Rabbi Yaakov Moelin (Hebrew יעקב בן משה מולין; ca. 1365–1427), a German Jewish Talmudist and posek (authority on Jewish law). Magic word squares The practical magic of Abramelin (found in both Book III of the French text, and Book IV of the German original) centres around a set of talismans composed of magic word squares. These are similar to traditional magic squares, though the latter are usually composed of numbers, while Abramelin's squares contain letters. Commonly word squares are used as puzzles or as teaching aids for students. In the context of Abramelin, the focus becomes mystical—so that each square should contain words or names that relate to the magical goal of the square. A parallel is found in the famous Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas word square, an altered version of which is also found among Abramelin's squares. For example, a square entitled "To walk underwater for as long as you want" contains the word MAIAM (מים), the Hebrew word for "water". A square for recovering treasures of jewelry begins with the word TIPHARAH (תפארה, a variant of Tiferet), which can mean "golden ring" in Hebrew and is also the name of the sphere of "Beauty" (which has the planetary attribution of the Sun) on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Translations 19th century In 1897, The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage was translated into English by the British occultist Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers. The magic described in the grimoire was influential in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, of which Mathers was the head. 21st century A German translation, credited to Abraham of Worms and edited by Georg Dehn, was published in 2001 by Edition Araki. In the Dehn version, the fourth book is included. All 251 of the word squares are completely filled in. An English translation of Dehn's edition was published in 2006 by the American publisher Nicholas Hays. See also References Citations Works cited (Critical article about the Italian manuscript of the Martinengo Collection). (Critical article with new details about the Italian manuscript of the Martinengo Collection). Manuscripts Further reading (The first critical discussion of the original manuscript of the pseudoepigraphical author Abraham of Worms, first written in German in 1608 and transmitted in codified form (Wolfenbüttel HAB, cod. guelf. 47.13 Aug. 4°, fols. 1r-31v), together with the corresponding decoding key (cod. guelf. 10.1.b Aug. 2°, S. 147). The manuscript is