
orbital velocity. The smallest number of units used to form one side of a magic square was
three assigned to the slowest planet, Saturn, progressing up to seven for the rapid orbit of
theMoon. As Nowotny stated, 'Three kinds of magic square can be distinguished according
to the number of units in a side: those containing an uneven number; those with an even
number whose halves are uneven; and those containing an even number whose halves
were even.'45
Agrippa derived the uneven magic square of the numeral three forSaturn from the natural
square (a square of sequential numbers numbered from left to right) and turned it450 to the
right, insertingnumbers thus lefton theopposite sides (figure 7). For other planets with even

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
280 A. M. Roos

3
4
45
123
LiExfi6
78 6

Figure 7. Construction of themagic square of Saturn by Agrippa' smethod. Agrippa derived the uneven magic square
of the numeral three for Saturn from the natural square (a square of sequential numbers numbered from left to right)
and turned it 450 to the right, inserting numbers thus left on the opposite sides.

4 14 15 1 4 3 1

5 11 10 8 12 11 10 9

16 2 3 16 14 15 13
13-

Figure 8. Construction of themagic square of Jupiter by themethod of Agrippa. The magic square of Jupiter is formed
by leaving in position one-half of the numerals of the natural square and turning the other half by 180?.

Table 1. Hebrew alphabet and alphanumeric values in cabala.

number letter name value

1It aleph 1
2 beth 2
3 Agimel 3
4 IT daleth 4
S ; he 5
6 lvav 6
7 T zain 7
8 ncheth 8
9 t:teth 9
10 yod I10
11D kaph 20
12 '7lamed 30
13 amem 40
14 nun 50
15 0 samech 60
16 V1 ayin 70
17 E) peh 80
18 v~ tzaddi 90
19 j7 qoph 100
20 -I resh 200
21 W4 shin 300
22 n1 tau 400

squares, such as for Jupiter (square of the number 4) or Mercury (square of the number 8), the

natural square was numbered right to left. The magic square was formed by 'leaving in
positions one half of the numerals of the natural square and turning the other half by 180
degrees' (figure 8). In Reichelt's collection, sigil 10,which is devoted to the planet Mercury,
has a magic square for that planet engraved on its obverse according to Agrippa's method.

The geometric figures seen on several of the Leo medals represented Nachiel, the angel of

Leo's govehing planet, the Sun. In Hebrew, Nachiel is represented as 5.According to the rules

of cabala, divine language is alphanumeric; theHebrew letterscan be identifiedwith numbers

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magic coins' and 'magic squares' 281

6 32 & 34 /

7 11 27 28 8 30

9 14 16 5
/2 3 24

18 22 1 17 13

25 9 26 12

36 ( 33 4 2 31

Figure 9. The magic square of the Sun, its planetary angel Nachiel, and figure of the angel. Nachiel =7. Tracing
the numbers of Nachiel, namely 30 (3) + 1+ 10 + 20 + 50 (5), from the upper row to the lower gives the
visual figure.

I to 22, each number identifiedwith a divine attribute (table 1). Spelling outNACHIEL' s name
thus gives a numerical sequence: 30 + 1+10 + 20 + 50 = 111. The geometric figure for the
intelligence of theSun is formedby joining thenumerical values of the lettersforming thename
of the angel NACHIEL on theSun's magic square, the tens and hundreds often expressed by
ones if thenumber is not extant in the square. So, in thecase of ourmagic square fornumber 6,
table of the Sun, beginning with the firstrow,we connect 3+ 1 + 10+ 20 + 5, which gives us
our figure thatwe see engraved in sigils 1 and 2 inReichelt' s collection (figure 9).
The use of Christian cabala is also seen in the large amulet in figure2, which invokes both
biblical and Jewish patristic names and is thereforewritten in both Latin and Hebrew. Its
importance toReichelt was indicated by his placement of thedrawing of it in the frontispiece to
theExercitatio. The amulet seems to represent a concentric universe of increasing ranks of
divinity from inner to outer. Justas the changeable and corruptEarth was considered to be at
the centre of the cosmos, surrounded by spheres of increasing perfection and beauty, the
amulet mirrored this structure. In the innermost circle we see the inscription 'Abiron,Daton,
et Effron'. Daton and Abiron were the sons of Eliab, the son of Phallu, of the tribeof Ruben
in theOld Testament. They rebelled against the authority ofMoses and Aaron, aggrieved as
theRubenite tribewas deprived of the leadership that they saw as their rightby birth,being
descended from the eldest son of Jacob. The Bible (Numbers 6: 1-34) relates that as
punishment for theiractions against God's chosen one, Daton and Abiron were swallowed up
by the earth and brought to hell. Their inclusion on the sigilmay be a reminder of the perfidy
of humanity, or a warning about the power of divine wrath and the necessity of obeying
divine authoritywhen using inscription and incantation to attain magical power, or even a
simple protective curse. In early medieval Cluniac monasteries, a common curse referred to
Daton and Abiron-'If anyone raises calumnies, may he incur thewrath of almightyGod and
be in hell with Daton and Abiron', and Daton and Abiron were frequently invoked with Judas
Iscariot in some of themost potent medieval curses.46
In the next circle are the differentranks of angels inLatin (Seraphim, Cherubim, Wheels,
Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers, Archangels and Angels). The thirdconcentricity
(the names in large lettering) inHebrew can be translated as 'YWWH ofHosts, God (Eloha),
God (Elohim) is great,God (El), YHWH, God (Elohim), YHWH, I am'. The threewords that
are translated as 'God' are three differentHebrew words for deity, and YHWH is the
Tetragrammaton, theEnglish transcriptionof theHebrew name of God thatmodem biblical
scholars speculate was pronounced as 'Yahweh' . Rabbis forbid the utterance of the
Tetragrammaton to avoid the desecration of the sacred name of God, and itwas a common

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
282 A. M. Roos

48
symbol inmagic Jewish papyri and amulets. Going one sphere beyond, theHebrew names
can be translated as 'Lord, Shaddai (usually translated as 'Almighty'), God, Hosts (the
heavenly hosts of angels)'. So, these circles representGod as conceptualized by the Judaic
faith. The Hebrew names in the outermost circle, however, read 'Yeshu (Jesus) our God,
YHWH (God) is one', which is a Christian humanist interpretationof Deuteronomy 6: 4,
'Hear 0 Israel, theLord is our God, theLord is one'. This would be the pinnacle of holiness
for a Christian humanist such as Reuchlin, who saw cabala as reinvigorating theChristian
faith; themysteries of the Judaic faith and Christianity are united in this sigil with thispaean
to Jesus and toYahweh.

REICHELT'S EVIL EYE AMULETS AND IRON AGE COINS

Not all of the objectsportrayed in Reichelt' s letter were technically sigils with
astrological associations. Some, such as the two hand-shaped objects in
or cabalistic
figure 1, were simple amulets designed to protect the wearer from the Evil Eye or
bewitchment.49 Still made in Spain out of jet or coral in the pilgrimage town of Santiago de
Compostela, theamulet representsa gesture of thehand called a 'fighand' ormanofico, supposed
to resemble a hanging fig.Some anthropologists have claimed thatbecause 'fica' or fig is also a
common slang termfor the female genitals, thehand gesture in the amulet represents the sexual
act with the thumb as the phallus. Alan Dundes has claimed that in cultures thatbelieve in the
evil eye, life is seen todepend on liquids,whether thewater of lifeor bodily liquids such as semen,
blood, saliva ormilk.50 The Evil Eye is thoughttodry up such fluidsand is thereforerepelled by a
symbol of fertilityor sexual potency such as the fighand. In his study of amulets, Reichelt
noted thatbabies and children are often given these amulets towear because they are thought
particularly susceptible to the power of the Evil Eye. Both weaker and also more attractive,
youngsters are believed more likely to draw upon themselves envious and maleficent glances.
Indeed, as Hildburgh has noted, seventeenth-centuryportraitsof children from thenoble classes
portrayed themwearing such amulets:

theportraitof thebaby Infantaof Spain,Dofia Ana de Austria,paintedby JuanPantoja de la

Cruz about thebeginningof theseventeenthcentury,showsherwearing, forherprotection,
a quite considerable array of objects, some of them-crosses and little reliquaries
others-including a jet fig-hand
religious in inspiration, mounted in enameled gold.51

It is not known exactly when fighands firstappeared, but Hildburgh speculated that, in
Spain, itwas before the conquest by theMoors in the seventh centuryAD.
The last talismans I shall analyse in Reichelt's collection-the bottom row of coins for
which he asked theRoyal Society's assistance in identifying in figure 1-pre-date even the
fighand symbol. There is no Royal Society record thatReichelt was ever given a satisfactory
reply to his query; thismay simply have been because the reply was lost, or Oldenburg did
not have the expertise to give an answer. Oldenburg may well also have been ambivalent
about discussing magic and its efficacy.A canon of Sarlat who tried to interestOldenburg in
his ideas on magic and alchemy in the same period was ratherprimly informed by theRoyal
Society's secretary to limithimself to 'thenatural history of Perigord'.52 At any rate,Reichelt
himself remained puzzled at theirorigins of the coins with the odd symbols, assuming only
that theywere 'magic coins' of some type.The confusion of these earlymodem antiquarians
is not surprising.As Rosemary Sweet has demonstrated, early eighteenth-centuryantiquarians
had little sense of prehistory, archaeology was in its infancy, and the firm foundations of

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magic coins' and 'magic squares' 283

numismatics were only beginning to be laid, correct classification usually being restricted to
ancient Greek and Roman coins.53 The drawings in fact are of 12-carat gold IronAge coins
(1000-750 BC) fromGermany, weighing probably between 5.5 and 7.5 g. Number 13 is of a
stater (the term is borrowed from ancient Greek coins of a similar size) fromHessen and
Rheinland; numbers 14 and 15 are of staters from Southern Germany (Bavaria).54 Ralph
Thoresby considered it notable that he had one Nordic coin with rune symbols in his
collection, believing it to be the only one 'known to be in anyMuseum in Europe', so Iron
Age coins with their inscrutable symbols would have presented an exotic puzzle indeed.55
Because many of the IronAge coins had horse motifs, early eighteenth-centuryconnoisseurs
believed them to be Phoenician, an assertion not disproved until William Borlase's
numismatic work on theCam Brea Hoard discovered in Cornwall in the 1740s.56 Even in
the mid-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the perception of the motifs on Iron Age
coins as druidical or mystical symbols was fairly universal across western Europe.s7 The
crescents on the coins such as Reichelt's, for instance, were thought to portray theDruid's
lunar calendar, or the 'golden hook with which theirPriests with so much solemnity cut the
divine mistletoe'. 58
Although today we can determine the time periods of these coins, comprehending their
symbolism is still problematic.59 Dr John Sills, an expert on Iron Age and Celtic coins, has
speculated that the curves capped with circular balls on the obverse of Reichelt's coins may
represent torcs, or the collars or bracelets of a twisted narrow metal stripworn by ancient
Gauls and Britons.60 The quite literal representation of itsportrayal on the coins and the fact
that the torcmay be regarded as themost characteristic relic of primitive Celtic and Teutonic
artmakes such an identification likely.6'

5. CONCLUSION

Three years afterhis letter toOldenburg, Reichelt went on topublish his Excercitatio to great
success, and his work was later often appended to JacobWolff' smagnum opus, theCuriosus
sigilorum scrutator.62 Though interest in sigils persisted among virtuosi in the late
seventeenth and early eighteenth century,Reichelt' s attitude toward their lack of efficacy and
association with superstitious practice eventually became thepredominant one among natural
philosophers. Rather thanmagical talismans, sigils became relegated to the realm of queer
and interestingcuriosities. Readers of question-and-answer coffeehouse newspapers designed
to appeal to polite society such as theAthenian Mercury (1691-97) and theBritish Apollo
(1708-11) continued to submit questions about astrological medals as a result of their status
as curious objects. One reader of theMercury in 1691 asked, 'Whether the force and virtues
of theOld Egyptian Talismans and theirotherMagical Operations were true and real', and
another reader of theApollo queried whether moonbeams could be trapped in physical
63
objects. The editors' responses show that they sneered at themaking of such charms, the
Mercury's editors denying that sigils that themaker or user 'believed wou'd receive and keep
theCritical Influences of the their [the planet's] design'd aspects' had effects on medicine or
anything else.64 In 1693, even the fairly radical mystic writerWilliam Freke (1662-1744)
showed his disappointment in their supposed powers. He claimed 'thus Telesmes, or
Talismans also are a spawn of Astrology ... of just as much force as Powder of Post ...; for
my part I once made a Telesme of Venus my self in Silver, but found no more effect in the
Mettal than before'. 65 From potent magical healing amulet tied to the mysteries of the
heavens, to an object kept in a curioso's cabinet, the use and purpose of sigils such as

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
284 A. M. Roos

Reichert' smirrored changing early modern beliefs in the occult influences of theheavens on
the body and the natural world. Empirical verification of theirpowers or lack thereofmay
have subsumed theirmagic power, but not their inherent fascination.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thankKeith Moore, Head of Library and Information Services at theRoyal Society, and
Professor Lisa Jardine at Queen Mary, University of London, for their encouragement and
assistance. I also thankDr John Sills for his expert advice concerning Reichelt's Iron Age
coins, Dr Rebecca Lesses of Ithaca College for her assistance with Hebrew translation, and
Dr Adrian Popescu of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, for his help with the
coins. My husband Ian graciously lent his expertise in creating
identification of Reichelt's
themagic squares illustrations. I am grateful to the editor of Notes and Records as well as to
the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions for the improvement of this article.

Notes

1 Johannes Gerzelius Jr toHenry Oldenburg. 11 June 1673, Royal Society MS G, no. 37. This letter
has been translated in The correspondence of Henry Oldenburg (ed. and transi. A. Rupert Hall
and Marie Boas Hall), vol. 10, no. 2248 (Mansell, London, 1975). Gezelius the Elder (1615-90)
is considered the father of Finnish popular education, organizing ambulatory schools to teach

literacy to the general population. He also founded the country's first printing press and became
vice-Chancellor of the University of Turku. His son continued his initiatives in education. See
'Johannes Gezelius the Elder' and 'Johannes Gezelius the Younger' in 100 faces from Finland.
A biographical kaleidoscope (Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki, 2000); Toivo
Harjunpaa, 'Liturgical developments in Sweden and Finland in the era of Lutheran orthodoxy
(1593-1700)', ChurchHist. 37, 14-35 (1968); Donald Smith, 'School life inMediaeval Finland:
mainly in the town of Viborg, illustrated by royal letters and local records', Trans. R. Hist. Soc.

13,83-116(1930).
2 Peter H. Meurer, 'Die Deutschland-Karte des Strassburger Mathematikers Julius Reichelt (etwa
1680) [The Map of Germany of the Strasbourg mathematician Julius Reichelt (around 1680)]',
Speculum Orbis 2, 96-102 (1986). Reichelt's map was first published as S. Imperium Romano
oder Deutschland ... engr.
Germicum by A. Hobeboom (N. Visscher, Amsterdam, 1680);
Reichelt was also an anonymous author of town views in Circuli Suevici Succinta Descriptio

(W. Michahelles & J.Adolph, N?rnberg, 1703).

3 Julius Reichelt, Julii Reichelti exercitatio, de amvletis, aeneis figuris illustrate (Argentorati,
Apud Joh. Frid. Spoor, and Reinhard, Wechtler, 1676).
4 The drawing of the amulets in figure 1 was reproduced exactly in Reichelt's Exercitatio, and the

larger cabalistic amulet in figure 2 served as a frontispiece. Sigils were small pieces of metal or semi
precious gems, engraved with astrological symbols and a picture of the planet on one side and often
a 'magic square' of gridded numbers on the back or geometrical figures reflecting the cabalistic
belief that there was a number
assigned to each planet. They were designed to be worn about the
neck and were engraved a planet was in a particular astrological
when configuration, so as to capture
that planet's power. Sigils could be engraved metal, but they could also be small pouches of herbal

preparations and parts of animals or mineral powder designed to fend off disease or bring luck.
5 Michael Hunter, Science and the shape of orthodoxy: intellectual change in late seventeenth

century Britain (Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge, 1995), p. 37.

6 Ken Arnold, Cabinets for the curious (Ashgate, Aldershot, 2006), pp. 67-68.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magic coins' and 'magic squares' 285

7 As a representative see Ralph Thoresby, 'A Letter from Mr. Ralph Thoresby, to
example,
Dr. Martin Lister, Coll. Med. Lond. & S. R. S. Giving an Account of a Roman Pottery, Near

Leeds in Yorkshire', Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 19, 319-320 (1695-97); Ralph Thoresby, 'Part of a
Letter from Mr. Ralph Thoresby, FRS to Dr. Martin Lister, Fellow of the Colledge of Physicians
and R. S. Concerning a Roman Shield', Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 20,205-208 (1698). MS Lister 3-5 in
the Bodleian Library, Oxford, also indicates that the two antiquarians exchanged shells for their

respective collections.
8 museum is described in Ralph Thoresby, Museum Thoresbyanum, or A Catalogue of
Thoresby's
his Museum, with the Curiosities Natural and Artificial, and the Antiquities; particularly the

Roman, British, Saxon, Danish, Norman and Scotch coins, with Modern Medals (1715) and also
in Ralph Thoresby, Ducatus Leodiensis: or, the topography of the ancient and populous town and
...
parish of Leedes, (London, 1715).
9 For Ashmole's for astrological sigils, see Hunter, op. cit. (note 5), pp. 27-29.
penchant
10 Robert Boyle, 'Of Celestial and Aerial Magnets', in Tracts containing I. Suspicions about Some
an Appendix Celestial and some other
Hidden Qualities of the Air; with touching Magnets,
Particulars... (W. G., London, 1674), p. 53. This work may also be found in vol. 8 of The
works of Robert Boyle (ed. Michael Hunter and Edward B. Davis) (Pickering & Chatto, London,

1999-2000).
11 Boyle, op. cit. (note 10), p. 53.
12 Boyle, op. cit. (note 10), p. 53.
13 John Gadbury, Natura ... with an Appendix the Imposturism the
prodigiorum Touching of
Commonly-received Doctrine of Prophecies, Spirits, Images, Sigils, Lamens, the Christal, &c

(J. C, London, 1660).

14 Gadbury, op. cit. (note 13), p. 185.
15 Johannes Gerzelius Jr to Henry Oldenburg. 11 June 1673, Royal Society MS G, no. 37.
16 Lynn Thorndike, 'Illicit magic', in History of magic and experimental science, part IV,

pp. 569-570 (KessingerPublishing,New York, 1958).As Matthew Klemm has indicated,Peter

of Abano the question
considered of whether an incantation pronounced by a physician could
restore health, and determined to find out the source of its efficacy by means of empirical
observation. On Peter of Abano, see: Eugenia Paschetto, Pietro d'Abano: Medico e filosofo

(Nuovedizioni Enrico Vallecchi, Firenze, 1984); Matthew Klemm 'Incantations in the medical

philosopy of Petrus de Albano (1250-1316)', http://www.aseweb.org/Papers/Klemm.

htm#_ednl (accessed 15 November 2007); Nancy Siraisi, Arts and sciences in Padua: The
Studium of Padua before 1350 (Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, 1973); and

Lynn Thorndike, A history of magic and experimental science (Macmillan, New York, 1923),
vol. 2, pp. 874-947.
17 Nicholas Weill-Parot, Les 'images au Moyen Age et ? la Renaissance
astrologiques'
intellectuelles et pratiques magiques (XIIe-XVe si?cle) (Sciences, Techniques et
sp?culations
Civilisations duMoyen ?ge ? l'Aube des Lumi?res, 6) (Honor?Champion, Paris, 2002).
18 Johann Reuchlin, De arte cabal?stica; on the art of the Kabbalah (University of Nebraska Press,
Lincoln, NE, 1983).
19 Johannes Trithemius, sophorum sigilla et imagines magicae,
Veterum siue, Sculpturae lapidum et
gemmarum nomen Dei
secundum tetragrammaton: cum signatura planetarum & iuxta certos

coeli tractus ... (1612). This tract was reprinted as part of the Trunum magicum, siue, Secretorum

magicorum opus in Frankfurt by Conradi Eifirdi in 1630 and 1673, and these works were edited

by Caesare Longino. This work also exists in a seventeenth-century manuscript that is identified
as Tritheim (Johann), Abbot of Spanheim, Veterum Sophorum sigilla et imagines magic ,

Sloane. 3663 in theBritishLibrary.

20 Israel Hiebner von Schneeberg, Mysterium sigillorum, herbarum & lapidum; oder, Vollkommene
Cur und Heilungaller Kranckheiten Sch?den und Liebes- auch Gem?ths-Beschwerungen durch
underschiedliche Mittel ohne Einnehmung der Artzney; Mysterium sigillorum, herbarum &

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
286 A. M. Roos

lapidum. Containing a compleat cure of all sicknesses and diseases of mind and body, by means

of influences of the seven planets. Adorned with copper plates & figures, shewing thefoundation

of this astronomical and coelestial science (transi. B. Clayton (Johann Birckner, Erfurt, 1651;

Leipzig, 1653;Erfurt,1696;Erfurt,1731; Frankfurt,1735;Leipzig, 1735; Frankfurtand Leipzig,

1737; W. Downing, London, 1698). For a discussion ofWolff, see Martha Baldwin, 'Toads and

plague: sigil therapy in seventeenth-century medicine', Bull. Hist. Med. 67, 227-247 (1993),
at p. 227.
...
21 Joseph Blagrave, Blagrave's Astrological Practice ofPhysick (S. G. and B. G., London, 1671).
22 On page 50 of his Exercitatio, for instance, Reichelt referred to knotted grass amulets said to cure
earaches and described the work of Johannes Schroderus. See Michael Ettmuller, Opera
scilicet I. Schroderus dilucidatus, seu Commentarius in Joh.
pharmaceutico-chymica. Ejus
...
Schroderi Pharmacopoeiam medico-chymicam (Lugduni, 1686), 1.4, p. 77. Johann Schr?der
was the first to realize was an element. Bartholine
that arsenic was cited by Reichelt in a

discussion and sigils of the planet Mercury

of the efficacy of mercury, in effecting cures on p. 274.
Bartholine is credited with discovering the lymphatic system, and Reichelt cites his Historarium
anatomicarum rariorum centuria I-VI (Copenhagen, 1654-61).
23 The explanation in the following paragraph about how sigils work is largely taken from one of my
earlier articles: Anna Marie Roos, 'Luminaries inmedicine: Richard Mead, James Gibbs, and the
influence of the Sun and theMoon on the human body in early modern England', Bull. Hist. Med.

74, 433^157 (2000), at pp. 448-450.

24 See Bartholomeaus Carrichter, Kr?utterbuch des Edelen und Hochgelehrten Herzen Doctoris
Bartholomei Carrichters (Antony Bertram, Strassburg, 1609). (I thank Adam McLean and
Hereward T?ten of the Alchemy Academy Discussion Group for this reference.)
25 Nicholas Culpeper, The English physitian enlarged: with three hundred, sixty, and nine
medicines made herbs that were not in any impression until this ... (Peter Cole,
of English
London, 1653). In Hiebner, op. cit. (note 20), the 'publisher's preface to the reader' recommends

looking at the works of Culpeper, and those of the astrological physician Joseph Blagrave, for the
'rules of the gathering and the applying of the herbs', signature A4v. Joseph Blagrave (1610-82)

published works in the same tradition as Culpeper, and was responsible for the 'enlarged' edition
of Culpeper's English physitian.
26 Lionel Lockyear, An Advertisement Concerning those most Excellent Pills Called Pilulae Radiis
Solis Extractae (London, 1685), fol. A2r. For a similar discussion of such medicaments, see also

[P. J. L. De Loutherbury], Sanguis Naturae Or a Manifest Declaration of the Sanguine and Solar

Liquor of Nature (A. R., London, 1696). The microcosmical Sun was considered to be
Congealed
the heart, as it animated the body with the animal spirits, much as the Sun animated the Earth with
its rays. See Roos, op. cit. (note 23), p. 465.
27 In ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, five thousand years ago, the Sun passed through Leo in
midsummer solstice. Leo was thus the constellation of high summer and affiliated with the Sun,
an association that continued in the medieval and early modern era.

28 Hiebner, op. cit. (note 20), p. 160.

29 Don. C. Skerner, Binding words: textual sigils in the middle ages (Pennsylvania State Press, State

College, 2006), p. 132. De sigillis in turn was probably based on the Picatrix, an eleventh-century

Arabic work that was translated into Spanish in the thirteenth century. See Henry Kahane, Renee
Kahane and Angelina Pietrangeli, 'Picatrix and the talismans', Romance Philol. 19, 574-593

(1966).
30 Marc Haven [E. Lalande], La vie et les oeuvres de Ma?tre Arnaud de Villeneuve (Paris, 1896;

reprinted by Slatkine Reprints, Geneva, 1972), pp. 63-64; Joseph Ziegler, Medicine and religion,
c. 1300: the case of Arnae de Vilanova (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1998), pp. 245-250, noted in

Skerner, Binding words, p. 132.

31 Karl Anton Nowotny, 'The construction of certain seals and characters in the work of Agrippa of

Nettesheim', J. Warburg Courtauld Insts 12, 46-57 (1949), at p. 56.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 'Magic coins' and 'magic squares' 287

32 Nowotny, op. cit. (note 31), p. 56.

33 Skerner, op. cit. (note 29), p. 132.
34 Skerner, op. cit. (note 29), p. 132.
35 Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis et vidimus eius gloriam a
gloriam, quasi unigeniti
P?tre, plenum gratiae et veritatis [And theWord became flesh, and made His among us;
dwelling
and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth].
36 Deborah E. Harkness, John Dee's conversations with angels: cabala, alchemy, and the end of
nature (Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 174.
37 Ludwig Blau, 'Angelology: cabalistic view', (accessed
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/
1December 2007).
38 Papus, Trait? ?l?mentaire de science occulte [Fundamentals of occult science] (Carr?,
Paris, 1888).
39 Nehemiah Grew, Musaeum or a and Description
Regalis Societas, Catalogue of the Rarities
Belonging to the Royal Society and Preserved at Gresham (Tho. Malthus, London,
Colledge
1685), p. 377; Whiston Bristow, Mus um Thoresbyanum. A the genuine and
catalogue of
valuable collection ...
of that well known antiquarian the late Ralph Thoresby,... All which

(London, 1764), pp. 4 and 8. See also Thoresby, Ducatus Leodiensis, op. cit. (note 8),
pp. 275-276.
40 For the connections between mathematics and magic, see John Henry, and science in the
'Magic
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries', in A companion to the history of modern science (ed. R. C.
Olby, G. N. Cantor, J. R. R. Christie and M. J. S. Hodge), pp. 583-596 (Routledge, London,
1990); Katherine Neal, 'The rhetoric of utility: avoiding occult associations for mathematics
and profit',Hist. Sei. 37, 151-178 (1999); PeterZetterberg, 'Themistaking
throughprofitability
of "the mathematics" for magic in Tudor and Stuart England', Sixteenth Cent. J. 11, 83-97

(1980). (I thank the anonymous for suggesting these articles to me.)

reviewer
41 I. R. F. Calder, 'A note on magic squares in the philosophy of Agrippa of Nettesheim',
J. Warburg Courtauld Insts 12, 196-199 (1949), at p. 197.
42 Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Three Books Of Occult Philosophy (R.W., London, 1651), book II,
p. 239.
43 See Ernest A. Wallis Budge, Sigils and Superstitions: The Original Texts with Translations and

Descriptions of a Long Series of Egyptian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Hebrew, Christian, Gnostic, and
Muslim Sigils and Talismans and Magical Figures, with Chapters on the Evil Eye, the Origin of
the Sigil, the Pentagon, the Swastika, the Cross (Pagan and Christian), the Properties of Stones,
Rings, Divination, Numbers, the Kabbalah, Ancient Astrology, etc. (Oxford University Press,
London, 1930).
44 Calder, op. cit. (note 41), p. 197.
45 Nowotny, op. cit. (note 31), p. 50. The description of the construction of the squares is largely
taken from Nowotny's article.
46 Brittan Bouchard, Sword, miter, and cloister: nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980-1198

(Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1998), p. 212; H. Martin, 'The Judas Iscariot curse', Am.
J. Philol. 37, 434-451 (1916), at p. 435.
47 Crawford Howell Toy and Ludwig Blau, 'Tetragrammaton', http://jewishencyclopedia.com/
(accessed 18 February 2008). (I thank the anonymous reviewer for this reference.)
48 Ibid.
49 W. L. Hildburgh, 'Images of the human hand as amulets in Spain', J. Warburg Courtauld Insts 18

(1-2), 67-89 (1955).

50 Alan Dundes, 'Wet and dry: theEvil Eye', in The Evil Eye: a folklore casebook (ed. Alan
Dundes), pp. 257-312 (Garland Publishing, New York, 1981). See also Clarence Maloney, The
Evil Eye (New York: Columbia UniversityPress, 1976).
51 Hildburgh, op. cit. (note 50), p. 69.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
288 A. M. Roos

52 The correspondenceofHenry Oldenburg (ed. and transl.A. RupertHall andMarie Boas Hall),
vol. 10, pp. 398-406 and 436 (Mansell, London, 1975). Oldenburg's reluctance to talk about
magic was noted by ChristopherHill in his review of theOldenburg correspondence inEnglish
Hist. Rev. 91, 645-646 (1976), at p. 646.
53 Rosemary Sweet, Antiquaries: the discovery of the past in eighteenth-century Britain
(ContinuumIntemationalPublishingGroup, London, 2004).
54 No. 13 is ofDembski, p. 76, 467 type;no. 14 is probably close toKellner,Manching, no. 2236;
and no. 15 is of Dembski, no. 444 type.Dembski =GGuntherDembski, Muenzen der Kelten
(Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, 1998); Kellner = Hans-JorgKellner,Die Miinzfunde
vonManching und die keltischeFundmiinzenaus Sudbayern (Franz Steiner,Stuttgart,1990).
55 Thoresby,Ducatus Leodiensis, op. cit. (note 8), p. 339. Robert Plot, thekeeper of theAshmolean,
actuallypossessed an IronAge coin,which he firmly believed portrayedtheface ofBoudica. See
Robert Plot, TheNatural History ofOxford-Shire (Oxford, 1677), p. 335.
56 W. Borlase, Observations on the antiquities historical and monumental, of the county of
Cornwall. Consisting of several essays on thefirst inhabitants,... (Oxford, 1754), p. 247. This
was theearliestpublication about a BritishCeltic coin hoard and was very influential.
57 Personal communicationwith Dr JohnSills, 3 December 2007. For other eighteenth-century
works on IronAge coins and symbols,see S. Pegge, An essay on thecoins ofCunobelin (London,
1766); and J.Whitaker, The historyofManchester infour books. Book thefirst,containing the
Roman and Roman-Britishperiod (London, 1771-73).
58 Borlase, op. cit. (note 57), p. 261.
59 The earliest interpretive guide to the symbolism of IronAge coins is J.C. Hedler, Diatribe
historica de nummis scyphatis nordmannorum,quos vulgo Regenbogenschuslein appellant
(Berlin, 1730). Also of relevantinterestisM. A. Voigt, Schreiben an einen Freund; von den bey
Podmokl einen in der Hochfurst. FurstenbergischenHerrschaft Purglitz gelegenen Dorfe in
Bohmen gefundenenGoldmunzen (Prague, 1771), and Franz Streber's Uber due sogenannten
Regenbogenschusselchen (Munich, 1860-62).
60 Personal communicationwith Dr JohnSills, 29 November 2007.
61 Sir Daniel Wilson, The archecologyand prehistoric annals of Scotland (London, 1863), vol. II,
bk IV, sect. vi, p. 472.
62 JacobWolff, Curiosus sigilorumscrutator.In quo de natura et attributisillorum ... ac in specie
de zenechtis,vel qux pesti opponunturagitur ... Cui accessit J.Reichelti exercitatiode sigilis,
etc. (Frankfurt, 1692).
63 TheAthenianMercury, 22 December 1691, vol. 5, no. 7, question 1; The BritishApollo, Monday
9 JanuarytoWednesday 11 January1710, vol. 3, no. 86, pp. 1-2.
64 Anna Marie Roos, Luminaries in the natural world: the Sun and theMoon in England,
1400-1720 (PeterLang Publishing,New York, 2001), p. 240.
65 William Freke, 'Of Astrology', in Select Essays Tending to the Universal Reformation of
Learning (Tho. Minors, London, 1693), p. 32. According to theOxford English dictionary,a
talisman is 'a stone, ring,or other object engravenwith figuresor characters, towhich are
attributedtheoccult powers of theplanetaryinfluencesand celestial configurations underwhich it
was made; usually wom as an amulet to avert evil fromor bring fortuneto thewearer; also
medicinally used to imparthealing virtue; hence, any object held to be endowed with magic
virtue; a charm'. So a sigil could be a talisman,but not all talismanswere sigils. The Oxford
English dictionary also notes that inEngland the term 'talisman'was often conflatedwith the
term 'telism',although telismsare properly 'statuessetup, or objects buried under a pillar or the
like topreserve thecommunity,house, etc. fromdanger'.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:32:59 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions