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Libra Esoterica

The Long Lost Friend

or, Faithful & Christian Instructions

by Johann Georg Hohman

  • First published:
  • 19th century
  • Language: English
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Description

Description from Directory of Open Access Books (opens in a new tab)

Johann Georg Hohman's Long Lost Friend compiled practical uses of mysterious folk magic and rural home remedies rooted in medieval Europe. First published in America in 1820, these methods derive from Christian theology and shamanistic practices often credited to German immigrants. The chapbook exposes the spells, charms, benedictions, incantations, amulets, talismans, palindromes, herbs, elixirs, potions of animal parts, and herbal remedies that might cure all manner of human afflictions, guard against witches and robbers, and protect cattle and crops. Legend has it that simply carrying this book of Christian magic helped to ward off supernatural forces. The treatments featured in the book reflect the transfer of European culture and concerns to pastoral life in early Pennsylvania. What has become known as the art of powwow among Pennsylvania Dutch citizens and scholars is still practiced in some rural areas of the state. The collection is cited widely, from enthusiasts of African-American Hoodoo to theology scholars, and it preserves a fine example of ethnic heritage.

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Divination and oracles, Occultism and esotericism, Ritual magic and grimoires, and Witchcraft and folk magic.

  • Occultism and esotericism

    Controlled discovery queries from wikisource matched “Occult”. Retained metadata contains “supernatural” in the description and “occult” in the subject metadata.

    • “Occult”· via English Wikisource
    • “supernatural”· in description
    • “occult”· in subject
  • Ritual magic and grimoires

    Retained metadata contains “Magic” in the description, “Spells” in the description, “Talismans” in the description, and 1 additional metadata match(es).

    • “Magic”· in description
    • “Spells”· in description
    • “Talismans”· in description
    • “grimoire”· in cataloging note
  • Witchcraft and folk magic

    Controlled discovery queries from doab matched “folk magic”. Retained metadata contains “Folk magic” in the description, “hoodoo” in the description, and “witches” in the description.

    • “folk magic”· via Directory of Open Access Books
    • “Folk magic”· in description
    • “hoodoo”· in description
    • “witches”· in description
  • Divination and oracles

    Retained metadata contains “Divination” in the subject metadata.

    • “Divination”· in subject

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

Read & download

Free, public copies reported by our sources. Links open the source directly.

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Buy or borrow

No ISBN on record, so the Amazon link searches by title and author. WorldCat shows libraries near you that hold a copy.

Editions

2 editions cataloged here.

A Collection of Mysterious and Invaluable Arts and Remedies, for Man as Well as Animals: Of Their Virtue and Efficacy in Healing Diseases, etc., the Greater Part of Which Was Never Published Until They Appeared in Print for the First Time in the U.S. in the Year 1820

Directory of Open Access Books edition

1856—English—Open access

or, Faithful & Christian Instructions

English Wikisource transcription linked to Wikidata

1820—English—Public reader

Subjects

6 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Identifiers

Internet Archive
Wikidata
Wikisource
  • 4688170
DOAB
  • 20.500.12854/158581

Cataloging notes

  • Wikidata edition/translation work relation followed for author, date, language, subject, and identifier enrichment.
  • Wikidata instance type: grimoire; version, edition or translation
  • Wikidata item description: 1850 English translation of John George Hohman's book
Catalog id
wikisource:4688170
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
Retrieved