Subliminally, it is understood that no matter how extensive the library, this is the real deal book, the authentic article brought out when there is no time to lose. The appearance of this book within this scenario also underscores that the situation at hand is genuinely an emergency. Its aged, well-worn appearance also indicates that this book is timeless: it never outlives its usefulness. It can transform anyone (well, Mickey excepted) into a magical adept. This massive spell book thus possesses enormous transformative powers. (Conversely, Mickey Mouse’s inability to use such a book for anything other than a flotation device in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice only underscores his magical ineptitude and general incompetence.) The very appearance of the book signals that salvation is at hand: the secrets of salvation are contained within the book’s pages, if only the novice will follow its directions. Typically the novice is in way over his head in disaster.

One frequent variation on the theme depicts a complete novice discovering sophisticated magical solutions within the book’s pages. The book, however, can also compensate for the reader’s very lack of experience and knowledge. If the reader handles the book with comfort and ease, the implication is that he or she is a person of power. This book thus signals that its reader is a metaphysician or is striving to be one. How do we know he’s a wizard? By the book that he holds. He may or may not be wearing his peaked wizard’s hat but his identity is clear. Millions of kitschy statues feature an elderly gray-bearded man clutching a massive book.

Consider depictions of Merlin or Morgan le Fay: their big books of spells are as much a part and parcel of their magical trappings as any animal familiar, crystal ball, or wizard’s robes. If there were previously any doubts regarding someone’s identity, then the act of reaching for the book, mere possession of this book in fact, is usually sufficient to establish occult credentials. The book’s very presence transmits subliminal messages. Sabrina’s book makes almost as many appearances as her black cat, and consistently proves more reliable. As befitting a twenty-first-century witch, Sabrina’s edition is interactive.) Oversized, well-worn, and clearly used, this book is obviously no coffee-table book but a familiar companion-in every sense of the word familiar.

(An exception occurs on the television series, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The contents of this book are rarely displayed. Although there may be variations on the theme, the core image remains consistent: someone, usually but not always a witch or wizard, faced with a serious dilemma, reaches for a massive book of magic spells. If you’re of a literary bent, you’ll find it in countless novels, too. It appears in countless movies, television shows, and theatrical productions. The image is so familiar as to qualify as an archetype.

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