Great news for Abramelin aspirants!

Over the years, many students have privately emailed me to ask questions about magick – and one of the most common questions I am asked is “How do I use the talismans at the end of the Book of Abramelin?”

Unfortunately, that is not a question that can be answered so easily in a simple email or forum post.  The Book of Abramelin contains a rather sophisticated system of goety – most of it scattered and hidden throughout the text so as to discourage dabblers.  In order to explain it all in detail, it would be necessary to write a rather lengthy essay on the subject.

So, in 2009, that is exactly what I did.  I wrote an essay entitled The Spirit-Magick of Abramelin that outlines the entire system – including how to summon and work with the spirits, how to create new word-square talismans and how to use them once they are made.  I published it in an anthology from Scarlet Imprint called Diabolical – which focused on various traditions of working with demons.  (My essay might have been the only one from the perspective of an angel-worker who also works with chthonic spirits.)

The only problem was that the hard-bound Diabolical – though an absolute must-have book – was a bit obscure and somewhat on the expensive side.  Students continued to ask me about the Abramelin word-squares and spirits – and I’m not sure how many of them were willing (or able) to purchase the book just to get my essay from it…

Now we are fast approaching the year 2014, and I felt it was time to let the genie out of the bottle, so to speak, and release The Spirit-Magick of Abramelin in a more easily accessible format.  Therefore, I have re-published the essay in the Autumnal Equinox 2013 edition of Hermetic Virtues Magazine (subscription info here.).  🙂

Hermetic Virtues Magazine

It is an electronic-format magazine, coming in PDF form directly to your in-box.  If you don’t want to subscribe to the magazine (but, really, why wouldn’t you??), I’m pretty sure HV Magazine is willing to sell single-issue copies.  So if you desire to learn how to properly work with the talismans and spirits of the Abramelin tradition, you now have an affordable and accessible source for my essay.  Enjoy!

Special thanks to Jayne Gibson over at HV, who worked tirelessly to get the word-squares and other formatting issues with this essay exactly right.  It was no easy task!

Also see my (free) essay on Abramlein’s Magickal Word Squares: Compiled and Corrected for the First Time.   (This is just a taste of the work I’ve done on the existing word-squares, the bulk of which I will later publish in book form.)

Also see this blog post on Abramelin’s system of Mixed Qabalah.  As well as this follow-up post on the same subject.

Finally, in the near future, keep an eye out for my latest essay that tackles the angelic side of Abramelin’s magick:  After Abramelin: Working with the Holy Guardian Angel – to be published in Nephilim Press’ Walking with the Angel.

Zorge,

Aaron

It looks like this is the year for Jupiter work!  (Of course, that may be partly due to my membership in the ‘Gentlemen for Jupiter” occult group – Jupiter has certainly been “in the air.”)  The first was earlier this year: an Invocation of the Archangel Iophiel.  That was not done for any specific magickal goal, but simply because it was high time we made offerings to our house gods.  Iophiel was first, then Michael – later we shall make some offerings to Bast.  We also made offerings to Samael as part of a Mixed-Qabalah talisman consecration.  And that brings us back to the present:

There are certain goals we need to accomplish by the end of this year and on into the next, and Jupiter was the best choice to address them.  (Sol may also have worked, but I decided to stick with Jupiter for several subtle reasons.)  I decided to utilize the Mixed-Qabalah process I had used so successfully with Samael – this time calling upon Sachiel instead.  Here is some info on this archangel:

The Archangel Sachiel (Zadkiel)

The archangel Sachiel is also known as Zadkiel (the Righteousness of God).  As Zadkiel, he is an extremely exalted angel in charge of the Sephirah Chesed (Divine Mercy) and the angelic choir called the Chashmalim (the Brilliant Ones).

As Sachiel, he is the supreme archangel of Jupiter and Thursday, as well as the sixth heaven called Zebul.  He is the angel of righteousness, benevolence, mercy, forgiveness and freedom.

It was Zadkiel/Sachiel who stayed the hand of Abraham before he could sacrifice his son Isaac.  Zadkiel and Iophiel (the Intelligence of the planet Jupiter) are both considered standard-bearers who follow Michael into battle.

For this work, I decided to make use of the Mixed-Qabalah process that I first found in A Treatise of Mixed Cabalah, published by Avalonia Press.  It involves an eight-day ritual for the consecration of a wax (or metallic) talisman.  It is the same ritual I used for Samael earlier this year, except I made some necessary changes to the Psalms used in the invocations.  The primary Psalm listed in the Treatise… was perfect for martial Samael work, but I wanted to use something appropriate for Jupiter in this case.  In the end I found two Psalms I felt strongly about (Psalms 112 and 113):  one was the Psalm from which the verse upon the wax talisman was taken, and the other was a very Jupiterian Psalm that struck me as proper for this work.  (Actually, only the first Psalm would have been necessary, but I felt strongly enough about the second to include it even though it added extra time to my seven-fold invocations.)

During the work, I was also directed by the angels to make specific changes to the prayers outlined in the Treatise….  Mostly inserting the proper name of God (El, in the case of Jupiter) into the invocations at certain points, along with a clear statement of purpose at a point where the given prayers merely ask for general guidance and support from the angels.

We decided to make four talismans at once.  Not only is it the number of Jupiter, but it allowed each adult in the house to keep one while we placed the fourth in a specific location on our property (as directed by Sachiel).  Like last time, we used a mold to cast the talismans at the end of the process – this time being our first experiment with creating a silicon mold.

I prepared myself for three days before I began the consecrations.  It started with a full Solomonic Bath, after which I began a vegetarian diet, general seclusion and complete sexual abstinence.  There is also a prayer in the Key of Solomon that asks God to show kindness and mercy and see to it that the spirits one intends to call should appear.  (See Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, p. 215.)  I recited this once in the mornings and twice in the evenings.

The ritual began on the next Thursday.  At that time (actually the Wednesday night beforehand) I began to fast each night after sundown.  I continued the diet and seclusion as before.

You can read a full write-up of the Mixed Qabalah procedure in the post about my Samael working.  In short, it involves entering the temple each morning at dawn (after washing up), kindling the Holy Lamp and Censor (each with proper exorcisms of fire) and reciting the Psalms, blessings and invocations seven times over the raw wax.  Then the wax is taken to the kitchen where it is melted down, while reciting further invocations and an invitation to the angel of the day.  At the end of the week, the wax had been blessed by all seven planetary archangels – with Sachiel presiding over the operation. On the eighth and final day, Sachiel was invoked once more and the wax was cast into the finished talismans.  (As before, we cast the wax disks with the names and figures already upon them – then Carrie added the Psalm verse in the center by hand.)

Once the process was complete, we wrapped the talismans in blue cloth.  We asked Sachiel to provide us with any necessary information on how to best use the talismans, along with anything specific he wanted for his offerings.  We planned to make the offerings seven days later – on the next Thursday – but circumstances arose that made that impossible.  So we waited another seven days and made the offerings on the next Thursday instead.

The offering ritual was very similar to what you’ve already seen in my Iophiel invocation ritual and my Michael invocation ritual – though we did simplify it a bit.  Rather than the pattern of prayers and Psalms you see in those invocations, I simply re-iterated the prayers (one to God and one to Sachiel plus the two Psalms) that had been used during the talisman consecration itself.  (This is similar to how we handled the Samael offerings after the last Mixed Qabalah working.)

The offerings were standard Jupiter fare – flowers (violet and orange this time), apples, cranberries, nuts, various cooked vegetables (corn, green beans), sheaths of wheat, etc – all in fours or multiples of four. We included four blue seven-day candles and four glasses of water, as well as a glass of milk and a glass of honey mead.  I also made four Jupiter Cakes once again (see the Iophiel invocation for full instructions and photos) and covered them with fine honey.  Also, as I did with Samael before, I included the consecrated wax left over from the talismans.  I inscribed Sachiel’s name and seal into the wax, then (at his request) wrapped it in blue linen.  All of this will rest on the altar for four days, then what is left over will be taken to the river.

We made the offering on an hour of Jupiter.  My usual choice is dawn, but we had some last minute items to pick up and so waited until the second Jupiter hour of the day.  At the proper time, I made the Jupiter cakes and Carrie boiled the vegetables.  Then I went to take a brief cleansing bath, then prepared the sacred space and altar with holy water and a recitation of Solomon’s Consecration Prayer for the Temple.  Then we assembled the offerings onto the altar and performed the invocations.

Once I had made the invocations and myself and Carrie had shared some of the offerings with Sachiel, we took some photos of the altar.  (We usually take the photos before we partake of the food, but we got a bit caught up and forgot to do it that way this time.)  Here are a few of the photos, enjoy:

Altar and Offerings to Sachiel

Altar to Sachiel

Icon of Sachiel/Zadkeil

Talismans of Jupiter placed upon the Name and Seal of Sachiel

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.

Ritual of Iophiel Journal Entry

Somewhat recently, I performed a lengthy invocation of Samael, the Archangel of Mars, to establish a barrier of protection around my property.  It did not occur to me to photo-document the procedure, as it is not my usual habit to do such a thing.  However, I did take the rare step of writing up the entire process for publication – which I posted here.

Once the protective work was done around our home, we decided it was time to make offerings and invocations to one of our house patrons, the Archangel Iophiel, Intelligence of the planet Jupiter.  It would be a great counterbalance to the martial forces at our property borders, and who couldn’t use an influx of divine benevolence and prosperity into one’s home and family?  Iophiel has been a trusted friend for a very long time, and offerings to him were long overdue anyway.

My first evocation of this Archangel goes back a long way, and he has been a trustworthy friend to me and those close to me ever since.  In case you are unfamiliar with him:

Iophiel is the Intelligence of the planet Jupiter and the Archangel who tends the Garden of Eden.  In some traditions he is one of the Seven Spirits that Stand before the Face of God.  He presides over vegetation and produce, fertile fields and livestock, feasting and friendship, prosperity and happiness.  Think of Dickens’ Ghost of Christmas Present, and that spirit’s connections to Jovial gods such as Odin and Zeus.  He is also an angelic Prince of the Torah, and as such is one of the companion angels of Metatron.  Of course, Jupiter has his stern side as well.  He is the grizzled warrior, quick to draw his weapon and strike when moved by Honour.  It was Iophiel’s duty to drive the fallen Adam and Eve from the Garden – and it is implied that he guards the Gates of Eden with the Sword of Ever-Turning Flame to this day.  If you’re looking for blessings from Paradise, you have to go through this Archangel.  Fortunately, he likes humans and wants you to have those blessings – so long as you are willing to work or fight for the right to have them.

As it happened, we were preparing to make a trip to the Florida Pagan Gathering’s Beltaine festival.  I was invited to give three lectures and sell a few books, and my wife was going to sell custom henna tattoos.  It made sense to make the offerings to Iophiel before we undertook such a business venture.  And since the festival started on a Thursday, it seemed particularly appropriate to make the offerings at dawn of that very day.

The first thing I did was create the invocations I would use (following the general instructions given in chapter seven of Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires), along with the basic ritual I would follow to make the offering.  Here is the final product:

Offering Ritual for Archangel Iophiel

It is best to choose a Thursday when Jupiter is well aspected in the heavens, and better still if he will be above the horizon by dawn of that day.  The most powerful times of year to do this ritual are when Jupiter resides in the signs of Sagittarius or Pisces.  (In America, Thanksgiving is also a good time for this work, as it is a Jupiterian feast day.)

On Wednesday evening, cover a table or altar with a blue or white cloth. Place a talisman and/or image of Archangel Iophiel 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 Jupiter.

(Note: I use four ingredients for incense of Jupiter:  1 part cedar, 1/4 part clove, 1/8th part nutmeg and apple pectin.  (The last two don’t smell great to me when they burn, so I add very little.))

Also prepare all elements of the offering to Jupiter: Four blue seven-day candles.  Four glasses of water. A glass of milk, A glass of a fruity wine (such as reisling) or honey mead. A plate with four pieces of bread and honey. And fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, cereals, and/or flowers – all in groups of four.

On Thursday just before sunrise, wash yourself and don the white robe. At sunrise, set the offering to Jupiter upon the table.  If there is a talisman for the angel, it should be placed in the center. (If one of the candles occupies the center, place it directly on top of the talisman.)  Around this arrange the food offerings. You may also add any gift offerings for Iophiel, or items you wish for Iophiel to touch – such as tin 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 El

El, strong and mighty, who reignest from thy Holy Mountain. Thou who art the Source of the Spring of Life. Who sendest the dew of Heaven to the dry earth, and the divine Manna to the hungry. Thou who art jovial and beneficent, and delight in feasting and bounty and Mercy. Great King who’s throne abideth upon a firm foundation. 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 Iophiel: who standeth before Thy Face, a companion of Metatron, a prince of the Torah, the mighty Intelligence of the Jupiter star, and director of the Jovial spirits of the earth: that he may also enjoy these offerings, and be pleased with them, and bear our prayers of thanksgiving unto Thy Celestial Throne. Amen + Amen + Amen + Amen +

4 Psalms of Jupiter

Psalm 104: “Bless the Lord, O my soul… ”

Psalm 113: “Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants…”

Psalm 112: “Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man…”

Psalm 125 (Iophiel’s Psalm): “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion…”

(Note: Psalms 113, 112 and 125 are associated with talismans of Jupiter in the Key of Solomon.  The talisman associated with Psalm 125 actually has Iophiel’s seal upon it.  I discovered Psalm 104 myself, while searching for a quintessential Jupiter Psalm (- although, upon later reflection, I suspect Psalm 104 is intended as Solar….))

Invitation to Iophiel

I invoke thee, Iophiel, mighty intelligence of the Jupiter sphere! Ye who descendeth from Mercy and Lovingkindess!

Iophiel, Good, Fortunate, Sweet, of Good Will, Honest, Pure, Wise Angel of Joy and Judgments!

Iophiel, who protecteth the garden of Paradise. Revealer of Truth, excelling in all goodness, Lord of Riches and Wisdom!

O Iophiel, you have been the protector and benefactor of my family. When we have called upon you in times of need, you have stood close beside us. Come thou forth and partake of these offerings, which we have prepared in thy honour and to the glory of El most high. 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 success and prosperity in all of our undertakings, and that the light of thy wisdom should guide and keep us at all times. In the name of El, Most High god of Zion, Amen.

Repeat the Invitation four 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 remaining offerings in place until the blue candle burns completely away (and no less than four days). Place the remains in a natural place, into running water or at a crossroads.

– End –

So there you have a basic Solomonic invocation and offering ritual – suitable for inclusion in any personal grimoire.  Plus, with an understanding of occult philosophy and a little common sense, you can use the above as a template to create similar rituals for any Planet or other force of nature.  Let’s take a look at this ritual in action:

On the Wednesday night before we left for FPG, I cleaned up the temple room and set up an altar for Iophiel:

Erecting the Altar

In this picture, you see the basic altar set-up.  The blue cloth is visible.  Iophiel’s statue has the place of honor in the East, presiding over the altar itself.  In the center is a Jupiter talisman that was consecrated at the mother temple of the Golden Dawn – so it is not specifically a Iophiel talisman.  The censor is in place, and I have ready the invocations I created along with the Bible from which I will read the Psalms.  The pen and strips of paper in the upper left corner had been consecrated according to the Key of Solomon some time before.

Petitions for Iophiel

At the Feet of Iophiel

The pen and paper were used to write out petitions or notes to Iophiel.  Each adult in the house wrote their own personal message, concerning the household or workplace, etc.  You can see my rather generalized request for Jupiterian blessings in the photo.  After writing their notes, each person folded their paper four times toward themselves. It is not required for anyone to read aloud or reveal to anyone else what is in their note.  These were then laid at Iophiel’s feet upon the altar, along with any personal talismans we desired Iophiel to touch and bless during the rite.

Cornucopia Jupiter Offerings

Here you can see the Jupiterian offerings we gathered for Iophiel.  Four kinds of grain/cereal, apples, grapes, green pepper (due to its sweetness), four ears of corn, honey, wine and a blue glass that will hold milk.  (Notice how these Jupiter offerings look as if they spilled out of a traditional cornucopia.)  I would have offered Iophiel honey mead if I could have located some in time.  However, I was able to get Reisling – a fruity wine that comes in an appropriately-colored blue bottle.

Also, I usually include bread to go with the honey.  However, as we were gathering the offerings, my wife inspired me to bake my own “Jupiter cakes” out of the grains I wanted to offer – so I did just that:

Jupiter Cake Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for the Jupiter cakes.  Four kinds of grain: flour, cornmeal, oatmeal and barley.  You can choose other grains and cereals as you wish, but I would suggest keeping the barley.  It has a particularly strong association with Jupiter.

I put 1/4 cup of each of the four grains into the mixing bowl, and added 1/2 cup of milk.  Then I mixed it together with my hands.  (For an added kick, recite one of the Jupiter Psalms as you do so.)  The result is something like biscuit batter:

1/4 cup of each grain

1/2 cup of milk

Mix together with your hands

I then poured the batter in four portions onto a greased cookie sheet and baked them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  The result smelled wonderful.

Jupiter Cakes before baking

Jupiter Cakes after baking

Jupiter Cakes on Iophiel’s Altar

Finally, the finished cakes were placed on a blue plate and set – still warm – on the altar.  Dawn was still a couple of hours away, so I covered them with a white cloth.

Before Dawn

I then arranged most of the offerings upon the altar – saving the fruits, vegetables and milk that needed to stay in the refrigerator until the last minute.  I also found a bundle of wheat in the temple (we had used some stalks from it in a previous offering), so I included four stalks from it on this altar as well.  (Note, at this time I did not know to use four candles for Jupiter, nor to include water.  Remember that a single candle will always work in a pinch, but always include water!)  There was nothing left but to wait until dawn to perform the invocations.

At Dawn

Here is the altar at dawn.  The camera flash makes it hard to see, but the window has been opened to allow the rays of dawn to fall upon the altar.  You can see I’ve brought in the fruits and vegetables – each one divided into four pieces.  (There were 16 grapes.)  There is now milk in the glass, the wine is opened and the honey poured upon the Jupiter cakes.  The candle and the incense were lit with Solomonic exorcisms, and then the altar was exorcised and sprinkled with the holy water sprinkler.

Holy Water and Sprinkler

Finally, it was time to recite the invocations and the Psalms, calling Iophiel down to enjoy the offerings of thanksgiving.  After the ritual was complete, I received the strong urge to partake of the offerings.  So I took a sip of the wine, a bite of an apple and a green pepper, and a nibble of one of the honey-covered Jupiter cakes with a swallow of the milk to wash it down.  (The cake tasted pretty good, actually.)  I could feel Iophiel’s presence coursing through me – enhanced considerably by the eucharist.  I invited the others in the house to also share in Iophiel’s feast – which the Angel seemed to greatly enjoy.  (In fact, I got the message that it would have insulted him if we had not done so.)

We left the altar as you see it above and two of us left for the festival.  (Others in the house were invited to go in once to share the offerings, and otherwise stay out of the temple room.)

Results

I didn’t know it yet, but I was already holding in my hand a good omen that Iophiel was with us.  I had received my royalty check a few days previously, and had not bothered to open the envelope.  I planned to deposit it in the bank on the way to the festival – so we could stop and pick up some last-minute necessities – and only read the enclosed statement once I got to the teller window.  I found a heavier check than I expected, and a notice that The Angelical Language, Vol. II is being translated into French!  This was certainly starting our trip off on the right foot!

I’ve already posted my write-up of the wonderful time we had at FPG Beltaine.  The business side of the venture went very well.  We didn’t get rich – but I sold out of my copies of Secrets of the Magickal Grimories and even sold a few of the Angelical Language books.  Carrie did very well selling henna tattoos.  We took home a worthwhile profit even after spending all-too-much on new toys and treats for ourselves and gifts for our friends.

Throughout the four days we were away from home, we saw small omens and indications of Iophiel’s presence with us.  For example, one of the very first gifts Carrie and I were given by friends at the festival was a bottle of home made honey-mead – the very drink I had wanted to offer to Iophiel!  On the way home, a completely random (and uncharacteristic) action on my part resulted in the discovery and repair of what was nearly a major vehicular disaster.  Instead, it cost us 20 minutes and a mere $40 to repair and get on our way.  Further down the road we took another uncharacteristic action by stopping at a u-pick blackberry farm, and actually stood in the baking sun picking fresh blackberries from vines grown in our native home soil.  Iophiel the gardener was pleased.  At last, we made it back home to examine the altar:

Altar after four days – 1

Altar after four days – 2

Altar after four days – 3

After four days, we came home and found the blue candle burning its very last bit of fuel.  (Meaning it had burned the entire time we were gone.)  When it finally went out, it had been exactly four days – and you can see in the above photos how fresh the fruit and vegetables have remained.  They have obviously dried out a bit, but there is no rot or discoloration and not a bug to be found.  Once we took these off the altar, we saw discoloration and rot set in within a day, and flies had already begun to investigate it.  The food items – along with the petitions we had written – were wrapped up and tossed into a nearby river soon afterward.

Because I had obtained honey-mead and fresh blackberries during my Beltaine adventure, I felt it appropriate to offer them to Iophiel as an extra thanks for all of his help throughout the trip.  We, of course, all shared some of the mead and berries.  This offering is on the altar as I write, and will remain there for four days.  Also pictured is a new mortar and pestal I bought at the festival – I made sure the first incense made in it was Iophiel’s:

Secondary Iophiel Offering

And that brings to a close my Solomonic invocation of the Archangel Iophiel – our friend and family protector.  I am happy to report a general increase in our finances and household organiziation since re-invigorating Iophiel.  As I stated before, this invocation was long overdue!  I hope this has been informative for you in your own practice.

Zorge,

Aaron

The Mixed Qabalah of Abramelin

As many of you know, I recently published an essay entitled The Return of Psalm Magick and the Mixed Qabalah.  (Find it in both Hoodoo and Conjure Quarterly and Diamond Fire Magazine.)  In that essay, I reviewed two books released by Avalonia Publishing, one of which was A Collection of Magical Secrets & a Treatise of Mixed Cabalah by Skinner and Rankine.  This is two different pamphlets published together, and I found myself utterly captivated by A Treatise of Mixed Cabalah.

Anyone who has read the Book of Abramelin (French or German) understands why that title would peak my interest.  Within his autobiographical material, Abraham the Jew explains that there are only three types of true magick: The Qabalah, the True and Sacred Magick (i.e., of Abramelin) and the “Mixed Qabalah.”  He goes on to elaborate the Mixed Qabalah by listing its different categories and types – but he really only succeeds in making the entire subject obscure.  We are only left with the impression that the Mixed Qabalah is some kind of blending of Qabalistic wisdom and classical magickal arts such as alchemy, astrology, herbology and divination by visions.

Those who have only read the French (aka “Mathers”) version of Abramelin have missed an important part of the puzzle.  Mathers decided to remove one of the Books of Abramelin from his publication of the grimoire – and that happened to be Book II, containing several chapters of folk magick-style spells.  Not realizing that this book represented the Mixed Qabalah that Abraham described in the first book, Mathers assumed it was just a collection of low-magickal formulas that had been added to the text at a later date.  He was obviously incorrect – and his deletion of that material made Abraham’s ramblings about Mixed Qabalah even harder to understand.

What we find in the restored Book II (see Georg Dehn’s Book of Abramelin) is fairly standard scriptural magick – like we would find in Use of the Psalms or Avalonia’s recent publication of The Book of Gold.  The main difference is that those examples focus entirely on the Psalms, while Abramelin’s Book II makes use of scripture from various books of the Bible.  Each chapter focuses upon a specific goal, most of which are fairly typical of grimoiric literature:  healing, love, protection, warfare, birth, addressing nobility, etc, etc.  In each case a prayer or scripture is given along with basic instructions on how to apply it.  Here is a good example:

Chapter 5, Spell 1:  Against Tempests, Ghosts and Visions Prepared by Evil People

Take flowing water, throw in some grains of salt.  Then, with the blood of a wether or steer – into which has been mixed sulfur and gall – write the words below.  Wash this off with the salt water.  Sprinkle this water at the tempest or against the vision.

Adonai Zebaoth, threaten them, so that they will fly away.  Haunt them like the wind puts dust upon the hills, and like the tempest comes before the whirlwind. [-adapted from Isaiah 17:13]

I would assume the prayer is written upon parchment.  A dip-pen would be used to write the words, and then the salted water used to wash off the still-wet ink.  (The parchment, pen, water and even the ink can all be consecrated beforehand.)  The water/ink mixture is caught in a bowl, and it can then be used for the given purpose of the spell.

This is just the kind of magick I’m into, and as a devotee of the Abramelin system I was eager to try one of the formulas.  I found a good reason when we moved into a new home just over a year ago.  I wanted to use the following spell from chapter five to protect the property:

Chapter Five, Spell 3: That Evil People and Magic Cannot Damage Your House

Write on seven tablets of pure beeswax.  Bury them in seven locations around your boundaries, or place them under the edges of the roof of your house.  The house will be secure, evil will not be able to approach.  The words:

The godless have pleasure from doing harm, but the seed of the righteous will bear fruit. [- adapted from Proverbs 11:21]

It seemed straightforward enough, with a kind of Hoodoo simplicity about it.  No elaborate instructions, just inscribe the words on the proper material and bury them around the property.  So we did just that.  We cast seven beeswax disks, inscribed the words and buried them at seven points around the property (in the form of a giant heptagram).  We even did the burial at midnight.

Our first try was not without its issues.  First, the seventh wax disk had come out of its mold slightly deformed.  I didn’t like it, but the text didn’t mention what shape the wax had to be, so I felt there was no harm in using it as-is.  However, over several weeks after I buried that talisman, I noticed that grass was refusing to re-grow over the spot.

Another issue that nagged at me was the utter lack of any ritual in the preparation or burying of these talismans.  Others in the house mentioned this same thing – but since I always support following a text’s instructions without addition or subtraction the first time out, I decided against adding consecrations or invocations of my own design.  (We did add the burial of the talismans at midnight.)  Still, even I felt like something was missing.

At first, the talismans seemed to work.  Some neighborhood kids, more mischievous than anything, had stolen several items from our front porch. They were caught in the act, and between my wife and their parents we had every single item returned within minutes.  So I decided not to worry about the deformed talisman, the barren spot over it or the fact that we had created and buried all seven of them without consecration or ritual.

And then some idiot decided to chuck a rock through the back windshield of our car.  We were only away from the car for about an hour, and in that time one of the local kids who sometimes use our street as a shortcut must have vandalized our property to impress his friends.  I was steaming mad (still am!), but I wasn’t shocked.  You see, the car had been parked right next to that deformed talisman where the grass refused to grow.  I could no longer fool myself into believing the talismans were “just fine” – they were in fact an utter failure.  I made plans to remake the talismans, this time fully consecrating them before burying them – and put the project on my “important magickal projects to-do ASAP” list.

A Treatise of Mixed Cabalah

Skip forward a few weeks, and Avalonia sent me a copy of A Treatise of Mixed Cabalah: Which Comprises the Angelic Art taken from Hebrew Sages.  This was the first indication I had ever seen that the “Mixed Qabalah” was anything more than an invention of Abraham the Jew.  Here was a book, completely unrelated to Abramelin, written maybe as recently as the late eighteenth century.  Its existence implies that the Mixed Qabalah was in fact an established tradition – very nearly lost to the history of Western occultism.

The pamphlet is divided into two parts.  The first is a lengthy angelic invocation based upon older Jewish customs of invoking angels (often Metatron) to teach the mysteries of Torah.  In A Treatise… the focus is upon the seven planetary archangels and having them teach one the mysteries of Qabalah.  Quite fascinating (and something I must undertake someday!) – but it didn’t grab my attention quite as much as the second part.  This was an eight-day ritual for the consecration and fashioning of talismans.

In just one simple (yet extended) ritual, this short text provided a nearly complete magickal art.  It calls upon the same seven archangels as the previous part (Cassiel, Sachiel, Samael, Michael, Anael, Raphael and Gabriel) and the ritual comprises both the consecration of the talismata material (wax or metal) and the enlivening of the completed talisman at the same time.  Right away, I knew this could be used to create insanely powerful talismans for any imaginable purpose.  Not only that, but it solved the problem of what was “missing” from my first attempt to use the house-protection formula from Abramelin.

I gave an outline of the consecration ritual in my The Return of Psalm Magick and the Mixed Qabalah essay, so I won’t duplicate all of that here.  I am going to outline the entire process I followed below, so you’ll get the same information.  Plus I’m going to elaborate quite a bit, and give English translations for the Latin invocations given in the text.  (Thanks to Carrie Mikell for her translation work.)

Enlivening the Wax Talismans of Abramelin

First, I want to state right away that I was unable to follow good magickal timing for this project.  The given ritual does not mention timing – however the first half of the pamphlet insists upon a waxing moon, and I can only assume the same applies to the second half.  Personally, I also try to generate astrological charts to find the best days to do the work.  In this case, we were under pressure to get this work done as quickly as possible, so we can continue forward with bigger projects – some of which demand specific timing.  Thus, I went forward without consideration of timing – though it’s not something I recommend in general (especially for beginners).

There was also one point in which I deviated from the Treatise….   The text states that you must live “without sin” for seven months before attempting the ritual.  This raises all sorts of questions regarding what the author meant by “sin.”  Likely sex outside of marriage should be prohibited, along with gambling, getting drunk, etc.  And certainly one must keep the 10 commandments.  If we look at the subject outside a purely Judeo-Christian context, we find that “sin” means any action taken or taboo broken that offends your Patron God.  On most of these points I’m pretty cool, and if I really do something to piss off my God, my Guardian Angel lets me know.  I certainly didn’t think I’d been living a life of ‘sin” by my understanding of the term.

Of course, as a Solomonic mage, I want to interpret “live free of sin for seven months” as an instruction to perform ritual purifications for seven months – similar to Abramelin.  And this is where I feel I deviated from the text.  Rather than spend seven months in preparation for the magick, I decided to substitute a seven-day Solomonic preparation.  While I don’t feel this harmed the outcome of the magick at all, I will certainly admit that a seven-month purification would have been even more powerful.  I could see doing this for operations of truly life-altering importance.

Meanwhile, here is how I prepared for the rite:   It really began on the Wednesday before I started the purifications.  Just before an hour of Mercury, I performed a full Solomonic Bath followed by the consecration of holy water.  (The ritual in A Treatise… calls for holy water on the seventh day.  In one place it refers to it as “rose water”, so I also added some dried rose petals to the water and let them soak for a couple of days.)

After I had made the holy water (before I threw in the rose petals, in fact), I got the sudden urge to use it to (re-)consecrate my temple-space.  I just recently had a Bible returned to my possession that I had thought long-lost.  It was a very important talisman to me, and I was ecstatic to have it to work with again.  So I took up that Bible and read Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 6:13-42) while I circumambulated the temple again and again, sprinkling everything in sight with the water and aspergillum.

The following Tuesday, I began the week of purification.  Because the consecration ritual is itself a week of purification, I kept this preliminary week simple.  I made sure I had no social engagements scheduled, cut back on sexual stimulation and began a vegetarian diet.  Also, I would recite a pair of invocations from the Key of Solomon once in the morning and twice in the evening.   (You can find them on p. 215-216 of Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, or in the Key of Solomon, Book Two, Chapter 4).

On the following Tuesday, I began the ritual as outlined in A Treatise of Mixed Cabalah. The pamphlet instructs one to begin the work on the day of the angel you wish to invoke.  In my case, I wished to invoke Samael (Mars) to create guardian talismans for the protection of my home.  At dawn, I washed and entered the temple.  According to my own habit, I put on the white robe and opened the blinds to let in the dawn light upon the altar.  I lit a white candle in my Solomnic lantern, and kindled coals for my censor.  A Treatise… says to use pleasant odors for good things and evil odors for bad things.  I chose to use a Martian incense:

Pipe Tobacco, 1 pt

Cinnamon, 1/2 pt

Crushed Red Pepper, 1/8th pt

WARNING!: Martian incense is one of the most dangerous substances I’ve worked with!  It is, quite simply, tear gas.  If you make this, do not add too much red pepper.  And when you burn it, do it in small quantities. Never, for any reason, lean over the censor and inhale or draw in breath!  Too much pepper or direct inhalation can burn your throat and lungs.

I know it sounds horrible, and I did cough a bit the first couple of days I used it.  But once you get used to it, it has a rather pleasant smell.  (That is, beneath a powerful burning smell.)

I had the wax I was going to consecrate on the altar in a steel bowl.  Facing East, I held my hand over the bowl and recited the following three invocations seven times:

Blessing Prayers (see A Treatise… p 103-104 for the Latin)

Psalm 3:2-9:

Why, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me?  Many are they that rise up against me.  Many say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God.  But thou, O Lord, art my protector, my glory and the lifter up of my head.  I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and He hath heard me from his holy hill.  I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up because the Lord hath protected me.  I will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me:  Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God!  For thou hast struck them all who are my adversaries without cause: thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.  Salvation is of the Lord: and thy blessing is upon this creature of [wax].

From Psalm 133:

Behold, now bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord who stand in the House of the Lord.  In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless ye the Lord.  May the Lord out of Zion bless thee, thou creature of [wax]. he that made heaven and earth.

Oration

O Lord God, distribute the whole of thy knowledge and your every perfected virtue and kindness upon this creature of [wax].  Bless it, O Lord, and sanctify it so that you would drive away all our enemies who attack us within your sight, and stand victorious.  Through thy holy Name which is exalted unto the ages.  Amen.

It’s amazing how perfect these invocations were for my goal of protecting the house.  (I’ll have further thoughts on this later.)  After completing the invocations seven times, I took the wax, the book and the censor – leaving the candle burning in the lantern on the altar – and went out to the kitchen.

There, on the stove, I had a pot of water on to boil.  (I turned it on before entering the temple, so it was just boiling when I came out.)  I set the steel bowl full of wax onto the pot of water like a lid – thereby creating a double-boiler to safely melt the wax.  As the wax melted, I put fresh incense on the censor and passed it around and around the steel bowl as I recited seven times the passage that would eventually be inscribed in the finished wax:  “The godless have pleasure from doing harm, but the seed of the righteous shall bear fruit.”  Then I recited the two following invocations:

Primary Invocations.  (See A Treatise…, p 100 for the Latin)

Prayer

Almighty and Everlasting God, who formed all of creation in thy praise and thy honour, and also in the service of Man.  I pray unto thee to send forth and cause to appear before me the worthy spirit [ANGEL] to instruct me in the ways of equity and worth.  Let me volunteer no truth, but through thy Holy Name.  Thou art exalted through the ages.

Prayer to the Angel

I entreat you, o good angel [ANGEL], who is set in the day of [DAY], that the Lord, thy God and mine, who placed in thee power and strength above every intelligence and force, I beseech thee, that thou permit me to receive [_______] and that which will assist me and support me, and that you take this, my name [______] and make it strong beside you.  And through this operation, I will be given light and instruction in this science.  Amen Amen Amen.  Fiat Fiat Fiat.

The Angel in question was, of course, Samael – the angel of Mars and Tuesday.  (Some traditions call him Khamael – the result of mistaking a Hebrew Samekh for a Khaph.)

After making the invocations, I just had to wait for the wax to completely melt.  A Treatise… is giving instructions for making one talisman at a time, but I was working with enough wax for seven!  If I had been melting less wax, I’m sure it would have completely melted by the time I finished the invocations.

Finally, the melted wax had to be quenched in white wine purchased specifically for this purpose.  (If I were making a metal talisman, I would have heated it until it was red and then quenched it.)  Because I had never cast molten wax into cool liquid, I feared it might result in an explosion – akin to tossing water into hot grease.  So, for the quenching I stepped out onto my back patio, with my wife attending to see the fireworks.  I had to recite the scriptural phrase (“The godless have pleasure from doing harm…”) once again as I poured the wax into the pot of wine, and to our amazement no explosion resulted!

Interesting side note: as my wife and I peered into the rapidly cooling pot of wax and wine, we became aware of a rather large bumble bee buzzing around the pot.  It paid no attention to us whatsoever, but was doubtlessly inspecting the familiar odors coming from the warm pot.  I remembered in that instant that the bee is a classic symbol of the Goddess, and I took this as a very good omen for the work we were undertaking.

There was nothing left but to let the wax cool.  I went back to the temple, burned some incense on the dying coal, said prayers of thanks to God and Samael and put out the candle.  After the wax had plenty of time to cool, I removed it from the pot and returned it to the steel bowl.  (While some liquid remained trapped in pockets in the wax, most of it had gathered beneath the cooled wax in the pot.)

The next six days were the same.  I also continued my vegetarian diet, cut off all sexual stimulation and engaged in no social activities.  Also, I did not call upon Samael on all seven days.  While I did make use of the same Martian incense throughout the process, I actually called upon the angel who ruled the day in question.  So Samael was followed by Raphael, then Sachiel, Anael, Cassiel, Michael and finally Gabriel.  This way, the martial aspects of each of the seven archangels were invoked to add their blesing and power to the wax.

The only other thing to change during these seven days, was the use of holy rose-water instead of white wine to quench the melted wax on the seventh day.  Of course, once I learned that quenching the wax would not result in an explosion, I performed the quenching in the kitchen from the second day forward.

During these seven days, my wife was performing her own ritual purifications.  She started a vegetarian diet and cut off all sexual stimulation.  She also prepared the mould we would use to cast the seven wax talismans:

A Treatise… gives the design for the talisman – a heptagram with a heptagon nested within it (likely inspired by the Sigillum Aemeth made famous by Dr. John Dee).  In each angle of the heptagram is written a specific Hebrew Name of God, and in each corresponding side of the heptagon is the name of one of the seven archangels.  The center is left blank for the inscription of a verse.  (A Treatise… includes Psalm verses for many different uses, though I was of course using the verse taken from the Book of Abramelin.)  You indicate which archangel you are invoking simply by orienting that name at the top of the talisman before you inscribe the verse in the center.

Since we had seven talismans to create, we decided to make a mould of the Treatise‘s heptacle – leaving the center blank so we could also use the mould for future purposes.  This way, my wife only had to carve the heptacle design once, and then inscribe the verse upon each cast talisman.

Something else interesting happened during this week.  I was sitting in the temple one evening, looking over the work my wife was doing on the mould.  (At that time it was still a design on paper.)  I wanted a better look at it, and reached up to turn on the lamp she keeps on a shelf just above her art table.  I looked back down to get that closer look at the design – and the lamp came crashing down onto the desk!  Objects went flying all over the place, including a glass vessel – after which I heard an incredible shattering sound on the floor beneath the table, right around my bare feet.  A burst of anger flashed through me at the thought of the mess, and the small bits of glass we were sure to find with our naked feet for weeks.  I looked down to see the extent of the damage – and found the vessel had not shattered at all.  A small piece of it had broken off, but it was basically ok.  The shattering sound had, in fact, been a container of nails that had been knocked down by the falling lamp, sending the nails scattering across the tile floor.

As the flash of anger subsided and I stooped down to gather up the nails, I considered why such a thing would have happened inside the temple.  It hit me as I reached to scoop up yet another handful of nails… which are traditional symbols of martian magick.  The sudden calamity, the scattered nails, the intense flash of anger – it was obvious I was getting Samael’s attention.

Finally, the seven days were over.  The wax had been blessed, melted and quenched seven times, each time having the verse that would later be inscribed into it recited over it seven-plus-one times.  On the eighth day, well before dawn, my wife took a full Solomonic Bath.  I followed her with a very simple bath of my own – using just one set of Barbarous Names and a prayer or two from the Key.  By the time I was done she was in her white robe and waiting in the kitchen.

I came in with the wax in the steel pot, the book, the Solomonic lantern and censor (both already lit).  I turned on the stove to boil the water, and as it heated up, I recited the following consecration over the burner:

Blessing of the Fire  (See A Treatise…, p 105 for the Latin)

Bless, O God, this creature of fire, so that it is strong and effective in my petition to your kindness and your almighty power.  Through thy most holy name which is exalted through the ages.  Amen.

I then repeated the same process as on the previous days:  I melted the wax on the stove while I perfumed it and recited the verse (“The godless have pleasure from doing harm…”) seven times.  Then I recited the prayer and invocation for the angel of the day once again, calling upon Samael with extra emphasis.

Once the wax had melted for the final time, we used Pam to lightly coat the mould and then poured in some of the wax.  We placed it gently into the freezer to set for a few minutes, then gently removed it from the mould. My wife set about repairing any imperfections left by the mould and inscribing the verse (making sure Samael was at the top), while I re-coated the mould with Pam, poured in more wax and returned it to the freezer.  I also made sure the candle stayed lit in the lantern (had to replace it once) and that perfumes were put on the censor every now and again.

Now this is interesting.  This process worked as smooth as silk for the first five talismans.  And that’s when Samael, the haSathan himself, began to make his presence known.  Talismans six and seven began to fight our attempts to cast them.  Number six was recast once or twice, but number seven took at least five (there’s that number again) attempts before it began to cooperate.  There would either be bubbles in the final result, or impurities from the censor, or I would drop it trying to remove it from the mold, etc, etc.  Just as I had experienced in the temple with the nails, I found myself getting angry – and more-so each time I had to re-cast.  By the time it was over, I was absolutely livid – not ranting and raving like a madman, but certainly boiling like a pressure cooker inside.  The lamp and censor had long since burned out.

My part mostly done, I went into the living room and sat to calm down for a bit.  My wife inscribed the final disk, at last, and recited the following prayer over the seven completed talismans:

Prayer after inscribing the Heptacle  (See A Treatise…, p 106 for the Latin)

I come to you, all-powerful and eternal God, and to all the Angels of God, be thou propitious unto me, [______], whose names are written by my hand in this [waxen] symbol.  And be mine help in obtaining [_______], by thy most holy names, and by all the virtues of the Creator, the Lord our God, who is exalted through the Ages.

After this, I returned to the temple to recite prayers of thanks to the Highest and to Samael and close things down.  Afterward, I was still irritable – so we went to lunch (where I had meat for the first time in two weeks!) and then I went to bed.

Later that night (still Tuesday), we buried the talismans.  We decided to stick with midnight, just to add a Hoodoo flare to the burial, though we might have chosen an hour of Mars just as well.  Starting in the East, we buried the talismans as we had before – in seven locations around the property, marking out a giant heptagon- walking clockwise the entire way.  At each burial, I would recite the verse inscribed upon the talisman once again, then bless the ground with the recitation of the Qabalistic Cross.  Once we returned to the Eastern point, I raised my hands and said a prayer of thanks to the Highest and Samael – invoking Samael to send his servient angels to patrol the borders of our land and protect our home from all harm and evil magick.

Results of the Operation

The next day, me and my wife (who also happens to be my skryer/medium) discussed the immediate results of the magick.  I had received a strong impression that Samael wanted us to place an offering over the talisman we buried in the East.  I was thinking about hot peppers, rum, cigars and I had a strong feeling about adding some of the nails from the earlier incident in the temple.  My wife said she had received a similar message about leaving offerings – including nails as well as a gun and a machete(!).

I fully understand why the spirits involved would want those weapons.  However, in order to do that we would have to bury them quite deep (and make sure the gun can’t be used if it were ever found).  However, I dislike the idea of burying offerings intended for celestial entities.  When we return next Tuesday to make the offerings, we will likely use a pendulum or another method to divine exactly how to properly and safely offer them the weapons.

The night we buried the talismans, my wife also had a dream/vision in which she saw the angels placed by Samael over the talismans.  She described them as a very dark rust color, with large dark wings and faces that would otherwise seem demonic.  They were, of course, carrying very large swords.  Each one patrolled an area around his talisman, and all seven of them chattered back and forth in a language she could not understand.  (It was likely Angelical, but not the dialect we know from the 48 Calls.)  She was, however, told that each of these angels would like us to know its name – and if we wanted to work with them directly, they would like us to set up seven “Solomnic prendas” for them near our front door on the porch.  We may just look into doing that.

Some Thoughts on Changes…

Now that I’ve been through this operation and have a good idea how it works, I have some ideas on changes I’ll make next time around.  First, I noticed that the first Psalm used for the Blessing Prayers in A Treatise… (Psalm 3) was absolutely perfect for my intended goal – the protection of my home from any potential enemies or criminals.  However, I have to question how appropriate that same Psalm would be for- say- a Talismans for prosperity, or for love, or for the success of a business enterprise, etc, etc.  I believe that Psalm could be changed depending on your magickal goal, and I will likely do this in the future.

Secondly, the invocations given A Treatise… for God and the Angel of the day are actually taken from the operation in the first part of the pamphlet.  The second part simply refers you to those prayers and says to use them.  However, as you can see above, those two prayers are specifically geared toward having the Angel appear before you and teach you things.  This is not the goal of the second part of the book.  Therefore, I suggest these two prayers should be used as examples, but need to be slightly re-worded for use with the consecration rite.  When I use this process in the future, I will make that small change.

And that concludes the write-up of my first experiment with A Treatise of Mixed Cabalah. We will be making the offerings next Tuesday at dawn, but I will not likely share the information we learn from that point.  This has been an exhausting yet rewarding experience.

Update (4-10-11):  The Offerings

The Tuesday following the above work, we did indeed return to make an offering to Samael and his Angels.

It partly consisted of the wax left over from making the seven talismans (which was well consecrated to Mars and Samael) with seven of the previously-mentioned nails thrust into it.  (I chose seven so there would be one for each buried talisman.)  It also included five pieces of bread covered with milk and honey, five hot peppers, five cigars and red wine.  This was all arranged (or poured out) at the Eastern boundary of our property, over the spot where we had buried the first talisman.  I repeated the two invocations (one to God, one to Samael) I had used throughout the consecration ritual, then stated that I had brought the offerings in thanksgiving, lit one of the cigars and blew five puffs of the smoke onto the offerings.

We attempted to perform divinations to ask about the gun and blade, and how we should offer them.  However, we got little result – and my wife reported that Samael was claiming to be “busy with something elsewhere” and could not attend to our questions.  We will probably re-visit this issue at a later date, but for now we’ve put it aside.

Zorge

Aaron Leitch