Do actual magical spells from the Middle Ages / Renaissance survive?

Factual Questions
1

I am informed that various actual, real-life “grimoires”, that is, books of magic, have come down to us from the Middle Ages / the Renaissance. Googling around, I have found that they contain things like magical symbols, but I am curious as to what actual magic spells they would have contained. That is, I assume they would have included instructions for how to actually work magic, as you see in fantasy literature / films like “Snow White”, “Harry Potter”, and so on. Am I correct in my assumption that these books would contain actual spells, and is it possible to copy out some of the recipes these real-life magic books would have contained and the effects that they would have claimed you could produce by following the spells?

For the sake of the greatest clarity, by magic spell, I mean things like these standard examples from fiction, e.g. using a magic formula:

  • The famous scene from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” when the three witches prepare a witch’s brew, while chanting the magic words “‘Double double, toil and trouble/Fire burn and cauldron bubble”, all the while including various weird and nasty ingredients, such as a “fillet of a fenny snake”, a “root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark”, or “gall of goat, and slips of yew”.

  • The scene from Disney’s Snow White, when the Wicked Queen transforms herself into a witch-like hag. She takes out a magic book entitled “Disguises”, and chooses the one marked “Peddler’s Disguise”. The formula begins with various quantities of “Mummy Dust”, “Black of Night”, “Old Hag’s Cackle”, and"Scream of Fright". Then she adds “a blast of wind”, and finally “a thunderbolt to mix it well”.

Or spells which call on specific spirits, elemental beings, demons, amulets, talismans, or whatever else, with the intention of giving one special powers, producing a transformation, etc.? Examples from the 1980s cartoon “ThunderCats”:

Do the real grimoires that have come down to us actually contain similar spells to the ones depicted above, and can we have some examples of actual recipes for spells recorded by real human alchemists or other occult practitioners, as opposed to fictional witches and wizards, along with what specific effect they were to claimed to produce?

2

One difficulty here is that historically, wonder-workers of various sorts have very jealously guarded their secrets. They wrote things down to aid their own memories, but they didn’t want their rivals stealing their secrets if they somehow got ahold of their books, or for their patron to replace them with someone cheaper. So what they wrote down would all be in various sorts of code. And they wouldn’t write down how the code works anywhere, because that would defeat the point: If they took on an apprentice, they’d teach the apprentice the code face-to-face.

Now, some aspects of those codes have survived to modern knowledge. For instance, the element we call “mercury” used to be known as “quicksilver”, but some alchemists called various substances by astronomical names, and in their code, quicksilver was named after the planet Mercury. But I expect that most of the codes haven’t survived, even if the grimoires have.

3

There’s a well known work in English from 1584 containing instructions for constructing a summoning circle, useful for inviting astral spirits such as fairies, nymphs, and ghosts. Here are some of the instructions, now public domain:

Let The form of Consecration.the Exorcist, being cloathed with a black Garment, reaching to his knee, and under that a white Robe of fine Linnen that falls unto his ankles, fix himself in the midst of that place where he intends to perform his Conjurations: And throwing his old Shooes about ten yards from the place, let him put on his consecrated shooes of russet Leather with a Cross cut on the top of each shooe. Then with his Magical Wand, which must be a new hazel-stick, about two yards of length, he must stretch forth his arm to all the four Windes thrice, turning himself round at every Winde, and saying all that while with fervency:
I who am the servant of the Highest, do by the vertue of his Holy Name Immanuel, sanctifie unto my self the circumference of nine foot472 round about me, ✠✠✠ from the East, Glaurah; from the West, Garron; from the North, Cabon; from the South, Berith; which ground I take for my proper defence from all malignant spirits, that they may have no power over my soul or body, nor come beyond these Limitations, but answer truely being summoned, without daring to transgress their bounds: Worrh*. [* ? Mispr. for Worrah.] worrah. harcot. Gambalon. ✠✠✠.

Cite: The Discoverie of Witchcraft, by Reginald Scot, Esquire—A Project Gutenberg eBook Caution: Do not try this at home. These summoners are trained experts. MfM Enterprises is not responsible for any injury or damage.

More on the work “The Discouerie of Witchcraft,” by Reginald Scot, member of the British Parliament, folklorist, and skeptic. Shakespeare and many others used his work for reference.

Wiki: The Discoverie of Witchcraft - Wikipedia

The Discoverie of Witchcraft is a book published by the English gentleman Reginald Scot in 1584, intended as an exposé of early modern witchcraft. It contains a small section intended to show how the public was fooled by charlatans, which is considered the first published material on illusionary or stage magic.
Scot believed that the prosecution of those accused of witchcraft was irrational and not Christian, and he held the Roman Church responsible. Popular belief held that all obtainable copies were burned on the accession of James I in 1603.

4

The problem with the idea wonder workers would jealously guard their secrets is that that supposes that these things worked. Magic that works is mostly called science. Magic that doesn’t work is essentially useless. Unless you can make a buck from it.

I just watched this below video, from Dr Justin Sledge - from his YouTube channel Esoterica. Here he talks about Ludwig Lavater who in 1569 published De Spectris (On Ghosts). With a curiously similar theme to the work by Reginal Scot above. Lots on how you can be fooled, some commentary on potions that bring on hallucinations, and then a solid section arguing against the Roman Catholic church. The section on potions is rather amusing - being the result of actual experimentation on his unwitting friends. Perhaps more interesting is the assertion that Shakespeare had a copy and it influenced his writing of Hamlet. One wonders if the potions content had an influence on The Scottish Play. Perhaps the potions the witches brewed was drunk to induce visions of futures to come. That would come straight from these ideas.

Magic comes from all manner of ideas. I find it quite amusing how magic squares are considered actual magical entities in a lot of old magical lore. Anything unusual or weird would be considered to have some magical properties to be bound into spells. So even squares gridded and filled with numbers. Who knows what they would have made of Sodoku.

Dr Sledge has a long set of videos covering a great deal of magical lore that has come down in various works. Quite worth a visit.

5

2 yards? 6 feet? That’s one heck of a wand. You’re waving a fishing pole around at that point.

6

Or a walking stick.

7

Quotes from the ThunderCats! That’s making my day!

8

Ohwah Tahgoo Fiam

9

What you’re really looking for sounds like the Clavicula Salomonis and Lemegeton Clavicula Salmonis (or Key of Solomon & Lesser Key of Solomon). Compiled from magical grimoires from the 15th century and split into different sections, containing things such as:

How To Make Magic Garters:

TAKE enough of the skin of a stag to make two hollow tubular Garters, but before stitching them up thou shalt write on the side of the skin which was next the flesh the words and characters shown in [see below], with the blood of a hare killed on the25th of June, and having filled the said Garters with green mugwort gathered also on the 25th of June before sunrise, thou shalt put in the two ends of each the eye of the fish called barbel; and when thou shalt wish to use them thou shalt get up before sunrise and wash them in a brook of running water, and place them one on each leg above the knee. After this thou shalt take a short rod of holm-oak cut on the same 25th of June, turn in the direction thou wishest to go, write upon the ground the name of the place, and commencing thy journey thou wilt find it accomplished in a few days and without fatigue. When thou wishest to stop thou hast only to say AMECH and beat the air with the aforesaid wand, and incontinently thou shalt be on firm ground.

and

IF you would have the perfect knowledge of any Disease, whether the same tend to death or life: if the sick party lie languishing, stand before him, & say this Oration three times with great reverence:

Ihesus fili Dominus Incomprehensibilis: Ancor, Anacor, Anylos, Zohorna, Theodonos, helyotes Phagor, Norizane, Corichito, Anosae, Helse Tonope, Phagora.

Elleminator, Candones helosi, Tephagain, Tecendum, Thaones, Behelos, Belhoros, Hocho Phagan, Corphandonos, Humanæ natus & vos Eloytus Phugora: Be present ye holy Angels, advertise and teach me, whether such a one shall recover, or dye of this Infirmity!

Copies of the texts of both these collections are freely available.

Although many of the spells from the books above are nominally “holy”, calling up angels and other celestial powers (and some calling upon demons, etc as well), there was also a thriving practice of creating protective medallions, charms and selling of artifacts directly under the guise of prayer rather than “magic”. Same idea: have the right materials, say the right words, get a physical magical device . The below being from the 1879 The Magic of the Middle Ages (available for free from John Hopkins Library)

Along with the amulets, the so-called conception-billets, which the Carmelite monks sell for a small sum are of manifold use. These billets are made of consecrated paper, and heal, if swallowed, diseases natural and supernatural; laid in a cradle guard the child against witchcraft; buried in the corner of a field protect it against bad weather and destructive insects.
Conception-billets are put under the thresh-olds of houses and barns, are attached to beer casks and butter dishes to avert sorcery. They are fabricated by the monks according to an authenticated formulary which, as characteristic and comparatively brief, deserves citation:—

(that font defied copy/pasting and I wasn’t about to type it all)

10

Also word squares, most notably the Sator square:

I note that it looks like a Hebrew version of the Sator square is on an amulet that @Jophiel posted an image of in the preceding post. I haven’t checked all the letters to make sure they match the Latin ones, so could be wrong on this.

11

No, all it requires is that someone (the practitioner, the patron, or both) thinks it works.

“I haven’t yet quite managed to summon a succubus, but I think I’m really close! I’d better make sure nobody steals my work and beats me to the punch!”

“Huh, that old fool thinks I can actually summon a succubus. Well, I’d better keep stringing him along, but I can’t let him know too much or he’ll stop paying me.”

12

I think some of this is going to run into the issue that many forms of what we may call witchcraft includes trying to get information from some sort of spirit being and using their influence, powers and guidance.

I think this hits on part of a disconnect from what I think the OP wants (recipe for a spell), and what witchcraft is (spiritual practice). Any such ‘recipes’ were likely to be for a specific request or attempted action and not necessarily a general medicine. Whatever got concocted might have even been an offering.

13

That is only a part of what witchcraft is, or rather, that is only witchcraft from some practitioners.

Some spiritual practitioners refer to their magical activities as witchcraft, e.g. Wiccans. Wiccans also have belief narratives about historical witches (that they were, similarly, spiritual practitioners misunderstood and persecuted by their communities). Without getting into that belief, there are certainly fictional witches (in literature and in folklore) who were not particularly spiritual in their practices, and there are modern people who cast spells / make magical objects etc. without being particularly spiritual. It’s not a requirement.

Fiction has also created a belief that spells were like alchemical recipes. Some were, certainly, and these go back a long way in written tradition, but “witchcraft” describes what witches do (or are alleged to do), which involves a lot more than spells from books. As stated upthread, the things behind the literary examples given in the OP are best found in late medieval / early modern proto-scientific words that involve spirits and angels and whatnot. For the more cauldron / eye of newt things, better to look at healing charms like the Anglo-Saxon Metrical Charms.

14

A related but earlier form of magical spells would probably be curse tablets from the Greek and Roman eras. Some were completely in the vernacular, but others were likely created by ‘professional’ sorcerers which included untranslatable symbols, names and language thought to evoke Gods/Angels/Demons by the proper tongue.

15

Icelandic magic grimoires include both symbols (stafir) as well as verbal spells (galdrar).
As an example:
38. For the protection of your horse
Read this verse over your horse when you come to unsafe places;
then no harm will come to it: COGNOVI DOMINE CUIA
ECUITAS JUDIJSIA TUA ET IN VIRI TATES TUE HUMI·
HASTE MIE.

Also directions for making some funky magic items.

Try convincing your DM to let you have nábrók as a magic item in your next D&D game…

16

The nithing pole not only dates back to the Viking age, but is still used today. I think today it is used more as political theater than as a serious curse, although when one farmer used one against his neighbor, it was reported to the police as a death threat.

17

The terror of the Nith