‘Shall I soon be courted?’ is the first question in this little book and it’s aimed squarely at women as the gilt illustration on the front cover shows. That’s the purported author, Cornelius Agrippa, divining the future with symbols and cards whilst all sorts of fiendish creatures fly about in the aether, thrilling the reader with thoughts of what might happen when dealing in occult matters. The book starts with 100 questions, then a printed table with patterns of dots: ‘Shut your eyes and place your finger upon the Table…’ and then a page with the key to the answer. It’s all treated very seriously and must have provided hours of fun for the largely teenage market. The small size makes the book easy to hide away if suddenly surprised by Christians carrying whips, too. But beware: as the introduction concludes, It is not well to try the same question twice in one day … Remember those demons! The hidden world has always fascinated and tomorrow we’ll have a look at a much earlier effort to unlock the mysteries of the universe – an alchemy text from 1615…
W Evans, [1857] - those square brackets mean the date is certain, but not in the book.. First edition. The engraved title page has: Oracle Du Destin, or Ancient and Modern Ladies Oracle.
