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| Ars Notoria. The Grimoire of Rapid Learning by Magic. Dr. Stephen Skinner. Daniel Clark |
The Ars Notoria has intrigued me since I first learned of it's existence. For someone such as myself, with too many interests and always crunched for time, the idea of a book that enables one to learn entire subjects very quickly is quite appealing.
The Ars Notoria was a memory aid utilized by medieval monks, so it is intended for mastering a 13th Century curriculum (the 7 liberal arts and sciences).
This is not to say that you will somehow miraculously obtain knowledge through this system. You won't. You still have to do the work/studying. However, the prayers, incantations and meditations contained therein put you in a relaxed mindset that allows your brain to absorb much more than it would under normal circumstances.
Thanks to Dr. Stephen Skinner for making this text (and the other books in his SWCM series) available. The scholarship is superb. This is part one of two. The second Ars Notoria volume was just recently published.
Stephen Skinner began his career as a Geography lecturer and magazine publisher, but his long term interests have always been Western magic and feng shui.
During the 1970s he was the driving force behind Askin Publishers, producing a number of classic magical works by Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, Austin Osman Spare, Aleister Crowley, and others. During the 1970s he co-wrote many books with Francis King, including the still popular Techniques of High Magic. Also with Francis King he wrote Nostradamus. His interest in prophecy stimulated by this book, he went on to write the best selling Millennium Prophecies.
Stephen is credited with bringing the art of Feng Shui to the West, and in 1976 he wrote the Living Earth Manual of Feng Shui, which was the first English book on feng shui in the 20th century.
Stephen has written more than 35 books, which have been published worldwide in 28 different languages. These books have had introductions by such diverse people as Colin Wilson, HRH Charles Prince of Wales, and Jimmy Choo, shoe designer to the stars.
Stephen lives in Singapore. Stephen is the first Westerner to be awarded the title of Grand Master of Feng Shui by the International Feng Shui Association.
Daniel Clark was born in Hobart, Tasmania. He developed a serious interest in magic from a very early age with a particular focus on the grimoires. His interests range from Solomonic and Faustian traditions and demonology, to the more obscure esoteric areas of Japanese Onmyodo and Yokai mythology. Over the past few years Daniel has been striving to help important and often forgotten manuscripts of magic get digitized, and has tracked down and located many variant grimoires residing in universities and libraries around the world, many of which are still waiting to be re-discovered.
