By desire was the Nail brought to earth,
A ferrous fruit plucked
from the boughs of the heavenly tree,
Thus did the mysteries of metal and fire fall unto man.
The Psalter of Cain consists of a series of devotional magical works to Cain, holy ancestor of sorcerers. Its magical foci are dedicated specifically to the Ancestral Manes of the Sabbatic Current, the shade-mothers and fathers of the Companie of the Wise.
Historically, the figure of Biblical Cain is known from the context of Italian witchcraft and Romany magic, as well as esoteric orders of Freemasonry and the Society of the Horseman’s Word. However, it is from the British witchcraft-lineages of the Cultus Sabbati that Cain has come to modern occult prominence as the especial patron of the Witch’s Art, the embodiment of Exile and Opposition explicit within the Elder Craft. In its rarefied embodiment of Crooked Path Sorcery — the ever-deviating path of Bane and Blessing, the power of Cain arises from his mythic forms of Transgressor-against-God, First Murderer, Wandering Exile, and First Tamer of the Horse, among others. These Cainite arcana received their highest ritual and literary expression in Andrew D. Chumbley’s Dragon-Book of Essex.
The Psalter of Cain is the first public work of joint authorship of the magical order Cultus Sabbati, its pages drawn from the collective work of its present initiatic body. As a work of devotional rite, charm, and incantation, the book manifests the transcendant Sabbatic vision of Cainite Gnosis: the radiance which illumines the Nocturnal Eden, the light of vision-anointed eyes. The book features new contributions from the following authors:
Andrew D. Chumbley
Robert Fitzgerald
Frater A.B.A.
Soror T.A.
Frater A.Z.
Daniel A. Schulke
Soror I.S.
Soror S.I.
Frater A.A.
Frater R.I.
In addition, The Psalter also features works from the outer sodality of the Cultus, the solitary companions of The Companie of the Serpent-Cross. Its progression of rite and charm is incepted by a Proem by Andrew D. Chumbley, and a Consummatum by Daniel A. Schulke. The book is produced to the highest Xoanon standard, with a design wholly apposite the Cainite Arcanum. 110 pages, octavo format, printed letterpress, and illustrated by Fraters A.A., Soror T.A. and Frater A.H.I.
888 impressions only, in three editions:
Standard hardcover edition: full red linen, with gilt blocking and serpentine-embossed endsheets, and limited to 701 copies.
Deluxe edition: in three-quarters crimson goat and red linen, serpentine-embossed endsheets, with gilt-blocked seal of the Serpent-Angel, raised bands, and steel-gray slipcase. Strictly limited to 171 copies.
Special edition: full crimson goat with gilt-blocked Tree and Serpent device, raised bands, marbled red and gold endsheets, and textured black felt-lined slipcase. Limited to 16 copies for private distribution.