ANONYMOUS - PYTHAGOREAN DIVINATORY CIRCLES (MANUSCRIPT) - S. XVII

Subject: Original manuscript from the 17th-18th centuries. Pythagorean wheels, numerology, Jewish Kabbalah, inquisition, divination, esotericism, astrology, alchemy, superstition, tarot arcana, oracles, Islamic writings, Bede the Venerable.

Piece: Very rare superstitious paper based on the art or arcana of numerology: divinatory wheels based on numerological oracles combined with other variables from occult and legal disciplines, perhaps coming from the printed work of Bede the Venerable.

Year - Place: Castilla, first half of the 17th century (notebook) and mid 18th (page).

Author: Unknown. ¿Was obtained from the work of Bede the Venerable?

Format: Notebook with 7 unstitched pages on folio-sized laid paper. A single sheet of laid paper.

Calligraphy: Notebook from the 17th century: transitional calligraphy between italics and humanistic handwriting. 18th century page: humanistic handwriting with a cursive tendency.

Provenance: Private noble archive.

Description of the piece: Very rare case of superstitious paper based on the art or arcane of numerology of the usual type that inquisitors used to seize after the anathematization of astrology and deterministic divination practices after the Council of Trent.

At a glance, the document shows a miscellany of symbols typical of some disciplines of humanistic pseudosciences known so far. Symbols of alchemy appear, Pythagorean wheels, numerology, references to the Alphonsian Tables and explanatory prose of each divinatory formula.

It is complex to determine in detail, in an a priori analysis, the influences or sources from which this superstitious technique draws, but we could state that the main approach comes directly from the works of Pythagoras, more specifically from those known as "Pythagorean circles". These are oracles or forecasts that relate various numerical or symbolic variables that have to do with qualities or personal data of the subject about whom you want to know the future (name, surname, month or year of birth, phases of the moon, correspondence between numbers and letters, etc.). These contents are closely linked to the 22 major arcana of the Tarot (skill, secrets, germination, protection, science, love, divine protection, help, justice...); however, in this case the spell divinatory goes further, as not only are more numerological variables introduced, such as symbols typical of alchemy and esotericism, but it also includes the tradition of Jewish Kabbalah and Islamic numerical divinatory writings.

Up to this point, although not very common, we would be facing another of the many cultural monstrosities contemporary to the time. This piece, however, goes beyond convention due to the quasi-legal approach of the circles. These are examples described in detail on how to proceed in a hypothetical use of the circle using names of people, their data and the "operations" required in such case. The result is a pseudoscientific product, only suitable for those initiated in this multitude of subjects. In this sense, it is undoubtedly a unique document, worthy of in-depth study and with broad possibilities in various disciplines.

Conservation: Good conservation. In the case of the sheets corresponding to the 17th century, the ink has excess iron, which has led to some occasional degradation of the paper due to oxidation. Ink stains and other liquids in some spots. The notebook is torn (remnants of black string can be seen). In the case of the 18th century pastern, the conservation is very good, apart from two losses due to oxidation corresponding to the ink finishes of the cross on the wheel.