Love Magic & Myth

Written By Aequus Nox

Papyri, Grimoires & Ritual Traditions with Brian Johnson

💘 Erotic Magic, Eros, and the Underworld: A Conversation with Brian Johnson

I had the pleasure of speaking with Brian Johnson, a translator of historical magic texts and a true expert in the field. This conversation was full of rich insight on love magic, myth, and ritual traditions — from the Greek and Demotic magical papyri to the clerical necromantic underground of the grimoire tradition.

Here’s a deeper look into what we covered. 🧵👇

🕯️ The Allure of Magic Across Cultures

Brian shared what draws him to the study of magic:

“I’ve always had an interest in understanding the diversity of human culture and belief…tracing…parallels and continuities among cultures… In the case of texts like the magical papyri…we have both an invaluable insight into the culture…and a kind of 'fossil' from which we can look for parallels and connections…”

This resonated. Magic serves as a portal into people's anxieties, desires, and ideas, which still echo with meaning today.

💞 Erotic Magic: More Than Desire

We discussed the complexities of erotic magic — and how it’s not just about attraction:

“It can be difficult to precisely place many of the spells on that continuum…formulaic and poetic…ambiguous as to whether a spell is…torturing someone into submission, or just a very emotive description of inciting lust.”

Erotic spells often distinguish between desire and domination, and Brian stressed how important it is to interpret these texts with care. What may look romantic might be coercive.

“I feel like these last two spells especially draw a rather distasteful…picture of the kind of person who used them—this is like SWATting someone with the gods of the underworld.”

🏛️ Gods, Ghosts, and the Love-Struck Dead

While Eros and Aphrodite are to be expected, chthonic deities and the spirits of the dead also play surprising roles in these spells. This insight reframes necromancy: the dead might be sympathetic to the affairs of the living, even in love.

🏹 The Many Faces of Eros

We talked about how the concept of Eros morphs over time — from Plato’s Symposium to mischievous Cupid:

“Eros and Cupid…are two gods embodying the same aggregate of concepts, portrayed by two different cultures…Cupid seems to have not received the same degree of independent cult as his Greek analogue…though some…did adopt Cupid/Eros as a kind of cosmic binding principle…”

This led us into a discussion of cosmic attraction and how magical practitioners interpreted these deities not just emotionally, but cosmologically.

📜 Grimoires & the Clerical Necromantic Underground

One of the more surprising threads: the appearance of Cupid in grimoires like CLM 849:

“[This spell] might have been an invention of the late 14th or early 15th century, likely in Italy, from where it could travel… So this could be an original composition from within the so-called ‘clerical necromantic underground’…”

This is a rich term: the clerical necromantic underground — magic and love stitched into secret scholarly channels in late medieval Europe. Worth further exploration.

💘 Valentine’s Day & Lupercalia?

We couldn’t help but explore how modern holidays like Valentine’s Day might reflect remnants of these ancient rites — especially Lupercalia, the Roman festival tied to fertility and desire.

📚 Further Reading

🧠 Brian Johnson

📜 Manuscripts Referenced

🎧 Podcast Referenced

📖 Books Referenced

Aequus Nox https://aequusnox.squarespace.com