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The Genie Wisdom Book is a book featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It first appears in the second episode of the spin-off.
History
A feared sorceress named Amara takes Jafar under her wing. One day, she is sitting on a coach in her house, reading a book. Jafar comes over to her to take a look inside it, but she won't let him and closes the book. He asks her when she's going to let him study the spells inside it. She replies that she will let him when he's ready, "Which, as of now, you're not." ("The Serpent")
After years of learning from Amara, Jafar is finally allowed to look through the pages of the book, which contains all the world's wisdom about genies. The book contains a spell capable of changing the laws of magic, which will make Amara and Jafar the most powerful sorcerers in the world. However, Jafar tricks his master and transforms her into a serpent staff, as he wishes to be the only most powerful sorcerer once the laws of magic are changed. Sometime after this, he takes Amara's book for himself. ("The Serpent")In his Wonderland tower, Jafar uses magic to retrieve Amara's old spell book[1] from a cabinet and make it float toward him. Using his powers, he turn the pages without touching them, and proceeds to read the book. ("Trust Me")
Later, Jafar is going through Amara's old book when Tweedledee suddenly appears in a mirror next to him. ("The Serpent")
Having succeeded in locating the genie bottles he needs for the Spell of the Three Genies, Jafar places all three bottles together on a table in the Red Queen's throne room, along with the spell book. Ready to finally start his plan, he opens it. ("Dirty Little Secrets")
As the Jabberwocky watches, Jafar reads through the book and locates the right spell. He attempt to cast it, but unfortunately, the spell to break the laws of magic fails repeatedly. ("Heart of the Matter")
Shortly afterward, a frustrated Jafar continues flicking through the spell book while the Jabberwocky tries to distract him with small talk, to take the Vorpal Blade from him. ("To Catch a Thief")
Later, wile Jafar is gone, a bewitched Red Queen watches over a captive Alice and Will, while reading reading Jafar's genie book. ("And They Lived...")Trivia
On-Screen Notes
- When Jafar uses witchcraft to retrieve and read the book in his tower, the window in the door behind him has the same design as the book cover.[2] ("Trust Me")
From Heptameron, or Magical Elements
From Key of Salomon
- One page[3] contains an illustration from Heptameron, or Magical Elements (1496), a grimoire by the thirteenth century Italian philosopher Pietro d'Abano. It is "The figure of a Circle for the first hour of the Lords day, in Spring-time." ("The Serpent")
- Another page[4] contains a table filled with symbols from a page in Key of Solomon, an old grimoire incorrectly attributed to King Solomon. This particular page is from one of the earliest manuscript of the grimoire, entitled The Clavicle of Solomon, revealed by Ptolomy the Grecian, dated 1572. (The three symbols used in Jafar's book can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the grimoire page.) ("The Serpent")
- Below the table,[5] there are characters from the reconstruction of the mysterious Emerald Tablet,[6] which is one of the pillars of Western alchemy. It has been translated by many people over the centuries, and is said to be inscribed with the secrets of the universe. One interpretation suggests that the text describes seven stages of alchemical transformation—calcination, dissolution, separation, conjunction, fermentation, distillation and coagulation.[7] Curiously, many of the character's in Jafar's book are mirror-inverted. ("Dirty Little Secrets")
- Below these characters[5] there is a Latin excerpt from Ars grammatica by Aelius Donatus, a fourth century Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. It says: "Vt docte; conparativi, ut doctius; superlativi, ut doctissime. Magis doctius et tam doctissime non dicimus, quia magis et tam positivo gradui tantum iungitur, licet veteres dixerint tam magis et quam magis. Figurae adverbiorum quot sunt?"[8] ("Dirty Little Secrets")
- Note that this page appears in two different episodes, with two different pages opposite it; once in "The Serpent"[4] and once in "Dirty Little Secrets."[5]
- Another page[4] contains a table filled with symbols from a page in Key of Solomon, an old grimoire incorrectly attributed to King Solomon. This particular page is from one of the earliest manuscript of the grimoire, entitled The Clavicle of Solomon, revealed by Ptolomy the Grecian, dated 1572. (The three symbols used in Jafar's book can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the grimoire page.) ("The Serpent")
- Another page contains a long text consisting of more excerpts from Ars grammatica.[9] The excerpts are from the first Ars grammatica, known as Ars Minor, which is a brief overview of the eight parts of speech. The text in the spell book is from the section De praepositione,[10] "about preposition." The following is a comparison of the original excerpt and the adapted version. Some sentences have been moved around for the show (these are highlighted), while others are used twice (these are set in bold): ("Heart of the Matter")
Praepositio quid est? Pars orationis quae |
||
| Quot? Duo. Qui? Accusativus et ablativus. Da praepositiones casus accusativi. Ad apud |
Quot? Duo. Qui? Accusativus et ablativus. Da praepositiones casus accusativi. Ad apud | |
| forum, circum vicinos, circa templum, contra hostem sine absque tenus. Quo | ||
|
Detail from Key of Solomon
From History of Monsters
- The book also contains an upside-down version of an illustration[12] from Key of Solomon, which is also from the early manuscript called The Clavicle of Solomon, revealed by Ptolomy the Grecian. The text "Jesus Salvator" (Jesus the Savior) connects the eight-pointed cross with Jesus Christ.
- Around the illustration,[12] there are even more characters from the reconstruction of the Emerald Tablet.[6]
- The opposite page contains an illustration by the sixteenth century Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, from his book History of Monsters (Monstrorum historia cum Paralipomenis historiae omnium animalium), published posthumously in 1642.[13] It is called "Monstrum cornutum, and alatum aliudmale" and shows a winged monster without arms, with animal ears and face.
- Around the illustration,[12] there are even more characters from the reconstruction of the Emerald Tablet.[6]
- As Jafar turns the pages, he stops at an incantation:[14]
Tres genies in utres
Ego te coniungere
Da mihi virtutem
Magicae res tres
Vult totam
Ego [illegible]
[illegible]
- Which is Latin for:[15]
Three genies* in bottles
Give me power
Three magic things
He wants all
I [illegible]
- *Note that the word "genie" is plain English
- This is the same incantation that Jafar uses to take control of the Genie Bottles, However, he does not say the last stanza.
- On the opposite page,[14] characters from the Emerald Tablet can be seen on the right side of the page. Note that many of them are upside-down and/or mirror-inverted.
- Another page[16] shows the Tree of Life from Kabbalah. This symbol represents, as a series of divine emanations, God's creation, the nature of revealed divinity, the human soul, and the spiritual path of ascent by man.
Another illustration from History of Monsters
- The characters on the page[16] are symbols for alchemical processes, inclduing Abstraction, Putrefication, Digestion 1, Purification 1 and Reverberation 2. The symbol for Fixation is printed on the opposite page.[17]
- The same illustration appears in Cora's spell book in the Once Upon a Time episodes "Going Home"[18] and "The Jolly Roger."[19]
- One page contains another illustration from Ulisse Aldrovandi's book History of Monsters.[20] It is known as "Monstrum tetrachiron alatum capite humano aurito" and shows a monster with four arms, wings and large ears. ("To Catch a Thief")
- The opposite page is the same as the page from "Dirty Little Secrets."[5]
Props Notes
- When Mr. Gold transforms the Sorcerer's hat in the backroom of his pawnshop in the Once Upon a Time episode "The Apprentice," there is an open book lying on his desk in the bottom left hand corner.[21] It appears to be the same prop that was used for Jafar's book on genies – the top of the page features the same unique motif as the pages in Jafar's book.[9]
- An unseen illustration from Jafar's book shows an illustration of a hand.[22] The same picture, with added symbols, appears in Cora's spell book in the Once Upon a Time episode "Breaking Glass."[23]
Appearances
| Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | ||||||||||
| "Down the Rabbit Hole": | "Trust Me": | "Forget Me Not": | "The Serpent": | "Heart of Stone": | "Who's Alice": | "Bad Blood": | ||||
| Absent | Appears | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | ||||
| "Home": | "Nothing to Fear": | "Dirty Little Secrets": | "Heart of the Matter": | "To Catch a Thief": | "And They Lived...": | |||||
| Absent | Absent | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | |||||
