Offering Ritual for Archangel Michael

Greetings, Angel-workers!

This year has been fairly active concerning our house gods.  First, we worked with Samael for the protection of our home.  Then we called upon Iophiel to bring prosperity into the house.  Now, we turn our attention to another old and trusted friend of the family (in fact, the first archangel with whom I built a relationship):  St. Michael.

St. Michael Slays the Dragon

Michael is the Archangel of the Sun – the representative of God’s Light here on Earth.  He is the highest archangel (besides Metatron himself) and sits at the right-hand of the Divine Throne.   Some traditions also consider him an Angel of Fire and/or an Angel of Mercury.  As the Angel of the Sun, he is the General of the Heavenly Armies, the High Priest of the Celestial Temple, Patron of Israel and the quintessential Guardian Angel.  He is patron to soldiers (especially para-troopers and pilots), police officers and warriors of all types.  It was Michael who defeated Lucifer in single combat, and cast the Dragon down from Heaven.

In his Mercurial aspect, he judges the dead with his scales and guides the souls to Paradise or Gehenna according to their deeds in life.  (Legend has it he also brings the souls out of Gehenna to rest on the Sabbath, and perhaps liberates souls from there once they have paid their karmic debt.)  He is a benevolent Angel of Death, and carries the souls of the righteous to heaven.  As an archangel with chthonic associations, he is an angel of war and plague as well as of protection and healing.  In some traditions, Michael is considered a divine physician and healer on par with Raphael.  He is patron of EMTs, emergency workers and all first responders.

We knew that offerings to Michael were long overdue.  It would have been great to perform the rite on/near midsummer, but we were unable to do that.  The next Sunday was also a no-go, as it stormed non-stop all day, and I just didn’t like the idea of making offerings to the Sun while the sky was dark and stormy.   So we put it off for an extra week, and that actually allowed us more time to properly prepare.

Talisman of Michael

Part of the preparation was the re-construction of Michael’s Talisman.  Many of you have seen that Talisman, because a photo of it is included on my Facebook and Myspace accounts.  However, the Talisman itself has become lost after two moves.  (Other Talismans that were stored with it are still here, but Michael’s has vanished.)  Therefore, on the Wednesday before the ritual, on an hour of Sol, my wife painted a new version on consecrated paper.  On dawn of the following Sunday, I performed the Solomonic talisman consecration – found on p. 320-322 of Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires or the Key of Solomon, Book I, Chapter 8.

Note that the Psalm verse written in the circumference is Psalm 113 verse 5:  “Who is like unto the Lord our God, who is on high.”  I feel that Michael led me to this Psalm, because his name translates into English as “Who is like unto God?”  The entire Psalm seems very much in sympathy with Michael as well (it even mentions the Sun), so I consider this Michael’s Psalm:

Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.

The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,

Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

With the consecration completed, we set about preparing the offerings that would be used for the invocation at noon of the same day.  Here is the ritual that I followed:

It is best to choose a Sunday when Sol is well aspected in the heavens, and he should be above the horizon at the time of working.  Dawn or Noon are best.  The most powerful time of year to do this ritual is when Sol resides in the sign of Leo.  It can also be done to good effect upon Michael’s feast days:  September 29th (Western) or November 8th (Eastern).

On Saturday evening, cover a table or altar with a gold, yellow or white cloth. Place a talisman and/or image of Archangel Michael 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 Sol.

(Note: I use three ingredients for incense of Sol:  1 part frankincense, 1 part copal, 1/2 part benzoin.  You may also use standard “Church” incense.)

Also prepare all elements of the offering to Sol:  Six yellow seven-day candles.  Six glasses of water. A glass of milk, A glass of red wine. A plate with six pieces of bread and honey.  Also add citrus fruits, pomegranate, hot peppers, fruits that are dried in the sun (raisins, dates, etc) and/or solar flowers (red or yellow roses, sunflowers, daisies, etc) – all in groups of six.  (Note that the herb Angelica is especially sacred to Michael.)  You may also offer Michael red meat or rooster (not chicken) meat – thoroughly cooked.

On Sunday just before sunrise or noon, wash yourself and don the white robe. At sunrise or noon, set the offering to Sol upon the table. If one of the yellow candles occupies the center, place it directly upon the talisman if there is one. Place a glass of water beside each candle.  Around this arrange the food offerings. You may also add any gift offerings for Michael, or items you wish for him to touch – such as golden jewelery or trinkets, talismans, stones, oils, written prayers or petitions, etc.

Light the candles and the censor with the proper exorcisms, and add fresh incense to the coal. Then exorcise and consecrate the offerings with the sprinkler and 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 Eloah v’Daath

YHVH Eloah v’Daath, God of all Knowledge, who wearest the Sun as a jewel upon Thy finger.  Thou who art the Light of the World, the LVX that shineth in the darkness.  Thou radiant God who delights in warmth and brightness, granting life and heat to all created things.    From whose face the creatures of darkness and ignorance must flee in terror.  In your Name are all evil spirits expelled, all sickness abated, all unhappiness transformed into joy.  I ask that you bless and sanctify this offering, that it may be pleasing unto You and Your Angels.

I ask, also, that you send to me the holy Archangel Michael: who sitteth upon thy right hand, judge of souls, protector of Israel, driver of the Chariot of the Sun.  May he also enjoy these offerings, and be pleased with them, and bear our prayers of thanksgiving unto Thy Celestial Throne.  Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen +

The Penitential Psalms

(Note:  For any other Solar Angel, I would recite six Psalms related to Sol.  However, Michael prefers to be summoned via the seven Penitential Psalms.)

Psalm 6 (“O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.”)

Psalm 32 (“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”)

Psalm 38 (“O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.”)

Psalm 51 (“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness…”)

Psalm 102 (“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee.”)

Psalm 130 (“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord”)

Psalm 143 (“Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications…”)

Invitation to Michael

I invoke thee, St. Michael!  Holy Archangel of the Solar sphere!  I call upon thee within thy realm of Beauty and Majesty!

Michael, Mighty, Pure, Wise, Prudent, Intelligent, Prince of the World, Light of the Stars, Golden and Splendorous, Phoebus – shining over the whole World!

Michael, who art High Priest of the Celestial Temple.  Mighty General of the Heavenly Hosts!  Celestial Guardian Angel!  You who cast down the fearsome Dragon and broke the Serpent beneath thy foot!  Who sitteth at the right hand of God and weigheth the Souls in the Scales of Truth.

O Michael, when I have called upon you in times of need, you have answered.  You have banished darkness from my home, dispelled storms and saved the lives of loved ones.  You have been a faithful friend and protector of my family, and have brought honor and glory into our lives.  For all of this we thank you!

Come thou forth and partake of these offerings, which we have prepared in thy honour and to the glory of YHVH Eloah v’Daath. May you find them pleasing and empowering. I ask that you offer your blessings to my home and family, and bear our offerings and prayers of thanksgiving to the Divine Court. We petition thee for strength and protection in all of our undertakings, and that the light of thy wisdom should guide and keep us at all times. In the name of YHVH Eloah v’Daath.  Amen.

Repeat the Invitation six times.  Then, share in the feast you have offered to the Angel – taking bites of each food item and sips of the wine and milk.  Leave the offerings in place until the yellow candle burns completely away (and no less than six days). Place the remains in a natural place, into running water or at a crossroads.

– End –

Ritual of Michael Journal Entry

Altar to St. Michael

I began by fasting from before midnight on Saturday night until after the invocation was performed at noon the next day.  At the dawn of Sunday morning, I took a simplified ritual bath and consecrated the Talisman.  Then I erected the altar to Michael:  beginning with a covering of golden yellow cloth.  The large full-color icon was painted by my wife Carrie Mikell.  Plus I found a few of my own favorite Michael engravings and paintings to print out and place with it. In front of these we set various talismans of Sol as well as our written petitions to Michael.  (Each petition was written with consecrated pen on consecrated paper, then folded three times – a multiple of six – toward ourselves.)  In the center of the altar rested the Talisman with a yellow seven day candle set over it.

Then we went outside and fired up the grill.  We used natural wood charcoal, and I added Angelica and solar incense to the coals.  I cooked a steak until it was well done (it smelled wonderful!).  That was placed on a plate and garnished with six havenero peppers and six banana peppers (all appropriately yellow color).  This was then surrounded by the other solar offerings:  a pomegranate cut into six pieces, six sunflowers, a dozen yellow/red hybrid roses (in two sets of six), and six stalks of wheat.  We then added a bowl of citrus fruit (grapefruit, orange and lemon) and a plate of fresh bread covered with organic honey and garnished with sun-dried tomatoes and apricots – again, every one in groups of six.  (The honey was very thick and had to be spread on the bread like butter.  It’s the best honey I’ve ever tasted.)  Finally, we added a glass of red wine and a glass of milk.  There was hardly room on the altar top for all of it!  (NOTE:  Since performing this ritual, I have learned to include the angel’s sacred number of candles as well as a glass of water by each one.  This is not to say the single candle is not effective in a pinch.  But I should have at least included a glass of water.)

Offerings to St. Michael

I followed the ritual as I have it written – except for only using one candle and no water.  I put on a gold Michael medallion that has become standard for me whenever I work with him, and the blinds were already opened to let the sunlight into the room.  I lit the candle and the censor with the proper Solomonic exorcisms, and consecrated the offering with holy water and incense.  I performed the invocations (burning even more incense), then called everyone in the house to come and share Michael’s feast.  We each took a bite of most everything on the altar (a couple of us even bit into the haveneros to impress Michael) and sipped the wine and milk.

We will leave the offerings on the altar for at least six days – or until we see visible signs that Michael is well done with his meal.  Then, as before, we will take the remains to a local river and cast them into the running water.

UPDATE:  Michael seems to be pleased and (his Icon) is now back home by the
front door.  It was interesting: Usually, when you remove something like a poster or large painting from your wall, it leaves a big blank spot that nags at your consciousness for a few days. However, this did not happen when I removed Michael’s Icon from its place. The entire week his Icon rested on the altar in the Temple, he also seemed to STILL be by the front door. (This was mentioned by every adult in the house – none of whom even noticed that Michael’s Icon was gone at first.)  There was never a nagging blank-spot feeling there. Now he is back home again, like he never moved. (Except now he has a brand new charged Talisman behind him, and a copy of the ritual I used to call him down.)

We did indeed take the offerings to the river after six days.  I actually had to remove the fruit items from the altar after 5 days, as they began to mold.  (A sure sign the spirit is done with them.)  Everything else rested there until the sixth day, and then all was taken to the river.  I have a picture that I will add here later.

A member of the Conjure Corner forums asked for some historical facts about the figure of Satan.  The timing is interesting as I am currently doing some work with the Abramelin system of spirit magick.  Thus, I decided to put several obscure bits of theological history into one post – and why not archive it here too?  So if you’ve ever wondered about that Satan guy, here you go:

————————-

Here are some historical facts you will find very fascinating.  🙂

– The name Satan comes from the Hebrew Sathan – which means “accuser” or “adversary.”  You see, the Israelite people adopted many aspects of Babylonian culture, both before and during the Captivity (about 600 BCE).  The Babylonians, meanwhile, are the folks who created the system of law that we use to this very day – including the concept of the prosecuting attorney.  This prosecutor’s job was (then, as it is now) to stand in the royal court and bring formal charges against those accused of crimes.  And since Babylonian cosmology assumed the heavens worked just like earthly courts, they assumed the Gods sat around in the same kind of court setting – judging the fates of humans.  You can see this in the first known record of “Satan” – the Book of Job.  There, we meet haSathan (the accuser) hanging out in the Court of God, BS-ing back and forth with the Big Guy Himself.  Not only that, but he is quite comfortable with contradicting God and placing bets with Him over the true faithfulness of a human being.  What Job reveals is that Satan (or haSathan – his job title) is not in rebellion against God at all, but merely doing the job appointed to him.

-The Jews understood that haSathan was just a title.  They believed the name of the entity depicted in the Book of Job was Samael – the poison of God.  Samael was not in open rebellion against God, but still firmly in his employ.  Most anciently, he seems to have been an Angel of Death (especially violent and untimely death).  In the Qabalah and the grimoires that borrowed from it, Samael became the Angel of Mars and Gevurah – thus making him the Angel of War.  There are Hebrew midrashim (legends) that suggest Samael once refused to bow down to Adam (the Image of God), and was thus punished.  These legends were likely adopted from similar Arabic myths.  For his refusal (which was based on his love for God and refusal to worship a mere image) he was cast down to earth and sentenced to serve the roles of Angel of Death and (thanks to his understandable beef with humans) as haSathan.  He took his punishment, and does the jobs he was assigned.  But he was still a big wig in God’s Court, as illustrated by the Book of Job.

-Lucifer was originally a Roman deity of Venus.  Lucifer Morningstar was the herald of the light of dawn.  Meanwhile, in ancient Canaan we find the God of Venus is named Helel Ben Shakhar (Helel, Son of the Dawn).  Apparently, there is an obscure Canaanite myth wherein Helel attempts to rise up and take the Throne of the Rising Sun from his father Shakhar.  He fails and is cast down.  Basically, the entire tale is an embodiment of the fact that Venus is the brightest star in the night sky, rises in the East just before the Sun and is finally the *last* star in the sky to fade out in the dawn light.  In this sense, the Sun must “defeat” Venus each morning in order to successfully rise.  (Which reminds me of the Egyptian Apophis, a serpent-monster that had to be overthrown by Re’s army each and every morning in order for the sun to rise.)

In the book of Isaiah (chapter 14), the prophet makes a comparison between Helel and the king of Babylon, when he says of the Babylonian king, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Helel, Son of the Morning!”  Later, the Bible was translated into Latin, and the translator merely looked for a Latin translation of the name “Helel.”  He found “Lucifer”, and thus the Lucifer-as-Satan myth was born.  The casting down of Helel by his father Shakhar was transformed into the famous tale of Michael (Archangel of the Sun) casting Lucifer down from heaven.  Lucifer even takes the form of a dragon very similar to the Egyptian Apophis (which is interesting considering the Egyptian origins of early Christianity).

-The typical “horned and hoofed” image of Satan didn’t come along until the medieval era.  The Catholic Church was by then a massive political force in hot competition with any other religion or Mystery Cult it encountered.  The Greek and Roman Pagan Mysteries were certainly a target, and so the image of Pan was adopted and demonized as the image of “Satan.”  Pan represented everything the Christian Priesthood stood against – sex, drugs, parties, hedonism and pleasure.  Pan represents everything that is still animal about the human animal, and his cult encourages a proper ritualized indulgence in that part of ourselves.  The Church surely had a hard time stealing members from that cult – so they demonized its followers and invented stories of witch gatherings who worship and have sex with a horrible goat-demon. The Devil was born – and over the years would become associated with all things vile and horrible about humans (violence, rape, torture, etc).

UPDATE:  Unfortunately, I skipped a rather important aspect of Satan’s origin story when I first posted this blog.  Several of you wrote to me and pointed that I had forgotten about the god Saturn in my analysis.  Well, I can’t agree that Saturn – or Chronos in Greek – has much of anything to do with the figure of Satan.  (He has more to do with the image of Thanatos, or Death.)  However, I also suspect some confusion may have been made between Saturn – the god of Time – and the god Pluto (or Hades in Greek) – the Lord of the Underworld.

Much of the imagery we associate with Satan as the God of the Underworld comes to us from Hades.  Take a look at this image of Hades, with his two-pronged pitchfork in hand and cerberus lying at his feet.  That is the origin of the image of Satan as ruler of Hell.  In Greek mythology, Hades is one of three brothers who possess the world:  Zeus who rules the sky and carries a single-pointed spear or thunderbolt, Poseidon who rules the sea and carries a three-pronged harpoon, and Hades who rules the earth (up top and below) and carries the two-pronged pitchfork.  Thus, Hades is intimately connected with nature and its seasonal cycles, as well as with underwold concepts such as the dead, treasure and occult initiation.

When we consider this, the Christian concept of Satan as “God of this world” begins to make more sense.  He not only rules in Hell – but notice that the grimoires quite often invoke him as the ruler of the natural world as well.  Such as we see in the Book of Abramelin – where all the lesser spirits of nature are classed under the authority of Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan and Belial.  (This is likely a break-down into astrological triplicity – Fire, Water, Air and Earth respectively.)

Sadly, the Church tended to see anything associated with nature as evil – as evidenced by its demonization of Pan.  The same happened with Hades/Pluto, so that the once-venerated Lord of the Underworld became the feared and despised demonic Satan.  Still, the grimoires do seem to preserve some of the older concepts – focusing on Satan in his Hades/Pan aspect as ruler of nature.

-As for Satanists:  The actual ‘Church of Satan’, founded by Anton LaVey, is strictly atheist.  They view the Church (and in fact all religion and spirituality) as a major historical enemy of humankind.  They also realize that Satan (as the Devil/Pan) embodies many things that are natural and beautiful to the human animal.  Therefore, they elevate Satan as a fitting symbol of opposition to everything Christianity (as a political force of mass control) has done to the world.  They do not believe in any actual entity by that name, nor in God, etc.  Even their witchcraft is strictly of the psychological type.

There was once a sub-group of Satanists who believed in an actual entity named Satan.  They assumed that Satan traces back to Egyptian concepts of the War God Set (which is only partially true), and thus began to worship Satan as the ancient Egyptian deity.  This caused a row in the Church of Satan, as atheism is a strict rule of the Church.  So the group broke away and established the Temple of Set.  I think they draw a lot from Crowley’s Thelemic material.

-I assume there are also true “Satanists” – that is, those who worship the Christian Satan *as* the embodiment of evil and hatred, etc, etc – but I’m not personally aware of any official groups.  To my knowledge, most of these types are teens (either alone or in small groups) looking to freak out their parents and teachers.  lol

-Finally, there is also a Luciferian tradition – about which I know little.  However, I’m fairly certain the tradition refers to the original Roman deity Lucifer Morningstar, the perfectly benevolent Herald of the Dawn.  Someone else might correct me here, but I think they associate Lucifer with other figures like Prometheus (who brought fire to mankind from heaven).

LVX

Aaron

When I posted my Uncrossing technique, I promised to follow it with my favorite mirror defense spell- so here it is.  I learned it from a Santero who was also an ex-Priest from a Russian Orthodox Church.  (He left the Church when he saw politics trumping spirituality.)  He was one of the most fascinating men I’ve ever met.

The spell is intended for use when you feel you are directly under attack- and it should follow the Uncrossing ritual I outlined previously.  In a best-case scenario, you would know the name of your attacker.  However, you can still make use of this spell if the source of the attack is unknown.

——————–
Gather a clear (not white) utility candle (generally available in any convenience or hardware store),* a mirror, a saucer, and a tumbler or other glass.

(*- A properly consecrated Solomonic candle is also acceptable here.)

Fill the tumbler half-way or so with water. Place the saucer over the mouth of the tumbler and flip the entire works upside down. The water remains in the inverted tumbler due to the saucer. Place the saucer/tumbler onto your altar or table.

Cut the utility candle in half. On the lower half, inscribe the name of the person who is causing you problems. If you do not know the name, inscribe “my enemies” instead.  (Of course, if you have an Athame or consecrate Burin, use that to do the inscribing.)

Invert the inscribed candle and dig out the wick from the *bottom* of the candle.  Light the wick you have just exposed, then affix the inverted half-candle to the upturned bottom of the tumbler.

Now place the mirror East of the candle/tumbler/saucer set-up, so that it reflects the set-up’s image Westward.  Address a prayer to the Archangel Michael to defend you against your enemies, to argue your case before the Divine Throne, etc.  (Some may wish to direct this prayer to the Guardian Angel instead.)  Psalms for protection against enemies can be included here as well:  Psalm 7, 9, 18, 41-43, 54, 55, 74, 79 and/or 94 depending on your circumstances.

This will effectively invert and reflect negative forces sent at you back to the sender. It is not offensive at all, and can’t harm anyone who does not intend to harm you in the first place. If you attempt to light the bottom of the candle and it refuses to catch, then you likely have the wrong person’s name on the candle.

After the candle-bottom burns completely away, replace it with the top half of the candle. This time it should be lit from the top as normal, and affixed to the tumbler right side up. Address Michael (or the Guardian Angel) once more with prayers of thanks, presenting the wax an offering.  (You can also offer some incense here, and anything else you feel is appropriate.)  Ask the angel always to protect and defend you, etc.  Allow that candle to burn away.

Finally, carry the tumbler to the front door and toss the water out as far as you can.

LVX
Aaron

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solomonic/message/5143

Wednesday, 9-6-06, 7:46pm (Date/Time chosen after social concerns-
job/domestic- and negative astrological conditions ruled out all
Sundays in September and all but this time on Wednesday. Sadly, this
had to be done as the Sun was setting- however it was an Hour of Sol.)

The purpose of the evocation was to call upon Michael as the warrior
and exorcist, to ask him how to break chronic mundane issues that have
been troubling us, drive away nuisance spirits, etc. This is actually
the beginning of an extended series of evocations for this purpose.
(This was also the very first time we have summoned Michael to our new
home.)

In this first session, we wanted to focus particularly upon our house
cats- who have been plagued with sickness since we moved into our new
house just a few months ago. (All different issues, unrelated to each
other. One, a kitten, got bronchitis and pulled through, only to get
a bad fever a few weeks later. He pulled through that as well. We
then discovered that two cats- a brother and sister- had genetic
problems, and we lost one of them. Now another cat is very ill, and
the vet says that she is not making new red blood cells. Though it
seems against the odds, this cat really seems to be recovering – but
we won’t know for sure until another week or so has passed.) Our
intent in calling Michael (rather than the Healer Raphael) was not so
much to heal the cat who is currently sick, as to drive away the evil
forces that appear to be attacking all of our pets.

As an interesting note: during the days leading up to this evocation,
we have had several instances of odd buzzing, growling and large
shadowy shapes moving around the house. The day before the evocation
itself, we lost power to the house – and the problem can not be fixed
until tomorrow. (That’s three days with no power!) The evocation
itself was almost de-railed because of this, but we persevered and
went through with it anyway. All in all, we got the distinct
impression that something around us did NOT want this summoning of
Michael to take place.

Preparations involved a seven-day vegetarian fast. I did not recite
invocations to Michael on these days like I should have (which I will
remedy next time). However, we did spend these seven days preparing
all things for the ceremony. We created a Talisman of Michael,
obtained a yellow 7-day candle, prepared solar incense (frank., copal,
benzoin), prepared a solar offering (dates, raisins, a lemon, an
orange and hot yellow peppers), wrote the necessary invocations, etc.
Finally, we observed a complete fast for the 12 hours before the
ceremony. I performed all necessary consecrations at about 2:30 that
afternoon- the day and hour of Mercury. My wife painted the Talisman
at this same time- with consecrated instruments, paints and ink.

Temple set-up was standard for us: Two altars- one in the east and
one in the center of the room. The eastern Altar is white, and
represents our Temple’s Holy of Holies. The central altar could have
been covered in yellow for the Sun, but we stuck with white for that
as well. Present for this Rite were myself (the master of ceremony),
my wife (our skryer) and two observers. (These two were invited to
take part in the skrying, but chose instead to remain silent for this,
their first time with us in a full Solomonic evocation.)

Procedure began with the shortened version of the Solomonic bath. I
went first, so that I could open the Holy of Holies while the others
took their turns in the bath. I performed the standard Abramelin
prayers and invoked my Guardian Angel. After all were present in the
Temple, I opened with a recitation of three lines from the Book of
Loagaeth – which lines Edward Kelley referred to as “A Preface to the
Creation of Angels” and two “Invitations to Good Angels.” I followed
these with Angelical Keys One and Two- which serve to summon the
“Kings and Ministers of Government” (the Seven Archangels).
Afterward, I recited Solomonic-style invocations to the Most High to
send Michael, and then to Michael to appear as the warrior/protector.
Finally, according to instructions in Dee’s journals, I began
recitation of the 7 Penitential Psalms until my skryer reported
Michael had arrived.

The result was good, considering this was the first of a series of
evocations. However it didn’t go exactly as I had planned. Where I
had wanted to lead Michael toward Santerian-style magickal advice
(such as: “To break this curse, make X offering to Y God or Angel at Z
time and place, etc.”), Michael just wouldn’t be led that way. He
insisted we have the knowledge to rid ourselves of the offending
spirits, but we must pray to the Highest God with a joyous heart, etc.
(He was fairly vague – but we’ll see what comes of later evocations.)
I then began to ask him about our cats – but he cut me off and told
us to bring our currently-sick cat to him. He said he could make no
promises, but he would aid her. (We’ll see what comes of this in
about a week.) After he put the cat down, he swiftly departed.

We offered thanks and told him we would leave the solar-food offering
either on the Altar in the Temple, or on his own Altar (which is near
our front door). We will likely do that sometime tomorrow after our
power problem is repaired. (Hard to work with food in the dark!)

There is no clear conclusion to this one – though we didn’t really
expect one. We’ve initiated a new process, and the lesser spirits of
the house (who worked so hard to stop us from calling Michael) now see
that we mean serious business. We expect Michael’s mere presence in
the house to have a positive effect.

LVX
Aaron

Summoning the Archangel Michael
Thu Nov 17, 2005 1:04 am

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solomonic/message/3659

— In solomonic@yahoogroups.com, “JM” wrote:
>
> hi Aaron,
>
> I would be interested
> to hear on those Michael invocations you did.

Just a couple of evocations we did in response to the storms that
were threatening our area of Florida at the time. I think we did
the first one for Francis- or was it Ivan? (There were so many,
it’s largely a blur!)

We used fairly standard procedure. We worked on the day and hour of
Sol- after checking to make sure Sol was well aspected. At that
time, we utilized the Armadel’s “Seal of Michael” for the Talisman
(painted with gold paint). Standard Solar incense (frankincense,
benzoin, and copal). 12-hour fast beforehand (we were on short
notice), and the Solomonic Bath.

I’ve described my working space elsewhere- an Oratory in the east of
the room with its own Altar, and another Altar out in the center of
the room. Everything in the Oratory is white. The outer Altar
could have been covered in yellow or gold (for Sol)- but we stuck
with white on that one as well. I’ll have to check my notes to see
if we used a yellow 7-day Candle- though that would be our usual
practice. (The incense and the wax are the standard offerings.)

For the working, I performed the Solomonic Bath first. Then, while
my skryer performed the Bath, I entered the Oratory and did my
Abramelin thing. Next, my skryer came in and sat at the outer
Altar, where we lit the Solar incense. I stayed in the Oratory and
donned a medal of St. Michael. (I also placed an image of St.
Michael slaying the Dragon- as symbolic of the Archangel slaying the
hurricane/Leviathan- upon the Altar.) Then, according to
instructions given to Dee and Kelley in the “5 Books of the
Mysteries” for summoning Michael, I began reading the 7 Penitential
Psalms.

After only two or three of the Psalms, my skryer interrupted to say
Michael had arrived, and we went from there. (Welcome, confirmation
of identity, statement of purpose, etc.) He said that he couldn’t
stop the storm, but that he would work to help us. He also gave us
the name and sigil of the Angel set over the storm, and then brought
that Angel to us.

Result: Over the next three days, we watched as the storm slowed
and finally stalled entirely just off the coast of Florida. While
there, it spun down a couple of catagories, and then finally ran
aground- doing comparatively much less damage than it had been set
to do.

LVX
Aaron