- Translation from the 1823 French Edition and Commentary by Baron and Baronessa Araignee
Le Dragon Rouge (The Red Dragon), better known as The Grand Grimoire is a 15th to 17th century grimoire, attributed to have been authored by someone named Antonio Venitiana del Rabina who supposedly gathered this information from original writings of King Solomon. This grimoire deals with the making of pacts, and outlines in particular a pact made with Lucifuge Rofocale. It also includes a section on spellwork.
This book is mentioned by some to be related to the Petit Albert (the Lesser Albert), as well as the Grand Albert (Greater Albert) – likely due to the nature of the work itself, although by simply reading through the text, one will notice that the only relation it may have is in the composure of the spellwork, however the spellwork within is on par with those of the era itself…so no direct relations are apparent.
Because of its status as one of the early grimiores, we have decided to translate it from the original French once again, although English translations already exist. Paired with this, we will add certain observations, explanations and annotations with each presented spell herein, to shed more light on the content and the significance thereof.
We have not included all the modern-day names for certain herbs, plants, minerals and so forth, nor have we included in-depth historical commentary on the work itself – as this translation is not intended to be a historical reference document, but a grimoire of practical study of the Occult Arts of the time.
Nonetheless, this manuscript is not the first which we have translated from the original and it will certainly not be the last, as we are planning on translating and revising many more grimiores of the times past – as most modern-day Occult literature seem to have forgotten its roots in the long-forgotten annals of history.
We are certain that this grimoire will indeed brighten the eyes of the seeker a bit – even though the vagueness and pomp can be a bit overwhelming, as is usual for grimiores of antiquity.
