Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan

The Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan are a set of scrolls of possible Chinese origin. According to some scholars, Hsan the Greater wrote them in the second century. Others, however, maintain that they originally came from Leng and date back to the time of China's mythical Yellow Emperor, being translated into Chinese from a forgotten tongue. The Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan first appeared in the story "The Other Gods" (H. P. Lovecraft, 1921).
The Books range widely in topics, including the proper treatment of a dead wizard's body, the forms of Nyarlathotep, the Dreamlands, and a history of the Plateau of Leng. The books also include quotations from the R'lyeh Text and spells which bear resemblance to those in the Dhol Chants. The most important ceremonies in the Books are the "Seven Cryptical Spells of Hsan", though the significance of these is unknown. The second book, sometimes called the "The Sign of Signs", is said to bestow limited power over life and death, and the fourth gives the spells for the summoning and dismissing of demons. The few complete editions of the fifth book contain the formula for creating the Eye of Light and Darkness. One of the books, which is referred to as "lost" (despite the fact that the de Marigny translation claims to hold all seven volumes), contains information on how wisdom may be obtained from the dead. Some even say that a code hidden within the books gives the time when the Old Ones shall return.
Category:Grimoires