How to Derail Every Conversation about Abramelin

Every time I have a conversation about Abramelin online (and I’m not being hyperbolic – I do mean each and every single time) at least one person jumps into the discussion and does one or both of the following:

• States there are ways other than Abramelin to contact or meet your Holy Guardian Angel.
• Says things about the Holy Guardian Angel that are clearly about the Angel of the Nativity.

This always makes me cranky. Both of these concepts are entirely irrelevant to Abramelin and the entity it chose to call the “Holy Guardian Angel.” Yet, each time, I have to halt the discussion to explain, again(!), how these things are different and why they are irrelevant. It diverts the conversation that could have been had on the subject, and the person I’m saying it to is never ever willing to hear it anyway.

But for those of you who are interested, or have even wondered those same two things yourself, here are my answers (free of being in the context of a personality conflict with someone else):

To the first point: of course there are other ways to contact your Holy Guardian Angel! There is simply no need to point this out. Even Agrippa tells you how to do it: live right, and pray to the Angel every night before bed. Do that enough, and you’ll make contact and start to build a relationship with it. It’s not exactly a Hidden Mystery…

Why is it irrelevant to Abramelin? Because the Rite of Abramelin is NOT about merely meeting or contacting your HGA. It is a crowning ritual, a marriage ceremony, and a death/rebirth experience. It is an *initiation* into something greater, and a Tradition that you will follow until you draw your last living breath.

Besides, the process outlined by Abramelin is the oldest magical formula on Earth. Sure, Abramelin is unique amongst the grimoires, but it’s absolutely old-hat in just about every single other spiritual tradition in the world: going into seclusion, during which you stay ritually pure, invoke the Sky God to be on your side, and face down demons, only to be killed and then reborn into Something Greater. That essential process was undertaken by the very first shamans before humans had even figured out how to plant their own food.

So, interrupting a conversation about Abramelin to “educate me” that Abramelin isn’t the only way to go about it is somewhere between disingenuousness and ignorance, and that’s why it irks me. Its a “No Duh!” comment that seems to be trolling rather than contributing. But, worst of all, it shows a complete lack of understanding about the Book of Abramelin and what it is attempting to convey; and always coming from someone who has convinced themselves they are an expert on the subject.

To the second point: I grow a bit weary of the non-stop conflation between the Holy Guardian Angel described by Abraham of Worms, and the Nativity Angel.

I understand the confusion, it’s just that I have to explain it over and over and over. The Nativity Angel is what most traditions refer to as the “Guardian Angel” (sometimes even the “Holy Guardian Angel”), as well as the Eudeamon, the Genius, etc. And it is indeed a guardian angel, as it is in charge of your fate here on Earth. It hangs around and protects you, sits on your right shoulder urging you to do good, and all of the stuff you usually hear associated with guardian angels. The concept dates back (at least) to Plato’s Myth of Er – where the titular character witnesses souls being reborn and having Nativity Angels assigned to them by the Fates.

Yes, you have multiple guardian angels. Agrippa describes three of them (calling them a “threefold keeper of man”): the Holy Angel which comes directly from God, the Nativity Angel, and an “Angel of the Profession.” However, in reality there are a ton more guardian angels set over you. The Angel of the Profession is just the one in charge of your vocation, but every single aspect of your birth chart has an associated angel who is charged to watch over that part of your life. Where you live, what friends you will have, what relationship you’ll have with the spiritual, what kind of family you will have, etc, etc. Other sources – such as the Pauline Arts in the Lemegeton – even describe your (Holy) Guardian Angel as one of 360 who rules the ascending degree of your birth chart. Some sources describe an angel who governs your Part of Fortune. This list could go on at length… without even touching on Patron Angels like Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, etc who simply like you and look out for you.

Why is this irrelevant to Abramelin? Because Abraham of Worms was NOT writing about the Nativity Angel or any of his servient angels. He was writing about the one Agrippa called “the Holy Angel” who “comes only from God” – meaning it is not part of a hierarchy like most angels, but is the direct Holy Spirit and presence of God Itself. It comes from above the created realm – and thus has no relationship whatsoever to your birth chart. In fact, Agrippa says you can work with the Holy Angel to overcome your birth chart. Abraham stresses again and again that astrology – while it has its uses here in the created realm – has no part whatsoever in the Holy Guardian Angel or the Sacred Magick.

So, again, when a discussion about the Holy Guardian Angel is taking place, and someone barges in making statements that are obviously about the Nativity Angel, it shows how little they understand the Book of Abramelin and what is actually being discussed. It is equating – really conflating – two entirely separate things. Yet, again, the person saying always fancies themselves an expert. And when I have to explain to them where they are confused, I’m just “mage-splaining” and can basically just go fuck off because what they do and what I do are exactly the same thing and their way was easier and therefore better.

SIGH Well, at least they aren’t still insisting the HGA is just “your own Higher Self” anymore. So… progress?