Rollo Ahmed - The Black Art

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THE BLACK ART ROLLO AHMED

INTRODUCTION BY DENNIS WHEATLEY ,

ILLUSTRATIONS BY

C. A. MILLS

Rollo Ahmed

lfiDl SENATE

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INTRODUCTION T gives me very great pleasure to introduce this book because, to some extent, I am responsible for it. Last year my "Black Magic" romance, The Devil Rides Out, aroused such widespread interest that Messrs. John Long asked me if I would write a serious book upon the subject for them. That I could not do. All the data that went into my novel was acquired from old treatises or from conversations with occultists to whom I secured introductions for the purpose of obtaining such information as would enable me to build up an accurate background for my story. To this day my practical knowledge of magic remains absolutely nil. However, the genius of publishing lies in the ability of the publisher to sense and supply a public demand. Messrs. John Long were not put off by my inability to attempt such a book as this, and they asked me if I could suggest a serious student of the subject who would write a full account of the history and practice of the Black Art. That was altogether a different matter ; I had met numerous occultists during my search for genuine local colour for my book, and several of them might have produced a very readable study of this kind, but one stood out beyond all the rest as a man of profound knowledge and one whose very presence radiates power. In Mr. Rollo Ahmed I introduced to Messrs. John Long no student who has confined himself only to dusty books and minor experiments, but a Master, who has devoted a lifetime to acquiring a first-hand knowledge of that grim " other world " which lies so far from ordinary experience, and yet is so very near for those who have the power to pierce the veil. Mr. Rollo Ahmed is a member of that ancient race which possessed by far the greatest and longest enduring civilisation of all known antiquity-the Egyptians. They

I The Black Art First published in 1936 by John Long Ltd, London This edition published in 1994 by Senate, an imprint of Studio Editions Ltd, Princess House, 50 Eastcasde Street, London WIN 7AP, England Copyright © this edition Studio Editions Ltd 1994 All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

ISBN I 85958 048 3 Printed and bound in Guernsey by The Guernsey Press Co Ltd

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INTRODUCTION

were coupling astrological predictions with exact and scientific astronomical observation when both Greeks and Romans were still skin-clad barbarians. Much of the ancient Egyptian wisdom has been lost, but such portions of it as still remain have been handed down through countless generations to the few, such as Rollo Ahmed, who are its heirs to-day. In his childhood Mr. Ahmed was taken to the West Indies, which was the home of his mother. He spent many years there and in the little-explored forests of Yucatan, Guiana and Brazil. There he was able to acquire firsthand knowledge, not only of the primitive magic of the native forest Indians but Voodoo and Obeah ; those sinister cults which are still practised by the descendants of the African negroes who were imported as slaves during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Mr. Ahmed then left South America for a period in Europe, and later for Asia, and settled for some time in Burma to study occult practices in that sorcery-ridden land, where he had many strange experiences. Having studied the worst aspects of the Black Art in three continents, he eventually sat at the feet of the " white" magicians who lead lives of almost unbelievable asceticism in order that they may acquire power to work for the good of all mankind. Mr. Rollo Ahmed is himself a practitioner of Raja Yoga, and all those who have heard him lecture upon this subject must envy him his remarkable clarity of exposition. A little time ago he came to live in Europe, and all those who have been privileged to meet him recognise his brilliant intellect and astounding erudition in all matters connected with the occult. Such praise as I have received in a most voluminous correspondence from all over the world as t_o the accuracy of the data in my book, The Devil Rides Ottt, is almost entirely due to my many long conversations with Mr. Rollo Ahmed. With unfailing patience he answered my innumerable questions, and in the most generous manner he placed his profound knowledge entirely at my disposal, in order that I might make my novel a little more than an ordinary fiction book. It is a very great pleasure to be able to acknowledge my indebtedness to him here, and in the Black Art to introduce

INTRODUCTION

9 I c:. the public a really masterly work which I feel certain will prove of the highest interest both to students of the ncntlt and the general reader who, in one volume, now lt uw the opportunity to learn many of the mysteries which lw ve, throughout all ages, fascinated most thinking people. DENNIS WHEATLEY.

CONTENTS PART

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CHAPTER

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l'IIE EARLIEST RECORDS OF BLACK MAGIC

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Traces sorcery back to antediluvian times, and mentions various early evidences and records of its practice.

CHAPTER I"HE ANCIENT MAGIC OF THE EAST

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Deals with Oriental magic of all kinds, divinations, auguries, beliefs regarding witchcraft and black magic, and accounts of various practices including those of China and Japan, etc.

CHAPTER EGYPTIAN RITES AND PRACTICES

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Is concerned exclusively with black magic among the ancient Egyptians and the methods they employed.

CHAPTER

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JEWISH NECROMANCY AND MAGIC

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Gives a brief outline of the history of Jewish necromancy, and its symbols and practices-the use of the mystic Kabala.

CHAPTER

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MAGIC IN GREECE AND ROME

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An account of black magic among the Greeks and Romans, with references to famous characters and legends of the times.

CHAPTER

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THE DARK AGES, MEDIJEVAL SORCERY AND BLACK MAGIC •

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Shows how a Satanic wave flooded the whole of Europe during the Dark Ages, Famous practitioners of the black art and their methods. Brief account of the punishments meted out to witches and sorcerers of the Middle Ages. II

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CONTENTS

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CONTENTS PART II

CHAPTER VII PAGE

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THE CHURCH AND MONASTIC BLACK MAGIC

Deals with black magic practised within the Church and furnishes instances when her dignitaries were accused of witchcraft, and the dealings of saints and ecclesiastics with demons and the black art.

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CHAPTER I I'AOa

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L Hfl~ lndants vanished and the riches disappeared. Before lu also departed the Philosopher forced her to confess that lu was a vampire, who had been nourishing Menippus with lu : ury, in order eventually to tear him to pieces and eat Itt·, living flesh. l his special kind of female ghoul, or lamia, was thought I•• roam about enticing men in the shape of beautiful •mtesans, only to turn into the most hideous shapes and tu\ them to pieces when once the unhappy men were • urely in their clutches. Another story concerns the sorcerer Polycrites. It relates !111 marriage with a woman, and how, after only four days 11i matrimony, he died. In due course his widow bore a l11lt\, which was an hermaphrodite, and this abnormality ,,, looked upon by the people as being a terrible ill omen, I'"' tending war between the 1Etolians and Locri. In conse. 111 nee, it was decided to burn the unfortunate widow and tl "' monstrous child. Everything was prepared, and they a t• about to set light to the pyre, when Polycrites himself ·llJwared from the grave-a dreadful sight, with mould and h ood adhering to his shroud. In a terrible voice he bade tbe crowd desist from burning his wife and child, but they ii,~ ures,

THE BLACK ART 6o took no heed of him and proceeded with their preparation Thereupon the living corpse seized on its own child an tearing it to pieces, ravenously ate the body until nothi but the head remained, after which it disappeared in t direction whence it came. In the midst of the subsequen uproar (for none had dared disturb the ghoul), the leade decided hastily to send an emissary to the Delphic orad to enquire the reason for this disturbing event. They wer' checked, however, by a Voice emanating from the still bleeding head of the child on the ground. This Voice for told many misfortunes and catastrophes in store for th 1Etolians. The head was eventually placed on a pillar in the market place, and caused great consternation some day later by suddenly opening its eyes, which shone with baleful gleams, and announcing in a hoarse voice that the lEtolian armies had been cut to pieces in a battle with th Acarnanians. And this prophecy proved to be true. There was a general belief in Corinth that the children o Media became vampires after their death, and were in th habit of prowling at night-time for the purpose of destroying infants. The Corinthians consulted an oracle to learn what they could do to stop these depredations, and were to make a yearly sacrifice before the statue of a hiaeu~ woman in the form of a lamia, which was to be "r""+..d• over the tomb of Media's children. In the early spring, towards the end of February or beginning of March, the Greeks held a three-day fprs ofthe day. Thus, the best brains and finest characters ,rmained sterile, and the hapless children of the period were Iii f'