The Egyptian Sorcerer - A Maqāmah Parable
The Egyptian Sorcerer - A Maqamah Parable
In 1847, the famous Jewish scholar Moritz Steinschneider presented his wife with a special wedding gift: a selection of Maqamah parables he had newly translated from Hebrew. Based upon Arabic sources of the 11th to 13th centuries, these tales waft a breath of Arabian desert culture into medieval Europe.
Originally published under the title Manna, they were reprinted in 1920 by Steinschneider's heirs under the title The Sorcerer. – Here we present for the first time an English translation of the titular story The Egyptian Sorcerer. Expanded by a short introduction and some concluding thoughts, to this day this parable offers a veritable treasure trove of magical insights and living symbols.
The arabesque cover of this digital edition was taken from the 1920 reprint. The carefully selected images that were added show original shadow puppets from 14th century Egypt, where they were used to perform tales and parables.
We are making this material available online and free of charge as a contribution to the magical community. The content is planned to appear in print as part of a collection of essays by Frater Acher at a later point.
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