“To Cure the Sick and That, Gratis:” Successful Healings Using Hybrid Solomonic-Conjure Methods

By Frater S.C.F.V.

A. Introduction: Healing by Fire, Oil, and Herb

After having three people near me require healing in a short period of time and wanting to help them as best I could, I plunged into analyzing 13 different Conjure and Rootwork Formulas for Healing Oil in an attempt to better understand how they work so that I could optimize a Healing Oil to help those around me.

Having created my own 11-Herb formula, I designed a method that would enable me to promote the healing of three individuals within the same working. The method ended up being a hybrid form of Solomonic magic and Rootwork, which, combined with the Healing Oil formula, ended up producing results which, to me, were nothing short of amazing…

B. Talismanic Design: At the Crossroads of Health and Illness

As the base of this method, I opted to use my consecrated Tablet of Lights, which I made following Balthazar’s (2018) Solomonic Conjure method. This method involves consecrating a dedicated surface (e.g. large white plate in my case) using formulae from the Key of Solomon adapted to the task (Peterson, 2004).

In Balthazar’s original method, consecrated chalk markers are used to draw relevant symbols–often Key of Solomon Planetary Pentacles relevant to the task at hand–on the Tablet of Lights. I have previously used such chalk markers, which I consecrated along with white chalk on the Day of Epiphany both in my own home Temple and by Mass at Church using hybrid elements of the Key of Solomon, Carmelite Chalk Blessing, and Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses (Peterson, 2016). However, today, I opted to use consecrated glass markers, that is, markers that are water-soluble, so can be washed off, and useful to write on both glass and ceramic, as well as dry-erase markers. Both ended up tracing very clear and vibrant lines on the Tablet service, which can be helpful information who are looking for a tool for this purpose, that is, to inscribe magical figures in a robust but non-permanent manner.

More and more, however, instead of lifting Pentacle designs for the Tablet from particular grimoires as in Bathazar’s original method, I have been communicating with my Spirits and asking them to guide me to draw the design needed for the ritual at hand. The idea is to continue to work within the scope of the tradition, but enlivened, guided, and tailored by the relationships I have with my Spirits. These designs seem to “flow from the pen,” one part at a time, as if the Spirits were saying “draw this. Now write this name. Now draw this.” Then, looking back at it, the whole gestalt or pattern comes into view, but not from a place or rational forethought, calculating, or planning-in-advance, like an epiphany or a vision.

To quote the Science Photo Library: This is a “17th century engraving symbolizing the search for knowledge in alchemy. The naked figure is the god Mercury or Hermes, the messenger of the gods. In each hand he holds a caduceus, his symbol. The two other men carry a sword with a serpent wrapped around it, and a sword with a cockerel on it; these are both symbols associated with Aesculapius, the god of medicine. The Sun and Moon represent the two alchemical essences. In Greek mythology, Hermes was believed to have power over sleep and dreams. Aesculapius was believed to dispense medical knowledge by using dreams. Image from 1677.”

In this case, I was drawn to produce a form that started out with the structure of a Caduceus, referencing healing and Hermes Trismegistus, and therefore, magic. However, this design omitted the serpents. Instead, another “pole” was added to form a Cross with a Rose in the Center, in refence to the Rose Cross. The Fama Fraternitatis, one of the fundamental manifestos of the founding of Rosicrucianism, says that Rosicrucian Brotherhood do not “profess any other thing than to cure the sick, and that gratis.”

As this was a ritual for healing done for free, out of love and a wish to be of service, it seemed appropriate. In addition, in reference to the Caduceus, it is worth noting that I did not know this at the time, but it was revealed to me later that another reason the Spirits had me draw the Caduceus is because the Waxing Moon was moving from the Lunar Mansion of Al-Iklil (the Monkey, for protection) and into the Lunar Mansion of Al-Kalb (the Caduceus – to heal and prevent illness) at the very time I would end up performing the candle working…

The Three 3 Initial Rosicrucian Manifestoes: the Fama Fraternitatis (1614), the Confessio Fraternitatis (1615), and The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (1616). It’s worth noting, as Samuel Robinson has pointed out, that there is also a fourth Rosicrucian Manifesto, which is the Speculum Sophicum Rhodostauroticum (1618).

In addition, the Crossroads and the 5-Spot pattern of Hoodoo inspired the structure of this Talismanic figure. At the top, a golden Sun was drawn to symbolize both Keter as the Sephirotic Source of Light in the Kabbalistic system and the Light of Healing, itself a reference to the Golden Dawn Neophyte Grade Ritual (“the Light hath Healing in its Wings”).

The Caduceus wings have seven sections, seven for the 7 Planets, 7 Archangels of the Heptameron/ Lucidarium system, and 7 Olympic Spirits of the Arbatel system. When I reached out to the Archangels and Olympic Spirits to see who would assist with this work, the two triads of Raphael-Michael-Sachiel (Mercury-Sun-Jupiter) and their corresponding Olympic Spirits (Ophiel-Och-Bethor) stepped forward.

Therefore, the Angels’ names in Hebrew were included alongside the Olympic Spirits’ standard Sigils from the Arbatel. Finally, a powerful Divine Name of healing, YHVH Rapha (“God of Healing”) was included at the top of the Talismanic figure, to rule over and energize all of its contents, as well as to drive the “energy” of the healing involved in the ritual itself.

The herb “Self-Heal,” a central ingredient in my personal Healing Oil formula.

C. Foci and Curative Aims: The 3 Targets of the Work and Their Ailments

This hybrid ritual was targeted at three individuals, all of whom I know and care about, two here in Montreal, and one, a friend in Nigeria, Africa.

First, J.P., here in Montreal, has been complaining of “muscular pain going down my sides, great nausea making me throw up and making it hard for me to keep any food down, and disrupting my sleep…” His ailment was a physical one that impacted his psychological experience (e.g. by disrupting sleep).

Second, C.L., also in Montreal, has been suffering from “a burning feeling in my mouth, swelling around my gums, redness, pain, and a general lack of energy, like I’m exhausted all of the time and can barely get anything done…” Therefore, her issue was both physical and psychological.

Finally, C.O., in Nigeria, Africa, has been struggling with a debilitating “pain in my waste and stomach which makes me barely able to stand up, it’s so bad…” This is a strongly physical issue that is causing him significant distress.

I advised all three individuals to consult their doctors about their issues and explained that if needed, I would recommend them to consult a doctor afterwards as well. In addition, I explained to all three people that my approach is one of holistic healing, that is, combining (1) Western medicine with (2) herbalism, and (3) the spiritual, magical, and alchemical uses of herbs. They agreed.

D. Fixing the Candles and Preparing the Body: Ritual Preparation and Set-Up

Having already infused and prayed over my 11-herb Healing Oil, I set it out along with 3 light-blue candles. In Rootwork, light-blue is a colour that is used in candle magic for healing, peace, and spirituality.
Each of the three people to be healed was designated their own candle. I took a pin with a light-blue head at the end of it, and used this to inscribe each candle with the aim of the working for that person. In addition to their full names, the following specifications were inscribed in their respective candles:

For J.P.: “healing, no pain, no nausea in stomach, good appetite, joy, freedom, peace.”

For C.L.: “healing, no burning, pain, or swelling in mouth, energy, joy, peace, love, free.”

For C.O.: “healing, no belly pain, no waist pain, freedom, peace, joy.”

While carving the candles, I looked at photos of the targeted person and repeatedly focused on seeing the candle as an extension of that person, such that my work on the candle connects back to them. I continued to pray until all three candles were inscribed.

Thereafter, I dressed each candle with some left-over 11-Herb Healing Blend and the 11-Herb Healing Oil, drawing the Oil towards me as I dressed it to symbolize drawing the healing towards the client, and ensuring the Oil and Herbs were thoroughly rubbed into the candles.

The bottoms of the candles were warmed and they were then stuck to the Tablet of Lights to fix them in their positions.

The Tablet fixed with the candles was then placed on the dedicated spirit table I have reserved for Raphael and Ophiel in my Temple Room. As noted above, consulting the Archangels and Olympic Spirits, I inquired who wished to help with the healing work at hand and the Jupiter Archangel Sachiel and Sun Archange Michael and the Arbatel Olympic Spirits Bethor, Ophiel, and Och indicated that they would be willing to assist. Therefore, I included the 3 Angels’ statues and the 3 Olympic Spirits’ Arbatel Sigils on the table as well.

In addition, a candle was anointed with Healing Oil and fixed to be offered up to God on behalf of the Spirits, as well as water to refresh them, offerings of Herbs to energize them, and Sandalwood incense. Finally, stones connected to my work with these different Spirits were also included on the table as loci of their power and symbols to bolster the sympathetic resonances of Jupiter, the Sun, and Mercury to be called upon.

In terms of ritual preparation, it is worth noting that 3 days of Cleansing Herbal Baths were completed followed by 7 Nourishing Herbal Baths each night. No alcohol was consumed during this time. No drugs either. Abstinence from masturbation, etc. was also strictly maintained. Food was eaten in moderation.

On the day of the Ritual, I took a purifying Herbal Bath while praying and cleansing myself with Hyssop, Rue, Basil, Mint, Rose, Lavender, and Cocoa Butter. Donning my standard Solomonic regalia, I put on my white robe, Lion Skin Belt, priestly stole, a white cloth wrapped around my head, with my Abramelin Crown over that. Under the robe, I wore my Medallion with the 7 Archangels and 7 Olympic Spirits upon it, anointed in Fiery Wall of Protection Oil. I was nudged to also include the Bell of Art, my Solomonic Wand, and a Wild Turkey feather foraged during my time in Ontario. I brushed my teeth and put on cologne to remove any unappealing odours that might displease the Spirits, a method inspired by Dr. Stephen Skinner. Then I entered the Temple to begin the work.

D. By Invocation, Oil, and Flame: A Hybrid Solomonic-Rootworking for Healing

Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2022. 10 PM to 2:30 AM.
Planetary Timing: Oil and Powder made in the Day and Hour of Mercury. Consecrated and empowered and candlework for healing done in the Hour of Jupiter given work to be done with Sachiel and Bethor.
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent in Libra, good for bringing balance and harmony to situations magically (e.g. health to bodies imbalanced by symptoms and disease).
Lunar Mansion: Al-Iklil (the Monkey, for protection) on cusp of Al-Kalb (the Caduceus to heal and prevent illness).

Having completed my Ritual Bath and put on my ritual clothing, I entered the Temple and begun the ritual by delivering a battery of knocks on the Raphael spirit altar and on my Ancestor altar. I asked my Ancestors to assist in the healing work to be done and asked for the Ancestors of the three people in question to also come to their aid.

I then picked up the Bell of Art and rang it repeatedly in a Cross Formation while saying “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…” I then proceeded through a series of extensive prayers to God as Adonai Rapha, the Lord of Healing, asking for His aid, that He might be glorified through the miracles of his healing work in these three people’s lives and cited multiple healing miracles in the Bible as testaments to Divine Power and asking that similar works be done here. As a side note, the method of citing relevant stories or historiolae (a kind of incantation incorporating a short mythic or scriptural story that provides the paradigm for the desired magical action) as precedents in magical work is discussed in detail in Agrippa’s Third Book of Occult Philosophy.

Next, through prayers by the Divine Names pertaining to healing (YHVH Rapha, Adonai Rapha, and El Elyon Rapha), I called the Angels and Olympic Spirits and throughout used Divine Names of Healing, Adonai Rapha, YHVH Rapha, El Rapha. I lit the Spirit offering candle and 3 Sandalwood sticks symbolizing 4 different triads of 3: One candle for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; One candle for Michael, Sachiel, and Raphael; one candle for Och, Bethor, and Ophiel; One candle for J.P., C.L., and C.O. I offered the candle and incense to the Most High God in their names and then invited the Archangels, Guardian Angels of myself and the 3 targets, the Olympic Spirits, and the Ancestors of myself and the three people to find in them sources of power, refreshment and fuel for their work. The herbs in the Oil and glass of Water were similarly offered with additional prayers said over them.

Next, I cleansed all of the tools and myself with a combination of Solomonic Holy Water made by myself according to the method in the Key of Solomon and some Holy Water consecrated by a Catholic priest and gathered from a Cathedral.

I then asked for the Angels’ and Olympic Spirits help to empower the Healing Oil in the bottles on the altar and anointing the candles, as well as the Healing Sachet Powder also on the table, with the virtues of healing as specified by the Roles of the spirits of the Herbs included in the Healing Oil (please see my article on Healing Oil for more details). I asked for God’s healing power and will to extend the Good and Love to enliven and empower the Oil and Powder as well. I then anointed the heads of each Archangel, my own forehead, and the Sigils of the Spirits with some of the Oil to create a connection between them, myself, the Oil in the bottles, and the Oil on the candles symbolizing the three people to be healed.

Next, I lit the candles for the three people to be healed and prayed that they be linked to their human targets in order to benefit and heal them. I picked up the Turkey Feather I had personally ceremonially gathered while out in a forest, holding my Solomonic Wand in the other hand, and began to use the feather to rhythmically and repeatedly waft the exorcised and consecrated Sandalwood spoke over the Angel statues, Spirit Sigils, Bottles of Healing Oil, Jar of Sachet Powder, myself to cleanse me as the practitioner, and the Tablet of Lights and three Candles of the people to be healed.

While doing so, I prayed personalized prayers for J.P. C.O., and C.L. in turn, praying about exactly which aspects of their bodies and minds needs healing (e.g. for J.P., his belly pain, nausea, and appetite to be healed, and for peace, joy and a feeling of comfort to come to his mind; for C.O. for his waist and belly pain to be healed and for his mind to be filled with peace, joy, freedom from worry and physical pain; for C.L. for her mouth to be free from burning, pain, and swelling, for her lethargy to be enlivened with energy, and for peace, freedom from physical and mental ailments, and a feeling of comfort to fill her mind).

Next, I recited prayers for the Sick from Agostino Taumaturgo, as mentioned in the Healing Oil Article. This was followed with praying Psalms 147, 46, and 27 over the Oil, Powder, and Candle work.

Finally, I asked the Angels and my own Guardian Angel to coordinate with the 3 targets’ Guardian Angels to coordinate their healing, and for my Ancestors to work with their Ancestors to effect their healing as well. I asked each of the 11 Herb Spirits included in the Oil to assist with each of their roles and the 3 Olympic Spirits to help assist the healing in each of their spheres (e.g. Mercury – changing illness to health, governing the crossroads of sickness and health, assisting communication with doctors as needed, etc.; Sun – bringing healing light into the situation, illuminating the causes of the illness and obstacles to health so that the Lemongrass can clear them as a road-opener; Jupiter — expanding health and joy and peace of mind) working in concert with the Archangels. I then prayed more prayers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit again praying for the healing with total confidence that it would come about and giving thanks in advance for the wonders to follow.

I then recited a final series of prayers, closed the Temple, and invited the spirits to continue to enjoy the Offerings while completing their work.

E. Carromancy: Reading the Wax

Examining the candles the next day, I was surprised to see that J.P’s candle was still burning, many hours longer than usual. This suggested to me that the Spirits were still working on him. In addition, I I noted winged forms in the wax that reminded me of Angels, suggesting their work in intervening in the situation. The wax flows that were circular were largely clockwise, suggesting that the work was being done and the healings were progressing. Some substantial wax floods had appeared near C.O.’s candle on the left, suggesting that the impact of the work might be more significant than expected. Finally, some petal-shapes were observed near all three candles, suggesting positive results would flow out of this work. The days that come brought results greatly in harmony with these ‘pictures in the wax.’

Appearance of the wax the next morning, with J.P.’s candle still burning.

E. Astonishing Results: Documented Healings in Action

The next morning, I woke up feeling grounded and a deep and sustained sense of well-being that stuck with me the whole day. I did not remember the last time I felt this clear, joyful, and at peace… I wondered if this might have been an outcome of the ritual, being in the presence of the Angels and Spirits, Divine blessing, the power of the Herbs in the Spiritual Baths, or a combination of all of the above. Either way, I was grateful for it.

I reached out to C.O. first in the morning and asked how he was feeling since I completed the ritual on his behalf. As he was so far away, I could not get some Healing Oil to him, at least not as urgently as he would need it, so the results that he would share could only have come from the candle working, prayers, and intervention of the Spirits.

I was filled with awe at what he shared, for the Lord and Spirits had acted quickly… C.O. said that “My condition has improved tremendously–l can now sit and stand freely! Just little pains which l know will clear up within the next few days. Whatever you did worked like a miracle. I thank the Triune God for using you as a vessel to get me up and running again. I am grateful, brother. May God meet you at your point of need, just like he has used you to meet me at my point of need. I feel born again in mind, body, soul & spirit. I even slept like a baby too!” I told him that I was so happy to hear this and gave glory to God for this blessing. C.O. said “This is the fastest healing ever. God bless you…”

I went to see C.L. and gave her some of the Healing Oil. I instructed her to rub some of it into her cheek over the area of her mouth that was burning, swelling, and reddening. She agreed and rubbed some into her cheek in my presence. Not even minutes later she said “I can’t believe it but… the pain is really going down… wow… what’s in this??” I explained the 11 Herbs in the formula and what role each played as well as how I had spiritually prepared them and which Spirits I had called upon. She said she was “so grateful…” and had tears in her eyes. I checked in with her again in the afternoon and she said she had just applied a little more of the Healing Oil and that “my pain continues to be much lower… and my obstacles to contacting a doctor seem to be gone too… I already got a dentist appointment! Thank you!” Glory be to God! This was the second successful healing.

Finally, after work, I took a vial of Healing Oil and went to see J.P. I asked him how he had been feeling since this morning. He said “I woke up already feeling better… it seems like I had been very constipated. Today, I finally had gas and was able to go the bathroom… My nausea is gone. The pain in my belly area is significantly lower.” I praised God once again and thanked the Spirits for this third healing miracle… I instructed J.P. to keep rubbing some of the Healing Oil into his belly area over the parts that hurt. He said he would also rub it into his painful shoulder and see if it helps with that as well. I wished him all the best and he thanked me for my care and attention in this matter.

On the second day after the work, I checked in with C.O. to see if the healing remained stable or if the situation had changed. C.O. reported “I feel 99% better. It is only minor aches and pains now…” Praise God and the Spirits for their work!

When I checked in with C.L. She reported that when she used the Oil, rubbing it in to her cheek, she felt “a wave of comfort wash over me, not just my mouth, but my whole body… My mouth pain continues to be gone. The burning feeling is gone. I have an appointment with my dentist just to be safe, but I feel so much better.”

Finally, to my surprise, I received a phone call from J.P., the most skeptical of the three, who does not believe in magic; J.P. never calls me, so this made his reaching out even more striking. He said “not only am I feeling better with my stomach pain and nausea and eating better, but there’s something else. I have been rubbing the Oil into my really painful shoulder and… it feels much better. Like I can lift my arm in ways I haven’t been able to for a long time… So thank you..”

Healing candle for M.D.A.

F. Additional Healing Work: More Complex and More Intensive

With the above work thus completed, I thought I was done with healing work for a while. However, shortly after the above work was completed, my dear friend M.D.A., who has taught me a great deal about Esperitismo and often helped me with spiritual work when I was in need, fell very sick shortly after I did the above workings.

I asked if he would consent for me to do some work for him and he agreed as he was truly struggling with everything from fever, soreness, cramping, diarrhea, loss of taste, irritated red eyes, a weight on his chest,, coughing, and fever chills… He tested for COVID-19, but tested negative. To make matters worse, his immunosuppression made the illness, whatever it was, hit him even harder.

In an attempt to help M.D.A., I followed essentially the same procedure as above, inscribing and dressing the candle with the Healing Oil, calling on Michael, Sachiel, and Raphael as well as Ophiel, Och, and Bethor in the same way as before, giving the same offerings, and even using the same Psalms. Checking with my Spirits, they did not require me to do a complete new Tablet of Lights set-up for him, saying I could use the same plate set-up as I had used for the previous work, simply placing M.D.A’s candle at the base of the Cross structure inscribed on the plate. This, I did.

The Moon remained waxing in the Lunar Mansion of Al-Kalb (the Caduceus to heal and prevent illness), which was fortuitous for the work at hand. The only difference with this working is that I rubbed some of the Healing Sachet Powder I had made on the outside of his candle as I did not have any of the herbal mixture left over. I prayed that all of his symptoms would disappear and that he would be heal again and that even his fibromyalgia pain would decrease. I poured my heart into this ritual for my dear friend and closed the Temple. I called on his Guardian Angel and his Ancestors, as well as my own, to assist in the work.

At the end of the night, after leaving his candle burning, I saw that it had burned in a very interesting way. The candle burned down the middle, but an outer shell was left. Also, a skull-shaped hole had appeared on the right side. Divining from the wax, my sense was that this healing was not going to be as easy or as simple as the others. The Spirits were “drilling down the middle” into M.D.A’s core bodily issues and symptoms of the illness, which were affecting his internal organs and assailing his immune system. His wax pool was pulled over the Sigils of Och and Bethor as well as the Name of Raphael, suggesting that these spirits in particular were working on him. The skull hole did not strike me as implying he would die; instead, it suggested to me that an Ancestor spirit would help in the work.

The next morning, I checked the candle again and the “walls” of wax had melted down, but two points of the wax folded in, pointing at the center of the candle. This suggested to me that the illness was still hitting him, “stabbing” him with symptoms as symbolized by the wax points. Another image that came to me was that the illness “had its teeth or claws” in him and was not going to let go easily. Still, some progress had been made with help from his Ancestor, as seen in the melting down of the wax walls.

I checked in with M.D.A. on Messenger and he confirmed my suspicions; not only was he not feeling better, but he was feeling worse! All of the above symptoms had intensified… He was definitely getting “stabbed” by the illness, with more suffering than before. I explained to him that sometimes, healing work brings results that come quite quickly, and other times, for more complex situations or more serious conditions, the work can provide more strengthening, clearing obstacles to healing, and facilitating communication with the right professionals, through the process. This can especially be the case when the odds are stacked against the healing, such as in the case of immunosuppression. As much as we try to ease the work of combating illness through magical means, Nature, Divine Will, and the work and abilities of the spirits also can affect the outcome. As a result, I mentioned above, “nothing is guaranteed” with healing work and the help it brings does not always come in the form we expect.

Nevertheless, I pointed out that there were good signs and it looked like an Ancestor of his was going to assist in the work. He told me about his great-grandmother who was apparently an extremely accurate diviner with tea leaves and had some magical abilities. I suspected she might be the “skull-shaped hole” I saw in his candle wax. M.D.A confirmed that she was actually one of his working Ancestors in his Espiritismo work and he thought “she would definitely step in.” Magic can be truly amazing sometimes and sometimes things will happen that we could not have made up as they seem too perfect. However, as we were talking about M.D.A’s grandmother and great-grandmother, he suddenly stopped and said the following:

What’s more, he had a feeling he was going to receive assistance from an Ancestor, because that same day…

The next morning, I checked in with him again and he confirmed that his pain level remained significantly lower than it had been to the point that he was able to “go to sleep pretty comfortably.” I noted possible impacts from Rosemary and Thyme, two Herbs in my Healing Oil formula, which were included to help ease sleep and facilitate sound dreaming. He also noted that his fever had gone down to 36.6 degrees, which was strange to him since he still felt feverish.

Healing Candle Work set-up for M.D.A., myself, and R.C.

G. “Physician, Heal Thyself!:” Three More Candle Workings for Healing

I was not finished working towards my dear friend’s healing, however, nor were the Spirits. In fact, I got a nudge that I had to another candle working for M.D.A to strengthen the work already being done.

What I was not prepared for however, was the impact that all of this healing work done in a short period of time was going to have on me as the worker. I found myself dreadfully sick with a bad cold: sore throat, coughing, and higher body temperature, but still under fever. I was COVID-negative, but still feeling awful.

At the same time, another friend, R.C., messaged me to say that she was also feeling quite sick with a cold of her own and asked if I could help. As she lived in Montreal not far from where my plans were taking me today, she consented for me to pick up some personal concerns (e.g. some of her hair) to use in the working, which I did. We both were masks and maintained social distancing while I picked up the hair. I gave her some of the Healing Oil too to rub on her throat, chest, and forehead while saying prayers to help connect the Healing Oil I was going to use on her candle to her as well. She agreed to do so.

My plan was to do a healing working for M.D.A, myself, and R.C. at the same time.

For my work on myself, I started by making a hearty chicken soup with lots of pepper as well as Thyme, Rosemary, and Basil. I prayed over the Herbs, asked for their help in bringing healing, and then recited Psalms 49 and 50 over it before eating it.

That night, I made the following Healing and Sleep-Supporting Spiritual Bath, including and requesting the aid of the following Herb spirits:

• Chamomile
• Self-heal
• Althaea
• Angelica
• Thyme
• Mint
• Rosemary
• Lavender
• Honey

I also made a chamomile tea to go with this. I prayed Psalms 49 and 50 over the tea and bath, while they both steeped. I drank the tea, did the bath, and went to bed immediately after air-drying.

The next day, on the Day of the Sun, I consulted with my Spirits as to how to proceed. This time, I was to use a different Talismanic design on the Tablet of Lights:

This time, the Heptameron / Lucidarium sigils for Michael and Raphael were to be drawn in a Cross, forming an ‘Angelic Crossroads.’ Sachiel’s sigil was included over the Cross, with Yeshua (Jesus) written in Hebrew underneath. The standard Arbatel Sigils of Bethor, Ophiel, and Och were included in the bottom right ‘quadrant’ of the plate.

Finally, YHVH Rapha (God of Healing) was included along with four crosses marking the points of the Angelic Cross. The three candles for M.D.A, myself, and R.C. were placed on the middle arm of the Cross.

All three candles were inscribed with a yellow-headed needle, as it was the Day of the Sun, with the full names of those included and the following words:

M.D.A. “complete recovery, full healing, freedom, peace”

Myself: “no pain, no fever, no cough, full healing”

R.C.: “no pain, no fever, no cough, full healing.”

I dressed each candle with Healing Oil, while drawing the healing from top of the candle to the bottom. I added my own hairs, conveniently collected from my beard trimmer to my candle, R.C.’s hair to her candle, and as I had no personal concerns for M.D.A, I simply did prayers for him while anointing the candle and gazing at his picture. I asked that each candle be linked to the healing of the person whose name was carved into it and used to eliminate their pain and illness and replace it with health and wholeness.

The Moon was waxing in the Arabic Lunar Mansion of Al-Balda (The City or The Desert), which Christopher Warnock points out is a a good time to “end a situation,” in this case, by bringing illness to an end.

Before I started this working, I refreshed the water glasses of all of the Angels, Saints, Ancestors, and Olympic Spirits with whom I have active spirit tables in my Temple room. I asked each to aid the work according to their abilities. I knocked on my Ancestor altar and asked my Ancestors to assist the work, also calling on the Ancestors of M.D.A and R.C.

The Operation proceeded as above, still working with Archangels Michael, Raphael, Sachiel and Olympic Spirits Bethor, Ophiel, and Och, still offering 3 sticks of Sandalwood, but with different Psalms; this time, I was nudged by my Spirits to use the potent combination of Psalms 3, 67, and 77. I invited the Spirits to pray the prayers with me for added efficacy.

This working produced a deep feeling of peace, reverence, and thick spiritual presence in the room. The energy felt comforting and reassuring. The candles burned strong and clean during the ritual and the Spirits’ candle did as well. My final prayers addressed Christ as the Master Healer, and played on the wording in Luke 4:23, in which Yeshua muses that the people would surely say to him “Physician, Heal Thyself” (Ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν), or healer, heal yourself. I asked that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit help me to do just that.

H. Carromancy: Interpreting the Candle Wax

The next day, I went to interpret the wax from the three candles and saw the following. First, in M.D.A‘s candle, I saw a fairly clean burn with minimum pooling. One of the “points” that was previously pointing towards the center of the candle after the previous working, suggesting the illness still had its “claws or teeth” in M.D.A, was now pointing away from the center and off to the left. I interpreted this to mean that the illness was ‘opening up’ and clearing, but still affecting him. Finally, I also saw that some of the wax was “bending over” away from the center of the candle, suggesting that the illness is starting to submit. But it will take more time before it’s fully resolved.

Second, my own candle appeared a series of happy petal-like shapes, suggesting a positive result would be coming for me. No issues, just a flowering of results that would likely come surprisingly quickly.

Finally, R.C.’s candle showed that her own issues were “standing up” to the attempts to heal them, suggesting it might take a little longer than expected for her healing to come through, but she would get there. There was a wall of protection around her that was assisting (small wall of wax on the right); at the same time, this wall of wax could also suggest that the illness itself was “putting up walls” and resisting the work. As it turned out, the results of the Operation were in many ways fully consistent with what the wax suggested.

I. Health in Abundance: Results of the Final Candle Working

The next day, I felt remarkably better. My throat felt much less painful, my coughs were few and far between, I had no fever, and my drippy, runny nose had returned to normal, such that I was breathing easily again. By the end of the day, my symptoms were all down by about 95%. it was the fastest recovery from a cold I’ve ever had.

It’s worth noting that when I discussed the healing work I had been doing with my Hoodoo teacher Aaron Davis and how I had become sick in the process, he noted that he had also experienced this and decided, as a result, not to do healing work for more than 2 people per day. He also recommended that after every healing work I do in then future, I do a strong cleansing bath. He also pointed out that in my Clinical work, I am also “outputting a lot of healing energy as it is,” so doing magical healing on top of that can drain us and make us susceptible to illness. I noted his advice and plan to practice it going forwards.

Thereafter, I checked in with M.D.A and he informed me that there were significant improvements and he had tested negative again for COVID-19:

He had some lingering symptoms, but it was clear that the worst was behind him and he was on his way to a complete recovery.

Finally, I checked in with R.C. and she reported that a number of her symptoms had improved as well. She agreed to continue to use the Oil until her condition was completely healed and thanked me for my help.

All I can do is quote Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, Oh Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory glory, because of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”

H. Concluding Thoughts on Magical Healing in Practice

Healing work is being of service. For those on the Rosicrucian path, it is a central feature of their spiritual work and approach. If we make ourselves available to heal, drawing on help from our Spiritual Allies and the Herbs given to us, we can sometimes witness true miracles, miracles that inspire humility, reverence, and bolster faith in a big way, just as Yeshua’s miracles did to many in his own time. For the Christian mystic called to the “Imitation of Christ,” prayers and work for healing can be a vital practice that brings wholeness, health, and love to the suffering and the ill. However, healing is a universal human concern and people on many Paths will also feel a call to it. If so, I hope that reading the workings above will yield some helpful ideas for how to approach healing in a way that harmonizes with your own tradition.

By way of closing reflections, I can say that I I feel so grateful to have been a part of these workings and to be blessed by witnessing people getting helped, both with access to the Oil and locally and without directly even being able to access it, in another province (M.D.A) and even in another country on another continent (C.O.). What’s more, I felt truly awed by the power of the Divine, of Angels, Spirits, and Ancestors, working together through the means of magic and prayer to work wonders. Some of these healings were nothing short of miraculous and helped bolster my faith that I am on the right path and doing the work I am meant to do to be of service.

Of course, suffering and illness are perennial human realities and, as such, the work of healing will never be done. Healing, as I humbly see it, is part of an ongoing path of service to the community and co-labouring with the Source of All healing to soothe the sufferings and symptoms of injury and illness. Individually, our own healing as practitioners is also never done, as we strive to work through all of our own shadows, sufferings, and issues; bringing spiritual work into those dark inner spaces can be a fruitful avenue for light in extension.

I. References

Balthazar. (2018). Solomonic Candle Magic. Course Bundle purchased from the author, no longer available online.

Peterson, J. H. (2004). Key of Solomon. [online eBook] Esoterica Archives. Available at: http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/ksol.htm

Peterson, J. H. (2006). The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. [online eBook]. Esoterica Archives. Available at: http://www.esotericarchives.com/moses/67moses.htm

By Herb and Angel: A Folk Christian Working with Archangel Michael for Three Recently Deceased Souls

By Frater S.C.F.V.

A. Spiritual Work for the Dead: Context of the Working

As some of readers may know, I am a Clinical Social Worker in my professional life, and specialize in palliative care, working with older adults with dementia, cancer, and other serious diagnoses, defending vulnerable people from elder mistreatment, and working with younger people with disabilities.

The people with whom I work with are mostly low-income, socially and intersectionally disadvantaged in various ways, and desperate for help. My mundane calling on this Earth embraces working with them, empowering them, equipping them with tools and resources from the government and community organizations, supporting them emotionally through their challenges, and accompanying them, often until the end of their lives.

And yet, it dovetails with my spiritual calling, for as Initiates know, matter and Spirit are but two sides of the same nondual coin, and death is but a phase of the soul between life and afterlife.

V0017612 – Life and death. Oil painting. Credit: Wellcome Library, London.

Indeed, the deeper I go into the study and practice of traditional Rootwork and Conjure with my beloved teacher Aaron Davis, studying the classic texts, and learning from experienced Rootworkers, the more I see that this style of magic is and always was about community, resilience, and survival. The African slaves who developed Hoodoo, Rootwork and Conjure in conversation with Indigenous Peoples, Appalachian white folks, esoteric Jews and others, developed a way of using what they had access to to protect and empower themselves, as well as to strengthen and nurture their families and communities. Furthermore, they did this often in the face of harsh realities, abuse, antagonism, and death. Hoodoo, Conjure and Rootwork, therefore, not only practices of spiritual resilience, resistance, and resurgence, but also practices grounded in family and community.

In the spirit of these traditions’ history, I strive to be mindful of my social location and yet also to honour the great teachers spiritual ancestors and workers of old by applying what I’ve learned in service to both the living and the dead. Chiefly, like the Rootworkers, of old, I’ve been focusing on those in my care–friends, family, loved ones, community members, and clients. As I came to work more and more for others and less for myself, I came to discover that doing magic for the betterment of others has a purity of purpose and spiritual strength that can be both moving and profound.

Just as my magic has become more community and service-focused, quite like my professional life, so has it also extended to accompanying my elderly and palliative clients into the liminal spaces following their deaths. Of course, working with people as they transition from life to death is by no means new; from the Ancient Period onwards, spiritual workers have often played the role of Psychopomps, that is, beings who strive to accompany newly deceased souls as they transition from life through death into the afterlife.

Icon Depicting St. Michael the Archangel as Psychopomp.

Historically, the Psychopomp role was deemed so important that it was cross-culturally enshrined in our mythologies in figures as diverse and yet similar as the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, the deity of Yama in Sanatana Dharma, the Greek ferryman Charon and god Hermes, the Roman god Mercury, the Norse Valkyries, the Aztec Xolotl, the Slavic Morana and the Etruscan Vanth. Ancient Mystery Religions like the Rites of Eleusis often centered on the Mysteries of Life, Death, and the Afterlife. Similarly, in the Christian tradition, Jesus Christ, St. Peter, and the Archangel Michael were all regarded as serving Psychopomp functions, much like the Angel Azrael in the Islamic tradition.

By extension, folk spiritual workers strove to collaborate with these spiritual powers to assist the dead. Indeed, in European folk magic as well as in American Hoodoo, Conjure, and Rootwork, magicians have often helped to offer the dead comfort, rest, light, and spiritual support in their experience beyond this world.

And so it was it was that I found myself drawn to continue to serve my clients after their deaths and helping them as best I could to brave the Great Beyond that gaped before them.

The working to which we now turn was a product of teachings passed on to me from the Conjure and Rootwork traditions in addition to folk Christian traditions, some elements of grimoire magic (e.g. the use of the Bell of Art), and the guidance I received from my own Spirits.

The purpose of this working was to bring cleansing, purification, protection, good fortune, blessings, Light, and peaceful rest to the spirits of three older adults I served in life after they passed away. Within the span of a few weeks, these individuals, each with their own strengths and limitations, had all died in sudden and unexpected circumstances: one after a sudden heart-attack while walking with his caregiver near his home, one after a major stroke in her residence, and one after complications stemming from COVID-19 in the hospital.

Concerned about the suffering and confusion they might feel after passing away so suddenly and hoping to help them in every way I could, I prepared the following ritual.

B. Setting the Lights on the Tablet: Preparations for the Work

To begin, as I work within a chiefly Christian framework, I offered prayers to God for guidance in the work and asked the Holy Spirit to guide me to select the right ingredients to benefit the three souls at the center of the work at hand.

I also opened up to the Archangel Michael as well as to my Ancestors, their Ancestors, and the spirits of the Herbs to guide me in developing the right formula for the work at hand.

I began by gathering the Herbs, consulting their spirits to see who would like to assist me in this work. In the end, the following 7 curios were included:

• Holy Olive Oil (for spiritual anointing and to carry the powers of the Herbs),
• Hyssop (that their souls might be purified and cleansed),
• Rue (that they might be protected and cleanser),
• Oak (that they might have good fortune in the afterlife and be blessed with protection),
• Cinnamon (to fire up Light to help them progress and strengthen their spiritual progression),
• Mugwort (that they may rest in peace and to enable them to communicate with me in dreams if they should like to do so),
• Loosestrife (that they might have calmness of mind and heart and drive away all evil and worries).

I ground the herbs together while praying over them, thanking each for its aid and asking it what I wished it to do.

I then took up a plate consecrated for the purpose of candlework–which Solomonic magician and Conjure worker Balthazar Van Der Merwe called the “Tablet of Lights”–as well as a spiritually-prepared chalk marker. This chalk had been previously exorcised and consecrated following the Key of Solomon’s method.

With these, I drew a “5-spot” of 5 equal-armed crosses in the form of a larger cross. Hearts were used to finish the Holy Cross, signifying the intention to extend love, care, and comfort to the Souls included in the work. I then included the initials of the three Souls under where I would position their candles.

Using a fresh pin, I carved each of their names into their respective candles. I then dressed each candle with Holy Olive Oil before rubbing the Herbal mixture into it, praying continuously at the same time. Finally, I warmed the bottom of each candle to fix each to the Tablet of Lights, while praying over them.

Next, I prepared charcoal, Frankincense, 3 glasses of water, and an additional candle for Archangel Michael, and brought the Tablet with the fixed candles into my Temple space. I left them there while I took a ritual bath, cleansing and purifying myself with Hyssop for the work at hand. Then, the spiritual work began.

C. The Working: Offerings and Transition Assistance for Three Recently Deceased Souls

I placed Archangel Michael’s dedicated spirit table at the center of my Solomonic Circle in the center of my Temple space. On the table, I placed Michael’s Statue, a water glass for him, the Tablet of Lights and candles, a censer containing charcoal and Frankincense, the Bell of Art, a bread offering for Michael, a torch, and three glasses of water for the three spirits.

I began began by praying in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while ringing the Bell in the formation of a Cross multiple times over the spirit table, to open the work and “wake up” the spirits.

I then prayed extemporaneously for God’s help, the help of my Ancestors and those of the three deceased, and that of Archangel Michael. I did not do a formal Solomonic evocation of Michael, but simply asked him to be present and to assist with the work and greeted him with water, bread, Frankincense, and a candle offered to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit on his behalf and which I invited him to enjoy.

I then lit the three candles while praying over them. I greeted each spirit in turn, starting with P.D., proceeding to M.TP. and ending with J.W. I explained to them why I had invited them here and offered their candles, Frankincense, and water glasses to the Most High on their behalf before inviting them to partake in them for refreshment, light, and strengthening.

I then prayed for the three spirits collectively and then explained to them the role of each Herb fixed to their candle and prayed for its benefit to be bestowed unto them.

Next, I spoke to the spirits of the Herbs and invited them to partake of the fire, Frankincense, and water offered as thanks for their assistance in the working.

Then I prayed for each spirit one at a time, starting with P.D., proceeding to M.TP. and ending with J.W. I then spoke to each spirit as if they were sitting before me and alive, citing cherished memories of my time with them, thanking them for their strengths, blessings, and the traits I appreciated about them, and again praying for their cleansing, purification, uplifting, illumination, good fortune, care, and comfort beyond their deaths.

At the end of each series of prayers, I addressed the spirit and invited it to communicate any message he or she wished to share with me.

The messages were brief and yet, so meaningful to me. As each spirit spoke, I seemed to see a hint of it Astrally; I saw them appearing from their waist up, looking much as they had looked when I last saw them, or perhaps a little younger.

Their images seemed to emerge out of darkness and hover in a gentle illumination above their associated candle and its flame.

These were the messages I received from the three dead spirits with whom I had worked in life:

From P.D.: (speaking in French) “Thank you for this gesture and for your help. It’s so nice here (Frater S.C.F.V.’s Note: seeming to me, in the “space” in which he now found himself after death)! So beautiful! Thank you!“

From M.T.P. (speaking in French): “Thank you, A., for helping me. How we laughed! Thank you for all you did.”

From J.W. (speaking in English): He appeared stern as he had in life, then seemed to shift into a half-smile and said, gruffly but sincerely, “Sorry I gave you such a hard time. Thanks for your help.”

After each spirit spoke, I shared some private final words to them, which I shall not share here as they are personal to us.

Their candles were burning so still and the feeling in the room was somehow both heavy and light at the same time. The words I spoke seemed to hang on the air… as if time itself had come to a halt.

Attuning to the spirits of the tree, I could feel that they were dead, but they did not seem scared; instead, they seemed content and comforted to be there.

The space in the room was positively thick with energy and yet so still, so clear and yet so solid…

Indeed, I was so touched when I finished sharing and receiving the above messages, that I had completely forgotten to pay attention to Archangel Michael’s candle.

That’s when I noticed — it was going wild.

My impression was that the Archangel was doing some intense work to help the three spirits.

In a startling visual display, Michael’s candle began to sputter up tall bursts of fire, spitting them upwards at a rapid pace, like dragon fire. This rapid bursting would be followed by the flame dropping into a very tall, clear, still flame, and barely moving at all.

Then the flame’s tip would split into separate “tongues” of flame, as if the Angel was working on individual spirits at that time, 2-3 at a time, before returning to the tall flame bursts and swaying. The bursting seemed to indicate burning through impurities; the still hovering to harmonizing and attuning.

I asked Michael if I could film this candle flame manifestation and share it with others to inspire them to know that Angels are very real and he agreed for me to share the brief footage below:

I cannot overstate the intensity of the emotions I felt as I watched this scene and felt its impact on the three spirits… I felt overcome with awe, complete wonder, utter astonishment, moved almost to tears…

Even just watching the video back a day later, I feel an intimation of those same feelings. The contrast between the wildly active candle offered to Michael and the very still candles of the dead was so striking to me then and remains so today.

Moreover, I was amazed and surprised by the fact that in this humble little ritual to help these three souls, I felt Michael’s presence more powerfully, more palpably, more viscerally than I ever had before… Including in any of the full Solomonic evocations I had done with him. I didn’t know what to make of it…

Suddenly, my eyes fell closed.

Out of the blackness of my closed eyelids, I saw a face of pure light emerge from the darkness.

It was Michael.

He spoke to me in a voice at once deep, calm, loving, and grounded.

He said:

“This is the work I knew you were capable of, that I was waiting to see from you.
Working to help, working not for yourself.
Whenever you work for the good of others, in love and humility,
I’ll never fail to help you.“

Just like that, his image vanished, and my eyes opened once again.

The Archangel’s candle continued to flicker, sputter, wind from side to side like a serpent, and stretch higher than I thought possible above the candle holder…

Image of Michael’s candle rising high above the rim of the candle holder, with the wick being all the way at the bottom of the candle holder, sitting in a shallow pool of wax. Shared with the Angel’s permission.

I felt so moved and touched I couldn’t think of words to say. I could only pray “thank you… thank you… praise God! Thank you…”

My thoughts drifted back to remembering a Solomonic invocation I completed 4 years ago, in which I had found Michael quite difficult to communicate with. I’ve now come to believe that part of why I had such trouble was that, in that ritual, my heart simply wasn’t in the right place. I was thinking too much of myself and fooling myself perhaps, but not the Angel.

Now I was focused on working for the good of others, asking nothing in return, pure and sincere in my intent, nothing could be easier than receiving Michael’s words… That seemed a profound lesson about Angelic work, namely, that an Angelic Operation is most powerful and effective when we not only respect the protocols for fasting, prayer, abstaining, etc. in the days leading up to the Operation, but also approach it with a clear and clean purpose and a heart centered on extending the Good, on blessing.

Such a heart, such a mind-set, is in harmony, not only with the nature of the Angels themselves–thereby making it easier to attune to them–but also with the Divine Will itself.

For the Divine Will is always to extend the Good, through all manners, through all planes and worlds, to all beings, in all ways; as the great Adepti and Scriptures tell us, the eternal extension of the blood–Supreme Cosmic Benediction–is Love itself in action, Grace itself, and even the very Nature of God.

Photo of the Statue of Michael I took in Saint Michael’s Basilica in Sherbrooke.

Indeed, it reminds me of the words of Christ in Matthew 23:12, in which he says that “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

It now seems to me that there is a profound occult secret hidden here, in plain sight. At least for the Christian folk magician, the more we humble ourselves, the more we keep our self-concern out of the work while elevating the Divine and focusing on benefiting others through the work, the more help we will receive and the easier it will be to attune to the Angelic presence in the work.

Conversely, if our Angelic communications break down, it’s worth doing some soul-searching about our real motives, what we’re really aiming at, and whether that really is what we say it is…

This lesson also reminded me of the words of John the Baptist speaking of Christ in John 3:30, in which he proclaimed that “I must decrease; He must increase.” John devoted his life to paving the way for Christ, heralding his arrival, and drawing all to him in repentance, even unto death. Having so faithfully humbled himself, Jesus said about him in Matthew 11, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” And yet, even after this, he added a humbling other part for you and me, “…yet whoever is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.“

At this part of the working, I was so moved, I could barely proceed. But I knew I had to carry on.

I prayed for P.D., M.T.P., and J.W and recited Psalm 132 on their behalf, praying the following (Names of God Bible Translation):

“Psalm 132

A song for going up to worship.

¹ O YHVH, remember David and all the hardships he endured.
² Remember how he swore an oath to YHVH
    and made this vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
³         “I will not step inside my house,
⁴ get into my bed, shut my eyes, or close my eyelids
⁵ until I find a place for YHVH,
    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶ Now, we have heard about the ark of the promise being in Ephrathah.
    We have found it in Jaar.
⁷ Let’s go to his dwelling place.
    Let’s worship at his footstool.
⁸ O YHVH, arise, and come to your resting place
    with the ark of your power.
⁹ Clothe your priests with righteousness.
    Let your godly ones sing with joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of your servant David,
    do not reject your anointed one.
¹¹ YHVH swore an oath to David.
    This is a truth he will not take back:
        “I will set one of your own descendants on your throne.
¹² If your sons are faithful to my promise^[a]
    and my written instructions that I will teach them,
        then their descendants will also sit on your throne forever.”

¹³ YHVH has chosen Zion.
    He wants it for his home.
¹⁴ “This will be my resting place forever.
    Here I will sit enthroned because I want Zion.
¹⁵ I will certainly bless all that Zion needs.
    I will satisfy its needy people with food.
¹⁶ I will clothe its priests with salvation.
    Then its godly ones will sing joyfully.
¹⁷ There I will make a horn sprout up for David.
    I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
¹⁸ I will clothe his enemies with shame,
    but the crown on my anointed one will shine.”

Ancient Roman fresco of David as Shepherd.

I was going to end the ritual there, but felt nudged to add a final Psalm 23 as well:

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

Having finished praying the Psalm, to close the Temple, I prayed an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, as taught to me by a dear Esperitista friend, while again ringing the Bell of Art.

I gave thanks a final time, said goodbye to the three deceased, thanked Michael, the Ancestors, and the Most High, then declared the Temple duly closed.

I left the candles to burn and checked in on them about 40 minutes later, only to see the following:

My impression was that P.D.’s and M.T.P.’s candles had burned down rather quickly, but with tears of wax running down the sides as they burned, suggesting that pain and other impurities were being processed out of the spirits with help from Michael.

J.W.’s candle on the other hand, burned clean and clear almost to the end, when it suddenly pulled forward in an extension of wax towards where I was standing. How can we interpret the wax from these candles?

C. Practical Carromancy: Wax Remains Readings of the Three Candles

P.D.’s candle wax remains.

The next morning, I took the high-definition pictures of the wax remnants of each candle that you see here and endeavoured to interpret them with some insights from fellow readers with whom I shared the images in order to obtain insights from objective third parties. Much thanks to Cléo and David Domart, my fellow Working the Root students, for their input.

First, as seen above, we have P.D.’s candle. What I saw here was a spirit reposed and relaxed, a face looking to the side, surrounded by comforting and joyful petals. David got an impression of “thank you” from this wax and Cléo got a sense of “petals and playful cherubs.” This seemed very much in harmony with the message I received from P.D., namely, that he was grateful and that he found the space he was in very “nice! So beautiful!” This wax pattern was also very much in harmony with P.D.’s personality; he was a friendly and fabulous man who delighted in fashion and flowing fabrics. I saw his ‘imprint’ in this wax, in this sense, the stamp of the energy he embodied.

The second candle was M.T.P’s and looked as follows:

M.T.P.’s candle wax remains

What I saw here was her face, looking relaxed and content (the wick remains forming two eyes connected to a nose with a mouth below it). Above her, I saw the sweep of her hair, looking flowing and free. There were hints of her ears and perhaps a suggestion of a bosom at the bottom of the wax. Cléo also got a feeling of joy and gratitude from M.TP.’s candle. I was also struck by how much it looked like her; I could almost see her little smile and hear her joyful giggle as if she were laughing in my presence! David, similarly, sensed her free-flowing spirit and noted that he could feel “energy moving fast.” That sounded appropriate to me.

Finally, and most interestingly, we come to J.W.’s candle wax remains:

J.W.’s candle wax remains.

This wax felt entirely different from the others. As it turns out, this was exactly as it should be. P.D. and M.T.P. were both friendly, jovial people. J.W. was cut from a different cloth; he tended to be harsh and suspicious to the point where he refused to answer nearly every question I ever asked him. Part of my work with his spirit in the candle work here involved trying to show him my good will for him and help him relax his walls of suspicion so that he could move on without getting unnecessarily obstructed and encumbered. To hear him say “Sorry I was so hard on you, thank you” was about the nicest thing I could have hoped for from him. I told him all was forgiven and that I was just happy to have had the honour of meeting him and his family.

Looking at his wax remains, I see the wick remnants making up a face once again, a very different kind of face. I see eyes that look suspicious, perhaps a little fearful yet incredulous, but also see the wax sweeping down to the right as an outstretched arm, a kind of “olive branch” to me. I read it this way because the wax is coming towards where I was standing while doing the candlework. The overall message then became something like “yeah, I’m still a little wary of you, but I appreciate what you did for me so here’s an olive branch.”

Seeing this wax pattern, Cléo found it a little hard to read, saying he “seems elusive, like moving on or going through something.” That sounded right to me. J.W. was an elusive person in life, and remained so in death. He was hard to read, evasive as a man, both for people who just met him and for his own family members who had known him the longest. Moreover, he likely was going through confusion because his death came suddenly when we had been preparing for him to go home the very next day from the hospital; we have even put in place a new bed, raised toilet seat, and free homecare services to help receive him more comfortably at home. Appropriately, reading this wax, David saw someone “lost, not quite conscious.” That resonated. I hoped that the Rootwork would help calm, comfort, clear, illuminate, and strengthen his spirit through this transition.

D. Conclusion: Parting Thoughts on Working at the Crossroads of Life and Death

Overall, this was a beautiful working, a working that made me feel at once connected to the roots of the Herbs that powered the work, to Archangel Michael’s profound presence, to my own Ancestors and the Rootworkers who came before me, and to my fondly-appreciated clients at their passing.

I hoped that the working would help them to move on even as the Fire and Herbs helped soothe my own grieving and the bereavement of their surviving loved ones.

At the same time, the ritual cemented for me that magic really can operate at the Crossroads, even of Life and Death itself.

And while moving in that liminal space, a space of terror for many, we as spiritual workers can move in peace, and doing so, help bring that peace to troubled spirits in their moment of transition.

What could that be but an honour and a humbling opportunity for service, to life, death, and the Infinite itself?

Divination with St. Cyprian – Insights on the Shadow and First Pentacle of the Sun

By Frater SC.F.V.

Date: November 24, 2018
Sun Phase: Set
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous (206 degrees) in 28 degrees Gemini
Mansion of the Moon: Dhira
Planetary Day: Day of Saturn
Planetary Hour: Hours of Mars and the Sun
Activities: Solomonic Ritual Purification by Water; Solomonic Bell Sounding to the Spirits of the Quarters; Offerings to the Most High and Saint Cyprian; Prayers; Rune Divination with St. Cyprian; Temple Closing 

Today, the Moon is in the 7th Mansion of Al-Dhira, a time when it is auspicious to seek and strengthen friendships and give and receive assistance.  About this Mansion, the Picatrix (11th century) says:

“The seventh Mansion is Aldira, and it for the acquisition of all good [things]. When the Moon has come around to this Mansion, fashion a seal of silver, and sculpt the image of a man clothed in robes and with his hands extended to heaven after manner of a man who is praying and supplicating [the gods]; in the breast [of this image] write the name of the lord of this Mansion. Cense it with all things which have sweet odors, and say: You, Siely, cause such and such to happen, and fulfill my petition. Ask [of it] whatever you wish from among all the good things. Carry this seal with you, and you will receive all you ask for. And know that Selehe is the name of the lord of this Mansion.”

Agrippa adds the following in the Three Books of Occult Philosophy (16th century): 

“Aldimiach or Alarzach: arm of Gemini. 17°08’34″ Gemini. Brings money and friendship, profits lovers, disperses flies, destroys teaching authorities. To obtain every good thing. A man well clothed, holding his hands up to heaven as it were praying and supplicating.”

Therefore, it seemed to me that today was a fitting day for divination, both on a question that has been on my mind lately and to ask a question of Saint Cyprian from a friend as a way of building that friendship and assisting a friend in the spirit of Al-Dhira. 

I began by purifying myself with ritual bathing. Then I donned my scapular of Saint Cyprian white Solomonic robe, Stole, and placed my Cyprianic Rosary around my neck. I sounded the Solomonic Bell of Art three times before entering the Circle, as per the Hygromanteia, then sounded the Bell to each of the full Quarters, as per the Key of Solomon, saying “I greet and bless the Spirits of the (direction) with great love and respect in the name of Adonai!” I continued greeting the Spirits of the Above and Below and all other directions. As I did this, I began to see ‘sparks’ of light flickering around the Circle, suggesting the presence of Spirits. I formally opened the Temple in the name of YHVH. 

I then unwrapped my Solomonic Wand from its white covering and began preliminary prayers. I lit four large candles in each of the Four Directions as offerings to the Most High. I then made offerings of a chocolate and banana muffin to Cyprian as well as a purple lavender candle, a stick of incense, and a glass of fresh Spring water. Earlier today, I gave the bread offerings from last week to the local spirits of the land and local animals and the remaining bit of water from Cyprian’s offering from last week to our house plant.

I also felt a sense of warm presence in the room, which was very pleasant. I addressed the Spirits in each direction in term, pausing to ask if any of them would like to introduce themselves, and offering each blessings, respect, and friendship. No Spirit took me up on my offer today–sometimes they do and sometimes they do not–but I invited any Spirits presence in each direction to partake of the Candles lit in each of the Four Directions in a spirit of peace. 

Out of the corner of an eye, I saw a spot of light drift up a wall. Then a black tablecloth spontaneously fell off of a chair over which it had been draped outside the Circle. I invited the Spirit who had moved it to engage in conversation, but it did not wish to, so I did not press the matter.

I then said some additional prayers and sat down and gazed into my Crystal while chanting Saint Cyprian’s name and inviting him to be present and to speak with me. 

I greeted him and continued to gaze into the Crystal as Cyprian sometimes opts to communicate with me through it. Today, however, he gave me a nudge to close my eyes, so I did. 

Immediately, I saw the good Saint wander out of what appeared to be a black mist appearing on my closed eyelids, holding his golden Crozier, and stand “before me.” 

I greeted him once more and he greeted me back in his warm and knowing voice. I asked him if he could offer any insights on how to best go about integrating darker aspects of our Shadow that emerge in the course of meditation and spiritual work.

His answer came immediately and was very interesting:

“As we begin to move beyond the identification with the familiar and to open up some inner space where there was once only total immersion in unconscious patterns, it is normal for shadows to arise.  These shadow fragments of unintegrated Selfhood are naturally drawn into the light of awareness and Divine presence. Here, they can at last be seen instead of looked from. 

As these previously fragmented and splintered off shadow aspects of ourselves and programs begin to well up within us, they carry a fascinating power. If we are not careful, we risk being possessed or taken over by them. A splintered off aspect of us that lusts for power, for instance, may itself seize control over us, inspire us to focus on it and identify with it, and then further dissociate into it carrying us off completely on a course of action it stipulates. Do not confuse this with integration; it is not. It is simply another form of disintegration and dissociation. It inspires a dream-like state of acting out its drive or program, totally automatically and unconsciously. In time, we awaken from such a state and wonder what happened while we were carried off in its waking dream. Be wary to fall into this trap.”

I asked Saint Cyprian how we avoid falling into so tempting a trap and he said:

“Consciously remain dispassionately aware of the shadow aspects as they arise. Notice them. Note them. Acknowledge them. Greet them. But then let them be. Remain detached and equanimitous towards them. As we slowly make the unconscious conscious and meet it fully without allowing ourselves to be taken over by it or to identify with it, it will become integrated on its own. Instead of having power over us, it will give us back the power that splintered off into it as a fragment. This is authentic integration.“

I asked Cyprian if he could offer some more specific insight into some specific Shadow content I was experiencing. He said simply:

“Cast three Runes. The first will be of the Past, the second the Present, and the third the likely Future.”

I obliged and cast the three Runes on his Altar. They came out as the following:

Divination with Saint Cyprian. 
From left to right: Uruz, Thurisaz, and Wunjo.

The Past Rune was Uruz, the Rune of Strength, the giant Aurochs. The meaning was that I had once found strength, virility, and a sense of manhood through a splintered off sense of lust for both power and sexual conquest. Uruz encompasses the raw, wild power of freedom, precisely the state I felt when I allowed myself to be “possessed” by this powerful Shadow drive.  However, I did not always wield this power with responsibility and sometimes, the result was misery for myself and others.

As a result, I seem to have pushed down this aspect of myself, disidentifying with it because of the danger and mischief it risked inviting into my life. Recently, it arose back into my consciousness with a vengeance as a deep yearning with a dark amoral tone, only this time, it was, as Saint Cyprian said, seen rather than looked from. The challenge was to acknowledge and allow it to be without being swept away by it as I had been in my youth.

The present Rune was Thurisaz, the Rune of Chaos, Evil, and Temptation, the Thorn, the Giants fought by Thor with his hammer Mjölnir. This is a warn about resisting temptations, especially ones that offer rewards through dishonesty and trickery. Fittingly enough, it represents the raw forces of the human psyche from anger to lust, which can give us power or alternately overpower us. The meaning is clear: as this Shadow aspect arises, it beckons me into the unbridled pleasure-seeking that once led me astray; it promises reward, but threatens to unleash the chaos of Pandora’s Box into the stable clearing of beauty and order I had constructed in my life. The advice of the Rune is in harmony with Cyprian’s advice: notice, acknowledge, but be not led away. Possession by old patterns only provides the illusion of integration; not true integration itself.

The final Rune, the Rune of the Future, was very encouragingly, Wunjo, the Rune of Joy. Interestingly enough, Wunjo looks just like Thurisaz, except that the point of the Thorn has shifted up to resemble a Flag. If I can integrate this Shadow rather than being possessed by and swept away by it, the promise is joy, happiness, light, and a satisfaction deeper than mere impulse gratification, with roots far deeper than superficial urge-fulfillment. Wunjo contains the sense of things going well due to harmonizing ourselves with Life, much like the Sephirah of Tipharet on the Tree of Life. The message is to strive for harmony, balance, and the kind of honesty and truth that set us free from the convenient lies that can bind us. 

From left to right: Uruz, Thurisaz, and Wunjo.

I thanked Saint Cyprian kindly for these wise insights and asked if I could ask him a question on behalf of my friend Chijioke, namely, if he could share anything about the nature and uses of First Pentacle of the Sun from the Key of Solomon. 

Again, the inner prompting to close my eyes came, and I again saw Saint Cyprian standing before me. Immediately, he began to speak saying:

“The First Pentacle of the Sun draws forth the Solar virtues. It is best consecrated when the Sun is in the sky and left on the Altar in view of the Sun. It bestows confidence, even a radiant glow upon the one who holds it, which attracts and fascinates. It can lighten the spirit and bestow joy and even glory. Beware, however, for this Pentacle can bring out arrogance and pride in those who have tendencies towards such qualities. It depicts the face of mighty Metatron; know that whenever you gaze upon the face of Metatron, he also gazes upon you. Be mindful that you use not his countenance for evil; instead, live in a worthy way that you might be found worthy when gazed upon.”

Once again, I thanked Saint Cyprian for this wise instruction and asked him if he had any final insights he would like to offer. He said quite simply:

“Yes. Forgive my servant N, with whom you recently quarreled. He meant well. You, like him, have your own faults. Hold no grievances against him. Forgive and walk your own way, putting your disagreement behind you, and allow him to do the same.”

I said I would and thanked him for this advice. His ghostly form smiled,  nodded, and then vanished into the black mist from whence he had emerged. 

I stood back up and used my Solomonic Bell to give the License to Depart to Spirits in the Four Directions and in the Above and Below, blessing them as they left, before formally closing the Temple.

Rune and Tarot Readings for N.J. with Saint Cyprian

Date: October 23, 2018
Sun Phase: Set, Showers Nearby
Moon Phase: Full Moon in 11 degrees Aries
Mansion of the Moon: Sharatain
Planetary Day: Day of the Moon
Planetary Hour: Hour of the Moon
Activities: Casting of a Natal Chart; Solomonic Ritual Bathing with Hyssop; Preliminary Prayers; Offering to God; Solomonic Bell Sounding to the Spirits of the Quarters; Offerings to Saint Cyprian and Gabriel; Second Phase of Prayers; Invocation of the Divine; Invocation of the Trinity; Exorcism of the Runes and Purification by Holy Water; Solomonic Consecration of the Runes with Frankincense Suffumigations, Holy Water Asperging, and Saint Cyprian Oil Anointing; Invocation of Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, and Uriel to empower the Runes; Invocation of the Trinity; Canticle of Saint Cyprian; Rite of the Crook of Saint Cyprian; Psalms Recitation; Recitation of al-Fatiha and al-Adiyat; Gifts of Rune Divination and Tarot Divination for a friend; Temple Closing

After consecrating the Runes on the Day and Hour of the Moon on this Full Moon, I cast three Runes for a Three Norn reading for my friend N.J.

Here is what I told N. regarding the two readings.

I asked the Oracle “what will the likely outcome be if N. pursues what he sees as his calling towards the Palo Mayombe tradition?”

For this Three-Norn Reading, I cast a series of Three Runes.

The first Rune is the Norn Urd; the past- past actions & situations that relate to the question. Here, we find Ansuz, linked to knowledge, wisdom, communication, the mouth, and a message. Indeed, Ansuz is primarily Odin’s Rune. The sense is that you have a rich and wise background of spiritual knowledge and yet have been looking for additional signs and confirmations, perhaps wondering if in Palo, you might find the missing answers you still seek.

The middle Rune is Norn Verdandi; the present- what is influencing you right now. Here, you have Thurs. The sense is that right now, you have a sense of a challenge. Thurs is partly Thor’s hammer, but also the giants he fought with it. The sense is that you are experience a sense of potential magical power, but also coming up against forces of chaos. When this Rune comes up, it tends to suggest a Warning against a Temptation. The thorn can be used to pierce the veil, but it also might backfire and stab you. Be careful. This Rune can be a sign that if you push forward along the path you are pursuing, your luck may run out. In connection with your question, this suggests that you are aware that there are dangers in pursuing the Palo path and are trying to assess the possibility carefully to see if it is really the best course of action for you. This is wise, and advised by Thurs here.

The final Rune represents the likely future outcome, Norn Skuld; the future- what will likely happen to answer your question. The Rune here is Isa, which means ice. This Rune has an ambivalent nature; ice may be beautiful, but also dangerous. The sense here, in connection with the other Runes, is that if you pursue the Palo Path, you may be walking on thin ice and face great danger. When Isa comes up, the advice tends to be “don’t rush this decision so that you don’t rashly fall into danger or get yourself stuck in a rut. Patience and wisdom are called for.” One of the darker meanings of Isa is that what may seem like a bridge to somewhere new or a place we are trying to get to (e.g. ice between two shores) can sometimes be that, but it can also be a trap; in trying to cross over the ice bridge, we may fall in and drown. Great caution is advised.”

To seek greater clarity, I then performed a Nine-card Tarot reading, I asked Cyprian “what will the likely outcome be if N. pursues what he sees as his calling towards the Palo Mayombe tradition?”

Here were the results of this second reading:

In this 9-card reading, a type of reading I sometimes use because of the connections of the number 9 to the Moon, which are very appropriate on this Day and Hour of the Full Moon, when I performed the reading, Card 1 is the present. This card represents what is happening to the querent at the present time. It also reflects the querent’s state of mind and how they may be perceiving the situation.

Your Present card is the Two of Pentacles Reversed. Upright, this card tends to suggest multiple priorities, time management, prioritisation, adaptability. Reversed, it can suggest that we are experiencing overcommitment, disorganisation, reprioritisation. We may be juggling two many things–or magical projects!–at once. If we juggle too much, we risk dropping what we’re juggling. You are in a period of transition, of chaos within your order, of trying to reorganize your life and reprioritise. The Two of Pentacles often appears when you are experiencing a state of ‘busyness’, rushing from one thing to the next, with little downtime in between. You may be constantly telling yourself that you don’t have enough time or you’re in a rush. However, keep in mind that you don’t have to be busy to get things done. Sometimes taking a break is the most productive thing you can do. This card brings your awareness to the concept of balance in your life right now. While you can seek out balance and equilibrium, nothing is ever in perfect balance (and if it is, everything is in a state of change so it is likely to get out of balance shortly after). The Two of Pentacles reversed suggests you’re trying to reassess your priorities and find a new sense of balance in your life.

In this 9-card reading, Card 2 is the past. This card represents the events that have lead up to the present situation and may provide some indication of how the challenge came about — this suggests what might have prompted you to consider pursuing Palo.

Your card here is the Eight of Cups Upright. This is a card of disappointment, abandonment, withdrawal, and escapism. You may have faced some challenges, some disappointments, or find yourself having to withdraw or abandon old ways, a relationship, a job, or another tradition. To quote an apt description of this card, “The cups are placed in such a way that it appears as if there is one missing, a sign that emotional fulfilment and wholeness is lacking in some way. The man has turned his back on these cups with a feeling of loss and disappointment, and walks away into the mountains. The river nearby is symbolic of the emotions he is feeling, and the mountains represent awareness that this isn’t going to be an easy journey (though it is a necessary journey for true long-term happiness). The moon in the night’s sky illuminates the path ahead, while suggesting that there may be some level of escape or avoidance in this card, given the man is leaving in the dead of night hoping to go unnoticed.” Are you avoiding something? Are you trying to use Palo as a form of escapism? These are questions this card compassionately raises for our own good.

In this 9-card reading, Card 3 is the Future. This card represents what is likely to occur within the next few weeks or even months if you pursue your perceived calling towards Palo. This is not the final outcome, simply the next step on the journey.

The card here is the Ten of Swords Reversed. Reversed, this card suggests taking on too much, avoiding responsibility. Combined with the avoidance of the Eight of Cups Upright, the suggestion is that if you dive into Palo now, you will be taking on way too much new responsibilities while still avoiding whatever it is you are trying to escape. Reversed, the Ten of Wands indicates that you are unnecessarily holding on to this burden when you do not need to. If you are feeling weighed down by your present circumstances, look at different ways you can lighten the load. Can you delegate certain tasks and responsibilities? Are you worrying about matters that do not concern you or cannot be changed? Do not become a martyr and take on more than you can realistically handle, this card cautions.

In this 9-card reading, Card 4 is the Above Card. This card reflects the querent’s goal, aspiration or best outcome with regards to the situation. It is what the querent is working towards consciously as they attempt to resolve the issue.

The card here is the Ace of Wands Upright. This suggests that you are considering Palo because you feel in it a sense of inspiration, power, creation, beginnings, and potential. You feel as if a “new Wand” or offer is being handed to you and you don’t want to pass it up. You’re excited by the seed of a new opportunity and adventure. However, at the same time, the Ace of Wands suggests a sense of restlessness and uncertainty; you’ve got a burst of energy, but you’re trying to figure out how to channel it effectively, which is wise.

In this 9-card reading, Card 5 is the Below Card. This card reflects that which is within the subconscious realm of the querent and delves much deeper into the core foundation of the situation. It symbolises the underlying feelings and trends associated with the situation and can indicate what is truly driving the querent. This card may bring a surprise message to the querent, particularly if they are not deeply connected to their inner being (watch out for reversed cards here which are likely to indicate that this is an ‘unknown’ to the querent).

Here, you’ve got the Three of Swords, which suggests that you are being subconsciously driven by painful separation, sorrow, heartbreak, grief, rejection. This may suggest that you are coping with some difficult feelings or experiences by wisely seeking out a new beginning, or unwisely trying to run away and avoid this by distracting yourself with a new venture. Which is it here? The other cards suggest avoidance and escapism, so I’m wondering what you might be avoiding? Can you put the Palo plan on hold for a while and work on facing what you’ve been avoiding, processing it fully, and sitting with it so you can integrate it and grow from the experience? This is what this card suggests.

In this 9-card reading, Card 6 is the Advice Card. The advice card takes into account all that is happening within the querent’s life and presents a recommendation for what approach can be taken to address the current challenges.

Here, your card is the Devil Reversed. This suggests that what might be wisest for you right now is for you to focus on releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, and detachment. This follows up on what the other cards have already said. If you’ve been avoiding something, running away, or escaping, or trying to use Palo to do that, the best thing to do is to stop and pause so you don’t slip on thin ice and drown by overwhelming yourself (to link it to the Isa Rune). You’ve got a Thorn in your side right now (the Thurs Rune), but instead of trying to avoid the pain, it might be best to focus on gently examining the wound and removing the Thorn. The Devil Reversed suggests that as well as letting go of whatever materialistic greed you may be feeling that may be pushing you in an unhelpful and unwise direction. This is not a time to rush into Palo, the cards and Runes are in very clear agreement; both suggest slowing down, taking caution, and focusing on your own shadow work instead of using magic as an avoidance tool (whether you are already doing that or *tempted* to do it).

In this 9-card reading, card 7 is External influences.  This card highlights the people, energies or events which will affect the outcome of the question and are beyond the querent’s control.

The reversed Nine of Pentacles is all about self-worth. When you see this card in a Tarot reading, you may find yourself reflecting on your own sense of self-worth and value. You’re going through something that is making you reflect on whether you’re ‘enough’ in some way. You’re questioning or avoiding looking at your own worthiness concerns, and potentially shame. If you’re trying to use Palo to increase your sense of self worth or become worthy, this card, especially combined with the Devil Reversed, suggests questioning the project; maybe you’re *already* worthy and good enough and don’t need Palo to become so. Maybe the systems and Spirits you’re already working with are worthy enough. This card invites reflection on these points.

In this 9-card reading, card 8 is Hopes and/or fears. This is perhaps one of the most difficult positions to interpret. Keep in mind that hopes and fears are closely intertwined, therefore that which we hope for may also be that which we fear, and so may fail to happen.

Your card here is Temperance Reversed. This suggests that you are looking to Palo hoping for healing and realignment, but you are afraid pursuing it will cast you into excess or throw your life even more out of balance. The other cards suggest that this worry is warranted; you are already juggling a lot and Palo is a very demanding tradition that will impose many more demands on you. The other cards are not suggesting to race ahead with this; on the contrary, they are suggesting doing your shadow work, working through your feelings or issues you’re avoiding, and being patient and taking time to figure things out. This is the only way to avoid hurting yourself worse (Thurs Rune) and slipping and drowning through thin ice (Isa Rune).

In this 9-card reading, card 9 is the likely Outcome. This card is representative of where the situation is headed and if/how the issue will be resolved. It assumes the outcome based on the querent continuing their current course of action. Of course, if the outcome card is not a desirable outcome, it is within the free will of the querent to make the necessary changes to their situation.

Card 9 here is the Four of Pentacles Reversed. In this position, this card suggests that if you keep pursuing Palo at this time, you risk experiencing over-spending, greed, or trying to unhealthily protect yourself in a way that won’t help your growth or move you forward. The reversed Four of Pentacles can appear when you are re-evaluating what’s important to you, especially when it comes to material priorities (this card links to the Reversed Two of Pentacles in your Present position). You may have placed too much value on material possessions and have now come to the realization that money and ‘things’ won’t make you happy. As a result, you may be loosening your grip on the need to surround yourself with ‘things’, in favour of seeking out more love and happiness in your life instead. You might be compelled to declutter your home or opt for a minimalist lifestyle. Money is no longer your number one priority and you are redefining your relationship with material possessions and money.

This card may also suggest greed for “more, more, more” in the occult realm too. The card seems to ask if you are only pursuing Palo out of greed masquerading as “noble inspiration and good intentions” (Ace of Wands in your conscious intentions, Above Card position). It also warns you that you may fall into deeper greed if you pursue this path and that this may not be what is best for you. It may also suggest that you risk running into financial problems as you attempt to do everything required for initiation into Palo and the lifetime of demands expected of you thereafter. Once again, the cards invite being careful and not rushing into anything before you take care of the practical matters in your life and the emotional wounds, shame, or residual issues in your inner or emotional life. The Runes suggest much the same thing; these two readings are in complete harmony.

Your above and below cards are contrasting; this suggests that you’re being driven by avoidant motives and past pain you may not even realize are driving you to Palo while you think you are doing it to seek a noble new experience or follow inspiration. Try to bridge the gap by making the unconscious influences conscious and working through whatever feelings you may be avoiding.

Your above and outcome cards are also contrasting; you’re hoping for inspiration, novelty, and a new experience, but you may fall into greed, imbalance, and financial problems if you continue down this path. Be careful.

Your future and outcome card suggest together that if you pursue this path, you’ll risk not only all of the above problems, but also stretching yourself too thin, taking on too many responsibilities, and trying to juggle more than you can keep up with. Stripping down is wiser than taking on more at this time.

If you work on healing the betrayal, pain, or whatever it is you are avoiding, you may be able to avoid falling into imbalance and intemperance (what you’re afraid of). The cards suggest this as the wisest course of action, very clearly. Your Runes agree.

Hope this helps!

***

Here is what N. shared based on the readings above, after I shared my results with him, so as not to bias my readings:

“That is very interesting, brother! Yes very accurate with facing a challenge right now. A little uncertainty with upcoming decisions. Where to place focus in my life as I have achieved previous goals. I agree completely to assess things and see what is the best course action.

Palo initiation would only be a year or so from now, however Nsasi from Palo is reaching out to me in very strong ways. I feel my own energy field changing since the Palo reading. I was told I need to be initiated, otherwise I will have missing pieces in my life and need the protection. (My old mentor has sent attacks to block my roads). He was in palo, but in obeah, voodoo also. So in conclusion brother, with what I perceive with the reading… it to use wisdom, patience and caution. To test things and gain deeper insight into decisions before making them. I completely agree and do not wish to rush into anything.”

I replied:

“Yes, that sounds very appropriate, and the Runes bear out all aspects of what you mentioned above, including coming from a background of having attained your goals and the wisdom you sought in other domains but still seeking more. I agree.”

He added the results of consulting Archangel Cassiel for guidance:

“Cassiel, when I asked him, spoke that the decision was ultimately up to me to be made. Between me and God, and it was not his decision. However he did also express the responsibility from this and to always have a sincere heart. In Palo, my intention is not for power, it is the desire to experience the tradition and to be able to acquire ability to help more people. Its been calling very strongly lately. The Spirits of it have been reaching out heavily.”

My reply:

“Cassiel’s advice seems wise. Your Rune and Tarot reading are both pointing out risks, dangers, and potential threats if you dive too rapidly into Palo. They are not outright saying not to pursue it, but they are strongly encouraging working through your own practical life issues and lingering emotional wounds before going further, should you choose to do so.”

 

 

 

The Rite of the Crook of Saint Cyprian: A Powerful Ritual Revealed Through PGM Lecanomancy

By Frater S.C.F.V.

Altar set-up for Novena of Saint Cyprian of Antioch Day 9 and PGM lecanomancy: large bowl filled with spring water, Holy Water, and Saint Cyprian Oil (bottom center). Brass cauldron with offerings of Church wafer and incense (bottom right). Key of Solomon Aspergillum and Water Glass Offering to Cyprian (bottom left). Offering of wine (center). Two lavender candles fixed with Saint Cyprian Oil, cinnamon, all-spice, and sage offered to Saint Cyprian (middle left and right). Statues of Saint Cyprian and Justina (back center), Vial of Saint Cyprian Oil (back right), and Novena Candle (back left).

A Sudden Change of Plans

On Day 9 of my 2018 Novena of Saint Cyprian of Antioch, I woke up and performed a ritual bath and morning worship. I then traveled to the city to do social work community service with older adults in the community as a form of Offering to Cyprian. At the end of the day, I meditated  on the Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite on the journey home, and having arrived, prepared for ritual.

I performed a second ritual bath of the day and session of prayers and put on my robe, stole, and golden crown. I then fixed two candles as Offerings to Saint Cyprian, both lavender candles, fixed with San Cipriano Oil, allspice, cinnamon, and sage. I had originally planned a completely different series of rituals for tonight, but after receiving a strong intuitive nudge of the kind that Cyprian usually produces when he is giving guidance, I scrapped the initial plan and opted instead to focus entirely on the Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM) or Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri. Indeed,I felt a strong sense that the focus of the night should be on classical Graeco-Egyptian lecanomancy. As the night unfolded, it became clear that I was in not just for a powerful experience with Cyprian, but for learning an entirely new ritual directly from him…

The Oracle of Delphi presented as performing lecanomancy or evocationary scrying via a bowl of water and olive oil painted by a Kodros painter and dating to 430 BC, roughly 100 years before Dr. Ryan Bailey (2017) estimates the Acts of Saint Cyprian of Antioch was written.

The Lecanomantic Origins of the Rite of the Crook of Saint Cyprian

I entered the Temple, and began, as usual, with offerings and preliminary prayers to the Divine. I then picked up my Solomonic Bell, sounded it three times before entering the Circle as per the Hygromanteia and then, from within it, sounded it thrice to each of the Quarters, greeting the Spirits of the East, South, West, and North with great love, respect, and  blessings. Next, I used my Key of Solomon Aspergillum of Art to sprinkle Holy Water all around the Circle and on the tools and Altar to purify the area for the workings to come. I then proceeded to give additional Offerings to the Divine and to Saint Cyprian and prepared myself for the intensive work to begin.

I lit both of Saint Cyprian’s twin candles and offered him a glass of red wine as well as consecrated incense. Then, I breathed deeply until I entered a quasi-trance state and standing and brandishing my Wand, I began to powerfully recite the Rite of the Headless One from the Stele of Jeu or Papyri Graecae Magicae V. 96-172.

The Rite came on strongly and powerfully as it always does. Before I knew it, I had been transported into a kind of ecstatic frenzy as the primal force of the “awesome and invisible god” began to overwhelm my mundane consciousness.  As I strained to not fall into the state of momentary transcendental dissolution in the Absolute that the Rite is known to produce, and still immersed in the frenzied, ecstatic state of the “Holy Headless One,” I shifted into a modified Cyprianic form of the lecanomantic spell of “evocationary scrying,” to borrow a term from Dr. Stephen Skinner, from PGM IV. 154 to 285.

Inquiry of bowl divination and necromancy. Whenever you want to inquire about matters, take a bronze vessel, either a bowl or a saucer, whatever kind you wish. Pour water: rainwater if you are calling upon heavenly gods, seawater if gods of the earth, river water if Osiris or Sarapis, spring water if the dead.

Holding the vessel on your knees, pour out green olive oil, bend over the vessel and speak the prescribed spell. And address whatever god you want ask about whatever you wish, and he will reply to you and tell you about anything. And if he has spoken dismiss him with the spell of dismissal, and you who have used this spell will be amazed.

– PGM IV. 223- 243

In keeping with Saint Cyprian’s necromantic theme, I had filled a large bowl with spring water prior to beginning the Headless Rite. It was into this bowl that I now turned to begin my necromantic lecanomancy guided by Cyprian. I poured a libation of Saint Cyprian Holy Olive Oil into the bowl of water, into which I had also poured a small amount of Spring Water mixed with Holy Water used in a prior magical ceremony. I then began to recite the conjuration from PGM IV 223-243, modified to include Saint Cyprian in place of a Graeco-Egyptian gods:

The spell spoken over the vessel is: “AMOUN AUANTAU LAIMOUTAU RIPTOU MANTAUI IMANTOU LANTOU LAPTOUMI ANCHÔMACH ARAPTOUMI, hither to me, O Saint Cyprian; appear to me this very hour and do not frighten my eyes. Hither to me, O Saint Cyprian, be attentive to me because he wishes and commands this ACHCHÔR ACHCHÔR ACHACHACH PTOUMI CHACHCHÔ CHARACHÔCH CHAPTOUMÊ CHÔRACHARACHÔCH APTOUMI MÊCHÔCHAPTOU CHARACHPTOU CHACHCHÔ CHARACHÔ PTENACHÔCHEU” (a hundred letters).

But you are not unaware, mighty king and leader of magicians, that this is the chief name of Typhon, at whom the ground, the depths of the sea, Hades, heaven, the sun, the moon, the visible chorus of stars, the whole universe all tremble, the name which, when it is uttered, forcibly brings gods and daemons to it. This is the name that consists of 100 letters.

– PGM IV. 223- 243

Immediately after finishing this powerful conjuration, I sat before the Altar with the lecanomantic bowl on my knees as described in the spell text. I began to scry into the olive oil swirling in the water and invited Saint Cyprian to guide me with a vision of whatever he felt would be helpful for the development of magical wisdom. I gazed and gaze into the swirling Cyprianic oil within the bowl until my eyes grew heavier and heavier before falling shut completely…

Suddenly, I saw him. Saint Cyprian, carrying his iconic Crook stepped out of the darkness of my closed eyelids and stood before me, exuding great power and mystery.  I greeted him with love, respect, and the blessings of the Divine, which he returned.  Then I asked him what he guidance he would like to offer for the next phase of my magical development and he said:

“Follow my example. Find connecting lines where others see gaps. Integrate the wisdom to which differing traditions cling into a broader vision of magic. Do not fixate on the outer forms of things. Instead, peer behind the techniques, at the principles that underlie them, and behind the symbols and language at the fundamental forces on which they draw. Having realized the concealed and foundational mechanics that power the techniques and rites of magic beneath their surface forms, you will be best equipped to enlist them in your work. Let undeniable results rule over the rigid opinions of the ignorant.”

I thanked Saint Cyprian for this wise message and promised to do my utmost to put it into practice.  I then asked him if he was pleased by my efforts and Offerings thus far in the 9 preceding Novena days of intensive magical work conducted in his honour and if so, whether he would do me the great honour of granting me his patronage as a result.  Smiling, he spoke into my mind in his deep calm voice, saying:

“It is with pleasure that I bestow on you my Patronage. Wherever you go, my Crook will follow you there.  Whatever work you embark upon, my hand will be in it to strengthen it as well.” 

I felt very moved and grateful for these inspiring words and asked the great Saint if he would be willing to kindly bless me with a new magical technique that I could both use myself and pass on to other esteemed Magicians to empower their own work. Nodding in assent, Cyprian instructed me to open my eyes and begin to write.  As I did so, I was startled by the automatic rapidity with which the words of the rite that follows flowed, fully-formed onto the page as a potent gift from Saint Cyprian himself. I pray that you, dear Reader, will find it as useful as I have, that it will release blessings and power over you, your house, and your work, and that Saint Cyprian will pray for your success in all things, in the name of the Most High, Amen!

The Invocatory Rite of the Crook of Saint Cyprian

Perform a ritual bath and stand to perform the ritual, ideally in the center of a ceremonial Circle of your choosing. Breathe deeply multiple times until relaxed and ready.

Hold a Wand, Dagger or extended finger straight up into the air and call out:

RAI ATAH IA YAH YAH
(Ray-Ah-Tah Ee-ah Yah-Yah)

Begin to trace a Spiral symbolizing Cyprian’s Crook out from the center of your forehead. Continue spiralling faster and faster while declaring:

I draw out the Eternal
GA RAHP TA GAKAIOL
(Gah-rahpt-tah-gah-ka-ee-ol),
Beyond all, at the Source of All,
Beyond the First, after the Last,
Nowhere and Yet everywhere,
Here and Now And evermore,
ONTA GA SHALEIO KA
(OH-N-Tah-Hah-Shah-Lay-Yo-Ka)
RAMATA GAH RAH KAA!
(Rah-Mah-Tah Gah-Rah Ka-Ah)

Thee I Invoke, The Ancient One,
As You, as I, Without A Second
GOKAHRAI TAH AGAI
(Goh-Kah-Ray-Tah-Ah-Gah-Ee)
OVAYOTOGAIOL
(Oh-vah Yoh-toh Gah-ee-ool)
RAHGAH PEII RAH TAI!
(Rah-gah Pay-Ee Rah Tah-Ee)

Pull the potent force evoked down towards the ground to complete the Staff portion of Cyprian’s Crook, tracing your wand, dagger or finger down from the forehead over the throat, heart, and solar plexus.

Finish with your hand over your genitals and your finger, Wand, or Dagger pointing to the floor. Exclaim:

Planted am I, the Eternal Root,
Fiery Source, Birth and Destruction,
Mighty am I, Force Beyond Force,
None do breathe except through Me —
GAH RAH TEII AIOL!
(Gah-Rah Tei-ee Ah-Eee-Ol)
Life and Death are naught but coils
In my Ancient Serpent’s Form,
Beyond the Hidden and Revealed
OTA GOH KARAIOL!
(Oh-tah Goh-kah Rah-Ee-Ol)
GOGEI AN PA-AH-IOL!
(Goh-gay An-pah Ah-Ee-Ol)
As That Alone which Is declares,
So must yet it be:
__________________ (Call out petition / desired magical outcome)!
KAH GEI RATEI GAIOL,
(Kah-Gay Rah-tay Gah-Ee-Ol)
OMEI GATEI ALEI PHA,
(Oh-may Gah-tay Al-Ay-Pha)
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!”

Cross the arms over the chest like the resurrected Osiris and abide in that position for some time, monitoring the sensations that result, certain that what has been declared will come to pass.

Novena of Saint Cyprian 2018 Day 3: Invocation of Archangel Raphael

By Frater S.C.F.V.

On Wednesday, September 19, 2018,  I began Day 3 of my Novena to Saint Cyprian of Antioch with ritual bathing and worship. I then went to my social work classes, completed some clinical work, and updated my ritual plans for the coming few days of the Novena.

By the time I finally got home, it was 11 o’clock p.m. I made my lunch for the next day and proceeded to perform ritual bathing and open the Temple. I felt utterly exhausted and had caught a cold from the shockingly cold temperatures today, as a result of which I had a runny nose, sore throat, and cough. Nonetheless, I was determined to continue on with the Novena and prayed for help to complete it.

First, I lit a candle as an offering to the Most High. Then, I picked up my Solomonic Bell of Art, sounded it thrice before entering the Circle as per the Hygromanteia and then again to the Quarters, greeting the Spirits of the East, South, West, and North with great love, respect, and the blessings of Adonai.

I formally opened the Temple and offered Saint Cyprian a fresh glass of water, a new purple candle, and new Frankincense with 9 knocks on the Altar and 9 repetitions of his name. I then proceeded through a series of prayers, invocations of the Trinity, and extensive reading of Psalms while holding my Solomonic Wand of Art.

I then prayed the Prayer for help in conjuring Spirits from Joseph H. Peterson’s edition of the Heptameron and proceeded with a formal conjuration of the great Archangel Raphael after sprinkling Holy Water, suffumigating, and anointing my eyes, forehead, and heart with San Cipriano Oil. I blended Raphael’s Sigil with Holy Water and placed it under the scrying Crystal.

His presence was light and gentle, even soothing, strikingly different from the effulgent majesty of Gabriel and the calm and grim severity of Samael. At the very moment I felt him appear, my cat began to meow outside the door and I said “even my cat welcomes you, O Raphael!”, smiling. Upon the great Archangel’s arrival, I welcomed the great Archangel with blessings and Offerings of a candle and Frankincense.

I then asked him if he was pleased with rhe offerings, to please move the two streams of incense smoke from straight upwards over to the right, which proceeded immediately to happen. Thereafter, I asked Raphael if he could show me how best to communicate with him and help me to improve at scrying in the Crystal.

The response was an intuitive nudge to do something I had never done before: move the candle offered to Raphael behind the Crystal so that the candle Offering could illuminate the Crystal from behind. The result was that the Spirit could manipulate the candle flame and the result would be magnified though the crystal. How fascinating — crystallomancy and pyromancy in one! Coining a word, it seemed I could refer to it as pyrocrystallomancy. 

I asked Raphael if I had done this correctly, and his candle immediately began to flicker strongly in confirmation.

Next, I asked him if he could explain how to scry more efficiently. As I gazed into the illuminating Crystal, I began to enter a state of trance and it was then that I noticed a calm and gentle voice had begun to speak into my mind, slowly and gradually saying:

“Be calm, be quiet. Open fully. Do not aim to speak. Listen. Open. Receive. Let thought be still. Simply receive.”

I listened and opened and the state began to deepen. Once the gaze stabilized, I began to ask questions and receivr slow and gentle answers.

The first was as brilliantly succinct as it was memorable. I asked what the key was to scrying Angels. Raphael replied:

“Do not do. Let be done to you.”

What a beautiful articulation of his message of being fully receptive and emptying yourself fully in order to silently receive.

When asked what is the nature of the Angels, Raphael replied

“Light and pure knowledge.”

When asked what Angels do, he replied

“God’s Will.”

I asked if he could heal at will and he said,

“If God Wills.”

When asked what was the key to healing others, Raphael replied

“Faith, love, and the right alignment of conditions.”

When asked if I could share his answers for the greater good and edifying of my brothers and sisters, he said “yes.”

Finally, I asked Raphael if he could please heal me of my present illness as Christ had healed. He said

“Yes, if God Wills. You will know not by what I say, but by what I do.”

I thanked him sincerely and invited him either to go in peace with the blessings of Adonai, or to remain for the prayers to follow and join me in prayer as he willed. I also invited him to communicate with me in dreams if he had a wise word to communicate for which I did not know how to ask. Finally, I asked if he would accept my friendship and be willing to come again and teach me more in the future with gifts of more Offerings. His candle began to flicker in affirmation.

I proceeded with more Psalmody, prayers, hymns, and blessings, as well as the Canticle of Saint Cyprian. After an intense hour and a half of ritual, I formally closed the Temple feeling blessed, grateful, and my heart awash with love and gratitude to Saint Cyprian, to kind Raphael, and above all, to the Most High, who lives and reigns now and unto the Ages of the Ages. Amen!

Update: A little over a day later, my cold is almost entirely healed as physically evidenced by my mucus no longer running green, but clear, my runny nose being gone, by the vanishing of my fever, and by my cough being nearly completely gone. Thanks be to the great Archangel Raphael and praise and glory to Adonai Rapha, Lord of Healing!

The Hidden Key of Reverential Awe: Unlocking the Secrets of the “Fear of God” in the Grimoires

By Frater S.C.F.V.

The Key of Solomon opens with these striking words in Book I, Chapter I:

“SOLOMON, the Son of David, King of Israel, hath said that the beginning of our Key is to fear God, to adore Him, to honour Him with contrition of heart, to invoke Him 1 in all matters which we wish to undertake, and to operate with very great devotion, for thus God will lead us in the right way.

When, therefore, thou shalt wish to acquire the knowledge of Magical Arts and Sciences, it is necessary to have prepared the order of hours and of days, and of the position of the Moon, without the operation of which thou canst effect nothing; but if thou observest them with diligence thou mayest easily and thoroughly arrive at the effect and end which thou desirest to attain” (Peterson, 2004).

When contemporary Magicians hear the phrase “fear of God,” they tend to immediately assume that the Key is praising something like a state of terror, or what the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard called the state of “fear and trembling.”

Naturally, since fear is often considered to be an unpleasant, painful, or negative state, students of the Hidden Knowledge may be dissuaded by this phrase in the grimoires and may want to skip over it, disregard it as ‘outmoded’ or ‘negative,’ and intentionally decide not to put this instruction into practice.

Lest we mistake a nugget of gold for a piece of coal, however, it is worth carefully considering whether the grimoires actually are encouraging us to cultivate a disempowering state of terror here, which certainly would be negative if it were the case. What, if, on the contrary, the grimoiric writers have something very different in mind?

Thankfully, the state of debilitating fear does not seem to be what the grimoire writers mean by the phrase “fear of God.” Instead, they are using the word “fear” in an archaic sense that is different from how we use the word today. Properly-translated, the “fear of God” of the grimoire writers is a state far more profound than mere terror, a state that the ever-erudite Aaron Leitch aptly describes as a state of “reverential awe.” And, as we will attempt to show in this article, it is a state which holds the key to unlocking ever deeper regions of our magic, our life, and our psychological and spiritual experience.

When we are in a state of terror, we may indeed feel reverential awe for the power of whatever we are afraid of to overwhelm or harm us. True terror implicitly carries respect within it, for who among us fears what we do not respect enough to take seriously?

However, there are other states of reverential awe that do not involve terror as such. A prime and powerful example of such an alternative state is love. When a lover he holds and is enraptured by the vision of their beloved, they experience a state of ‘reverential awe,’ or loving wonder, which is undeniably pleasant, even blissful.

Thus, both fear and love can be states of reverential awe, and each implies a state of humility towards the beloved or the sublimely respected. This humility in the face of something vast and powerful is central to the grimoiric understanding of reverential awe.

The stark reality is that if we overlook, dismiss, or disregard the process of cultivating a state of reverential awe in our magical practice, then we deprive ourselves of one of the most powerful keys to unlocking the mysteries of Renaissance and classical magic. Conversely, by cultivating this state, we plug our magical workings deep into a root reservoir of magical power that stems all the way back to the shamanic roots of grimoiric magic, as Aaron Leitch (2009) lucidly describes in his Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, and which Agrippa (2000) similarly describes in his section on “phrensies” or ecstatic states.

Indeed, reverential awe–the ‘fear of God’ of the grimoires–is a kind of ecstatic state, that elevates the Magician into a charged condition of fully-present, fully-alert consciousness and open receptivity to the wondrous influence of higher powers.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832).

Reverential awe is no small thing, no mere state among other human states and equal to all others. As the great German writer Goethe points out, of all of the emotional and phenomenological states of which we are capable,

“the highest a man can attain is wonder, and when the primordial phenomenon makes him wonder he should be content; it can give him nothing higher, and he should not look for anything beyond it — here is the boundary” (Eckermann, 2011).

Indeed, beyond the Christian mystical experience, reverential awe is central to the experience of both profound Zen meditation and also in bhakti yogic samadhi states. In both experiences, one finds oneself ‘falling open’ into silent absorption that transcends the subjective experience of finite selfhood.

What’s more, as alluded to above, Agrippa’s (2000) “phrenzy of Venus” is also a state of “reverential awe,” while being a state of intimate immersion of an ecstasy of love that is far removed from ‘terror’ and more akin to a deeply-charged, blissful trust or surrender. Furthermore, even Kirkegaard’s aforementioned “fear and trembling” state of reverential awe can itself be seen as simply another modality of the Sufi and Mystical Christian’s loving absorption form of reverential awe.

Strikingly, the magical significance of reverential awe does not stop here. According to the Renaissance angelological lore that underlies the historical background of the grimoires, the Angelic beings with whom Magicians aims to perform Operations exist in a state of perpetual reverential awe of the Divine. As a result, when we enter this mode of consciousness, we find ourselves in an emotional and spiritual condition that is magically sympathetic with the ordinary state of the Angels (Agrippa, 2000).

Guitar strings vibrating in harmony, a metaphor for the sympathetic resonance that exists between the Magician and higher entities such as Angels when we cultivate the state of reverential awe, which the grimoires call the ‘fear of God.’

Thus, while immersed in reverential awe, we are, in effect, phenomenologically and spiritually harmonized or “vibrating in harmony” with the Angels themselves, like mutually-tuned strings on a guitar (Agrippa, 2000). As a result, when we are in such a state, it can be easier to communicate with Angels according to the Agrippan sympathetic theory. This holds true in my own practical experience as well.

Not is this an abstract or far-fetched idea. On the contrary, the logic at play in this grimoiric understanding of the ‘fear of god’ as a magical technology that enables two beings in the same state to better connect with one another also makes intuitive sense based on our everyday mundane experience.

For example, and to continue the musical metaphor, two metalheads often find it easier to connect than a country fan and a metalhead who loathes country from the black recesses of his iron heart.

Similarly, two people who are both experiencing sadness tend to find it easier to ‘sympathize’ with one another. In contrast, someone who is ecstatically joyful may find it difficult to connect with someone who is experiencing a deeply depressed mood and “meet them where they are at.”

Entering a state of reverential awe is much like this; in this state, we endeavour to meet the Divine and Angelic and celestial beings as much as possible “where they are at.” In so doing, it is easier for them as well to manifest and appear to us in a way we can detect.

What’s more, this point can be understood as a special case of a more general philosophical or natural law within the grimoiric worldview. Just as Magicians aim to bring their state of being into a harmonic resonance with that of the Angels through the cultivation of reverential awe, so do they do the same with other grimoiric techniques.

More concretely, if Angels exist in a state of purity, always giving offerings of loving reverential awe and service to God, then if we Magicians purify ourselves, give offerings, and cultivate a state of reverential awe, then we can more easily ‘sympathize with’ them. As a result, in such a state, we can more readily connect and communicate with these Spirits.

This is precisely why, in his Operations, John Dee spent hours working himself into a blissfully loving date through ecstatic prayer before approaching the Table and Crystal with Edward Kelley.

The back of the Shemhamphoras Diagram from the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses.

In other grimoiric texts, we find that this point not only recurs, but is applied in different magical contexts with illuminating implications. For example, there is a passage in Joseph H. Peterson’s (2006) edition of the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, which describes the exact same elevation through reverential awe into a state of sympathetic resonance with higher spiritual powers to which we alluded above (Peterson, 2006). The passage in question is located in the text of the “Semiphoras” section of the Books and reads as follows:

“He who desires the influence of the Sun, must not only direct his eyes toward it, but he must elevate his soul-power [italics mine] to the soul-power of the Sun, which is God himself, having previously made himself equal to (that is, in harmony with the nature of God) by fasting, purification and good works, but he must also pray in the name of the intermediary, with fervent love to God, and his fellow-man that he may come to the sun-spirit, so that he may be filled with its light and luster, which he may draw to himself from heaven, and that he may become gifted with heavenly gifts and obtain all the desires of his heart.

As soon as he grasps the higher light and arrives at a state of perfection, being gifted with supernatural intelligence, he will also obtain supernatural might and power. For this reason, without godliness, man will deny his faith in Christ, and will become unacceptable to God, therewith often falling prey to the evil spirits against whom there is no better protection than the fear of the Lord and fervent love to God and man” (Peterson, 2006).

Reverential awe – the ecstasy of the Mystic and the Magician.

A few points are worth noting in this profound passage. First of all, we find that the grimoire recommends Magicians to undertake certain practices that result in elevating their “soul power” to the “soul-power of the Sun, which is God himself.” “Elevating one’s soul power” is another way of saying placing ourselves into a state of sympathetic resonance with the object of one’s devotions or work, in this case the Sun.

Indeed, the Hebrew word “Qadosh” means both “elevated” and “holy.” A holy state in the grimoires, then, is a state of sympathetic resonance achieved through shared qualities. Just as a sad person can sympathize with a sad person or an angry person can sympathize with a wrathful and malevolent spirit, a person in an elevated or holy state can better sympathize with a Spirit in an elevated or holy state, such as an Angel.

Interestingly, this notion is also well-known to Esperitistas, which is why they invest so much time in prayer, purification, and putting themselves in harmony with the “Developed Sporits” from which they aim to learn.

Second, and in this way, the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses suggest that by fasting, praying, doing good works, purifying ourselves with ritual bathing, and cultivating “fear of the Lord and love of God and man” that is, reverential awe, can make us “equal to God.” By “equal to God,” the text doesn’t mean that we miraculously develop omnipotence and omniscience; instead, it means that we enter into “a state that is sympathetically in harmony with the Nature of God” (Peterson, 2006).

This is the optimal state for doing magic with the help of Angels and via the invocation of Divine Names, which is the case for Enochian magic, Key of Solomon work, Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses work, the Abramelin Operation and many other grimoiric texts and approaches.

Similarly, there’s an interesting passage in the 18th century astrologer Ebenezer Sibly’s A New and Complete Illustration of the Occult Sciences, Book 4 which, in a like manner, suggests that the state of reverential awe or “fear of God” is central to the work of the Magician who aims to work with Angels. Sibly (2000) writes:

“All who in this world lived uprightly; and preserved a good conscience, walking in the fear of God, and in the love of divine truths, applying the same to practical use, seem to themselves as men awakened out of sleep, and as having passed from darkness to light, when they first enter upon their second or interior state; for when they think from the light of pure wisdom, and they do all things from the love of goodness; heaven influences their thoughts and affections, and they are in communication with angels” (Sibly, 2000).

This is the same essential idea we find expressed in the Renaissance sources and late Medieval grimoires and the underlying rationale for many of the grimoiric practices. As such, it is worth contemplating deeply, and not being too hastily discarded.

Indeed, reverential awe is not simply invaluable to the work of Magicians who aim to commune with Angels. In many texts, it is also the very same state in which the Exorcist or Conjurer conjures Spirits. In the Heptameron‘s Conjuration of Wednesday, for instance, we read:

“I conjure and call upon you, ye strong and holy angels, good and powerful, in a strong name of fear and praise, Ja, Adonay, Elohim, Saday, Saday, Saday; Eie, Eie, Eie; Asamie, Asamie; and in the name of Adonay, the God of Israel, who hath made the two great lights, and distinguished day from night for the benefit of his creatures; and by the names of all the discerning angels, governing openly in the second house [*Second Heaven] before the great angel, <Tetra> [*Tegra], strong and powerful; and by the name of his star which is Mercury; and by the name of his seal, which is that of a powerful and honoured God; and I call upon thee, Raphael, and by the names above mentioned, thou great angel who presidest over the fourth day: and by the holy name which is written in the front of Aaron, created the most high priest, and by the names of all the angels who are constant in the grace of Christ, and by the name and place of Ammaluim, that you assist me in my labours, &c” (Peterson, 2018).

Correspondingly, this same use of reverential awe in a combined blend of “fear and love” is included in the “Orations to be Said While You Conjure” in the Key of Knowledge transcribed from British Library, Additional Manuscript 36674 by Joseph H. Peterson (1999):

Lord Jesus Christ, the loving Son of God, which dost illuminate the hearts of all men in the world, lighten the darkness of my heart, and kindle the fire of thy most holy love in me. Give me true faith, perfect charity, and virtue, whereby I may learn to fear and love thee and keep thy commandments in all things; that when the Last Day shall come, the Angel of God may peaceably take me, and deliver me from the power of the Devil, that I may enjoy everlasting rest amidst the company of the holy Saints, and sit on thy right hand. Grant this, thou Son of the living God for thy holy name’s sake. Amen” (Peterson, 1999).

Nor is the cultivation of reverential awe only called upon for use in evocation or as a general way of life of sanctity and spiritual uprightness.

Indeed, in his Third Book of Occult Philosophy, Agrippa (2000) recommends cultivating reverential awe as a prerequisite for all forms of divination. He writes:

“Every one therefore that works by lots, must go about it with a mind well disposed, not troubled, nor distracted, and with a strong desire, firm deliberation, and constant intention of knowing that which shall be desired.
Moreover he must, being qualified with purity, chastity, and holiness towards God, and the celestials, with an undoubted hope, firm faith, and sacred orations, invocate them, that he may be made worthy of receiving the divine spirits, and knowing the divine pleasure; for if thou shalt be qualified, they will discover to thee most great secrets by vertue of lots, and thou shalt become a true Prophet, and able to speak truth concerning things past, present, and to come, of which thou shalt be demanded.

Now what we have spoken here concerning lots, is also to be observed in the auguries of all discemings, viz. when with fear, yet with a firm expectation we prefix to our souls for the sake of prophecying some certain works, or require a sign, as Eleasar, Abrahams countryman, & Gideon Judge in Israel are read to have done.”

In short, Agrippa (2000) points us to the importance of cultivating a state of purity, holiness and reverential awe married to “firm faith” so that our nature can be made sympathetically resonant with the “celestials” and “divine spirits” who can help us to conduct the divination of things unknown and hidden (i.e. occult). This, in effect, is an act of placing ourselves into the sympathetic magic equation in the same way that we place corresponding stones, metals, or incenses into a ceremonial ritual with the aim of amplifying the sympathetic power of the Rite.

Therefore, although many of us modern Magicians seem to have forgotten it, Magician are not only a conductor of sympathetic ingredients; we ourselves are such ingredients. And therefore, we must ensure that we work ourselves into the appropriate state of sympathetic harmony–such as reverential awe–that will enable us to maximize the effectiveness of our rituals.

Nor do we only find the grimoires and Early Modern sources enjoining us to cultivate reverential awe through the mouths of human writers; instead, the Spirits also offer similar instructions. For example, in John Dee’s True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits (2003), we find the Archangel Gabriel telling Dee and Kelley that:

“Blessed are those who dwell in charity. Persevere to the end: not negligently, but with good will, which good will, is called fear, which fear is the beginning of wisdom, the first step into rest.”

This is a very interesting passage for several reasons. First, Gabriel links the “fear” or reverential awe of which he speaks to “good will,” or sincerity or being goodhearted and well-intentioned.

Second, the Archangel also links this state to the “beginning of wisdom,” which sincerely Dee sought as the legendary King Solomon had done before him. Reverential awe is the beginning of wisdom, because in this state, we cease to rely on our flawed human opinions and open ourselves to spiritual inspiration. In Dee’s case, this was from the Angels themselves. Agrippa (2000) had a similar idea in mind in the passage quoted above.

Third, it’s also worth noting that Gabriel here links this reverential awe state not only to wisdom, but also to rest; indeed, in its pleasurable form of a loving ecstatic absorption, one can happily rest in abiding well-being.

This was precisely the state that the Advaita Vedanta sage Nisargadatta Maharaj (1973) had in mind when he recommended his devotees to “rest in the pure sense of Being, not being this or that, but simply being.” Resting in the pure sense of being is the same as communing with the Divine, which proclaims Eheieh (I Am). This sublimely subtle form of reverential awe is a peaceful state, as well as a pleasurable one, in which the heart is exalted (made ‘holy’) in Divine Presence and worshipful abiding.

Similarly, the Angels tell Dee and Kelley (2003) that:

“God is He whose wisdom unto the world is foolishness, but unto them that fear Him, an everlasting joy, mixed with gladness, and a comfort of life hereafter, partaking infallible joys, with him that is all comeliness and beauty.”

In this way, this reverential awe before the Divine, this opening of oneself to a surrendered, intensely alive, awe-filled state of openness and humility not only empowers our magic and enriches our life here on Earth, but also affords Paradisiacal benefits in the life hereafter.

Whether one believes in such an afterlife or not, it is certainly the case that this state is indeed conducive to the development of wisdom, rest, and empowered magical work in this life, a claim which is demonstrable through practical testing.

Indeed, if one can attain this state of reverential awe and bring it into daily life, mundane life itself takes on an enchanted feeling of spiritual depth, holy/exalted (qadosh) presence, and gratitude which constitute a kind of “Heaven in the Now” in this life” in their own right.

Giordano Bruno (1548-1600).

Indeed, one of the easiest ways to excite this reverential wonder and awe is the contemplation of Beauty, a fact which was well-known to Plato and the Neoplatonists who followed him, such as Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus.

It was also a familiar insight to the Renaissance Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician, poet, occultist, and cosmological theorist Giordano Bruno, who, in his De Gli Eroici Furori or On The Heroic Frenzies (1582), writes:

“He who arrives at some most excellent and most beautifully adorned edifice and considers it in each detail, is pleased, contented, and filled with a noble wonder; but then should it happen that he also see the Lord of these images in his incomparably greater beauty, he would abandon every concern and thought of such images, turn and become completely intent upon the contemplation of that Lord.

Such is the difference between the state in which he see the Divine Beauty in its intelligible aspects which are drawn from the Divine Beauty’s effects, operations, designs, shadows, and similitudes, and that other state in which we might be permitted to see it in its own unique being” (Bruno, 2013).

The Reverence that Reveals: Conclusion

As Bruno (2013) knew well, and in conclusion, the entry into Divine reverence via the contemplation of the Beautiful offers another layer of meaning that lies within the “fear of God” that unlocks the potent inner currents of grimoiric magic. This reverential awe is, at its heart, a noble wonder, a state of Divine communion with Beauty itself. And while, as every adolescent male knows all too well, the sight of profound beauty can excite fear, it can also excite wonder and loving absorption.

In this blissful ecstasy, the longings of the human heart and the noblest human capacities for contemplative wonder and spiritual exaltation are mobilized for the completion of the Magician’s aims. By harnessing the most potent of human powers, in the state of reverential awe, therefore, our grimoiric Magic can itself become the most potent it can be.

References

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