You would be amazed how often I am asked this question. Which technique is the most powerful? Which angel is more powerful? Can we create Talismans more powerful than those in the Key of Solomon? Which material for talismans is the most powerful? Even, which Psalm is the most powerful? And, every single time, my answer begins with the same words:
It’s not about “power.”
Now, to be clear, I’m not suggesting the concept of power has no relevance in magick! Or, to be honest, I think a better word would be “effectiveness” instead of “power.” For example, one can create perfectly workable talismans by observing only the Planetary day and hour. But a more effective technique is to observe a full astrological election. The latter could be called “more powerful”.
Another example might be the Angelical (often mis-termed “Enochian”) language, which I have found exceedingly effective in my angelic workings. So much so, I have in some cases(!) chosen to use it over Hebrew (following what I believe was Dee’s intention for the language). One could say I find the Angelical language (and many of the associated Enochian tools) to be “very powerful.”
Yet… would a Baal Shem agree with me about Dee’s Angelical? Would it be “more powerful” than Hebrew in the practice of Merkavah mysticism? Hardly. In fact, I would dare suggest the Angelical might be less effective than Hebrew in such cases. Because it’s not about which one is “more powerful” – but which one is most effective within its own context.
The same is true of materials – such as choosing metal, parchment, beeswax, or another material for your talismans. On one hand, using a proper material (like gold for Solar talismans) will be “more powerful” than using something unrelated (like a Solar Talisman inscribed on silver). But, choosing between something like metal, parchment, or beeswax is not about “power” – it’s about practicality and context. You don’t want to bury a parchment Talisman! You can bury a metal one – but it could rust. So beeswax is best for burial. But if you want to wear or carry the talisman around, metal is more durable and won’t break like wax or get creased or worn like parchment. (Unless you roll the parchment into something to protect it.) I could go on with examples, but I hope this makes my point: it’s about using what is needed in the context of your work. Not about “more power.”
(And, yes, parchment is MUCH “more powerful” than notebook paper! LOL)
Magick is not like a movie or video game, where you and another worker are going to “face off” and whoever has the most powerful magical weapons wins! Well… ok so maybe it CAN be that way, but the winner of that kind of battle will come down to who has the better-established relationships with their spirits, who has trained them better and for longer, and who has the most ashe‘ built up in both themselves and their tools.
Magick Circle as described in the Grimorium Verum – hand-painted by Carrie Leitch
Over the years, I have found it somewhat difficult to explain to students the “mechanics” of how protective Magick Circles actually work. Thanks to popular fiction, and even descriptive terms in the grimoires (such as calling a Magick Circle a “fortress”), we tend to imagine the Circle as some kind of astral barrier through which hostile spirits cannot penetrate.
Now, this post isn’t a complete overview of Magic Circles – but I will briefly explain these figures aren’t really “fortresses” that manifest around you in the spirit world. No, these mandalas (yes, that’s where where they came from and that’s what they are) with their closed and repeating geometrical figures operate more like “spirit traps” than “buttresses.” Spirit traps – from spirit-bottles filled with broken mirror shards, to sprinkling seeds or sand across your window-sill – work by confusing and/or enthralling the trespassing spirit. These spirits do not have bodies and cannot be blocked by walls – nor by simple figures drawn on the ground. But they CAN be easily misdirected and confused. A circle (just by itself) could be enough to confuse a spirit who is trying to get across it to you.
And therein lies the rub. If the figures on the ground are not a barrier, then how does it divert or confuse the spirit? It would be like drawing a labyrinth on the ground – no walls – and expecting someone to be unable to find the center.
Today, I had an inspiration! A better way to explain exactly how this works from the spirit’s point of view. In order to understand how this works, we have to think of the astral/spiritual plane not as similar to the material world – but instead as similar to the aquatic world! (Not a leap at all, considering the astral plane has been related to Elemental Water for quite some time…)
Now imagine you want to work within this flowing river we call the astral plane. But you need to protect your working area from – let us say – piranha. To do this, we’ll imagine you possess a device that can create a whirlpool of water around you – leaving you dry and safe on the inside, and all the water swirling around you in a strong current. That water is not a wall. Another person could easily dive through that wall to either join you in the circle, or to escape from it. But the piranha? We’ll leave aside the real-world fact that one or two could conceivably work their way through the whirlpool and end up flopping around at your feet before dying – as this is just a thought experiment and spirits aren’t fish. LOL Instead, we’ll focus on the ones who can’t figure out why each time they try to swim near you, they suddenly get swept around and away from you.
We could easily move this same analogy onto land – switching out the fish for flies, and the swirling water for one of those air-blast units stores and warehouses install to keep the insects out. Again – you and I can easily step through, while the flies are utterly unable to fly through the downward current of air.
I could go on – but I’ll summarize all of this in the following way: Magick Circles are more about currents than they are about barriers.
I’ve noticed people tend to have a general misunderstanding of what evocation is and for what it is intended. So many people seem to believe evocation is what Solomonic Magick is all about. It isn’t.
I understand why this view exists. In occult and fantasy fiction, it is necessary to make things look interesting – so the default is to always show a mage standing within his protective Circle, surrounded by incense smoke, wand or sword in hand, chanting in arcane tongues, calling forth frightening or awe-inspiring creatures from the astral mists. It’s no different than – for example – a cop show that only shows you the exciting chases and impressive sleuth techniques, but never shows you the hours of paperwork and waiting that actually make up most of the job. So it is with the popular depiction of grimoire magick. And, because you only ever see the mage doing that one thing – evocation – it tends to become what you picture when you think of the subject.
Another culprit, believe it or not, is the grimoires themselves. Or, I should say, the popular misinterpretation of the grimoires. As I explain in both Secrets of the Magical Grimoires and my online beginners’ course, the grimoires do not in fact present the whole of the Solomonic tradition. They are just the starter manuals (which is why they are called “grammars”), giving you instructions on how to establish first contact with the angels and spirits of the tradition. And how you do that is (to a large extent) by performing the evocations. Once you’ve established that contact, it is not necessary to perform the evocation over and over again. From there, the spirits take over and teach you the real magick – and it’s not just more evocation.
Evocation has two primary purposes:
1) to establish contact with a spiritual being (or group of beings). Once you have that contact, you never need to perform the evocation for that being again. Of course, you’ll need to perform it again for any new entities you want to meet. So I am by no means suggesting you’ll never perform another evocation! However, you will not need to repeat it for the spirit(s) you’ve already contacted. That is, as long as you bind that being to a Talisman, Ring, Tablet, Altar, etc and have a means to continue working with it.
2) For important matters that require directly questioning a spiritual being. Most specifically when you have a series of questions that need to be asked. This is why the grimoires often use evocation for the purposes of discovering hidden information, finding lost or stolen items or people, receiving specific instructions for something, to find buried treasure, etc, etc. I have said in the past that evocation – meaning its use for this specific purpose – is in itself a form of divination. You’re talking to the spirit in order to learn something you didn’t previously know. Otherwise – why are you calling it?
Therefore, evocation is something that is done MUCH more rarely than other aspects of the Tradition. For most purposes, you can make a petition to an angel, or create a Talisman for whatever you need, without going through the weeks- or months-long process of full evocation. If, that is, you have previously done the work of evoking the spirits you are working with and taken the time and effort to build a working relationship with them. In our house, we have altars to all seven Planetary Archangels (same guys you see in the Heptameron), not to mention to my HGA and Familiars, Carrie’s Prenda, her Ancestor Altar, and a few others as well. We don’t have to spend months performing full evocations of them when we need to ask for something – because we already did that and now they live here! We only have to evoke them to visible/audible appearance when we need to ask them specific questions and get their direct answers.
Another thing to consider, as well: there is NO need to evoke dozens of spirits! I’ve seen people who brag about summoning all 72 spirits of the Goetia. Or that they’ve evoked all the Shem haMephoresh and/or Tree of Life Angels. But, folks, that isn’t how this tradition works! You could be a successful Solomonic magus through your entire life and only contact one or two spirits. You have to find a spirit who works well with you, who likes you, and gets results – and keep working with that spirit. That spirit may or may not be able to do everything you need – and, if not, it can direct you to (or even introduce you to) another spirit who can, and now that spirit becomes part of your crew. The Angels and spirits of the grimoires aren’t Pokemon! You don’t have to collect ’em all. Your spiritual army should be something you build up very slowly and deliberately over years, and not treated like a call list at a phone sales company.
Yes, we have a LOT of altars in our home – mostly because we do this professionally. But, even with us, there are a smaller number of entities we go to for most things. For me it is first my HGA, then my Familiars. If directed to do so, I can take an issue to one of the Seven Archangels – and that often tends to be Sachiel and Iophiel, because somewhere along the way I became a Jupiter wizard. For Carrie, she’ll often go to Anael or Samael because she has a special relationship with them. That is not to say we never go to the other Archangels, only that it is a more rare occurrence in relation to the ones we work with the most.
And it is even rarer for us to perform full evocations for them. Instead, we spend our time tending to their Altars and Icons, making offerings to them, burning dressed candles and making petitions to them, and conversing with them either directly or via one form of divination or another. Sorry if that sounds more like work than the awesome fantasy of being a wizard – but it is the truth. And now you have it.
Many years ago – back in the old Yahoo Groups days – we discussed the lack of methods of using divination to speak to spirits in modern systems. (At least, at the time the post was written. Much has changed in the years since.) In non-Western systems, there is usually a method of asking spirits yes/no/maybe questions, utilizing a physical system of divination to get concrete answers. One such example is the use of Obi divination in the ATRs – which uses coconut shells, tossed on the ground to create a pattern (some being face up, some being face down) that presents a yes/no/maybe answer. Those of us in the West may be familiar with a similar method in Geomancy using marked sticks or coins. Though, the more traditional method is to use a small stick to make a random number of holes in dirt. The name of the system, after all, is “Earth Divination.”
Geomancy, in fact, was once known in the West as an especially-suitable method of communicating with “terrestrial spirits” – as confirmed by Agrippa in his Of Geomancy:
“Geomancy is an Art of Divination, wherby the judgement may be rendred by lot, or destiny, to every question of every thing whatsoever, but the Art hereof consisteth especially in certain points where of certain figures are deducted according to the reason or rule of equality of inequality, likenesse or unlikenesse,; […] and therefore they will have the Projectings of the points of this Art to bee made with signes in the Earth, wherefore this Art is appropriated to this Element of Earth, even as Pyromancy to the fire, and Hydromancy to the Element of Water: Then whereas they judged the hand of the Projector or Worker to be most powerfully moved, and directed to the terrestriall spirits; and therefore they first used certaine holy incantations and deprecations, with other rites and observations, provoking and alluring spirits of this nature hereunto.”
With this in mind, I wrote a method of creating a Geomancy Box dedicated to the purpose of receiving answers from the Planetary Spirits. It is based primarily on the method of creating a Liber Spiritus (Book of Spirits) outlined in the Fourth Book of Occult Phsilosophy.
I’ll be performing this operation very soon (now that I live out in the country where finding an old, little-used, dirt crossroads is more likely). The only difference is that this will focus on my four Familiar Spirits (from the Abramelin system), as I will be using the box to communicate with them. Regardless, here is the process as I posted it over in the Yahoo Group:
Solomonic Geomancy Box for General Divination
Construct a square box to contain fresh earth/sand. It should be
black with the Sigils of the seven Planetary Spirits and their
ruling Intelligences painted upon it in white. The sand should be
pure and white- preferably taken from a river bed- of about two
fingers’ depth. Also prepare a small notebook with the necessary
prayers and conjurations, to be used and kept with the box.
(See “Secrets…”, chapter 9, for consecration of pen, ink, paints
and paintbrushes.)
The box will be consecrated/enlivened according the procedure for
consecrating a Liber Spiritus (Book of Spirits), as found
in “Secrets…” chapter 12, p. 419-20. A Circle must be cast in the
midst of a crossroads. All seven spirits are conjured to bind
themselves to the box, and the box itself is wrapped and buried for
three days.
Consecrated items Needed:
-Holy Water,
-Standard or generic Incense (or, better, the Seven Planetary Incense recipe given by Agrippa in the last line of Book I, chapter 44.)
-Coals and Censor
-Paints, brushes, pen/ink
-White or beeswax taper and Holy Lamp
-Seven 7-day Candles (Black, Blue, Red, Yellow/Gold, Green, Multi-
-Color and Silver/White)
-Burin
-Black-Hilted Knife or Athame
-Solomonic Sword -Shovel and Rake -Linen Cloth
Note: Before consecrating any of the Tools, Water, Incense, etc,
use the minor Solomonic Bath outlined in “Secrets…”
chapter 7, p. 217-18.
Items that do not need consecration beforehand:
-Mat (for kneeling in the dirt)
-Small notebook to record the Invocations and Conjurations
-Cord- about nine feet long. (A Traditional Wiccan cord is great!)
-Bible or Psalter
Prepare Invocations/Conjurations:
1 – In the little notebook, write a Prayer to the Highest. This
should be a prayer to God as creator and director of the Seven
Planets. (He before whom standeth the Seven Spirits of God. He in
whose hands the Sun is as a Sword, and the Moon a through-thrusting
Fire. Etc.)
2 – Following that, write seven dual-conjurations. The first part
of each should be an invocation to the Planetary Intelligence to
send forth the Spirit. The second part should be a conjuration of
the spirit in the name of the Intelligence.
3 – Then, a License to Depart. (See “Secrets…”, chapter 12,
p.380.)
4 – Keep this little book with or in the Geomancy Box at all times.
Selection of the Place: Must be an isolated dirt crossroads. It
will be necessary to erect a full Circle, burn incense and candles,
etc. So it must be very hidden and forgotten.
Magickal Timing: Calculate true midnight for the night of working,
and for the third night afterward. (See “Secrets…” chapter 5, p.
163.) Also draw up charts for these two nights, and try to make
sure that no planets are undignified or ill-aspected. The chosen
night must also be fair and clear.
Preparations: 12-hour Purification (see “Secrets…” chapter 7, p.
238)- starting about noon of the day of the work. Then, before
midnight and before going to the chosen place, take a full Solomonic
Ritual Bath (see “Secrets…” chapter 7, p. 233-35).
Erecting the Circle:
1 – Just before the hour of true midnight, light the Lamp with its
Exorcism of Fire (“Secrets…”, p. 206) and then the Incense with
its own Exorcism of Fire (“Secrets…”, p. 196).
2 – As steps 3 and 4 are perfomed, have a partner recite Psalms 2, 54,
113, 57, 47 and 68. Or else (if alone) perform steps 3 and 4, then
follow with the Psalms.
3 – Thrust the Black-Hilted Knife into the very center of the
crossroads. Tie one end of the Cord around the Knife, and the other
end around the Solomonic Sword. Using this like a giant compass,
inscribe a double circle into the ground with the Sword. Then use
the Knife or Sword to inscribe the names and crosses. Finally,
Cense and Sprinkle the entire Circle.
4 – Place the seven 7-day candles around the Circle* and light them.
(* Note: The Heptameron tell us the directions for the Planets:
-Saturn: Southwest
-Jupiter: South
-Mars: East
-Sol: North
-Venus: West
-Mercury: Southwest
-Luna: West )
Further Note: After some research and discussion – comparing the above associations given by the Hepatmeron, as well as those found in Liber Juratis, it would seem a more astrologically sound arrangement (based on the rulership of the 12 Signs of the Houses) would be:
-Saturn: South (Capricorn)
-Jupiter: Southwest (Sagittarius)
-Mars: East (Aries)
-Sol: Northwest (Leo)
-Venus: West (Libra)
-Mercury: Northeast (Gemini)
-Luna: North (Cancer)
5 – Finally, from the very center of the Circle, recite the prayers
to consecrate- “When we enter herein…” etc. (See “Secrets…” p.
405-06.) Use the mat to kneel on the dirt.
The Operation:
The First Night:
1 – (Directly after “When we enter herein…” prayers.) Over the
Geomancy Box, recite the Prayer to the Highest. Cense and Sprinkle
the Box.
2 – In succession, recite all seven dual-conjurations – calling all
seven Intelligences and their Spirits. Repeat these for a
total of *three* recitations each.
3 – Tell the convoked spirits to come to this place within the space
of three days to “assure and confirm their obedience.”
4 – License to Depart. (See “Secrets…”, chapter 12, p.380.)
5 – Wrap the Box (with the little book) in the linen cloth. Then,
with the shovel, bury the book in the center of the Circle and
crossroads. Cover it so no one can tell anything has been buried
there.
6 – With the rake, destroy any trace of the Circle. Take the 7-day
candles with you.
Leave the area before sunrise.
The 3rd Night Afterward:
1 – Observe the same Preparations as above. (12 hours, plus full
Solomonic Bath.)
2 – Return to the same place at true midnight. Erect the Circle as
described above.
3 – Burn more perfumes while reciting a prayer of thanksgiving to
God.
4 – Dig up the Geomancy Box, but leave it wrapped in the linen!
5 – License to Depart. (See “Secrets…”, chapter 12, p.380.)
6 – With the rake, destroy any trace of the Circle. Take the 7-day
candles with you.
Leave the area before sunrise.
Afterward:
The seven 7-day candles can be taken home and burned away completely
as a sacrifice to the spirits. Keep the Box and its little notebook
wrapped and in a safe place until needed.
Using the Box:
Simply take out the Box and its little book. Light a 7-day candle
appropriate to the Planetary Spirit you wish to consult. Burn the
same incense as used to consecrate the Box itself. Recite the
Prayer to the Highest over the box. Then inscribe a Pentagram in
the sand, with the Sigil of the Spirit within it. Recite the
Invocation of the proper Intelligence, and follow with the
Conjuration of the Spirit. From there, ask the Spirit what you
will, and begin to squill as usual for Geomancy. (One can either
use even/odd to determine yes/no, or one can create three or sixteen
Geomantic Figures- depending on the depth of the quesiton.)
For further information on using Geomancy for divination (including a method of determining simple yes/no/maybe answers with a single geomantic figure (tetragram), check out this article.
This post is loooong overdue! We performed our annual invocation and feeding of the Archangel Raphael way back on May 30th of this year (2018), but I have been so busy with magick, business, and life this year I haven’t had much time to maintain this blog. 😦 So, without further ado, I’ll jump right into it:
We decided to feed Raphael when Mercury entered the sign of Gemini, which it rules. It did so this year on May 29th – a Tuesday and the Full Moon. We decided the next day – Wednesday, sacred to Mercury – would still be within the Full Moon phase. If we tried to wait until the Moon waxed again, Mercury would have already passed out of Gemini. So there was only one day we could do this one! May 30th it was.
Archangel Raphael
Raphael – the Healer of God – is the Archangel of Mercury and Wednesday, Prince of the second heaven, Lord of Medicine, Communication, Travel, Invention, Education, Mathematics, Science, Language, Magick, and Divination, as well as Business, Deception, Acting, Writing, and Sleight of Hand. He is also the angel of Elemental Air – traditionally associated with the West, but many modern systems associate him with the East.
Some traditions place him as the Archangel of the Sun, and the chief angel of Tiphareth (Majesty) on the Tree of Life. This solar association works well with his modern assignment to the eastern point of the compass.
According to Biblical legend, Raphael was the angel who taught language to Adam and Eve. He also appears in the Book of Tobit, where he accompanies the young Tobias on his long journey, unites him with his future wife, and protects them both from the wrath of the demon Asmodeus. Raphael is also the chief angel of the Hermetic arts, as well as the Golden Dawn and its current. Historically, he is closely associated with figures such as Hermes (aka Mercury) and Thoth – sometimes even bearing the former’s famous Caduceus Staff – the symbol of both Hermeticism and Medicine.
Offering Ritual for Archangel Raphael
It is best to choose a Wednesday when Mercury is well aspected in the heavens, and he should be above the horizon at the time of working if possible. Dawn is best. The most powerful times of year to do this ritual are when Mercury resides in either the sign of Gemini or Virgo. The Moon should be in increase.
On Wednesday evening, cover a table or altar with a multi-colored, orange, yellow, or white cloth. Place a talisman and/or image of Archangel Raphael upon the altar. (If it is a talisman, place it in the center. If an image, set it toward the east facing westward.) You will need a censor and an incense of Mercury:
1 part Benzoin
1/4 part Frankencense
1/8 part Lavender Blossoms
Also prepare all elements of the offering to Mercury : Eight candles – either rainbow color or orange, eight glasses of water, a glass of wine, a glass of half-and-half cream, eight pieces of bread covered with honey, strawberries, a pomegranate cut into eight slices, and a mix of colorful flowers. For his meat, we grilled a whole fish, as the “Ichthys” is sacred to him in Biblical tradition (as in the Book of Tobit). It should be grilled over hazel wood if possible. Otherwise, grill it over natural wood or wood charcoal, and add Mercury incense to the fire. Season the meat with the incense as well.
On Wednesday just before sunrise, wash yourself and don a white, pied, or orange robe. At sunrise, set the offering to Mercury upon the table. Place seven of the candles around the edges, and one in the center – directly upon the talisman if there is one. Set a glass of water beside each candle. Around this arrange the food offerings. You may also add any gift offerings for Raphael, or items you wish for him to touch – such as jewelry or trinkets, talismans, stones, oils, currency, written prayers or petitions, etc.
Light the censor and candles with their proper exorcisms, and add fresh incense to the coal. Then exorcise and consecrate the offerings with holy water and the censor.
Then move to the eastern side of the working space, facing outward. If you have a consecrated bell or trumpet, sound it and recite the following call (or one similar to it):
In whatsoever place ye may be, Raphael, who are invited to this feast, come ye and be ready to receive our offerings, presents, and sacrifices!
Move to the south and repeat – first sounding the bell or trumpet, then repeat the call. Do this again in the west and the north.
Finally, return to standing west of the altar facing eastward, and recite the following invocations:
Prayer to Elohim Zabaoth
Elohim Zabaoth, God of the Hosts of Heaven, Divine Splendour, the sphere of fleet-footed Mercury, Lord of Words and Letters, of Speech and Knowledge. You are the Logos and the Speech in the Silence. Director of Spirits and Angels. Your Messengers protect travelers on their ways, and guide pilgrims upon the Paths of Mount Abiagnus, the Sacred Mountain of Initation. Lord of all Magick, Spells, Invocations, Divinations, Evocations, Talismans, Characters, Sigils and Signatures, and Seals. Establisher of boundaries, and pathways, travel, communication, and commerce. Lord of fortune and wealth and the Gods of the underworld.
I invoke thee, God of Hosts, and humbly ask in Thy Holy Name to bless and saanctify these offerings. May all spirits of deceit and illusion be cast therefrom, and only the good and fortunate enter therein. May these sacrifices by found pleasing to You and your Messengers.
39 (I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.)
52 (Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?)
54 (Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.)
55:16-23 (As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.)
57 (Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me.)
63 (O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee.)
101 (I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.)
119:9-16 (Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?)
Invitation to Raphael
O’ Raphael, Divine Physician! Messenger of God! Labbiel the Rescuer!
Raphael! Fleet-footed Hermes! Six-Winged Angel of Mercury and the Sun who bringeth Healing in Thy Wings!
Raphael! Serpent-Bearer! Psychopomp! Lord of Crossroads!
Raphael! Revealer of Loagaeth, the Speech From the Logos!
Lord of Initiation! Light of the Sacred Lamp! Fool! Mage! Protector of Lovers!
O friendly companion of Tobias, who protected him from evil upon his long journey, as you protect us upon ours. As the Patron of writers, teachers, and mages, you are the source of our life and livelihood. You are the Chief Archangel of my Order. Therefore, I ask that you come and partake of these offerings, prepared in thy honour and to the splendour of the Lord of Hosts! May you find them pleasing and empowering, and bear our offerings and prayers of thanksgiving to the Divine Court. Cast your light before us upon the Path, and offer your blessings upon my household, my family, and business. In the name of Elohim Zabaoth. Amen.
Repeat the Invitation eight times. Then, share in the feast you have offered to the Angel – taking bites of each food item, sips of the liquids. Leave the offerings in place until the candles burn completely away (or no less than eight days). Place the remains in a natural place, into running water or at a crossroads.
This Easter holiday was a rare and unique opportunity for working with Venus energy. It happened, by chance, to fall on April 1st – and that is the traditional Roman feast day for the Goddess Venus. The date also fell just after Venus entered one of the two zodiacal signs she rules (Taurus, in this case) and fell just within the Moon’s full-phase. The convergence of Spring Equinox, Venusian, and Easter symbolism was too perfect to give a pass.
Working with Anael has been a surprising and deeply moving experience. For most of my occult career, I haven’t paid much attention to her in particular. My focus upon the Divine Feminine has been directed toward figures such as the Wiccan Goddess, Asherah, the Gnostic Sophia, etc. I knew that Venus had very intimate connections with the most ancient Goddess figures, such as Inanna, Ishtar, and Astarte. But there was very little information to be found about Anael herself, and nothing much had directed my attention toward her specifically. (I may be speaking on behalf of my wife here, as she had a similar experience in this regard.)
But all of that changed once we decided to erect an altar to her in our home. More than any similar altar we have ever erected, this one literally built itself! It turned out we had most of what she wanted on her altar already in the house, and more sacred objects and decorations began to arrive nearly of their own accord. (Literally! Many of them were gifts from friends who heard we were building a Venus altar.) That altar just exploded – and is now the largest and most elaborate one in the house. When we built it, we had assumed I would tend it like I do most (but not all) of the other Archangel altars. However, once it was established, it was apparent it belonged to my wife, Carrie, and she has tended it ever since.
The most striking thing about all of this is the energy that has come through Anael’s altar. Every single things we have ever done in relation to the Divine Feminine – from our original paths through Neopaganism, to my Gnostic priestly devotion to Sophia and Mary, to the mysteries of sacred sex – all of it now pours fourth from Anael’s altar. From the symbol of Venus encompassing the entire Tree of Life, to the Cycle of the Seasons, to the descent of Ishtar into the Underworld – it’s all right here in Anael’s charge.
Archangel Anael
Anael (also known as Hanael) – Joy of God, or Grace of God – is the Archangel of Venus and Friday, ruler of the third heaven, lady of passion (for both love or war), sex, inspiration, and the arts. As Hanael, she is also the Archangel of Capricorn. She appears very little in the midrashim (legends), but her nature and attributes are very clearly similar to Love Goddesses such as Venus and Aphrodite, as well as Mother Goddesses such as Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Asherah, and Isis. As a manifestation of the Mother Goddess current, she also has close relationships with figures such as Sophia, the Shekinah, and Mother Mary. And as a manifestation of the Goddess of Sex, she has close relationships with figures such as Anath, Hathor, and even Lilith. As the angel of the arts, she can be regarded as similar to the Greek Muses. For an angel who has remained largely obscure in the Western Mystery Tradition, her position and function is extremely exalted.
John Dee made contact with this Archangel in the early 1500s, as he had read in the Arbatel of Magic the Angel of Venus was the current supreme ruling angel of the cosmos. (Each of the seven angels rules in succession for 490 years. The rule of Venus was to last until 1900 CE, when the Angel of Mercury would take over.) Anael appeared to Dee’s then-skryer Barnabas Saul, and introduced Dee to the angelic intermediary Uriel. Anael never appeared to Dee again, but Uriel thenceforth directed the sessions that would come to be known as the Enochian workings.
Offering Ritual for Archangel Anael
It is best to choose a Friday when Venus is well aspected in the heavens, and she should be above the horizon at the time of working if possble. Dawn is best. The most powerful times of year to do this ritual are when Venus resides in either the sign of Taurus or Libra. The Moon should be in increase.
On Thursday evening, cover a table or altar with a green or white cloth. Place a talisman and/or image of Archangel Anael upon the altar. (If it is a talisman, place it in the center. If an image, set it toward the east facing westward.) You will need a censor and an incense of Venus:
I use three ingredients:
1 part Sanalwood
1 part Benzoin
1/2 part Red Rose Petals (some of which come from roses offered on Anael’s altar)
Also prepare all elements of the offering to Venus: Seven green candles, seven glasses of water, a glass of champagne, , a glass of half-and-half cream, seven pieces of bread covered with honey, fruit (in this case an apple cut into seven slices), and a mix of spring flowers and roses. And lots of candy! (Since this invocation was done on Easter, we took advantage and offered seven green jelly beans, seven gold-foil wrapped chocolate eggs, seven green Peeps, and seven dark-chocolate eggs wrapped in green and red foils, and a Dove chocolate bunny in gold foil. My wife and daughter also decorated seven real Easter eggs with red and green dyes, which we added to the altar. Plus a lot of Easter decorations.)
Finally, for her meat, we grilled seven pieces of halal goat meat – as goat is sacred to Venus, and was once sacrificed to Venus and Aphrodite at their Temples. (We cook it well done, of course – no blood! And we only offer meat once a year at this larger feeding rituals.) The meat should be grilled over myrtle – or hazel-tree wood. Otherwise grill it over natural wood or wood charcoal, and add sandalwood, benzoin, and rose petals to the fire. Season the meat with saffron.
On Friday just before sunrise, wash yourself and don a white or green robe. At sunrise, set the offering to Venus upon the table. Place six of the green candles around the edges, and one in the center – directly upon the talisman if there is one. Set a glass of water beside each candle. Around this arrange the food offerings. You may also add any gift offerings for Anael, or items you wish for her to touch – such as copper jewelry or trinkets, talismans, stones, oils, make-up, written prayers or petitions, etc.
Light the censor and candles with their proper exorcisms, and add fresh incense to the coal. Then exorcise and consecrate the offerings with holy water and the censor.
Then move to the eastern side of the working space, facing outward. If you have a consecrated bell or trumpet, sound it and recite the following call (or one similar to it):
In whatsoever place ye may be, ye spirit(s), who are invited to this feast, [NNN] come ye and be ready to receive our offerings, presents, and sacrifices!
Move to the south and repeat – first sounding the bell or trumpet, then the call. Do this again in the west and the north.
Finally, return to standing west of the altar facing eastward, and recite the following invocations:
Prayer to YHVH Zabaoth
YHVH Zabaoth, God of the Hosts of Heaven, Great Lord of the spirits of passion, the sphere of Victory and of the Lovely Venus, She who is Beautiful, Passionate, Pleasing, Powerful, Fruitful, the Queen of all Delights. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God of Hosts, anoint us with the oil of gladness. The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace. YHVH Zabaoth, I ask in Thy Holy Name that you bless and sanctify this offering, that it may be pleasing unto You and Your Angels. Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen +
The Song of Songs
[Normally, I would have read seven Psalms or other verses related to Venus at this point. However, we instead chose to read the entire Song of Songs. It is eight chapters rather than seven, but the entire book is centered upon Venus. My wife and I read the Song together – me reading the male portions and her the female. It was a rather moving and intimate experience!]
Invitation to Anael
O’ Anael, bright morning and Evening Star! Lady of Beauty and Majesty, Passion and Strength!
Anael! Celestial Bride! Virgin and Whore! Mother and Daughter! Lucifera! Aphrodite!
Anael, Queen of Heaven and Mother of Mankind! Thou who art Sophia and Mary!
Anael, Great Goddess who smiles upon the Earth and vegetation springs forth, cattle increases, and men find love!
O’ Anael, you hide your face and the world sleeps!
Wondrous Anael, Archangel of Venus, bringer of inspiration, beauty, and art.
You have been with us from the very beginning, blessing the steps we have taken upon our path. You are the High Priestess through whom the Light of God has shone into our lives. You have been our comfort and our help. Come thou forth and partake of these offerings, which we have prepared in thy honour and to the glory of the God of the Heavenly Hosts! May you find them pleasing and empowering. We ask that you offer your blessings to our home and family, and bear our offerings and prayers of thanksgiving to the Divine Court. We petition thee for inspiration and beauty in all of our undertakings, to be beloved by our community, and that the light of thy wisdom should guide and keep us at all times. In the name of YHVH Zabaoth. Amen.
Repeat the Invitation seven times. Then, share in the feast you have offered to the Angel – taking bites of each food item, sips of the liquids. Leave the offerings in place until the green candles burn completely away (or no less than seven days). Place the remains in a natural place, into running water or at a crossroads.
– End –
Ritual of Anael Journal Entry
It would have been wonderful if this could have happened on a Friday – the day sacred to Venus. However, Easter can’t happen on a Friday – and this year neither did her established Feast Day. So we went with it, and performed our invocation ritual that Sunday on an hour of Venus. It has become our family tradition to give each of our seven resident Archangels (yes, we now have established altars to all seven planetary Archangels!) a very large annual feeding. This empowers them to work for us for the entire year, plus they get smaller candle/incense offerings and thanksgiving offerings as we regularly work with them.
We cleaned and prepared the Temple room, and gathered most of the ingredients the night before Easter, though we ran out of time to find the goat meat. Fortunately for us, Arabic butchers are open on Easter, so we were able to acquire that on the day of the ritual. The meat was even halal.
Given that this took place on Easter day, it wasn’t practical for me to fast. We went to a friend’s house and had a wonderful Easter dinner while the kids played together and hunted for eggs. It was a wonderful time, really – and even without fasting it felt quite appropriate. (“All acts of love and pleasure…”) When we got home I performed my evening Abramelin invocations, then set up the altar for the Anael invocation:
A green Venus altar cloth that was a gift from our friend Kathy at AzothArt.com, Anael’s statue, icon, censer, Agrippa Venus Incense from Doc Solomon’s (plus some special Anael incense of Carrie’s own creation), and several talismans and other objects directly from her established altar, the seven candles (one being a fixed Anael Novena) and glasses of water, plus the food offerings, candy, fresh flowers, and a few Easter decorations (including the real Easter eggs) to celebrate the season. We also had an impressively elaborate and beautiful Venus Wand to place on the altar for a client, so it would be blessed and empowered by Anael. And of course Carrie added all of her Anael and Love oils from Anubeion Creations, and her special jewelry. Once all the food, drink, and candy was added, the altar was literally overflowing!
We got the meat grilled just after the nighttime hour of Venus began (about 10:40pm), and began the invocations while the meat was still sizzling hot.
I followed the ritual as you see it above. I lit the candles and censor with the proper Solomonic exorcism and used the Agrippa incense and holy water to consecrate everything on the altar. I then made the calls in the four quarters, and performed the invocations (my wife joining me for the Song of Songs), burning the special incense my wife had made for Anael. We decided to share in the seven-fold recitation of the invitation to Anael – trading off so she recited it three times and myself four times.
Afterward we shared in the feast with Anael – sampling all the foods and liquids on the altar. (Carrie skipped the bread of course.) We invited our daughter in to do the same, and I anointed all three of us with Anael’s oil. (Our daughter may also share a special relationship with Anael. You would be amazed at the artistic streak she has manifested over her short life!)
The offerings will sit on the altar for seven days, or until the candles burn out. We will of course remove any food items that go bad in the meantime – though it is not usual to see that happen. (Except for milk items. We’ll remove the cream after a couple of days.) As things progress, and if there is anything of interest, I will update this entry.
[…] For certain, there is a time and a place for personal gnosis. When students begin asking me if I think their spirits will like this, or be offended by that, I tell them to ask their spirits. If someone was inspired to write a ritual, and they want me to critique it, I tell them to let their own spirits critique it. Where it comes to how you interact with your spirits, it’s entirely between them and you. My opinion means very little in that regard.
But there is a problem with personal gnosis when it comes into conflict with academic research. There is, in fact, a good reason why we need the books after all. The problem with asking the spirits directly is that YOU may lack the necessary knowledge they would need to convey the ideas to you…
Telling a magician they are “fake” because they don’t have money is like telling a doctor they are “fake” because they caught a cold. In other words, you absolutely don’t get how either magick OR money works. [—me]
Nothing gets occultists and skeptics alike talking more than the subject of money and magick. Without question, this is the primary point of attack for skeptics who want to believe magick is a fantasy, and anyone purporting to possess magical power is merely a deluded fool (at best) or an outright fraud scamming innocent dupes for cash. They point to mages throughout history, and even right here in the modern world, reminding us that occultists always tend to be poor or in need of cash. “If you are so powerful,” they ask, “then why aren’t you rich?”
I find these questions humorous, mainly because they are so pointedly disingenuous. The skeptics look at history and see the fact that occultists are not typically rich, and even that magick (especially sorcery) tends to proliferate in impoverished areas—but instead of making the obvious conclusion that magick probably doesn’t have anything to do with getting rich, they make up their own conclusion: “Magick isn’t real.” This would be like investigating Olympic sprinters, discovering that not a one of them can run a mile in two minutes, and thereby concluding professional sprinters are all fakes. After all, there is a cartoon mouse that can do a mile in far less time…
It’s not simply the fact these types are jumping to a ridiculous conclusion that makes this funny to me. It also speaks to something I’ve noticed across the board with atheists and skeptics (especially the outspoken ones): they always adopt the most outlandish and fantastical views of anything spiritual or mystical—taken entirely from Hollywood and fantasy fiction—and apply those views to the real thing. Hence, if Mickey Mouse can use a grimoire to conjure hoards of animate brooms to clean his master’s lab, then why can’t you conjure gold bars when you need them? Wizards in the Harry Potter stories can conjure food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities at will, so why can’t you? Doctor Strange doesn’t call on help from an “occult community” when he is in need or in danger, so why are you setting up a crowd-funding campaign? Shouldn’t the Dark Forces be taking care of you?
The upcoming Nephilim Press anthology Ritual Offerings: Feeding Your Spirits, Empowering Your Magick is moving ever closer to release! I have been given a sneak peak at the artwork that will adorn the inside front and back of the book – and I’m now sharing it with you. 🙂
Keep in mind this is the rough version of the image. I have been assured the final version will be even more elaborate – with further planetary symbols beyond the Saturn symbols. It’s not associated with any of the essays specifically; it’s the image you’ll see on the first and last pages of the book. Enjoy! 🙂
I’m afraid Nephilim isn’t doing pre-orders, so stay tuned here for further updates on the release date.
Ritual of Anael Journal Entry
Given that this took place on Easter day, it wasn’t practical for me to fast. We went to a friend’s house and had a wonderful Easter dinner while the kids played together and hunted for eggs. It was a wonderful time, really – and even without fasting it felt quite appropriate. (“All acts of love and pleasure…”) When we got home I performed my evening Abramelin invocations, then set up the altar for the Anael invocation:
Ananael (The Secrets of Wisdom) 