Alexios :
The grimoire shown is the Arbatel de magia veterum (first published in Basel, 1575), and the "seven leaders" depicted are the Olympic Spirits: Aratron (Saturn), Bethor (Jupiter), Phaleg (Mars), Och (Sun), Hagith (Venus), Ophiel (Mercury), and Phul (Moon).
Calling it a "knock-off" doesn't quite do justice to how Western esotericism operates; rather than a cheap counterfeit, the Arbatel is a late-Renaissance rebranding of the exact same ancient archetype: the ladder of the seven spheres.
The Allegory of the Tower of Seven Landings
Imagine an ancient, spiral staircase winding up inside a grand celestial tower that bridges the Earth to the heavens. The staircase has always had exactly seven steps, each forged from a distinct metal—from heavy, dull lead at the threshold to brilliant, luminous gold near the summit.
In antiquity, Persian mystics in the Mithraic rites climbed this staircase, calling each landing a trial. The Gnostics climbed it, calling each level a gateway guarded by a celestial archon.
When the author of the Arbatel arrived at the tower in the 16th century, they did not build a fake staircase; they simply polished the railings, hung new banners, and appointed seven newly named governors—the Olympic Spirits—to hold court at each of those seven original landings.
Why It Mirrors the "Seven Rungs"
The Mithraic Ladder of Seven Metals: Long before the Arbatel, the 2nd-century philosopher Celsus recorded the Mithraic initiatory ladder, which had seven gates or rungs made of seven metals (Lead, Tin, Bronze, Iron, Mixed Alloy, Silver, and Gold), each matching a classical planet. Initiates had to figuratively ascend these rungs to liberate the soul.
The Hermetic Ascent: In the Corpus Hermeticum, the soul descends into physical incarnation through seven planetary rings, gathering physical density, and upon death must ascend through those same seven rungs, shedding earthly vices at each level to return to pure spirit.
The Biblical Jacob’s Ladder: Esoteric Christian and Kabbalistic traditions mapped the seven rungs of Jacob’s Ladder directly onto the seven lower Sephiroth of the Tree of Life and the planetary spheres.
The Arbatel simply codified this planetary cos
2026-10-30 05:05:05