Le Petit Albert

Traditions

Grimoires and ritual magic

Role in the tradition

Primary source Written from inside the tradition: scripture, revelation, a grimoire, a manifesto or a practical treatise.

Public attention

Notable Wikipedia has an article about it in 5 languages.

• in French ↗ esotericarchives.com checked September 11, 2026

Petit Albert is an 18th-century grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic. It may have been inspired by the writings of Albertus Parvus Lucius. Brought down to the smallest hamlets in the saddlebags of peddlers, it represents publishing success, despite its association with "devil worshipers"—or rather because of it. It is associated with a second work, the Grand Albert. It is a composite, heterogeneous work, collecting texts written by various authors; most of these authors are anonymous but some are notable such as Cardano and Paracelsus. Due to its historical nature, Albertus Magnus' attribution to the text is considerably uncertain and since the text quotes from many later sources, it is an ethnological document of the first order.

From the Wikipedia article Petit Albert, revision 1338400318, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata Q3377087: “18th-century grimoire”.