“Interested in dabbling in 17th-century witchcraft in your spare time? The Newberry Library in Chicago could use your help to transcribe three books dealing with spells and witches that date back to the 1600s.”

“Several portions have already been decoded, like a section on activating a magic seal (“write in virgin parchment the blood of a lamb”) and tips for conjuring (“work should be with a crescent moon”). Once transcriptions have been written and reviewed by the library, they will be added to the institution’s digital collection.”

“The manuscripts, titled The Book of Magical Charms, The Commonplace Book and Cases of Conscience Concerning Witchcraft will be featured in a September 2017 exhibition alongside more than 150 items including Bibles, poems, maps, music and art. The project also takes place on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, a religious doctrine that eventually ignited the Protestant Reformation.”

Anyone can visit the online “Transcribing Faith” portal for the project in order to transcribe and translate the texts without having to visit the library.

via Mental Floss BY MICHELE DEBCZAK and Atlas Obscura by TATIANA WALK-MORRIS