Simon Necronomicon

The Simon Necronomicon (or "Simonomicon") is a grimoire which some consider the best-known version of the fictional Necronomicon. It is called the "Simon Necronomicon" because its introduction was written by a man identified only as "Simon." The book is largely based on Sumerian mythology and its introduction attempts to identify the Great Old Ones and other creatures that are also found in Lovecraft's Mythos with gods and demons from the Sumerian myths. The myths presented in the book are a blend of Mesopotamian myths (not only Sumerian, but Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian as well), and a storyline of unknown authenticity about a man known as the "Mad Arab."

The book was released in 1977 by Schlangekraft, Inc. in a limited leatherbound edition of 666, which was followed by a clothbound edition of 3333, and later by an Avon paperback. [ [http://www.mythostomes.com/content/view/16/72/ The Simon "Necronomicon",] a review.] It has never been out of print since 1980 and has sold 800,000 copies by 2006 making it the most popular version of the Necronomicon to date. [Simon, Dead Names: The Dark History of the Necronomicon (2006), 246]

imon's introduction

The introduction to the book (comprising about 50 pages of a total of around 250) is the only part that Simon indicates that he wrote. It relates how Simon and his associates were said to have been introduced to a copy of the Greek Necronomicon by a mysterious monk. The introduction also attempts to establish links between Lovecraft, Aleister Crowley and Sumerian mythology, as well as draw parallels to other religions (such as Christianity, Wicca, and Satanism). Some of the discussion is based on ideas concerning the connection between Crowley and Lovecraft first put forward by Kenneth Grant.

The testimony of the Mad Arab

The Testimony is in two parts that form a prologue and an epilogue to the core Necronomicon. The author is described as a "Mad Arab".

The prologue tells how the Mad Arab first came to know of the existence of the dark secrets he is writing down (by accidentally witnessing an arcane ritual performed by a cult of the Ancient Ones).

In the epilogue, the Mad Arab is haunted by demons and monsters. He fears that his gods have foresaken him due to some sin he believes to have unwittingly committed. He is taken away by these demons before he is able to sign his work, thus becoming nameless.

Ancient Ones

The Ancient Ones mentioned in the book include the following:

*Tiamat
*Apsû
*Kingu
*Ereshkigal
*Kutulu
*Azag-Thoth
*Ishnigarrab
*Ninnghizhidda
*Nammtar (or Namtar)
*Humwawa (or Humbaba)
*Pazuzu
*The Seven Maskim, also spelled Masqim, the Liers-In-Wait

Magic

Much of the book is a guide to magic. Many magical incantations, seals and rituals are described. Most of these are used to ward off evil or to invoke the Elder Gods to one's aid. Some of them are curses to be used against one's enemies. The incantations are written in a mix of English and ancient Sumerian with a few possible misspellings in the Sumerian words.

The many magical seals in the book usually pertain to a particular god or demon and are used when invoking the entity. In some cases there are specific instructions on how to carve the seals, including the materials that should be used and the time of day it should be carved. In other cases, only the seal itself is given.

The book mentions in some rituals that sacrifices should be offered. In one ritual it says a human sacrifice of eleven men is needed to enchant a sword to summon Tiamat.(p. 160-161)

The introduction and the book's marketing make sensational claims for the book's magical power. The back blurb states it was "the most potent and potentially, the most dangerous Black Book known to the Western World" and that its rituals will bring "beings and monsters" into "physical appearance". The books introduction gives readers frequent warnings that the powers it contains are potentially life threatening, and that perfect mental health is needed otherwise the book is extremely dangerous and that a curse hit those who helped publish the book. It also claims that standard magical protections and banishing will not work on the entities in the book.

Good versus evil

A main theme of the book is the struggle between good and evil. The principal forces of good and evil are the "Elder Gods" and the "Ancient Ones", respectively. These two sides are populated with authentic Mesopotamian gods and monsters as well as fictitious ones. The Ancient Ones are older and represent primeval chaos. Chief among them is Tiamat. The Elder Gods are younger entities, children of the Ancient Ones, who rebelled against them and prevailed.

Included in the Simon Necronomicon is a story which is a variant of the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic. It relates how Marduk (one of the Elder Gods) slew Tiamat, clove her body in two and created the Heaven and the Earth from the two halves. The Elder Gods also createdMankind from the blood of Kingu (an Ancient One). Other Ancient Ones are imprisoned beneath the Earth or beyond the Heavens. To this editor's knowledge, all of this is derived from authentic myths (except, perhaps, the terms "Elders Gods" and "Ancient Ones" themselves; these seem like an obvious attempt to draw parallels to Lovecraft's stories).

Simon's introduction claims that Lovecraft's Mythos, just like the Sumerian mythology, is a story of the struggle between good and evil, there personified by the good "Elder Gods" and the evil "Great Old Ones". This is incorrect. Such a "cosmic war" does indeed appear in August Derleth's version of the Cthulhu Mythos, but not in Lovecraft's stories. (See Cthulhu Mythos for more information on this subject.) The theme of "cosmic war" derives instead from Lovecraft's essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature", where he mentions the apocryphal Book of Enoch.

The Book of Enoch elaborates on Genesis 6:1-4, describing how rebellious angels, variously known as Watchers or Grigori, descended to Earth from the Heavens and inflicted their technological sophistication upon nascent humanity, including the Arts of Metallurgy and Astronomy.

The Books of Enoch and of Genesis relate that these Watchers looked upon the daughters of humankind and took them as wives, subsequently giving birth to demonic offspring, otherwise known as the Nephilim. At this point the Flood ensues, submerging the Abominations beneath the sea.

The Ancient Ones now lie "not dead but dreaming", awaiting a day when they may return to life. To do this, they are dependent upon the positions of the stars as well as the sacrifices of their mortal followers. Critics claim that this is an obvious attempt to reconcile these myths with Cthulhu Mythos stories such as The Call of Cthulhu and with the Armageddon and Apocalypse of Judeo-Christianity where, following the conflagration of the End Times, the flesh of the vanquished Leviathan is then served up to the victorious survivors for dinner.

Controversy

Textual Authenticity

Considerable debate has occurred over the historic authenticity of the Simon Necronomicon. No manuscript has ever been made available for examination, so the controversy centers around the book's content.

From 2006 the question of whether the Necronomicon displays influences from later civilizations is no longer under dispute, as Simon has stated in "Dead Names" that the book contains Gnostic and Neoplatonic material. Simon and his supporters now claim the Necronomicon is an ancient work that may have been corrupted down through the ages. Their opponents maintain that the book is a modern hoax combining published Mesopotamian material with Lovecraft's fiction and modern magical practices. Despite Simon's change of mind the current edition of the book still claims as it always has done, to be based on real Sumerian sources.

According to one book on the topic, "The Necronomicon Files", several portions of the "Necronomicon" bear striking similarities with other works mentioned in its bibliography, such as R. C. Thompson's "The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia" and Pritchard's "Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament", to an extent that it becomes unlikely that separate translations could have arrived at the same result [Harms, Dan and John Wisdom Gonce III. 2003. "The Necronomicon Files". Boston: Red Wheel Weiser.] . In addition, two members of the Magickal Childe scene, Khem Caigan (the "Necronomicon"'s illustrator) and Alan Cabal, an American occultist, have independently stated that the book was widely known as a hoax in the local occult community. [ [http://www.nypress.com/16/23/news&columns/feature.cfm New York Press - ALAN CABAL ] ] Simon has yet to produce any other individuals who are willing to back up his version of events.

A crucial difficulty with the Necronomicon being authentic is the question of how Lovecraft would have learned about the book before 1921, and why he would have maintained that he invented it. Some proponents such as Kenneth Grant assert that Lovecraft was an unconscious medium who learned about a real book in his dreams, or cite links to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn or other magical orders for which documentation has yet to appear.Fact|date=October 2007

Magical Power - Useful or a Cursed Book?

Many practitioners of magic maintain that, no matter what the book's origins, the Simon Necronomicon provides a complete and workable system that can be pursued on a path of personal revelation and growth. Fact|date=October 2007 Other magic users warn that it is dangerous, and many of the rituals it contains are corrupt or are deliberate traps which should never be attempted. There are a number of documented cases of people claiming to have been cursed by the book's power just as the book itself warns can happen. [Harms, Dan and John Wisdom Gonce III. 2003. "The Necronomicon Files". Boston: Red Wheel Weiser. chapter 9]

Accusations of Black magic and Connections to Murder

The sensational claims for the book's power and its avowed connection to evil forces meant it has been frequently condemned as black magic by Christian groups. One example is Patricia Pulling who in her book, "The Devil's Web: Who Is Stalking Your Children For Satan?" published by Vital Issues Press, 1989) warned against the Simon Necronomicon which she claimed was used regularly by teenagers; one portion of the book urges police officers to open interrogations of suspected teenage occultists with the question, "Have you read the Necronomicon, or are you familiar with it?" [ [http://www.rpgstudies.net/stackpole/pulling_report.html] The Pulling Report]

The book has featured as courtroom evidence in the murder trials of Roderick Ferrell and Glen Mason with suggestions that it played a part in these crimes which were claimed to be Satanic human sacrifices. Ferrell in particular seems to have taken the book very seriously indeed using it as part of the rituals in his small cult. [Harms, Dan and John Wisdom Gonce III. 2003. The Necronomicon Files. Boston: Red Wheel Weiser. 203-8]

Possible attribution

The authorship of the Simon Necronomicon has been attributed to figures as diverse as Sandy Pearlman and Anton LaVey. Some attribute it to James Wasserman [http://studio31.com/jimw.htm] , a well-known producer and designer of occult books and protege of Samuel Weiser, the largest publisher of occult books in America (Wasserman has been associated with the recent re-publishing of many of the works of Aleister Crowley). The more likely author would be nonfiction writer Peter Levenda, a possibility "Simon" (whether intentional or accidentally) does little to deny in "Dead Names". Levenda had not yet officially published any books at the time of the first printing. Subsequently he has done so, publishing nonfiction works on the topic of the influence of occult secret societies on international politics. The U.S. Copyright Office identifies Levenda as the author and copyright holder of "Gates of the Necronomicon".

Dead Names

In 2006, Avon published Simon's "Dead Names: The Dark History of the Necronomicon" (ISBN 0-06-078704-X), in which he details the history of the Necronomicon and attacks his critics who claim the book is a hoax. The book's conclusions are considered suspect by some [ [http://danharms.wordpress.com/?page_id=98 Papers Falling from an Attic Window ] ] .

References

Related links

*Babylonian mythology
*Cthulhu Mythos
*H. P. Lovecraft
*Necronomicon
*Sumerian mythology

External links

* [http://www.chaosmatrix.org/library/chaos/texts/simnecro.html Comments on the Necronomicon.] An article by Kalyn Tranquilson comparing the Simon Necronomicon with actual Mesopotamian myths.
* [http://www.mythostomes.com/content/view/50/72/ A Meditation on the Simon Necronomicon and its Rituals and Gates, Being an Argument Against such Practices in 5 Parts.] An analysis of the Simon Necronomicon, with a focus on the gate-walking rituals.
* [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/necfake.htm Fake Necronomicons.] An article by Dan Clore, discussing several supposed "Necronomicons", including Simon's.
* [http://danharms.wordpress.com/ Papers Falling from an Attic Window.] Blog of Daniel Harms, co-author of "The Necronomicon Files: The Truth Behind the Legend" (ISBN 1-57863-269-2), in which he takes on recent criticisms levied by Simon against "The Necronomicon Files".
* [http://www.necfiles.org/ Necronomicon Files] Daniel Harms and John Wisdom Gonce III's Necronomicon Files website.
* [http://www.nypress.com/16/23/news&columns/feature.cfm The Doom that Came to Chelsea] by Alan Cabal which describes the creation of Simon's Necronomicon
* [http://greylodge.org/gpc/?p=976 Audio Interviews with 'Simon' and Peter Levenda re: Dead Names and the Necronomicon]