The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts

Arthur Edward Waite’s "The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts" is a late 19th-century scholarly survey of grimoires, ceremonial magic, and pact-making traditions. Significant as both a historical compendium and a critical study, it gathers translated excerpts, commentary, and analyses of magical texts, exposing readers to European occult literature while also assessing its origins and claims.

Arthur Edward Waite (1857–1942) was a major English occultist, poet, and scholar of mystical traditions. He was a central figure in modern ceremonial magic and esoteric publishing, and his writings on the Kabbalah, alchemy, the Tarot, and the Rosicrucians were widely influential.