#Doktor Johann Georg Faustus

[thenightling]

The Occult vs. seemingly useless books

Tonight, someone in a group I run on Facebook, told me a story of how in the 1970s they found a paperback book on "How to be a fortune teller." and to their disappointment it was a guide book on how to be a con artist. For example, it said that teenagers and older people both can be told "I see you have had trouble in love." and there is the old "You lost a loved one. They are standing beside you right now." among other things such as spotting "tells." This person threw out the book in their disappointment. But in reality there IS a use for a book like this in the realm of occultists and paranormal investigations. This sort of book teaches you what the con artists do ans by extension it tells you how to spot their tricks and what they are doing to pull their tricks. There is rarely a truly useless book. When I was studying parapsychology the course provided six text books, one of which was a book on I Ching which I hated. The author put too much of their own opinions and biases into the book and by the time I was done reading it, I really did not like that person but it gave me a lot of insight into how that person, and people like them, might think. In a more dark side of things, there is a medieval grimoire called "The Trifold Coercion of Hell" or "The Black Raven" by Doktor Johann Georg Faustus. Faustus (Latinized name) is the historic figure, and supposed sorcerer, that the character of legend of Faust is supposedly to have been based on. Both Christopher Marlowe and Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe both wrote versions of the Faust legend. Personally I prefer Goethe's version because it's a two parter and in part 2, Faust's soul is actually saved. Now in the case of The Black Raven, this grimoire may be the first reference to the demon Mephistopheles, who has become a fixture of the Faust legend and is often mistaken as an alternate name of Satan himself. (They are not actually the same character). And, as you might expect, the grimoire is full of stuff that many would consider black magick. According to Wikipedia there are records of Johann Faustus being banned from Ingolstadt University for being a "N-gr-mancer" (black magick user. I censored the old word for black because social media mistakes it as a racial slur.) and he was also banished for allegedly being a s-d-mite (old not-polite word for LGBTQAI+). Now, if you look at his old Grimoire carefully (available online translated into English in PDF format) many of the spells actually teach you how to bind and ward against various demons. You just have to learn to read between the lines. The bulk of it is a book of protections against the infernal as opposed to actually invoking them. Each invocation spell is layered with means of warding and defense that can be implemented on its own. Similar is true for The Key of Solomon and especially The Lesser Key of Solomon. One of my favorite things in the old Black Raven grimoire is there is a spell for making a cloak or coat levitate like a magick carpet. This is similar to a scene in Goethe's Faust Part 1 when Mephisto and Faust leave by means of a similar conveyance. But that's not why I love it. What I love is the warning that comes with the spell. It warns to make sure the window is open "Lest there be disaster." The implication is clear. Faust tried the spell and slammed right into the closed window like a cartoon coyote ("Suuuper Genius!") So anyway, my point is this. In the realm of the occult there is rarely (if ever) a truly useless book. Even if what you found is a manual on conning people you can reverse its purpose to learn how to spot the con artists.

[kaluawoo]

Johannes Mimir Faustus... Now, Doktor Faust I know though I still haven’t actually read Faust despite meaning to and I guess selling your soul to the devil fits vampires, and both the character and the historical dude were scientists/alchemists. But that dude’s middle name was Georg or Jörg.

Mimir otoh, according to wikipedia, comes from Nordic mythology, and is a being renowned for knowledge and wisdom. And the name may be connected to “memory” or “remembering”, which uh, really suits the character considering he kinda sorta grants access to Kuro's memories.

[fraugoethe]

Der Tragödie letzter Teil

Der Tragödie letzter Teil um Johann Georg Faustus erfahren wir mit Der Lehrmeister von @oliver poetzsch (erschienen im @Ullstein Verlag). Auch im zweiten Band zieht der belesene und gewitzte Magier, Quacksalber und Astrologe alle Register.

Der Lehrmeister von Oliver Pötzsch

1518 machte ein wissensdurstiger und belesener Astrologe von sich reden. Der Magier Johann Georg Faustusreiste durch die Lande. Der Ruhm des dunklen, unheimlichen Doktors war so groß, dass ihn bedeutende Könige und Kirchenmänner baten, für sie ein Horoskop zu erstellen. Gemeinsam mit seinem Assistenten Karl und seiner Tochter Greta zog er von Ort zu Ort.…

[thenightling]

Homophobia and transphobia is not "old school" witchcraft

Today on Facebook someone told me a story of how he tried to join a coven of magical practitioners in the 1990s only for the "High Priestess" (I'm putting that in quotations for a reason) told him that because he was a gay man he was outside the cycle of creation since gay men don't have children. She would not let him join her coven. Let me point-blank tell you this. That "High Priest' is no High priest of any real Occult practice. Lots of people like to use "Traditional" or "old school" as an excuse to exclude trans women or gay men from the "Eternal feminine" or other magical practices and concepts. I do not know what kind of coven this is so I'll be covering both Wicca and Hecate-based Neo Paganism in this rant. In the 1990s Wiccan books offered same-sex marriage ceremonies. And LGBTQAI+ magical practitioners aren't something new and "invented" recently. In the fifteenth century there was Doktor Johann Georg Faustus, the basis for the Faust legend. This is a sorcerer from German legend and at least two works of classic literature. The historic version was banished from Ingolstadt University for practicing black magick (N--romancy which would probably be Noirmancy today since though that first half of the word does mean black but is deemed offensive). And he was also banished for being a "S-d-mite" (and old impolite word for being a gay man). As far as i know no one ever questioned his credentials as a magical practitioner. Also would this "High Priestess" also say that those who are infertile, or women past menopause are outside of the cycle of creation? How about a happily married straight practitioner who just chooses to not have children? The excuses that would leave out gay men or transwomen would also leave out a LOT of cis / het women just for not being baby factories. How misogynist can you get? if you think the womb is the extent of what "eternal feminine" means you are no witch or feminist. The thing about Neo-Paganism is the neo part. Neo means new. Wicca is not the only religion cobbled together from remnants of pre-Christian faiths. Most Neo-Paganism was (whether people want to face it or not) invented in the nineteenth century. A lot of the old beliefs and practices were lost. Also I find it baffling that anyone could accept a possible "High Priestess of Hecate" (I assume that's the deity this "High Priestess" worshiped) as being anti-gay. Let's step back and look at the obvious problem here. Someone who worships a GREEK deity being anti-gay. Did... did this "high priestess" think the Ancient Greeks were anti-gay? Do I need to point out what's wrong with this idea? If you stumble across any occult practitioner who claims being LGBTQAI+ means you cannot be a part of their coven or you can't use magick, that is no true High Priestess of anything. That's just a mean girl with a clique trying to reclaim the cruelties of exclusionary factions in High School and giving herself a power trip while possibly offending multiple entities. Real magick is natural as the way you are born. Real magick has always been inclusive. If someone says you are unworthy because of what you are... that person is no true High Priestess and is the truly unworthy person. End of rant.

[thenightling]

“Virgin blood” (in magick) does NOT mean “Blood never used in another ritual.”  (Research is your friend!)

AGGBHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

What started as a semi-joking post about something asked to me about Neil Gaiman’s Sandman has lead to a genuine headache.

Someone replied with “Actually virgin blood means blood that hasn’t been used in any other ritual.” 

No!  No. And no.  That’s bullshit an idiot said on Tumblr on an unfortunately all-too wide spread post and unfortunately as it circulated online NO ONE bothered to check if she was right.  When I asked her about her spreading misinformation I got a “I was only joking” response and I tried to warn her that there were people who took her reply seriously and it was spreading in occult circles but she just laughed it off.  And now somehow I’m getting “Actually” magicksplaining bullshit responses of “virgin blood really means blood never used in any other ritual”

1.  Many Grimoires were written in the fifteenth century.  This includes The Black Raven or The Trifold-coercion of Hell by Johann Georg Faustus AKA Faust.  Yes, the real Doktor Faust.  There was also The Key of Solomon, whose oldest manuscript (currently in The British Museum) dates back to the fifteenth century and was translated into English by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers of The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn.  He left out some of the darker spells that he considered dangerous, which thanks to pushing from Aleister Crowley, got published later as the Lesser Key of Solomon.   

Mathers was a founding member of The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn.  Ironically the Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn had a LOT to say about the uses of blood in magick.   

My point is the grimoires of the fifteenth century were very literal in the use of the word “virgin” mostly due to the cultural views of “cleanliness” and “purity” of a virgin (particularly women.).  There were even spells that called for virginal horses (such as old Eastern European methods of finding a vampire’s grave which called for a white horse that has never mated).  

Authors such as Faustus were from very Catholic cultures were physical virginity was held in extremely high regard.   Our culture may have moved past that stance but that doesn’t change the intended meaning in those old Grimoires.  

2.  I am amazed at how many people take the “blood not used in any other ritual” to heart without actually thinking about one simple fact... blood doesn’t survive that long out of the body.  It doesn’t just become useless for transfusions.  It putrefies quickly.  Imagine if a spell called for “Virgin milk” in a hot location that has no method of refrigeration.  Anything that isn’t “virgin” is cottage cheese.   Same with blood.  You’d be conducting rituals with brown, hardened scabs... 

Do you not know how long the shelf-life of human blood is?  Even with modern hospital preservation techniques the shelf-life is only six weeks. You’re not going to be using the same blood for multiple spells, it doesn’t even stay liquid that long without preservatives. It doesn’t last long.  

This isn’t like Roger Corman’s The Raven where you can find a jar of “powdered instant blood” in your father’s closet.  Blood doesn’t last long enough for multiple rituals. It congeals, it coagulates.  

You literally can’t use blood for more than one ritual.   Basic thaumaturgy, kids!   It’s not like the movies.  Blood doesn’t last long outside of the body.  That’s why there are so many blood drives.  Even with modern preservation methods blood doesn’t last very long. 

Blood is simply not viable for multiple spells and rituals.    

3.   Pick up a Grimoire from before 2007 and you’ll find phrases like “Blood from a maiden who has never laid with a man.”  not virgin blood meaning the same as virgin olive oil!  Sometimes it’s as blunt as to say “Blood from one who has never copulated.”  

A Sandman related joke should NOT have lead to me wanting to rip my hair out this morning because of wanna-be witches who have never touched a real Grimoire trusting a widespread meme as fact and never questioning that human blood doesn’t actually last long enough for multiple rituals!

Virgin blood does not have the same meaning as virgin cocktail or virgin olive oil.   And no, it does not mean “blood with no alcohol added to it” either.  

There’s even a reddit post about this but fortunately logic seems to prevail there with someone pointing out the historical / religious significance of sexual virginity. And that “virgin” to mean “unused” before is not exactly common English, especially for older Grimoires...    

 If a fifteenth century spell says “virgin” it means virgin by the more popular and Catholic-esque meaning.

Do any of you know what the main ingredient of the Philosopher’s stone was supposed to have been and why it’s usually depicted as red?  It’s something they’ll never bring up in the Harry Potter films or books.  Menstrual blood of a whore.  They did not mean “Menstrual blood used in many spells.”   They meant something very, very, different.

[thenightling]

Faust in the Elvira comics (A brief analysis)

I am very pleased that the German gothic character of Faust appears in Elvira’s new comics books.  (Appearing Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and being name dropped in Elvira: The Shape of Elvira.)   I love Faust.  Faust is probably my favorite German folktale.  My favorite film adaptation is the 1926 silent film from F. W. Murnau (the man who gave us Nosferatu). 

Faust is the story of a doctor (and practicing sorcerer) who sells his soul to a demon and goes on many misadventures with his demon companion.

I’m a bit specific about which version of the Faust story I prefer. The two most famous versions are the plays by Marlowe and Goethe.   I like Goethe’s Faust a great deal more than Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.  

(Note: I love this quote too.)

In Marlowe’s Faustus the bargain was for a demon servant for a certain term.  After that time Faust (Faustus) would belong to Mephisto. This premise was borrowed for the anime Black Butler.

(Nope.  There is NO version of Mephisto that is straight... Even when / especially when he’s renamed for manga and anime.)

  In Goethe’s version of Faust the bargain was actually for the ultimate life experience- the moment Faust would want to never end.  Faust believed that in that moment he would have the knowledge he always sought, the greatest knowledge anyone could attain.  In Goethe’s version of the story that moment came from caring about others and wanting to make life better for others and thus Faust’s soul was ultimately saved despite everything he had done with Mephisto. 

Both versions of Doktor (Doctor) Faust (Faustus) love knowledge.

Based on the final scene in the latest issue of Elvira: Mistress of The Dark (issue 4) I am inclined to think this version of Faust is more heavily based on Marlowe’s version.

Christopher Marlowe’s version of Faust has a miserable ending whereas Goethe’s version (if you read both parts 1 and 2) allows for Faust’s salvation.  Faust ascends to Heaven and he is reunited with Gretchen, his lover from part 1 of the story.   Despite dying it’s mostly a happy ending.  

Unfortunately I do not expect to see Faust’s salvation or anything to hint at it in Elvira: Mistress of The Dark...

Note: There is a slight continuity error in that in Elvira: The Shape of Elvira issue 1 Elvira starts to read Goethe’s Faust and says she wished she had read it before she met the guy.  Then how did she know when he was quoting from Goethe’s Faust?   She comments on the quoting in the most recent issue of Elvira: Mistress of The Dark.   

The reason I don’t think we’ll be seeing the salvation in Elvira: Mistress of the Dark are as follows:

1.  Based on Mephisto’s entrance it appears the bargain is more on part with the Christopher Marlowe version of the story.

2.  Though he quotes Goethe, the version of Faust that appears in the story is clearly modeled after the Richard Burton version.  Richard Burton starred in a film adaptation of Faust but the film was based on Christopher Marlowe’s version of the story, not the Goethe version and at the end he was dragged into Hell. (Note the amulet and haircut.)  

3.   In Goethe’s Faust, Mephisto becomes trapped thanks to a pentacle (five pointed star in a circle.  This happens in Part 1 of Goethe’s Faust.  Yet here in the comic Mephisto was actually drawn wearing a pentacle.   This makes it all the more likely David Avallone is not following Goethe’s version.

4.   In a “commentary” David Avallone did for issue 4 of Elvira he mentioned having read a few quote from Goethe’s Faust.  This indicated to me that he had not read all of Goethe’s Faust or perhaps if he had read it, he only read part 1.  Part 1 is often just sold as “Faust” and ends with Gretchen calling out for Heinrich and a voice stating she is saved.   Heinrich is Faust’s first name in Goethe’s version.  (The legend of Faust is loosely based on a real man.  And he was named Johann Georg Faust.)  

5.   Many people have read part 1 of Goethe’s Faust and because it’s often just sold as “Faust” they mistakenly think they read the whole thing.  The opera based on Goethe’s Faust and many film adaptations only tackle part 1.  One of the few adaptations that actually tells both parts 1 and 2 of Goethe’s Faust to any capacity (besides an episode of Wishbone called Flea-bitten Bargain) is the silent film from F. W. Murnau.

6. Part B.  Based on the artwork and the lack of referencing to the film (as I think he would have poked at it by now if he had seen it) I do not have reason to believe David Avallone watched the Murnau silent film of Faust or that he even realizes that this adaptation exists at all.  (Note for the curious: You can watch it with English language text for free on Youtube.)    

(He gets de-aged fairly early in the story.  Faust on the left, Mephisto on the right.)

I am not criticizing David Avallone.  So few people use Faust as a character that I was simply thrilled and surprised to see him used at all in Elvira.   And I am infinitely grateful for that.  I happen to like Faust more than Dorian Gray (though I do love Oscar Wilde).  The rarity of seeing the character used at all makes me willing to embrace a version that is only partly Goethe’s or a hodgepodge of many versions.   

I’m just putting out there that I have reason to believe David Avallone’s depiction of Faust will not gain the sympathetic slant that you see in Goethe’s play or the silent film, or the power metal band, Kamelot’s albums, Epica and The Black Halo (which retell Goethe’s Faust Parts 1 and 2 when played back to back but change Faust’s first name to Ariel and Gretchen’s name to Helena and mostly leaves out the Helen of Troy part of the story and the time travel for the most part.) ____________________________ 

  Further notes if David Avallone happens to read this:

(as someone enjoying the story this is my attempt to be helpful.)

1.  Something Elvira (the character) might know:  The first known horror film is a short silent French film called Le Château hanté (The Haunted castle).  The main villain of the story is Mephisto messing with people trying to enter or inhabit a particular castle.  Mephisto AKA Mephistopheles is the demon from the Faust legend.   You even get to see him transform into a bat before Dracula.   

2.  Despite pop culture often confusing the two, Mephisto AKA Mephistopheles is NOT Satan himself.   He’s a duke of Hell- a high ranking demon or “A” Devil as opposed to THE Devil.  In fact there’s a throwaway line in Goethe’s Faust where he says he does not like being mistaken as Satan.  And in the UrFaust (the long deleted part of Goethe’s version) there is a scene where Mephisto and Satan, himself, are present.   

3.  Mephistopheles does not exist in The Bible.  The first record of the name was in a grimoire by the actual Johann Georg Faust and that is why he is so tied to the Faust legend.  The Grimoire is called The Black Raven or The Trifold Coercion of Hell.  He seems to like the nickname of Mephisto in most versions of Faust.  

(Further note: There is a spell in that grimoire to make a cloak levitate like a flying carpet and with it is  a note from the author to always make sure the window is open first or there will be disaster.  I want to know what the Hell happened to make Faust have to add this note to open the window before flying on his cloak!  Did he slam into a wall?!)

4.  The version of Mephisto in Marvel comics is not even Marvel’s Satan (despite even comic book news sites making that mistake).   Satan is a separate character.  Marvel’s Mephisto is based on the one in the Faust legend.  In fact his usual M.O is to try to trick various Marvel heroes into signing one of his contracts in blood.  He was even used as the plot device to erase Spider-Man’s marriage to Mary Jane is what is now known as the worst storyline ever written in a Marvel comic (One More Day).

(Nope, still not straight. :-P)

  Ironically neither Marvel nor DC have used Faust as a character though DC has a character very similar to Faust and named for him (Felix Faust and his son Sebastian).  (About Felix Faust) “Sorcerer and Asshole Extraordinaire.” - quote from Constantine in Justice League Dark.  Yup, that fits most versions of the legendary Faust before his redemption.  

5. There are almost no good film adaptations that cover both parts of Goethe’s Faust so it’s very hard to cheat having read it or not.   The easiest work-around if you don’t want to read it is watch the 1922 silent film and listen to the Kamelot albums Epica and the Black halo and just know Ariel is the name they’re calling Faust instead of Heinrich or Johann, and Helena is Gretchen (while Helen of Troy is pretty much left out).

    Anyway, I’m tired and I babble when I’m tired. Thank you to anyone putting up with this.   I love the Elvira comics and Faust is an old favorite of mine so this became like peanut butter and chocolate for me.

I only over-analyze when I love.

[thenightling]

Is this Faust thing you're enthusiastic about some contemporary YA novel based in some part on the German legend or are you legit talking about the classic story that Kit Marlowe adapted from the German legend?

Goethe’s version of the German Legend. The two part closet drama first written in the 1780s and part 2 found shortly after his death in 1832.   (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe = 1749-1832).   I’m not a big fan of the Marlowe version, Goethe’s has a better ending (Faust gets redeemed and ascends to Heaven, reunited with Gretchen).   

Marlowe called his protagonist Doctor Faustus whereas Goethe renamed him Doctor (Doktor) Heinrich Faust.  

And yes, I love the original folklore too, it’s fascinating trying to separate fact from legend as there really was a Johann Georg Faust, whom the legend was based.  

English language translation by A. S. kline.

https://www.poetryintranslation.com/klineasfaust.php

The most contemporary English language version I know of is the Kamelot power metal albums “Epica” and “The Black Halo.”  When played back to back it’s essentially a metal opera retelling of Goethe’s version of Faust (both parts), just changing Gretchen’s name to Helena, and Faust’s first name to Ariel.