Solomonic Invocation of Archangel Anael and Emergency Petition for a Friend

By Frater S.C.F.V.

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Date: Friday, March 15, 2019
Sun Phase: Afternoon
Moon Phase: Waxing in First Quarter in 12 degrees Cancer in the Nathra Mansion of the Moon
Mansion of the Moon: Thurayya
Planetary Day: Day of Venurs
Planetary Hour: Hour of Venus
Activities: Ritual Bathing; Oratio dicenda quando induitur vestis; Dressing Candle for Anael; Preliminary Prayers; Offerings to the Most High, to Ancestors, to Patron Saints and Teachers, and to the Angels; Heptameron Prayer; Invoking the Angels of the Four Directions as per Heptameron; Conjuration of Anael;

A dear friend of mine, whom I will refer to as S.H. to preserve her privacy, is presently in an emergency situation where she is at risk of becoming homeless in a two week period. As a result, I felt moved to invoke the great Archangel Anael on the day of Venus in the Hour of Venus for help with the situation and also to go deeper into discussions of Divine Love with the Angel. The Moon today is in Lunar Mansion #8, al-Nathra, which is useful for actions of love and friendship. It is an appropriate time do a loving gesture with the Archangel of Venus on behalf of a friend.

I completed a 3-day regime of ritual purity in preparation, culminating in today. After a ritual bath, I got into my white robe (while reciting the Heptameron prayer for donning the vestments, “Oratio dicenda quando induitur vestis”) and put on my stole, put on my Cyprianic rosary, scapular, Cyprianic bracelet, and Solomonic Pentagonal Figure. Proceeding to the Temple, which had already been arranged prior to the beginning of the Planetary Hour, I sounded the Bell of Art three times before entering the Circle as per the Hygromanteia. Then, I entered the Circle, and began preliminary prayers to the Divine while asperging the Circle, Altar, and all Instruments of the Art with Holy Water.

The Altar featured a green Altar cloth, which looks blue in these images, a large green candle, a small green candle dressed with St. Cyprian Oil and Thyme, which is sacred to Venus according to Agrippa’s First Book of Occult Philosophy, Chapter XXVIII, a Virgin Mary Statue, a censor with stick incense placed inside my Cauldron consecrated to Archangel Gabriel, Epiphany Holy Water, bread and water Offerings to Anael, my Wand, a vial of San Cipriano Oil, my Bells, a scrying Crystal, and the seal of Anael on Virgin Paper set on a golden Laurel Wreath. I took up my Solomonic Sword and traced over the outer line of the Circle with its point. With the Circle thus sealed, I put down the Sword and picked up my Solomonic Wand.

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First, I presented Offerings to the Most High El Elyon and asked for His Help in sending His servant, Anael to be present with me and aid me in this Operation of the Art. Next, I presented Offerings to my Patrons, including St. Cyprian of Antioch, my Ancestors, the Angels and Archangels, and the Olympic Spirits, requesting their help in this Operation. The Offerings included exorcised and consecrated goblets of spring and filtered water, candle offerings, bread, and for Anael, a green candle dressed with St. Cyprian Oil and Thyme, bread sprinkled with Thyme, and incense. I asked St. Cyprian to assist me in conjuring Anael with the aim of learning more about the Divine Wisdom and assisting a friend in need.

After more preliminary Prayers, I formally opened the Temple for the Solomonic Invocation. I felt an intuitive nudge from my Spirits to proceed with the Heptameron conjurations and prayers in Latin today, so I obliged. The Altar was set up to face the current location of Venus in the sky, which was determined using an astronomical program. Standing facing the Altar in the direction of Venus, I took up my Wand and the grimoire in the other hand and began the opening prayers.

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I said the opening line “O Angels [sic] supradicti, estote adjutores meæ petitioni, & in adjutorium mihi, in meis rebus & petitionibus” then called the Angels that rule the Air on this Day, intoning their names 3 times each in their respective directions, then praying “O vos omnes, adjuro atque contestor per sedem Adonay, per Hagios, etc…”

Having called the Angels of the 3rd Heaven ruling the Day in their respective Quarters I proceeded to the Conjuration of Friday to invoke Anael, namely:

Conjuro & confirmo super vos Angeli fortes, sancti atque potentes, in nomine On, Hey, Heya, Ja, Je, Adonay, Saday, & in nomine Saday, qui creavit quadrupedia & animalia reptilia, & homines in sexto die, & Adæ dedit potestatem super omnia animalia: unde benedictum sit nomen creatoris in loco suo: & per nomina Angelorum servientium in tertio exercitu, coram Dagiel Angelo magno, principe forti atque potenti: & per nomen Stellæ quæ est Venus: & per Sigillum ejus, quod quidem est sanctum: & per nomina prædicta conjuro super te Anael, qui es præpositus diei sextæ, ut pro me labores, &c.

I then did a second complete Conjuration in English, adding my intent for the ritual and petition, and requesting help from the Divine, my Patrons, Saints, Ancestors, and Teachers for help in making it succcessful.

Then, I began to chant the name ANAEL for an extended period of time while waving the Wand in rhythmic motion, facing the direction of Venus. I continued and continued, my chanting growing in intensity and melodic harmonies while tracing his Sigil in the air with my Solomonic Wand until I felt a shift in the energy in the room, a sense of loving warmth begin to grow like light over the horizon at dawn. I saw sparks of light and drifting spiritual ‘tracers’ outside the Circle. Then Anael’s offering Candle flared up. I welcomed the Spirit and asked the Spirit in the name of Tetragrammaton to confirm its presence if it was indeed here by moving both incense sticks’ streams of smoke to the left in unison. This happened immediately, confirming the Spirit’s presence.

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I greeted the Spirit with great love and respect and thanked the Archangel for coming and being present for this ceremony. I then knelt before the Altar, placed Anael’s offering candle behind the Crystal Ball and began to scry into the flame through the crystal in the pyrocrystallomancy method taught me to by Raphael in a previous conjuration. I then asked the Angel to assist me in tuning into his presence. I gave him consent to manifest sensations, emotions, and thoughts, to draw on my memory to facilitate the communication, and to guide me in inducing appropriate states of consciousness to facilitate the attunement.

Still kneeling, I then proceeded to scry into the Crystal until a pulsation began to emerge in the center of my forehead, my vision began to darken out while the fire in the crystal began to grow brighter. Then I saw a kind of misty-light like effect swirl around the outside of the Crystal. In the process, my eyes grew heavier and heavier and I heard Anael speaking into my mind, suggesting that I could close my eyes and need not strain them. In any event, they fell closed of their own accord without me having much say in the mater…

I greeted the Angel with great love and respect, which Anael reciprocated with his warm, adrogynous voice, saying “greetings, Child of God” with great affection.

I asked if he could give me a revelation-image of his presence and immediately I saw a beautiful winged figure, this time appearing with long blonde hair and an emerald robe, with a face of pure light. To my surprise, however, the image shifted into a green winged heart, which then morphed into a sprout germinating out of the ground and growing into a grove of verdant trees.

I asked Anael what this vision signified and he spoke in the poetic way he sometimes does, the words appearing smoothly spoken into my mind in the Angel’s voice while my forehead continued to pulsate with the throbbing light feeling:

My form is an image of Love,
The green of Nature, which is love growing into life,
The heart of the World, the sprouting of new love,
The growing wisdom of love extending outward,
The forest an image of love growing out in waves.”

I asked the Angel if this was an image of Divine Love. The Angel replied:

God’s Love is far greater than this,
Greater than your human mind,
Which thinks in time and bounded, limited concepts
Can fathom.”

I asked if the Angel could give me an analogy as to what Divine Love is like.

“The Divine Love that sustains the universe is like an ocean,
Every form and phenomenon that appears is like a droplet in that ocean,
Always embraced by the ocean, always part of it, and yet appearing separate,
Seeming to change like the waves on the service,
Yet ever still and eternally held like the ocean depths,
This is what God’s Love is like.”

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I asked Anael if he could share more about the nature of Divine Love:

“God’s Love holds the entire universe within it, excluding nothing.
Creation itself was the flowering of that eternal Love into the sparking-forth of Time,
A Love so infinite it could bloom into finitude, a Love so vast it could pretend to be Other,
There is not a particle that appears in this world that is not held by that Love,
That Love is the particle, and the particle is that Love,
Do not imagine that it is Other than you.
The Love, the God, and the Creation are only different in appearance, not in Reality,
It is Love itself that brings-into-being phenomena, phainomenon, means appearing-into-view, through the Power of that Love, which Loves to Appear and be Appeared to.”

When asked if God’s Love was like human life in any way we could relate to, Anael replied:

Not quite! Your human love is often conditional,
Bound by expectations, limited by arising and subsiding in Time,
Exclusive of some, inclusive of others.
God’s Love is entirely different from that.
And yet even finite human love is but an appearance
of that Love without which nothing is.
God’s Love never began and will never end.
God hates no one; His Love never turns to hate as human love often does.
It does not exclude or include in a dualistic sense.
It is not earned, nor can it be lost.
It has no expectations and no conditions;
It is you humans who make up the requirements and conditions!
It cannot be approached or moved away from;
It is always available at all times,
More subtle than the subtlest,
More intense than the greatest Starry inferno,
Small enough to hold the tiniest particle,
Vast enough to embrace all that is, was, and ever shall be,
Who can say what it is like?
It is here and now, always available.
But your Father
–and Father and Child are just metaphors to try to help you humans understand–
Loves you so that He sets you free to turn away from Him,
To forget Him, to pursue your own ideas,
Giving you everything that was ever created,
Present with you in every moment,
And yet how ungrateful you humans are!
Despite that ingratitude, His Love never retreats a step from you,
Never distances itself as you humans do when you pull away in hurt.
God’s Love never fails, nor ever leaves you.
Whenever you wish, it is given fully, nothing held back.”

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Hearing this, I wondered why we seem so unaware of it. Anael explained:

“There are no barriers to God’s Love except the ones you imagine there are.
Imagining there to be barriers, you make up stories about how to “earn” God’s love.
In so doing, you miss the mark of the Good and the True,
And imagine that your “sin” disqualifies you from Divine Love,
Nothing could be further from the truth!
God loves you before you stumble, while you err,
And after you have realized your mistake.
Does a good father see a child stumble and hate the child for acting out of ignorance?
Of course not! Do you imagine Divine Perfection to be less than that?
Confession, the changing of minds,
The honest admission of where you’ve missed the mark,
Is a Gift to yourself from yourself;
Your Father does not need it, but He asks for it for *you.*
In so doing, your lighten your heart,
And your imagine barriers to His Love dissolve,
So that you become more aware of what is always here.
Truly, your humanness is but a wave in this ocean.
Your ultimate nature is far beyond an ephemeral animal form bound by Time;
In loving God, you realize yourself and He realizes Himself in you;
“You” and “Him” are but metaphors to help you try to understand,
But in Truth, there are no two things, only in appearance,
Only in Love-appearing for the play of change in Time.
But how could you possibly understand?
You cannot. But as you surrender your ignorance,
The Truth reveals itself, without requiring a word.
For Truth was silent for billions of years before the first human spoke.
The “Word” itself is metaphor,
A Mercy to a human mind.”

I thanked the Archangel for these beautifully rich, although humbling, words and proceeded to my request for the Angel to assist my dear friend S.H., who is at risk of becoming homeless in a few weeks. I asked if Anael could help as best he can. Before Anael, I prayed to God, to whom belongs all of Creation, all homes, and all riches, to extend His Goodness and thanked Him for what he’s doing to help his Child S.H.

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After the prayer, Anael reassured me:

“We were working on your friend’s problem before you and she even asked.
Tell her that help will come, though not necessarily in the way she expects.
Tell her also that although she has felt as though God’s Love and presence had retreated from her, they have always perfectly been there;
It is only her imagination that has shifted,
And made what was not so, appear to be so.
If she corrects her imaginings with right understanding,
She will have a transformation of mind,
And the ever-present Love will reveal itself,
Unlosable, unfailing, and ever-here for her.
Tell her also that the matter she is worrying about
That she did not tell you has already been addressed.
Her part is to do what she can and act on what you and others have shared with her.
God and we will attend to the rest.
From our perspective, it is already done.
From your perspective, it will come.
Trust and have faith. All will be well.
God does not forsake His Beloveds,
No matter how you humans may imagine He does.”

I thanked Anael for this great kindness and help and asked if I could publish the record of this conversation and pass on these words to S.H. Anael replied:

Yes, but do not pass on what I am about to tell you. It is for you alone.

I will not reveal what was said next, but I can say that after I heard it, I felt a wave of warmth flood through my body. Tears formed in my eyes, and I felt as though the Angel’s wings were wrapping around me in the way Soror R.A. often described to me.

Finally, I asked the Angel if he would be willing to be my Patron and to speak with me again so that I could continue to learn from him.

It shall be so, Child of God. Keep up the good work you are doing in service of others. Sanctification can feel like difficulty,
But that is only the process of transforming your ignorance and arrogance,
Changing your mind.
That too, God only wants for you,
Because Eternal Freedom Wills that you be free from all that you imagine binds you.
From our perspective, you already are;
From yours, you will seem to be.
Patience and humility reconcile the two views.

With tears in my eyes, I thanked the Angel deeply. I continued to kneel there in his presence for what felt like a long time, simply abiding in that clean, clear, loving safety and warmth.

At last, I stood, thanked the Angel for coming and invited him to partake of the offerings and go at his own leisure. Then I did the License to Depart to all of the Angel and Spirits called in the four Quarters as per the Heptameron‘s procedure. With final prayers and sprinklings, I closed the Temple with the pulsing in my forehead finally beginning to dwindle, but the warmth in my heart continuing to kindle.

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Update – May 1st, 2019: All of the Angel’s words came to pass as described. Through gigs and her tax return, my friend was able to earn enough money to pay for her rent for May. Another friend from the community also helped her to write a letter to enter a business partnership with local stores to sell her excellent oils and other products. I believe the Angels and the Holy Spirit were at work in this. She has also had several job interviews in the past month. I was confident one would pan out eventually. As the Angel had said, “help will come, though not necessarily in the way she expects.” That is precisely how it did come. As Anael had said, “her part is to do what she can and act on what you and others have shared with her.” This is precisely what she did do and she was blessed for her hard efforts — a few weeks later, she was hired at a job she loves and now enjys a financial stability she never knew before. How often answers to prayers and magic come through seemingly naturalistic means, while we are waiting for some supernatural manifestation to appear in the sky…

The “the matter she is worrying about that she did not tell you has already been addressed” was a problem she was having in communicating with a partner who did not care about her spiritual path, which was so central to her values and what was important to her. They tried to work on it, but the resolution ended up being them parting ways. The Angels and Holy Spirit had left openings for it to be addressed through communication or through parting ways so that each could be free to be with a partner better suited to them. There was no fatalism here; there were options, both of which would resolve the problem. The second was the way things went. It was hard at first, but ended up being for the best. Such is the Way of God and of the Holy Angels.

Hail to you, Holy Angel Anael. Thank you for your help and guidance, thank you for your wisdom. We praise the Lord God in your name and honour and humble ourselves before Him in gratitude. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This we pray in Yeshua’s Holy Name. Amen.

Michaelmas 2018: An Invocation of Archangel Michael and the Archangel’s Exhortation to Humanity

By Frater S. C. F. V.

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Happy Michaelmas, Amici! Michaelmas, which is also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels is celebrated by the Catholic and Anglican churches today, September 29, 2018.

It’s worth noting, however, that although the Serbian Orthodox Church observes the feast, most Eastern Orthodox Churches. Moreover, the Greek and Romanian Orthodox honour the Archangels as well on their equivalent of the Western Michaelmas, but they also include the Cherubim and Seraphim and celebrate the Feast on November 8th instead.

For my celebration, I began by performing a ritual bath as well as some preliminary worship. Thereafter, I cleaned the Altar, applied a fresh red altar cloth for Archangel Michael, and cleaned all offerings vessels. I arranged the Altar, and prepared the offerings for Michael and the other Angels. These included incense, a red candle fixed with chili peppers, Solomonic Holy Oil, and cloves, and a glass of wine. I also offered the Angels fresh orange slices spiked with three cloves to symbolize the Trinity of Divine images in the Christian “symbolic theology,” to quote Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, that is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three clove “nails” qll suggest the three Nails in the Holy Cross, three Supernal Sephirot, 3 Pillars of the Tree of Life, and the G.D. Neophyte Triangle or Triad of Manifestation (“two contending forces and one eternally uniting them”).

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Thereafter, I entered the Temple, placed the Offerings on the Altar, and formally opened the Temple with the initial Offerings to the Godhead. Thereafter, I picked up my Solomonic Bell, sounded it three times before entering the Circle as per the Hygromanteia and then, from within it, sounded the Bell thrice to each of the Quarters, greeting the Spirits of the East, South, West, and North with great love, respect, and blessings of Adonai.

Next, I proceeded to give Offerings to Saint Cyprian and began to pray and recite Psalms while holding my Solomonic Wand of Art. Saint Cyprian received his own fresh glass of Spring Water, a candle dressed with San Cipriano oil, Sage, Cinnamon, and All-spice, and Church wafers.

I opened with some prayers to God offering worship, an announcement of my intention to celebrate the Archangels with gratitude and gifts, and a prayer to Saint Cyprian asking him to assist me in the invocation of Michael.

I then used the prayer from the Heptameron to ask for God’s help in calling Spirits and proceeded to a formal Invocation of Archangel Michael.  After prolonged additional conjurations and vibrating Michael’s name while gazing into the crystal with his candle burning behind it–a method I call pyrocrystallomancy, or fire-crystal-divination as shown to me by Archangel Raphael–I felt the Archangel’s presence begin to build in the Temple.

I found it noteworthy that the last time I had invoked the great Michael, his arrival in the Temple was marked by a series of sparks erupting from his candle.  This time, his manifestation in the room was experienced in the expansion of his incense smoke and the omset of intense flickering of his Offering candle.

Much like in the last invocation, however, his presence felt strong, but kind, fiery, but composed, comforting, but unwavering, and above all courageous and ready to act immediately as needed.  Upon his arrival, I greeted him with great love and respect and Offerings of his fixed and dressed candle, the oranges and cloves, the glass of wine, and and Musk incense, sacred to the Sun as per Agrippa, as gifts of friendship.

At this time, I informed the Archangel that my intention was primarily to celebrate his Feast Day, but that I would also be grateful for any insights or wisdom he may wish to offer, not only to me, but to my fellow human beings who might read this ritual journal entry. As a side note, for the sake of respect and decorum, I always obtain a Spirit’s consent to share what they reveal to me, provided it is not explicitly secretive or deeply personal in nature, in which case I do not share it.  Michael has always granted the permission as he considers it a form of Offering to share wisdom for the purpose of edifying others.

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I asked Michael to help me to optimally attune my consciousness and biopsychospiritual state in order to best me able to communicate with him and asked Saint Cyprian to help me to send and receive clear messages to the Angel.  This process of tuning in is, to me, like tuning a radio receiver to receive the clearest possible sound of a particular radio station’s broadcast.

Scrying into the Crystal as Michael’s candle burned behind it, I gave the Archangel permission to speak into my mind or into my body via sensations or emotions. I asked him questions as I gazed through the crystal and received his responses immediately in a deep, stern, but kind, and warm voice.

When asked if the traditional depictions of Michael are how he really appears, he said “no. These are appearances that I assume for you,” meaning human beings.

I then asked him if he could give me a closer impression of what he looks like without assuming the images he takes on so as not to frighten us. He asked if I was sure. I wondered if he had been asked this before only to have people be terrified by the result. I said that I was certain.

My eyes grew heavy and fell closed before a vivid vision began to reveal itself.

Before me, I first see a handsome and slightly androgynous male figure clad in red robes and armor and bearing a mighty sword. Behind him, two large white wings stand elegantly unfolded to each side of his armored frame.  As I watch, the image of his clothing, wings, and human-like features begins to stretch and distort. It grows and grows, beyond a height slightly taller than my 5’11 frame to grow larger and larger. Before I know it, the great Michael’s vast form is entirely filling the horizon in every direction. Wherever I look, his massive form is there.

The colours in his initial self-presentation gradually begin to fade out. Now, there is but a vaguely anthropomorphic being of golden light towering over the entire planet Earth… At last, even this last faint hint of a human-form distends into a totally incomprehensible and unrecognizable ‘mass’ of pure golden light, voiceless, and staggering in its incredible power…

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The whole experience lasts only a few moments before the vast, cosmic figure shrinks back down and resumes the familiar human-esque form in red robes and Angelic wings.

I open my eyes and resume gazing at Michael’s candle’s flickering flame from through the Crystal.  I thank the great Archangel for this impressive vision, feeling humbled by the realization thay even this only really represents a fraction of what Michael is “really like.”

As this is a day of celebration of Michael and all other Angels as well as their primordial relationship with human beings, I ask the Archangel if he has any words of wisdom to guide humanity at this moment in our history. He begins to speak these words:

“Yes. Know that whatever you face, however alone you may feel, however desperate things may seem, there is always hope. Wherever you stand, you stand not alone. My Sword executes justice in accordance with Divine Will balanced with love and compassion. Many are the Angels who storm to your aid when you are in struggle, if only you knew. Be encouraged and take hope. In your darkest nights, our light shines brightly to join with yours.

Beware most of all the tendency towards self-absorption and self-centeredness, the gateway of all sin, that is, of all missing of the mark of excellence, virtue, and holiness. Temptations always come in the same forms: questioning your value, shaming you, tempting you into feeling entitled, and fanning the flames of greed and victimhood. All of these appeal to the baser constructs of human self-centeredness.

If you are absorbed in yourself, you become blind to value beyond value for you. You lose yourself in greed and hatred, entitlement and cruelty, attachment to illusions and arrogance. All the while, you hold your imaginary self up as an idol to be worshiped. What folly!

Human destruction always stems back to excessive self-centeredness. It is for it that you destroy the planet, that your people kill, rape, lie, deceive, and manipulate and glorify yourselves on your media, begging to be worshiped so that your artificial image of self can feel real. All of this is falsehood. Cut through it. Humility is the gateway to wisdom, not self-centeredness and arrogance. What room is there for growth in one who believes themselves already to be large and great? Turn back from illusions to Truth, from the imaginary to the Real, and humble yourself in relationship to That. For your greatness is only in your realization of always having been That, and not in the little “you” you pretend to be. Humble the “self” you’re not and embrace the Self beyond all concepts and images, the Eternal and the True.” 

When asked what humans could do to be more like the Angels, the Archangel’s reply was:

Surrender illusions to Truth. Trust the Good, which is the same as the Will of God. Do it without hesitation out of Love for its nature. Surrender self-centeredness and dwell in the awareness of Divine presence. Live to serve and love the service. Find your meaning not in what you can get for yourself, but how you can strengthen and give to others. Serve the Whole you Are, not the part you take yourself to be. In truth, not even the Angels separately exist. The same is true for human beings; it is only your wrong thinking that makes you take yourselves to be cut off from one another. Nothing is cut off. Nothing is apart from God. We know this. Purify your mind of wrong notions and be open to learning from that Wisdom which is beyond your finite understanding.

Finally, when asked if humans are missing anything important that we should be attending to, Michael replied:

“Yes. Frankly and boldly consider the impact of your actions as a relative human being. You are always influencing everyone around you, whether neutrally, for the worse, or for the Good. Own your part in the problems you blame on others. Own the impact of your actions. Minimize the harm you cause and maximize the Good. Wake up from the dream of self-absorption before your greed and ignorance destroy the Earth, your fellow human beings, and other creatures alike.  We Angels have watched your kind since you first emerged. We have seen you do great things, and great atrocities. Ultimately, all things that arise, pass away. But even an ant leaves footprints in the sand.

Contribute not to the collective self-destruction. Own your part to play in the Whole you are, go beyond worshiping yourself to serving your collective Self appearing as all beings, God, the Divine, beyond the One and the All forever, yet ever Present as all in all.

And yet, you appear as a human being living a human life, and while you do, I encourage you to be humbly mindful in your humanness that you always have the power to transform hateful, greedy, wrathful ways into ways that bless more than they curse and help more than they hinder. Those who surrender to this transformation not only help, but are helped; for as you do unto others, so it is done unto you.

In truth, there is neither “you” nor “others,” only That One beyond Oneness at play with itself. Therefore, give up the game of fighting yourself imagined as “other” and learn to Love the One in All, the All in One, and That beyond All and One alike. This is the Way of the Angels and the Way of God, if you would only understand…”

Humbled by this, I thought it best to end the session in humility, contemplating more than suggesting, listening more than speaking. What more could I say? I thanked the great and Ancient Michael for his presence and invited him to go in peace or to stay with me to pray and enjoy the Offerings given in the honour of him and all of the Angels and Archangels.

I sat in silence for what felt like a long time, silently reflecting and abiding in Michael’s presence. Relatively, we seem to be human beings communicating with Angels or living blissfully unaware of their existence. Absolutely, the only Reality there is, is beyond the dreams of unity and diversity alike, as the Angels have pointed out to me time and time again. Relatively, we seem to be a separate individual, member of a family, a society, a species, a planet.

But this too, is part of the dream. Nothing stands alone; nothing is cut off. While we continue to dream this dream of human consciousness, Michael seems to me to suggest, we may as well make it as happy as possible and live it as meaningfully as we can, which is to say, in greatest harmony with our highest ideals: harmony, kindness, strength, encouragement, wisdom, and love.

For if we harm others, we harm our Self in disguise, our Beloved, the Divine itself. Therefore, let us Love the dream of others, the wonder and miracle of God appearing in the form of the vast diversity of the universe, or multiverse, which we behold, in awe-struck wonder…

Magic is a game within the Divine play, God experiencing Itself as both Angels and human beings in conversation about Itself. What fun! And yet, how head-spinning to our finite human minds!

Ah! I’ve said too much already. It’s time to return to the infinite wonder of ever-open silence.

Before I do, two final words:

Happy Michaelmas!

The Bells and Trumpets of Solomon: Resounding Instruments of the Solomonic Grimoires

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By Adam J. Pearson

Introduction: Ancient Origins of Horns, Trumpets, and Bells

The roots of ceremonial bells, horns, and trumpets stretch far into the distant reaches of prehistory.  According to Hyunjong (2009, p.27), the world’s oldest known musical instrument is a bone flute that was found at a Neanderthal habitation site in Slovenia.  This early flute was fashioned between 82,000 and 43,000 years ago from the bone of a cave bear (Hyunjong, 2009).  Like the bone flute, the first blowing horns and ‘trumpets’ were also crafted from parts of hunted animals, such as animal  horns (Warner et al., 2013).  Paralleling the horn and trumpet traditions, the earliest archaeological evidence of bells uncovered thus far dates to the 3rd millennium B.C.E. in the Yangshao culture of Neolithic China; these most ancient of all human bells were fashioned from clay pottery before bronze bells emerged with the advances of the Bronze Age (Reinhart, 2015).

Although contemporary bells and trumpets may seem vastly different from one another in both sound and structure, their earliest forms were strikingly similar.  Not only were they both musical instruments of staggering antiquity, but they were shared structural similarities; both bells and trumpets featured flared-out bottoms that amplified sounds produced either by striking, in the case of bells, or blowing vibrations, for trumpets,  through their resonant cavities.  Scholars of archaeoacoustics and music archaeology have identified independent traditions surrounding the crafting and uses of bells and trumpets in cultures on nearly every continent (Reinhart, 2015).  From the Bronze Age onward, however, these traditions largely developed in parallel, although sometimes intercepting and inter-influencing streams, whose unfoldings were shaped by the cultural contexts of the early artisans who drove their development (Montagu, 2014).

This article explores a fascinating case of dovetailing bell and trumpet traditions in the ritual history of musical instruments, namely, the interwoven traditions of Bells and Trumpets of Art within Western ceremonial magic.  The article’s first foray into the realm of sonorous Solomonic tools begins by describing the materials, crafting procedures, ritual uses, and potential mythic origins of the Trumpet of Art that is employed in the Key of Solomon grimoire (Latin: Clavicula Salomonis).  It then juxtaposes the Claviculan Trumpet of Art with the Bell of Art from the Key of Solomon‘s central source text, the Byzantine Greek Hygromanteia (Greek: Ὑγρομαντεία).  In the process, I will attempt to demonstrate that although the Trumpet of Art is able to perform the functions previously served by the evocatory Bell of the Greek Hygromanteia, it also reflects the influence of a distinct and separate tradition that traces its roots back to the Ancient Hebrew trumpet or ḥatzotzrah (חצוצרה‎) and blowing horn or shofar (שופר‎) used in the Hebrew Tanach.

Thereafter, the article broadens its focus to examine the resonant connections between the Bell or Trumpet of Art and some of the reflections on ritual bells and trumpets that are contained in the writings of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, John Dee, the pseudo-“Dee” of the Tuba Veneris, and Girardius, the mysterious author of the 18th century grimoire, Parvi Lucii Libellus de Mirabilibus Naturae Arcanis, 1730.  Finally, I close with a brief discussion of the use and fashioning of my own personal Solomonic Bell of Art, which integrates the Hygromanteian Bell with the characters and Names of the Trumpet of Art and consecration methods from the Key.

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A Yemenite Jew blows a Hebrew blowing horn or shofar (שופר‎) near the Old City Western Wall in Jerusalem. Photography by David Silverman.

Convoking the Spirits with Sonorous Blasts: The Key of Solomon’s Trumpet of Art

To begin, the connection between trumpets and the original King Solomon mythos that would exert a striking difference on the much later Key of Solomon grimoire has foundations in the Hebrew Tanach that are as strong as those of the Temple of Solomon itself.  Indeed, verses 31 to 35 in 1 Kings 1 describe how David required a trumpet to be sounded to announce the successorship and ritual crowning of his son, the great Solomon himself.  As the text explains,

32 King David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, 33 he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah” (NIV, 1 Kings 1:31-35)

Thus, the blast of a trumpet was linked, from its earliest days, to the rich mythos that developed around King Solomon from its earliest Tanachic roots and the reverberations of this original trumpet blast would much later be felt throughout text of the Clavicula Salomonis or Key of Solomon the King.  In Chapter VII of the second Book of the Clavicula Salomonis, the Master of the Art is instructed to construct a “Trumpet of Art,” with which to “convoke” spirits to the ceremonial Circle in which the Master stands, and prepare them “to obey” the Operator’s commands (Peterson, 2004).

Fascinatingly, as Joseph H. Peterson (2004) explains, the Key‘s Trumpet was to be fashioned from “new wood.”  The choice of wood as a material for the body of the Trumpet is itself interesting since it deviates from the preferred materials for similar instruments in the period.  Unlike the Key‘s wooden Trumpet, the majority of blowing horns and trumpets from Antiquity through the Medieval and Renaissance periods were fashioned from animal horns (e.g. Ram or Ox), shells (such as conch as in the Maltan bronja), or metals (e.g. the bronze Roman cornu or buccina or the Scandinavian lurer) (Warner et al., 2013).

In addition, the use of “new” seems to suggest that the wood from which the Trumpet is made should be drawn from a “virgin” branch that never bore fruit, berries, or nuts, that is, wood under a single year’s growth, as in the case of the Key‘s instructions for the Wand of Art in Book II, Chapter 8 (Peterson, 2004).  Unlike in the case of the Wand, no instructions are given for astrologically timing the cutting of the wood for the Trumpet. In all likelihood, however, assuming a parallel ritual rationale to that of the Wand, the wood for the Trumpet would likely be “cut from the tree at a single stroke, on the day of Mercury, at sunrise,” with the characters and Names written during the Hour of Mercury, following the method for the construction of the Solomonic Wand (Peterson, 2004).

On one side of the Trumpet, the Key instructs the ceremonial Operator to use the consecrated “Pen and Ink of the Art” to write “these Names of God, ELOHIM GIBOR” (אלהים גבור) and “ELOHIM TZABAOTH” (אלהים צבאות) (Peterson, 2004). On the other side, specific “Characters” are to be inscribed, which Joseph H. Peterson (2004) presents as follows based on folio 120r of the Additional 10862 manuscript:

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Happily for contemporary Solomonic practitioners, the Divine Names that the Key requires to be inscribed on the Trumpet are fairly consistent across manuscripts.  As Peterson (2004) notes, Aubrey 24 calls for the Latin “Deus Exercituum” (God of Armies), which approximates the Hebrew “Elohim Tzabaoth” (אלהים צבאות), while the French manuscript Lansdown 1202 requires “ces noms de Dieu Elohim Gibor, Dieu des Armées,” and the Italian Kings 288 manuscript has the Magician write “Elohyn Gibor.”  Interestingly, while most of the manuscripts only designate between a few lines to the construction, use, and significance of the Trumpet, Aubrey 24 devotes an entire chapter to the subject.

In addition, the practical instructions for the ceremonial use of the the Trumpet of Art are clearly delineated in the text.  In Book II, Chapter VII, the Key of Solomon explains that:

“Having entered into the circle to perform the experiment, he should sound his trumpet towards the four quarters of the Universe, first towards the East, then towards the South, then towards the West, and lastly towards the North. Then let him say:—

“Hear ye, O spirit N, I command you. Hear ye, and be ye ready, in whatever part of the Universe ye may be, to obey the voice of God, the Mighty One, and the names of the Creator. We let you know by this signal and sound that ye will be convoked hither, wherefore hold ye yourselves in readiness to obey our commands.”

This being done let the master complete his work, renew the circle, and make the incensements and fumigations” (Peterson, 2004, Bk. II, Chap. 7).

Thus, the purpose of the Key of Solomon‘s Trumpet of Art is at once to prepare the spirits to be convoked and commanded and to ceremonially position the Master of Art within the Solomonic Circle in the center of the four cardinal directions.  This directional centering of the Magician at the symbolic hub of the universe is not only demarcated by the structure of the Circle itself, which is aligned to the four cardinal directions, but also  ritually reinforced by sequentially sounding the Trumpet of Art towards each of these same directions.  In this process, the Operator begins in the East in the direction of the rise of light from the dawning Sun and proceeds clockwise–or, prior to the invention of clocks, deisial (Gaelic) or dexter (Latin) both meaning “towards the right” or “South” from the East–through the other directions from South to West to North.

As researchers and practitioners of the Key of Solomon such as Aaron Leitch (2009) have long noted, many of the Key of Solomon‘s grimoiric methods are modeled after the instructions given to Moses and Aaron in the Tanachic Books of Leviticus, Exodus, and Numbers as well as the Psalms or Tehillim.  For instance, the use of hyssop in the ritual bath in the Key of Solomon has its roots in the Biblical symbolism of hyssop as a purifying and consecrating herb within Hebrews 9:19, Leviticus 14:4-7, and most significantly, Numbers 19:6, where it is used to prepare the “water of purification” itself.

Similarly, the modus operandi of the Key‘s Solomonic Trumpet of Art can also be traced to a very specific passage in the Hebrew Tanach, namely, Numbers 10:1-7.  In these verses, God tells Moses to “make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out” (NIV, Numbers 10:1).  These trumpets or ḥatzotzrah (חצוצרה‎)–which are not to be confused with shofar (שופר‎), another word used in the Tanach, which means ‘horn’ and refers to a distinct instrument–are to be sounded to call and assemble the Hebrew Tribes camped in each of the four cardinal directions of the Israelites’ camp.  As the text explains,

“5 When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the East are to set out. At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the South are to set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out. To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets, but not with the signal for setting out” (Numbers 10:5-7)

Thus, when blowing the Trumpet of Art, the Key of Solomon‘s Operator follows in the footsteps of Moses, by calling to the spirits to attend to his commands in each of the directions proceeding clockwise/deisial/dexter from East to South as Moses did with his silver trumpet.  Similarly, just as Moses was told to use his trumpet to “gather the assembly” or convoke the Hebrew Tribes or prepare them to “set out,” so does the Solomonic Magician use the Trumpet of Art to prepare the spirits to “set out” and then convoke or assemble around the Circle. Thus, the Trumpet of Art has ancient Tanachic roots that long precede the much later date of the composition of the Key of Solomon.

Moreover, the Clavis Salomonis’ Trumpet is contextually grounded in a much broader series of Biblical traditions beyond those already mentioned.  Aside from the aforementioned uses of the ḥatzotzrah (חצוצרה‎) and shofar (שופר‎) to proclaim the crowning of King Solomon (1 Kings 1:31-35), and call, assemble, and mobilize individuals (Numbers 10:5-7), the Biblical texts also describe these tools as instruments used to signal the presence of the Divine as God does to Moses with “a thick cloud over [Sinai], and a very loud trumpet blast” (Exodus 19:16), declare the commencement of festivals (Leviticus 23:23), topple the walls of Jericho when played by “seven priests” in “front of the Ark of the Covenant” (Joshua 6:4-5 and see also Agrippa’s (2000) Second Book of Occult Philosophy, Chapter 10), announce different phases of the Apocalypse when Seven Trumpets are sequentially sounded by the “Seven Angels who stand before God” (Revelation 8:2 and also referred to by Agrippa (2000) in Book II, Chapter 10), and praise God within the Temple orchestra itself as described in Psalm 150:3 (“Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet!”).

Very interestingly for the present study, this same Psalm 150, which describes the use of ḥatzotzrah (חצוצרה‎) and shofar (שופר‎) to praise YHVH (יהוה) also describes the use of cymbals to the same end, enjoining Israel to praise Him with the clash of resounding cymbals” (Psalm 150:3-5).  Cymbals, of course, are round metallic instruments that are sounded by striking, and, in these ways, are very closely related to bells (Braun & Braun, 2002).

Furthermore, it is very appropriate for the discussion of bells to come that bell-like cymbals are played alongside trumpets on many different occasions in the Tanach.  We read, for instance, that “David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets” (1 Chronicles 13:8), that both instruments were used to dedicate the Wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12:27), that “Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song” (1 Chronicles 16:42), and that “when the builders laid the foundation of the Temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David” (Ezra 3:10).

Thus, within the Tanachic lore of the Israelites to which the Key of Solomon would later mythically hearken back and symbolically align itself, bell-like cymbals and trumpets were repeatedly sounded in unison and the traditions that evolved around these ritual tools largely dovetailed together.  How appropriate it is, therefore, that the Greek Byzantine Hygromanteia–which is, as Dr. Stephen Skinner (2013) demonstrated, the primary source text of the Key of Solomon itself–should provide a parallel tradition to that of the Trumpet of Art, in the form of a mysterious evocatory Bell.

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Ringing Open the Gateway: The Hygromanteian Bell of Art

Those who approach the Greek Byzantine Hygromanteia after first studying the Key of Solomon and learning to work its system using the Solomonic Trumpet may be surprised to discover that there is no Trumpet of Art in the Clavicula’s older source text.  Indeed, in the entirety of the Hygromanteia, there are only two occurrences of the word “Trumpet.” Moreover, in both cases, the word is used, not to refer to a tool to be made by the Magician, but rather to reference the Angelic Trumpet “that shall be sounded” on the Day of Judgment (Marathakis, 2011, p. 335).

The first of these twin trumpet references occurs in the Conjuration of “Asmodaes,” in which the Magician addresses the spirit by telling it that

“I conjure you by the Trumpet that shall be sounded, calling for the Second Coming” (Marathakis, 2011, p. 335).

In a similar fashion, the second and final trumpet reference in the Hygromanteia occurs in yet another conjuration, in which the Master is instructed to command the spirit

“by the trumpet that the Angel of Resurrection shall sound” (Marathakis. 2011, p. 173).

Therefore, while references to trumpets in the Hygromanteia are purely symbolic in nature and are used to add power to the conjurations,  the Hygromanteian magical arsenal does not include a physical Trumpet of Art in the style of the Clavicula.  Where the absence of one kind of  one kind of sonorous Solomonic tool in the text is glaringly evident, however, the presence of another is equally so. This second resounding tool of Solomon is the Hygromanteian Bell of Art.

Interestingly enough, this author’s first indication that there might be a Solomonic Bell tradition with a historical precedent in the Hygromanteia came, not from the Hygromanteia itself, but from Joseph H. Peterson’s (2004) insightful notes on manuscript variations in the later Key of Solomon. In Chapter IX, “Of the formation of the Circle,” in his edition of the Clavicula’ Salomonis, the Magician is instructed to

“enter within the circle and carefully close the openings left in the same, and let him again warn his disciples, and take the Trumpet13 of Art prepared as is said in the chapter concerning the same, and let him incense the Circle towards the four quarters of the Universe.

After this let the magus commence his incantations, having placed the Knife14 upright in the ground at his feet. Having sounded the Trumpet15 towards the East as before taught let him invoke the spirits, and if need he conjure them, as is said in the first book, and having attained his desired effect, let him license them to depart.”

In form and content, this section seems reminiscent of the prior passages concerning the Trumpet of Art which have already been discussed.  However, examining Peterson’s (2004) footnotes 13 and 15, reveals a fascinating point.  Although other manuscripts of the Key of Solomon such as Kings 288 and Aubrey 24 read “Trumpet” here, Sloane 3847 does not.  In place of “Trumpet,” and very interestingly for the purposes of this study, the Sloane 3847 version, which is entitled The Worke of Salomon the Wise Called His Clavicle Revealed by King Ptolomeus Ye Grecian reads “Bell” and instructs the Master to “let the Bell be [rung] toward the East” (“Ptolomeus,” 1999).

In addition, the same manuscript later tells the Operator to ring the Bell in the four cardinal directions from within the Circle. As the text reads, the Master shall have a bell, and ring it “4 times toward the 4 partes of the world, with 4 pater nosters” (Peterson, 1999). These instructions clearly place the ringing of the Bell “towards the 4 partes of the world” in harmony with the sounding of the Trumpet of Art to the four cardinal directions in Kings 288 and Aubrey 24, which suggests some parallelism between the Trumpets and Bells of Art within the Solomonic tradition.

This Bell-Trumpet homology is significant because, with its dating to 1572, Sloane 3847 is one of the oldest extant versions of the Key of Solomon, which places it chronologically closer to its Hygromanteian source text than many of the later manuscripts (Peterson, 2004).  In contrast, the British library catalogue describes Mathers’ earliest source, the Additional 10862 manuscript, which includes the Trumpet of Art rather than the Bell, as dating to the 17th century.

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Medieval depiction of bells used in worship, suggesting the connection between bells and the sacred in the Medieval mind, a tradition with Ancient roots.

Thus, Sloane 3847 offers an example of a version of the Clavicula Salomonis in which a ritual Bell is used in place of the Trumpet called for in most other manuscripts and in the same manner as the Trumpet, to alert the spirits and prepare them to obey.  While the Trumpet of Art seems to suggest an attempt to integrate the Tanachic lore around the ḥatzotzrah (חצוצרה‎) and shofar (שופר‎) into the Key of Solomon‘s magical system, the presence of the “Bell” in Sloane 3847 may reflect a continuation of the Hygromanteia‘s use of a Bell of Art in much the same way.  Thus, just as bell-like cymbals and trumpets were often used together for similar purposes in the Tanach, the grimoires reveal similar dovetailing traditions of consecrated ritual bells and trumpets being similarly employed by the Solomonic Master.

Moreover, juxtaposing the Key of Solomon‘s instructions for the creation and use of the Trumpet / Bell of Art with the Hygromanteia‘s instructions for the construction of its own Bell reveals some interesting and highly revealing similarities and differences.  On page 352 of Marathakis’ (2014) Hygromanteia, the Apprentice of the Master of Art is commanded to

“ring a Bell inside the Circle. He must have a Bell with the following names written around it in the blood of a Bat. Behold the names:

Peth, Glia, Peres, Mpethiel, Mepithiele, Thsos, Mparous, Mparon, Mpimaon, Mpapirion, Khae, Rhoam.”

Thus, while the Key of Solomon instructs the Magician to write Hebrew Divine Names on the Trumpet/Bell, the Hygromanteia‘s Bell is emblazoned with nomina barbara or barbarous names.  In addition, while the Key specifies sigils or “characters” to be included, the Hygromanteia limits itself to Names of Power and does not include additional sigils (Marathakis, 2011).

Interestingly, however, while either text could have reasonably asked the Operator to engrave the Names and ‘Characters of Art’ into the tools, both texts prescribe the use of magical inks instead.  In both cases, the inks are specially consecrated, as in Book II, Chapter 18 of the Key of Solomon, which provides a specific consecration method for the Ink of Art.  Similarly, as Dr. Stephen Skinner (2013, p. 348) explains in Magical Techniques and Implements Present in Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, Byzantine Greek Solomonic Manuscripts and European Grimoires, the ‘Bat Blood’ to be used for the Bell would also be carefully prepared for the purpose, by being extracted from an animal that was “sacrificed in order to drain its blood.”  This sacrifice unto the Divine itself would consecrate the blood for magical use.

Notably, bat blood is also called for in the Key of Solomon. However, in the Clavicula, the Operator is required to perform the “Exorcism of the Bat” given in Book II, Chapter 16 over it after extracting it from the vein in the right wing of the animal as well (Peterson, 2004).  Thereafter, the Master blesses and consecrates the blood for use in the Ink of Art by various Divine Names as described in the text  (Peterson, 2004).

As to the appearance of the Hygromanteian Bell, manuscript Harleianus 5596, f. 34v provides two crude drawings of the Bell of Art in the margins of the Circle diagram, which are highlighted here for clarity.  As Marathakis’s (2011) edition indicates, the topmost image bears the label “Bell” in Greek:

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Moreover, the Hygromanteia also specifies the type of bell to be used for the Bell of Art  with terminological precision when it invites the Apprentice to “hold a small Bell that some call kampanon and ring it for a little while before you enter the Circle” (Marathakis 2014, p. 169).  The kampanon or “small bell” referred to in this passage seems to have been a small hand-bell (Marathakis, 2011).  As Alexandra Villing (2002, p. 223) reveals in her fascinating article “For Whom Did the Bell Toll in Ancient Greece? Archaic and Classical Greek Bells at Sparta and Beyond,”

“Ancient Greeks were not familiar with large bells of the kind that ring in our churches today. Smaller, portable bells, usually not much taller than about 10 cm [3.93 inches — My Note] were, however, a very widespread feature of Ancient Greek life.”

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Koudounia (Greek: κουδουνια) are bell-like instruments, which produce a ringing sound when struck and were seen by  many Ancient Greeks as having the apotropaic power to ward off evil Spirits.

In addition, in the same article, Villing (2002, p. 225-226) explains that in Ancient Greece,

“Archaeological, iconographical and literary sources attest to [the use of bells] as votive offerings in ritual and funerary contexts, as signalling instruments for town-guards, as amulets for children and women as well as, in South Italy, in a Dionysiac context.

The bells’ origins lie in the Ancient Near East and Caucasus area, from where they found their way especially to Archaic Samos and Cyprus and later to mainland Greece. Here, the largest known find complex of bronze and terracotta bells, mostly of Classical date, comes from the old British excavations in the sanctuary of Athena on the Spartan acropolis and is published here for the first time.

Spartan bells are distinctive in shape yet related particularly to other Lakonian and Boiotian bells as well as earlier bells from Samos. At Sparta, as elsewhere, the connotation of the bells’ bronze sound as magical, protective, purificatory and apotropaic was central to their use, although specific functions varied according to place, time, and occasion.”

The Bell of Art as described in the Hygromanteia is consistent with the Ancient Greek view of bells as “magical, protective, purificatory, and apotropaic,” a view also shared by the Romans who similarly employed tintinnabulum bells, the ancestors of modern wind chimes, to ward off evil spirits  (Villing 2002, p. 226; Eckardt & Williams, 2018).  In like manner, in the Japanese Shinto tradition, bells have long been used both to attract the attention of kindly and holy Spirits and banish evil Spirits from the shrines at which they were rung; for the same reason, bells are still used to this day on Japanese protective charms or omamori (Mendes, 2015).  In short, like the Ancient Greek kampana, which could be both attractive and apotropaic, the Hygromanteian bell also serves the dual function of banishing hostile spirits and attracting cooperative and benefic spirits to the Operator’s call (Villing, 2002; Marathakis, 2011).

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An omamori or Japanese amulet with an apotropaic golden bell (Mendes, 2015).

In addition, the Greek ritual bells’ use as signalling instruments further connects them both to the Ancient Hebrew understandings of trumpets described in the aforementioned Tanachic verses and to the Israelites’ own uses of ceremonial bells.  In Exodus 28: 31 to 35, for example, Aaron is told to wear a special robe adorned with “gold bells” to protect him “when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord” so “that he will not die.” God tells him to

“31 “make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar[c]around this opening, so that it will not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.” (NIV, Exodus 28:31-35).

Much like the Trumpet of Art and the Tanachic bells of Aaron, then, the Hygromanteia’s Bell of Art can be seen as both sanctifying and apotropaic, embedded as it is in the contexts of older traditions around the ritual use of bells as spiritually powerful tools in the aforementioned Greek and Tanachic traditions, and Byzantine Christian uses of bells to ‘convoke’ parishioners to Church, to name just a few streams of cultural influences that fed into its conceptualization within the Hygromanteia (Sachs, 2012).

It is worth noting, however, that unlike the Clavicula‘s Trumpet, the Hygromanteian Bell is sounded both before and after entering the Circle to designate it to the spirits as a sacred and protected space.  This is a subtle but important point that is often overlooked, but warrants careful consideration as it bears hidden significance.  As Dr. Stephen Skinner pointed out to this author in his comments on an earlier draft of this article, many cultures use ritual bells to announce the entering of spiritual space.  Hindu temples, for instance, often feature ghanta bells that devotees are expected to ring before entering the Gharbagriha (sanctum sanctorum) to announce their arrival to the Gods and Goddesses and prepare themselves to receive darshan (the sight of Holy Images of Divinity) (Brown, 2013).  In the same way, the Hygromanteian Apprentice rings the Bell of Art to announce the Apprentice and Master’s entrances into the Circle, the sacred meeting place between the spirit world and the human world.  After this preliminary sounding, they proceed to sound the Bell again from within the Circle in order to alert the spirits to be ready to appear and obey in the style of the later Claviculan Trumpet.

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Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa as depicted by Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528).

Resonant Grimoiric Connections: Ritual Bells and Trumpets in Agrippa, Dee, pseudo-“Dee,” and Girardius

The precise origins of the Hygromanteian Bell of Art tradition are shrouded in mystery. Although Old Testament style bell-cymbals, Christian Church and altar bells, Ancient Greek kampana and koudounia (Greek: κουδουνια), Ancient Egyptian ritual bells–perhaps through their impact on the development of Ancient Greek music–and Mesopotamian bells all may have influenced the Hygromanteian Bell, another candidate for a historical precedent might be the Chaldaean and Neoplatonic Iynx (Braun & Braun, 2002; Sachs, 2012; Montagu, 2014; Muñoz, 2017).

In Greek literature, the Iynx (Greek: Ιυγξ) was originally a reference to the wryneck bird, which was originally bound to a Sorceror’s wheel and then spun around to attract an unfaithful lover (Majercik, 2013).  The word Iynx then came to be used to mean a kind of love charm, a semantic valence that Plato expanded to express a kind of Erosian ‘binding force’ between humankind and Divinity.  By the time of the Chaldeaen Oracles, which cannot be any younger than the 2nd century C.E. since Iamblichus refers to them, Iynges had come to be understood as magical Names (voces mysticae) that were sent forth as ‘couriers’ from the Divine to communicate with the Theurgist (Majercik, 2013; de Garay, 2017).

The original wryneck bird-bound wheel Iynx gradually evolved into a bell-like metal disc that was inscribed with Divine Names and symbols, much like the Hygromanteian Bell (Johnston, 1990).  This bell-like instrument would, however, be attached to a twisted leather thong, which would be rapidly spun to produce a whirring sound.  Theurgists believed that the sound of the Iynx would attract daimons and inspire them to reveal their Magic Names, through which Magicians aimed to acquire magical powers (Johnston, 1990; Majercik, 2013).  In the iynx tradition, therefore, we find a magical bell-like tool inscribed with Divine Names and characters that may very well have been one of the influences, alongside those of the other aforementioned traditions, that helped  give rise to the Hygromanteian Bell of Art.

What is certain, however, is that the Hygromanteia is not the only text from the later grimoiric period that employs consecrated ritual bells in its repertoire of recommended magical tools.  Indeed, in his Third Book of Occult Philosophy, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (2000) writes that:

“there are also sacred rites and holy observations, which are made for the reverencing of the Gods, and religion, viz. devout gestures, genuflections, uncoverings of the head, washings, sprinklings of Holy water, perfumes, exterior expiations, humble processions, and exterior Ornaments for divine praises, as musical Harmony, burning of wax candles and lights, ringing of bells, the adorning of Temples, Altars and Images, in all which there is required a supreme and special reverence and comeliness; wherefore there are used for these things, the most excellent, most beautiful and precious things, as gold, silver, precious stores, and such like.”

In this list, many classically Solomonic practices that are familiar to any practitioner of the Clavicula Salomonis system can be discerned.  These practices range from sprinkling “sprinklings of Holy Water” to the suffumigations of “perfumes”and “washings” or ritual baths (Agrippa, 2000).  Trumpets are notably absent from this list, although “the ringings of bells” are mentioned.

While the Hygromanteia does not specify the material from which its Bell was to be created, Agrippa offers practitioners some guidance in regards to selecting materials from which to construct magical Bells.  To this end, Agrippa (2000) suggests that such bells are best made from “beautiful and precious things, as gold, silver, precious stones and such like.”  He grounds his suggestion in his conception of beautiful objects as more sympathetically resonant with the Divine’s intimate participation in the Form of hte Beautiful; on this point, Agrippa follows a Neoplatonic line of philosophico-magical theory that is traceable back to Iamblichus, Porphyry, Plotinus and earlier still, to Plato (de Garay 2017).  Of course, in order to emit a resonant ringing sound, a Bell of Art must be made from an appropriate material with the acoustic ability to produce such a sound when struck.  Gold, brass, bronze, or silver are all appropriate choices that are consistent with Agrippa’s notes in this passage; fittingly Ancient Greek bells were often fashioned from bronze (Villing 2002).

It is not sufficient for ceremonial magical practice to simply make a bell in an appropriate metal, however.  The Bell of Art must also be consecrated in order to en-spirit it and empower it, as Aaron Leitch (2009) suggests in his Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires.  To this point, in his Third Book of Occult Philosophy, Agrippa (2000) adds that such consecrations can have potent protective and apotropaic results when he explains that

Bells by consecration and benediction receive virtue that they drive away and restrain lightnings, and tempests, that they hurt not in those places where their sounds are heard; in like manner Salt and Water, by their benedictions and exorcisms, receive power to chase and drive away evil spirits” (Agrippa, 2000).

golden-bells-at-a-church-2.jpg

The exorcisms and benedictions by consecrated Water and Salt of Art to which Agrippa alludes here are well-known to Solomonic Magicians; indeed instructions for both are presented in Chapters 5 and 11 of Book II of Peterson’s (2004) Clavicula Salomonis.  However, the commensurate power of bells themselves to exorcise and bless sacred spaces within the Solomonic tradition is often neglected.  It is no accident that Agrippa lists bells, water, and salt together; for him, as for many other writers in his own time and long before, these ritual items were often considered together and used in complementary ways (Agrippa, 2000).

Similarly, this key passage of the Third Book reinforces the protective power of consecrated bells to ensure that “they hurt not in those places where their sounds are heard,” a potential carryover from the Ancient traditions that may lie in the background of the Hygromanteian Bell (Agrippa, 2000).  For Agrippa, in short, as perhaps for the Hygromanteian Master of Art, the ringing of a consecrated Bell can be as protective to the Magician as it is evocative to the spirit.

Moreover, the connections between bells, the Divine, and directionality that have been described in relation to the Trumpet of Art and the Tanachic use of trumpets in Numbers 10:1-7 are also echoed in John Dee’s (2003) True and Faithful Relation of What Passed For Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits, in which the Elizabethan Magician reports that the Angel Madini prayed before Kelly and Dee that:

“Miraculous is thy care, O God, upon those that are Thy chosen, and wonderful are the ways that Thou hast prepared for them. Thou shalt take them from the fields, and harbour them at Home. Thou art merciful unto thy faithful and hard to the heavy-hearted. Thou shalt cover their legs with Boots, and brambles shall not prick them: their hands shall be covered with the skins of Beasts that they may break their way through the hedges. Thy Bell shall go before them as a watch and sure Direction: The Moon shall be clear that they may go on boldly. Peace be amongst you!”

Thus, in much the same way as in Madini’s prayer, the ringing of the Bell of Art “goes before” the entrance of the Magician into the Circle in the Hygromanteia, as a “watch and sure direction” (Dee, 2003).

Interestingly, while this passage suggests some of the spiritual ideas surrounding Bells that have already been explored, Dee is also connected to the trumpet strand of the sonorous Solomonic tool traditions.  Indeed, John Dee is purported to be the author of a fascinating work entitled the Libellus Veneri Nigro Sacer or The Consecrated Little Book of Black Venus (1580), which centers on a magical Trumpet entitled the Tuba Veneris or Trumpet of Venus, which is shown here as rendered in Teresa Burns and Nancy Turner’s 2007 translation of the Libellus:

Tuba-Veneris.gif

It is worth noting, however, that Michael Putnam (2010), a translator of an excellent edition of this underappreciated grimoire, has cast doubt on Dee’s authorship of the text for a number of reasons.  These include, for instance, that the script reveals authorship on the Continent, not in London as the text claims; that Dee’s autograph in the earliest surviving Warburg manuscript (MS. FBH 510) is not recognizably his; that there are no references to the “Tuba Veneris” in any of Dee’s journals or other books; that the text gives “June 4, 1580” as its date of composition when Dee’s journal entries reveal he was in Mortlake between June 3 and 7 and not in London; and that the text uses a forcible and binding-based necromantic approach that is very different from the supplicatory prayer-based Angelic work that Dee was doing in the 1580s (Putnam, 2010).

Whatever its origins, the Tuba Veneris is remarkable as one of the few Trumpets of Art in the Solomonic tradition, and it has four interesting differences that distinguish it from its Key of Solomon counterpart.  First, while the Clavicula‘s Trumpet of Art is fashioned from “new wood,” the Trumpet of Venus is made from an animal horn, much like the shofar (שופר‎) (Peterson, 2004).  In addition, as the text explains, the horn for the Tuba Veneris is to be removed from a living bull.  More precisely, in order to craft this Venusian Trumpet,

“one takes the Horn of a living Bull, then one takes Vitriol dissolved in vinegar, with which one should wash and purify the Horn, after which one carves the Characters as they are represented in the following sketch, into either side of the horn with the aforementioned Steel Instruments. One must make sure that the entire preparation of the Horn, including the time it is torn off from the bull, must also be in the times, days and hours of , just as was done in preparing the Seal. Afterwards, one envelops it in smoke, wraps it in linen, and buries it together with the Seal of , then unburies it again and preserves it for later use” (“Dee,” 2010).

Second, while the Tuba Veneris’ characters are carved into its surface during the Day and Hour of Venus, the Clavicula‘s characters are painted onto it in the consecrated Ink of Art, presumably in the Day and Hour of Mercury as in the case of the Key of Solomon‘s Wand (Peterson, 2004).

Third, the Tuba Veneris and Trumpet of Art are consecrated in very different ways.  The Trumpet of Venus’ mode of consecration via burial is very consistent with the consecration methods for Ancient necromantic and Goetic tools, which were to be buried in the ground so that the spirits could operate upon and bond with them in a chthonic environment, a precedent found in the Papyri Graecae Magicae (Stratton-Kent, 2010).  Importantly, the Tuba Veneris is used in conjunction with a Liber Spirituum, which is also buried underground as part of its consecration process, like the Liber Spiritua used in necromantic operations in other texts such as the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy (Stratton-Kent, 2010).  In contrast, the Key‘s Trumpet of Art is not buried, but rather consecrated entirely above-ground.

Finally, while the Clavicula‘s Trumpet of Art is sounded to the four directions, the Trumpet of Venus is used in a very different manner to amplify the Operator’s voice; instead of sounding the Trumpet, the Magician speaks the Calls to the spirits through it.  As “Dee” explains, the Master should “speak the entire Call through the Horn of Venus, and he should summon the Spirit by naming it once at the beginning and again at the end, but always with distinct pauses” (“Dee,” 2010).

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A final resounding instrument is worth considering in this overview of the grimoiric literature, and that is the Necromantic Bell of Girardius, which appears in the 18th century grimoire, Parvi Lucii Libellus de Mirabilibus Naturae Arcanis, 1730.  This intriguing text can be found in l’Arsenal manuscripts 2350 and 3009 in the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal in Paris (Girardius, 1730).  The consecration method of the Bell of Girardius and its necromantic associations beautifully parallel the Trumpet of Venus in a way that suggests another meeting point between the Solomonic bell and trumpet traditions that this article has been considering.

The Bell of Girardius features the name Tetragrammaton on its bottom followed by the astrological symbols of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon, the Name Adonai, and finally, the name Jesus on the ringed handle.  Girardius’ Bell is cast from what Jake Stratton-Kent (2010) calls a kind of “magical electrum,” which consists of alloyed gold, copper, fixed mercury, iron, tin and silver, and lead, although some manuscripts omit the lead (Girardius, 1730; Masello, 1996).  In terms of astrological timing, the Bell is to be made either “at the day and hour of birth of the person who wishes to be in confluence and harmony with the mysterious Bell” or, in other manuscripts, at a time when the Planetary aspects favour the Operator by progression or transit to the natal chart (Masello, 1996; Stratton-Kent, 2010).

According to the text, the Necromancer must then engrave the date of his or her birthday or otherwise the date of the casting of the Bell directly into the Bell itself–a practice nearly unique among all of the grimoires–as well as the names of the Seven Olympic spirits, that is, Aratron for Saturn, Bethor for Jupiter, Phaleg for Mars, Och for the Sun, Hagith for Venus, and Phul for the Moon (Girardius, 1730).

Thereafter, the Bell must be wrapped in green consecrated cloth, which different authors interpret as linen or taffeta, and buried under cover of darkness in a grave for 7 days, which correspond to the 7 Ancient Planets (Girardius, 1730; Masello, 1996; Stratton-Kent, 2010).  This goetic consecration process is notably similar to that used for the Trumpet of Venus and places the Necromantic Bell, like the Tuba Veneris, in the aforementioned tradition of grave-based chthonic consecrations with roots in the Papyri Graecae Magicae (Stratton-Kent, 2010).  Naturally, this is a method grounded, pun intended, in classical sympathetic theoria; indeed, the grimoire makes this point clear when it states that during its time in the grave, the Bell absorbs from the neighbouring corpse or the Underworld-like environment “emanations and confluent vibrations” which “give it the perpetual quality and efficacy requisite when you shall ring it for your ends” (Girardius, 1730).

When the Bell is used to summon the spirits of the dead, the Master is required to don sandals and a toga-like vestment clasped at the shoulder as well as a tunic, and hold the Bell in his or her left hand and a parchment scroll bearing the sigils of the Planets in the right (Stratton-Kent, 2010).  Thus, the Bell of Girardius is engraved rather than drawn on with its Names of Power like the Trumpet of Venus and is consecrated in a similar manner, but is used for entirely different purposes, namely to evoke the spirits of the dead.  Surprisingly, however, neither text mentions sounding their instruments to the four cardinal directions, a notable point of departure from the Clavicula’s Trumpet of Art and the Hygromanteia‘s Bell.

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The Necromantic Bell of Girardius from the 18th century grimoire, Parvi Lucii Libellus de Mirabilibus Naturae Arcanis, 1730.

Integrating Theory and Practice: My Solomonic Bell of Art

How does a contemporary practitioner make sense of the sometimes diverging, sometimes converging Bell and Trumpet traditions found in the grimoires? How does one put such a labyrinth of instructions into concrete practice?

There are at least three ways to tackle this challenge.  First, one can make the tools specific to the grimoires with which one is working and as exactly as described in the texts.  This approach is likely the best for grimoire purists and for those who wish to experiment using the precise constraints and instructions of a particular system.  This method is reasonable and ideal in most cases, particular in the case of highly idiosyncratic texts like the Tuba Veneris or the Necromantic Horn of Girardius.

Second, one can combine methods from different texts to create a tool that is adapted to one’s particular way of working by synthesizing what seem the wisest and most applicable instructions from different grimoires.  This method is sure to alarm traditionalists, but may be applicable when working in a tradition with internal continuity between the two texts to be synthesized, such as within an integrative Hygromanteia-Key of Solomon practice, for example.

Third, one can use a combination of the previous two methods, using synthesized tools in some cases and classical tools made to the letter of the grimoiric instructions when appropriate.

My overall approach is the third one given here, which seems to be the one that most contemporary practitioners take.  For most tools, I closely follow the grimoire instructions in the style of Frater Ashen Chassan, Dr. Stephen Skinner and Mr. Aaron Leitch in much of his work.

In other cases, when it is more appropriate to the work at hand, however, I apply a synergistic or integrative methodology to integrate instructions from texts in continuous traditions.  Aaron Leitch took a similar approach and brilliantly resolved the dilemma of whether to side with the Bell or Trumpet traditions in his own Solomonic work by using a Trumpet of Art made to the exact specifications of the Key of Solomon to which he attached 7 bells by 7 ribbons in the seven Planetary colours.  In this way, he was able to fashion a Trumpet that benefits from the magical and physical properties laid out by both the Bell and Trumpet traditions.

In my own case, for Hygromanteia-Key of Solomon work, I opted to follow the Hygromanteia and Sloane 3847 of the Key of Solomon and simply use of Bell of Art. However, I chose to integrate the Divine Names and Sigils given for the Trumpet/Bell in the Clavicula Salomonis manuscripts with the Hygromanteia‘s Bell format and consecration and creation methods leaning more towards the Key tradition.  Therefore, drawing on Agrippa’s (2000) recommendation to fashion ritual bells out of “beautiful and precious things, as gold, silver, precious stores, and such like,” I opted to use a beautiful antique golden bell for the purpose.  This is a small bell as described in the Hygromanteia (Marathakis, 2011).

Following the usual Key of Solomon methods, I exorcised the metal and performed benedictions and Psalm readings over the Bell during the Hour and Day of Mercury under a waxing Moon.  This process included sprinkling Holy Water over the Bell with a consecrated Aspergillum of Art, anointing it with Solomonic Holy Oil, and suffumigating it with Solomonic “odoriferous spices” (Peterson, 2004).  All of these procedures were completed within a consecrated Solomonic Circle of Art.

Also during the Day and Hour of Mercury beneath a waxing Moon, I wrote the Divine Names and drew the characters given below on the Bell as recommended by Joseph H. Peterson’s (2004) edition of the Clavicula for the Trumpet/Bell of Art.  This work was completed with a consecrated Pen and Ink of the Art, which were also prepared to the letter of the Key of Solomon instructions.

char

Finally, to protect the consecrated Ink from fading during use, I varnished the Bell with a consecrated lacquer that was blended with consecrated Solomonic Holy Oil and prayed additional Psalms over it to complete the consecration.  The completed Bell of Art, which I store in a properly prepared Solomonic linen as shown below the Bell in the image below, appears as follows:

bell

In my own humble experience, the resulting tool is both beautiful and powerful. Following the Hygromanteia, I ring the Bell before stepping into the Circle, to announce my entrance into consecrated sacred space.  Then, following the Key, at the commencement of each Operation of Art, I ring the Bell in the four cardinal directions, starting in the East and moving clockwise around the Circle back to the East.

In my experience, all of the classical functions of the Bell or Trumpet of Art are well-accomplished by this Bell, from protection to apotropaia, formation of a sacred space, excitation of what Dr. Stephen Skinner calls “magical tension,” and “exciting the senses” as suggested by the Papyri Graecae Magicae into what Agrippa would later call a productive “phrenzy” (Betz, 1996).

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Lion” by Formisano Francisco.

Resonating Through History: Concluding Reflections on the Bells and Trumpets of Solomon

In conclusion, this article has attempted to trace the winding twin threads of the Solomonic Bells and Trumpets of Art and demonstrate that, although the Clavicula Salomonis’ Trumpet of Art is able to perform the functions previously served by the evocatory Bell of the Greek Hygromanteia, it also reflects the influence of a distinct and separate tradition that traces its roots back to the Tanchic trumpet or ḥatzotzrah (חצוצרה‎) and winding horn or shofar (שופר‎). This article has also striven to illuminate the natures, ritual functions, and physical materials of the Claviculan Trumpet and Hygromanteian Bell by placing them in the larger grimoiric contexts of the writings of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, John Dee, the pseudo-“Dee” of the Tuba Veneris, and Girardius, the author of the 18th century grimoire, Parvi Lucii Libellus de Mirabilibus Naturae Arcanis, 1730. 

Before the Trumpet blasts and Bell ringings of this article fade into silence, however, an etymological point about the English word “bell” is worth mentioning for the light it sheds on the Bell/Trumpet connection.  According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (2018), the modern English word “bell” derives from roots that signify

“a hollow metallic instrument which rings when struck,” from the Old English belle, which has cognates in Middle Dutch belle and Middle Low German belle, but is not found elsewhere in Germanic except as a borrowing; apparently from PIE root *bhel- (4) “to sound, roar” (compare Old English bellan “to roar,” and the later English word “bellow”).”

Thus, both bells and trumpets are linked to a sense of “roaring” that symbolically and sympathetically connects them to metaphors of kingship, dominion, and authority in the roaring of lions.  Just as the roaring of a lion can strike fear into a human heart, the roaring of the Trumpet or a Bell of Art is intended to strike fear into the hearts of evil spirits and thus ward them off apotropaically; indeed, this is likely the reason why the Sloane 3847 manuscript of the Key of Solomon states that

“by the vertue of these names [written on the Bell], the voice of the Bell shall enter into their hearts, to cause them to feare and obay” (“Ptolomeus,” 1999).

The “voice” of a Bell is its ‘roar’ and the magical association between the two is profoundly ancient, as is the apotropaic power of loud droning sounds like the booming of a horn, the roaring of a lion, and, just as significantly, the bellowing of the human voice.  In Papyri Graecae Magicae IV: 475- 829, for instance, the Magician is instructed to “look intently, and make a long bellowing sound, like a horn, releasing all your breath and straining your sides; and kiss the phylacteries and say, first toward the right: “Protect me, prosymeri!” (Betz, 1996).  Thereafter, the Master is told to “make a long bellowing sound, straining your belly, that you may excite the five senses; bellow long until out of breath, and again kiss the phylacteries” (Betz, 1996, 705).

This latter verse offers some additional insight into the magical value of bellowing noises like those produced by the human body or trumpet; such resounding sounds hold the power to “excite the senses” and make the Magician alertly attentive in a way that can facilitate spirit communication.  This enlivening quality of bellowing, droning, and ringing sounds is entirely consistent with the use of the Hygromanteian Bell of Art or Claviculan Trumpet to “alert” the spirits to be prepared to come to the call of the Master (Peterson, 2004; Marathakis, 2011).

Finally and in closing, it is this author’s contention that the droning sound of vibrating Divine Names that was employed by 19th and early 20th century Victorian lodge magicians may very well be a later Hermetic application of the old Papyri Graecae Magicae bellowing formula.  Just like the primal method of the PGM, the Hermetic vibratory formula at once calls the desired powers, banishes the undesired ones, and “excites the senses” of the Magician to an enlivened state of sensitivity (Betz, 1996).

In this way, the ancient power of droning vibratory sounds that echoed from the Neolithic horns, clay bells, and bone flutes through the bellies of bellowing Greek papyri magicians and the grimoiric Bells and Trumpets of Art continued to resonate within the 19th century Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Temples in much the same way.  Whatever the exact historical lineages may be that trace these ancient practices and tools from the shrouded mists of prehistory to the living experiences of 21st century Mages, however, their reverberating power and enduring value remain with us to this day.  And if we continue to vibrate Divine Names, sound Trumpets, boom Horns, and ring Bells of Art, to paraphrase the great physicist and alchemist Sir Isaac Newton, we do so while standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before us (Lines, 2017).

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Mr. Joseph H. Peterson for his insightful notes on the manuscripts and his tireless work for the grimoire community, to Dr. Stephen Skinner and Mr. Aaron Leitch, whose helpful comments on the first draft of this text inspired the section on the shofar and led to a more nuanced central thesis, to Mr. Jake Stratton-Kent for his valuable insights into the Bell of Girardius and necromantic consecration methods within the Papyri Graecae Magicae, to Mr. João Pedro Feliciano for his interesting information on the Chaldeaen and Neoplatonic Iynx traditions, which inspired the section on the topic, to Mr. Andy Foster for his helpful reflections on the original manuscripts, to Magister Omega for his insights into the practical points of the Tuba Veneris system, to Frater Abd Al-Wali for sharing photographs of his own Bell of Art, and to Mr. Nick Farrell, for his kind patience during my writing and revisions and for helping inspire this much-expanded version of the original draft.  This article would not have been possible in its current form without all of your helpful and supportive feedback and useful ideas for which I remain sincerely thankful.

References

Agrippa, H. C. (2000). Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Ed. Joseph H. Peterson. [online eBook] Esoterica Archives. Based on a transcription from Moule: London, 1651. Available at http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agrippa1.htm [Accessed 03 June2018].

Betz, H. D. (1996). The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation Including the Demotic Spells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Braun, J. & Braun, Y., (2002). Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine: Archaeological, Written, and Comparative sources. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Brown, P. (2013). Indian Architecture of the Buddhist and Hindu Period. London, UK: Read Books Ltd.

Dee, J. (2003). A True and Faithful Relation of What Passed For Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits. Ed. Joseph H. Peterson. [online eBook] Esoterica Archives. Available at: http://www.esotericarchives.com/dee/tfr/tfr1.htm [Accessed 4 June 2018].

“Dee, J.” (2010). Tuba Veneris or The Consecrated Little Book of Black Venus. Translated from Latin by Teresa Burns and Nancy Turner. In Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition 12(2). Available at: http://www.jwmt.org/v2n12/venus.html [Accessed 4 June 2018].

de Garay, J. (2017). The reception of Proclus: From Byzantium to the West. Byzantine Perspectives on Neoplatonism. Ed. Sergei Mariev. Berlin, DE: De Gruyter Press.

Eckardt, H. & Williams, S. (2018). The sound of magic? Bells in Roman Britain. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Gigot, F. (2017). Hyssop. [online] The Catholic Encyclopedia, originally published in 1910. Available at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07612a.htm [Accessed 25 May 2018].

Girardius. (1730). Parvi Lucii Libellus de Mirabilibus Naturae Arcanis, 1730. In the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal manuscripts 2350 and 3009. Paris, France.

Hyunjong, C.. (2009). The musical instruments of prehistoric Korea. The International Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology, 3(1), pp. 26-48.

Johnston, S. (1990). Hekate soteira: A study of Hekate’s roles in the Chaldean oracles and related literature. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.

Leitch, A. (2009). Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires: The Classical Texts of Magick Decyphered. Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications.

Lines, M.E., 2017. On the Shoulders of Giants. New York: Routledge.

Majercik, R. (2013). The Chaldaean Oracles: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford, UK: Prometheus Trust.

Marathakis, I. (2011). The Magical Treatise of Solomon or Hygromanteia. Singapore: Goldon Hoard Press.

Masello, R. (1996). Raising Hell: A Concise History of the Black Arts and Those Who Dared to Practice Them. London, UK: Penguin Putnam.

Mendes, E. (2015). Ancient magic and modern accessories: A re-examination of the omamori phenomenon. The Hilltop Review7(2), pp. 152-167.

Montagu, J. (2014). Horns and Trumpets of the World: An Illustrated Guide. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Muñoz, D. S. (2017). The south face of the Helicon: Ancient Egyptian musical elements in Ancient Greek music. Current Research in Egyptology 17(1). Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books.

NIV – New International Version Bible. (2018). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Online Etymology Dictionary. (2018). [online encyclopedia entry]. Bell. Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/bell [Accessed 25 May 2018].

Peterson, J. H. (2004). Key of Solomon, Book 2. [online eBook] Esoterica Archives. Available at: http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/ksol.htm [Accessed 25 May 2018].

“Ptolomeus.” (1999). Sloane 3847 – The Worke of Salomon the Wise Called His Clavicle Revealed by King Ptolomeus Ye Grecian, 1572. [online eBook] Esoterica Archives. Available at: http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/sl3847.htm [Accessed 25 May 2018].

Putnam, M. (2010). Preface from the translator. John Dee’s Tuba Veneris. Translated from the Latin by Michael Putnam. Seattle, WA: Trident Books.

Reinhart, K. (2015). Religion, violence, and emotion: Modes of religiosity in the Neolithic and Bronze Age of northern China. Journal of World Prehistory, 28(2), pp. 113-177.

Sachs, C. (2012). The history of Musical Instruments. New York: Dover Publications Incorporated.

Skinner, S. (2013). Magical Techniques and Implements Present in Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, Byzantine Greek Solomonic Manuscripts and European Grimoires:
Transmission, Continuity and Commonality (The Technology of Solomonic Magic). Newcastle, Australia: University of Newcastle.

Stratton-Kent, J. (2010). Geosophia – The Argo of Magic. Brighton, UK: Scarlet Imprint.

Villing, A. (2002). For whom did the bell toll in ancient Greece? Archaic and classical Greek bells at Sparta and beyond. Annual of the British School at Athens97(1), pp. 223-295.

Warner, R.A., Enrico, E.J., Borders, J.M., Etheredge, L., Gorlinski, V., Kuiper, K., Lotha, G., & Parrott-Sheffer, C. (2013). The history of Western wind instruments. [online] Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/horn-musical-instrument-group [Accessed 25 May 2018]

Consecrations of Solomonic Linens, Tablet of Lights, Aspergillum, Incense, Scrying Crystal, and a Crucifix of Art

By Frater S.C.F.V.

seal2Since today is the last waxing-Mooned Day of Mercury of the Lunar month before the Moon returns to its waning phase, it is a big day for me as a Solomonic magician. I did no less than 4 hours of ritual today, divided between three Hours of Mercury with some additional time thereafter in each case for supplementary prayers. In addition to that, I fasted throughout the day and did additional prayers and singing in between Hours of Mercury while crafting Solomonic tools and painting my Solomonic Circle.

I woke up before Dawn, performed a Ritual Bathing, in the Sufi Ghusl method I have long used, ate a small meal of toast with peanut butter and an apple, and prepared my tools for the first Hour of Mercury.

During the First Hour of Mercury, I consecrated a series of incenses as Holy Incense following the Key of Solomon method, with suffumigations, purifications with Solomonic Holy Water, and anointing with Solomonic Holy Oil.

Incense.jpg

I also consecrated the Tablet of Lights used in Balthazar’s Solomonic candle magic methodology, which I plan to experiment with in its fusion of Solomonic methods with Hoodoo/Conjure techniques, as well as a secondary plate for drawing circles on the Tablet of Lights that I call the Plate of Circles.

In addition, I consecrated the Solomonic Linens to wrap these two tools. Over the Incense, Tablet of Lights, Plate of Circles, and Linens, I prayed Psalms 72, 118, 124, and the Benedicite Omnia Opera.

In the Second Hour of Mercury, I inscribed the Sigils and Names of God as given in the Key of Solomon‘s Book II, Chapter 20 method for the linens in a number of separate wrappings to be used for all of my Solomonic tools. I also cut the Aspergillum used for sprinkling water according to Key of Solomon’s Book II, Chapter 11 method and blessed and consecrated it as well.

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Between the Second and Third Hours of Mercury, I continued to paint the gold around my Solomonic Circle:

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Finally, in the Third Hour of Mercury, I Solomonically consecrated a Gold-plated zinc-alloy Crucifix of Art to be worn around my neck for protection during the exorcism of Soror C.R. that I will soon be performing… I hand cleansed it with soapy water before I consecrated it, then suffumigated it, cleansed it with Holy Water, anointed it with Holy Oil, and recited the exorcisms, blessings, and Psalms over it.

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Finally, also during this Hour, I Solomonically consecrated my Scrying Crystal for use in the invocation and evocation of Angelic beings and the seeing of Holy visions, suffumigating, sprinkling, and anointing it as with the Crucifix of Art.

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All in all, it has been a very exhausting, but beautiful day. I saw sparks around the Circle at times, and felt like my heart opened up more in faith and loving devotion. Preparing and consecrating each of these tools according to the grimoire is an act of devotion, of faith, of love, and of magic in its own right.

These rites should not be rushed through, but done with presence, care, and due consideration, for as the pseudo-Agrippa, the author of the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy, points out, grimoiric magic strongly relies on the consecrations used to invest the tools with Spirits of their own according to their shamanistic roots:

“And now we come to treat of the Consecrations which, men ought to make upon all instruments and things necessary to be used in this Art: and the virtue of this Consecration most chiefly consists in two things; to wit, in the power of the person consecrating, and by the virtue of the prayer by which the Consecration is made.

For in the person consecrating, there is required holiness of Life, and power of sanctifying: both which are acquired by Dignification and Initiation. And that the person himself should with a firm and undoubted faith believe the virtue, power, and efficacie hereof.

And then in the Prayer itself by which this Consecration is made, there is required the like holiness; which either solely consisteth in the prayer itself, as, if it be by divine inspiration ordained to this purpose, such as we have in many places of the holy Bible; or that it be hereunto instituted through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the ordination of the Church.

Otherwise there is in the Prayer a Sanctimony, which is not only by itself, but by the commemoration of holy things; as, the commemoration of holy Scriptures, Histories, Works, Miracles, Effects, Graces, Promises, Sacraments and Sacramental things, and the like. Which things, by a certain similitude, do seem properly or improperly to appertain to the thing consecrated.”

~ The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy

 

Consecrations of Solomonic Holy Water, Holy Oil, Pens of the Art, and a Lighter of the Art

seal2Date: April 18, 2018
Time:  7:33 – 8:04 A.M.
Sun Phase: The First and Second Hours of Mercury on the Day of Mercury
Moon Phase: Waxing
Planetary Day: Day of Mercury
Planetary Hour: Hour of Jupiter into Hour of Mars

Activities: Consecration of Solomonic Holy Water, Consecration of the Bottle of Art, Consecration of Solomonic Holy Oil, Consecration of Solomonic Pens of the Art, and Consecration of a Solomonic Light of the Art, all following Key of Solomon methodologies

I woke up, did a ritual bathing according to the Sufi ghusl formula, and then exorcised and consecrated Solomonic Holy Water in the first Hour of Mercury on the Day of Mercury before placing it in a consecrated bottle wrapped in consecrated linen, all prepared according to the Key of Solomon’s instructions.

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I then finished the Hebrew lettering and Medieval calligraphy on my Solomonic Circle:

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In the second Hour of Mercury, in the afternoon, I consecrated Solomonic Holy Oil. My method here is a combination of Frater Asterion’s, Key of Solomon formulae, and ideas from the Heptameron and Book of Raziel:

CONSECRATION OF THE BOTTLE OF THE ART IN WHICH THOU WILT PLACE THE OIL

First, have handy the consecrated Holy Water and Odoriferous Spices (Incense). Take the Bottle of Art to be used and suffumigate it and sprinkle it with Holy Water.

Then say:

I exorcise thee, O Spirit impure and unclean, thou who art a hostile Phantom, in the Name of God, that thou quit this Bottle, thou and all thy deceits, that they may be consecrated and sanctified in the name of God Almighty. May the Holy Spirit of God grant protection and virtue unto those who use this Bottle of Art; and may the hostile and evil Spirit and Phantom never be able to enter therein, through the Ineffable Name of God Almighty. Instead, may the Holy Spirit of Adonai use this Creatures of Bottles to add Divine Potency and Holiness to all that all Creatures of Oil, Water, or other Holy Substances Placed Therein. Amen.

Bless and sprinkle with Water, Oil, and Suffumigate with Incense saying the following conjuration three times:

Hamiel, hel, miel, ciel, joviel, Nasnia, magde Tetragrammaton. O powerful God, grant the prayers of those who invoke you, and bless these small vials prepared in your honor, through all your works. Amen.

***

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CONSECRATION OF SOLOMONIC HOLY OIL

Have on hand the consecrated Bottle, Holy Water, and Odoriferous Spices (Incense) as well as a consecrated Silk or Linen in which to wrap the Bottle of consecrated Oil.

Suffumigate the oil, sprinkle holy water on it and say:

I exorcise thee, O Creature of Oil, by Him Who hath created the plants by which thou wast made, that thou doth empower and infuse with the Blessing of the Most High and render Holy and Hallowed all that thou annointeth, and that thou uncover all the deceits of the Enemy, and that thou cast out from thee all the impurities and uncleannesses of the Spirits of the World of Phantasm, so they may harm me not, through the virtue of God Almighty Who liveth and reigneth unto the Ages of the Ages. Amen.

Say the 7 Penitential Psalms: 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, 142:

Psalm 6

YHVH, do not punish me in your anger     or discipline me in your rage. Have pity on me, O YHVH, because I am weak.     Heal me, O YHVH, because my bones shake with terror. My soul has been deeply shaken with terror.     But you, O YHVH, how long . . . ?

Come back, O YHVH.     Rescue me.     Save me because of your mercy! In death, no one remembers you.     In the grave, who praises you?

I am worn out from my groaning.     My eyes flood my bed every night.     I soak my couch with tears. My eyes blur from grief.     They fail because of my enemies.

Get away from me, all you troublemakers,     because YHVH has heard the sound of my crying.         YHVH has heard my plea for mercy.         YHVH accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies will be put to shame and deeply shaken with terror.     In a moment they will retreat and be put to shame.

Psalm 31

I have taken refuge in you, O YHVH.     Never let me be put to shame.         Save me because of your righteousness.         Turn your ear toward me.         Rescue me quickly.         Be a rock of refuge for me,             a strong Metsuda to save me. Indeed, you are my rock and my Metsuda.     For the sake of your name, lead me and guide me.         You are my refuge,             so pull me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me. Into your hands I entrust my spirit.     You have rescued me, O YHVHEl of truth.

I hate those who cling to false gods, but I trust YHVH. I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.     You have seen my misery.     You have known the troubles in my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy.     You have set my feet in a place where I can move freely.

Have pity on me, O YHVH, because I am in distress.     My eyes, my soul, and my body waste away from grief. 10 My life is exhausted from sorrow,     my years from groaning.     My strength staggers under the weight of my guilt,         and my bones waste away. 11 I have become a disgrace because of all my opponents.     I have become someone dreaded by my friends,         even by my neighbors.             Those who see me on the street run away from me. 12 I have faded from memory as if I were dead     and have become like a piece of broken pottery. 13 I have heard the whispering of many people—     terror on every side—         while they made plans together against me.             They were plotting to take my life.

14 I trust you, O YHVH.     I said, “You are my Elohim.”

15 My future is in your hands.     Rescue me from my enemies, from those who persecute me. 16 Smile on me.     Save me with your mercy. 17 YHVH, I have called on you, so do not let me be put to shame.     Let wicked people be put to shame.     Let them be silent in the grave. 18 Let their lying lips be speechless,     since they speak against righteous people with arrogance and contempt.

19 Your kindness is so great!     You reserve it for those who fear you.         Adam’s descendants watch             as you show it to those who take refuge in you. 20 You hide them in the secret place of your presence     from those who scheme against them.     You keep them in a shelter,         safe from quarrelsome tongues. 21 Thank YHVH!     He has shown me the miracle of his mercy         in a city under attack. 22 When I was panic-stricken, I said,     “I have been cut off from your sight.”     But you heard my pleas for mercy when I cried out to you for help. 23 Love YHVH, all you godly ones!     YHVH protects faithful people,         but he pays back in full those who act arrogantly. 24 Be strong, all who wait with hope for YHVH,     and let your heart be courageous.

Psalm 37

Do not be preoccupied with evildoers.     Do not envy those who do wicked things. They will quickly dry up like grass     and wither away like green plants. Trust YHVH, and do good things.     Live in the land, and practice being faithful. Be happy with YHVH,     and he will give you the desires of your heart. Entrust your ways to YHVH.     Trust him, and he will act on your behalf. He will make your righteousness shine like a light,     your just cause like the noonday sun. Surrender yourself to YHVH, and wait patiently for him.     Do not be preoccupied with an evildoer who succeeds in his way         when he carries out his schemes. Let go of anger, and leave rage behind.     Do not be preoccupied.         It only leads to evil. Evildoers will be cut off from their inheritance,     but those who wait with hope for YHVH will inherit the land.

10 In a little while a wicked person will vanish.     Then you can carefully examine where he was,         but there will be no trace of him. 11 Oppressed people will inherit the land     and will enjoy unlimited peace. 12 The wicked person plots against a righteous one     and grits his teeth at him. 13 Adonay laughs at him     because he has seen that his time is coming. 14 Wicked people pull out their swords and bend their bows     to kill oppressed and needy people,     to slaughter those who are decent. 15 But their own swords will pierce their hearts,     and their bows will be broken. 16 The little that the righteous person has is better     than the wealth of many wicked people. 17 The arms of wicked people will be broken,     but YHVH continues to support righteous people. 18 YHVH knows the daily struggles of innocent people.     Their inheritance will last forever. 19 They will not be put to shame in trying times.     Even in times of famine they will be satisfied. 20 But wicked people will disappear.     YHVH’s enemies will vanish like the best part of a meadow.     They will vanish like smoke. 21 A wicked person borrows, but he does not repay.     A righteous person is generous and giving. 22 Those who are blessed by him will inherit the land.     Those who are cursed by him will be cut off.

23 A person’s steps are directed by YHVH,     and YHVH delights in his way. 24 When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst     because YHVH holds on to his hand. 25 I have been young, and now I am old,     but I have never seen a righteous person abandoned         or his descendants begging for food. 26 He is always generous and lends freely.     His descendants are a blessing. 27 Avoid evil, do good, and live forever. 28 YHVH loves justice,     and he will not abandon his godly ones.     They will be kept safe forever,     but the descendants of wicked people will be cut off. 29 Righteous people will inherit the land     and live there permanently. 30 The mouth of the righteous person reflects on wisdom.     His tongue speaks what is fair. 31 The teachings of his Elohim are in his heart.     His feet do not slip. 32 The wicked person watches the righteous person     and seeks to kill him. 33 But YHVH will not abandon him to the wicked person’s power     or condemn him when he is brought to trial. 34 Wait with hope for YHVH, and follow his path,     and he will honor you by giving you the land.         When wicked people are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked person acting like a tyrant,     spreading himself out like a large cedar tree. 36 But he moved on, and now there is no trace of him.     I searched for him, but he could not be found. 37 Notice the innocent person,     and look at the decent person,         because the peacemaker has a future. 38 But rebels will be completely destroyed.     The future of wicked people will be cut off. 39 The victory for righteous people comes from YHVH.     He is their fortress in times of trouble. 40 YHVH helps them and rescues them.     He rescues them from wicked people.     He saves them because they have taken refuge in him.

Psalm 50

YHVH, the only true El, has spoken.     He has summoned the earth         from where the sun rises to where it sets. Elohim shines from Zion,     the perfection of beauty. Our Elohim will come and will not remain silent.     A devouring fire is in front of him         and a raging storm around him. He summons heaven and earth to judge his people: “Gather around me, my godly people     who have made a pledge to me through sacrifices.”

The heavens announce his righteousness     because Elohim is the ShophetSelah

“Listen, my people, and I will speak.     Listen, Israel, and I will testify against you:     I am Elohim, your Elohim! I am not criticizing you for your sacrifices or burnt offerings,     which are always in front of me. But I will not accept another young bull from your household     or a single male goat from your pens. 10 Every creature in the forest,     even the cattle on a thousand hills, is mine. 11 I know every bird in the mountains.     Everything that moves in the fields is mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,     because the world and all that it contains are mine. 13 Do I eat the meat of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Bring your thanks to Elohim as a sacrifice,     and keep your vows to Elyon. 15 Call on me in times of trouble.     I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”

16 But Elohim says to wicked people,     “How dare you quote my decrees         and mouth my promises!17 You hate discipline.     You toss my words behind you. 18 When you see a thief, you want to make friends with him.     You keep company with people who commit adultery. 19 You let your mouth say anything evil.     Your tongue plans deceit. 20 You sit and talk against your own brother.     You slander your own mother’s son. 21 When you did these things, I remained silent.     That made you think I was like you.         I will argue my point with you             and lay it all out for you to see. 22 Consider this, you people who forget Eloah.     Otherwise, I will tear you to pieces,         and there will be no one left to rescue you. 23 Whoever offers thanks as a sacrifice honors me.     I will let everyone who continues in my way         see the salvation that comes from Elohim.”

Psalm 101

I will sing about mercy and justice.     O YHVH, I will make music to praise you. I want to understand the path to integrity.     When will you come to me?

I will live in my own home with integrity. I will not put anything wicked in front of my eyes.     I hate what unfaithful people do.     I want no part of it. I will keep far away from devious minds.     I will have nothing to do with evil. I will destroy anyone who secretly slanders his neighbor.     I will not tolerate anyone with a conceited look or arrogant heart. My eyes will be watching the faithful people in the land     so that they may live with me.         The person who lives with integrity will serve me.

The one who does deceitful things will not stay in my home.     The one who tells lies will not remain in my presence.

Every morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land     to rid YHVH’s city of all troublemakers.

Psalm 129

“From the time I was young, people have attacked me . . .”    (Israel should repeat this.)“From the time I was young, people have attacked me,     but they have never overpowered me.         They have plowed my back like farmers plow fields.         They made long slashes like furrows.” YHVH is righteous.     He has cut me loose         from the ropes that wicked people tied around me. Put to shame all those who hate Zion.     Force them to retreat. Make them be like grass on a roof,     like grass that dries up before it produces a stalk.         It will never fill the barns of those who harvest             or the arms of those who gather bundles. Those who pass by will never say to them,     “May you be blessed by YHVH”     or “We bless you in the name of YHVH.”

Psalm 142

Loudly, I cry to YHVH.     Loudly, I plead with YHVH for mercy. I pour out my complaints in his presence     and tell him my troubles.         When I begin to lose hope,             you already know what I am experiencing.

My enemies have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk. Look to my right and see that no one notices me.     Escape is impossible for me.         No one cares about me.

I call out to you, O YHVH.     I say, “You are my Machseh,     my own inheritance in this world of the living.” Pay attention to my cry for help     because I am very weak.     Rescue me from those who pursue me     because they are too strong for me. Release my soul from prison     so that I may give thanks to your name.         Righteous people will surround me             because you are good to me.

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Kindle the coal or light some consecrated Frankincense. Take the Book, or printed text, in the left hand and the vessel or bottle of Oil in the right, and hold it in the smoke of the Incense, saying the following conjuration 3 times:

O God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, put thy blessing upon this creature of oil, that it may fill up the power and virtue of its substance, so that neither the enemy, nor any false imagination may be able to enter it, and grant it the power of seeing the spirits of heaven, earth and hell once I anoint mine eyes with it and to hear and understand them once I anoint mine temples with it, in thy great name Adonai Tetragrammaton and through the power of our Lord! May whatsoever it anoints be made Holy and empowered with Thy Blessing! Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Amen.

It is done.

***

Thereafter, I consecrated the Pens of the Art (permanent markers and chalk markers in this case), which I will use for drawing sigils and characters according to the following take on the Key of Solomon’s instructions for the Ink:

CONSECRATION OF THE PENS OR MARKERS OF THE ART

Light Incense of Art. Sprinkle the markers with Holy Water, anoint with Holy Oil, suffumigate with the Incense and say:

I exorcise thee, O Creature of Ink, by ANAIRETON, by SIMULATOR, and by the Name ADONAI, and by the Name of Him through Whom all things were made, that thou be unto me an aid and succor in all things which I wish to perform by thine aid.

Pray the following 3 times:

ADRAI, HAHLII, TAMAII, TILONAS, ATHAMAS, ZIANOR, ADONAI, banish from these pens all deceit and error, so that it may be of virtue and efficacy to write all that I desire. Amen.

Cense with the Incense and say:

ASOPHIEL, ASOPHIEL, ASOPHIEL, PENTAGRAMMATON, ATHANATOS, EHEIEH ASHER EHEIEH, QADOSCH, QADOSCH, QADOSCH; O God Eternal, and my Father, bless this Instrument prepared in Thine honour, so that it may only serve for a good use and end, for Thy Glory. Through thy power, let whatever operations in which it is used come to fruition and great success, for the Power and Glory are yours alone, now and forever. Amen.

***

I also consecrated my own invention, the Lighter of the Art. As this post is getting rather long, I will save that method for a future post.

Continue to the Consecration Ritual for a Solomonic Lighter of the Art for that post.