original: "Bibliothèque Cabalistique"

THE BLACK HEN

original: "La Poule Noire." This is a famous 18th-century grimoire, or book of magic, which claims to teach the secrets of talismans and the summoning of a supernatural hen that finds buried treasure.

The illustration depicts a master of the occult arts—likely the legendary "Old Man of the Pyramids" mentioned in the text—presenting the secrets of the universe under the guidance of a winged spirit.

The symbols on the left page represent the seven classical planets of ancient astronomy, used here to denote spiritual influences: Jupiter, the Sun, Venus, Saturn, and Mars.